Chapter 3
"Knowing Xan that was most definitely the intent. However, that won't work with me. Don't forget dear Xan that I grew up with you so I know about every single comic book you've ever read in you life plus some. I even know of some that are from different countries. I managed to get my hands on a copy of every single issue of every single series of comics from all over the world. They're all in pristine condition. Thankfully though I am able to make replicas so that I can keep the original copies in mint condition. So, listen here dear brother mine. I will be sure to have you studying every night and by the end of the night you will understand exactly what's going on in every single class," Dria said with a maniacal look in her eyes as she looked at Xan.
"You know, you can be really scary Dri," Xan said ducking behind Willow.
"Maybe if you didn't fall sleep in class you wouldn't be on the receiving end of such looks Xander," Willow said with a giggle.
"You sleep in class?" Dria asked incredulously.
"Only every once in a while, and only when the lesson is especially boring," Xander replied in a meek voice.
"Xander boring or not you need to pay attention. Trust me I know what a snoozeville class is like. Remember those history classes I told you about? They were all taught by ghosts with monotone voices. After some research I found that there is a school in Britain that also has a history class that's taught by a monotone ghost. I think it's like a tradition or something," Dria joked at the end.
"You had ghosts for teachers?" Willow asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah, its not really that big a deal. I learned about a lot weirder things than ghosts. I'll lend you one of my books sometime. You'll find that there's not much that can surprise me anymore," Dria said, "Now, we need to make one more stop before we head home."
"Where are we going?" Willow asked.
"We need to speak with Gran's lawyer. Just to get a few things nailed out. If what she left us is what I think it is then Xan and I unpacked for nothing," Dria said.
Willow didn't ask anymore as she followed them to their destination. When they got there and talked to the receptionist the lawyer had them go right in, in the middle of a meeting. Apparently it was pretty important that they got in asap. Willow was told to stay in the waiting room where the receptionist would get her anything she needed.
"I've been waiting for you two to get in. I realized I would have to wait until you were old enough to take care of yourselves but this is cutting it pretty close," the lawyer, Daniel Wetburn, said.
"Close for what?" Xander asked.
"Well, Catherine had some rather specific instructions as to what she wanted for you two. She left everything to you two. All of her money, assets, and all of her worldly possessions. Also you two were supposed to be brought here along with the chest on your tenth birthday so that you could be informed of all of this and so that we could inform your parents of the fact that you were going to be emancipated on your thirteenth birthday. There was a letter for your parents on the trunk telling them to bring you in on your tenth birthday," Daniel said.
"Maybe Gran didn't tell you, but our parents don't do anything for us especially not on Gran's orders," Dria said.
"Plus, as long as they could claim us and dependents they could get government money that they could use for booze," Xan said.
"Well, luckily all the paperwork for your emancipation was already filled out all that needed done was dates, ages, and signatures. So, all I need is for you two to sign on the dotted line," Daniel said.
They both did as told and then Daniel simply tapped the stack of paperwork with his finger and it disappeared.
"Whoa! You never said that you knew magic!" Xan exclaimed in surprise.
"Catherine wouldn't have it any other way. It is the quickest way to get anything done. Now, according to Catherine's will her house has been held by the state until you came forward to claim it. Trust me I had to fight tooth and nail to keep it held. Usually, they won't hold reality for more than two years. You can imagine that an extension only happens for certain clients," Dan said.
"So, you've been holding her house for an extra six years than necessary? We can't thank you enough for holding it. Thank you so much," Dria said.
"Her only request is that you choose your friends wisely. Don't let anyone know exactly how much money you have and don't let anyone know where the house is unless you feel that you can trust them with your life. I'm sure once you see it again for yourselves you'll understand what she means. She spent her last few years making sure the house had anything you might need. Also, the apartment you own, you'll find something very special through the door joining your rooms together. Yes, I know about that. The apartment was Catherine's. When Mr. Wellington called looking for an apartment I made sure to give him that address," Daniel said.
"What door between our rooms, I didn't see one?" they asked.
"Look at the wall between your rooms very carefully. I think you'll see what I'm talking about," Daniel said, "Now, all we need to do is transfer all the accounts and deeds into your names and everything will be set. Also, Catherine insisted that both your names be on the accounts so that neither of you can go spending money meaninglessly. Whenever one of you makes a purchase without the other present the other will get a phone call to confirm the purchase. She said you two were nearly inseparable so it shouldn't be a problem often."
