If it had been a Hollywood movie, Leona thought caustically, the room would have been dim and lit by flickering candle with eerie chanting going on in the background. As it were, her familyâs meeting room was actually the living room and was well-lit with her uncleâs children playing on the carpet in the center of the room. The honey-eyed teen watched the scene with a little contempt, still bitter about her recent move to live with her uncleâs family at the request of her mother. She still couldnât believe that her mother who had broke away from the clanâs tight rules and treaties had fault with the way she had enchanted several key members at her old school and used that to her advantage. Leona ran her long fingers roughly through her shoulder length white hair, and ruffled it as she waited for her uncle to formally welcome her into his home.
All she did was enthrall her principal and her teachers so she wouldnât get into trouble for all the times she skipped class, or failed to turn in homeworkâhow could her mother send her to this little backwater town in the middle of nowhere? She sighed as her uncle and the rest of the family âeldersâ entered the living-room. She saw them wince a little at her and she shrugged; her appearance was sometimes a little shocking to her more conservative family. Her hair had once been a soft blonde, but in a fit of rebellion she had charmed it white. She had celebrated dying her hair by getting her ears pierced several times, and her belly-button. The latter she didnât like as much since it kept getting caught in her clothes and tugging painfully.
âLeona, do you know why you are here,â her uncle Richard asked, his watery brown eyes stern and kind.
She gave a shrug, âBecause Mom couldnât deal with me.â
Her aunt Gertrude frowned and clucked her tongue, âNo, no, sweetie, your mother just wants the best for you. You just needâ¦more attention than she can give you.â
Leona scuffed her toe against the carpet, and turned to watch her little cousins play, âWhatever.â
Uncle Richard looked at the rest of the elders before he spoke, âYou know the rules of this house.â He was a tall man who was a thin as a rail with an oddly booming voice that commanded respect from anyone who listenedâpart of it was that he infused his voice with his own magic to make him a better orator while within the walls of his own home. âStarting tomorrow you will go to school and you will not use your magic while you are outside these walls.â
âSure,â she said and waved her hand off in his direction. She wouldnât actually promise not to, that was just plain stupid. Everyone knew about the treaty to keep magic out of the understanding of normal humans, and not use their talents in front of them, but everyone also knew that as long as you didnât hurt someone, a lot of things could be overlooked. Perhaps a love-spell there, or a notice-me-spell here wouldnât get you in trouble, but something like a revenge-spell might. Not that Leona had ever felt the urge to use any but the last of the spells; she liked using enchantments to curse, confuse, and cause havoc on people who crossed her.
Her older cousin Darren dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder, âLeona this is important. We all must listen to the treaty and your mother explained everything to us. Do not disappoint us.â
âDo not disappoint us,â resounded in her mind. It was a veiled threat; it wasnât often that a witchâs family would find their actions so dangerous that they would take harsh measuresâa temporary binding spell perhaps. But the phrase âDo not disappoint us,â made her flinch somewhat. She could imagine what would happen if she disappointed her full family and not just her mother who now lived 500 miles away. She nodded mutely before she looked towards uncle Richard, âMay I go to bed now? I have school in the morning.â
âBut Leona,â her aunt started, âitâs only seven! Stay and visit with us. I havenât seen you since you were a little sprite.â
She gave a little smile to her aunt; she had a few memories of her sneaking her an extra cookie or two when Grandmother hadnât been looking. But she still got up and left the living room, heading up the stairs and turning down the hall until she found the guest room that had been turned into her bedroom. It wasnât spacious, enough room to walk in and have a bed, a desk, bookcase and chair, but it was the window with the built in seat that made the room special to her. She liked to sit there and watch the day, or night go by. On her bed was a animal carrier and her suitcases, both of which she promptly opened though she was only concerned about her familiar, Puma, a large semi-feral cat. Leona didnât have to have a familiar, but something about the dark-furred, wild-eyed cat had stolen her heart and she claimed it as suchâ¦a few months later and a couple of spells, and Puma could talk.
âI,â he emphasized angrily, âhate being caged.â
âJoin the club,â she said coolly, and started to unpack. âI have to go to school and not use magic, or at least anything showy.â
âYou like showy,â he said blandly as he started to investigate the room before he hid under the bed. âBe subtle. Like a cat.â
âRightâ¦â
[justify...[/justify]
The next morning, she was at the school bright and early to check in with the office and get her schedule. She spent a good half-an-hour walking around the school looking for her classrooms before she finally settled down on one of the benches and waited for her peers to arrive. A small bloom of nervousness erupted in her stomach and the tall teen fidgeted in her seat. She looked up at the ceiling and whispered softly, âWhat if they donât like me?â She looked down at her clothes and bit her bottom lip; she tried to dress nice to fit in--a short skirt with stripped leggings underneath and a short-sleeved t-shirt with her favorite band on it.
