May 10th: Victoria's Room

[Narrator]

A loud *thump* came from Victoria's closet.

[Victoria Valentine]

Victoria looked up, then very cautiously walked over to the closet, peering inside.

[Narrator]

Peering back at her was a terrified baby fawn.

[Victoria Valentine]

What the bloody hell? Victoria took a deep breath, then let her magic wash over her twice... the first was a spell to ward off any nasties that might be on the fawn (fleas, ticks and such. Hey, she's a practical girl), the second was an empathy spell. "Shhhh... it's okay. I won't hurt you," she cooked, very slowly reaching out a hand, doing her best to be as non-threatening as she could.

[Narrator]

The fawn was clearly scared out of it's little mind, probably with no idea where it was or how it got there.

The thing practically stank of magic.

[Victoria Valentine]

"That's all right," she cooed, gently stroking the thing's flank, trying to taste its magic to see where it was from. "Auntie Victoria will help you... see? You don't need to be afraid. We'll get you help..."

[Narrator]

The faun slowly, slowly began to come out of the closet.

The magic was...well, not familiar, but it SHOULD have been familiar, but it was different, and...well, it was just off.

[Victoria Valentine]

"Hmmm... all right, what do you bloody creatures eat," she muttered. She picked up an empty box from a shelf in her closet, muttered a word as she stroked the lid, then opened it to find a carrot. "Let's see if that's close enough," she muttered, gently setting it down in the middle of the floor to lure it out.

[Narrator]

The fawn sniffed at the carrot, and slowly trotted out of the closet, starting at every sound.

[Victoria Valentine]

"Don't be scared, Lovely," Victoria cooed, slowly petting the faun as she coaxed it farther into the room. Ward the door... check. Ward the room to drive off anyone wanting to knock, check. Now... time to scry on you, little deer. She slowly picked up a bowl of water from her desk and, combing the floor for a hair that had fallen from the faun, dropped it into the bowl as she cast a spell of Seeing.

[Narrator]

Ten minutes ago, the fawn had been in a forest outside Hertfordshire.

The next, poof, the closet.

[Victoria Valentine]

Well, at least I know where you're supposed to be, Victoria thought. She ran her finger over the surface of the water, separating the latent magic from the hair. Then, carefully, she began to scry the magic.

[Narrator]

The magic was familiar yet different, common yet obscure, and other seeming contradictions.

The only thing she could tell for sure was that it was wrong--like if a book had been written in English with Japanese characters, but she could still read it. It shouldn't work, but it did.

[Victoria Valentine]

Victoria frowned. "I believe I'm going to need to take you home myself, little darling," she mused. "Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to today." She looked in her nightstand until she found a small collar, one that she hadn't ever known why she kept since it wasn't sturdy enough for... well, for the sort of play it was intended for. But in this case, it would serve. As the little deer ate, she began weaving spells on it. She wrapped a silver wire around it first, blowing a spell of purification onto it (this was, after all, a wild animal, and she wanted something a little more permanent making sure that any nasty diseases or parasites on it were gone for good). She tied a tiny bell to it, whispering a calming spell onto it to keep it from panicking and running off and hurting itself. And she tied three of her hairs onto it, tied around a drop of her blood, whispering a spell of binding on it so that it could understand and obey her, as well as not wanting to run away from her. Then as it ate, she slowly clasped the collar onto it. "That's a good girl," she murmured. "Poor darling, your mother must be beside herself. We'll get you home to her soon, I promise."