Mirrin sat at the edge of her seat and looked around. The room around her was finely decorated with pictures of people from the fifteenth and sixteenth century guarded by gilded frames.

Portraits, those are actual paintings, not just pictures, she stood up, dusting her backside lightly as if she had picked up dust in this exquisite room, and made her way to one of the fine paintings. It was safely cradled in glass and gold, likely to keep it from prying fingertips like her own. She peered into the frame and could make out the cracked parchment and areas where the paint was chipped or peeling.

Wow, these must be ancient, she tented her fingertips on the glass lightly, finding her senses lost in the muted colours, she could almost smell the scent of earthy dyes and hear the soft scratching of bristles on canvas. She jumped back as she heard a throat cleared behind her. Her hand pushed the frame, causing it to wobble slightly on the wall and Mirrin had a moment where her heart stopped for a beat, before the painting settled and she exhaled.

“Probably not a great idea to break the Founding Four on your first day Fledgling,” a husky voice sounded from behind her. Mirrin turned to face the newcomer and stopped short, her breath hitching in her chest.

The woman was stunning, though Mirrin found it hard to pinpoint exactly why she thought that. She looked no older than Mirrin herself, who had just turned eighteen and had finally aged out of the system, but there was an air about her that screamed experience. The other woman took Mirrin in with dark, secretive eyes the colour of hot tar and pouted her lips as she caught site of the state of her clothes. Mirrin felt both self-conscious and turned on at the same time.

What the hell is going on here, she thought as the woman slinked her way forward, almost catlike in her movements. Mirrin swallowed hard as alarm bells began sounding in her head. She felt her pulse quicken as the beautiful brunet reached out to touch her.

NO!! Mirrin shouted in her mind, unable to form the word with her mouth, she felt trapped and her mind flashed back to darker times as she tried to move away.

I’m being spelled, she thought, allowing her breathing to even out, forcing her heart rate to slow. The woman stopped mid-motion and glared at her. Mirrin felt her power leak out of her, forming a shield, something she had learned to do at an early age. She felt her power envelop her body, warm and familiar. The scent of wood smoke and incense filled her head as the air around her buzzed. She felt the other woman grit her teeth as she tried to push into Mirrin’s personal space, only to be rejected and thrown back against the cluttered wall. Almost knocking another damned portrait off the wall.

Mirrin felt her power enter her eyes and she knew they had turned from her usual dark brown to a startling gold. She reached a hand forward and something grabbed at the woman’s throat. She would only scare her, no need to push it any further than that. It was likely that this was some bully who bit off more than they could chew when they walked into the room and saw a new face. She closed the air around the girl’s neck. She was just a girl now, still beautiful in her own way, but young and seemingly foolish.

I was right, she was spelling me, instead of being angry, Mirrin found herself impressed. She would still scare her, but hopefully this girl could be a friend soon.

Heck, she’s cute, maybe if I don’t scare her away we can grab a coffee, she smiled at the girl, who looked slightly terrified. Mirrin remembered the Magick in her eyes and allowed them to run back to her natural brown. The girl seemed to calm down at that.

“Please do not touch me without my consent,” Mirrin asked, firmly. Personal space was a big deal to her, since she’d had so little of it growing up. The girl nodded frantically, pawing at her constricted throat. Mirrin hadn’t cut her breathing off, she had just held on tightly, to get her message across. She released the air and allowed the girl to slide down the wall, coughing more for show than due to actual damage she assumed.

Her power dissipated almost as soon as it had surged. She felt its deep thrum within her body, and smiled lightly, knowing that it was singing to her for using it. Her Magick was almost like a pet in that way, it liked to be taken out and used every so often, and would turn sulky if she neglected it. There were times in the past where she had been unable to use it, and it understood that. Her Magick felt sentient. Knowing when it was safe, and when it wasn’t, was a necessity during her childhood, and her Magick seemed to know that as much as she did. She shook herself out of her reverie and approached the girl, who seemed a bit weary now. Mirrin extended her hand.

“Mirrin Matthews, nice to meet you,” She smiled as kindly as she could, having just been attacked by this girl. The brunet stuck out her hand and grabbed Mirrin’s, pulling her down to sit beside her. Before Mirrin’s Magick could surge again the girl pulled back and peered intently at Mirrin’s face.

“You don’t look like one of the founders, but why do you have gold eyes?” The brunet seemed to puzzle out loud and Mirrin raised an eyebrow and shrugged in response.

