1 Chapter One how it all began

When I was five, I loved to play in the flower field. It was there that I made my first friend. The first thing I noticed about her was the red hair. It was so vibrant in the sun against the green grass and little yellow and white flowers. I remember being in awe of the color. The girl's head was on fire.

The girl stopped dead in her tracks, blinking at me. When she burst into tears. She ran home to tell her mother about her hair being on fire. I ran after her, worried about it. Her mother listened to the crying five-year-olds, before bursting into laughter.

"She has red hair. It's not on fire!" She laughed, holding her daughter tight in her arms. It took a moment for the words to filter through our heads.

"Red hair?" I asked, looking at the girl again. It wasn't fire, but hair. How strange.

The little girl was still crying but now just hugging her mother close. "Abby, dear, It's okay." Her mother said. Abby turned her head to look at me. Her freckled nose scrunched up.

Smiling, I waved at her. Abby turned her head away from me. With a humph that made me mad. She didn't want to play with me fine. I was going to play so hard she would be jealous! So that's what I set out to do. I ran around the field, yelling at the top of my lungs. Rolling down the small hill. Picking flowers and trying to make crowns.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked. Turning, I saw Abby standing there. Her eyes on my flowers.

"A flower crown!" I told her, holding up my crown.

Abby looked at it for a bit. "That's not how you make a crown." She said, reaching out for my crown. I pulled my crown away from her with a frown.

"It's a crown,"

"Let me have it."

"No, it's mine."

"I want it!"

Before long, the crown was forgotten as we pushed and grabbed at each other. Yelling as we did so. I'm not sure how long we fought for, but soon our mothers were pulling us away from each other. Abby and I saw each other over our mother's shoulders, and glared. I hated her.

Every day followed that. From the moment we saw each other in the field, we were kicking and yelling at each other. Trying to pull the other's hair out. My older brother and his friends were charged with separating us. They mostly just egged us on from the sidelines.

"Why can't you two get along?" Mom asked me. She had to come pick me up from the field again.

"This time it wasn't my fault." I started, opening my mouth to tell her what Abby did.

"So the other times were your fault?" Mom asked. I frowned at the question.

"No, Mom~"

"Enough. I want you and that Abby girl to get along from now on. If you can't I want you to stay away from her." Mom said, sending me to bed.

I pouted, cursing Abby. It was all her fault. Abby said my dress was ugly. It's not ugly. It's a beautiful light blue, with cute ducks on the bottom. I was going to make her pay.

The next morning, Mom made me stay home. It was part of my punishment. I was helping her clean the house and make lunch for Dad. It was fun for a little while but then got boring. I tried hiding from the chores but Mom found me and I had to do them.

"It'll be fine. You're almost done." Dad said, patting my head. He was busy tending to the crops, but still stopped by for lunch. His confidence in me didn't stop my frown. "You're not working her too hard, right dear?" Dad asked, looking up at Mom.

Mom crossed her arms as she looked at us. "She just has to wipe off the dust at her level. Unless you want to do it?" Mom told him. Dad shook his head and smiled at me.

"Sorry sweet bean, we all have to do stuff we don't want to." He laughed. It didn't sound like his normal laugh. I frowned at him. He would not help me. Mom always got to tell me what to do.

I punching his leg and ran off. "Lora!" Dad and Mom yelled out. I ran and hid under the bed. Stupid Mom. Stupid Dad.

Opening my eyes, I don't remember falling asleep. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Crawling out from under the bed. "Did you sleep well?" Mom asked, making me jump. The wooden bed frame hitting the top of my head. "Oh, honey!" Mom said, picking me up. She patted my back, rocking me back and forth.

The next day, I was free to run the fields again. This time I was going to beat Abby in everything and be the best. So I ran over to her the moment I saw her. Abby's mother was standing next to her and watched me.

"Abby! I challenge you!" I yelled, pointing at her.

Abby blinked, "Challenge?"

"You can I are going to compete and see who's better!" I told her, smiling. It was dad's idea. He said if I really couldn't make friend then challenging her might be easier. Then we wouldn't get in trouble for fighting.

"I'll beat you no matter what!" Abby said, smirking. I heard the soft laughter from her mom, but ignored it.

"Summer salts! I challenge you to who can do the most summer salts!" I yelled.

Abby frowned, "I don't know how to do those…" she muttered.

I stopped moving and asked her "You don't?". Abby shook her head no. It wouldn't be fair if she didn't know how to do it. "I'll have to teach you," I told her. We spent the day learning to summer salt around the field. Forgetting all about the challenge. Until dinner, when Dad asked me how it went.

"AHHH! I forgot!" I yelled, standing up.

"Lora! Don't stand at the table!" Mom yelled, dishing up dinner into a bowl.

I sat down quickly, yelling, "Sorry!" As I did so. Dinner was deer stew. It was so good, I love the potatoes in it.

The next day, I wasted no time running to see Abby.

"ABBY!" I yelled across the field.

Abby turned to see me. "LORA!" She yelled back.

"I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU TODAY!" I yelled, sprinting towards her. Abby ran my way, too.

