A few pops and crackles could be heard coming from the fire as sparks rose up the chimney. It was night; the time of day Kallael felt the most comfortable. A book lay on her lap, though she paid no attention to it. Her mind was elsewhere. Staring at the fire, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her father.
"Kallael, come to the kitchen please." Begrudgingly, she stood up, and walked to the kitchen, as her father had commanded.
As she entered the room, Kallael was greeted by the sight of all of her siblings, her father, and her uncle, seated in a row. For half a moment she considered turning around and avoiding whatever drama was brewing in the Abhorsen's cabin. Though she could feel the presence of sendings behind her, and knew it would be a waste of time to try and leave. Being rather impatient with Kallael dragging her feet, her father motioned to the lone empty chair across from them.
"Whatever you think I did, I didn't do it." She quickly scanned the room for Mogget as she took her seat.
Her father let out a hearty laugh. "Don't worry Kal, you aren't in trouble. This is about your birthday." Kallael let out a sigh of relief.
She tried to predict what was going to be said about her birthday. Nothing noteworthy, she imagined. Being the youngest of three, she doubted she would get any training in death anytime soon. At least, no official training. Kal didn't count listening in to her sister and brother's training. As she ran through predictions in her head, her uncle walked up to her, holding two wrapped boxes. One was long, but shallow, and the other, seated delicately on top of the other, was small and short. Her birthday was still a few days away, but Kallael took the boxes and balanced them on her lap.
"Unfortunately these days the bloodlines aren't what they used to be." Her uncle spoke for the first time. Kallael looked at her Uncle confused. "You're lucky you've grown up in a town made mostly of those loyal to the charter."
"What does that have to do with the bloodlines?" Al was quick to interrupt. "Everyone else still needs up to keep their power. They'd be stupid not to appreciate us."
Her Uncle let out a sigh, and looked back to her father. "Kal, listen…even though I am of the royal bloodline, I'm just a figure head. Someone the Minister simply talks to, to keep the charter up and running for most of our people. And you all, the Abhorsen's, have been forgotten and diminished over the years as the threat of free magic has diminished to almost none. The Clayr have become jokes or legends since so many have come down from their glacier and become intertwined with ordinary life. As for the Wallmakers…they have been forgotten entirely."
Kal looked at her uncle befuddled. Having grown up in an area where everyone had been baptized by the charter, she had no idea of how little most people actually knew. "Our history has been slowly changed to legends, and the legends are being erased. Most people don't know, and those who do think of us as no one better than servants who keep the lights on." Her Uncle's voice was getting more and more strained with each word. She tried to wrap her mind around everything her uncle was saying, but just couldn't. The world she grew up in was a small one, and filled her head with false impressions of the world.
"Why don't you open the presents?" Kallael's father quickly interjected. "They are actually from the Wallmakers. So be sure to thank your cousins."
Kallael unwrapped the small box carefully, and lifted the lid off. Inside of it was something she had not expected. A wand lay on top of a simple blue cloth. A beautifully crafted wand made of gold and silver. She could see the charter magic glowing and dancing within it. As she picked it up, she realized the twist of the handle fit her hand perfectly, and the charter warmed her hand. "This is beautiful…but I don't understand." Kal spoke without lifting her eyes off of the wand. "I already know quite a bit of charter magic, I don't need a wand to preform it for me."
"No, you don't. This wand is different from the kind that non charter users have. This doesn't preform magic for you, it heightens the magic that you know. Think of it like a very small charter stone that follows you wherever you go." Her father spoke warmly.
"And where exactly am I going that I need this?" Instead of answering her question immediately, everyone in the room shifted in an awkward silence, before her eldest sister rolled her eyes and answered.
"You're going to hogwarts."
"WHAT?" Kallael shouted, and quickly jumped from her seat. "A-am I not good enough at charter magic? I will study harder, I promise. Please don't send me there, I will be a joke around town!" She could feel her legs shaking a little.
Her father came over and put his hands on her shoulder. He spoke calmly. "That's not why we are sending you there. We want you to be there almost like a diplomat. It's our hope that maybe we can slowly reintroduce older traditions back into the mainstream." He pulled Kal in for a hug. Her face pressed against his stomach. "I know no one better for that job than you."