“Talea, my name is Talea. I’m Goody Clara’s favourite student,” Talea favoured Mirrin with one more inquisitive look before huffing and turning away, “Although I might not be for much longer. Sorry about that, I’d heard that a new girl had arrived and I wanted to test what you’re capable of.”

Talea was rubbing at her throat lightly as she spoke. Mirrin knew she hadn’t hurt the girl, but she had probably bruised her ego enough.

“Yea, sorry about that, I wasn’t going to hurt you. I just wanted the spell to stop,” she ruffled the short hair at the back of her head and managed to look apologetic. Talea looked shocked at her statement and scrambled up from the floor.

“You knew it was a spell?!” She let out breathlessly as she offered Mirrin a hand up. Mirrin thought about pulling her back down to talk some more but decided against it and grabbed the extended hand.

“Yea, I felt the spell energy when I tried to talk, I couldn’t say ‘No’ and it triggered me,” she stopped talking before she went too far. No use scaring a new friend away with her tragic backstory before she had even had a chance to get to know her.

“The spell energy,” Talea mumble, mimicking Mirrin’s head scratch unconsciously as she muttered, “I’ve never met anyone that can do that before,” Talea looked at Mirrin with a mild wonder in her eyes that made Mirrin feel uncomfortable, “Might want to keep that to yourself if you want to get along here love.”

Mirrin felt a bit warm at the term of endearment and had to stifle a goofy grin before it showed itself. She had never had much in the way of affection in her life and little things like that still made her blush. Besides, now that Talea wasn’t trying to charm her, she could see that the brunet was definitely cute.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind then,” She muttered, hoping Talea couldn’t see the pink tinge to her brown skin.

“Ah, Talea, I see you found our newest member after all,” A posh sounding voice came from the doorway and both girls looked over to see a tall, African-American man enter the room, “does she pass your inspection?”

Talea looked properly chastised at his dry tone, it was a message that came across so clearly that even Mirrin caught it; Don’t do that again, our new students do not need to be tested by the likes of you.

Mirrin smiled at Talea’s hot blush and turned her full attention to the man, “Mirrin Matthews,” she said, extending her hand is his direction. The man’s large, dark hands enfolded her own, almost causing her hand to disappear.

“Goodman Dravon,” he said smiling, his teeth were a striking white against the bright, pink of his lips, “it’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Matthews. I am a member of the council here at The Arcana and the council requests your presence. If you are finished with Goody Talea that is?”

Mirrin looked over at Talea, who made a shooing gesture at her, “Best not to keep them waiting love, we’ll talk more when you get back!”

Mirrin favoured her with a genuine smile, even after a rocky introduction she had made her first friend at The Arcana. She turned back to Goodman Dravon and nodded her acquiescence, Dravon held his hand before him, as if to say: ‘after you’, and Mirrin headed off. She saw Talea dash out of the room out of the corner of her eye and hoped they would be able to talk later. She was curious as to why she shouldn’t tell anyone she could feel spell energy.

I’m sure she didn’t mean that about the council though, Mirrin thought as she was led down one hallway and another, they must know what I’m capable of if they’re to help me learn. The had arrived at a set of large, ornate wooden doors.

“Are you ready?” Goodman Dravon’s voice had taken on a quiet, respectful tone, one that was completely different to the way he spoke to Talea earlier. Mirrin took in a slow, deep breath and nodded. Dravon pushed the doors lightly, either using a small burst of Magick, or relying on their weight to swing them open, Mirrin couldn’t tell as she was immediately distracted by the council before her.

There were six of them, seven counting Dravon, who took his seat at the end of a long, beautifully decorated, table. At the centre of the table sat an elegant looking woman of about fifty years old. Mirrin didn’t know her but had been corresponding with the woman for more than a week now.

Mistress Oleander, she thought, taking in the regal dress the woman wore, its hues of crimson and gold glinted in the low light, and that must be Evander beside her.

The man had written her himself and told her not to acknowledge any titles with him while at The Arcana. Mirrin had felt his letters were almost grandfatherly and, looking at him right now, she saw she had gotten the right impression. His own dress was in muted grey an silver, a stark contrast to the Mistress. His bold white beard was clipped close to his face and neatly trimmed, he looked more like a Scottish spy than a warlock to her.

“Ah, young Ms. Matthews it’s a pleasure to meet you in the flesh,” Evander began, Mirrin was almost surprised that he didn’t speak in that telltale Scottish brogue and found herself a little disappointed at it, “We’ve asked you here to assess where you stand in your education.”

