When Two Worlds Meet

The Coven

Virgil's POV

I walked swiftly through the coven, trying to stay out of people's way. The short huts lined the streets with very little room between buildings; the roads were just packed down dirt, created little dust clouds when people ran past. Witches waved at me as I passed by, and I waved back at them with the hand not gripping my broom. "Hey Virgil!" Ivy Arisdater called as she walked by. I waved at the agricultural manager and the little green fairy on her shoulder. The fairy's eyes lit up and she waved back.

I kept walking; I was still in the outskirts of the Coven, and Picani's library was near the center of this Vale. Normally I'd fly most of the way there, but I was enjoying taking a walk. It felt good to have my cloak billow out behind me with the air rushing around me. It was a similar feeling to flying but at a slower and less dangerous pace.

I heard shouts and laughing, and I looked up from the ground to find a group of young students following behind Principal Staines. Principal Staines was over the academy that taught our young apprentices; she was a severe looking woman, with her gray hair tied back in a tight bun and her back as straight as a rail in her brown dress. Her black cloak was lined with blue fabric, a sign that she was a member of the council to the witch mother.

The sight of her made me break out in sweat. We had never gotten along when I had attended the academy, partly because I didn't have very much magical aptitude, and partly because I was male. She was a champion of tradition and rules, and by tradition we have only let men of exceptional talent join the coven. She had hated me from the moment I stepped foot in her school and had let me know at any and all opportunities.

Part of the reason she really got to me was because I didn't know why I was allowed to be in the coven. I'd grown up here and had lived here my entire life only because my parents were dead. My mother had been the witch mother's best friend, so she had vowed to take care of me. But I didn't have much power, even though magic was genetic and I should be very powerful. No matter how hard I worked or how much I learned, I couldn't get better.

So when Principal Staines's eyes darted up to meet mine, I felt the need to bolt. I swiftly stepped aside, as far out of the way of the group. I reached up and grabbed my pendant hanging around neck; it was hidden under my shirt, so it just looked like I grabbed my chest. It may have looked strange, but it was a comforting motion.

I needn't have worried; her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything. The kids, on the other hand, rarely left the school and stared and whispered as they passed me.

I knew that I looked weird and different. Besides the obvious fact that I was male, I was the only one is the coven with a cloak lined with purple fabric. My eyes were a weird shade of off-blue that made them look violet, and my skin was mills white because I spent most of the day in the dark. Overall I looked very different from most people. I was a bit of a freak.

I let out a shaky breath as the group finally passed and kept walking. I just wanted to spend some time with my friends, Remy and Picani. 

Author's Note: I'm so happy to finally be getting Virgil out and about, seeing the coven and everything! Love you guys!