Casters

Chapter 12

"Ma? How did you..." Grace stuttered.

"Luna, what did I tell you about waiting for my signal?"

Everyone looked at her, except Charlotte. She was eyeing the beautiful horizon. Think of happy thoughts... she thought.

"Oracle Minerva, is that you?" Grace asked. Christen nodded and said, "Shall we continue our discussions inside as Annalise makes us a cup of tea?"

The ladies nodded and fixed themselves. "Is that the pretty lady that you meant earlier?" Bridget asked Matilda. The girl nodded. "So, you spoke to the oracle! Charlotte was in the Celestial Kingdom?" Bridget asked. Matilda looked at her, dumbfounded, "Celestial kingdom?"

"Charlotte, dear, let's go inside," Minerva said, touching her shoulder, "and bring the humans, too."

Grace looked at Steven and Fred. "Sheena, why did you bring these humans here?"

"They broke my spell," Matilda answered, standing up. "Spell?" Annalise asked in confusion. "What spell?"

"I stopped time," she said. The aunts stared at her in confusion. "How could you possibly do that? No caster has ever done that."

"That's why we brought them here," Sheena answered, "Bridget has Steven's necklace. The amethyst crystal on his necklace was glowing. We'll give it to you later. Also," she continued, "Steven and Fred were able to break through the spell. They even went with us through wherever Charlotte brought us."

"Ladies, time is running," Minerva said. Everyone went inside and sat by the living room. "I'll go get some tea," Annalise said.

"Charlotte," Minerva started to speak, "what you did, using your powers against your own family, was not right." Charlotte nodded. "On another note, I do feel quite uncomfortable in this design," Minerva commented, referring to the home. "Would you like to reveal the true form of the home?"

Grace nodded. She faced the stairs, arms out wide, and whispered, "revelare."

The home suddenly shook, changing into its natural form. The humans couldn't believe what they were seeing. The plain curtains suddenly turned into lavish silk, paintings started to move, it felt like everything was magic and royalty. The insides of the home stretched twice its original size, too. Steven dropped his jaw in awe.

"So," Fred asked, "are you like those Harry Potter characters?" Sheena laughed. "No, we are far from them."

"Wait, hold on." Blake interrupted, "are we sure we should reveal to these humans the realm of magic?"

"Of course," Minerva said. "They are being used by our kind without their knowledge."

"I brought some tea," Annalise said, bringing a tray of Jasmine tea.

"Christen always loved your tea," Minerva smiled.

"And what do you mean we are being used?" Fred asked.

"Let's explain one by one," Minerva said as she put her cup down.

"Humans and animals are not the only living creatures of the world," Minerva started. "Ever since the Earth's creation, the realms have always been peaceful and balanced. Magic is one of those realms; the human race is, too. There are also the wielders, the shapeshifters, and even unseen creatures. The people who were bestowed with the gifts of power by the Celestials are known as Casters."

"So," Charlotte interrupted, finally speaking up, "we are not witches? We are called "casters"?"

"Yes, we are casters. We were only called witches by the townsfolk who do not believe in magic and sees them as the evil lurking in this world." Aunt Grace said.

"I did not ask you," Charlotte whispered. She couldn't believe this. She spent her whole life in Gatlin living a normal life with them, being hidden in the shadows from her own identity.

"The Casters live in the magic realm, and humans do not know of its existence. Before being born into this world, Celestials get to choose whom they gift and if they deserve the gift," Minerva continued.

"Celestials?" Fred asked.

"They are the highest figures among all the living creatures. Humans call them the gods and goddesses," she answered. "We are also, in your terms, the 'government' or the 'council' of the magic realm. Of each power, there is someone who leads. Blake's power, for instance, was gifted to him by the god of the sun. Sheena was chosen by the god of the sea. Bridget, on the other hand, was chosen by the goddess of air. In each element, there is a Celestial that leads them. I am one of them, the highest among them all- the Oracle. There are different elements; hence, there are different celestials.

"Centuries ago, the Celestials decided to let Luna, the Moon goddess, take her seat among the Celestials. As it was Luna's first time, she chose Gideon, who the casters know now as the evilest dark caster in the history of Magic."

"Wait, there is a dark caster, but not evil?" Steven asked. Minerva nodded, "not all darkness symbolizes the negativity and hatred as the human realm taught you."

"Gideon has always been hated by many casters. He was also abandoned as a young child when his family realized his powers were unusual. For many years, casters thought he was just a dark caster when in fact, he is not.

"We, Celestials, never knew how strong the power of the moon is," Minerva cleared her throat, "Even I, as an Oracle, could think Luna could surpass my own gifts."

"Are you implying that Gideon was never a dark caster?" Grace asked. Minerva nodded, "he was the first caster to wield the powers of the moon."

Everyone was silent. "No wonder no one could have possibly defeated him," Fred said, "no one knew how the powers of the moon worked."

"Indeed, human. You catch on quick," Minerva complimented. Fred's cheeks blushed, "why, thank you, your highness."

"Oh, no need to call me that. You and your good friend may call me Minerva," she smiled.

"That is why he was able to live for more than a hundred years," Bridget said, "he knew the power's secrets."

"He trained well," Sheena agreed.

"But why not let another caster be claimed by the moon element again?" Steven asked.

Minerva sighed. "It was our fault. The Celestials decided to ban the moon goddess from bestowing her gifts upon casters of the magic realm after everything that happened."

"What happened?" Steven asked.

"Gideon thought that living in balance with the different realms is not fair for someone as extraordinary as the casters. For long, he has shared his thought with his kind, but no one listened.

