Chapter 5

We both jumped to our feet and started to argue but before we could get ourselves grounded for insubordination, Mum simply said.

"SIT and listen, consider, then react. Isn't that what I've always told you? As Philippe said to me, 'think, and stay alive'. It fits in all situations, now sit while you still can."

That shut us up. We both sat on the same love-seat, still confused but at least listening. James and Jack started for the door and Dad Stopped them.

"What we have to say affects everyone in this room, so please, hear us out."

Jack and James turned somewhat surprised, but took a seat.

"What's their schooling have to do with us Dad. We're too old for school, and not educated enough for university. We know our lot in life."

"Well Jack, that's just it. Diana started thinking about it when she heard James' story, and she got talking to Hamish. Then she called Linda who had just had a rather interesting conversation with a certain bright born young man." And I got a rather pointed look.

"And these are the facts, as we see them. As Diana said, listen, let us finish what we have to say, then ask your questions. Or even better, consider all this and we'll discuss it over dinner this evening. Can we all agree to this?"

After getting nods from most of us and a few grumbled "Yes Dad"s from Beck and me, he went on.

"First, Philip and Rebecca, you two have done really well on your disguising spells on Apollo and Lucy, but are you totally confident you can keep them hidden 24 hours a day, for the next four years? Are you sure you can keep up the age lies and keep track of everything and not be found out while adhering to an honor code at school that requires 100% honesty?"

"On the educational side, you two are incredibly powerful weavers, and have done things with magic that I never could've imagined at twice your age." Mum said, "But the fact is, your magical education is far from complete, and going to a public school for four years, then on to University, will really hinder that part of you, and may even put you in danger."

Dad picked up, looking at James "And how many vampires are there out there like you and Jack? Medieval education standards and being born in the wrong family kept you two, and others, from learning to read, let alone any higher education. You boys were lucky. You had us, and Andrew, to teach you the basic reading and maths, but you boys could have gone farther if you'd had the chance."

"How many witches are born into families that can only afford state schools for their kids?" Mum was asking, "Or in the US, how many have no chance at college because they are in a poor school district and get a below average education?"

"And let's not forget daemons. Most of them don't know they are one until someone stumbles on them later in life. The congregation used to have teams that would search out young daemons and help them along, but that seems to have faded out. So many brilliant minds that don't get developed until it's too late to help them to their full potential."

"Add in the human children of witches and daemons who know of our world but can't share their secret families with their school friends." Father H said, "And those same children who can't afford a good education."

I looked at Beck and she was staring at me. We were both wondering where this was headed and what it had to do with us.

"Sorry guys, this all leads us to how it directly affects you all." Mum said, as if she was reading our minds.

"We want to know what you think about a creature school? A school to educate the young in our world without them having to hide what they are. Where witches and weavers can share magical techniques and learn advanced magics. Where daemons can be their extravagant selves without being called crazy. Where vampires can attend regardless of their age, and gain an education to improve their lot in life. Someplace for the humans who are part of our world to learn and grow if they so choose."

Mum sounded so excited as she said all this I didn't know what to think. I had gone through two days of hell to get into Winchester and now they had this crazy idea? I mean, yeah, all this sounds wonderful but how do I apply at Yale with a diploma from "The Manchester School of Magic and Blood Sucking" or whatever they'd call this thing?

Beck's face looked like she agreed with me. She looked devastated. I was putting my arm around her shoulder to let her know I'd help fight this when I got a look at Jack. He was lit up like a kid at Christmas. His eyes were shining bright with hope for a future he had never dreamed of, and my mind was made up. I nudged Beck and nodded towards Jack. She turned, and she saw it too. She looked back at me and smiled.

How could I be so selfish? All I had thought about since Dad had first talked about school, was myself. I didn't like the uniforms, I didn't want to be tied to Beck, I wanted what I wanted and no one else mattered. Nothing but me, me, me, me, me.

I was ashamed. When I came out to my parents, all they thought about was me and how I felt and how I would deal with issues. When we talked about school, all they cared about was what was best for me. They considered my feelings and wanted what was best for me, but I didn't stop to consider what was best for anyone else.

