The Witch Circle

Chapter 2:

A girl sat high in the branches of the tree, screaming, her eyes blank and unfocused, seeing something the boy couldn't. A choked sob escaped her, and the boy stroked her hair gently, willing someone who could help to come and find them. He didn't know this girl; he'd just heard her screaming, seen her high in the tree, looking as though she was about to fall down, and climbed up to help her.

"She's horrible," the girl whispered.

"It's okay, it'll be okay," the boy promised, trying to control his panic. Where were her parents?

"She wasn't always like that though. She was unlucky. Now she's sad, but she can't go back. No one would ever trust her again." She'd stopped screaming now, seeming better now that someone was with her, but her eyes were still unfocused. She must've been about seven years old, the boy thought.

"That sounds awful," the boy said honestly.

"She brought it on herself, but it is."

"Who is she?" the boy asked.

"She doesn't want me to tell you," the girl said matter-of-factly, frowning slightly. "She says you would be scared then."

"You don't have to tell me, but I promise I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. I know what it's like to be misunderstood," the boy said, almost sadly.

"Her name is Morgana and everyone is scared of her. A lot of people don't like her," the girl said softly. The boy forced himself not to react. Even though he was only nine, he had indeed heard of Morgana, and he knew that she had done bad things.

"Who are you, anyway?" the girl asked. She turned to face him, her eyes no longer unfocused, and he noticed that she was very pretty, with dark hair and dark blue eyes.

"My name is Ferus," the boy told her.

"I'm Rowena," the girl said. She smiled up at him suddenly. "Thank-you, Ferus."

"For what?"

"For staying with me. None of the others are nice to me when I see stuff like that. It scares them," she said sadly.

"I know how you feel," Ferus said quietly.

July 14, 2012 (morning)

For her 14th birthday, Rowena Court sat outside her brother's and sister's house, hidden on the side of the porch, away from the windows, debating about what her last name should be. In the magical world, girls tended to take on their mother's last name, so really she should be Rowena Thorne. But no, Royal daughters, at least if they were the oldest (and therefore the Royal heir), took on the Royal last name, so she was Rowena Court. But what if she wasn't the oldest? After all, she, Sadie, and Alec were triplets. And both of them seemed to have more power than her. Sadie, who seemed to be the most powerful, was probably the oldest, because the oldest child in a family was usually the most powerful. Really though, it didn't matter, because the Royals didn't know that Rowena had siblings, so she was Rowena Court automatically.

Besides, it was only a last name. If Rowena was going to argue with herself about something (and she always did), then she should at least argue about something important. Like...should she knock on the door and be confronted by an angry Alec and family who were probably not happy with her, as she had sent Sadie off to take her place with the Royals?

No, that was too painful and confusing. Hmm... Maybe she should think about what she was going to say to Sadie the next time they saw each other. After all, she had sent her sister off to stay with the Royals, almost all of whom were arrogant and annoying. So...she could just apologize and explain that she had done it for a very good reason...

Oh, like anything in Rowena's life was that simple. She has always been a strange, different child, ever since she was little and had bizarre outbursts of feelings not her own. She barely remembered these, all of them having occurred before the age of six, but she'd known, even then, that she had a twin, although she wasn't sure she would've have been able to explain how she knew that the intense bursts of feeling came from another person. By about age six though, the outbursts had been replaced by visions of the girl that she now knew was Sadie. She had a dim recollection of the couple of years where she used to sing about the things she saw, but those days were long gone, especially since strange things had always happened when she sang.

Then, when she had seen Sadie at Wizard's Lane, she had been shocked by their identical appearances, but wondered if this was her twin. This suspicion was further suggested when she found out that Sadie's last name was Thorne, which was her long-gone mother's name. Between that, the connection Rowena felt to Sadie, and a number of other small things about Sadie, like her power and command of the imperial elf, Nessie, Rowena was almost certain they were twins. So, when Sadie had suggested it, Rowena had felt compelled to say something deeply felt, like "duh."

They had been through a lot...and then Rowena had gone and basically betrayed Sadie. Well done, Rowena, she thought to herself with a sigh. You've managed to alienate your best friend.