She had never been good at making friends, which was perhaps why she was so reliant on her magic to help ease the way. Once she got them enthralled, even after she removed the spell, people stayed around her, almost like junkies in a way. She looked around before she touched one of the engraved stones on the bracelet she wore and whispered a quick and simple notice-me-and-like-me spell. It wasnât anything bad, but it would get her the friends she wanted and quickly. With another glance around, she added an light enthrallment spell over it and smirked, âThatâs better.â
All she did was enthrall her principal and her teachers so she wouldnât get into trouble for all the times she skipped class, or failed to turn in homeworkâhow could her mother send her to this little backwater town in the middle of nowhere? She sighed as her uncle and the rest of the family âeldersâ entered the living-room. She saw them wince a little at her and she shrugged; her appearance was sometimes a little shocking to her more conservative family. Her hair had once been a soft blonde, but in a fit of rebellion she had charmed it white. She had celebrated dying her hair by getting her ears pierced several times, and her belly-button. The latter she didnât like as much since it kept getting caught in her clothes and tugging painfully.
âLeona, do you know why you are here,â her uncle Richard asked, his watery brown eyes stern and kind.
She gave a shrug, âBecause Mom couldnât deal with me.â
Her aunt Gertrude frowned and clucked her tongue, âNo, no, sweetie, your mother just wants the best for you. You just needâ¦more attention than she can give you.â
Leona scuffed her toe against the carpet, and turned to watch her little cousins play, âWhatever.â
Uncle Richard looked at the rest of the elders before he spoke, âYou know the rules of this house.â He was a tall man who was a thin as a rail with an oddly booming voice that commanded respect from anyone who listenedâpart of it was that he infused his voice with his own magic to make him a better orator while within the walls of his own home. âStarting tomorrow you will go to school and you will not use your magic while you are outside these walls.â
âSure,â she said and waved her hand off in his direction. She wouldnât actually promise not to, that was just plain stupid. Everyone knew about the treaty to keep magic out of the understanding of normal humans, and not use their talents in front of them, but everyone also knew that as long as you didnât hurt someone, a lot of things could be overlooked. Perhaps a love-spell there, or a notice-me-spell here wouldnât get you in trouble, but something like a revenge-spell might. Not that Leona had ever felt the urge to use any but the last of the spells; she liked using enchantments to curse, confuse, and cause havoc on people who crossed her.
Her older cousin Darren dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder, âLeona this is important. We all must listen to the treaty and your mother explained everything to us. Do not disappoint us.â
âDo not disappoint us,â resounded in her mind. It was a veiled threat; it wasnât often that a witchâs family would find their actions so dangerous that they would take harsh measuresâa temporary binding spell perhaps. But the phrase âDo not disappoint us,â made her flinch somewhat. She could imagine what would happen if she disappointed her full family and not just her mother who now lived 500 miles away. She nodded mutely before she looked towards uncle Richard, âMay I go to bed now? I have school in the morning.â
âBut Leona,â her aunt started, âitâs only seven! Stay and visit with us. I havenât seen you since you were a little sprite.â
She gave a little smile to her aunt; she had a few memories of her sneaking her an extra cookie or two when Grandmother hadnât been looking. But she still got up and left the living room, heading up the stairs and turning down the hall until she found the guest room that had been turned into her bedroom. It wasnât spacious, enough room to walk in and have a bed, a desk, bookcase and chair, but it was the window with the built in seat that made the room special to her. She liked to sit there and watch the day, or night go by. On her bed was a animal carrier and her suitcases, both of which she promptly opened though she was only concerned about her familiar, Puma, a large semi-feral cat. Leona didnât have to have a familiar, but something about the dark-furred, wild-eyed cat had stolen her heart and she claimed it as suchâ¦a few months later and a couple of spells, and Puma could talk.
âI,â he emphasized angrily, âhate being caged.â
âJoin the club,â she said coolly, and started to unpack. âI have to go to school and not use magic, or at least anything showy.â
âYou like showy,â he said blandly as he started to investigate the room before he hid under the bed. âBe subtle. Like a cat.â
âRightâ¦â
[justify...[/justify]
The next morning, she was at the school bright and early to check in with the office and get her schedule. She spent a good half-an-hour walking around the school looking for her classrooms before she finally settled down on one of the benches and waited for her peers to arrive. A small bloom of nervousness erupted in her stomach and the tall teen fidgeted in her seat. She looked up at the ceiling and whispered softly, âWhat if they donât like me?â She looked down at her clothes and bit her bottom lip; she tried to dress nice to fit in--a short skirt with stripped leggings underneath and a short-sleeved t-shirt with her favorite band on it.
She had never been good at making friends, which was perhaps why she was so reliant on her magic to help ease the way. Once she got them enthralled, even after she removed the spell, people stayed around her, almost like junkies in a way. She looked around before she touched one of the engraved stones on the bracelet she wore and whispered a quick and simple notice-me-and-like-me spell. It wasnât anything bad, but it would get her the friends she wanted and quickly. With another glance around, she added an light enthrallment spell over it and smirked, âThatâs better.â