Chapter 4

Family, Friendship, and Magic? Hard PASS…

Isadora’s (May’s) POV

“That’s amazing,” I said, flipping back and forth through the pages of the diary. Each time I’d idle on a specific page, ink from an entry appeared, and when I moved to flip it, it vanished! Holy shit.

“You’ll be able to read that later. For now, let’s focus on the basics of magic,” Maisy said, bringing my attention back to her.

I watched as she crossed the room, filling a glass of water, before placing it on the table in front of me. I could feel the excitement growing within me. Was I really about to learn magic?!

…the answer to that question was no.

“I do not believe you have fully understood the parameters of this exercise,” Maisy said, with a sigh as she shook her head wearily.

“Please watch me again closely,” She said, as she proceeded to demonstrate the technique, yet again.

I watched her slowly raise her finger a few inches above the glass, take a shallow breath, and effortlessly force a faint blue glowing light out of her finger. Just like that, the water rippled ever so lightly. How can she make it look so easy?? 

Trying to focus, I raised a shaky hand above the glass. Envisioning the mana flowing through my body to my fingertips, then, like an idiot, I actually tapped the water, splashing half the glass on the table.

“I just can’t do this! It’s not going to work,” I said, sliding the glass away from me in frustration.

“How perfectly predictable, you give up as often as you eat,” Maisy commented, staring at me in disapproval.

I couldn’t say anything to her insult. I could only sit there, sulking. I knew I shouldn’t be giving up, but I didn’t know what to do. Using magic did not come naturally to me. It could just be my modern mind. I come from a place where magic doesn’t exist. This fucking concept is completely foreign to me.

It’s like someone telling you that Santa Claus was real, but the only way you could see him is if you believed hard enough. It’s the same thing, I simply can’t grasp the idea of being able to do this spectacular thing, so by default, it doesn’t work.

“Let’s try–” Maisy started, before we heard a commotion in the hall.

“How dare you try to bar me from entering?! You will pay for this insolence!” A voice yelled.

I looked at Maisy, her eyes were narrowed. Who the hell was that?

“Um, who–” I started to ask before Maisy quickly grabbed the glass of water, throwing its contents in my face.

“What the–?!” I said, taken by complete surprise. What was even more surprising was the burning flash of fire that burst from her hand directly in my face.

 “Ahh– my face! That burns!” I cried out, grabbing my aching face with my hands.

Maisy shoved me forcefully onto the bed and covered me up to my neck in blankets. I struggled to move, but she held me down.

“If you don’t want to be discovered, shut up and play dead,” Maisy whispered.

My fight-or-flight immediately kicked in. I clenched my eyes closed and went limp, pretending to be unconscious as the door burst open, smashing against the wall. I twitched a little, as beads of sweat trickled down my flushed face. It felt hot and itchy, but I understand now why Maisy did it. I’m sure I looked like a feverish, sweaty mess. A glass of water and flame magic? Maisy might actually be a genius,... or she’s done this before.

I felt Maisy’s weight shift off the edge of the bed. Her walking away from me somehow felt more terrifying.

“Greetings, Lady Claudia,” Maisy said.

There was no response. I could only hear the sound of shuffling, which I assume was Maisy being shoved out of the way by our aggressive guest… good, serves her right.

“Stop pretending to be asleep and get up,” A sharp voice cut through the air.

I didn’t move a muscle. Little does this woman know, I’m particularly good at playing dead, having had to trick my drunk of a mother a few times to avoid unwanted interactions. The room was quiet. I heard her huff in annoyance as she was met with my absolute silence and stillness.

After a moment of no response, I heard Claudia’s footsteps retreat. Maisy quietly started to explain that I wasn’t feeling well and had been in and out of consciousness for the past few days. I could hear Claudia scoff.

“She’d better be awake the next time I come,” She spat, stomping off. I flinched as I heard the violent sound of glass colliding with the floor, shattering to pieces, no doubt. Seriously, bitch?!

As soon as I heard the door close, I shot out of bed, throwing the blankets off my warmed body.

“What the fuck?!” Did you burn my face with fire?!” I asked frantically, patting at my aching face and checking my hands for blood.

“I used water first, it won’t scar,” Maisy replied simply, like it was nothing.

“That’s not the point, you psychopath! You could have just told me,” I retorted. Maisy went quiet for a moment before responding, her head tilted as if she was pondering something profound.