Maybe Sadie would forgive her. Rowena certainly hoped so, as she wasn't sure who she would talk to otherwise. Rowena hadn't really liked any of their roommates –Lyssa was too much of a know-it-all; Tahlia was too annoying; Lucy was too eager and naïve; Scarlett was too much of a coward... Or maybe Rowena was just judgmental. She was certainly not a people person, and Sadie had liked them all just fine, after all.

Then again, Sadie was like that – just...good. She was kind, honest, brave, just...good in a way that Rowena was not. And she humble enough not to realize that she in the middle of a sort love triangle of sorts, where Zachery and Fang were two points of the triangle, Sadie barely noticing either of them, and Rowena was a kind of extra point, making it a square, the threads of her past tying her in.

Maybe she should stop living in her own head and go do what she came here to do. With another sigh, she stood up and steeped out of the shadows, her cloak drawn around her despite the warm weather. Taking a deep breath and drawing very deeply buried courage, Rowena knocked on the door.

It was immediately flung open to reveal Alec looking first hopeful, then furious. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"Can I explain?" Rowena pleaded.

"I'm listening," Alec growled.

"I couldn't go home and face Ash. He would've known if I was lying to him or keeping something from him, and I couldn't tell him about you and Sadie," Rowena said, an edge of cold creeping into her voice. None of them would understand!

"So you decided to put Sadie in the same position? I thought you guys were friends! How could you do that to her?" Alec demanded. Rowena flinched and reflected both that nothing could get Alec angry like someone messing with Sadie, and also that she had never felt the same connection to Alec that she felt to Sadie.

"Sadie can tell him whatever she wants! It's just a...sense that I had. It has to be her who tells Ash; I don't know why."

Alec frowned. "That's not too unreasonable, but couldn't you have warned her before doing something like that? Didn't you see the look on her face?" His voice cracked, and Rowena flinched again. She recalled that look all too well – hurt, confusion, panic.

"I didn't think about that," Rowena said honestly.

"How long were you planning this, anyway?" Alec demanded.

"Ever since I got that letter from my father," Rowena said. It was most of the truth, anyway. She had been planning to have Sadie take her place since then, she'd just been thinking about it ever since Sadie had woken up after a month in a vision.

Alec raised his eyebrows, still frowning. Rowena reflected that he looked just like Ash when he did that, and wondered, as she had countless times, why he had never felt like her brother if Sadie had always felt like her sister.

"You should have told her, Rowena," Alec said sternly, distracting her from her thoughts.

"I know. And I plan to beg for her forgiveness next I see her," Rowena admitted. "But um, Alec, could I come in?"

"Yeah, I guess," he said, suddenly uncertain. "I mean, if things had been different, it could have been you living here," he said with an awkward laugh.

"Yeah, I guess," Rowena admitted, having never really thought about it. How different would things be if it had been her, not Sadie, who'd lived here? She wouldn't be scared of her past and she would've grown up with a brother, but she would never have known her father.

Rowena followed Alec into the house, glancing around. It was no palace, of course, but it was a fairly large house, and Rowena saw a modern-looking kitchen, a living room with a comfortable gray sectional sofa and chairs and a flat screen TV, and stairs leading up to a second level. The whole place was very open and light. There were plenty of windows, plus non-magic electric lights.

"Sadie? Oh, Rowena."

Rowena glanced around again, looking for the source of the voice, and spotted Ekaterina, the girl they had brought back from the tunnels under the school. She looked completely different though. Ekaterina was still skinny, but several inches taller, with a much cleaner, healthier look to her. Her long, pale hair had been brushed out to its full length, and fell, extremely straight, down to her waist. And instead of a ragged tunic, she wore jeans and a pink t-shirt. The tattoo on her cheek had been covered by make-up.

"Hello, Ekaterina," Rowena said politely, then wondered aloud, "How does everyone know that I'm Rowena, not Sadie?"

"It's the way you carry yourself, your expressions, and your lack of talking," Ekaterina told her. "It makes you seem completely different."

"Oh," Rowena said, frowning. It was strange to her that Ekaterina, who'd known Sadie only for a few days, could already tell her and Rowena apart.

"Alec! Breakfast is ready! There you are...oh!" A tall woman in her mid-thirties with long light brown hair and sharp brown eyes came out of the kitchen.

"Aunt Eva, this is Rowena," Alec said.

