Serendipity
serendipity (serənˈdipitē) - a series of unexpected events that occur entirely by accident or by the whims of fate, but that will end in a positive manner
A/N: Hello everyone, I am xAngelicalChaosx and I am here with this story, Serendipity. As a heads up, I am planning to update this story at least once a week, probably every Friday, though at times I might make a couple extra updates a week if I can find the time. Because I am trying to improve my skill set as a writer, I would greatly appreciate if you would take the time after reading each individual chapter to review or PM me with your thoughts. Thank you in advance and I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of MCL.
Chapter 1: Excitare
Ugh, my body hurts... I don't feel too good... maybe just five more minutes of sleep?
"Avalyn! It's already past ten! Don't you think you've slept long enough?" I hear Mom call from downstairs. "I know you were out late last night, but that doesn't excuse you from wasting your entire morning! Kairo's already been up for two hours!"
Of course my little brother's been up for longer than I have, he is the "perfect one" after all... darn it... I guess I won't be getting that extra five minutes, but I suppose that's to be expected.
"All right, I'll be down in a bit!" I yell to her, though I'm sure that most of it is muffled by my pillow. Though I really do not want to leave the warmth of my covers, I sigh and bear with it as I step out of bed, pull on a t-shirt and jeans, mildly happy that today is Saturday so I don't have to deal with the stiff school uniform that's the standard attire at Haliburton Prep, my high school and the bane of my existence. Why my parents thought I'd do better at a private school with so many rules that the entire time I'm walking on eggshells and trying to be someone I know I'm not is beyond me. But, I suppose I can't really fault them for wanting the best for me. Disgruntled now not only from the lack of sleep but also the idea that the weekend will be over before I know it and I'll have to go back to that hell they call a school, I amble over to the mirror and push my tangled brown hair out of my face, staring blankly at my reflection before noticing something wrong.
"Purple... why are my eyes... purple?" When I last checked my image in a mirror, my eyes were green, like they always have been since I was born. Thinking it to be just a trick of the light combined with my still jaded state, I rub my eyes and then look back, only to find it's not my imagination, they really are purple. My mind starts going into overload with all the questions I now have running through it, and the only thing I can do is scream in disbelief, not knowing what's going on, why, or even what this could mean.
Immediately after I scream, I hear the pounding of footsteps as someone rushes upstairs and then knocks on my door. "Ava, are you all right?" I hear my dad's concerned voice through the wooden barrier that now separates me from the rest of my family, a divider from the comfort I have always known to the uncertainty of the unknown of which I'm not sure if I should talk about. I hesitate in responding, but it would appear I won't have a choice since he opens the door, probably due to my lack of an answer before. "Ava, what's going on? Why didn't you answer? Is something wro-" He looks me in the eyes and realizes in an instant what the problem is. He mutters in shock "P-purple..." and then proceeds to call Mom upstairs.
"Sweetie, what's the problem?" my mother asks as she reaches the top of the staircase.
"No, she just woke up and well, she's got the gift," Dad hurriedly tells her in a hushed whisper.
The gift? The gift of what? Random color changes in my eyes? I'm not quite sure that constitutes as a "gift", though now that I think about it that might actually be kind of cool for theatrical purposes, of course. I've always hated messing with those colored contacts, so I suppose in that sense, this could be a gift.
Mom takes a look at me, her eyes almost grim as she takes in my full appearance, not only noting the change in my eyes but seeming to discern other differences in my body that I don't really notice. "So she does..." she trails off. "So she does. I'll go call Agatha."
Agatha, as in her eccentric sister who apparently always wears some fantastical fairy getup? Well, from what Mom always said, she is really nice, but uh... why bring her up now? I've never even met her...
Perceiving the quizzical look on my face, my dad finally decides to start to clue me in and get me caught up with whatever page they're on, "Ava, there's something we need to talk about."
"So I see," I nervously affirm. "It's something about my eyes changing colors, obviously, but uh, what's this about a gift?"
He starts fiddling with his glasses, never a good sign, as he explains, "Well, you see... your bloodline from your mother is different in some ways, and we were hoping that neither you nor Kairo would have to deal with the consequences, but it would appear that you've inherited it, the gift of magic."
