Fairytale Fate: The Legend Begins

♚ C H A P T E R • S E V E N ♚

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"Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it." - Lloyd Alexander
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The golden glow of the afternoon sun peeked through the clouded glass of the attic window. Tree branches tapped on the edge of the brick house as the wind swayed them where they stood.

Silvia extended her free hand down towards the floor, silently offering to help the twins up from where they had stumbled out of the mirror.

Carolyn warily stood up, refusing her grandmother's aid, and spun around to face the mirror. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her wide eyes examining the dormant glass that had been a whirlpool of colors just moments before.

"Thank God you're okay!" Silvia's concerned tone broke the twins' rambling thoughts.

Aura stood up, brushing the dust off her now wrinkled dress.

Their grandmother held out her arms to the twins, stepping forward to pull them into an embrace. As the sisters refused her affections once again, Silvia looked to Bailey, her eyes growing wide. She was quick to understand, letting her arms fall to her sides.

"I know you must have a lot of questions," Silvia spoke, this time sounding more solemn than worrisome. The twins' gaze fell to their grandmother's right hand, which held a thin, pearlescent white wand.

"That's an understatement." Aura's curious eyes flashed between her grandmother and the wand.

"I'll start," Carolyn said, turning to face Silvia. "What the hell is your problem?"

Silvia frowned. "Carolyn—" she began to scold but was abruptly cut off.

"—No. You hid an entire world from us our whole lives! Why?"

"I know that you're angry with me," her grandmother started once again. "I only ever wanted to keep you safe."

"Is that what my parents wanted for me too? Our lives lived without ever knowing them?" Carolyn could feel her face heating up with rage as her hands balled into fists.

Silvia was saddened by the hurt in her granddaughter's voice. "Please, Carolyn."

Carolyn tried to muster up a response but instead went numb, staring blankly at the attic around her.

Aura softened at the sight of her grandmother's pleading eyes. She wiped the tears from her own eyes and cleared her throat.

"Tell me what happened to them," Aura demanded, turning back to face Silvia, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

Silvia stood in silence before muttering a soft, "I don't know."

"When you were born, Fabula was even more dangerous than it is now," Bailey said, stepping closer to the twins.

"Your parents, Felicity and Anthony, knew it wouldn't be a safe place to raise children. They feared you two wouldn't live if you stayed," Silvia explained grimly.

"So why didn't you tell us all of this sooner?" Carolyn asked, her voice emotionless.

"I took you here to give you a better life. I wanted you to have a normal childhood where you could run freely, make friends, find love..." their grandmother trailed off, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I was planning on telling you about Fabula after you graduated so that you could have a peaceful upbringing before your lives changed forever."

"What made us safer with you than with them?" Aura spoke up in a skeptical tone, her misty blue eyes glancing back at her grandmother's hand.

"My brother and I were born into magic, we studied it our entire lives. I became known throughout Fabula for my willingness to help any and everybody who needed it. The people I helped called me their saving grace, their 'Fairy Godmother,'" Silvia spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully to avoid overwhelming them more.