The Witching Hour

Ch 5

Avalonna

Avalonna woke up the next morning on her bed in her old room. Her head was spinning and she couldn't quite recollect what had happened before she had passed out. She remembered the emotions and sounds of it all but not exactly the reasoning behind the commotion.

Something about a bird...

She smacked her forehead lightly as she remembered the falcon. The white marble statue that she had so innocently given to her brother as a birthday gift. The same statue that had somehow come alive at his touch and tried to tear the skin off her bones. Avalonna winced as she remembered the talons of the falcon shredding through her arm. However, when she looked down her arm was perfectly fine, not a scratch on her. This was not the birthday she had been expecting and needed her questions to be answered. The only one who seemed to know what was going on was Lydia. She got dressed and ran downstairs and immediately almost collided with her brother Connor.

"Excuse me, sorry Val. How are you feeling?" He asked, helping her down the stairs.
"I'm fine Connor, where is Lydia? How long were we asleep?"
"I'm not sure, I just woke up around the same time as you I assume. I know it's morning now though so Lydia most likely is in the house."
Avalonna nodded in agreement and the siblings went down the stairs and sure enough found Lydia in the living room reading through a rather large, black book.

"Oh thank goodness you two are awake!" She said, closing the book and embracing both of them. They nodded and hugged her back but then both siblings looked her in the eyes. Avalonna sat her down at the table and Connor sat across from her.
"Lydia, what on earth happened yesterday? I swear I did not know the statue would do that, the man at the market talked about magic but I just assumed it was a gimmic," Avalonna started,
"Surely there's no such thing as real magic is there? The Red King just did not want citizens believing in fantasies or making pacts with the devil, not that any of that was actually real, yes?" She asked, not knowing if she was truly asking Lydia or trying to convince herself of the fabrication, or lack thereof, of magic.
"I barely touched the bird before it tried to kill us, Lydia." Connor added, remaining more calm and in control than usual. Lydia took a deep breath and sighed slowly.

"I... I don't know where to begin. This was never supposed to happen, mind you."
She paused, collecting her thoughts before beginning again,
"First off and foremost I believe, magic is most definitely real. The Red King carried out his witch hunts to exterminate it all those years ago not because he didn't believe in it, but because he was afraid of it. He knew how powerful magic could truly be in the right hands. Your mother... Oh, your mother..." Lydia covered her eyes and took a moment to regain herself.

"Yes Lydia? What about our mother?" Connor asked.

"She was a magnificent person, so loving and caring. She was my best friend and as great of a human being as she was, she was an even greater witch. She was even a member of the 13th Council, the highest honor in the order of witches."
She said, tracing the star outline on the cover of the black book she gripped so tightly.

"Our mother? Our mother was a witch?" Avalonna asked in disbelief. Even Connor looked stunned. It could not be true, in all the stories she had ever heard, the witches were the villains, the evil ones. If Avalonna knew anything about her mother, she knew that she was not evil.

"Yes, and forgive me for what I tell you next. She and your father did not die of an illness, they were murdered by the Red Guard. Your mother was killed for practicing witchcraft, while your father's only 'crime' was being in love with your mother. She loved him equally, she even gave up her seat on the Council to be allowed to marry him and have children. I told you the story of their illness to keep you separate from the magical world, as were her wishes. " Lydia looked saddened and weak, which did not suit her usual personality.