Caroline's Comeuppance - Intro

Caroline could no longer stay in Virginia after the Shannon/Fred incident. The thought of how they ended up amused her, but it was very strange. Even she had to admit it. Her protector had passed on to the next dimension and she was found by the Council of Witches after hiding out in Germany for many years. They held her on trial and made her feel something she never knew she had the capacity for: shame. It wasn't a shame that happened slowly over time, but one that hit like a freight train. It would've come sooner if she wasn't so good at navigating the dream world.

The High Witch said in her judgment, "I know that you love to spend time in the dream world, but you don't realize that you're not just affecting the dreams of those who can handle it. Some people experience the dreams and can't handle them."

"I'm sorry High Witch," Caroline said without snark or sarcasm.

"Since you are only a potion witch and have no way of turning the woman back at the moment, they will be sent to Germany for research. In the meantime, you will be exiled to Florida."

Caroline couldn't believe it. She always did exactly what she wanted sexually, with her various fetishes. She always thought she was safe and protected, but she never thought about the effect her ideas could have on others. She always just assumed they were bent, messed up people like her. Her father always told her no one is innocent. Now she was going to Florida, where the dream world would most likely be a dirty mess. And she didn't even feel like having any fun.

The first time she entered the dream world was in High School with her girlfriend Andrea. Caroline thought it was cool but normal. But she didn't realize that it was actually an unusual place for people in her place in life to enter. She wasn't poor, but she wasn't rich, and she had trouble connecting her lust to Andrea's lust. They would awkwardly show each other books and videos, then lie together on the bed, kissing and caressing each other's bodies nervously. Neither could figure out what the other wanted in the moment. When they broke up, Caroline was addicted to the dream world, choosing that over any new, real relationships she could have. She didn't realize how important it is that there be a clear channel between the two, that dreams collaborate and produce something good rather than overpower the other and ruin everyone's good time.

Eventually, she experienced so much and dreamed so much that her desires went haywire. Her guardians growing up were dead and dying, and her "family" was up to their usual shenanigans. Her sister wanted nothing to do with her, her dad had his own problems with his relationship, and her mom was away at an artists retreat. She thought about staying with friends in the city, but she couldn't afford rent and didn't want to mooch off of the friend who held favors over everyone's head, nor pay more rent than she should just to appease the other friend.

Now that Caroline was on the verge of poverty, she was unable to afford time in the dream world like she used to. Even though people were becoming more conscious of it in the real world, it was still not real, just a realm of ectoplasm and spirits. But she underestimated the power of what happens when the dream world is touched. It was calling her back, she could feel it in her soul. She couldn't just walk away and say "that's that". She had to go back, even though she could barely afford to. And she couldn't imagine what it would take to get her off in this weird new world, the new deviance and danger that lay ahead.

"Additionally, your right to practice any potion magic has been revoked until a cure for the Shannon condition is found."

Now she wasn't even going to be able to use magic to fix her mess. Caroline never felt so humiliated and apologetic. If people brought up what she had dreamed in the real world, she didn't know if she could take the shame and embarrassment. I mean, sure, everyone has dreams that scare them or shame them, but even if people merely laughed off her dreams as weird but funny, she'd have no one to go to in order to comfort her. No one to tell her it's okay. But seeing as it's irreversible, she probably had less of a right to confide in another about those feelings. The guilt made her feel almost worthless. She would comply and try her best to rectify the situation. She may have shot herself in the foot, and the cure was 100 miles away, but she had to try to get there. She had to try...

TO BE CONTINUED...