Mimic (Wardens Legacies - Ancient Blood III)

6 - THE BRADLY CHILDREN PART ONE

My first daughter was named Magdalena. She was born on a stormy night in late April. As with any of my previous children, I had felt quite well during the actual pregnancy. There was no morning sickness, no crazy cravings, and I slept like a baby. Phillip was not present the day that Maria took on the role of a midwife. In fact, Mags was nearly a week old before her father laid eyes on her. The moment he saw her something in him changed. When the small baby was placed in his hands, I watched as the anguish left and in its place was pride. He loved that little girl like no other. When Mags was two, she would toddle after him, and he would toss her in the air until she laughed so hard she let out a loud snort.

Our marriage had hit one of the few happy moments. Phillip stayed home more and left Lidia to do her work. She moved closer to the medical lab, leaving us to our home and precious child. I often saw Mags giggling at something in the corner of the room. All I had to do was open my vision and see Elizabeth crouched down making a silly face. This was the first time I had seen the apparition having fun, and not so hostile. There were even days that I sat in front of the mirror holding Mags, allowing Elizabeth a chance to look at the infant.

"I can feel her," Elizabeth said happily, looking up at me from the mirror. "She looks so much like her father."

I must admit, Elizabeth was correct. Mags looked almost identical to Phillip.

"When will we know what power, she has?" Elizabeth had asked me.

"At around age five is what the doctor told me," I mentioned, as I ran my fingers through the baby girl's brown hair. She looked up at me and giggled, as she reached up to grasp a handful of my blonde locks.

When Mags turned five, we were all stunned by the fact that she was human. No magic ran through the little girl's veins. We did not know what to think, and suddenly the happiness we had shared for the last five years vanished. Philip began to accuse me of cheating, pushing the child away from him. My once sweet daddy's girl became mommy's best friend.

In 1940 I gave birth to our first son James. As with Mags, Phillip was enthralled with his son's charismatic nature. He would take James everywhere with him. I think Elizabeth knew before the rest of us that James was like Mags. Not a magical bone in his body. Mags and James were the best of friends. When Phillip became scarce again; it was Mags that played ball with him, it was Mags that taught him how to walk and talk.

Amazingly, Elizabeth did not care if her grandchildren were magical or not. She enjoyed playing with them every chance she got. What she enjoyed most was that while they were human, they still had my sight. She could talk to them or play with them whenever she wanted. She was attached to the children for quite some time, leaving me to the peacefulness of the other spirits who had given up on warning me. Now they just waited for each time another painful act occurred.

When James was about ten, Phillip came home in a drunken rage and commenced to attack me in our parlor, right in front of both children. Mags pulled James into a corner and covered his eyes, while she closed her's tight. They were too scared to make a run for their rooms. Their father was screaming at me, belittling me in every way that he could. Through his beating, I stood there stoic. Phillip was not the first husband of mine to find joy in hitting me after a long night of drinking. I also knew what would happen next. He would come home the next day with flowers and promise me the world. Swear up and down he would never do it again, and not long after we would have another round.

I am not a violent person, so trust me when I say me standing there stoic is because I already know what is going to happen. Sure, I could pack up the kids and leave, but what would that accomplish? Alexander would make sure I was brought back right where he wanted me to be, and I would be stuck. So, I took it. Mind you; I was worried about the children. The last thing I wanted was for them to see their father in this fashion. Also, note that if he had laid one finger our babies, I would have ripped his head off and eaten his core in a heartbeat.