The Bittersweet Taste Of Magic

The trip

When Astre was told he was a wizard, he thought his father was crazy. There were no such thing. Even though father looked deadly serious when he told him this, he almost laughed in his face. Ciel almost did like wise.

But after he explained the system in which he would have to go through, both twins could tell he wasn't lying about any of it. He nearly fainted from surprise. Ciel just looked like he was torn between deciding if it was April Fool's Day or not.

Vince could see the very evident disbelief on his children's faces, so he twisted his head to get view of his wife. She looked back at him with sympathetic eyes, clearly knowing that she would have to take the lead in this situation.

Rachael let out a soft grunt as she got out of her chair and made her way to the twins. She then pulled a graceful smile on her thin lips, sat down, and urged them closer to her. They graciously accepted her offer to let them sit in her lap, and both decided to take a knee, despite knowing if anyone had found out they did this, they would immediately lose any "street cred" they had managed to earn among their previous peers. Yet, starry eyed and full of wonder, they began listening to their beautiful mother and her smooth voice, soaking up every word that pasted through her pink lips.

"You two are getting quite big, you know that? Almost in secondary school," she trailed off for a moment, as if she were reminiscing over all the years that had past. Her words were a gentle tug on a harp, a sweet, familiar sound willing to lull anyone into a calming slumber.

She continued, nonetheless, in the same sugary voice. "You know, with getting older, there are certain responsibilities and changes that need to be taken on. That includes going to different schools to achieve different things. You two need to realize that. Now, I know it won't be easy, especially considering how close you two are, but when you do it, you'll realize it'll be for the better."

While Astre had gotten the message and had even previously thought the same thing, he looked over at Ciel, who had his puffy eyes concealed by his hair. Astre sucked in a small breath, deciding to tell his brother that their mother was correct in her advice.

He, however, didn't. That's because Rachel had opened her eyes in the time that Astre did and saw her other son's despair.

"Ciel, sweetheart, it's okay. Let it out, shhhh." She began patting her eldest son on his back. And, as if on cue, crystalline tears began to cascade Ciel's face. Astre took this as his time to try and comfort his brother.

"Oh, Ciel. Please stop crying. It won't be that bad. We can still call each other and I'll come back home in the summer!"

Vincent, who was now watching hesitantly from afar, chimed in with his input on the matter. "Ciel, your brother is right. When my sister, your Aunt Francis, went to Weston I wasn't able to see her either. And look at us, we're still thick as thieves. There's absolutely no doubt that you and Astre won't be the same."

This comment at the very least seemed to stop his sons from growing louder, so their mission was deemed successful for the moment. He just needed time.

_

The departure day was almost upon the youngest twin, even as he struggled to pull the last of his supplies together. The Phantomhives had no idea where to gather the items on the list, and acquired help from the Midfords. They decided to go shop together, as it turns out both Elizabeth and Edward were going to the school.

They took a cab to their meeting place, the Sphere Music Hall, to wait for their relatives. But, as it turns out, the Midfords were the ones waiting for them. The Midfords, you see, were a very respected family throughout all of Europe. That's because of the customs and legacy they had built up during the years.