"Rowena, would you like some breakfast? We have eggs, bacon, muffins..." Eva trailed off. "It's Alec's birthday, so I've made lots. Oh, and Alec, weren't you going to send a letter to your sister?"

"Oh yeah, thanks, Aunt Eva."

"Letters from Salem Academy came today too. Why don't you open them so that you can tell Sadie what her new classes are?" Eva suggested.

They all went into the kitchen, where a tall, dark-haired man sat drinking a cup of coffee. Alec scooped up the pile of letters on the table saying, "Good morning, Uncle Terence."

"Happy birthday, Alec."

"Thanks," Alec replied. Rowena hesitantly took a blueberry muffin from the basket on the table, first nibbling at it, and then eating quicker when she realized that she was starving and the muffin was good.

"Please, help yourself," Eva said, setting plates in front of Alec, Rowena, and Ekaterina. Rowena hesitated only a moment before filling her plate.

"So, Alec, how did you do?" Ekaterina asked, trying to peer over his shoulder as he read a letter from Salem Academy. Eventually he just sighed and tossed one of the papers on the table.

Mr. Alec Odin Thorne has achieved the following grades:

(Passing grades: O=Outstanding, A=Above average, S=Satisfactory; Failing grades: P=Poor, D=Dreadful)

Charms 1: O (94%); O (97%)

Defensive Magic 1: O (98%); O (100%)

Flying 1: O (90%); N/A

History of Magic 1: O (98%); O (99%)

Potions 1: O (91%); O (93%)

Study of Magical Creatures 1: O (92%); O (96%)

Study of Magical Plants 1: O (93%); O (98%)

Of the above scores, the first represents the student's overall grade, while is their final exam score.

"You're smart," Ekaterina commented.

"Thanks," Alec said, looking embarrassed.

"What new classes are you taking next year?" Rowena asked, setting down her fork.

"Uh...let's see." He glanced at the third page of his letter. "Introduction to Magical Language and Introduction to Transfiguration," he read.

"Ooh, good choices," Ekaterina said, nodding. "What's Sadie taking?"

"Can I open Sadie's letter?" Rowena asked the room at large, as Alec was busy reading his supply list and not really paying attention.

"Go ahead, Rowena," Eva said, nodding. Rowena tore open the envelope, skipping the first page.

Miss Sadie Hecate Thorne has achieved the following grades:

(Passing grades: O=Outstanding, A=Above average, S=Satisfactory; Failing grades: P=Poor, D=Dreadful)

Charms 1: A (87%); A (88%)

Defensive Magic 1: S (79%); A (80%)

Flying 1: O (90%); N/A

History of Magic 1: O (94%); O (93%)

Potions 1: O (100%); O (110%)

Study of Magical Creatures 1: O (100%); O (100%)

Study of Magical Plants 1: A (89%); A (89%)

Of the above scores, the first represents the student's overall grade, while is their final exam score.

Rowena couldn't resist reading over Sadie's grades, staring enviously at the Potions and Study of Magical Creatures marks.

As a second-year student, Miss Sadie Hecate Thorne will be taking the following classes:

Charms 2 (Professor Riley Johnson)

Defensive Magic 2 (Professor Leonora King)

Divination 1 (Professor Aishling Channing)

History of Magic 2 (Professor Marcus Kerrigan)

Introduction to Protector and (Professor Aaron Halt)

Guardian Magic

Potions 2 (Professor Damon Pierce)

Study of Magical Creatures 2 (Professor Davis Lee)

Study of Magical Plants 2 (Professor John Baker)

"Sadie is taking Divination 1 and Intro to Protector and Guardian Magic," Rowena said, a note of surprise creeping into her voice. Alec added something to the paper in front of him and Rowena realized he was writing a letter.

"How did she get into that?" Alec asked, as though he had just realized what Rowena had said. "That's one of the hardest classes to get into and usually requires a bunch of application and recommendation..." he trailed off, and then suddenly swore loudly, making everyone in the kitchen jump and stare at him. "Fang," he muttered.

"You really think Fang would get her into Protector and Guardian training?" Rowena asked, frowning. She pushed away a stab of jealousy.

"Yeah. We had talked about it...mentioned it, really, but I never thought..." he trailed off again.

