The Hidden Mages

Tiny Reunion

"Daphne!" Lucas exclaimed before running into his sister's arms.

"It's good to see you guys again," spoke Angelo after giving Dylan a hug.

"It's good to see you too, brother," replied Dylan with a huge smile on his face.

"It's nice to finally meet you again, Zoe," spoke Daphne before walking towards me and placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Me and my younger sister, Leona, always thought that we would one day become best friends." she continued with a sweet smile.

"I'm really happy to finally see you guys in person," I said, joy and happiness written all over my face.

"Where is Leona, by the way?" Lucas asked, out of the blue.

"We don't know where the others are," Daphne replied.

"We were both stranded on an island at first but we managed to escape after a few weeks. Then, we found a small village and we've been staying there ever since," explained Angelo.

After our tiny reunion, Angelo suggested heading to their village, so that we could rest and get the ship fixed. While we were on our way to the village, each of us got the chance to tell our side of the story. It was an emotional reunion, especially for Dylan and Lucas who had been separated from their siblings for a long time. We stopped the damaged ship at the harbor and by the time we had sent it for repair, it was already noon. We passed by a few shops before finally reaching a small house that had vines creeping up on the wooden door which made the whole house look cuter in a way. Angelo slotted in the key before turning the doorknob and opening it. The inside of the house looked neat and there was this warm cozy feeling right when I stepped in. There was a wooden table in the very middle of two sofas that were facing each other. The small fireplace was set behind one of the sofas. Then, there was the kitchen and a dining table which was beside the living room and a flight of stairs which led to the bedrooms and the bathroom.

"Come on, I'll show you to your rooms," spoke Daphne before leading us up the stairs.

She then brought Dylan and Lucas to a room that had two beds, a lamp table which was placed in between and a small wooden cupboard that stood in one corner.

"I hope you don't mind, but you two will be sharing a room with me," said Daphne after bringing both Opal and me to her room.

"Oh no, I don't mind at all," I said with a smile before entering the room and laying my backpack on the bed.

The room looked exactly the same as the other room but instead of two beds, there was one. Once I got changed, I headed downstairs with Opal and Daphne to find all three boys sitting and chatting away. I took a sit beside Dylan with Opal on my lap while Daphne brought each of us a glass of juice.

"So, a reunion, huh?" Angelo spoke while sitting with Lucas and Daphne on the opposite sofa, in front of Dylan, Opal, and I.

"Do you really think you can find everyone?" he asked.

"Alone? Never. Together? No doubt." I replied.

"Well, I'm in," Daphne spoke before turning to look at Angelo, waiting for his answer.

"I am the oldest, after all. I can't leave you guys to wander on your own," he replied before sighing.

"I'm in."

.

.

Fast forward to when we were having dinner together. Angelo and Daphne had cooked for us some chicken soup which was simple but delicious. After dinner, I brought the map and laid it on the wooden table in the living room. I then showed my two cousins the sentences that had appeared on one side of the map. I also told them about all the dreams I had, where grandma had spoken to me.

"Wait, grandma was in your dream?" asked Daphne, surprised.

"Yes, why?" I asked confusingly.

"The last time grandma appeared in our dream was 11 years ago," Angelo replied, eyes still on the map.

"She told us that the 'two youngest' will find us. So, immediately we knew that she was talking about both of you." Daphne continued.

"So, we waited. All of us." Dylan spoke. I was totally stunned. Knowing the fact that my cousins were waiting for me all this time, made me emotional but obviously being the person I am, I didn't show it.

"You guys waited for all those years for us to come and save you?" asked Lucas, still shocked by what his sister had just said and in reply, all three of our cousins nodded.

It was getting late, so we all decided to finally hit the sack. I was in Daphne's room, laying on the bed with Daphne beside me. Opal, unfortunately, had to sleep on the floor since there wasn't enough space for her. Daphne was sound asleep but I, on the other hand, couldn't even close my eyes for a few seconds. I kept overthinking about the situation that I was currently in and found myself staring at the ceiling for an hour or so.

'What if after everything, I end up failing? What happens then?' I asked myself in my head. I felt my heart sink, just thinking about what could happen if things turned out wrong. The thought even managed to send chills down my body. I finally drifted off to sleep with a million thoughts on my mind.

It was 7.00 a.m. in the morning and the sunlight was shining through the curtains of the room. I was woken up by Opal who kept licking my face while laying on the bed beside me.

"Opal, stop," I said with a sleepy drone in my voice.

I sat up on my bed and realized that Daphne was not in bed, so I figured she had gone downstairs to cook breakfast or something. I grabbed my clothes and towel before heading out the door to the bathroom. After I had showered, I put on a white t-shirt which I loosely tucked into a pair of short black jeans.

I immediately smelled the scent of bacon and eggs right after I had walked down the stairs. I walked towards the dining table to see all four of my cousins, eating while conversing.

"Good morning," I greeted before joining them at the table to eat my breakfast.

"Morning" they replied in unison. After breakfast, Dylan, Lucas, and I helped Angelo and Daphne to pack as many items as possible to bring with us on the mission.

"I can't believe we're actually gonna leave this place after 11 years," spoke Daphne while packing her clothes and essentials in a bag.

"I'm sorry that I didn't come earlier," I said.

"Don't be. It's not your fault," she replied before placing her hand on my shoulder, a reassuring smile on her face.

We took an hour or two to finish packing everything that we would need. At 10.00 a.m., we were out of the house, headed towards the harbor of the village. Once we arrived at the harbor, I saw our ship all fixed and ready to go. Dylan, Lucas and I helped load the things onto the ship while Angelo and Daphne paid the shipwright and said their last goodbyes to the villagers.

"Are you guys ready?" Dylan asked both Angelo and Daphne after they had gotten onto the ship.

"Yup," they answered in unison before helping us pull the sails to get the ship to move. Angelo steered the ship while the rest of us helped keep all the items that we had brought with us in the storage room. We came up with an idea for all of us to take turns guarding the ship, to ensure that we don't get attacked again. For the time being, Daphne, Opal and I are on guard duty while Dylan and Lucas are helping with the sails. I kept thinking about our next location and who we might find while we were there. I had so many thoughts in my head that I seemed to have forgotten my duty at one point. I watched the waves of the ocean and tried clearing my head. I took a deep breath and looked up to the sky. 'I have to think positive. For Xavier's sake.'