I started to cry, and Mum noticed. She quietly came over and sat by me, putting her arm around my shoulder.

"What's wrong Pip? Are you upset about giving up Winchester? If that's it, you can still do that. We're just talking about this and asking for input. Nothing has to change if you don't want it to son."

"Oh Mum, that's not it. I've been a selfish pig. You and Dad and everyone have given me so much in life, and you've done everything I could ask for, and here you are, thinking about others, and I just realized how self centered I've been through all of this."

"Well baby, you are only 8, it's OK to be selfish sometimes. You have to do what's best for you before you can do what's good for others. Your Dad and I have been fortunate and we're in a position to help others. There's nothing wrong with you wanting to focus on you for now, and others later in life."

"But that's just it Mum, Beck and I are in a perfect place in time to be part of something big. To do our thing for creatures. We're the first bright born, and if we don't do this, what about Stevie and Chris? Or Mary and Annie? Will it fall to them to be the first? If we don't do this, what about Jack and James? Will this be there for them without us being strong enough to step up and be part of it? I don't know Mum, but I…"

Here I stopped and looked around the room. I could see the threads of the world around us in their many colors, weaving into a loom, pulling at the threads of time, and it all seemed to be saying 'now or never'. I'd never seen the threads so clearly..

"Mum, do you see the threads?"

She looked around confused a bit but I heard Beck gasp.

"Yeah Pip," Beck said softly, "now or never huh?"

Mum was still confused but I nodded "Yeah Beck, we gotta do this."

She grabbed my hand and nodded.

Mum stood and stepped back, staring at us both. "You both know we don't all see the threads the same, so I'm not seeing what you're seeing, but if time is telling you both the same thing, I trust you two, and I'm in. I'm in for whatever it takes. You two seem to have grabbed onto this, and if you two are sure, I'm sure."

Dad just looked at us in wonder but after a minute he turned to Andrew and said "Well Andrew, please have Linda here for dinner at 7. I'll have Hamish, Nathaniel, and Marcus here. I doubt we can get Chris here in time but I'll try." And with that, he picked up his mobile and with one touch was on the phone with Uncle Chris at Yale.

"You two go on up to your rooms. I don't know how fast this can happen, so we'll plan on you taking your tests Monday, just in case. How's that sound?"

We nodded, and got up and went upstairs. Jack followed, and pulled James along with him. We all went into my room and sat down to digest what had just happened.

James stared at us for a minute before he said "Is this real? Does this mean I can go to school and stop being the dumb one finally?"

"Yeah Amen, er James, that's what it sounds like. Wonder if Father H will let Leonard go too? He's a smart one. Not book smart like Mum and Dad, but he's got smarts. If it wasn't for him and you, I'd have died long before I did."

I looked up at Jack and for some reason I found that funny. It wasn't, but I broke into a fit of giggles that slowly got Beck giggling. After that it wasn't long before we were all laying back on my bed giggling like children at something that just was not funny!

Right then, my mobile started ringing. I looked at it, it was Tavish.

Panic! I'm not sure why, but pure panic. I could feel my ears heating up and my tongue getting thick and I didn't know what to do.

Beck saw my reactions but had no idea what was going on. She grabbed my mobile and looked at the screen. "Who's Tavish?"

"Um, no one, give me that!" And I grabbed my phone and ran out of the room. By this time, I had a missed call.

OMG OMG OMG, now what? Do I call him? What's he thinking? Does he think I was ignoring him? Then I got the beep. I had voice mail.

'Breathe Pip, breathe' I heard in my head. I wasn't even sure if it was me thinking it or if it was Beck, but it was good advice, so I took a deep breath. It felt so good I took another. And another.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder so I turned around to see Jack smiling at me. "Wanna tell me what's up bro?"

"Well, I don't know where to start."

"Usually, it helps to start at the beginning. That's what Dad always tells me. So how bout you come back in and tell us from the beginning. James can go hang out with Leonard if you want. Beck can leave us alone, but I bet you wanna share with her too. Come on Pip, let us help ya."

I sighed, looked at them all looking at me like I had lost my mind, and said "No, let's go in and I'll tell you all. Maybe James will see something we miss."

