Sunday comes with bright sunlight and a light breeze, the first perfect day in the two months I've been here. I woke with the sun shining into my window, a burning passion in my chest.

I had actually done it, I had used that magic that Annie and Nathaniel had promised was inside of me and I had created a spark. A fireball in my hand and an image of myself powerful and with my people behind me - though I have no idea who those people are yet. It's a start to an image of me powerful enough to protect my people and more than that never to be forgotten.

I got up early, so early that I beat Annie to the kitchen. It was there that she found me dancing to some invisible music while I tried - and failed - to make us pancakes for breakfast.

"You're up early, button?" Annie's voice comes into the kitchen, I turn to see her already dressed for a day of meetings and carrying in a brown plant. I look at the plant questioning and Annie lets out this little giggle. "Arnold here wasn't getting enough sunlight in my bedroom."

She places Arnold the plant on the kitchen table, right in the middle of the sunlight. Then she turns to me with that loving grin on her face.

"Now what has you in such a good mood?" I can't help the smile lighting my face and she comes towards me excitedly bouncing her walk.

"Nothing, at least I don't want to get your hopes up." Annie looks at the pancake I'm currently burning. She grabs the spatula quickly but still gives me a lighthearted grin.

"Oh no Button my hopes are already soaring, you have to tell me now." I laugh and let her take over the cooking, knowing that she has way more skills than I do in that area.

"Well," I start with a smirk on my face as I sit over at the table, "yesterday Nathaniel came around." Annie turns to me with a knowing look, all I can do is laugh at her. "Not like that Annie."

We both laugh hard, my stupid brain suddenly remembering the way his chest fit against my back and the slight coldness and shiver it brought. Even now the shiver races down my spine.

"Okay, so what did you two do?" She asks, her eyes still bright as she brings over the pancakes she somehow saved. I load two onto my plate and spread syrup over them until they drip with it. Annie grabs one and some butter.

"He took me into the forest, he taught me how to empty my brain," I'm about to put the pancake into my mouth but then my excitement bubbles over again and I put it down grabbing Annie's hand. "I did Annie."

She gives me a fake lost expression and I roll my eyes at her.

"What, darling?"

"Annie, I made a fireball in my hand. I put it out of my mind. Annie, I did magic." I don't know how much she actually understood my words, I was talking as fast as I could. I take a deep breath ready to repeat myself but Annie is up and around the table so fast that she practically goes invisible.

She pulls me into a hug and I'm more surprised by the fact that I don't clench up. Instead, I instantly fall into her loving hug and let her scent slide over me. Relaxing muscles I didn't even know were clenched.

"That's amazing darling." Her voice is low and she says it into my shoulder still not letting go. "I know you were afraid but I always saw that passion, that magic burning inside of you. I'm glad you can finally see it as well."

I don't say anything but then that image of me being powerful, magic sliding through my bones comes back and one of the people behind me clears and it's Annie standing there. Hands-on her mouth the look of absolute love in her eyes.

I swallow the sudden emotion back and pull out of the hug. I don't move far, keeping my smile on my face.

"Thank you, Nanny. I love you more than you will ever know." Tears spring in my eyes and I see Annie blinking back the same emotions.

"Now stop it, girly. You know I love you more than the whole world, nothing will ever change that."

We both take a step away from the emotions trying to pull us under.

"Now let's eat our breakfast before it gets cold. Maybe next weekend I will have the whole weekend off and you can show me some of the magic you've learned."

We both sit down and actually eat our food as we talk about my speciality and the things that I have to look forward to with my powers. I learn that Annie's speciality is Earth, in particular, life and growth. It's why she's so attached to plants and bringing them back to life.

Like Arnold who already looks better and is watching over our exchange, soaking in the sun.

Eventually, though breakfast ends and Annie leaves, promising to be back early in the afternoon. I watch her go from the doorway and then as the blue car turns around the school I rush back to my room and get dressed. Suddenly excited to try some more of the magic I was not learning in classes since I arrived.

I grab Lucian's jacket and then place one of my textbooks - or grimoires as the teachers like to call it - inside the layers, protected.

Then I'm out of the house, letting the door slam behind me. I barely notice the other students milling around, instead, I enter the forest right beside Annie's house. Hopefully heading in the same direction that Nathaniel took me in yesterday.

I walk for a while until I find a clearing, I push through the underbrush. It's not the exact clearing but it has a clear image of the sky above and a small stream running through it. It will do for what I need.

I reach the middle and just smile up at the wide blue sky for a moment.

"You seem in a better mood." A voice sings over to me and when I look over my smile grows.

"Aislynn." I barely whisper her name but she grins and comes over to me, barefoot and wearing a horribly falling apart dress. "Where have you been?"

I haven't seen her since that first meeting, no matter how many times I came into the forest I could never even catch a glimpse of the small girl. I had started thinking something horrible had happened and that she was hurt, or worse dead out here. On too many occasions I nearly told Annie and begged her to help me find her. Always changing my mind at the last minute.

"Here and there." She smirks and then she looks around me, "I did see something ever so exciting yesterday." She winks at me and I know that she was there, a random pair of eyes watching us in the underbrush.

"You were there?" She shrugs her shoulders and then laughter fills her, turning her face a lovely pink colour. She looks so happy and carefree so unlike the last time, I saw her when fear laced her expression.

"Your magic is strong, as soon as you opened yourself to it it was like a beacon shot out from where you were standing. I had to go see what it was." I don't quite understand her words but I smile at her.

