Tales of Elderbrooke

Jumping Right In

Lady Josephine hummed and straightened the leaves on her towering monstera plant in the far corner of her classroom. She could sense the children coming but didn't want to come off too eager. A soft knock echoed through the classroom. "Come in!" she sang out. The door opened slowly and Oliver's dark eyes peeked through the crack. Josephine turned and smiled with a warm welcome. "Please do come in." With a slight shove, Alice pushed Oliver into the room and shut the door tightly behind her.

"Welcome! Pleased to meet the two of you. You can just call me Lady Josephine. I will be your common magic professor." She floated gracefully towards the twins lifting her slender hand to greet them. Alice stepped up first, "Hello, I'm Alice. I have to say, you are really beautiful Ms Josephine." The professor couldn't help but blush though she'd heard the compliment countless times. Josephine had been bestowed with eternal beauty from a higher power. Her mother baptized her to the goddess Aphrodite when she was born and in return, she was blessed with long-lasting beauty and youth. It did work well in her favor throughout her 120 years as a witch, though she tried to not let the vanity get to her head.

Oliver rolled his eyes at his sister's compliment. He knew it was just another tactic to get on the professor's good side and become the teacher's pet. Although, even he couldn't deny the pure radiance of Josephine's beauty. The accentuated outlines of her bone structure, the plumpness of her rosy lips. Her eyes were blue like polished glass and her hair had various shades of browns, reds, and oranges giving her a firey-copper shimmer. Her angelic appearance enamored the teen boy and not even he could guess how old she truly was. He would say in her early thirties if anything. Unexpectedly, her crystal-like eyes flashed to his. And he felt his cheeks heating instantly at the contact.

"And I'm Oliver," he said quietly. Looking around, Alice couldn't help but notice the classroom was empty. She had expected to show up to a room full of students, but at the moment it was only the three of them along with a lot of plants and books.

"Uh, where are the other kids?" Alice asked.

"Your first few lessons will be just us. I was informed both of you have no experience with magic and the rest of the students have lived with powers their entire lives. We didn't want to throw you into the deep end with no skills or knowledge." Josephine replied pleasantly. She gave the twins one last reassuring smile then strode to the desk at the head of the classroom. Alice and Oliver both chose desks at the front of the class and settled in ready for their first magical lesson. Alice was bouncing in her seat unable to control her curiosity. She wondered if she should take notes since they finally had a second to breathe. Oliver just stared at Josephine transfixed.

"Now, you must feel like this is all pretty, unbelievable to say the least. And most people of your kind live happily ignorant of our culture. We honestly prefer it that way as we keep our talents hidden and protected. Magical and mystical properties have reached every corner of this Earth and have lasted for centuries. In the past, our practices were far more common and open. Religious and societal transgressions have caused our kind to go back into hiding. Though few covens are hidden away deep in the forest much like Elderbrooke, others are more integrated with common society but lie under a blanket of secrecy. We here find it far more peaceful to be as far from modern society as possible as they are quite disruptive to our daily practices. As such, you'll find many residents here will not understand certain technology the way you and I do. They may not understand some of the things you reference from the modern world as our cultures have evolved quite differently over the centuries." Josephine leaned casually against her desk as she addressed the children. She tried to take it slowly but found they were keeping track quite competently. Either that or they both had exceptional poker faces. She would soon be able to tell the difference as she grew to know them.