“That’s a fairly brave idea. Few would have dared to approach the matter with so little... forethought,” Maisy said, staring at me, her lips slightly curled upwards.

“Are you insulting me right now? Don’t think I don’t notice that little asshole thing you do,” I said, dropping my hands in my lap and glaring at her.

“Of course not, let’s move on, shall we?” Maisy said, flashing an innocent smile.

“Let’s move on, shall we? Fuck you,” I mocked, under my breath. I hate hate HATE her.

With all that had happened that afternoon, we opted to hold the magic training and pick it back up later. I sat crossed-legged on the bed waiting for Maisy to open the diary. One half of me was excited to see what the magical diary said, but the other half was skeptical that it was going to be some more grade school level shit.

“Does it matter where I start?” I asked, flipping through the pages.

“Not, particularly, somewhere near the end,” Maisy responded. I nodded and picked a random spot closer to the end of the diary.

Entry 1432

Tuesday, Sept 5th, 418

I found myself torn awake from the most wonderful dream. In my mother’s embrace, we lay on a soft, velvety patch of dark green Verdantian silent jade moss adorned with flowers of the most delicate sapphire-blue color. Her hug filled me with such warmth and light! She stroked my hair for hours, with fingers as soft as the finest silk one could source. Oh, how devastated I was to wake to the sound of Claudia’s banshee-like rantings coming from down the corridor. This place grows more hellish by the day.

(6 Weeks Before Last Entry)

“Hm, so Claudia’s always been like that,” I said, shaking my head.

“Like what?” Maisy asked, with an inquisitive face, looking over at me from her chair in the corner of the room.

“A crazy cunt,” I said simply.

She tried to hide it, but I saw Maisy’s brief smile as she walked over to the bedroom door and opened it. It was Anita with the dinner tray. Like always, she set the tray down, gave a curtsey, and high-tailed it out of the room.

“Great! All that failing at magic has simply drained all my energy. Maisy, would you be a dear and feed me?” I said with a British accent.

“The more I attempt to understand your humor, the more crass and distasteful I find you, and the more I fear for the success of our endeavor,” She said, crossing her arms and beginning to pace the room.

“Jesus, Maisy, we’re having dinner, can’t you lighten up?” I asked, frowning. She walked over to the window and looked out at the gardens before answering me.

“With the weight of our circumstances? No, I can’t,” She answered.

She didn’t say much else after that. We just sat in silence as I picked at my meal. She sure knew how to make things sound ominous. I looked up at the sound of a sudden knock. Who could that be? I watched Maisy walk over and open it, then immediately step into the hall. Leaving the door completely ajar. I leaned over in my chair, straining to hear the conversation.

She was talking to a MAN. He had a deep and raspy-sounding voice, ooooo, you better work, Maisy. I see you, girl. They were talking about some sort of garden restoration? I snapped back up as Maisy returned to the room, trying to look as unassuming as possible.  

“Ahem, who was that? He sounded attractive,” I said, trying to wink, but just ended up blinking awkwardly. Maisy paused and scrunched her face up with a look of repulsion before responding.

“Henry Dorran, is not attractive in the slightest. Never let those ridiculous words leave your lips again,” She said, shaking her head like she needed to cleanse her mind of the thought. I couldn’t help but laugh. This was probably the most human reaction I’d ever seen out of that statue.

“He said something about a garden being restored?” I asked, twirling my hair with my fingers.

“That’s correct. We are restoring the east wing pleasaunce to help you recover Isadora’s memories in the most familiar setting for her,”  Maisy explained.

“What all is there for me to recover?” I asked, letting out a small yawn. I was starting to get tired.

“ I will give you all the social tools you need to survive in this world as a young noble woman, and the knowledge to combat your enemies,” Maisy further explained. 

“At least until I come up with a solution to our ‘problem,’” She mumbled to herself. I just ignored her, that clearly wasn’t meant for me to hear.

I rolled over in my place on the large bed to see Shelby walk in with a silver tray. This had to be my favorite part of the day. I smiled at her as she handed me a warm mug of sweetened milk. I for sure would be busting my ass throughout the night, but hey, that was Maisy’s problem, not mine. I finished the drink in a few large gulps and handed her the mug back. With a sleepy smile, I rolled over and I’m fairly certain I started to snore.

Shelby walked over to Maisy’s form seated at the table. She had been in deep thought, her arms casually folded. Maisy looked up at her as Shelby placed another mug in front of her, before moving towards the door. The sweet smell of citrus and mint wafted from the cup. It was sunstone fennel tea.

