Time's Tragedies- The Books Of Beginning [2]

5. Pack A Bag

The children immediately followed their mother's directions. They were no fools, they knew how serious this was, and they knew that Kate and Rafe were the ones with the experience to handle it. For all their quirks and stubbornness, the three young Wibberlys were smart enough to listen when it mattered.

So they all found their way to their room and began gathering anything they needed for a trip that would likely take multiple days, if they were first going to see Abigail in New York, then going to Loris to speak to the magical council. Loris definitely had the potential to take a while. Bureaucracy was famed for its inability to handle things in a timely manner.

On her side of the huge gray curtain dividing their room, Abby found sweatshirts and socks and a  random mix of PJ pants and jeans. It was an odd array of whatever was clean, but she folded it all neatly and placed it in her duffel bag neatly. She added to it her hairbrush, toothbrush, and the experiment log she and her brother used to record the findings of their studies. As an afterthought, she threw in a pile of hair-bands. When she decided that would do, and it was properly organized, she zipped up the red bag.

She wished she could control her fear as easily as she controlled the way she packed. But she couldn't, and she hated it. All her life, Abby had looked up to strong people, confident heroes. Her parents, of course, but others as well. There was her warrior aunt Emma, the wise mentor Gabriel, and Emma's fellow warrior Dena, who Abby has only met twice, but had already agreed to teach her a warrior skill if she ever wanted it. Abby did think that would be amazing. But she also knew herself, and she was afraid. When she saw a fight, her instinct was to run, not to defend.

Abby came from heroes, but sometimes she thought she was destined to be a coward. She hated the thought, but she couldn't seem to turn her fears off, especially now that her family was in danger.

On the other side of the curtain, Jake was also packing a duffel bag. His clothes were less random than his sister's. He grabbed jeans and shirts and a jacket, socks and toiletries. He shoved them in less neatly than Abby did though, and he randomly threw other objects on top- a stack of papers about the skipping rocks experiment, two books about magic, and a small stuffed bear that he had since he was little and still considered a comfort item.

He was afraid too, but was more comfortable with this fear. Of course he was afraid. Anyone would be. He just needed to make sure he didn't freeze up or do something stupid, and stuck to his parents plan. They knew what to do and he trusted their abilities. He also trusted his own growing skill with magic, and his moral compass. His parents had raised him to be brave and kind, and he took pride in also being relatively rational. So long as he didn't lose sight of that, he could handle this.

What Jake was more concerned about was what he could predict but not guarantee, influence but not control - the actions of other people. And not just Robert, though whatever trick was up his sleeve couldn't be good and Jake wished he knew how to plan for it. No, what was frustrating Jake was how the magical council had already messed up Robert's capture once, in some way. Who's to say they wouldn't continue to be incompetent?

Jake was an understanding and empathetic human, but he was also twelve and just had his life turned upside down. He wanted a guarantee of quick and working action, and that couldn't be given. It frustrated him greatly. But there was nothing he could do to change it.

Meanwhile, Lili had returned to her room, the place where she read and wrote and daydreamed all her desires. The room that felt cold after the moment when she opened the envelope. Nothing seemed right anymore, and she didn't know how to take it. After all, Lili Wibberly has wanted to read epic stories, not live them.

Well, she was living one now, and she had to pack her bag. Unlike her relatively orderly brother and sister, Lili just grabbed heaps of clothes and shoved them in her black backpack, along with some other essentials and her poetry journal and some pencils. She knew it was careless, but she had just been shaken up, so she cut herself some slack. 

This was not how she expected things to go. She had never thought her world would change in an instant, even with all the stories and history in her blood. She had expected to learn magic, to find her place. She had thought her struggles would be figuring out who she was, forming opinions, petty arguing with her siblings, and freaking out over how to talk to girls. She had not expected leaving home to ensure the magical world was safe from a vengeful and mysterious enemy.

Like her siblings, it frightened her. She was scared for herself, but more so for her family. They were her heart and her world, she loved them more than anything. The fact that they were in danger was almost overwhelming. After all, her siblings were young and happy and brilliant and now they had to deal with this. And her poor parents who had worked so hard for peace now had to handle yet another earth shattering danger to their family. It was all so unfair and so very difficult.

She shrugged the backpack onto her shoulder, holding her chin high, like her mother would. She would be strong for her family. She would do her very best to help however she could until this was resolved. Hopefully that would be quick, but while Lili had hope, she wasn't oblivious to how unlikely that was.

Exiting her room and shutting the door tight, she took a deep breath. Abby and Jake were already making their way down the stairs, duffel bags in their arms. It hurt Lili's heart to see the apprehension on their faces.

She had always felt everything so deeply. Her mother said that kindness and love was a virtue, and would only make her stronger. But right now it just made her feel worse about everything.

The three children found their way to their parents, who had also packed a bag for themselves. Rafe and Kate both looked tense, tenser than Lili could ever remember seeing. That hurt to see as well.

"Time to go?" Lili forced herself to ask.

Rafe nodded, "we have no time to lose."

"Can I make the portal?" Jake asked. Lili could hear the desperation to do something helpful in his voice.

Now, in most families, trusting a twelve year old to create a magical form of transportation was a terrible idea. But teleportation was Jake's natural talent, he was as good or better at it than most adults. So Rafe gave him the affirmative, which clearly eased all that he was going through.

The enchanted doorway to New York's magical quarter opened in a flash, Jake outstretching his hand and widening it with ease. 

"Let's do this," Kate murmured. She watched as Rafe went through first so he could make sure the coast was clear and wait for the children on the other side. Abby went next, holding her breath as she tried to fake confidence. Then went Jake, then Lili, who looked like she was about to be sick.

Once they were all safely through, Kate put her head in her hands. For so long, she had feared this happening. It had taken her a long time to get to the point when she could be full of joy for a substantial period of time without faking it, and now that reality of peace was shattered.

Kate took a deep breath. She could handle this. She had faced worse. She had been a protector and a caregiver before, with a lot less knowledge and experience. She could do it now. She would pretend that this wasn't what haunted her nightmares, nightmares that had finally receded but she knew would be back tonight.

She tilted her chin upward. The children she loved were counting on her. So she walked bravely through that portal and emerged among her loved ones.

Rafe's arm wrapped around her. After so many years together, he knew what she was going through even if she didn't show it. She leaned into him greatfully.

Meanwhile, Jake closed the portal and left the family on the steps of Abigail's townhouse. Abby stood closest to the door, ready to knock. But Lili looked away from the steps, out at the city. She hadn't been here in years, and she forgot the way it made her feel. It was big and bold and inspiring and it held so much history, so much of her history. This was where her parents had met, this was where so many tragedies had occurred. Despite everything, the sight of it filled her up.

Then Abby was knocking on the door and brought her back to reality. The city was big, yes, but the threat was bigger. And Lili felt so small compared to all of it.

A/N: This was really a character chapter, meant to show my characters' insecurities, frustrations, and fears. I hope it was alright.