For once in his life Kaleb wasn't feel as confident as he usually was. Maybe it was Gwen's son staring back at him with Kaleb's mother's eyes or the fact he finally accepted his mother was dead. Unexplained death. Found in a river. Kaleb closed his eyes and counted to three. One. These kids were powerful magic users. Two. He was sure that Eric's friend had been cursed into a doll by Maleficent. Three. He had a feeling that this was the beginning of something terrible. He always felt that way though. It was how his family was. On one side was the crazy magic users who were trying to get rid of the heirs. On the other side was people hurt by them, and were now insane also. On another side was the people who had recovered from the horrors of their past, moved on and tried to forget it. On yet another side was the people stuck in the middle of it with no power. Like him. He ignored the strange dogs sitting straight up like human beings and how his long lost nephew was sharing suspicious glances with the other random child. His niece was running around town learning how to dance. He wasn't sure what to do. The girl clearly could stick up for herself. She had shown more power than he thought. What he didn't know was that this girl had so much more power than anyone could imagine. Didn't matter to him though. He just watched T.V and glanced at his watch every few minutes. They should have called him by now. Told him if they found his crazy sister. Instead he got a series of random text he hadn't known about from his aunt Mercy, who had took desperate measures to get away from the madness.
Do you know about what happened to Troy?Kaleb hadn't considered what that man may have suffered from his sister's madness. He ranked that man under Alexander, and that was saying something. He had after all, been the one to crush the light in his sister's eyes that she once had. He quickly replied back.
No. Whatever it is, he must have deserved it.I wouldn't be saying that over a text message. They just found his body.Kaleb snapped his phone shut and closed his eyes. Just take breaths Kaleb. You will be out of this house in no time. If the kids noticed they didn't say anything.
I'm not surprised. We are related to lunatics after all.He was surprised how quickly she replied.
You have no idea how correct you are. We aren't related to a lunatic, we are related to the lunatic.The words sent a chill down his spine.
What do you mean?He didn't care if she couldn't send it over text message. It didn't matter. If he had to show up at her house in Bridgeport and tell that daughter of hers everything he would.
Nothing that is important.You have really lost your mind, haven't you?That is precisely what I am worried about. I have lost my mind. Ever since Clarissa had been kidnapped....Kidnapped? She was kidnapped!
Wait, what. What happened? What do you mean the one person I'm related to that isn't going insane over "magic" just gets kidnapped? Its a long story.Once I'm done babysitting I'm coming over there. I need at least one sane relative on my side. Babysitting?Yeah, Gwen apparently has two kids we didn't know about.Kids? Is one of them the heir?Yeah.Are they with you?Uh, no.You let them wander the streets by herself given their mother's history? Her mother was left alone for one second and she was kidnapped. One second!Kaleb groaned.
The kid will be fine. Long story. I will explain it to you later. I think you are losing your sanity. Next moment you will be saying the Reapers exist. Kaleb slammed his phone shut.
All the sudden his dead grandmother burst into the house.
"Solstice?"
Kaleb burst out laughing.
"This is such a strange dream."
His grandmother frowned and stared at her hair in horror. "Watcher! What is this? This isn't acceptable! Give me it back!"
He was surprised when a voice from the sky answer back.
"They are already think you are insane. Calm down. I will fix it later."Kaleb was about to faint when his niece burst into the room.
"Ooh! Can we now speak to the Watcher? I knew she was there, she just can't do much because of the curse and now she can't get passed it..."
They all stared at her. With wide eyes the girl kept talking. By his nephew's expression she had never spoken that much in her life.
"Hi Megan. Glad to see Fate brought you back, even if you will have to go back to being dead eventually. She is in an odd mood since Clarissa got kidnapped."
Then she casually walked out of the room. Kaleb and his nephew just stared at where she was. Sometimes he felt the child could read minds. It was insanity. Absolute insanity.
Megan just grinned.
"This is why my descendants are the most interesting people that have ever been on this planet er.. or not."
Kaleb smirked.
"Eveline has three alien kids. They won't be doing magic, will they?"
"Not that I know of."
Kaleb's smile faded.
"Aren't you suppose to not know about magic?"
"Where did you think everyone got it from?"
"Why didn't you tell everyone?"
"My mother erased my mind and made it impossible for me to use my magic. Also made me extremely petty."
She noticed the quizzical look on his face.
