Zoe's only wish is to be able to run barefoot through grass, but she knows it'll never happen. Ever since she was born, she's been unable to touch anything living without it instantly dying. It's a curse she would do anything to get rid of, but that...
The house that belonged to the ex-witch hunter, Harry Jackson, had changed a lot over the course of two decades. The most obvious change had been caused by the fence that had kept all living things at bay being taken away. It had resulted in trees and flowers growing closer to the house.
The garden had also changed completely. Instead of being a bare piece of grass, there were a ton of different plants growing. There was an herb garden, apple trees, a pumpkin patch, bushes of roses, a flowerbed of lavender, a forest of blueberry, and so much more.
The inside had changed a lot as well. The cold house was now filled with warmth from the smell of newly baked bread. There were pictures hanging on the walls displaying the occupants' lives. Toys, books, papers, and other personal belongings laid here and there around the house.
But it wasn't just the appearance of the house that had changed. The people living there had as well. Where there had once been anger, coldness, and hatred, there was now happiness, liveliness, and love. The amount of people in the house had also grown by a lot.
Zoe sat in the garden, a book in her hand and just enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. That peace didn't last long, however, as three women came out from the trees, all of them giggling together.
"Mom!" the one in the middle shouted and quickly ran over to Zoe. She was in her early twenties and looked a lot like Zoe. The same petite body, green eyes, and facial features, though her hair was white. But most importantly, she definitely shone as bright as her mother.
"Ivy! You're back," Zoe smiled at her oldest child. "Where did you go?"
"Japan," Ivy answered and laid down in the grass next to her mother. "It was all so pretty! The colors so bright. It has to be the best place we've ever been."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Zoe laughed.
"We brought some fruits," Pine said, who had followed Ivy over, Ash by her side. In her arms were some blueish fruits Zoe had never seen before.
"We were thinking of cutting it open and trying some," Ash continued.
"Alright. I'll go and see if the others want some too," Zoe said and got up.
In a few short minutes, the whole family was gathered in the kitchen to try the latest food that Ivy, Ash, and Pine had brought back. Zoe stood a bit in the background as she watched them all with a wide smile. Felix came over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist before kissing her forehead.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"That I can't believe how I got to become this happy. Sometimes it feels like a dream that I'll wake up from any moment," she replied honestly.
"Trust me. This is all real."
Zoe smiled at him and thought again to herself about how lucky she had been, about how good her life had turned out.
Apart from Ivy, they had four other children. The second oldest were two twins, Alon and Rose, that were in their late teens. Then there was Holly who had just turned eleven and lastly Cedar who was only five. Zoe couldn't help but be curious about how their youngest would turn out. The different children all showed different prominence with their magical abilities. Both Ivy and Rose had a clear stronger affinity for their nymph-part while Alon had only ever shown witchcraft. Holly, however, seemed equally balanced in her abilities. Cedar was still too young to properly show which side was dominant for him, if any, and Zoe couldn't wait to know.
They had all started eating the fruit, and Felix went over to try to minimize the mess. Both Noah and Harry were also there as adult supervision of the snacking, but from experience they had learnt that both grandfathers were equally messy as the kids in the face of new and exotic foods.
Harry had to be the person who had shown the greatest change. He had isolated himself a lot at first and although his anger had been gone, he still hadn't been happy. It hadn't been until Felix had placed the newborn Ivy into his arms that Harry's eyes had lit up again. It was now clear that he lived for the happiness of his grandchildren and it seemed as if he wanted to make up for the bad upbringing Felix had had by showering the grandchildren with love.
It was strange, though. Neither Felix nor Harry seemed to age. Zoe had asked Ash and Pine about it at some point, but they had no better answers than her. They assumed, just like Zoe did, that the constant presence of nymphs around them somehow kept their bodies from getting older. Zoe didn't care much about the reason, though. Instead, she was just happy that her family would stay whole for much longer than she had first thought.
When the fruit was gone, everyone scattered. Cedar dragged Ivy, Ash, and Pine to play. Rose went with Harry to read in the library. Alon and Holly pulled Noah away to practice magic. And Felix had to go back to work.
Felix had taken over the company Harry had owned that had sold religious jewelry. The company had changed somewhat and now sold all different types of jewelry instead, all of which were designed by either Felix or Zoe. Ivy had joined in a little, and soon a collection of necklaces she had designed would be released.
With everyone busy, Zoe went to her and Felix's bedroom. Her plan was to see if they needed to do laundry, but she never got that far.
Very visible on the bed was an envelope with Zoe's name on it in a handwriting she didn't recognize. She frowned as she saw the letter and her first thought went to the coven. She and Scarlet had kept in touch and all had been well there. But it was a constant worry that something would happen, that the Priestess would come back, and destroy her peace.
Deciding that it was best to just open the letter and see, instead of growing anxious over what it might contain, she sat down on the bed. Opened it and started to read.
Dear Zoe,
I can't wait to finally meet you. I have been watching over you your whole life, waiting for this day to finally come. You have grown so strong and I'm so proud of you. I know you have suffered, I have felt your pain and I am truly sorry for it. Please trust me when I say that if there had been another way, a better way, I would have taken it. But there wasn't. I'm sorry about your mother's death. Oak was a great friend, and I miss her tremendously. I want you to know that if I could have saved you both, I would have. And I also want you to know that it was Oak's decision and only hers to give her life for yours. You are yourself a mother now, so I guess you can understand her decision better than I can.
With everything that you have been through, everything that you have overcome, all you deserve is to live in peace and happiness with your family. But I'm sorry, Zoe, that's not possible. Not yet, at least. I need your help. I know that I have no right to ask that of you, but I need your help. Not only I do, the whole magical world needs it. I know you often doubt yourself and I know you will question what help you can give. But trust me, Zoe. We need you. You won't be alone, though. There are four others and together you five will make the world a more peaceful place.
Please come and meet me in the Library at noon on Friday in a week. I'll explain more then. If you want to, I encourage you to bring Felix along. The support of a mate is the best support one can have. You, Crimson, Morana, Mirai, and Danae have proven that to me time and time again.
Always with love,
Rheseis
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