The Fawley's had kept to themselves for years, preffering to keep out of trouble which was what they were particularly good at. Like a hermit crab, they
would move from place to place, barely staying in one location for long periods of time. On the occurance that they did stay longer than expected,
which was very rare, mind you, they were always liked and respected by their neighbours and friends. To them, they seemed like a relatively normal family.
What they didn't know, however, was that they were far from it.
The smell of breakfast roused Fallon from a deep dream that she could vaguely remember. She opened her sleep ridden eyes, rubbing the grime out before lifting her arms up
and over her head. As she dangled her legs over the side of the bed, she let out a long, satisfying stretch before yawning softly. Her brother, Finneas, lay on the bed next to
hers, his arm flung out from his face. He looked peaceful then, his usual scowl softened to something less sinister. She shuffled over to the curtains, ignoring his muffled protests
as she flung them open. There wasn't much of a view outside their small house in south east London. A run down picket fence, over grown grass and unfinished pavement. It
wasn't much, but it was still better than the last house they had lived in. The sun instantly warmed the room, which was rather odd for their usual wet September mornings.
"Wake up sleeping beauty" She shook her brother's shoulder but stopped when he opened his eyes to glare at her. He responded by twisting his body around angrily, clearly
wanting her to leave. Fallon sighed to herself. His perpetual scowl had shown itself on his face once again. Knowing that she couldn't rouse him further, she turned on her heels
and shuffled down the dimly lit hallway towards the bathroom. Her puffy eyes were still murky with sleep, so she decided that a quick wash will do her good. She turned the tap
on, standing patiently as she filled her palms with water. As it came into contact with her skin, she sighed with pleasure, relishing the feeling of the coldness as it jolted
her awake, instantly alerting her senses. She reached for a nearby wash cloth, taking her time to glance around the small space as she patted her face dry.
Her father had a strange knack for collecting antique artifacts that he would display around the walls of their small house. When they would get visitors, which was very rare,
they would always get complimented on its charming Victorian essence, although Fallon felt claustrophobic under the watchful eyes of portraits and grey statues that would
stare back at her. When she caught sight of her reflection in a beautifully ornate mirror her father had brought from a local pawn shop, she sighed reproachfully. Her hair was a
mess. It looked as if a swarm of bees had made a hive on top of her head. No matter how much she tried to tame it, the golden locks refused to stay down. She had tried
product after product, had even tried straightening it but all proved unsuccessful.
Her hair, according to Fallon, was almost as bad as magic.
The door opened slightly and her brother walked in, stifling a yawn as he came to stand next to her. She moved over slightly as he leaned to wash his face at the basin. You
would expect that twins would at least resemble each other, but they were different in almost every way. While she had light blonde unruly hair, her brother was blessed with
silky, raven black. He was tall and lanky, a stark contrast to Fallon's slight figure. Even their face was different. Like their father, Finn had a long, narrow handsome face while
Fallon had round, chubby cheeks that made her look younger than her eleven years. The only thing that they shared in common was their mother's light blue eyes. Her
brother's had flicked up then, noticing the annoyed expression on her face.
"Why don't you just put a spell on it?" he suggested, reaching out to pat her head.
"You know you can't mention magic" She whispered nervously, half expecting her father to barge in. Finn just shrugged casually as if to say; 'So what?'
She remembered the stories her father would tell her before going to sleep. Most normal father's would tell their daughters stories of ponies and dolls, but her father was far
from normal.
"Magic is dangerous, Fallon" Her father's voice echoed in her mind. "You must always remember that"
"Besides, I can't even use magic" Fallon reminded him as she looked at her brother's reflection. It was true. Although her father despised everything about it, he couldn't hide
from the fact that he was a wizard. Even her brother had shown signs of being able to wield magic from a very young age. Fallon on the other hand hadn't shown any signs,
much to her dissapointment.
You should be grateful. Her father had told her. She knew better than to doubt him but couldn't help the feeling of envy that knotted itself in her belly.
