Cookbook for A Witch; The beginning

Prying eyes

Later that evening Serena her parents and little brother came to visit. Alec usually wasn’t here either in the summers so could you imagine his face when he walked into that Medieval town. Being only eight meant that his whole world was based on fairytales of knights and dragon slayers. Serena couldn’t resist a smile when she saw him ran from one stall to the other.

‘How is your first day going so far?’ Her mother asked, she wrapped her arm around her daughter and pressed a kiss against Serena’s temple.

‘Good, it’s something else for a change.’ She smiled. Her father, an exact resembling of her exterior, was walking after Alec who had for once no eye for his big sister.

‘We came here often when you were very little, the wooden rocking horse laying in the attic came from here.’ ‘For real?’ Serena asked stunned. Her mother nodded with a smile, both watching the little boy running around. Her eyes fell on Karis who talking to the boy who owned that black gorgeous mare. Where the hell were those two talking about? Serena squeezed her eyes together, trying to make up anything that Karis could be saying but her little brother interrupted her lip translation by wrapping his arms around her legs.

‘Sis, can we come tomorrow before you have to work?’ He begged, looking up to her with those green begging puppy eyes. Serena bite her lip, looking from her mother to her father who slowly nodded.

‘I’m only going with a knight by my side.’ Serena said nonchalant, looking down to her little brother whose eyes grew larger.

‘With a shield and a sword?’ ‘Only with a shield and a sword.’ She nodded. He started screaming, jumping between the three of them and Serena started laughing. It was quite something, having a brother so much younger then herself. But he brought life in the house and she loved him, how much he could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

‘Can we get another look?’ Alec asked his parents.

‘I still have to work.’ Serena shrugged on her parents questioning looks.

‘Then we see you home, be careful.’ Her father advised her.

‘Always.’ Serena promised. Her parents had a home on the end of the street, the last five houses stood on the forest edge, between the green and silence of nature. It was a fifteen minute walk from here, given Serena came on her bike she wasn’t all to worried on getting home safe. She waved to her brother and looked how he and her parents started their tour around the village.

‘He will have the time of his life.’ Karis noticed. Serena turned around, nodding in the proces.

‘I’m glad he didn’t ask me to be his princess for tomorrow.’ She chuckled. She looked down to the burger her best friend handed her. ‘Thank you.’ She smiled. They both walked into the main tent and sat down at a little table from which you could see the stables and horses. The smell of horse sweat and leather oil hardly did her something as she enjoyed the burger.

‘What happened with you and that boy earlier at the pasture?’ Karis asked out of nowhere. Serena frowned her eyebrows, remembering she saw Karis talk to the boy not to long ago. She laid her finger against her lips while chewing before swallowing.

‘Nothing, it was awkward like hell.’

‘He seemed interest.’ Karis said with that devilish small grin. Serena tilted her head, giving her best friend a boring look. They both knew Serena wasn’t much of a boy killer on that surface.

‘Where were the both of you talking about? I saw you.’ ‘He was asking about you.’ Karis shrugged nonchalant, suppressing the smile while she concentrated on her burger. Serena looked over her shoulder, searching if he wasn’t somewhere watching her.

‘What did he ask?’ She asked.

‘Your name, what you were doing here. I thinks he likes you.’ Karis answered.

‘He could be my brother.’ ‘And? He isn’t. You should ask him out, get to know him.’ She advised.

‘He isn’t from around here Karis.’ Serena reacted.

‘Summer love, wouldn’t that be fun. By the way, admit it, he is hot like hell.’ ‘Maybe.’ Serena muttered, looking down to her burger.

‘I can set up a date?’ Karis offered, smiling as Serena yanked her eyes away from her burger towards her best friend. ‘Don’t you dare.’ She warned. Karis smiled sweet, looking aside her to somebody behind her.

‘I could ask, he is looking again.’ She pointed. Serena slowly turned around, looking over her shoulder to the boy standing beside that long dominant man. The man was talking but the boy was only looking her way. Serena gave them a quick look before turning her head back to Karis who gave her a promising smile.

‘Was there something else he was saying?’ ‘He was pretty interested in your name, Nova, said he heard it before, in a history class.’ Karis shrugged. Serena kept looking towards her friend, trying to figure out if it was a joke or not. But Karis focussed herself on the burger, leaving Serena wondering what exactly her last name did in a history lesson and why he showed such an interest in. She looked slowly back over her shoulder but the boy was gone, instead the long man was looking at her and she felt urge to shiver. He smiled, not really a gentle smile, more like a promising tug of both the corners of his lips. Serena looked back, trying to shake the feeling of being watched.