So we went in my room and all ended up back on my bed. I leaned back against the headboard and stared at my phone, lost in thought.

They gave me some time to pull it together, but I guess I was taking too long cause Beck poked me.

"OK, OK So, you know I went to the Greyfriars today, right?"

They all nodded.

"Well, I met a boy there and,"

Jack 'bro punched' my shoulder and Beck started giggling so I glared at them both until they settled down.

I went on, "ANYWAY, before I was interrupted… I met a boy there, and he's cute, and smart, and I'm guessing he's a witch cause he was in the coven meeting room, and we got talking and.."

"PIP! BREATHE!" Jack yelled.

Deep breath. "So, we got talking, and I slipped up and said he was cute, out loud. I just blurted it out without thinking, and it was out there and… well, and he didn't freak out. He just smiled and said 'thanks, but I'm straight."

"Oh Pip, I'm sorry." Beck said, rubbing my leg.

"Then he says 'But my identical twin's gay'"

"No WAY!?" she says.

"Way" I said. "And then, said twin comes walking up behind me and I didn't notice him, he says something like you'd say to me, and I turned around and… well, his eyes. Oh my Gods, his eyes. They're the deepest green I've ever seen Beck, and he's shorter than me, and he's smart. He's going to Winchester, and his brother's going to Eton. And…"

And I spent another 15 minutes recounting how we'd met and how he'd kissed my hand and everything.

"And now he's called me. What do I do? What does he want? Is he interested in me like that? Or just as friends? Or what? OMG OMG what do I do?"

"You breathe again baby brother. I'm NOT going to give you mouth to mouth if you pass out from not breathing!"

I looked at her and took several exaggerated deep breaths, then blew a raspberry to make my point.

And then it happened again. My mobile rang.

I froze.

It rang again. I looked at Beck. I looked at Jack. I looked at James.

Finally, Jack shook me and James grabbed my mobile, hit accept and handed me the phone. That RAT!

"Um, hello?"

"Hey Pip, It's Tavish. I called a second ago and left a message but Len said I should call back. Are ya busy?"

I shook my head.

Silence.

Idiot, he can't see your head! "Um, no, not busy."

"Well Len and I are going to a movie tonight and wondered if you wanted to go too?"

My jaw dropped. Was he asking me out or was he asking me to hang out? They were both going so it was probably the second one, but I'm a twin too, so I know how we work.

I must've been quiet too long.

"Pip? Are you still there?"

"Um, yeah. You say you and Len both huh?"

"Yeah, well, I can't leave him just sitting in the hotel with Mom can I now? If you know someone to bring along. Wait, you're a twin too right? What about your sister? Think she'd wanna come?"

"Um, I'll ask her. And I'll have to ask Mum and Dad, ah, can I call you right back?"

"Sure, can ya call back before 5?"

"Yeah, I'll call back in half an hour or so. But, what about COVID? Aren't you worried?"

"Oh, I guess we just assumed, maybe we shouldn't have. Um, you're a witch, right? We are, and seeing as we met you at the coven we just assumed…"

"Yeah, right. I assumed the same, I just forgot. That was kinda dumb huh?" Oh great, now he thinks I'm an idiot.

"Nah, not dumb. And I'm glad you're considerate. Will ya be wearing masks so the humans don't get all freaky on us?"

"Yeah, yeah, if we go. I'll call ya back. Um, you guys are visiting town, do you have a car or should we have ours take us?"

"Oh we were just gonna do a taxi but if you have someone that would drive us all, that'd be awesome! Anything special you'd like to see?"

"Let's see if we're going first, then we'll figure that out. I'll warn you, Mum and Dad have a dinner party planned to have a sorta family meeting, but I bet I can get things changed around. I'll call you back soon, K?"

"Awesome. I'll talk to ya soon, you handsome knight." and he hung up.

What? Wait, WHAT? Handsome knight? What the FLOCK was that?

Beck saw my shock and shook me. "What? What happened? What did he say?"

I looked at her and just started giggling.

"Oh great, he's lost it. Jack, get the casket, he's going to giggle himself to death. Ya think you could turn him when he dies? Would that work on us?"