"That's fine. Gran's wish is our command," Dria said.
After a few more papers to sign and finger taps all the paperwork was done and filed. They even got debt cards so that they didn't have to worry about having money on them. The cards had anti-theft charms on them so there were absolutely no worries. They gathered Willow from the waiting area and brought her back to the apartment to let her see it. They decided that for the time being they wouldn't tell anybody anything. Just that their gran left them a little money so that they wouldn't be too tight on cash and that she had them emancipated. Nothing more until they knew exactly who to trust. Don't doubt that they loved Willow to pieces, but she was horrible with secrets. Until that habit was curbed they wouldn't tell her a thing. It was better this way. At least now, they could just worry about themselves and have fun.
They all played games and talked and just hung out. Willow ended up calling her mom to let her know that she was going to stay over at their place for the night. After a quick check of the calendar Dria found that it was the night of the waxing crescent and decided to make a quick stop to get a video recorder. She also stopped to get she and Xan cellphones before heading home.
"So, what was the phone call about?" Willow asked.
"Just the bank confirming the purchases that Dria made. Gran set it up so that neither of us could buy something without the others consent. Wasn't the worst idea. After all someone's gotta keep our spending habits under control. Who better than each other?" Xan asked.
"Oh, well I guess that's a good idea. I didn't know you and Dria ever spent money on any useless things. I thought you only ever used it for what you needed," Willow said skeptically.
"We usually don't because we're usually together. When we're not it's another story. Plus we usually don't have much to spend. When we get a lot we don't really know what to do with it all. So Gran's set up is a big help in curbing the spending habits," Xan explained.
"How much did your gran leave you, cause it sounds like she left you a bunch?" she asked.
"Like we said, she left us enough to make sure we weren't tight on cash," Xan said.
"Do you not trust me?" Willow asked sounding hurt and adding tears into the mix.
"Wills, we trust you, its just that you tend to say whatever pops into your head when you babble. We told you the most important stuff. The specifics aren't needed. To be honest neither of us even looked at the exact amount Gran left us. So, don't ever think we don't trust you Wills," Dria said as she walked back into the apartment.
"So, you really don't know how much she left you? You're not just hiding it from me?" Willow asked.
"Willow, we wouldn't lie to you. All we know is that she had money. We don't know how much. She left us money and she emancipated us. She also left us all her worldly possessions. That's it. Nothing more," Dria assured.
"Okay, for a second I thought you guys didn't trust me with as vague as you were being. So, what are you planning now?" Willow asked slightly more cheerful.
"Well, I need you guys to record me gathering the ingredients that need to be gathered. I'm going to gather one set my way and another set his way. Then I'll have him test them to see which set works best. If this doesn't show him my qualifications then I don't know what will," Dria said.
"So, where are we headed then?" Xan asked.
"Remember our secret base?" Dria asked.
"Yeah, it was our safe haven," Xan said.
"Well, a few years ago I made an herb garden there. It's the perfect spot because it catches all the light from the sun and the moon. So, I figured that it would be the best place to gather the herbs," Dria said.
"Well, let's go then if we hurry you can gather the Hibiscus Flower at sunset before you gather the others," Xan said taking the camcorder from Dria as they all headed out the door.
Xan and Dria led the way to their secret base in the middle of the woods around the park. Up in the tallest tree was a tree house hidden in the knot hole was a rope that brought down the rope ladder. On the roof of the tree house was a little greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse was every single kind of magical and non-magical ingredients needed for both witchcraft and Wicca. Willow was a little thrown at how big the garden was even though it just looked so small from the outside. After a little explanation from Dria she got the idea though.
"All right, we're rolling in three, two, one, action," Xan said as he started the tape.