"Long story."
"You are real?"
"No, I'm just here to remind you to pay your credit card off."
Kaleb frowned.
"Not funny."
"I'm here to see my descendants before they age up."
"You know you could just call them your great-"
"Don't.You.Dare."
"Why? Most Labelles don't get to see that."
"Most Labelles aren't already dead. Not sure what I am doing here right now. She probably has me stuck in Limbo..."
Megan looked around the room.
"Anyways! They didn't tell you that it was their birthdays tomorrow?"
Kaleb looked up, surprised.
"Birthdays?"
"Yes."
Eric looked up.
"Uh sir, I didn't think it was important since my mom is kind of missing right now..."
Kaleb waved him aways.
"Of course it is."
Solstice skipped into the room and lurched herself into Megan's arms.
Megan hesitated before hugging her back. Kaleb was strangely touched by it.
"Look what I learned last time you saw me."
All the sudden Solstice lurched into a complicated spin that made Kaleb ache at the thought of it.
Megan beamed at her. "Very good Solstice."
Imagination came rushing up to Megan with her eyes in awe. She quickly rushed to bow,"Tr-"
A glare that could have killed thousands accompanied by a pleasant smile quickly hushed the child. This small gesture, no matter how small was a clue that unlike her descendants, Megan had a dangerous past that wasn't welcomed to be explored. Her eyes had a weary look to it like someone would soon be exploring the skeletons in her closet. What scared Kaleb most was the smile. It had been a natural instinct. Hiding emotions and reading them was perhaps the most deadly skill of all. He glanced at Solstice who appeared to have a bored expression on her face. Yes, disguising the truth was the most dangerous thing of all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Her great grandmother had showed up the door with a weary expression and a light in her eyes no one had seemed to be able to take away from her. Not even death could erase that small detail. The moment Solstice started talking her brain went into action. Sorting through information and still keeping tabs on everyone else in the room she started her search. What she had learn that was not her's know. She could sort through little information but the moment she tried to get to the deep, dark secrets all sudden she was knocked down with a painful headache. She was hiding something and it wasn't Solstice's to know. Solstice knew Vivian, Megan's sister, must have been a mind reader also. Megan must have over time built barriers and came immune to a sort of magic. It didn't matter. In time Solstice would be able to uncover every secret Megan had ever kept. She just needed time. She enjoyed the time with her friend and family because she had a feeling she needed to cherish every moment with them. Hug them a little longer. Laugh a little louder. The small things that mattered in life.
With a dreadful feeling in her gut she jumped into the water. It was instant, the flashback. She was being held down by an invisible barrier staring at the remains of a car. With a sly grin a double of her walked out of the vision. The next moment Solstice was being held down into a tank of water and she couldn't move. She couldn't control her limbs. All she felt was blinding hatred. A small voice echoed her thoughts.
"Child. It isn't your time to pay the price for magic. Don't go in the car." She knew exactly who was talking to her. Fate Keeper. It was strange because she noticed the same hint of concern in her voice that she had detected in her great grandmother. She shook her head. Fate treated everyone like a pawn in her game of chess. She would sacrifice anything and anyone to win the game. Gasping, Solstice swam up to the surface.
What she was greeted with was unexpected. Megan and Kaleb were pale. Imagination looked like she was going to cry and Eric looked puzzled.
Kaleb cleared his voice,"That shouldn't have been possible."
Megan whispered,"Seven minutes."
Kaleb clenched his fists. "Is she a?"
"Perhaps. Most likely not."
"Was this just an unusual event?"
"Most likely."
After the pool they went out to eat. Imagination only found it was the proper thing to wear their formal dresses.
"We have to!"
"You were raised 700 years ago, you don't get a say in what we have to do."
Imagination turned red. In the end, Eric was in a tuxedo rolling his eyes and Solstice was wearing an uncomfortable dress.Eric was convinced he was an undercover agent which just made the whole ordeal more awkward. He didn't say it aloud, but he acted like it. It was worth it though. The food was good.
It was such a great day, with the pool already forgotten,(Solstice didn't forget things) she was ready to go to bed. The only thing was that she couldn't go to bed. What if the next day she awoke a different person when she became older? Would she change for the worse? Would she become a cruel person? Would she cry a lot? All these questions and no answers haunted her. Finally, Megan stepped into the room.
"Can't sleep, Solstice?"