I stopped giggling and smacked her. "Oh shut up, you don't know it but you're in this too 'big sis!"

I told them the whole conversation, even the handsome knight thing which got a big giggle from Beck and an "Atta boy" from James.

"Oh shoot, I gotta go talk to Mum and Dad!" and I bolted out the door and down the steps.

As luck would have it, Hamish had flown to St Andrews right after their meeting earlier and couldn't make it here for dinner. Chris couldn't get here before morning, so moving the dinner/meeting to tomorrow evening actually worked out for everyone.

As to us going on a 'date', Mum and Dad listened to my details, then told me to come back in a few minutes so they could discuss things. A few minutes turned into half an hour. I texted Tavish to let him know I was working on it and he said it was fine. I mentally called Beck to come down since she was supposed to go too, and about the time she hit the landing, the study door opened.

Dad called us in and I don't know about Beck, but I was sweating bullets. Mum looked at us both and I had no sense of what to expect. Dad cleared his throat, and began.

"Never in my 1500 years did I ever expect I would be having this conversation with my 8 year old twins. That said, you're both physically about 13-14 years old, and you've both matured to the point that we feel you're equal to most 14 year olds, if not older."

"We have concerns, but we will allow this, with a few conditions." Mum said, "First, We're going to ask Marcus and Phoebe to go with you, into the movie, and be with you the entire evening. It has nothing to do with trusting you to behave like young adults, but we don't know these boys, and our family is a target at times. Marcus and Phoebe can protect you without seeming like body guards."

We nodded. We both loved Marcus and knew he wouldn't ruin the night by getting all up in our business.

"Second, we ask that you remember not to reveal that you're anything but witches. Introduce Marcus as your dad's research partner and friend. We don't want to lie to these boys, but we don't want to upset them with talk of bright born yet. That can come at another time if you enjoy their company."

Dad continued, "You're to be home by 10. That's not set in stone, but Marcus will have the final say on where the line is. Leonard will drive you there and back, and if the night goes well, and you get the high sign from Marcus, you can invite the boys to dinner tomorrow afternoon. Keep in mind we have dinner with everyone at 8, so something around lunch."

"We trust your judgment. Pip, you look out for your sister. Weave your disguising spells before you go so you don't shine. Witches these days don't shine, and you want to fit in. You say they're witches too, right? Well, do we know where from? Who their parents are?"

"Honestly Mum, I didn't get a chance to get into that with them. I can call and ask if you really need to know, but it'd be awkward. Can I just find out tonight and tell you after?

"Yes baby, go call your friends and set up the time. Then call Marcus and Leonard so they know when to be here."

"Thanks Mum, Dad" we both said as we kissed them and ran to my room.

On the way up the stairs I called Tavish. "We can go! But we have to bring a family friend and his mate. They're vampires. Is that OK?"

"Yeah, sure. We have vampire friends too, it's all good. Are you both coming?"

"Yeah, and we have to be home by about 10. I hope that's not too early?"

"No, in fact Mom says if we're not home by 930 there better be a flood!"

And the conversation went from there as we figured out what to see, what time we had to leave to make it there, where they were staying. After going through all this we hung up.

We had 90 minutes to be ready. We'd pick Marcus and Phoebe up at Pickering Place, then pick the boys up at Claridges then go to the Cinemas at Selfridges.

I didn't know what to do. What do I wear? Do I do jeans? Slacks and a jacket? A tie? What were they gonna wear?

That's it! I called Tavish back. He answered on the first ring.

"Um, I feel silly asking but what are you guys gonna wear? I don't know if I should wear slacks or jeans or a tie or what?"

Tavish laughed and I got scared. I thought he was laughing at me for being stupid, then he said "I'm SO glad you called cause we were just having that same discussion. Let's just do jeans, OK?"

"OK, jeans, a polo, and trainers. Just so we're all the same, deal?"

"Deal" he laughed and hung up.

I yelled over to Beck "Jeans and trainers Beck, nothing fancy!"

I heard her say something but I was already headed to shower.

