Embers

Amber

We drove there. Wherever 'there' was, I couldn't really say as I didn't know myself. But anyway, we drove, which I found rather odd. I don't know why, I guess I just assumed we would take a magical unicorn or something crazy. I know they don't exist, but until yesterday I didn't even know 'others' existed. I guess I'm just not cutting out any options anymore, this girl is full of surprises after all.

We arrived to a huge mountain. I was in the back seat with heavily tinted windows. I felt as though I was in some sort of spy movie, she didn't want me to know where we were going. I don't know how but we were all of the sudden in the huge mountain. And it was not like the inside of any mountain I had ever seen before. It looked like a school. Everything was made from this weird material that looked like stainless steel. I mean everything, the ceiling, the floors, the walls, the doors. The doors, there were so many but the entire place was so empty. It wasn't as high ceiling as I thought it would be. It was as high as any house. We got out the car straight away and walked these steel halls.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Home, I guess," Adeline's whole mysterious girl routine seemed to falter. I guess now that she had me, she no longer had to win me over.
I followed her through a door. Inside was a bedroom. It was very Indi styled, with feather dream catchers and cute little jars that looked as though they were filled with herbs.

"This is Colette's room," Adeline looked around, "she should be here. She's my sister by the way."
Suddenly a door at the back of the room, a bathroom from what I could see, opened and someone walked out. She had pitch black hair that was perfectly straight. She had the same brown eyes as Adeline and similar pale skin complexion.

"Adi," the girl whispered in shock.

"Colette!" Adeline beamed and hugged her sister. I was honestly just as shocked as Colette appeared to be.

"What wh-what are you doing here?" Colette stammered as Adeline released her from the embrace.

"Looking for you, obviously." Adeline seemed to have calmed down a lot, she was serious but friendly like she had been before. I got the feeling that that was the real 'Adi'.
Suddenly there was a gust of wind as the door glided open.

"So, you two have met! Great," in the doorway stood a tall thin woman with stringy blonde hair. She looked about 25 and carried herself with the grace of a goddess, she almost glided everywhere she walked.

"Yes we have just met," Colette replied quickly, she continued addressing Adeline, "it was nice to meet you Adeline."

"Yeah you too," Adeline replied with confusion, but flashed everyone a convincing smile none the less. Finally the woman's eyes fell upon me.

"Oh, so you've found Amber? That's excellent. She was right under our noses too," the woman had a wise clear voice as she began to glide over to me, "Avery is dying to meet you Amber." She turned suddenly. I looked with confusion at Adeline, who seemed stuck in her own little mind right at that minute. Suddenly she broke free of her own trance and nudged me to follow the gliding woman. And so I did.

"I'm not sure how much Adeline has told you, but don't worry, Avery will explain much better. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Elizabeth," Elizabeth glided along the steel hallway and I followed, a step or two behind.
We rounded a corner and stepped though and already open doorway. Inside the room was a young girl, possibly 14 or 15. She smiled at me genuinely. I returned the favour. She sat around a circular table with a window on the wall in front. I wasn't at the right angle to see out the window just yet, but soon I would be. Suddenly Avery pressed a button on a remote that seemed to appear out of nowhere, and as if reading my mind, she closed an electric blind over the window. Dammit.

"Avery, this is-"

"Amber!" Avery cut her off. I was a little sick of not having introduced myself once but somehow everyone knowing my name.
Avery jumped up from her seat and held out her hand. I shook it. She was a head smaller then me and looked up at me with almost black eyes, though I could hardly see them through her bangs.

"I've told them all about you. That's how they all know your name," she smiled. I was getting a bit curious, was she actually reading my mind? I just put down the last two coincidences as random acts.

"Nothing's random," she giggled suddenly. I was stunned. My eyes widened, she actually was reading my mind! It was amazing, but violating. At this she blushed. Elizabeth must have noticed the secret conversation because she made a face at Avery.

"Avery please, that's extremely rude."

"I'm sorry Elizabeth, I've just seen so much about her, I had to know how she worked for just a moment. But I promise no more," Avery moved her fingers across her chest in a little "cross my heart" pattern.

"So I'm Avery," Avery stated as we all sat at the table. We were joined by Adeline, who shared a weird glance with Avery. If I wasn't so completely confused I would have noted to look into that.

"And I'm very, overwhelmed," I replied with a calm tone. I had no idea what was happening but I knew I would need this for some reason.

"We are all like you Amber. Each of us are descendants of people of the earth. Like what are referred to as witches nowadays. They only weald natural powers, and they get carried on through a special gene that is only evident once more along the family tree. And it is in you, and I. And everyone at this table. Everyone in this building. There are four basic elements; fire, water, earth and air. These are the most well known, but there are many others. You are fire, as you already know, and like everyone else, you are the only one who posses your powers. Us however," Avery gestured toward herself and Adeline, " have the magic in us, but nothing specific. This gives us the power to learn our ability. I for example I have a way with minds, I can read minds and tell someone's future, and twist people's vision into thinking they can see something that isn't there, whilst Adeline has a gift with words, stringing any into a spell of her choice. Colette works with potions and Elizabeth is the air user. We also have a new element. Dusk can control mists and smokes and any air that mixes with another element. We have Henly and Ingrid and we've yet to find more."

"That's, um, a lot to take in," I said after a long while of thinking. I didn't second guess a word she said. My parents may not have known a thing about this, but they always kept me educated with the history of the family, and even they knew the long line of witches that inhabited my mothers side.

"I know," Elizabeth smiled, "we are here if you need. If you like, I can show you to your room whilst you think about it?"

I didn't know what to think or say, so I agreed.
My room was nice. It was decent sized but still looked like stainless steel. I would have to ask about that. It was plain, everything was white. Although it didn't feel too clean like a hospital, it felt nice and homey. I sat on the soft single bed. I bounced for a while where I sat and then fell back onto the pillow. It was very soft indeed. I lay there a while, thinking. Finally I actually excepted this. I mean, how could I not? It was honestly the only thing anyone ever told me about why I was this way that made sense. Suddenly I realised where I was. My room? Why did she say my room? Did she want me to stay here? Yes, of course. And I really wanted to. I had so much to learn, so many questions. But my biggest one still remained unanswered. What did they want from me?