The Witch and The Hybrid

Chapter 3-The Zoo

 "Look Bon Bon a lion" Emma says pointing at the lion laying on a big rock. She's holding Bonnie on her hip as they look at the all the lions in the enclosure.

Bonnie looks at the lion then points at it "lion roar" she says giggling, all of a sudden the lion sits up and lets out a giant roar. Bonnie laughs then claps her hands thinking she made the lion roar.

"Does she think she made the lion do that?" Emma's friend Kimberly says laughing. Kimberly is a Fairy, she's 5'1 with beautiful light skin that sparkles in the sun. She has small pointy ears, long white sparkly hair that falls just short of her tailbone and cloudy blue eyes. She love being outside but she loves spending time with her friends more.

"Let her think she did it, it makes her happy and I love seeing her laugh" Emma tells her friend while putting Bonnie back in her stroller. "Where to now? Elephants? Monkeys?Dolphins?" she asks smiling at Bonnie then steps behind the stroller and starts walking.

Kimberly looks at her phone to check the time, "Well the dolphin show is in a hour so why don't we head over that way and check out the petting zoo first" she says looking at Emma.

"That sounds great" Emma replies making a left turn to head in the direction of the petting zoo.

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Council Chambers

A long dim hallway with dark grey walls and black granite floors, there are cushioned benches on either sides of the hall. Michael and his parents are seated on a bench, across from them are dark brown double doors that lead to the council meeting room. Michael is sitting with his elbows on his knees and his hands folded together with his face looking at the floor, his hands feel clammy from sweat, his nerves are on end and he feels like just getting up and running away but he knows he can't do that to his parents or his friends.

"Michael Tadros" a lady about 5'4 with brown wavy hair, brown eyes and wearing a woman's pant suit and glasses calls out. Michael looks up to meet her gaze and nods while standing up and walking into the meeting room with his parents. The room is large and circular, there is a crescent shaped desk at the center of the room with eleven seats and just in front of the desk is a podium. There is a row of chairs along the wall by the double doors that they just walked through. "Please step up to the podium Mr. Tadros" the lady said to Michael while his parents sat in a set of chairs. As he got to the podium a set of doors opened from behind the council's desk and only two council members entered the room and sat down at the desk. Elder Mason(Witch) was a strong, powerful man, he's 6'3 with burnt auburn hair and sky blue eyes. Elder Grey(Genie) was a 5'6 Egyptian woman with black hair pulled into a bun and black eyes. Both Elders wore black robes with golden sashes draped over their shoulders.

"Good morning" Elder Mason says looking at Michael with a hint of concern on his face. He could tell that Michael was nervous and he had every right to be, this was the first time in history that they had a hybrid being and a decision had to be made whether or not he could stay a hybrid or one of his sides had to be extracted. Both elders had spent hours praying to their God/Goddess about what to do and today was the day that they were going to change this young man's life forever.

"Good morning your graces" Michael replied with a bow.

"Before we begin, is there anything you would like to say Michael?" Elder Grey asked looking at him with sympathy.

"Yes there is" Michael replied running his fingers threw his hair. "I would just like to say that no matter the decision I will respect it, but I would like to......" he paused for a second to compose himself. "I would like to give my input" he finally said looking straight at the elders.

Before Michael could continue speaking Elder Mason held up his hand to stop him. "Before you say another word we would like you to know that we know your concerns and doubts. We have been in contact with both Goddess Eliza and the God Heruka this past week, they have decided to allow you to remain a hybrid. We will not be separating your two halves, you will continue to study both witchcraft and genieology. You will be splitting your time between Waverton College in California and The Djinn College in Cairo. All the paperwork pertaining to scheduling and classes will be delivered to you in two weeks." Elder Mason says folding his hands in front of him.

Michael's jaw dropped in shock, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did the elders just tell him he didn't have to choose between being a witch or genie? He was speechless, his chest was moving up and down at a fast rate, he couldn't catch his breath, he was feeling dizzy, his legs were going numb. Elder Grey motioned for a chair to be brought over to Michael before he could collapse, she looked at him with concern.

"Are you alright Michael?" she asked him as he sat in the chair. He sat there for what felt like forever, he was finally able to control his breathing and he allowed himself to take in everything they had said.

He stood up and looked at the elders then took a deep breath "I'm fine just a little shocked that's all. I wasn't expecting that kind of result from the God and Goddess" he said still in shock. "I promise I will do my best to bring pride and honor to both my species" he proclaimed.

Both elders smiled at him "We have great faith in you and we expect great things from you and your future" Elder Grey states.

"Before we end these proceedings Elder Grey has received your scroll" Elder Mason says as Elder Grey hands a scroll to the pantsuit lady who then walks to Michael and hands it to him. "That concludes this meeting, we will be scheduling your blessing ceremony within the next couple weeks" Elder Mason states then he and Elder Grey stand and exit the room.

Michael, with the scroll in his hand, turns to face his parents, he looks at them with a nervous look then they walk out into the hallway. Michael hands the scroll to his father "I can't read it", he walks past his father and takes a seat on one of the benches. His mother comes over to him and sits next to him putting an arm around his shoulder. His father looks at the scroll then looks at him, he takes a deep breath and sighs while opening the scroll. His eyes open widen with shock and then relief, he hands the scroll to his wife who then reads it and starts to cry and then turns to Michael and just smiles at him. She hands him the scroll then gets up to stand next to her husband, Michael looks at the smiles on his parents faces then looks at the scroll. Tears start forming in his eyes as he reads the one and only name on the paper in his hands, he looks up at his parents "It's her, it's really her" he exclaims getting up and walking over to his parents. The three of them embrace, this has been such an eventful morning, they have been blessed not just once but twice today.