Mirrin cleared her throat, interrupting Evander before he could continue.

“Sir, there has been no real ‘education’ to speak of,” she said, putting air quotes around the word education, “I’ve only recently inherited my Witch Bible and I’ve just started to learn what I am.”

It was true, she had only just turned eighteen and was given access to her family’s vault. She had thought they had only left her with bad memories and some scar tissue, but she had been wrong. It seemed her mother had been heiress to an account that she hadn’t been able to access, and no wonder, the proof was in the Magick, something he mother could never conjure.

Mirrin had been called to the old vaults in the basement of a bank in the heart of Old Montreal and had been given a piece of paper to hold, when the paper had turned red the teller who had accompanied her had given her the key and had left her on her own. Mirrin had opened her vault to find a few gold nuggets, some ancient looking jewellery and a dusty, old book. She had stuffed the book into her rucksack and marvelled at the size of the nuggets before calling the teller back and asking what she could do with them. He had been thrilled when she showed them to him, saying something about how he had hoped it would be something cool because the instructions were so specific. The teller, a Matthews of a sort, though he spelled it Mattheiu, had happily bought the smallest of the nuggets and helped her open an account with it.

It had been some time before she thought about the book again.

She had managed to secure a small studio apartment in Toronto, in The Beaches, because that’s where her Magick had been happiest, and she had found a part time job working night shifts at a diner. It wasn’t much, but it was her new life.

Mirrin’s mind cleared of the memory and she looked around at the council before her.

She felt uncomfortable, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to zone out like that, I’m not sure what happened.”

“It’s fine child,” Oleander spoke, her voice surprisingly strong for someone who looked so frail, “that was our doing, it would be easier to share with the council if we are able to see what you’ve been through.”

Mirrin seethed at the admission. She hadn’t felt the Magick probe her, it had been so subtle that she had just been drawn into the memory before she could protest.

“And what did you do once you discovered the book my dear?” Another old voice, this one sounded worn with age and Mirrin looked over at the man who spoke. His hair was a thin white, and his brown skin looked as if it was stretched too tight across his frame. His appearance did not put her at ease, it looked as if he could break if he stood up too fast. Mirrin felt the edge of Magick flutter against her mind.

NO! She shouted in her mind, allowing her Magick to surge out and shove the intruder away. One of the younger council members, a lady with raven black hair, flew out of her seat at the push, well, now I know who it is, and if it’s mind Magick, I’ll assume that’s Talea’s Goody Clara.

Clara picked herself up, anger blazing in her eyes as she flung a hand out towards Mirrin. Mirrin felt her Magick react without direction and was soothed as her shield hugged her body, breathing the scent of wood smoke and incense into her mind.

“Clara that is quite enough,” Evander’s hard tone was enough to silence the spell on Clara’s tongue before it made it out, “the child has every right to defend herself. And Oleander, really, she will tell us all she wants to and nothing more.”

Mirrin felt calm at Evander’s chastising tone coming to her defense, she also felt the lap of Magick and brought her shield up once more. The calm disappeared.

So, there is an Empath amongst them as well, she would need to tread carefully, and keep her guard up at all times, it seemed. She spotted the Empath when she glared around the table, he was the only one startled by her emotion. He was a pale man with lanky, black hair and fine features. He looked as if he’d be quite at home in a trashy vampire novel and the idea caused her to grin at him. He nodded at her in acknowledgment, as if to tell her he would not try again, and she nodded back.

“Now, on to the matter of your education young lady,” Evander began once more, “we are aware that it has not been easy for you and yet, here you stand before us, a fledgling Witch.” Mirrin scoffed when he mentioned the difficulty she had had in life and waited for him to continue.

“We can tell by your quick spellcasting and even quicker reactions that you are well on your way to being successful in our Coven and we,” he paused and took in the impressions from each of the council members, the reactions ranged from indifference to excitement, “yes, we, are prepared to offer you our protection as you learn and grow with us.”

Mirrin felt her shield, she didn’t feel any of the telltale signs of Magick that she had felt earlier and she knew they were finally being honest with her. She smiled gently at Evander and bowed at the council with arms open, a symbolic gesture she had read in her Witch Bible that showed complete acceptance of their offer, “I would gladly become part of your family Misters and Mistresses.”