Leonard pulled up out front 10 minutes early and we were both already waiting for him. Since there were going to be the two of us, the two boys, and Marcus and Phoebe, he had brought one of the Mercedes limos. I hoped it wouldn't make Tavish think we were snobs, but he was staying at Claridges, so I didn't think it would be an issue. He grinned as I got in the back and said "To Pickering Place M'lord?"

I smacked him and said "Yeah, then the employment office.". Beck looked at me like I was a nut.

As we drove to Pickering Place I explained the joke to her. She looked up at Leonard and said "You give me a M'lady anytime tonight and you'll be known as Leona, do you understand me?"

Leonard got a huge grin and said "Yes M'lady" and closed the partition.

Marcus and Phoebe were waiting outside, so we lost no time picking them up, we then drove the mile to Claridges. Tavish and Lennox were standing at the entrance-way but we hadn't told them what to look for, so I had to jump out and wave them over. They both jumped in and since I was the only one that knew everyone, I got stuck doing all the introductions.

Beck blushed deep when I introduced her as "Beck" but Len was nothing but class as he said "Nice to meet you Rebecca." smiled and took her hand for a moment. Honestly I'm not sure if she was blushing about what I said or what he did.

Tavish settled in next to me and we were off to the movies.

It really was silly having Leonard drive us. The theater was 3 blocks from the hotel, but it was downtown London, so with traffic it took us 6 minutes. We saw "Onward". I was pretty cool. Typical Pixar animation quality, and there was a lesbian cop, so there was that. None of us had seen it and it was more than OK

Beck and I sat together and Tavish sat beside me. Lennox stood there a minute unsure what to do until Beck waved him over to sit on her other side.

Marcus and Phoebe sat a few rows behind us. I TOLD you my brother was cool didn't I? I know he could hear every word we said if he chose to, but he wasn't like that.

At one point I reached for my drink and Tav's hand was there. I left the drink and just gently took his hand. I saw him glance my way and grin, then he went back to watching the movie. We stayed like that the rest of the night.

As we were walking to the car, I I turned to Tavish.

"Would you two like to come to lunch tomorrow? At our house?"

Tav looked at Len and they just stood there a second. I'm a twin so I knew what was going on. They both nodded at the same time and Tav says "Yeah, sure, noon? One?"

"Let's say noon. We moved that family dinner to tomorrow evening and if we do noon maybe we can hang out a bit before we have that."

"Sounds good but um…"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing's wrong, it's just that Mom said she wants to meet your parents if we're going to go out after tonight and I guess this counts so would it be OK if she came with? If she wants to, that is."

"Oh yeah, sure. Mum and Dad said basically the same thing, so it's more than OK We'll just plan on it unless you say she can't make it."

"That sounds like a plan. A man of action, I love it!" he said and hugged me as Leonard opened the door for us. I could see him grinning and I just glared at him daring him to do it. He didn't, but I giggled a little as I got in.

We dropped them off at their hotel, and on the way to Pickering Place I gave Marcus and Phoebe both huge hugs and thanked them for being so cool and not being overbearing.

Marcus laughed and told us to ask him someday about when Miriam had remade Phoebe and he had to wait 90 days to see her. One time Dad had to chase him down in the woods even. I couldn't wait to hear about it, but we were at their place, and we had to go. We were going to get home at 10:10 as it was. Marcus said he'd call Dad and we'd be fine.

Leonard let us out at the door at 10:09 and as we ran up the front steps I heard him laughing "Have a nice evening M'lord." I just rolled my eyes and kept going.

Mum and Dad were there and from our smiles, they knew the night had been great. They asked a few questions but didn't bother us too much.

"We asked Tavish and Lennox to come to lunch tomorrow at noon Dad, I hope it's OK?"

"We told you it was, we'd like to meet these boys, if that's OK with you two?"

"Sure Dad, that was the plan. They're gonna bring their mom too, if she wants."

"Sounds like a good idea Pip." Mum said, "Are you two off to bed now? Or do you need a snack first?"

"Off to bed Mum. I'm beat!"

"Me too Mum. Pip was right, Lennox is cute." Beck giggled and we ran upstairs and went to bed.

I couldn't get Tav out of my head and after struggling for what seemed hours, I reached out to Beck 'Hey sis? You awake?'