"I wouldn't worry too much" Finn shrugged. "It's not like we'll be able to use it anyway"
Fallon thought she heard a bit of disdain in his voice and looked over at her twin worriedly. Ever since their father had refused to teach him how to use magic, Finn's whole
demeanor had changed. He was more moody and distant whenever magic or her father were mentioned in the same sentence. In fact, he was moody all the time.
"You know why we cant" She reminded him. But she wasn't so certain. No matter how many times they had asked, their father would always change the subject. She knew he
was hiding something from them. They both did.
"Why cant we use magic?" A young Finn had asked , mirroring Fallon's fleeting thoughts.
"We just cant" was their father's curt reply as he shot Finn a calculating look. It was the end of their discussion.
"That's what you always say" Finn complained. "All I want is to practice my magic, that's all" That was a mistake and he knew it. As he crossed his arms in defiance, he didn't
notice the dark look that passed over his father's face.
"Don't ever say that again!" The twins jumped back in shock, glancing at each other with wide eyes. They weren't used to him like this. Usually a kind and gentle man who only
spoke in a soft spoken voice, in that moment he looked almost unrecognisable as he glared at his children. It was the first time Fallon had ever been scared of her father. He
must have saw their expressions then because he stopped almost abruptly, looking as if he had broken out of a trance. His arms raided as he tried to reach towards them but
stopped when they flinched back in fear.
Almost like a scorned child, he retreated back against the bed post, leaning forward to rest his head on his knees. No sound came, only the soft intake of breath as his
body started to tremble. The twins stared into each others eyes, their faces marred with worry and fear as they struggled with what to do. After a while Fallon had crawled
over to her father, followed quickly by her brother as they placed their small hands on his shoulders. When he looked up, he looked so distraught as he took in his children's
faces. They were the only thing that he truly loved in this world, and he had hurt them. Letting out a strangled cry, he pulled them gingerly to his chest, clinging to them until
they could barely breathe. They could feel his body start to ripple as he began to cry, could feel his tears dampening their heads as he said sorry, over and over again until his
throat burned with fatigue. It was a while before he had released them.
Fallon watched as he Leant forward to grasp both of their shoulders, coming down to their level to look into both their eyes. They could only stare back, both still as stone as
they listened to their father's next words.
"All you need to know is that magic is capable of evil" The hairs on Fallon's arms began to raise as her father's voice turned dark. "And there are people out there that will
use it to their advantage" He paused then, his voice full of raw emotion as he took both of their hands in his.
"I will not let any of them near you, you hear me" He had told them."Not while I'm alive and standing"
Ever since that day, the topic of magic was never brought up again.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Finn said in mock horror as he raised his hands to his mouth. "The so called 'evil' people in this world" He shook his fingers mockingly in the air. "What an
absolute joke! Dad's just paranoid, Fal. It's actually kind of unhealthy"
"You shouldn't take it so lightly" She warned him. Unlike her brother, she was wise enough to heed her father's warnings. Magic was dangerous. And she knew that there were
people who wanted to hurt her family. Finn huffed loudly in response, muttering under his breath as he stormed out the door. It's going to be a long day. Fallon thought as she
followed him out.
"Have a good day at school, you two" their father called from the drivers seat as he waved at them both.
"School's always good 'cos you're not around" her brother mumbled to himself beside her.
"We will" She nudged her brother sharply in the side, urging him to say something, anything really. He sighed in annoyance before lifting his hand reluctantly to wave back
halfheartedly.
"I love you" Their father said after a moments silence. Fallon watched as his face dropped slightly when his son didn't respond, before turning the keys to the ignition on. When
the last of their red Honda disappeared from view, Fallon turned to slap Finn on the shoulder.
"What was that for!" He growled, rubbing his sore arm.
"I heard what you said." She began. "You shouldn't say stuff about papa like that." She was exasperated. Her brothers foul moods were really starting to get to her.
"It's true and you know it"
"No, I don't actually"
"That's because he gives you special treatment" He sneered,
"He does not!"