"Ha, that's funny, you mean like 'Abracadabra' and then a rabbit pops out of a hat? Good one, dad," I try to laugh, hoping that at least for my sake he'll tell me that he's only joking, like he normally does. I mean, come on, magic doesn't really exist, right?
"This is no laughing matter, Avalyn," he uses my full name, and I suddenly realize he's not kidding around. "Those who can use magic have been known to pop up in your mother's side of the family, though it is rare, especially in this day in age. It's some pretty powerful stuff, and if you aren't shown how to use your gift, it could cause a lot of damage to not only you but those around you. Every gift comes with a price, and well, this one's price is that you must keep yourself in control as much as possible and not let others know about what it is you can do unless you know for a fact you can trust them not to tell. Others who find out about you could want to use you for your ability, and I'm sure we all would rather you not deal with that sort of stress, not knowing who really are your friends for being yourself or if they only like you because of what you can do for them."
"So why haven't you or Mom told me that I could possibly have this power before?" I question, a little aggravated by the obvious connotations that I would not be able to live my life as I normally had before. "A little advance warning would have been nice..."
"I understand you're upset, and rightfully so, but we really didn't want to tell either of you about what could happen when there was a high probability neither of you would have to deal with it, especially with Agatha already having been known to inherit the power," Dad tries to calm me down.
Oh, so Aunt Agatha apparently got this "gift" too... could it be perhaps that's why she's so distant from the rest of the family? I guess that would make sense if not everyone knows about this power, wait, I'm not going to have to live in seclusion too, am I?
As though he could read my mind, he confirms, "You're going to have to leave here in order to at least learn how to control your power. You should probably start packing your bags, as I'm sure Agatha will be here any minute to come collect you, since while you train you'll be living with her for the sake of ease."
"Wait, you're expecting me to just up and leave? What about my friends? What about my life here? I don't want to just move away to wherever she lives-"
"Amoris," he clarifies, though I still have no idea where that place would be on a map, even though I now know its name. For all I know this Amoris place could be on the other side of the world, but he did say that Agatha would be here any minute, so I'm put somewhat at ease until I come to the realization that knowing that Agatha has magic, she could possibly just be teleporting here or something.
"...Wherever that is," I continue my tirade. "And I take it you're expecting me to NOT tell any of my friends that I'm leaving with NO advance notice and so I'll just randomly disappear from school and their lives as a whole?"
"Well," Dad hesitates, brushing a few stray strands of hair behind his ear. "We're not going to expect you to drop all communication with them, but we will be telling them and Haliburton Prep that you've gone to stay with your aunt and will be attending the public school there. And I'm sure Agatha isn't going to just bar you from seeing your friends either if they decide to go visit you."
Wait, public school? Meaning no uniforms, no crazy teachers that believe they should have the right of administering corporeal punishment, and no fear of just speaking one's mind? This might not be too bad after all...
"So I still can keep in contact with them?" I impress upon that point.
"Yes, you'll still be able to, but they can't learn the real reason why you are going to be staying with your aunt," he confirms. "We'll have to come up with some sort of cover story, and we'll all have to stick to it. The only ones who should know the full truth should be your mother, myself, Agatha, and of course, you."
I really don't enjoy the idea of lying to my friends, especially since they've always been fairly open and honest with me and I with them, but I know that I have no choice in this matter, so I resign myself to my fate, "All right, I understand."
The door bell chimes, and Dad heads downstairs to presumably talk with Agatha as I start packing my bags. I find though that oddly, there isn't too much that I really want to take with me. I don't have too many clothes, as well, only being able to wear what I want to on weekends kind of defeats the purpose of having a lot of different garments, though I do pack all of my accessories, especially being careful with the ones I handcrafted myself in my spare time. A few books, my pastels, paints, and my assortment of random baubles and gewgaws that I use for my crafts quickly are stowed away in my backpack, as is the family photo we had all taken together last Christmas. But when I come to the other frame that sits on my desk, as I pick it up, I look at it... the first day of elementary school with my two best friends... though it's a very old photo, not much has changed between the three of us since that time. We have always been practically inseparable, and yet here I am now, moving away.
"...I'll be back as soon as I can," I promise them, a tear rising to the surface of my eye as I wonder when the next time I'll see them will be before I place that picture in my backpack as well, zipping it up afterwards then picking it up along with my other bags and my pillow as I head downstairs, as ready as I'll ever be for what is to come.
