Mara woke at five in the morning in order to make the meeting. She was starting at Zeldra's school to test the waters. She was curious to see if they would get any of the families interested in joining. 

Mara's job seemed simple enough; show up at the schools, talk to the families, and get them interested in learning more. After that, they would sign their names and give contact information, which would then be sent to the High Council. They would take over informing from there on, at least that's what she had been told. 

However, she had never talked to large groups of people before, let alone large groups of adults she had to convince to do something. She had no idea how to go about convincing them to want to learn more, to want to help them in their fight against the Nightshades, especially when she wasn't allowed to get into specifics. 

Mara gathered her suitcase, making sure to grab the potion Zeldra had made as well as the leather pouch for the protection spell she had made the night before. Thankfully most of the ingredients had been out in the open and easy to get to, the hardest thing to get was the leather to make the pouch. 

She tossed the pouch in the air once, hearing the contents shift before sliding it into her bag next to the potion. She turned to see her cat sleeping peacefully on the bed and made her quiet escape. Trixle had agreed to keep tabs on Sasha in case she got into any trouble, though Mara was sure her cat knew how to help herself. 

Grabbing all of her things, Mara went down to the first floor where the portal was located and keyed in the code that connected this one to the preparatory school. She stepped through and made her way to the office. 

It was only six in the morning, but their head of the school was already in the office, prepared to talk to her about the meeting she had scheduled for the day. The school had been gracious enough to lend their facilities for the meeting, but she would have to abide by their rules. 

She sat in the chair in the office, watching the woman pace back and forth as she instructed Mara on how to behave. Mara knew she was a student herself, but she didn't really think it was necessary to be told how to conduct herself in the academic setting. She obviously wasn't one to cause trouble; at least not recently, otherwise she wouldn't be sitting on the High Council. And one would think that being on the Council would be enough for this woman, but she wasn't satisfied. 

"You must remain in your room at all times once you get there until the time you are ready to leave." The woman said staring down her long pointed nose at Mara. Mara simply nodded in response. 

"I was told your meeting would begin at eight a.m. sharp and would go until you finished, however, I say that you must be finished by noon."

Mara bit back her sarcastic response, feeling that it wouldn't go over with this grouchy old woman. 

"I don't see it lasting that long ma'am. Though in case, what am I supposed to do if the meeting does need to go longer?" Mara asked trying to sound polite. 

"It won't." She replied, warning in her voice. 

Mara nodded, biting her tongue once more. She wondered if she wasn't being taken as seriously due to her age. She knew that it was different for such a young person to be on the Council, but she was starting to learn that some didn't seem as thrilled with the idea of a student sitting in. 

As the woman explained the rest of the rules, Mara paid little attention, nodding when she felt it was necessary, and speaking a small agreement in the brief moments of silence. The woman appeared to enjoy hearing herself talk. 

Once that had been taken care of, she was led to a room similar to the one she had met Zeldra in, but slightly bigger, able to fit more people. To her surprise there were already a few men and woman who were waiting inside. 

When she entered the room, those who were present stood until she made her way to the front. She leaned against the desk; looking over at the few people and watched them all lower themselves back down into their seats. 

"I'm assuming more people are on their way, or is this all we have? I know we are supposed to have the families of two different covens here." Mara said, looking over the people. 

"There will be more. I believe every family agreed to send at least one representative, it isn't every day we get to meet our own representative." A man said, seeming less than pleased with what he saw. 

As she scanned the rest of the faces, she was met with different expressions. Some looked to feel the same way as the man, less than pleased with the person standing before them, some looked up in awe. They knew if she was selected to fill the spot, then there was a good reason for it. 

As they waited in an awkward silence, more people filtered into the room, and by the time eight rolled around, the room was nearly full, and all eyes were staring at her expectantly. 

"Alright, let's get started, shall we?" Mara asked trying to sound friendly. 

No one spoke up, just stared at her silently as if they were trying to decide how they felt about her. There were thirty-five pairs of judgmental eyes staring at her, and that made her nervous. 

You just have to get through this meeting and then just pass them on to the rest of the council. She tried to remind herself. However, looking back into those faces did not make her job seem easy at all. She had never done well with public speaking, and talking in front of the Council for the first time had scared her half to death. 

