A Ward's Tale

Chapter 23

"Peter, what have you not told me?" I ask. With a flick of Miss Valarie's wrist we are all transported back to the Evergreen's house. We land in the living room. I feel as if I should be getting used to magic but the sudden shift startles me. A slight nausea comes over me and I hug my stomach.

"Please have a seat, we have a lot to talk about. And dear Peter, don't even think about trying to escape with Clarissa. I've got this place locked up tight." Miss Valarie says sweetly as she sits on the tall backed chair by the fireplace again. She crosses her legs and looks at Peter like a mother looks at her son who knows he's in trouble.

Unsure of what was going on, especially between those two, but confident Miss Valarie had the place locked tight, I sat on the couch. The nausea subsides as I sit and breathe through my nose. The air is tense. I can feel the energy bouncing around the room. I look at Peter then Miss Valarie. What is their history? What did she say a moment ago? Something about her sister's death hurting Peter?

Haley, Jada, and Kessa join me on the couch and Peter sits in a chair near the couch. Mrs. Evergreen walks in and jumps in surprise. "Oh! I wasn't expecting you all back so soon. And who is this-"

Her jaw drops and she points an accusing finger at Peter. "You! What are you doing back here? Have you not done enough?" The look on her face shows anger and pain. Just what happened?

I look at Peter bewildered. What did he do in his past? Peter bows his head. "Hello, Mrs. Evergreen. Please don't look at me like that. You know I tried to stop her. But when she has her mind set she doesn't falter."

"What is going on?" I demand. I've finally had enough. I need to know what is going on. All this cryptic talk is driving me insane.

"Peter hasn't told you anything about his past, has he?" Miss Valarie questions.

"No, we didn't really get into each other's backgrounds since I had so much to learn magically and only had a limited amount of time to see him."

Peter looks at Miss Valarie with a look of sadness with a mix of hate. I want to reach out and place a comforting hand on his leg but I don't. As much as I trust this man, I don't really know him. "Do you really have to bring this up?"

Miss Valarie looks at him, "Wouldn't you want to know why your teacher was a weakling?"

"Peter is not a weakling." I interrupt.

"Oh yes he is. Compared to how strong he was with my sister, he is practically nothing. When he and my sister married, their magic combined and they both became the strongest in the village. No one could come close to their power, except me because I was my sister's sister and we shared the same blood."

"You hated that you were weaker. That's why you killed her." Peter growls. Pain and anger are written all over his face.

"Valarie did no such thing!" Mrs. Evergreen cuts in. "You were the one to leave her that night!"

"Yes, I left her, unknowing that there was going to be an attack. I tried to get back as soon as I could but I was too late. But I found out that the attack was planned by your beloved Miss Valarie. She knew I was going to the next town to gather troops and wasn't going to be there to protect her. You-" Peter points to Miss Valarie, "were the only one who knew I was going to be gone. You knew it would be the perfect time to weaken us." Peter's eyes glisten in the setting sunlight coming from the windows.

"Don't you dare try and pin it on me!" Valarie exclaims furiously. She points her finger at Peter. "You know I loved my sister and wouldn't hurt her! She was already hurt to begin with that night! I would never have stooped so low as to attack her then! She was practically defenseless and you left her! How could you just leave her like that?" Tears pile at the bottoms of Valerie's eyes. "How could you leave her like that?" she says again, but softer. The sadness resonating in the words. Tears built in her eyes but she would not let them fall.