Previous | Chapter Listing “What all have you been reading?” Morgyn hadn’t gone away, like Cassandra had half expected, but she was thankful for that. Most likely, she was going to have to make friends with the Sages, because each of them had things she could learn from them that the others couldn’t teach. She smiled slightly, and then tapped one of the book covers. “This one’s the history of Magic Realm,” she said. “These are about magical plants, and then this one’s about the Five Families.” Morgyn seemed surprised. “I’d figure your parents would be teaching you these things.” Cassandra turned her head down, and seemed saddened, but she…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next That seemed to be the portal she was looking for. It was a normal archway, just standing there on a stone at the top of a waterfall. For a moment, Cassandra looked through it. On the other side, all she saw was the rest of Glimmerbrook, and beyond, Granite Falls. She wondered what the other side would be like, and then figured she didn’t really want to know right away. She’d learn when she got there, and musing on it probably wasn’t a good idea. She’d spend so long musing that she couldn’t work up the courage to go in, and not going in…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next The pages were slightly worn but lined in gold, and Cassandra wasn’t sure she liked gold. Her mother was more enthusiastic about gold than she was, but Cassandra had learned to live with it. She would’ve liked some nice silver tone, or even no lining at all. She had a roll of clear tape to one side on the desk, and was setting letters, pictures, notes, anything of her father she could find in her little owl diary, and taping the edges down to protect from fraying. Her father always kept notes scribbled on sticky pads for his books. Sometimes, Cassandra thought about continuing…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next Cassandra sat with Bella the entire time, making sure she ate. And when she was done, Cassie took the dishes downstairs to the sink, and came back up. Cassandra had her own set of questions about what had happened, and where her father went. Bella, she was sure, had neglected to mention a thing or two in order not to overwhelm Alexander, and Cassandra understood that. She was older, though. And she’d get answers if it was the last thing she did. She settled back down in a seat nearby. Cassandra tried not to look too annoyed, or concerned. Neutrality here might serve her…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next By the time Cassandra had gotten home, their parents were both gone. Her mother had just gotten a promotion and had started working fairly late, so she wasn’t terribly concerned. Alexander got home at the same time, so Cassandra could watch him in the interim. Generally her kid brother didn’t require a lot of watching, anyway. He tended to just do his homework, and then spend the rest of the evening playing with his few toys or reading a book. It was eerie how quiet it could get in the house. Sometimes Cassandra found it comforting, but most of the time it was just…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next In a much better mood today, Cassandra bounced down the stairs, humming a tune under her breath. It’d taken some adjustment to the idea of being a spellcaster, but ultimately the fascination had won over the confusion and the fear of the unknown. It was somewhat exciting. There was something interesting about her, and while maybe it wasn’t unique, she didn’t know any other spellcasters. Maybe she could turn out to be a decent one, if she worked on it. It was something she could work towards, a goal she could have, and that in and of itself was somewhat motivating on its own. Cassandra had…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next That morning, Cassandra had left the house, saying something about needing to spend some time looking at art to bring her head back out of depression. The girl struggled with it, Bella knew, had ever since her early teen years, and while it was unfortunate, she’d been learning decent coping mechanisms for dealing with it. Mostly she channelled her feelings into artwork and music, and Bella looked forward to what things she accomplished that way. As it was, Bella took the opportunity to leave the house, too. And there was a special place she intended to go, somewhere she hadn’t been in a long…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next It was time. Cassandra had no idea how successful she’d be. Her parents seemed rather intent to hide everything from her in this particular instance, and she could only hope that asking, once again, what all this was about would get her somewhere new. She needed to know what was going on. She lived here too, after all, and she wasn’t as young as Alexander so there was no reason to keep things from her like this when it affected everyone that lived here. Instead of going in the second she got home, she stood outside in front of the house by the gate, waiting. Bella…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next A dash of this, a little bit of that… ah, perhaps a little bit less parsley next time, she thought. It wasn’t like it tasted terrible, most likely. Cassandra was just being overly picky, but she supposed being picky about the food they ate was not the worst thing in the world. This was a recipe she hadn’t tried yet, but all her other recipes seemed to be well received, so Cassandra figured trying the next one wouldn’t be a bad idea. It smelled good, at least. As she worked, humming softly to herself, she heard Alexander come in behind her and start washing…

Previous | Chapter Listing | Next The sound of the brew bubbling in the cauldron was a familiar and comforting one. It may have been some time since Bella was in here brewing her famous potions, but she was still absolutely in her element down here. The basement was a newer addition to the house, one the kids didn’t know anything about. Bella and Mortimer both knew how to get into it, but preferred not to tell the kids about it. Neither Cassandra nor Alexander had any idea of their true magical origins, and Bella would much rather keep it that way. Unfortunately, one didn’t always get what they wanted.…