When Magic Flows

THE RIGHT WORDS

Allegra POV

I spent the whole day with Nicholas, missing my training and avoiding my family, and honestly, I did not care about anything at that moment. I was so upset about the council and their decision that I decided that they could afford a day without me. And for sure Nicholas saved my day. Not just because of the kisses, but for the good company on a cold day, good conversation, and (who would think!) also, good food. This kid could cook!

I wish that this day could last forever. I needed a day off like that, with no worries and leaving aside the fact that I would be the coven leader soon. As every minute passed, I could feel that my connection with him was getting stronger. I felt a pull towards him, and I bet that I could see the same happening to him. 

As I walked back home, I just could think about the feelings in my heart. I was getting even closer to him and I wanted more, but rationally I knew that this would not be easy. My family would hardly accept him as he was, and I knew that a grey warlock, son of a dark wizard, would worry the hell of my parents, so I knew that if I decided for him, I would add another challenge to my plate. But back in that moment, I didn’t care. 

I had not even arrived at home yet and someone was already screaming to the people inside it that I was there. Great. I let them worry about my whereabouts the whole day. I would never hear the end of this for sure. I looked at my phone and there were like a hundred calls and messages from my parents, sister, Sybil, and even Alistair. I decided to sort them later because this conversation would be tense enough. 

When I stepped on the first step of the entrance, I saw my mom, dad, sister, and grandma coming outside to cover me with complaints and examining my wellbeing, but what I could notice after was Alistair following them. What the hell was he doing here? He wouldn’t use the ‘homework excuse’ to look for me at home. Would he?

“Allegra Elizabeth Scott, where have you been the whole day?” My mom started.

“Calm down, Lilian,” my grandma scolded her. “Let my granddaughter breath. You, child, come in to warm yourself up. I’ll make you a cup of tea and you can explain what happened today, alright?” They pulled me inside and took off my coat. My grandma started the fire in the stove for the tea. Everybody was talking so loud at me and at the same time. I was so confused, and I could not understand a single thing they were saying. Seeing me this way, my dad came to my rescue. 

“Everybody, calm down now, okay? Allegra, darling, where were you today?”

I hesitated a little bit because at that moment I saw Alistair’s eyes on me. Although it was nice to see him again, I wasn’t comfortable sharing the reason I discussed it with my mom this morning. Sensing my uneasy, he excused himself:

“Allegra, I see you are okay now, and your family is… well, willing to know what happened, so I will leave. I think I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, no problem. Thanks for worrying and stopping by.” I told him. I liked him, but I knew that this discussion wouldn’t be easy, and I didn’t have a big explanation without involving Nicholas. This would already be difficult without him, so I was grateful that he got the whole situation and decided to leave.

After he left the room, I turned to look at my family. Although they were looking worried, I was still mad at them for allowing this contest over my hand, especially my mom.   

“Well…?” My mom started, “Aren’t you going to tell us where you have been the whole day?” She was also mad, but it wasn’t her life that she was about to auction to the most skilled candidate that enrolled his name in this ridiculous competition.

“I took the day off and went to the forest to try and calm myself down over this madness you are preparing for me. I did not want to talk to anybody, so I turned my phone off. If you don’t mind, you throw me a real bomb today and I am still processing everything, okay?”

At least she seemed a little guilty. Good.

My complaint left my mom wordless, and I could see her opening and closing her mouth several times, so my dad came to her rescue: “Baby girl, please calm down. Haven’t you thought that if your mom brought you this kind of notice from the council she hadn’t exhausted all other possibilities?” He tried to reason. Since he was talking to me instead of scolding me, I decided to listen to what he had to say.

I took a deep breath and tried to not start another fight: “Well, dad, that was harsh,” I started. “A few weeks ago, during my Power Flow, everyone here in this room swore to help me and support me whatever it takes, but now, just because of a bunch of old witches and warlocks you are willing to throw me at the lion’s den! Can you at least understand why I feel betrayed after my conversation with mom this morning?”

My mom was willing to respond to my statement, but my dad put a hand on her shoulders and told the others: “Maybe I am the most suitable person at the moment to talk to Allegra. Would you guys mind be leaving us alone for a while?”

“Not at all,” my grandma murmured. “Come on, Lilian and Joanna. It’s time for a father-daughter talk.”

“But I’m a daughter too!” My sister complained, curious.

Everybody laughed at her, but she did not find that funny, so my dad simply told her: “I’ll have a father-daughter talk with you later. How about that? We could have a little chat about those grades of yours. How does that sound?”

