When Magic Flows

DETERMINED

Alistair POV

I woke up this morning decided to move forward and invite Allegra for dinner and a movie. I have been listening to that 80’s songs that she mentioned in that coffee shop and they got into my brain as Allegra did before. 

I was joyful this morning when I left my room, and I was singing out of tune, but I really didn’t care at all. Life was good and I had a plan. When I got to the first floor for breakfast, I found my mom and dad already eating.

“Good morning, son. You seem very happy this morning. Is there any reason why you’re spreading joy like this?” My dad teased me. 

“Honey, would you like some bacon, eggs, and toast?” My mom asked me.

I decided to ignore my dad and just respond to my mom: “Sure thing, mom. This would be nice. I am really hungry.”

“Fine, just ignore your old man and keep him curious for the rest of the day, nobody cares anyway, right?” He insisted.

“Is all this joy because of a girl, Alis?” My mom asked me. Seeing those expectant eyes looking at me convinced me to tell them the truth. Damn. 

“Fine! This is all about a girl. Maybe I have found her.”

“You mean your life partner? Oh, my baby boy! I’m so happy for you!”

“Mom stop calling me baby. I’m a grown-up man, my goodness! I hope you don’t call me your baby when I introduce her.” I started to complain.

“Oh, relax, son. I’m just so excited! When will you introduce her to our family?” 

“Calm down, Mrs. Wardwell, okay? It’s not the right time yet. We are getting to know each other. It’s too soon. Don’t start planning on your grandchildren yet, right?”

She started to back down: “Fine, I’ll calm down. What is important is that you are happy, right?”

“Yeah, I am happy, and please, just know that when I’m ready I’ll tell you who she is.” There was no way in hell that I would tell them now that I was inviting Allegra Scott, the future leader, for dinner and a movie. 

Thirty minutes later I left home towards the training center, with high expectations and with all my speech memorized for when I meet her. I waited on my truck for a while, because I was expecting to ask her out before the whole training, but she never appeared. I started to get worried as the minutes passed by. After our first class, I’ve got uneasy about not seeing her. I wondered if something serious happened to her or her family. 

By lunchtime, I left the training center and drove to her home. I parked the car close to the snowy garden and knocked on her door. Her dad, Edward Scott, opened the door and looked curiously to me.

“Hi, Mr. Scott. I’m Alistair…”

“Ah, the Wardwell boy, one of the new lieutenants, right?” He recognized me from the Power Flow ceremony.

“Yeah, that’s right,” I responded to him. “Is Allegra home? She didn’t appear at the training center and I got worried.”

“Oh, boy!” he murmured. “Allegra and her mom had a discussion this morning about a decision the council has taken a few days ago. This decision involves Allegra’s personal life, and for the way she stormed through the front door, she was beyond mad at her mom.”

“May I ask you what kind of decision was that, sir?”

“Well, why not, right? It will be out in the open soon, anyway. Here is the thing: Since she didn’t choose a life partner until now, the council decided to promote a contest over her hand. Any suitable warlock could enter the contest and if he is skilled enough and wins, he will be Allegra’s life partner.”

No wonder she was so angry. Choosing your life partner was personal and a serious deal. You must choose carefully because once united, if separated you would be weaker. If she was just a regular coven witch this would already be complex enough, but they were talking about our future leader, for crying out loud!

“I wouldn’t expect less from her. Would you act differently if it were you?” I asked him.

“No, I don’t think so,” he admitted to me. “But come in. Let’s wait a little bit for her. Would you like to sit a little while and have lunch with us?”

This invite had the potential of being full of awkward moments, but what the hell? I hang out for a while waiting for her to come home and talking to her dad.

“Maybe the reason why you are here is that you feel something for her, and since I know my kid, she probably gave you an opening or any kind of incentive, right?”

He cornered me with these questions, and I couldn’t hide it from him. “I had a plan, but I was taking it slow. The news about the contest changed all the perspective I had, doesn’t it? Maybe I’m running out of time now.”

“May I give you a little advice, son?” He asked me.

“Sure!” I responded to him. I would take any piece of advice he would give me, especially if it was about his daughter.

“Let her know how you feel about it, alright? She is a witch, but she has no crystal ball. You must let her know about your feelings. Hang out with her, but at the right time, tell her how you feel, and don’t take too long waiting for the perfect time, right?”

Well, I was expecting something more specific, but I was thankful for this piece of advice, anyway. “Thank you, sir. I will tell her, as soon as it is possible when it would not scare her.”

He laughed at me and said: “Good luck son.”

I stayed for lunch and it was less awkward then I thought. It turned out that the leader Lilian was the perfect host and leader Amaya, her mother made me feel at home as soon as I sat down for lunch with them. Even Joanna, Allegra’s little sister, was really nice, although she was a little shy.

I stood there almost half of the afternoon, and then finally I heard someone screaming outside the house: “She’s here, Mrs. Scott! Allegra returned!”

Allegra’s whole family stood up and came out of the house. They all started talking at the same time, examining her and demanding information about where she was. 

As I’ve seen that I wouldn’t have the opportunity to talk to her right now, I gave up and excused me at the first opportunity I had. She seemed a little confused when she saw me and before she had the opportunity to ask what was I doing there, I told her: “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, ok?”

She responded: “Yeah, no problem. Thanks for worrying and stopping by.” I waved goodbye and left for my truck.

This day definitely was not what I intended when I woke up this morning. I was not able to invite Allegra for a second date, but I could see that her folks were nice people, and I would practice her dad’s advice at the first opportunity. But now maybe I should practice some spells and get fully prepared to win her heart.