She was laughing as they ran by each other. "Nu-uh, I'm going to beat you." She laughed. Her hair was pulled back into a braid. Mine mimicked the style, but Abby's hair was longer than mine.

At some point, I stopped counting the summer salts. Laughing with Abby. I looked over at her, seeing that she was pulling at parts of her braid. "You okay?" I asked, sitting up.

"My head hurts." Abby said, pouting. She was still pulling at the different parts of the braid. Moving to sit behind her, I saw the parts where the braid was pulling at her red skin. It didn't look nice.

"I'll help," I said, pulling at the ends of the braid. My hair was fun to have down, so I could feel it rushing by as I ran. Taking it down from buns and other braids was something I did all the time.

Once her hair was down, Abby rubbed at the areas that were still red. It was then I got a glance at her hand. It was red too. "Abby, your hands are red." I poked at the red area.

"OW!" she yelled, tears welling up. I froze at the sound, looking at her, then her hand. She did the same and poked her own hand. She hissed as she poked it. "I'm going to get Mommy," she told me, running back to her home. I followed her, trying to keep up.

Abby's mother was sweeping when we saw her. Her hair pulled up into a similar braid to us. Abby hugged her mother's legs. By now, I thought Abby would cry, but she wasn't. It was almost creepy how she was so calm. "Mommy, I'm red!" She yelled into her moves leg. It didn't take long to learn that she got sunburned playing in the dewy grass.

"It's all right. I'll have you fixed up in no time," Abby's mom said, walking over to a stick. The stick was a strange one. It was long but had two vines weaving their way up to a yellow gem. "Heal," she cast. I watched in awe as a light fluttered around Abby like a butterfly. The red disappearing from her as the light touched her.

"What's that?" I asked, my jaw hanging open.

Abby's mother laughed, "Magic. Have you never seen it before?"

I shook my head and looked at her stick. I want to try that. If I could heal Abby on my own, we wouldn't have to come back from playing.

"Lora?!" my mother yelled, running over to us. "Margret, was there another fight?" Mom asked, her face twisted in worry.

"Mom."

"Susan, don't worry. The girls were playing and Abby got sunburned. They came over for a little help," Margret said, laughing a little at my mom. I don't know why Margret likes to laugh a little. But it doesn't seem to be a mean laugh.

Mom and Margret had been friends since childhood. They kept in touch even when Margret moved away for school. It was because of their bond that Margret was mom's maid of honor. My mom played the same part in Margret's wedding, too. Margret has just moved back after so many years. Wanting to raise her children in the same village she grew up in.

"Mom."

My mom sighed, "Oh, thank the spirits." With a hand on her chest.

"Mom."

"Yes?"

"Mom."

"What is it? Lora." Mom huffed.

"She did magic! Can I do magic? Can you do magic?" I asked, pointing at the stick.

Mom looked at the stick, then at Margret. "Lora, I don't think you can do it right now," Mom said, looking at me.

"Why~" I whined. I wanted to try it. It would be so much fun. If I could learn how to use magic, then I could help Dad and Mom. They would be so happy if I cleaned the house. 

'Clean!' I would stand there smiling while they both cheered.

'Amazing job Lora!' 'You're the best daughter!' they would say. I could do so much if I knew how to use magic.

"Lora, magic is hard to use. You have to be at a certain age to use it. Look at Abby. She can't use it right now either." Margret said, smiling.

"Why?" I asked, pulling at my mom's leg.

My mom sighed and placed a hand on her face. "Do you see what you've done, Margret? Now this is all I'm going to hear about for weeks." Margret laughed so hard she was leaning over.

"She really is your daughter, Susan! My days in the academy were so boring without you there, and when I return I get to see a mini you running around!" She laughed. Abby and I looked at each other, confused. Why was her mother laughing so much?

"I- you- " My mom said, turning a bright red.

Gasping, I turned to Margret. "She's turning red too! quick heal my mom!" I yelled. By this time, Margret was rolling on the floor and my mom was growing redder each second.

I didn't learn until later that you can only start learning magic when you turn 15. It was done this way because it was the safest thing to do. Children had a hard time controlling their actions and emotions. While a teen is still volatile, they have better control over their actions. They wouldn't just hit someone because they were mad and didn't know how to express that. Not that fights wouldn't happen, they were just less likely.

"I wanna be a witch!" I told mom and Dad. They looked at each other than me.

"Lora, I think we should talk." Mom said, looking at Dad.

Dad sighed and knelt next to me. "Lora, Abby might be a witch because of her mother. But not everyone can use magic. Your mother and I can't use magic. We still think you should try, but you should know that there is a chance that you won't be able to."

"Because you can't?" I asked. That was dumb. I wanted to use magic and so I would. I wanted it. To make the pain go away, just like Margret did.

"I think you would make a great witch, but you will also make a brilliant doctor." Mom told me. I smiled at them. Mom and Dad said I could be a witch, or a doctor. But I'm going to be both!

Abby and I played every day. Her skin was so weak that she often got sunburns. She also had to be careful of what she ate all the time. Nuts were not friends with Abby.

