power, past and present
861 Words
Brigit returned home late that night. She lived in a small house with a tiny front garden but she was never far from her family. She only had to open her attic door and she was in her ancient family home. Gordon House. It was always bigger on the inside.
It is made of large mottled sandstone, single glazed windows, beautiful big wooden doors and large roses all around it. Thistles decorated the door with a unicorn crest above it.
She made her way to the kitchen. Granny was always cooking something. Mary, one of many, was a couple of centuries old at that point. She had long stopped counting. "Oh hello sweetheart. Did you meet that nice boy today? He looked rather handsome." urgh she always knows " Aye granny. He was alright" Brigit said sarcastically.
Granny raised an eyebrow. "What!? I can't help the gifts I have. Goddess only knows. Anyways, he was lovely. At least in my vision. Imagine him finding the library. Your uncle grey took over 100 years to find it." Brigit smirked " Granny, uncle grey is missing a few brain cells. I don't think there is a comparison." Granny giggled and then looked regretful. "Well, I did leave him unsupervised with the cauldron. You'd think a 40-year-old would know. i miss him." Brigit moved in to give granny a hug, " I do too, granny. He's out there somewhere. We all come home eventually. It took aunt Heather 200 years to come back." Her granny nodded " Come child, i have fresh coffee and cookies for you. There's new books in the hall too. A letter from your dad arrived as well."
Brigit paused " from...dad?... but he's been gone." Granny sighed and gave her a sympathetic look " He has. But it doesn't mean he can't send you a note every now and then."
She sat with Granny for another couple hours chatting about the family, her studies and when the next coven gathering is.
It was 6 moons away. Nearly all the family and friends would be there. Witches mostly. Some other species would have a privilege of witnessing it. They changed every year.
Brigit wandered the hauls picking up the mail and ascending the stairs to her life-long bedroom. Each family member had their own. Rarely a room was ever empty or vacant. Walls were decorated with portraits, ephagies, ornaments and protection sigils.
Each door was different. Hers was a big arch door. Something you'd see on a cottage. Hers was one of the few that changed over time. A seldom found trait in her family.
The Gordons were a long lineage with a plethora of surnames, but they went by Gordon as it was easier for everyone. Eventually, it became a law that anyone who married in should be a Gordon. No other surname would be used. Even the men. Granny thought this funny when telling future in-laws because their faces were always some shade of horror. Prospective spouses already knew the deal. If they had got passed Granny or Great Granma, then they were in.
Both a very scary task.
They had to background check everyone to avoid any unwanted bonding. A few hunters had made use of family members before ending in death. The last one Granma had caught had been given the same punishment he had to the last witch he killed. Flayed alive in front of a crowd. Granma made a small difference. She flayed him with magic in one go. A mercy compared to the slow death of the hunters' last kill.
She even cremated him, put him in a nice box and had him returned to his family. The hunters' family returned a letter of thanks and sorrows for what he had done. That he had went off the deep end long ago. She had also sent a letter to his Hunters group detailing the crime and an understanding of her position. Granny wanted to drown him in shite, uncle Harris wanted him given to the pagan lords, Great aunt Shelby wanted him in an iron maiden, but no-one out voted Granma.
The hunters never came to them again.
Brigits room contained everything a witch could need plus a few modern appliances. Some made witching less dramatic. She looked at her lamps, turning them on, flicked a hand to open the apothecary cupboard and gestured at her library to a book on mind with a come here hand gesture. It politely laid itself on the desk facing the window. She wanted to know why James felt different.
He had this mix of things. She couldn't place it.
His aura was a blue, white, green and purple mix. She swore she saw it shift too. his eyes were just so wonderful. Sighing, she looked out of her window wondering what he was doing. Her favourite tarot cards were beside her but she knew better than to ask things for herself. They didn't take any s**t and only answered things for other people.
She would spend the night reading on species and potential hybrids. James stayed on her mind all night and into her dreams.
- Writer
