Tales of Elderbrooke

Lessons of the M.A.G.I.K. Academy

"You could've called, Mister," Charlotte chided as Oliver and Alice strode through the kitchen. They both immediately went to hug their parents after a long night away. Charlotte pulled Oliver in tight and kissed the top of his head over and over. Vincent lifted Alice in a hug that left her feet dangling. Then they switched with Vincent pulling Oliver in and clapping him on the back, and Alice melting into the warm embrace of her mother's arms.

"So? How was it!?" Vincent asked with excitement. He led the family into the living room and pulled the kids onto the couch. Charlotte sat gracefully in an armchair crossing her legs.

"Can I show you something?" Alice said with a bright expression on her face. Vincent offered her the floor and sat closer to his son still beaming from their return. It was hard being away from his children for even a night after being cooped up together for so long. Alice walked up to the soot-filled fireplace, pulled her wand out of her waistband, and took a deep breath. "Ignitio!" At her command, sparks flew out the tip of her wand and started a roaring fire within the hearth. Both parents gave thrilled outbursts and clapped at her trick.

"Wonderful Alice!" said Charlotte.

"Dang kiddo, now that is magic!" Vincent cheered. This pleased Alice as she skipped back to her seat on the other side of her father excited to share a recap of her eventful evening. The Full Moon Ceremony had completely blown her away and she was utterly giddy to tell her parents and brother.

"So, who wants to go first? Oliver? Tell us about your night away since I'd really love to know where you've been," Charlotte said. Her eyes narrowed at her sheepish son but she wasn't angry. Actually, she was overjoyed that he had a night out and got to have a fun experience all on his own.

"Well, I hung out with the guys mostly. Felix and Tobias, we call them the Stags, They showed me some cool magic. That Felix kid is super talented. Then one of the professors had a dragon egg hatch. It was so dope. It looked right at me and even jumped on me!" Charlotte gasped, horrified, but Vincent looked riveted by his son's experience. "The thing actually was super calm until some kid ran up and scared it. It burned the shit out of his hand – oop sorry Mom – but anyway, the professor let me name it since it liked me so much. It was a real dragon, Dad!" Oliver exclaimed turning to his father. They began to chat about how interesting the mythical creature was and Oliver tried to describe the way its scales shimmered in the light.

"That's really amazing, sweetie!" Charlotte eventually chimed in from her seat. The males hushed their conversation and turned their attention back to the girls. "Alice, how was your Full Moon Ceremony?"

Alice sat up straighter as if preparing for a public speaking event. "It. Was. Phenomenal!" She squealed. "All the girls are so sweet and they welcomed me in so quickly! First, we hiked out to these soaking pools and took a nice long bath filled with rose petals, then we all had different dresses made just for us! And then, we went to this beautiful hidden meadow. Oh, Mom, I wish you coulda seen it. The little ones made an altar and Penelope taught me how to 'cleanse the space' before we started the actual ritual. We prayed, we ate, we sang. It was wonderful, Mama. You really need to go next time, I've never felt so... so alive!" Alice said breathlessly. She blurted it all out so quickly she forgot to breathe.

"That sounds wonderful Alice. I'm glad you got to have that experience around a bunch of lovely-sounding females. Very empowering," Charlotte said while positively beaming at her daughter.

"Ya know Oliver," Vincent began, "We need to do a boys' trip sometime. Do our own adventure into nature. We haven't gone in years. You could invite some of your magic buddies. Show em how to do things the boring way just in case they ever get stuck without magic. And I'm sure they could show me a thing or two." He said as he playfully nudged Oliver in the ribs.