Chapter Two

Dawn hit Scarlett Wood and the inhabitants were awake. Well. almost all of them.

"Isn't she awake yet?" Nancy said, rocking gently in her chair with her sewing in her hands.

"Not yet," Maggie replied, stirring the mixture that was in her bowl.

"How much sleeping drug did you put in it?" Alfred replied, turning the page of his "Daily Prophet."

"Umm.a teaspoon, I think, or was it 1 tablespoon?"

"TABLESPOON!" Alfred yelled, leaping out of his seat. " That would put the girl out for a week!"

"Oh dear.I'm pretty sure it was a teaspoon."

"I.I." Alfred muttered, too angry to speak.

"Calm down, dear," Nancy said, soothingly. " I'm sure it was a teaspoon and that Gwen will be up in a minute."

"You're probably right, my love," Alfred said, smiling nervously before returning to his paper.

The three settled back down into their routine until, "AAAAHHHH!" the scream echoed round the kitchen.

"Oohh.that must be Gwen now and right on a minute as well," Nancy said, peering down at her watch.

***

Gwen opened her eyes and as soon as she opened them, she closed them just as quickly.

The ceiling was covered with blue stars that seemed to twinkle and the covers which were tightly wrapped around her were a deep purple.

Her ceiling was bare and her covers had flowers on them.

I must be dreaming, Gwen thought.

She pinched herself and nothing; the stars still twinkled down at her.

Where am I? Gwen thought, the words going round and round in her head.

She sat still for a few moments and then threw her head back and screamed.

"Stop that, dear. You'll lose your voice," Maggie said, walking towards the screaming girl.

Gwen stopped and looked at the three people that had just entered.

The one that had told her to stop screaming was quite tall and slim, a woman of about 60 or more, with grey hair which was tied up in a messy bun.

She had large blue eyes which seemed to twinkle like the stars on the ceiling and she was wearing a long black skirt, a cream blouse and a massive red apron, covered in flour.

The man next to her was big, built like a brick house. He had white hair which was sticking up in tufts on his head and small blue eyes similar to the apron woman's but more subdued. He was wearing a white shirt, a faded green waistcoat and brown trousers.

He seemed the least friendly out of the three, Gwen thought to herself.

The last person was a woman about the same age as the first one and she was very petite. She had a long flowing black dress on and it hung off her like it was a size too big but still it seemed to suit her that way.

This woman also had grey hair but it seemed finer and softer than the other woman's and her brown eyes were similar to her hair, very soft looking. She looked like she could have floated out of the window, if there had been a strong enough breeze.

"Umm.who are you and where am I?" Gwen said, finally finding her voice.

"Oh, how rude of us," the man began, "I'm Alfred Arthur," he held his hand out to Gwen and she took it. He seemed less scary now.

"This is my sister, Maggie Lark," gesturing to the apron woman, "and this is my wife, Nancy Arthur."

The other woman took a step forward and smiled warmly at her.

"You are at Scarlett Wood," the man concluded.

"Did you kidnap me? Am I prisoner here?" Gwen said quickly, searching their faces for an answer.

"Technically, yes. We did kidnap you," Alfred said, "but you are not a prisoner here."

"So, I can leave?" Gwen asked.

"If you want," Maggie answered.

Fine, I'm leaving. I'm going back home to Carrie. She's probably so worried," Gwen said, getting up.

"I don't think that would be wise," Alfred said, standing in her way.

"But.," Gwen said, sitting back onto the bed.

"She won't remember you," Nancy said quietly.

"Why? I haven't been away that long, have I? Who am I? Rip Van Winkle?" Gwen said, laughing a little.

Although she didn't really find it funny at all, she was actually quite scared.

"We put a memory charm on her, to make her forget. We put them on all the Muggles that you know," Nancy said, putting a hand on Gwen's.

"Muggles? What are they?" Gwen asked, she was now scared and confused.

"Non-magic folk," Alfred replied.

"Did we get everyone?" Maggie asked, suddenly looking concerned.

"I think so," Alfred said. "Carrie, Annabelle, the orphanage people, neighbours, shops." he counted them on his fingers.

"Non-magic folk? Memory charms? You're lying, aren't you?" Gwen shouted, but as soon as she had said it, she knew they were telling her the truth.

"School?" Maggie offered.

"I was home schooled," Gwen said quietly, not really understanding what was happening.

"Yes, I remember now. Anyway." Alfred said, running a hand through his hair.

"Why should I believe you?" Gwen suddenly burst out.

"I know this is scary for you but you have to believe us. We are here to help you, help you with your new future and help you with your past," Nancy said, squeezing Gwen's hand gently.

"My future? What's this got to do with my future and past?" Gwen said, sliding her hand away from Nancy.

"Maybe this will help you to believe us," Nancy said, handing a photograph to Gwen.

Gwen looked down at the photo and recognised the dark hair and the necklace, her necklace.

"It's my mother isn't it?" Gwen asked, she'd never seen a picture before.

"Yes. You can keep that," Nancy said.

"How did you get this?" Gwen questioned, running a finger over her mother's face.

"Well.it.she.," Nancy started.

"Gwen, I know it's hard for you to believe us. But you're not going anywhere, not that we're not holding you captive but you have nothing to return to," Alfred said loudly.

Gwen looked up at him and her eyes started to water.

"Now look, you're scaring her Alfred," Maggie interjected, "Gwen, how about this, you stay here for a month and if at the end, you still don't trust us and believe what we have to say then you can leave. How about that?"

Gwen thought it over in her head, what did she have to lose?

"Ok," Gwen said, staring at the photo.

Maggie let out a squeak of joy and smirked proudly at Alfred.