All second-year students will require the following, in addition to the supplies they already own:

Books:

-Magical Plants and Herbs (Volume 2) by Caroline Rayne

-Protection Spells by Nate Franken

-Well-Known Creatures of the Wizard World by Willa Williams

Divination 1 students will require:

Books:

-Divination at its Simplest by Diana Merlin

Other Equipment:

-1 scrying dish

-1 crystal set (standard, white)

-1 notebook or diary for dream interpretation

Introduction to Protector and Guardian Magic students will require:

Uniform:

-1 cloak (black, plain) (in addition to school one)

Books:

-Protective Magic 1 by Jason Harnden

-History of the Guardians by Nathan Pong

Other Equipment:

-1 dagger (standard guardian make, standard size small)

-1 set of crystal or glass vials

-1 set of protection charms (standard)

Rowena flicked her eyes down the supply list, then pushed it away, shaking her head.

"Hey, do you guys want to see my class list?" Ekaterina asked, grinning. "It's way more interesting than either of yours."

Miss Ekaterina Dragon Kang will be taking the following classes:

Charms 2 (Professor Riley Johnson)

Defensive Magic 2 (Professor Leonora King)

History of Magic 2 (Professor Marcus Kerrigan)

Potions 2 (Professor Damon Pierce)

Study of Magical Creatures 2 (Professor Davis Lee)

Study of Magical Plants 2 (Professor John Baker)

Tutoring (Spells)

Tutoring (Writing)

"Tutoring?" Rowena asked, frowning.

"To help me catch up," Ekaterina explained. "I'm skipping the first year, and I already know some stuff, so Headmistress Winters decided that I would just have my additional classes replaced with tutoring sessions with several teachers. Depending on how it goes, they might even try to move me up another year so that I'm with other students my age," she said seriously.

"Good for you, Kat," Alec said, smiling. She beamed, and the effect was to make her unrecognizable as the girl from the tunnels.

"I'm really excited," she said honestly. Eva asked her a couple of questions about her schedule while Alec went to send his letter to Sadie. Ekaterina answered them cheerfully, then glanced at Rowena.

"So, are you going to be staying here from now on?" she asked curiously.

"You're welcome to, dear," Eva said, glancing at Terence. "We could put you in Sadie's room or in the guest room with Ekaterina."

Rowena blinked. "Why would you want me to stay here?"

"Well, I don't suppose you want to go back to the palace, do you?" Eva asked, frowning now. When Rowena didn't reply, she added, "You're welcome here. You're Sadie's...friend...and she would want us to make you feel at home."

Judging from the way she said "friend", Eva knew exactly who she was. Rowena hesitated, knowing that she didn't really have anywhere to go, but feeling uncomfortable saying so.

"You can think about it if you need to," Terence said, surprising Rowena, who had forgotten he was there. Ekaterina nodded and smiled hopefully. Rowena wondered why everyone was so keen to have her stay, especially after what she'd done to Sadie. Back at the palace, the only one who'd wanted her around was Ash.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Rowena asked uncertainly.

"Of course," Eva said.

"Alright," Rowena said tentatively.

. . .

It was several weeks later when they arrived at Wizard's Lane, and those few weeks had been some of the best of Rowena's life, apart from her time at Salem Academy. She got to know both Ekaterina and Alec a bit better, and the tree of them played non-magic games and talked. Alec educated them about stuff from the non-magic world, Rowena hesitantly explained things about the magical/Royal culture that she'd grown up with, and Ekaterina told them about her days from the tunnels and legends of her people. Besides that, they played the few magic games Alec and Sadie had, read news from The Owl Post, and cooked with Eva.

"I need to visit the Vaults," Rowena said. "Sadie and I are going to try and get our stuff together and we're going to meet there."

"I need to go too," Ekaterina said. "The school set up a small fund for me."

The Vaults was a building that served as a bank and was used primarily by Royals who wanted to store their money. It also allowed witches and wizards to exchange non-magic money for witch currency, as many magical shops didn't accept non-magic money. Witch currency included gold dollars (which were worth about twenty dollars in non-magic money), silver medians (10 of which were in a gold dollar), bronze nickels (20 of which were in a gold dollar), and pennies (100 of which were in a dollar).

Eva and Terence both looked a bit anxious. Alec had told Rowena that last year, two witches named Lillian and Dee had come along, doing a lot of the shopping. Apparently the plus side of this was that they were allowed to where regular clothes instead of robes, but the downside was that they would have to figure out where to find things themselves.