Taking one deep breath with her eyes closed Mara decided to just dive in. 

"I have asked you all here today because you are the families of very strong students. Each of you has a son or daughter, possibly both, who are in a powerful coven. Your children display great powers, and that is what I am looking for. 

The Magical Realm is facing a threat, and the High Council is trying to do what we can to stop the threat. Already we have small, skilled groups from each of the representatives of this Realm, except for witches. We are looking for those who would be willing to learn more about this threat, and who would be willing to take up action to help save our world." 

She paused, letting the information sink into the crowd. She had seen the instant reaction, one where nearly every person looked as if they had been slapped across the face. Mara had told them the one thing everyone feared, they could be in danger. There was something out there that threatened the way they have been living, something out there that sought to change everything. She hoped that fear would be enough to strike them with the need to do something. 

A man near the back stood up, raising his voice so he could be heard. 

"What is this threat?" At his question she could hear a few murmurs around the room, everyone was curious what could possibly threaten their lives. 

Mara bit her lip; it was one of the things she wasn't allowed to expand on. If she were to tell these people what was out there, what was happening, they could run off and tell others. The knowledge could start a full-blown hysteria amongst the people. 

"I am not at liberty to saw exactly what is happening. If you agree to help us, or even if you just agree to get more information, then you will be written down, and your information will be processed into the next level of the Council." She looked around; making sure everyone understood her. 

"After that, you will be contacted once more to go to the Council Chambers where you will be met with the rest of the Council. There you will be given more information about this threat, and the ways you can help."

"Well what could we possibly do?" Another woman asked. 

"Each of you mastered a different talent, you are all skilled, but there was at least one thing that came naturally to you, one thing that developed much stronger than the rest. Whether that was potions, spells, or something else, you each have something you could dedicate to the cause.

"We are looking from people with all sorts of backgrounds that can bring in outside knowledge and help us in this situation."

Mara could tell that some people didn't seem convinced. She knew the feeling, how could there possibly be anything for them to do? They were just one person and everything seemed far beyond them. She just hoped that some of them would at least have the courage she had to step into the deep end, let the water wash over their heads, completely engulf them, and let them see how far they could go. 

She never regretted the decisions she had made so far, and she hoped they would be able to do the same thing. 

"How dangerous is this?" A small woman asked.

"I will not lie to you, this will most likely be dangerous. I can't guarantee the safety of any of you, all I can guarantee is that if you do decide to help, you won't be alone. You will be right along side some very strong men and women from all over the Realm, some who have been training to fight since they were in school. You will be given some training as well, which is why we are trying to get you in as soon as possible."

Mara stopped, thinking that she was losing some people. She didn't want to lose possible supporters, but she also wouldn't be able to live with herself if she let them go in blind. 

"I myself will be right along side those men and women, and any of you who choose to join us as well." Mara said, trying to pull them back in. 

More people asked questions, trying to get more specifics, but Mara was adamant that they needed to sign their name and intent to join their cause. They wouldn't be held to it exactly, but she was told if they believed they were prepared to sign their names already, then they would be even more prepared to fight once they got the rest of their information. 

By the time the meeting was finished, it was nearly eleven.

"I think we are finished here, I have said what I needed to say, I have made my case on behalf of the Council and our Realm. If you are interested in helping, then I encourage you to stay here and write down your contact information. It will be sent in to the Council, and you will be contacted soon."

Everyone stood immediately, Mara thought each one of them was going to walk out the door, but in fact, nearly half of them had decided to stay. They made a line in front of the desk where the sheet of paper sat and one by one they signed their names, a few even said they would be bringing others with them to the next meeting. 

As they walked by, each person insisted on shaking hands with Mara. They vocalized their gratitude towards her, asking how she could possibly be holding up in a situation like this. 

"As an adult I am nervous for you, how does a child such as yourself hold up in a situation like this?" An older woman asked her, kindness in her eyes. 

Mara smiled sadly at the woman, the fear radiating off the woman as she spoke. 

"I have no choice but to stay strong, ma'am. I agreed to take this position, and I knew I was agreeing to take the bad with the good. I just never thought the bad would be surfacing so soon."