"I'm guessing, that's why you're here again today?" She asks me, then points at the textbook peeking out from under the jacket. I nod my head and she grins, grabbing the textbook from me. "Well then you won't be needing that, I'll help you."

I let her take the textbook, placing it on an old broken tree before coming over to me. I'm surprised again by how her feet move as if not even touching the ground. She moves so smoothly that it's hard not to watch her every move with envy.

"You'll teach me to do magic?" She grins.

"The fun parts anyway." She winks and I laugh with her. She grabs my hand in hers, a cold shiver rushing from it because of how cold her hands are. My expression turns worried but she doesn't notice - or she ignores it. She moves me to stand in the middle of the clearing.

"Now then-" She starts, letting go of my hands but I pull her back to me.

"Aislynn, are you okay?" My words shocking the smile off of her face, her eyes searching me for a second.

Then another one.

I take a deep breath, waiting.

But then her smile is back, brighter than before.

"I'm perfect Morgan." I shake my head but she grabs it with her hands, holding it still. "I promise if I ever have a problem I will come knocking on your little cottage door for help. Now can we please get back to the fun things?"

I nod slowly but the frown doesn't leave my face. She steps away, walking around the clearing searching for things on the ground, grabbing something small every now and again before finally coming back to stand in front of me.

"You worked on fire yesterday." It's a statement, not a question but I can't help but nod. "You also tried water but didn't get very far, which goes to tell us that fire is definitely your speciality. So let's keep on with exploring other elements."

She holds up a leaf with a grin.

"Earth?" I ask her.

"Your grandmother is an Earth witch, it's not your speciality but you should have some affinity to it from your ancestors."

She continues holding the leaf up and I look at it unsure by what she's going to make me do with it.

"Aislynn you look so young, how do you know so much about magic?" She grins so wide I think it might split her face.

"I read Morgan." She rolls her eyes at me. "Now back to work."

She places the leaf in front of us, grinning up at me.

"What do you want me to do?" My voice is uncertain, I don't really have any idea of how to bring forward the earth powers.

"Make this leaf bloom into a tree again." She says it so simple but my eyes flash open.

"A tree? Like a whole tree?" My mouth stays open as she winks at me, nodding her head.

"A whole dang tree."

"That's ... it's not possible." I take a small step away but Aislynns there holding my back up.

"It is possible." She promises from behind me, holding my elbows. "Take off your shoes."

I do as I'm told, as if in a daze but if this actually works it will feel amazing. I place my shoes and socks to the side. My feet are planting themselves in the layer of leaves, grass and dirt. Aislynn comes to my front again, beside the lead squatting down with a grin.

"Stand straight, let your toes and feet feel the dirt, feel the way the earth buzzes underneath them in life." I close my eyes, imagining my toes digging into the dirt. The flutter of life blinking away underneath me. I breathe in the scent of the earth a lot like Annie.

"Now take life, use that focus and find the leaf." Her words are soft, watching.

I try to do as she says but life stays firmly in the ground. Without thinking I bend down, eyes still closed, and put my hands against the dirt, pushing away the other leaves to get to it.

I breathe in, holding it for a second and then I breathe out. Letting the edge of my focus bring forward that leaf. Then with my eyes closed, I see life as a flash of gold, washing over the leaf, turning it back to a dark green.

"Now take the edge of the leaf's life and put it back into the dirt." I know she's not talking about actually taking the leaf, so with eyes closed but seeing. I take the edge of the gold thread and pull it back into the earth, rubbing the dirt and other gold flickers of light over it.

A sigh escapes me and a darkness covers my face from the sun suddenly.

I open my eyes slowly, blinking from the light and real life again. It takes a moment to see and then all I can see is the brown trunk in front of me.

I sit back in shock, a grin fluttering across my face, Aislynn comes around the fully grown tree to smile at me.

"You're powerful, your ancestors gave you a gift and now that you're willingly taking hold of it." Her voice is far away but then she's grabbing my hand. "You will do amazing things Morgan, you just need to hold onto that powerful feeling."

As I look at her another shadow in the background shifts and standing there in her stained dress and shoeless is Aislynn, a determined expression pulling on her face. I grin at her.

"Thank you." My voice is low, almost filled with emotions like when I saw Annie but I hold it in much better now.

Aislynn winks at me. A noise flitters into the clearing. To me, it sounds like a bird taking flight but all of a sudden Aislynns eyes are wide and I know what it is.

"Someone's coming?" I ask her, whispering all of sudden. She nods her head, her eyes full of apology. I shrug my shoulders, grabbing her cold hands.

"Aislynn promise to come and find me again, in this forest if you don't want to come onto campus. But promise." She nods her head, a smile shaking on the edges of her mouth.

"I will be back, I promise Morgan."

And just like that, I blink - feel her hands leave mine - and then I'm alone in the forest standing beside a tree that I brought to life. I smile slightly, grab my textbook and then go to leave. A figure stops me, my smile falling to frown and then into a glare as I look at the person.

AUTHOR NOTE

Literally every time Aislynn comes into the story she changes my plans. I still love her though and she is such an amazing and fun character to play around with. I don't think she will get her own chapter but maybe a short story, later on, might be fun to play around with.

Hope you guys enjoy all things Morgan, Annie, and Aislynn in this chapter.

As always if you see any spelling, grammar, or plot problems please comment on them so that I may fix them and/or keep an eye out for them while editing.

Thank you for readings,

LAURA