When they reached the Vaults, Ekaterina quickly withdrew a small amount of gold, leaving most of it in her vault. Rowena glanced around for Sadie.

"Rowena, there you are!" Rowena glanced up to see Sadie hurrying over, looking relieved. "Here's your money...we've gotta be fast because they've only given me an hour. Beg for forgiveness later, okay?"

"Okay," Rowena replied, taking the bag Sadie handed her.

"We'll meet up with you back here in an hour, then?" Eva asked, after she and Terence had hugged Sadie and said hello.

"50 minutes, actually," Sadie said, glancing at her watch. "But yeah. Sorry I can't stay longer; I really wanted to."

"It's alright. Do what you have to," Terence told her firmly.

"Thanks! Alright, let's go then!" Sadie said, and they hurried down the street.

They visited Blaine's Books and Texts for their spell books, The Guardian Place for Sadie's supplies for Intro to Protector and Guardian Magic, and The Looking Glass for their Divination supplies. Then, remembering that they had to restock on things like ink and potion supplies, they visited Script Shoppe for quills and ink, a pet store for food for Sadie's cat, and the Apothecary for refills for their potion kits.

"I've decided to get you a birthday present," Rowena said abruptly.

Sadie raised an eyebrow. "Is this a plea for forgiveness? Because in my entire 14 years, I've never gotten a birthday present from you and never thought it was at all strange."

"No, but I suppose I do owe you about 14 birthday presents," Rowena admitted. "And 13 Christmas presents."

Sadie laughed. "Just no necklaces, okay? I'm already wearing too many."

"Alright, I'll take you to the sweetshop then," Rowena said.

"Sounds delicious," Sadie admitted.

Honey's Sweetshop was a little-known shop near the edge of Wizard's Lane. Rowena had been there several times and was well-liked by the owner, Honey Staad. Honey was 22 and one of the nicest people Rowena knew.

"Little Ro! It's so good to see you!" Honey exclaimed, swinging herself nimbly over the counter to give Rowena a hug. "It's been too long! And who's this?"

"I'm Sadie. Who are you?" Sadie asked politely.

"Honey Staad, pleased to meet you," she said promptly. "Are you from Salem Academy too?"

"Yeah, I'm going into my second year. Did you go?"

"Yep, I just graduated two years ago after completing eight years of magical education. Of course, a lot of that was probably wasted, considering my choice of career." She smiled good-naturedly.

"I'm getting Sadie a birthday present. Any suggestions?" Rowena asked, knowing that Honey would talk forever if Sadie let her.

"Hmm," Honey said thoughtfully. Meanwhile, Sadie wandered around the shop, asking questions about things she saw.

"What's this?"

"Bubblegum. With a little practice, it'll let you blow bubbles with a diameter of up to about three feet."

"Cool! What's that?"

"Fire crackers. You'll have smoke coming out your ears and flames out of your nose and mouth for an hour."

"Whoa, that's pretty neat. And what's that up high?"

"That's Frosting in several flavors. You can get little tubes or a larger container. It's guaranteed to make you turn blue with cold."

"Nice! What's that?"

"Sadie, calm down," Rowena said, laughing a little. Sadie's eagerness was matched only by Honey's.

"Oh, fine," Sadie sighed, her eyes still shining.

"What would you like?" Rowena asked her.

After several minutes of debate (out loud, of course), Sadie finally made a decision. "...So I guess I'll get some of the Bubblegum and some of your special –the honey bars?"

"Coming tight up," Honey said, smiling. Rowena passed over the coins to pay for it. When she passed Sadie the bag, she asked suddenly, "You're my brother's friend, aren't you?"

"Your brother?" asked Sadie, frowning.

"Jarren, I think. I doubt you would know Logan if you're in your second year."

"Oh yeah, I know Jarren," Sadie said, grinning. Then she glanced at her watch and bit her lip.

"I thought your name sounded familiar. Well, you guys have a good year," Honey said, correctly interpreting Sadie's look.

"Yeah, I've gotta go...but you too! It was really nice meeting you," Sadie said sincerely.

"Bye, Honey," Rowena said, smiling faintly at her friend.

"See you guys," Honey said, winking.