" Don't think I don't see the way he treats you. I'm not blind!" He had shouted then. Fallon stepped back, more than a little shocked by his sudden outburst.
"Its not my fault you aren't good enough to hold magic like I can." He spoke with so much conviction that he didn't realise he had stung his sister badly. She hated having
arguments with him like this. He's just upset. She reminded herself. He didn't mean it. But she wasn't so sure anymore. Her brother was becoming more distant lately that
she barely knew what he was thinking anymore. She reminisced of the days where they were almost inseparable, longing for the childhood innocence that they both had lost.
He shook his head reproachfully at her before pushing past, ushering his way towards the school's entrance. She tried to catch up to him but lost him through the crowds of
students. She gave up after a while, her heart heavy as she walked forlornly into her home group class. She immediately caught sight of her friend Lucas; a tall, lanky boy with
chestnut brown hair that he styled in greasy spikes. It's the new style. He had told her the year before. The girls dig it. She was too nice to mention otherwise, had only nodded
in agreement. As she made her way towards him to take her usual seat next to the window, Lucas looked up and noticed her gloomy expression.
"Family drama?" He raised one of his eyebrows as she sighed heavily in her seat. He knew her too well. Turning to reach into his pocket, he pulled out her favourite; grape
bubblegum which she took gratefully. Food always seemed to cheer her up at times like these.
"Got plenty more where that came from" He petted his pocket with a goofy grin on his face. Good, she was going to need it.
The rest of the school day went by quickly. She had two periods of English in first and second period, with math in third and fourth. It was the last period where things started to
get a little...strange.
It had began normal enough. She had sat by her place by the window. Had chatted to Lucas about a comic book he was reading. Everything was normal. Nothing seemed to be
out of the ordinary. Except for the man standing outside. It took a while for Fallon to notice him standing there, but when she did, her heart dropped to the floor. She could feel
the blood drain from her skin as her body turned cold with shock. He was tall, with long, gangling limbs covered in a black robe. His hair was dark and unkempt, the lower half of
his face disguised by a black mask. The only thing she could see clearly were his eyes. And they were staring right at her. She must have gasped because Lucas kicked her under
the table, mouthing what was wrong.
"Did you see that?" Fallon whispered furiously, her whole body on edge.
"See what?"
"That man, over there-" but when she looked back again, the man had disappeared.
"I don't see anything?" Lucas said as he peered over her head.
"There was a man! He was standing right over there, next to that tree"
"Right..." She knew he thought she was acting weird so she stopped herself quickly before she really started to sound crazy.
"I must be imagining things" She tried to laugh it off, but something inside her knew that she had seen something. She was certain of it. Lucas gave her an odd look before
turning his attention back to Miss Olivia. Her voice drifted around the class room, lulling everyone to sleep with her monotone lilt. Fallon was the only one who sat upright. Not
because she was particularly interested in learning about the Vietnam war, but because her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She knew something was wrong, she could
feel it, deep down in her gut, warning her that she had to tell someone. Right now. And there was only one person she could trust. I hope he's calmed down.
The shrill sound of the bell made her jump right out of her seat.
"Fal, wait!" Lucas called as he leaned to pick up his bag.
"Sorry Luke, I have to go!" She hastily ran out the door, leaving the poor boy to stare after her. As Fallon exited the school building, his black hair was the first thing that she
spotted. She didn't even have to say anything as he turned towards her, seemingly sensing that she was there. A twin bond, her father had told them both. As she neared, she
noticed the red spots that danced in his blue eyes. Had he been crying?
"Fal, I'm sorry" He began as he stepped towards her. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. I- I wasn't thinking straight, I-" Fallon shook her hands dismissively.
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean it" She said as she touched his shoulder gently. He breathed in deeply, obviously relieved that she wasn't angry at him. Until he noticed the
look on her face that stopped him dead.
"What's wrong?"
When she spoke again, Finn felt like he was going to puke.
"They're here..."