"Okay, this is my garden full of magical and non-magical ingredients. As ordered I am here to gather the Hibiscus Flower. It's only a few minutes before sunset so I thought I would let you know that the meaning behind sunset is to look into the past. So, for the Hibiscus to be used as an aphrodisiac this isn't the best time to gather it because all it will do is cause the one it's given to is make them think of past relationships not fuel them for the current one. Well, here is the Hibiscus and I will pick a dozen of them because that is how many I usually pick to replenish my own stores. I will be back again on the Full Moon to gather them again. This is when it is best to gather them because this is when the qualities wanted will be most prominent," Dria said carefully plucking the needed flowers, "Also, tonight I will be gathering: Comfrey Leaves, Fever few, Dried Fig, Mandrake Root, and Ginseng. Tonight is the night of the Waxing crescent and this is the night that would be best to gather ingredients for healing and health, rejuvenation, gaining wealth, and fertility. Among many other things. You will find that the ingredients gathered at the times that I specify will have much more potency. I will prove to you sir that I did not gain my masters based on pure luck. When I put my mind to learning something I put all of my will power into making sure I know even the tiniest facts about the subject. Now that I have rambled on as you can see the moon is high in the sky at the perfect height to gather ingredients under."
She then plucked a dozen of each ingredient before looking back at the camera and saying, "At Twilight I will gather Bay Leaves and Dandelion Leaves as this is the best time to gather ingredients for divination and clairvoyance and any other related need. I will be here again at Sunrise to gather Bay Leaves as directed, then again at Noon to gather Comfrey Leaves also as directed. After that I will return on the 1st quarter to gather Red Clover, and Full Moon for Fever Few as directed. Also on the Full Moon I will be gathering Red Clover for greatest potency, along with Hibiscus Flower, and Yarrow Flower as this is when it's best to gather ingredients for aphrodisiacs and dispellants of melancholy. Also I will be grinding the Ginseng I gathered tonight. At the 3rd quarter I will gather Ginseng as directed. Yarrow Flower will be gathered at the Waning Gibbous and Mandrake root will be gathered at the Waning Crescent both as directed. Finally on the New Moon I will be collecting Dried Fig and grinding the Ginseng I gather on the 3rd quarter as directed."
"Okay so it is now Twilight so it is time to gather Bay Leaves and Dandelion Leaves," Dria said before gathering the said items.
"Okay now all that's left is to gather the Bay Leaves at sunrise. That will be a few hours yet so for now I'll start pruning and weeding out the garden here. I'll keep this running so that you know of my capabilities with tending to all types of plants. During this you will find that I don't merely have non-magical plants here I also have several species of magical plants as well. I have tended to them all for many years. Also my brother has helped me as well so the only one here who has no experience is Willow. I'll have her hold the camcorder safely away from any potentially dangerous plants. Don't need any casualties here. So, Xan hand Wills the camcorder. Will I need you to trust me and do as I say no matter what. Especially when it comes to the magical plants. Xan don't forget the safety measures I grilled into you. Oh and both of you will need these when we get to the mandrakes. The real mandrakes not the ones I picked here. Real mandrakes would be quite pissed if I were to try and take a single root with out dispatching it first," Dria said handing them both a set of earmuffs.
With that Dria and Xan set off around the greenhouse pruning and weeding around all the plants. Willow stood exactly where she was told without a fuss at all. When they finished it was finally sunrise so they made their way back to the set of plants that were not dangerous. Dria gathered the bay leaves and then turned back to the camera.
"Okay well I'm done here for the night I will resume at noon to gather the Comfrey leaves. Until then this is goodbye," Dria said before nodding at Willow to turn off the camera.
"Wow! You really know your stuff Xandria. Is there anyway you would be willing to teach me?" Willow asked.
"Sure, just as long as you head this warning. Magic can be addictive I will be keeping an eye on you at all times just to be sure you aren't getting too ahead of yourself. Magic is not something to take lightly. It's serious and can be very dangerous. If I tell you to slow down or take a break please don't brush me off. I'm not entirely sure how earth magic reacts here so we're going to take things slowly. There are also certain holidays that are celebrated that if you wish you can celebrate with Xan and I. It is your choice and I won't force it on you," Dria said firmly yet softly.
"I will do anything you say. I am extremely interested, I'm not entirely sure if it's just because I don't know about it or if it's more than that," Willow said.
"Tell you what. I'll give you one of the history books that I have and if you find that there is a serious interest still there then I'll begin your education. It's mainly going to be theoretical work until I find out how earth magic works here. There is definitely a strong malicious mystical vibe here. I might have to do some nosing around during my free time and maybe I can find the source," Dria said.
"For now how about we get home and catch some z's before we have to get back here at noon," Xan suggested giving a yawn.