Forgotten Magic

Chapter 7

"Ann, where were you?"

I swallowed a heavy breath, turning to face the orange-haired person I'd become close friends with. "Sorry," I said, forcing a grimace. "Var-I mean, I had something to take care of."

"What happened?" Taylor asked, setting a hand on my shoulder and leading me to the shade of a tree.

I paused wondering if I should tell them. "Well, you see, I-"

"Taylor!" someone called in the distance. I thought I recognized the voice, but pushed the thought away.

The bespectacled teen looked over their shoulder at the voice. "Oh, that's just my brother." They turned in that direction and waved.

Someone started walking towards us through the crowd. He was not too tall, and was most likely a year or two older than Taylor-16 or 17-with walnut brown hair and chartreuse green eyes.

"Mom and Dad wanted you to-" he stopped as he looked straight at me. A flicker of recognition crossed his features. And then it was covered.

"To what?" Taylor asked, not catching what I had seen.

"They want you to lend them a hand," he finished, eyes on his sibling. "They're in the barn. Earl's. With his herd of sheep."

"Oh, don't tell me," they stuck out their tongue in disgust. "Gross..." A grin spread across their face. "Well Ann, I'll see you later."

"Um, see ya," I answered. "Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll need it." And they ran off, getting the normal offhand looks from people nearby.

For a moment, I stopped to wonder how those looks didn't bother Taylor. But I didn't have much time to think.

Nickolas Chance's slight smirk dropped into a scowl. He glared at me in a way I couldn't quite put into words before turning and walking off.

I stood there for a few minutes, pondering the meaning of that look. and the only thing I could come up with goes something along the lines of "Stay away from me and my family. Or else."

~ ~ ~

When I brought up that I was writing this to Taylor, they asked if they could add something. So here's what they wrote.

~ ~ ~

I grabbed my notebook and shoved it into my bag.

"You know who that kid is, right?"

I jumped. "Yes, I know who she is."

"She lives with the villager's son, Varian." I knew my brother was leaning against the doorway of my room, even without looking.

"So what?" I asked, not looking at him. Ann had mentioned Varian before. It didn't come to much of a surprise.

I heard him shift slightly, no doubt from frustration. "'So what'? 'So what'? Taylor, you know what he's done, right?"

"Yeah, I know, and so what?" Most people wouldn't act the way I did around my brother, or, I don't think. "Look, he's trying to help. He's just made a few mistakes. That's all." I folded a shirt and dropped it into my bag.

"A few mistakes?" He sighed. "When are you ever going to learn?"

"Learn?" My voice was steady, a sharp contrast to how fast my mind was running. "Learn what? I'm not some naive little kid, you know."