“I never liked how perceptive you were,” Maisy mumbled, watching Shelby as she passed through the doorway, a small smile on her wrinkled face.

Maisy took a sip of the tea and sighed before looking over at that snoring ingrate. Their situation couldn’t have been better designed for failure if Beatrice had done it herself. With a labored huff, Maisy stood up and walked toward her, hand glowing blue. It was time for the first memory transfer.

I could hear a distinct, solitary plunk sound, punctuated by brief silence. I opened my eyes,... it was dark. So dark, I could barely make out the cool, almost moonlit ripples of water surrounding me. Where was I? What was happ–

FLOW:

I gasped as I was pulled underwater by a violent rush of motion. It felt like I’d been dragged into a vortex that was sucking the life out of my body. My head was spinning and I couldn’t breathe, just as I felt myself start to lose consciousness, I was poured into this brightly lit meadow landing on the grass with a thud:

The sun's warm rays graced the large flowering meadow below, where Isaac, Ophelia, and young Isadora Alistair had decided to picnic for the afternoon. They sat atop a massive blanket bearing the rich, deep cobalt blue of House Alistair, accented with crisp white and shimmering silver threads.

Their expertly catered meal was an understated feast, with clusters of sliced fruit, delicate pastries, and tiny, savory sandwiches arranged on tiered silver trays around the edge of the blanket. A young, three-year-old Isadora, sat between her parents, struggling with a fruit slice. Her bright, round hazel eyes narrowed in focus. Ophelia let out a small laugh at her toddler’s hyper focus and attempted to fix Isadora’s crooked golden hair clip that had become tangled in the child’s cascading pigtails.

Ophelia’s own platinum silver hair tumbled over her shoulders as she leaned forward. She had a thin and delicately crafted gold chain, with a rounded piece of jade hanging as a pendant in the center. Her hazel eyes, soft with love, focused on her child, she placed the necklace around Isadora’s small neck then kissed her forehead sweetly.

Turning to Issac, Ophelia then met his own lips with a kiss, which he happily accepted. His greyish-silver hair was pushed back from his forehead, and his dark amber eyes, usually serious, were warm and alight with happiness. They both settled back, gazing down at Isadora, a toothy grin on her face.

Then, with a sharp abruptness, the light that graced the meadow suddenly started to fade. The brilliant sun was instantly swallowed by a deep, dark purple colored stain spreading across the sky. The figures of the Alistair family sat frozen—their limbs locked, their gentle smiles blurring into distant, indistinct shapes. That moment of joy, completely destroyed by an ominous warning.

EXPEL:

Suddenly, I heard a low, ominous rumble. I could faintly feel the ground starting to vibrate. Am I the only one who hears this? I jumped as I felt moisture on my feet. W-water?! The meadow was filling with water. 

I tried to run, but I felt like my body wasn’t taking me anywhere. That’s when I saw it, a massive wave of water rushing toward me. Swallowing everything in the meadow up in its mighty path. I covered my head with my arms, hoping for some sort of protection as the violent wave towered above me. I clenched my eyes shut as the savage force collided with my body, sweeping me away with swift, chaotic, unpredictable motion. Just as I felt my lungs fill with water–

---------------

I sprang up out of bed, gasping for air. My trembling hands clenched my chest tightly. I hadn’t realized it, but warm tears flowed slowly down my face. What was this?!

“What did you see?” Maisy asked seriously, sitting in a chair beside the bed. I could feel the anger building up in my body.

“I felt like I-I was drowning, I felt my lungs fill with water. I couldn’t breathe. Did you know this was going to happen to me?!” I asked, shaking from the trauma of dying again in my dream.

“No, it’s different for everyone,” Maisy started, before pausing. She lifted her hand and hesitated before placing it on my shoulder.

“I assure you, I did not intend to make you relive the loss of life, but in order for you to survive in this world, you need these memories. Otherwise, you will die.. I-I am trying to help you live,” Maisy said seriously, speaking slowly as if searching for the right words. I sat quietly for a long moment, before letting out a sigh.

“Will this happen every time?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, it may get easier,” She replied, standing up from her chair to hand me a glass of water.

I instantly shook my head and crawled out of bed. I don’t think I’ll be able to stomach drinking anything right now. Will I really have to go through this again? I bit down on my lip, I wasn’t sure if I could handle something like that again. It was just a dream, but it felt so real…