"Abby, do you think there's a spell that will stop you from being allergic to nuts?" I asked as we sat in her room. One of Margret's magic books in my hands. I couldn't read it yet. Witches have their own written language. The language didn't even share the same alphabet as we did. It wasn't fair that Margret wouldn't teach it to us yet.

"Hmm, I don't know. But it would be cool to not die because of them." Abby said, trying to read another book.

"I'm home." Margret's voice sang from the front door. Abby and I looked at each other. Throwing the books back onto the shelf and grabbing something to play with. "What have you two been doing?" Margret asked, a small smile on her face.

"Just reading." I answered, smiling back.

"Right, then you might want to turn the book right side up," Margret said, laughing as she entered the kitchen.

The book I picked up was upside down. I turned it around with a sign, "Have I told you that I hate your mom?"

"Yeah, I still don't get why she laughs at you and your mom so much." Abby added. Though how Margret and Abby would sometimes look at each other when I did something. I just knew she was lying. She knew and wouldn't tell me the villain.

"Sure," I muttered, rolling my eyes at her. Only one more year. Then we would get to try entering the one of the Magic Academy's. Once we were in, I was going to beat Abby in taking the top place. There was nothing she could do about it. I was the best and she would be the second best.

We were alone while the adults were at the village meeting. They were talking about how much food to put away for the winter, what the wishful festival would be like this year, and what the plan was for spring.

"Hey Lora, wanna see something?" Abby asked. I turned to see her holding a book. A smirk playing on her lips.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's one of mom's old textbooks. She forgot to erase one of the spells." Abby's smirk melted into an all knowing grin. I turned eyes on the book. Glancing at her, I smiled back.

Lunging across the bed. I grabbed for the book. Abby moved it, leaping away from me. I turned, chasing her. I was going to look at that book.

We ran around the house longer than we thought. As the book was snatched from Abby's hands. Looking over, we saw both our mom's standing there. "What is going on here?" Margret asked, voice icy cold.

"We were just going to look," I answered, glancing at my mom's glare. I was in so much trouble.

Margret flipped through the book. Abby looked at the ground, knowing the mistake was going to be found. "What am I going to do with you two?" Margret asked, stopping at a page. "Erase," she cast. I watched the light touch the page, taking the only clue we've had in years.

"You two are so grounded," my mom said, crossing her arms. I frowned, feeling like it wasn't worth it. If I had gotten just a peek at the spell, I wouldn't mind. Not that I was going to throw Abby under the bus like that.

I didn't think about how Abby saw the spell. Or that she could have written it down elsewhere. If I had, maybe things would have turned out different. Abby tried to use the spell that night while everyone was sleeping. She snuck out to the field. Tapping on my window to have me join her. We were so excited to see what the spell did; we didn't think about the consequences.

"Ready?" Abby asked, holding the paper in her hand. "I call upon the spirits of fire. Heed my call. Burn the brightest of all." Abby said. It wasn't a quick spell like her mom did, but it looked like it was working. I saw the light appearing near Abby's fingers. The light blue hue swimming around her fingers. It wasn't the same as Margret's, but it was still beautiful. Smiling as she gasped. Abby grabbed her chest. Gasping for air. Falling to her knees. My smile melted away.

"Abby?" I asked, moving closer to her. It was impossible to touch her. Her skin was on fire. "I'm going to get your mom!" I told her, moving away. Abby grabbed my wrist, her hand burning me.

"Please… don't… leave… me…" Abby gasped out. Her eyes looked full of tears, but none fell down her cheeks. Abby's home wasn't too far. My wrist was already burning. I couldn't think about that right now. I turned on my heel, picking her up. I tried to ignore the way my skin burned as I ran. Abby was crying in my arms, but no tears washed away the heat.

"MARGRET!" I yelled, as we got closer. I would have to put Abby down to open the door. But it flung open. There were my mother and Margret standing, waiting for us. They saw Abby and Margret ran forward.

"Abby!" she called, reacting out for her. "Heal. Heal. Heal. HEAL!" Margret cast. Tears running down her face, and Abby was grabbing at them. She was in pain. 

I reached out for her. When someone grabbed my own hands. Pain shooting up them. I looked down to see my hands and arms were bleeding. My skin melting back where I had touched Abby. I wanted to cry and scream, but no sound would come out.

My mom guided me into her arms. Holding me close as I tried to reach out for Abby again.. Then moved me away from her. I wouldn't move far. Abby was in pain and I had to be there to help her. I watched as Abby's father brought water over. He used a wet cloth to wipe at Abby's skin. The water making a sizzling sound as it made contact.

"What's going on? What happened?" I asked, looking at my mom. Mom touched my hand but said nothing. Abby screamed as her temperature raised. Margret's screaming heal as she tried to stop the growing heat.

"Heal!" Margret yelled, and Abby's voice cut off. Her eyes rolled back. Margret didn't let that stop her. Casting heals over and over, tear running down her face. I watched helplessly to do anything. My mom holding my hands, waiting for the news.

I hissed in pain, whipping my head to see the village doctor working on my arms. He was wrapping them up. I turned away from him, back to Abby laying on the ground. This couldn't be happening. Abby couldn't be laying there. This was all wrong. She looked so red. Like the time she had been sunburned.