21

The next day I woke up feeling refreshed and safe, but I missed him. I did feel safe with Peter, but at first I was afraid of him. It's funny how that worked.

I was wearing a black cardigan and a white spring dress as I went down stairs, my grimoire in hand. Ruby and Granny had left early but left me a note saying to help myself to breakfast. They would be home before I knew it.

Regina had told me to be at her house by ten, and it was already close to nine thirty. I found a pie in the fridge and warmed it up.

When I was done, I put my grimoire in a canvas bag and went on my way.

The forest was beautiful at this time, as the sun's rays were peeking through the trees, making it look like an enchanted forest. I entered the town, walking past the library then turning into a side street that led to Regina's mansion.

I rang the doorbell and waited.

Henry's face appeared at the doorway ad he smiled.

"Mina," he said in greeting, "won't you come in?"

It sounded so evil and I shivered, but maintained my smile, "Where's Regina?"

"In her office... but she said you can go right in. She asked me to open the door."

I nodded then headed for her office, with Henry not too far behind. I knocked on the door.

"Come in, Mina," she said from the other side.

I did. Henry followed and I felt nervous.

"So," Regina said, turning to face me, "are we ready to begin?"

I nodded.

A gleam came into her eyes then and I grew afraid.

"Wait," I said suddenly, watching Henry, who lounged in a chair not too far away, watching me, "can I ask you a question, Regina?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"Can... do you know where this might be from?" I asked, pulling out my grimoire.

Regina's eyes roamed over the cover and she flipped through its pages. "They're spells... I can't make them out, but I'd say it's written in Latin."

I was silent as she looked through the grimoire, intrigued.

"Where did you get this? Where is it originally from?" Regina asked when she closed it and turned to me.

"It was with me when Ruby found me," I explained, "It was my mother's or father's... I was hoping that you would have the answer."

"Well, it's not from the Enchanted Forest, that's for sure," Regina said, "Gold will be the best person to ask... I'm sorry, Mina."

I bit my lip and looked to Henry. He was sitting up now, glaring at Regina. Then, his features softened as if he had a plan. I wondered what he had in mind.

"Now... shall we begin your lesson, or would you rather we bake pies?" Regina asked sarcastically.

"Let's do this," I said, "I'm ready."

For my two hours at Regina's house, I learned to focus all of my attention on protection and casting. I used telekinisis to move things and how to block attacks from Regina. After the lesson, I felt my power strengthen a bit... as if it was less messy and I could control it better. Regina nodded when I told her this.

"And you'll get better if you continue to practice," she said, "remember what I taught you today. I'll be quizzing you in three days from now."

I nodded, then Henry and I left to carry out our plan.

"I can ask him about my grimoire," I said as we walked through the park, on our way to the town. "And you can search for the heart and box."

"He would have hidden it well," he said glumly.

I nodded, "maybe... maybe you'll feel it."

He looked at me and shrugged, "It's possible... yes."

I flipped open my grimoire and studied the text. "There's so many spells in here... and if you say them incorrectly, it screws up everything."

"Really?' he asked, his tone amused.

"Yes, really," I said, "once I was trying to make out the words and I turned my hair green. Granny freaked out on me after and told me not to use the grimoire until I could read the spells correctly."

"Green?" he asked, studying my hair then glanced back at me, "what's wrong with that? Green is a nice colour."

I laughed when I saw he was teasing me, "Ah, you like green. So do I, but it wasn't green like emeralds... it was bright and horrible!" I shuddered as I remembered it all. He laughed.

I shook my head with a smile, "After that, I did stop using the grimoire and depended on the stuff I knew. I never really had real training. I couldn't control my powers but now... now when I look at the spells, it's somehow easier... like, I've known them my whole life when I never really knew them at all. Isn't that weird?"

"Well, it could be in your blood... the witches' tongue. Maybe at a certain age, you received the gift and now it comes naturally to you," he said.

I nodded. That makes sense, "I understand... or maybe my parents made it be so... granting me the power to read the grimoire." I looked at its cover and sighed, "I just wish I knew.

Henry saw that I felt sad so he put his hand on my shoulder, "Hey... you were amazing at Regina's lesson. Can you show me something else?"

I nodded, opened the grimoire and picked up a stone. "Let's see," I said, "What shall I do with you?"

I studied the grimoire, looking at new spells until I found a melting spell. I smiled.

"Ever seen a stone melt?"

He shook his head.

"Today we're going to make that happen," I said as I studied the spell then looked at the stone in my palm. I focused all my energy and power onto it, then recited the spell.

It was warm at first, then the stone began to melt and slide down my hand as if it was syrup.

"Amazing," Henry breathed as he watched the now liquidated stone hit the pavement.

"It worked!" I said, shaking my hand to get the strange stone-syrup off, "Peter, it worked!"

I covered my mouth when I realized I had said his name and looked around. Thankfully, we were the only two in the park.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be," he said, "I actually liked hearing my name on your lips... it's been quite a while."

"It has," I said with a sad smile, "but hopefully tonight it'll all be over."

"But I'm so proud of you, Mina...so I'm in love with a very powerful witch," he said, almost breathlessly.

"Possibly," I smiled, avoiding his gaze.

"Or you put a spell on me," he said.

I frowned then, "I hope not."

"I was just trying..."

"I know," I said, but I was still worried. I would have been devastated if Peter only fell in love with me because his power reflected off of me and went back to him... and made him fall in love with me because of a spell.

"Look at me, Mina," he said then.

I did. Henry's innocent face looked older, more knowledgeable because of Peter, "You did put a spell on me Mina. You've enticed me and I was not expecting it at all."

He took my hand but I listened, "I was trying to put you under my spell," he confessed, "and it almost worked, but you fought back. You fell in love with me because you saw something that was still... human. You fought me and never gave up. You are a fighter. That's why I fell in love with you. You were beautiful when we first met and the fact that I couldn't control you made me intrigued but crazy... I wanted you then."

He smiled, "And then when you used to sing to Henry and tell him stories..."

"You used to listen..." I said, lost in thought.

He nodded, "I listened and always wished it was me and not the boy... he was lucky... because he had you."

He shook his head then, "Maybe... maybe it was never a mistake that we met. It's...destiny."

I nodded, "I think you're right."

He kissed my hand, but never looked away from me, "Don't ever think I don't love you," he said sternly, "never think that."

"I won't," I breathed, "Let's do this."