She rushed from the room, following my mom and grandma and screaming “Wait for me!”. As they left the room, my dad took me to the kitchen, grabbed me a cup of tea, and led me to his office.

I was comfortable here. This place was part of my childhood and I had so many memories from here. Most of them were about my dad comfort me for an injured knee or a broken toy, but they all recalled me of my dad as my safe harbor. I looked around and found that this room hasn’t changed a bit since I was a kid, and as long as this office was his, it wouldn’t change at all. He sat down on his chair and I sat in my favorite visitor chair on the other side of his desk. I faced him and waited for what he had to say.

“First of all, baby girl, I have to ask you to not ignore the support your family offers you. Please, be careful with your words. I know that you have a point, and I admit it. Let’s just work around this problem, okay? But you could hurt your mom and all that we want is for you to be a successful leader, and success involves your happiness.” He let me speechless. I know that they all loved me and want what was best for me. And then he continued: “And in second place, you have to put things on perspective. I know you were still a toddler when your grandpa passed away, but did you know that he became Amaya’s life partner due to a contest like the one you say we are trying to throw at you?”

I was completely in shock. “What? You are trying to tell me that Grandpa James was a suitor on a contest over grandma’s hand? How could that had worked for them?” I had to admit that curiosity was taking over my anger at that moment.

“You have to get her word about the whole story. When I married your mom they were happily married for several years already, but what you cannot remember is that they were meant to be, and it did not matter if they came together because of a contest or because of the circumstances. Fate united them, kiddo. And above everything, they were a reference for me and your mother at the beginning of our married path.”

I could not remember a lot from that time when grandma lost gramps, because I was just a toddler. What I could recall from that time was that one day my grandpa was at home and the other my family was receiving a sad notice. My grandma would never be the same. Back in that day, she lost her other half, and if this was a hard strike for anyone, for a witch meant to lose not just the love of her life, but part of her powers too.

He continued: “What I want to tell you with this piece of information is that you have to trust in fate, Allie. If you are meant to be with someone, it doesn’t really matter how are you going to meet him or how you get to your happily ever after. Do you get me?” He finally asked me.

“Yeah, I do. So, what do you suggest me to do, dad?”

“I suggest you two things: first, make amends with your mom. She was just giving you the news. This is not 100% her decision, so it's not worth to hurt each other because of a collective decision, do you understand me?”

“I do. What is the second thing?”

“Well, I suggest you enjoy the whole situation, and get the best of it, after all, you will be disputed by a selection of young men. How could this be a bad thing? You will have the opportunity to get to know them and find out which characteristics you would like to find in your life partner.”

“But Dad, what if they are all after a position by my side, or my powers, or my magical resources?” I just thought about the crystal token that concentrates my ancestors’ powers or the access to the oracle.

“Then let fate get rid of them. Trust on that: in the end, everything gets settled as things should be. Have a little faith, kiddo. Besides, this contest is not happening tomorrow. You will have plenty of time to get to the best result possible.”

This conversation turned out better than I could have expected, and I felt way better than when I left home this morning. Maybe things wouldn’t be that bad after all, and since I was divided and unsettled, this could be extra help to find the chosen one. It seemed that my dad helped to lift a heavyweight from my chest. 

Then I told him: “Thanks for the perspective, dad. I think I will make the best of this whole situation. I really appreciate it.”

He smiled at me and slightly changed the subject: “You are welcome, kid. Besides, you are not the first person I advised today. That friend of yours, the Wardwell boy,”

“Alistair,” I corrected him.

“Yes, Alistair. He came here looking for you, honey. He seems to like you a lot, kiddo.” He looked at me expectantly. 

“Yeah, he is a nice guy and we had fun on our date.” I gave him this piece of information.

“It seems that he came here looking for you earlier today.” A small smile spread through his face. “I gave him one or two pieces of advice about girls. Apparently, he is looking for the right occasion for a second date, so get prepared.”

 I got a little embarrassed, but after all, we were discussing my love life for the whole duration of the conversation, right? But my dad saw me fidgeting in the chair and decided to end our talk.

“Fine, let’s just call your mom and clear the air about this matter. We have time to discuss Alistair or any other young man in the future.” We stood up and he gave me one of his special hugs. I could have a little patience and faith that everything would be as it was meant to be. 

When we found my mom, I hugged her and told her that I was sorry about the way I had run from home that morning and interrupted our conversation. 

She looked at my dad as if he had performed a complex spell, and she asked: “How did you do it?”

He simply told her: “All that she needed was someone to listen to her and tell her the right words,” then he blinked at me. 

I made a final mental note to ask my grandma how she made it work. This would be an interesting conversation.