He then created a plan, and that is to expose the magic realm to the world. He sacrificed many lives, multiple families, he wanted every caster to accept the purpose of his goal."

"He felt like living in balance with other realms made the casters look weak," Annalise said, "he wanted to rule the world."

Minerva nodded, "as he exposed and sacrificed each family, the humans caught on. That is why the historical witch trials came to exist."

"Humans really are the worst," Fred said, sipping his tea.

"Even though witch trials ended, caster battles never did. Many tried to stop him, but no one could, unfortunately. Aiden was able to contain his spirit in an Amethyst crystal and locked him up in Mines de Bruoux."

"That is where my grandfather used to work," Steven whispered. Bridget looked at him and took out the necklace, "is this the crystal?"

Minerva shrugged, "I could sense the presence, but that is not the whole crystal."

"No wonder why Charlotte's necklace lit up at Steven's home," Matilda said.

"What!" Grace exclaimed. "You found the necklace?"

"I already erased their memories, yes," Matilda said. Grace sighed in relief.

"My grandfather gave that necklace to me," Steven said, "he said that a fellow miner gave it to him. When he refused to accept, the miner suddenly vanished."

"Yes, one of Gideon's followers," Minerva said. "I may be the oracle, but I could never interfere too much with the humans. I only limit myself to what I could tell you today."

Suddenly, Charlotte's eyes lit up. "Charlotte still needs to be claimed by the moon to become stronger."

"Ah, Luna. You have finally shown up," Minerva said, crossing her arms. "How dare you teach the young one to wield her powers against her own family."

"I do apologize. I meant no harm," she said, bowing to everyone. "I am Luna. I may be known as Selene, but I would like to be called Luna for now."

"Grace,"

Grace looked at the oracle, "Yes?"

"I know you have always thought about other ways despite the prophecies I have sent," Minerva smiled, "but from now on, you need to do as it says."

Luna stood up and said, "On her 18th birthday, we shall finally claim her. The oracle and I have bestowed our most powerful gifts upon Charlotte. We may not interfere, but we could do what we can."

She turned to Steven, "she has a mission for her kind. Do not distract her." He gulped and nodded.

"Why Charlotte?" Steven asked. Minerva sipped her tea and cleared her throat.

"Luna chose her to finally end this historical curse. Gideon has cast a spell upon himself that he could live for eternity while using the vessel of another living creature. However, we thought this all ended when Aiden has finally contained him. We found out that Gideon's followers soon grew. They created the 'Elemental Posse' and called themselves the Shadowwalkers. When we realized that these casters would soon destroy the balance within realms, we had to make a sacrifice."

Charlotte closed her eyes and asked, "Am I really cursed? Am I a sacrificial lamb?"

Everyone was silent. She knew they were telling the truth.

"Being chosen isn't cursed," Minerva explained. "You were chosen because you are the strongest."

"How could I be the strongest when my own family lied to me?" She exclaimed.

"Charlotte!" Blake called out, "we told you we will explain everything."

Grace sighed and looked at Minerva. She nodded and motioned for her to speak.

"When you were young, your parents never died because of the fire you left burning," Grace started to explain.

Charlotte's heart beat faster. "What do you mean?"

"Gideon's followers knew about the prophecy and wanted to end the life of the moon caster, the chosen one. The shadowwalkers battled your parents, but they were never the reason why they died.

"As soon as you saw the battle, you wanted to help. You cast spells you couldn't control, no one could stop you, not even Lily." Grace sniffed and wiped her tears.

"Are you saying I killed my own family because I couldn't control the powers I had?" Charlotte whispered. Grace looked at her and said, "you were powerful, even as a young one."

Charlotte felt numb. She didn't know what to feel. "You took away my memories, locked my powers," she whispered, "and continued to lie?!"

"We had to do what we can, C!" Blake exclaimed. Charlotte's eyes lit up again. "You! You decided to run away from me because I was too much, didn't you!"

"Enough!" Minerva said, her voice echoing through the house.

"We had to protect you, not from yourself, but from the shadowwalkers, so they couldn't recognize you!" Grace sobbed.

"The battle on the field with the lady and two men," Charlotte asked, "it wasn't a dream?"

Matilda shook her head, "it was real."

Charlotte sat down on the sofa. She felt like her whole world was shattered, thinking everything around her was a lie.

"You," she said pointing at Matilda, "you're speaking to animals?" She then turned to everyone, "the necklace and the bracelet? all of this?"

"The Golden Sun is mine," Minerva said, "the ones I chose wear my necklace."

Charlotte broke down. "This is all too much."

"How did Matilda stop time?" Annalise asked, remembering the incident.

"The Celestials has finally welcomed Kairos, Aion, and Chronos to the kingdom. They all chose Matilda for their gift," Minerva smiled. Matilda's eyes beamed, "Wow! Really?"

"Matilda, dear, please do use it wisely. We wouldn't want another war to occur." Minerva said with a worried smile. Matilda nodded.

"What about them?" Blake said, pointing to the humans.

"They are already in the plans of the Elemental Posse. We could no longer hide our realm from them," Minerva stood up and floated towards the boys. "You will promise to never expose nor use nor hurt the mortals of the magic realm."

Steven and Fred nodded in fear and held her hand in agreement without hesitation.

"I shall take my leave," Minerva said. She headed to climb up the stairs and went inside Christen's room.

"I need some rest," Charlotte said. She went upstairs and closed the door.

"Let's give her some time," Blake sighed.

Annalise stood up and went to the kitchen, "Would the boys like to eat? Anyone?"