The Witching Hour

Ch. 4

Connor

The afternoon sun shined in through one of the open windows and woke Connor up from his sleep. He had plenty of rest, and yet he still felt he would benefit from a few more hours sleep. He arose, and cursed at himself for waking up so late. It was already later in the day, as the sun was past the midpoint in the sky. Connor got up and stretched and realized Avalonna and Lydia were both already busy and preparing for the festivities outside the back of the house. Connor smiled to himself. He was 18 now, a full grown man. Not that he felt any different, but he was exited for this change in his life. Soon he too would get a chance to travel the kingdom, and maybe even beyond. Connor cleaned himself up and got dressed and joined his sister and Lydia outside where they were decorating a round, stone table for the sibling's birthday dinner. Though, as Connor approached closer he realized that Lydia was standing more to the side and Avalonna was the one doing most of the preparation.
"Hmm I believe the candles should go on the sides of the table..." Lydia said to Avalonna as Connor approached.
"What's wrong, Lydia? Has 18 years of knowing me finally worn you out?," he smiled as she gave him a tight embrace.
"Happy birthday, love. Yes, all this time raising you has most likely cut years off my life, but it has been worth it. I would usually be helping your sister but I dislike the heat and intensity of the sun today."
She let go of Connor and gestured to the table and sun as she spoke. In all honesty it did not feel any hotter or brighter than usual, but Connor was well aware of Lydia's dislike of heat.

"Glad you could join us, little brother," Avalonna said with a smile and embraced Connor,
"It may be your birthday but that does not mean you should sleep it away," she rolled her eyes playfully and Connor hugged her in return.
"Happy birthday to you to, dear sister of mine," he replied to her with a grin. They sat down next to each other and began to talk as Lydia came back from inside the house. She moved so quickly and quietly that Connor never even realized she had left.
"The cake is baking and, along with your meals, will be ready by sundown." She stated and smiled as she saw the siblings together.
"Lydia, may we exchange gifts before we eat? I don't see why we have to wait, plus it'll give us something to do until then." Avalonna asked her.
"Well we do usually wait till after, but I suppose this time it wouldn't hurt," she replied with a smile and nod. Both siblings ran inside the house and came back within a matter of moments with their gift for the other.
"I have something for both of you, if you don't mind me going first," Lydia said and sat down in a shady area in the grass under a large tree. Connor for a moment caught himself staring at Lydia for longer than he should have, but he recovered and joined his sister in a spot next to Lydia. The wind began to pick up around them and leaves rustled and fell to the ground.
"I've kept these items for you until both of you were adults, I feel now is the right time for you to have them." She reached into her robes, which Connor could not help but notice fit to her perfectly, and pulled out a small cloth pouch.
"This one, is for Avalonna. Your mother's ring." She pulled out a small wooden box with a beautiful ring in the middle and handed it to Avalonna. The design of it and the gemstone in the middle of the ring matched her star necklace perfectly.
"Th-thank you, Lydia..." Avalonna said, tearing up and examining the ring.
"My pleasure, my dear. I'm sure your mother would have given it to you, she'd be so proud of you and your brother." She embraced Avalonna and after a moment knelt down next to Connor.
"My darling Connor, you are a man now and as is the usual tradition, a man should have something of his father's," she reached into the pouch and pulled out a golden pocket watch with an elaborate letter B sketched onto it.
" This was your father's family watch. It still works and is made of gold and was passed down to him. I hope you like it." She placed it in Connor's right hand and held his left softly. Connor examined the watch with a wide mix of emotions and held it respectably. He traced his finger softly across the cared letter B, for his family name.
"I love it, Lydia. Thank you very much." He embraced Lydia warmly and placed the pocket watch carefully in his breast pocket.
"I am happy you two like your gifts and wish you the happiest of birthdays. I know I could never replace your parents, but as I never had my own children and have raised you all these years, I think of you as my own blood."
Avalonna and Connor both embraced Lydia .
"You are the best caretaker we could have asked for, Lydia." Avalonna replied.
"I agree, we love you just as we would our own parents." Connor added.
Lydia smiled at the two of them and nodded quietly.
"Thank you my loves, now I believe you have gifts for each other?"
Connor nodded and pulled out a book wrapped in parchment and handed it to Avalonna.
"I know it is not much, but I hope you like it," he said as she opened up her gift.
"Oh, Connor," Avalonna managed as she began to have tears in her eyes again. She held in her hand the same book that their mother had read to Connor on the last night that either of them had saw her alive. A children's book yes, but it helped to create the sibling's imaginations and belief in magic in the world.
"I love my gift, I am very grateful." Avalonna said and hugged Connor. Connor smiled back and found a small cloth bag in his hand as his sister stepped back.
"This is for you, it took a while to find but I think it's right for you." She said as Connor opened the bag. He saw a small white figurine of a falcon and opened the bag to reveal all of it.
"Where did you get that, Avalonna?" Lydia asked in a hurried voice.
"Just from a strange but kind salesman in the marketplace. Why, am I in trouble?" She asked smiling as both siblings knew Lydia only called her by her full name when she did something wrong.
"No, no my dear of course not. It's just that-Connor no!" She reached out in vain as Connor pulled the falcon statue out of the bag and placed it into his palm. It hummed and shook with life as the tiny statue transformed in front of their eyes into a full sized bird of prey. It was larger even for a falcon, and had feathers of rich dark colors and sharp talons. It cawed and began flying at high speed around the three of them, piercing the skies with it's screeches.
"Lydia! What's happening?!" Avalonna yelled out, pushing Connor and Lydia to the ground and covering their faces for protection.
"I need you two to trust me! Connor, try to talk to the falcon, call it back to you." Lydia replied, escaping Avalonna's protection.
"Are you out of your mind?! I can't control a wild animal, Lydia." He said to her, ducking down as the falcon swooped at him.
"Trust me!" Lydia called out, moving even faster than the falcon to avoid getting hit. She almost moved as a blur, as if she just left one place appeared nearby. Avalonna, however, was not quite so lucky. The falcon's talons slashed across her arm and she cried out in pain as red streaks began to form.
"Val!" Connor called out to her sister, but Lydia held him back.
"Wait! She can stop this." Lydia said as Avalonna got back up slowly. Her eyes seemed to glow an even brighter, blinding green and the wind picked up around her.
"Somnum!" Avalonna called out, holding her palm towards the falcon as it flew at her again. The bird almost froze in the middle of the air and landed at Avalonna's feet as a small harmless statue. Avalonna's eyes went back to normal and the wind died down as she stumbled and fell back into the grass.
"Va...Val?" Connor asked drearily before he too stumbled and fell into the grass. He felt himself being forced into a sleep and saw Lydia rush to help them as he faded off and his eyes closed.