"Yeah, she said as she opened my door, I was just about to reach out to you. Can't sleep either huh?"

"Nope, every time I close my eyes I see Tavish's green eyes staring back at me."

"Yeah, no kidding. I thought you were crazy when you told me about them, but you're right, they have the most incredible eyes. Len's are more golden green, almost like Jack's."

"Ya know, you're right. Tav's are more emerald green, deeper, so I guess that's how we'll tell them apart huh?"

"Oh I'd know Len anywhere" she sighed. "Did you sense anything odd about them? I mean like, did you happen to notice any threads or scents around them?"

"Now that you mention it, no. I didn't see any magic around them at all. Do you think they were wearing a disguising spell?"

"I'm almost sure they were Pip. Part of me says I should be concerned about what they're hiding but other than that, I thought they were both just perfect."

"Well, maybe the just didn't want to be noticed by the humans and had their mom cover them up. Like you said, I didn't get a hint of anything negative from them, other than they seemed disguised. I think we're making problems that don't exist. If they're fake, Mum will see through them tomorrow, so let's just enjoy the feelings and deal with it if it happens."

"Yeah, you're right." She was silent a while and just as I was starting to fall asleep she muttered "Can I just sleep here Pip? I wanna cuddle my twin a bit."

I rolled over and wrapped my arms around her, "Sure sis, anytime." and we fell asleep.

Sunday morning came, bright and sunny. Beck woke before me and I woke up as she was heading to her room. "Hey? No goodbye kiss?" I teased.

I got a goodbye raspberry. Eh, that's my sis.

I showered and went down to find Jack and our parents at the dining table already digging in. After kissing Mum and Dad, I grabbed a plate and as I was sitting down, Beck came in. She did the same and breakfast was relatively quiet. I was almost finished eating when Dad looked up and said

"You should probably text Tavish and let him know how to dress for lunch. You don't want to be in jeans and they show up in suits to impress us, or even worse, you're dressed up and they're not. You're the host so it's up to you to make your guests feel comfortable."

I looked at Beck and I could see she hadn't considered this either.

"Well Dad, what should we wear? What do you suggest?"

"You said they're at Claridges, right?"

"Yes sir"

"Well, I would say dress slacks, dress shirts, ties, and a cardigan would be quite comfortable and still formal enough that no one feels like they're slumming."

Mum nodded and added "Maybe a knee length skirt Beck? I'll wear something similar. I'll have to weave a disguising spell to cover my 'tattoos'. I've gone so long not covering this up I've almost forgotten about it."

Mum's tattoos… It's a long story so I'll try to explain real quick OK?

Mum and Dad spent their first year together searching for an old book that was known as 'the first book of spells' by the witches, 'the book of life' by the vampires, and 'the book of origins' by daemons. Anyway, Mum found it, and she kinda merged with the book and all the text and images from it now covered her face and arms. The text shimmers in and out of focus when she concentrates on a person. She also, somehow, absorbed her weaver's cords she used to learn magic, so she has all the colors of magic as threads on her fingers. It's really cool to look at and it really helped us learn to weave, but it can freak people out, so she covers everything when we're in mixed company.

With breakfast done, I texted Tavish and told him what we'd all be wearing. He thanked me again and said his mom would be coming. I gave him the address and said they were welcome anytime after 11:30.

That done, I called Marcus to thank him again for his help last night. He reminded me he'd be there at dinner tonight. Then I called France and told Granny Sarah about last night. She was thrilled that my first 'date' had gone so well and she insisted I call her tonight and let her know how today went.

When I hung up, I noticed it was already 10:30 so I rushed upstairs and got dressed. When I came out of my room Beck was on her way down the stairs and Jack was coming down from the 3rd floor. He walked down with me and just as we got to the entrance hall, the bell rang.

Jack said "I'll get it, you play host." and he opened the door and just stood there, staring.

I started to get worried so I came up to him.

"Jack? What is it?" I asked as I looked up into his black, glassy eyes.

"DAD!"

As I called for Dad I heard the woman with Tavish saying "Jack? Is that you?"

Jack could just say one word… "Liza?"