His words offered Kal some comfort, but she still felt a knot in her stomach. Hearing how the rest of the world thought of the charter made her realize just how isolated she really was. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure she wanted to see the rest of the world, let alone be a diplomat to it. The knot in Kallael's stomach only grew once her father finally released her from his tight embrace. She forced a smile.
"Why don't you open your last present?" Her father smiled down at her, placing his hands on her shoulder. She nodded in response, and proceeded to open the long box as her father stepped back into line.
As Kal lifted the lid, her eyes lit up in excitement. Carefully placed inside was a short sword with some basic charters carved into the hilt and blade. She could identify a few, there were symbols for durability, sharpness, lightness, and some were more advanced and, for the time being, were unknown to her. While the sword was small in comparison to the great swords she had seen, it was perfectly sized for her. As Kallael grabbed the hilt to lift the sword, she noticed the folded cloth beneath it. It was a robe with the Abhorsen's blue with silver keys embroidered onto it. The robe was pristine, as though it had been made yesterday, unlike the hand-me-down that she would occasionally wear for events. Looking at the last two pieces of her present mad Kal realize the reality of the situation. These were objects made for her so she could have a piece of home and tradition wherever she went. The world she would be entering would be entirely alien to her, save for the warmth of the charter.
Kallael sat back down. "Do I have to go?" She looked back up at her family while she spoke.
"Kal, this is important." Her sister tried her best to sound stoic, but Kal could sense the quiver in her voice.
"Then why couldn't you have asked me about it? You trust that I am adult enough to be some sort of diplomat, but not adult enough to say how I feel about it?" Kal couldn't help but feel inadequate, and hoped to find something to make her feel better.
"That's not—" Her sister began to speak, but was quickly interrupted by her brother.
"We are all going to miss you too much. If you were there when we were making a decision, we wouldn't come to the right one. By telling you now, we all regret it a little bit, but it's set in stone." He smiled at Kallael. "It was for our own sake, not for yours. Don't worry too much baby sis, you're perfect for this." She smiled back at her brother, let go of the hilt, and said her thank-you's to her family.
Later that night, Kallael lay awake in bed. She clanked the side of the sword against the wall, paying no attention to the sound of her brother walking into her room.
"You should be more careful with that, you'll dull the blade." Her brother sat at the foot of Kal's bed, and patted her feet. "Sabby fought hard to get you that, despite Father and my arguments against it."
"Really?" She sat up. "Sabby went up against dad? And you sided with dad? Now I wish I was there."
"Listen, there is a good reason she sided with you…which is…actually why I'm here." His voice began to lower the further along he spoke. Kallael just watched him, confused. "The reason our sister dearest wants you to have the sword is because there is a chance you are going to need it."
"What?" Kal looked down at the sword in her hand.
"I can't talk too much about it, but the Clayr had a vision, and—" The sound of the door opening cut him off.
"BELL!" Their sister growled, and stormed in. "What do you think you are doing?"
"She has a right to know, Sabriel." Bell hissed beneath his breath.
Sabriel rolled her eyes and pointed to the door. "Out." Bell opened his mouth to protest, but she quickly repeated herself. "Out!" Reluctantly, he obeyed, walking, quickly, and quietly towards the door. Sabby didn't speak again until the sound of Bell's footsteps could no longer be heard. She let out a sigh. "What did he tell you?"
"He just said something about the Clayr, that's it, I swear." Kal brought her knees in close to her chest. Her sister sat down in the newly opened space at the foot of Kallael's bed.
"I should have known he was going to ignore dad…" Sabby rubbed her temples. "Listen, the Clayr had a vision of a free magic creature at Hogwarts, and a flash of our house's symbol. You're the only one still young enough to go, so we want you to be safe, but you know the Clayr; their visions are so vague and susceptible to change." Kallael's eyes lit up, and a smile grew across her face. Sabriel noticed this change almost immediately. "No! Stop! Don't be excited for danger that probably won't happen. That sword is for defense alone, don't go looking for trouble." She jabbed her finger into Kal's chest as she spoke.
"Of course sister dearest."
"I hate it when you call me that." Sabriel pulled Kallael into a big bear hug.