Evander was before her quickly, his hand extended, palm held above her forehead. He sought permission to touch her with a look, a gesture she appreciated and she closed her eyes to him as she pressed her forehead into his palm. Mirrin felt a warmth she could only describe as Family, Love, Hope and Home as it washed over her. She felt warm tears prick at her closed eyelids and allowed them to flow freely as Evander stepped back.

“It is done, Dravon, if you would please show Ms. Matthews to her room?” Evander made his way back to Oleander’s side and sat down, placing his hand over hers on the lavish table before them. Dravon stood and bowed, then made his way to Mirrin’s side and showed her out of the room.

“Well, that went well!” He smiled at her gaily as the doors shut behind them, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Clara thrown off her game.” His laughed boomed down the empty hallway, not even the thick carpets muffled his mirth.

“Well, I don’t appreciate it when people touch me without my permission, physically or mentally,” Mirrin ran her fingers through the short hair at the back of her neck, a gesture that was quickly becoming habit, “I didn’t mean to knock her away though, I haven’t learned how to control it yet.”

Dravon’s hand hovered over her shoulder, asking permission to touch her and giving her time to move away if she didn’t accept. Mirrin stayed and his hand settled as a warm weight, “Well my child, that’s what you’re here to learn.” He smiled warmly and Mirrin found herself grinning back. He was right, she was here to learn and that’s exactly what she would do.

“Now, I see that you have a visitor, so I’ll give you the ground rules. Rule Number One, no Magick outside of the property, we have survived this long only by being a well-kept secret. Rule Two, no non-Magick visitors, see rule one. Rule Three, there are weekly coven meetings, we like to call them family meetings and all members are asked to attend. If you’re not able to attend, please let one of your teachers know and we’ll relay anything you missed that day, do not make it a habit to skip. Rule Four please do not skip meals, this isn’t really a rule, we just like to make sure you’re well fed and healthy,” Dravon shone his devastating smile at her once more, surprising a responding smile out of her as she looked over at her visitor, “and finally, Rule Five, and this one is specifically for you Mirrin. Do not let anyone else know you can sense spell energy.”

Mirrin started, she had almost forgotten about Talea’s warning, “but, is that a bad thing?” She felt exposed suddenly, and out of her element. Dravon’s smile had disappeared and he spoke to her solemnly, in hushed tones.

“There are some here who are from Olde families, and some of those families do not look highly on Witches or Warlocks who are able to sense Magick energy. It is not a skill passed down by generations, it is an innately possessed skill that Olde families fear. There were Dark Ages where those who possessed that power were hunted to extinction, believed to be harbingers of Darke Magick. Some of those superstitions survive today. Oleander and Evander have taken you in to protect you so please, please do not put yourself in unnecessary danger by running your mouth.”

Mirrin shut her mouth quickly and nodded, she hadn’t read anything like that in her book, but if her ancestors had been Darke it wasn’t likely that they would have written ‘Ye Olde Spells of Darke Magick’ in there. She would have to speak to Talea about it when they had a moment, assuming that Talea wasn’t from one of those Olde families.

Her head was spinning.

“Alright, I’ll leave you two to your chat,” Dravon handed Mirrin off to the visitor that had stepped out of the shadows of her doorway, “Mirrin, this is Talea Godwin, her title is Goody Godwin and she’s to be your mentor while you are here. Ms. Godwin hales from a Younge family and is the first of her family to join our Coven. Hope you two have a good night, and don’t keep her awake with too many questions Mirrin!” Mirrin let out a mental sigh, surly Dravon had done that introduction on purpose, it was too specific of him to announce Talea as a Younge Witch.

“So! How did it go?” Talea was practically bouncing in place as Dravon departed, “Tell me everything!”

Mirrin smiled at her new friend as she walked over to the beautiful four-poster bed in the middle of the room. Her suitcases had been confiscated from her when she had come into the home and she saw them sitting in the open closet on the other side of the room.

“I’d say it went pretty well. They let me come here, didn’t they?” She smiled at Talea and remember something she had thought earlier, “Oh, by the way, would you like to go get a coffee or something tomorrow with me?” Talea smiled shyly and nodded. Mirrin’s smile grew to a grin and they girls sat at the edge of the bed to talk.

∞

“Ho, what news brings you Eradyn of the Riverbend?” The man was lounging in a tree, of all things, a tree. Eradyn shook her head at his antics and hoisted her skirts. She hated this ceremonial garb with the passion of a thousand burning suns, it just got in the way of everything. But she was required to wear it, or the oracle refused to speak. Eradyn was sure the old woman got her jollies off by forcing Eradyn into skirts. It was the only logical explanation.

