The Young Mage (Snowbaz /Carry On Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

By the time we reached the flat, Mia had already finished off the bag of scones.

"Welcome to my humble abode," I said, raising my arm in welcome. Mia stepped through the door, dropping her hood to reveal bright red curls. "You can sleep on the couch, I'll get you some blankets." Mia moved towards the couch as I ruffled through the cupboard for some blankets.

"Oh... who is this?" I heard Penelope say, standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a mug of tea in her hands.

"Penelope, this is Aria, she like us- I mean like you...she's a mage."

"And? That doesn't explain why she's sitting on our couch."

"She's been sleeping in the park. I was walking home and noticed she was being teased by vampires." Mia flinched, shutting her eyes tight and wrapping her arms firmly around her bag.

"I was hoping you would help her out, y'know, cause you're good with kids."

"Just because I have younger siblings doesn't mean I'm good with kids."

"C'mon Penny, she needs someone like her."

Penelope sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Alright, I'll help." Penelope moved to Mia, placing her tea on the coffee table. She knelt down on her knees in front of Mia, looking directly into her eyes with a soft and trustworthy warmth that Penny always seemed to generate.

"Mia, I'm Penelope Bunce, I'm like you, a mage. Would you tell me what happened?" Mia's eyes began to water, clear streaks tumbling down her cheeks.

"The vampires," she sniffed, "they killed my parents."

"The same ones we saw tonight?" I asked, bending down in front of the couch. Mia nodded, her bottom lip trembling.

"They had the mark," she mumbled. Penelope shot a glance towards me, which I returned a confused look. We faced Mia again.

"What mark? What did it look like?" she asked. Mia's face scrunched up, her eyes staring blankly at the coffee table.

"Can I draw it?" Mia spoke.

I stood quickly and rushed into the kitchen to retrieve a pen and pad. As I returned, Mia snatched them from my hands and began to scribble, black lines melting onto the page.

A few moments later, Mia passed the pad over to Penelope. I shuffled over to take a look. On the pad was a dark sketch of a backwards C with a cross through the centre. Something about the symbol itched the back of my mind. Penny stared at the symbol for a while longer.

"What happened after your parents...passed?" she asked Mia, placing her hand on the young girl's knee, she must have been eight or nine, and to have already experienced such pain.

"After my parents died, I was sent into foster care, every family I was with, none of them really wanted me after a while. They all thought I was a freak. I ended up running away after one of my foster fathers...he, uh...hurt me." I could hear the shake in Penny's breath, the crack in Mia's voice as she spoke was painful to hear. "Then I ended up living on the street." The street is no place for a young mage, with all the creatures roaming about it was only a matter of time before something found her. Mia's body started to shake, her trembling lip opening as she let out loud and painful sobs, tears running lines down her cheeks. Penelope jumped up beside her on the couch and wrapped her arms around Mia, who embraced the hug, putting her head on Penny's chest. I clenched my fists and stood, moving into the kitchen, I leaned against the counter and rubbed my hands over my face.

Five minutes passed and the sobbing stopped. Penelope moved into the kitchen and jumped up on the counter, her cat eye glasses glittering in the light.

"We have to do something Penny," I admitted. She nibbled on her lip.

"There are mages that deal with this kind of thing Simon, we can't get involved with every little thing that happens." She whispered, to keep Mia from overhearing.

"I know how she feels Penny, to not have your parents, no proper place to call home, jumping from foster care to foster care, it's how you lose your identity." I sighed, combing my fingers through the mess of curls on my head. "I want to give her some closure, something to feel happy about... I want to find the vampires that attacked her and her parents." Penny jumped forward.

"You can't do that Simon, I won't let you risk your life...you don't have anything to protect yourself with, you're powerless, remember?"

Penny always seemed to believe I forgot that I'm not a mage anymore, but I have my ways.

"Whatever," I said, "let's just go to bed, I'm exhausted." We both walked back into the living room and made sure Mia was comfortable before stumbling back into our rooms.