Solstice nodded her head.
"Well maybe if you would stop trying to get in my head you would be able to sleep."
Megan ended it with a sly grin.
"My sister use to do the same thing, she just wasn't as gifted as you were."
Solstice stared in shock.
"Don't worry child, they won't figure it out. Keep some of your power hidden, for surprise may be your greatest asset in time of need. I know you are a little old for stories but I thought you would a little history on your family's past."
Solstice sat up, fascinated.
"My youngest granddaughter will know all about it soon enough."
When Megan went to sit down she brought out a plain, dull book.
"Grandma Megan, that is just a martial arts book."
Megan had that glint in her eyes again.
"Never trust your eyes."
With a gesture of her hand the words inside the book began to change into something glorious. Solstice stared in awe.
"Not all magic is made to harm. Remember you have a choice, you can accept magic is apart of you or you can fear it. All the heirs before you have at one time, feared it."
Solstice was puzzled.
Megan wouldn't meet her eyes anymore.
"I won't try to hide the truth from you. We are cursed. Something terrible will happen in your lifetime. Something that if you let it, can change you for the better or worse. A common mistake made before you was the fear of magic. Magic is a tool, in the wrong hands it is used correctly. In the right hands it can be your greatest asset. Lets get back to the story.
Fate Keeper had never been your average child. Her name had reminded everyday she was alive she was a curse to her mother. Her mother had insisted on naming her "Fate" because fate had indeed, been unkind to her. In the end there was a book that promised her everything. A price was payed, power was given and a family was cursed. From that day on she was never the same. Sadly, her story is not mine to discover. Pieces of her past are only starting to be discovered by a young magic user that has the power to change the course of how the curse works."
Solstice thought about this, has?
Megan saw the quizzical look on her face.
"The curse won't be able to affect her descendants, so it would be one of the many prices Fate has to pay for using her descendant's power reserves."
Solstice didn't like speaking in general, but the question was eating at her.
"Why does she use us for power?"
Megan looked at her and smiled.
"She was only a mere mortal when she found the book. In order to keep her power she was forced to curse 10 generations of her family. She has twisted the curse in many ways, changed its words to make other people believe they were responsible for it. In the end, she will put power before family and that will be the death of her.
Solstice, I am going to let you on a secret. She may be able to control what situation we find ourselves in, but she does not control how we react to it. You have a choice on how you let things affect you. She will except you to break and stay there. She will never except you to rise from the ashes. Magic is a gift that should be used wisely, the only curse we truly have is the ones we inflict upon ourselves. Good night Solstice. I love you." Solstice had already started falling asleep. She held onto every word Megan had spoken though.
She dreamed of heart break and disasters, kingdoms and glass slippers, poison apples and princes, messy hair and eyes that haunted her every move. It didn't matter how she looked tomorrow, it didn't matter how she looked today. It mattered what type of person she was to become.
Her life was strange. The cauldron in the living room was glowing brightly and her family were different. It was beautiful in its own light though.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staring at her birthday cake a new sense of dread hit her. It was accompanied with excitement though. She closed her eyes and blew out her candles and made a wish.
Eric and Imagination did the same thing. Eric of course, had that sly grin on his face which meant he was going to start trouble.
Imagination shrieked and ran to the mirror dragging Solstice with her. After convincing Solstice to wear some makeup she argued with her about her clothes.
"Your favorite color is black Imagination."
Imagination frowned at her.
"Stop being stereotypical. That is only a disguise for the ignorant."
Imagination was a rare beauty. She rocked everything she tried on.
When Solstice walked out of the room there was an audible gasp. She felt extremely and utterly awkward. Imagination was the first to speak.
"Wow."
In the end Solstice rushed back to the room and decided to go with a different haircut.
Eric came out and looked like well, Eric. Daring and mischievous, perhaps even a little clueless. Yet, intelligent.
Once Solstice was done she climbed out the window and headed for the gym.
She rushed to get her gym clothes on. Dancing was one of the things she loved most in life. She loved how she could twirl and do things that seemed impossible. Most importantly, she had a grasp on the situation at hand. Even though her shoes looked like they were about to come off her feet she still loved every minute of it. She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, all she wanted to was dance.
Staring at the mirror of herself she didn't see what other saw. She saw her messy hair and well, her. She didn't realize that her beauty was something people killed for.