"You were only initiated this year, correct?" 

"Yes, not too long ago actually."

The woman shocked Mara by pulling her into a hug. 

"May the gods bless you and keep you safe in this journey, may they keep us all safe." She said as she released Mara and looked back at the rest of the line waiting to sign their names. 

Mara nodded and the woman walked on, as a man approached her. 

"In my three hundred years I never imagined something like this could actually happen. Though we aren't entirely sure what is happening." The man said sounding slightly unhappy about the last part. "But I am glad that we have someone like you who is willing to take the initiative." 

Mara was about to speak up, say her thanks to his words, but he quickly jumped back in. 

"It is a shame the kingdom of the witches fell so long ago, each of the others have remained strong. They have amazing organization, and have skilled warriors trained from the beginning. However, you are doing a fantastic job gathering what you can. As far as I am concerned, you are our queen."

The man swooped into a low bow, taking Mara's right hand and kissing the back of it. She was completely stunned into silence, she had no idea what to say, nothing seemed appropriate enough for such a situation. 

The man left, and each person in turn decided to say his or her parting words to Mara. Each one had words of encouragement, some of praise for how she was handling herself. Some even seemed shocked as the first woman had been, how such a young person could be so poised and be as prepared as she had seemed. 

Somehow, none of them had managed to see her fright, the entire time she felt as if she had been shaking, that at any moment her legs would give out and she would crumple into a blubbering heap on the ground. That she would no longer be able to handle the pressures. She was only eighteen after all, her journey starting off on her birthday.

After the last person signed their name, and said what their parting words, Mara folded the piece of paper with the names and went into the office again. 

She found the office assistant sitting in the office all alone, and she went up to the desk. 

"You can tell Henrietta that we have finished up, and everyone has left, including myself." 

The woman sitting behind her desk looked up bored, blowing a bubble that popped, sticking to the woman's mouth. Mara just nodded and turned to walk out, surprised at how such a tightly run school could have someone like that as their main desk officer. 

As Mara stepped outside there was a long, black limo waiting for her to get in. She hadn't realized before, but the Magical Realm also used earthly methods of transportation. Though they usually defaulted to portals, or witches who would transport themselves places, they also had cars and trains. 

The Council had decided that after using the portal to make her way to Barkall Prep, Mara would then be met with a limo and taken to a train station. From there she would continue to use trains to make her rounds to the different schools. All of this was on the Councils dime of course, none of it was supposed to come from Mara's pocket directly. 

She got into the back of the limo; the driver took off making their way to the train station. Mara pulled a small table out and grabbed a pin from her pocket. She then pricked her finger, allowing a spot of blood to well up from under the surface. Once there was a good amount, she began to draw a swirling symbol on the folded sheet of paper. As soon as she was satisfied with the look of the symbol, she grabbed a lighter from the cup holder to her side and lit the piece of paper on fire. 

The edges caught light first as Mara muttered some words in Latin, before the flames slowly engulfed the rest sheet, leaving no trace that she had ever had the paper. There were no ashes left behind, and no smoke inside the back of the car, just the lingering feel of magic. The only evidence that something had been done was the small prick on her finger with a spot of now dried blood. 

She had told Torlak that when she had acquired names from each of the schools, she would send the list to him. She had recently learned a spell that would send messages to someone from long distances. The blood from the witch was what provided the spell with power along with the words that had sent it exactly where she had wanted it to go. 

The next time Torlak looked at his desk, the sheet of paper with the names and information should be lying neatly on his desk; no signs of burning or her blood would be on it. 

The limo stopped and Mara made her way out and into the train station where she boarded her train immediately. She had been given a car all to herself, one that looked nicer than almost any room she had ever stayed in, save the one given to her in the Scantlen castle.

After a half hour, Mara felt the train start up and pull out of the station. She would now travel for three hours before having another meeting again that night, where she would have to convince another group of witches to join them in their fight against the Nightshades. Mara stared out the window watching the trees and towns roll by, trying to calm herself down. She had already done this once; she knew what she was doing, sort of. Everything should be downhill from there.

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Once again, let me know your thoughts on the chapter. What do you think will happen next as Mara makes her rounds to the different schools?

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Thank you everyone for all you have done so far <3