A Touch of Magic| J. Hale

Chapter 4: Temptations

Chapter 4: Temptations

It was January, and despite the chilly winter weather, the sun decided to come out to play once again. Freya had been successful in keeping the memories of that one summer day off of her mind for the most part up to this point, but finally she had snapped. Maybe it was the sun. Maybe it was the overwhelming stress she was drowning under with her mother constantly breathing down her neck to not mess up. Maybe it was because once again she had been requested to go reinforce the wards and enchantments in the very same spot as she had been that one day; whatever it was, Freya could no longer deny her curiosity and she found herself wandering back towards the river.

Freya didn't know what she was expecting to get out of going back to that spot. She knew the likelihood of catching sight of that man once again was more than unlikely to happen, and yet she couldn't stop herself from hurriedly finishing her work on the wards so she could have a reasonable amount of time to go to the river and wait to see if the man appeared like she wished he would. She couldn't understand why she had spent her whole life never even imagining stepping a foot out of line and then all of a sudden this figment of a man is tempting her to do things she very well knows she could get in trouble for.

Freya had been working on getting better at her personal concealment charms, so if the man were to appear, she could confidently stay hidden from him for as long as she would like. Maybe it was absurd to just want to get another glance at this man when she had no intention of revealing herself. Freya knew she was putting herself at great risk and she couldn't say what she would get out of this, but her mind had stopped being logical the moment she found herself back at this spot.

Freya had been waiting a while when she was just about ready to give up. She knew she needed to return back to the coven before her mother started looking for her and there wasn't much time left. It was just as she was getting ready to head back when she heard some rustling. Nearly squealing in delight, Freya quickly concealed herself from sight, and sure enough, the man soon appeared once again.

Despite Freya being a little more prepared this time, she was still not quite ready for how truly gorgeous this man was. She was happy to see that he didn't appear to be as troubled as he had that first day she caught sight of him. In fact, he seemed rather content on this day. He seemed to be looking around for something, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. She supposed it could be another one of his kind he was searching for. Perhaps his mate, if he had one. . .

Freya couldn't understand the twinge of jealousy she felt as she thought of this man having a mate, as his kind would call it. It was perfectly logical for someone to seek some kind of companionship when they had the rest of eternity to wander this earth. She imagined it could be an extremely lonely fate if you didn't have someone to spend it with. After all, she couldn't imagine the goddess would be so cruel as to deny any creature the right to find love, even if the very nature goes against every law she had put in place to maintain balance amongst all life. Besides, Freya didn't even know the name of this man, so she simply had no right to feel any form of jealousy over the idea of him and another.

Freya knew she didn't have a lot of time left, but she wasn't quite ready to walk away just yet, and so she settled down, making herself comfortable where she sat, and surprisingly she saw the man doing the same where he was at.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Jasper wasn't all that surprised finding himself back by the river on this sunny day. He was happy none of his siblings had insisted on joining him on his venture outside, for it would make it easier for him to return to the spot he had been trying so hard to forget about. Jasper supposed this could be another cruel trick of fate, taunting him with an idea of something he couldn't truly understand.

Jasper didn't truly care though what it was exactly, he just knew that his curiosity was too great to keep ignoring.

Much to Jasper's surprise, his family was still oblivious to what had taken place a few months ago, and even what he was up to on this dry day. Having one person who could see the future, and another who could read minds, in the family, it made it very difficult to keep hardly anything solely to yourself.

Returning back to the river, Jasper wasn't surprised to find it seemingly vacant of any other life, not including the few woodland creatures that weren't scared off by Jasper's presence. Reaching out with his mind, Jasper could distinctly sense another being in the area, that he was sure of, but for the first time in his immortal existence, he could not get a reading on the feelings of this being. He was almost certain it was that ghost image of the girl he had seen the last time that was present with him here once again, and perhaps she truly was a ghost. Despite never meeting a ghost, he wouldn't deny the possibility of their existence given what he is.

All Jasper knew for certain was that there was someone else out here with him. What exactly, he couldn't say. He may not be able to read her emotions (as he had decided that it must be the girl that was with him) but he could infer she was at least a little bit scared of him thus why she was hiding. While the feeling of fear accompanied with his presence was something the Jasper was used to, he wished there was something he could do to lessen it. If only to really get a chance to see her, as he was certain she was watching him.

With a sigh, Jasper took a seat in the grass, leaning against the tree he was by. As off putting as it was that this girl was hiding from him, and that she had the upper hand in the situation with him not being able to see her, he strangely found her presence comforting. For now he could be content just sitting here. He wasn't necessarily in any rush to find out who exactly or what exactly she was. After all, Jasper did have all the time in the world to figure those things out.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Freya had lost track of time, and she knew she would most likely be in a world of trouble once she returned. She had been so content sitting there with that man, even if they had been a little over fifty feet apart. She found it so fascinating how someone who was said to be so deadly could appear as harmless as he did sitting there just under the shade of a tree.

The moment Freya passed through the wards, she dropped her concealment charm, having kept it up just in case when she ran off. She was heading straight for the library, knowing that's where she was to be expected at this time of day. Once she entered the old building she quickly found an appropriate book and settled in her usual nook she could be found in when she was studying. So far, it seemed she was in the clear as far as her mother having noticed if she was fussing for too long or not, but just to make sure, Freya called out to one of her sort friend passing by, "Charity, do you happen to know where my mother is?"

"You're in luck, she's been busy all day, so no need to worry about her noticing your absence," Charity chuckles, a mischievous glint appearing in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Freya questions, attempting to play dumb even though she knew it was useless to do so. Freya may not be very close with any of the people her age, but she and Charity had always gotten along pretty well and Charity had always been very perceptive.

"Please, you've been on practically the same schedule since you were five. You were out today a little longer than usual. It's understandable Freya, this place can get a little suffocating, so don't worry about me saying anything, I mean I wander out as well here and there as well, I just don't have an overly concerned mother to worry about chewing my head off. So anyways, your secret is prefect safe," Charity says reassuringly, mimicking locking her lips and throwing away the key. "Have a nice day Freya," Charity calls over her shoulder as she continues off on her search for whatever book she was looking for.