“Tamzyn, how long have you been here,” she high stepped over reeds to get to his tree and almost lost her balance when the weight of the skirts shifted, “and how much longer do you plan to stay?” She finished dryly.

“Ah, my fair lady, the day is beautiful and the company is… tantalizing,” the handsome Warlock opened one eye to peek at her lecherously. Eradyn felt her skin flush and cursed him for causing it. Married for a decade and he still made her feel giddy, “so why wouldn’t a young and able man lounge about to enjoy it?” Eradyn dropped her skirts in the grass and stooped to find a stone. Her searching fingers felt the smooth edges of a decent sized rock and she stood up. Tamzyn’s eyes were closed once more and she levelled the rock at him, hoping it would hit hard enough to knock him out of the crook he was perched in.

1… 2… 3! She launched her projectile and grinned when it was aimed perfectly, he doesn’t even know it’s coming!

Seconds before meeting its target, the stone stopped. It twirled around in midair began spinning, faster and faster before transforming with an audible pop!

Eradyn let out an exasperated sigh as a tiny swallow flew back at her, circling her head and diving under her skirts before she could stop it.

“Tamzyn!” She shrieked, lifting her skirts high and exposing a long line of brown skin as she kicked her leg out to chase the bird, “Stop that right this second!”

“Apologies milady” His voice sounded right behind her ear as he reached a hand below her skirt, “allow me.” Eradyn’s skin flushed a hot red as she felt his hand graze her thigh in his search.

“TAMZYN NARNUIS! What. Are. You. Doing.” She ground out as his hand emerged, the tiny swallow clasped gently in his grip.

“I was just trying to help my love,” His treacherous grin gave him away. How she had ended up joined to this wretch was beyond her but she would never had chosen any different. He released the bird and, once it had flown a few feet away, magicked it back into a stone that dropped onto the earth with a dull thud. Eradyn felt his arms encircle her waist from behind and she settled into him as he sat them on the riverbank, being careful not to soil her skirts.

“Now tell me love, what word do you bring from the oracle?” He had gotten soft and serious now, she felt her love for him swell at her bosom as she gathered her thoughts.

“It is not all good news my love,” she began, finding another stone and tossing it gently into the river.

Plop.

“It is a time of prophecy,” plop, Eradyn’s eyes began to glow a soft blue as she spoke, “One arrives who is thrice-scorned, born to a family who is not her own. She will fight her way through life, and will know every pain. When she has grown into her gift she will be presented with a choice. Her choice will either end our way of life, or embolden it. Her path branches twice. First there will be misery and after is yet unknown.” Plop, Eradyn’s eyes faded slowly as she stopped speaking. She felt Tamzyn’s arms around her and used him to ground herself back into reality. He knew what she needed and he stroked her arms until she had relaxed fully.

“Well, we’ve heard much worse than that, that’s for sure,” He started, jokingly, in his low voice, “I mean, remember that time where she told us that if we joined, one of us would meet a horrible end?”

Eradyn giggled at the memory. A week after their joining Tamzyn had been in an accident with an oxen cart and she had been sure that was what the oracle had meant, but he had recovered, and here they were a decade later.

The both considered it as proof that the oracle wasn’t always right.

The old lady herself had told them that her prophecies were to be taken with a ‘grain of salt’, a human-ism that she had picked up in her travels. In fact, the only thing that wasn’t to be ‘taken with a grain of salt’ were her requirements for ceremonial garb, to Eradyn’s displeasure. She twitched the heavy pools of fabric beneath her in disgust.

Eradyn sighed and took comfort in the fact that Tamzyn had moved to curling a ringlet of her hair around his fingers, “I suppose we should let The Elders know.”

She wanted nothing more than to sit here with Tamzyn for the next century, happy and serene. But she knew better than that, if this prophecy could be swayed at all, they would need to do everything in their power to dissuade it. Sighing heavily once more, an act that caused Tamzyn to chuckle at her, Eradyn pushed herself off from the ground, relying heavily on him to push her the whole way up, and turned to face him, “I guess we better be on our way then, no sense in making them wait much longer.”

“What do you think the Elves will do once they hear this?” Tamzyn piped up from behind her as she turned to walk away.

“I really don’t know, my love, but it won’t be anything I agree with.” She dusted bits off grass from her behind and slapped at Tamzyn’s hands when they joined in, “get off me you brute!”