When Magic Flows

A PROMISE

As my dad took my hand from Alistair’s, he tried to evaluate him from what he saw in this brief moment. 

“Should I ask you something about this Wardwell fellow, sweetheart? Did you see him as a suitable candidate for your heart?”

Oh no. Couldn’t he just let it go? Yeah, maybe no. So, I said: “I don’t’ know, dad.” I told him. “In the beginning, I didn’t like him. He was so pompous and so full of himself… But tonight, he seemed to be more relaxed around me and I could see another side of him. Maybe we’re going on a date, I don’t know, but it was nice to meet this side of him. Who knows, right?”

“Yes, you are probably right. You must know that the Wardwell family is one of the most influential groups in our coven. Not that this should hold any influence over you, but, still, they could be a little intense.”

“Yeah, dad. Thanks for the advice.” I murmured. 

“So, in the interest of changing the subject that started to make you a little uncomfortable, you look beautiful, sweetheart! I haven’t had the opportunity to see you back at home, but you look like a queen, darling!”

“You are not so bad either, dad,” I told him and he smiled back at me.

“But I wanted to ask you: How are you dealing with this emotions rollercoaster, kid? I mean, first, your birthday. Last night you were presented as the coven’s new leader. Tonight, the Yule ball. I know that it is because you are my little baby, but I am worried that with all that is happening in your life you will not have time to be yourself.” He told me. 

Honestly, I was still absorbing everything that happened to me in the last forty-eight hours. I knew that this would be a huge responsibility, but I decided to not plan too much ahead and suffer twice. So, I told him: “I’m still processing everything, dad, and I know I’ll have my family’s help in hard times, and I believe that I will ask for it every single day when I’m a leader.” I laughed. 

He laughed too. “You can always count on us, sweetheart. I remember that your mom was like this when she started her training.” He told me dreamily. I think that he has been transported to another time. I wish they would share more information like this, but at least they wouldn’t give me many details. My mom always told me that she reserved those stories for the right moment. I was curious about them, so I hope that she wouldn’t keep them to herself for so long. 

“Do you miss that time, dad?” I asked him

“I will keep those moments in my heart forever, sweetie, but I like to believe that we are living the best time of our lives in the present. I intend to keep a lot of precious moments in my heart, including this very one. But I still want to see you and your sister getting married, having my grandchildren…” He started to dream again. 

“Hold on a little bit, dad. Too soon, ok?” I told him starting to get uncomfortable again. We barely were clear from Alistair's subject and he started talking about babies?

He started laughing: “Calm down, honey. I was just messing with you. Don’t worry.” 

“Please, don’t even play with something like this, dad,” I told him, relieved.

“Well, now that this dance is almost over, I don’t know if I can steal a little more of your time or if this charming young man who is coming to our direction is going to take my little baby from me.”

“Please, please, please, don’t talk about little babies around other people! I plead.”

“Making you crazy never gets old, kiddo. Now I’m giving you to this fellow and getting away from here. Good luck.” He told me and left me to the next guy that asked me to dance.

“Nicholas Graves. Nice to meet you.”

“Allegra Scott. Nice to meet you too.” I told him absently.

And then, as the lights danced and landed on his face, I could see him completely. He was tall and strong, with the most beautiful face I have ever seen, and I was enchanted instantly. Although he did not give me an age, I could bet he was in his 20’s. He has a dark, curly hair that seemed so soft that I had to hold me to not touch it because I barely knew him. This would be definitely inappropriate. He also had baby blue eyes and a shining and charmful smile that genuinely touched his eyes. He seemed sincere, but a little nervous, as if it was his goal to meet me tonight. I was a goner at that very minute.

“Would you like to dance with me?” He asked me, and I could see that I had an effect on him too. 

“Of course.” I murmured shakily.

He touched my hands and I am not sure if he felt it, but I could feel the sparks and I know that I shivered when our hands connected. And then he led me through the dancefloor so swiftly as if it was a daily chore for him. He was completely comfortable with dancing and I wondered who taught him this skill.

“Ms. Scott, I was looking for the right moment to introduce myself and get to know you better. I have to confess that I have never seen a coven leader rise before so I was curious about how you would be, and so far I could see a strong young woman learning how to deal with this situation, and I have to say: so far, you’re doing great. Congratulations!”

“Well, thank you, Mr. Graves. Did you get all those impressions just by observing me in the last couple of days?” I had to ask him. He was an observer, and this normally would make me a little uncomfortable, but not with him. The way he looked at me was an incentive to be bold and fearless towards him. 

“I have to say that I’ve been observing you for a little while now, not just from last night. I was hoping that you would, at least, shed some of your light over me. It’s been a while since the wizards are talking about a star align that would generate an extremely powerful coven leader. She would be compassionate enough to help those who needed the guidance of light. I really hope that this one is you, but I believe that we need to wait to find out.” He told me with a small smile on his face. I could not read his intentions, and this made me intrigued, but not scared.

“I don’t know about these wizards’ talks, but I definitely intend to be a compassionate leader. As I told last night, I intend to treat the coven as my family to cherish, love, and stand by.”

“This is good. Just promise me that you will always have this light in your heart, and you will never hear the voice of the darkness that tempts us all the time. Will you?”

 I started to wonder when did this conversation became so serious and then I answered to him: “I hope that the darkness never tempts me, but I will always try to stay steady in the light as long as I exist.” I told him this, not because he wanted me to promise to do such a thing, but because I intended to do that all a while. “But you’re not telling me a lot about you, sir. Why do you want me to be so firm in the light magic? Thinking about it now, I don’t remember seeing you around our coven. Are you a visitor in this ball?” I started to get slightly suspicious of all of this. 

“I will tell you what you need to know now, but not here. Do you mind if we take a walk in the gardens?” he asked me, standing his hand. I did not notice before, but he had led us to the corner of the dancefloor, and this could be a discreet place to leave the ballroom without being noticed.

Since to be able to get in the ball his intentions were measured as good, I did not see any problems and accepted his offer: “Fine, but we are not going further than the gardens, ok?”

“Of course, I would take any time that you may offer to me, anyway.” He told me smiling and I was getting addicted to that smile. This had a dangerous potential.

So, he led me through the balcony doors to a beautiful garden. Although you could not see flowers around because of the winter, there were beautiful lights here and there that turned the surroundings magical. It was a romantic scenario and I could see some couples here and there enjoying a more private environment.

There was a bench in the gazebo ahead and he led me there, where no curious invitee would eavesdrop our conversation. And then he started to tell me his story.