Gwen didn't want to talk about this anymore; she needed to change the subject, "what was her name?" Gwen asked, clutching the photo tightly.

"You don't know?" Maggie asked, clearly surprised.

"I asked but they said I couldn't know, not until I was older. I don't know anything about her or my father. They wouldn't even let me see my birth certificate."

"I knew, we'd forgotten something," Maggie chimed.

"We'll deal with it later," Nancy said coolly.

Maggie nodded gently and fell silent again.

"Her name was Victoria Aldan," Alfred said, turning to face the window. He was obviously thinking about what to do next.

"What about my father? Do you have a picture of him as well?" Gwen asked quickly, she could hardly believe the situation she was in.

"I'm afraid; we don't know who your father is. Your mother would never say, telling us it would be safer that way," Nancy said quietly.

Gwen noticed her eyes were watering slightly.

"Well I found a mother today, so I guess that's enough, for now," Gwen added, but still one question still needed to be answered.

"Is she still alive?" Gwen asked, hoping for the best.

Maggie glanced at Nancy who in turn glanced at Alfred.

"She's not, is she," Gwen said, feeling like her heart had been ripped out, "how long has she been dead?"

"13 years," Alfred replied sadly.

"I was two," Gwen said, piecing things together. "I was two, when I was left at the orphanage." she paused for a second before carrying on, "did she die, the same day she gave me up?"

"I'm so sorry, you had to find out this way," Nancy said, putting an arm round Gwen.

"Hey, don't worry," Gwen said, "how can you miss someone you didn't know?"

Gwen smiled but she knew she wasn't convincing any of them, most of all herself.

"Well, I think we should go downstairs," Alfred said, walking towards Gwen and gesturing her towards the door.

"Yes. I was just about to make pancakes," Maggie said excitedly.

"Pancakes?" Gwen said getting up, hunger taking over her confusion and suspicion for the moment.

* * *

Wormtail scurried across the floor towards his master and handed him a gold cup.

Voldemort snatched it from Wormtail's hands and drank it down before throwing the cup onto the floor.

"News?" Voldemort hissed, sitting down in a nearby chair.

"Umm.," Wormtail stuttered.

Voldemort took out his wand and started to point it slightly at him. This jumpstarted Wormtail and he started to babble quickly.

"Yes, umm. we now have information that says the rumour is true and that."

"Where's the child now?" Voldermort snapped, cutting off his servant.

"Umm.the guardians have her."

"WHAT! Why didn't you inform me of this earlier?" Voldemort screamed, bringing his face up to Wormtail's.

"I.," Wormtail's mouth went dry and he could hardly form the words.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Voldemort repeated in a softer tone which frightened Wormtail more.

"I only just found out," Wormtail spat out, looking down, he couldn't bear to look at his master's face.

"Fine. We will just have to watch her, closely. I want to be informed of everything as soon as it happens," the Dark Lord sneered, grabbing the back of Wormtail's neck.

"Because when I'm not informed, it makes me angry and we both know what I'm like when I'm angry, don't we?"

"Yes.," Wormtail whispered, scared to breathe a breath.

Voldemort laughed and threw the snivelling man onto the floor.

"Yes, we do know," he laughed again, twirling his wand in his hands.

* * *

"I'm a what?" Gwen said, stuffing another pancake into her mouth.

"You're a witch," Alfred repeated again.

"What? Riding broomsticks, black cauldrons, spells, that kind of witch?" Gwen said, shocked at what she was hearing.

The three guardians nodded together.

"And you expect me to believe this?" Gwen said loudly.

The three guardians nodded again, looking nervously at each other. This wasn't going to plan.

"Gwen, can you just please, accept this?" Alfred pleaded.

Gwen inspected all their faces and sighed, giving in for now.

"Anyway, as I was saying. Gwen, you are a witch.," Alfred started again.

"But you're special," Maggie cut in, unloading another pancake onto Gwen's plate.

"Yes, you are," Alfred said, shooing Maggie back to the stove, "you're a Merlin."

At that moment, the three guardians froze to see the reaction on Gwen's face.

Gwen looked back at them not knowing what to think but knowing that it must be important.

"What's a Merlin?" Gwen said, wishing she already knew and didn't look so stupid.

"Well, normally a witch or wizard gets or starts to show their powers at 11," Alfred said. "Oh, so Merlin is code for a late starter, is it? Great," Gwen said, feeling depressed.

"No, Gwen," Alfred started again, "what I mean is that, there are rare cases when a witch or wizard doesn't get their powers till they're 16. These people are called Merlins."

"Why are they called merlins?" Gwen asked, feeling better.

"Because.," Alfred said slowly.

"Because you're descended from Merlin," Maggie squealed.

Alfred turned his head to face Maggie and rolled his eyes, "I was just about to say that."

"Merlin, as in King Arthur's Merlin?" Gwen said, barely moving.

"Yes."

"But I didn't know, he had any children?"

"He did, a daughter called Inogen."

"So, were my father and mother witches too?"

"Yes, they were," Alfred said, gently.

"And good ones," Maggie chipped in.

"So, how do you, Nancy and Maggie fit into this?" Gwen asked, pushing her plate out of the way and leaning on the oak table.

"Well, we're your guardians. The people that are going to teach you how to use your powers and protect you from.," Alfred began but then let his voice fade.

"From who?" Gwen asked, slightly scared that there was someone she had to be protected from.

"Well.," Alfred said, getting very uncomfortable.

"Gwen," Maggie said loudly, distracting her, "did you know that we all knew your mother?"

"Really? You all, knew my mother?" Gwen said, excitedly. This was the closest thing she had to a real family.

"Yes. She was a very, special woman," Alfred said, smiling.

"And now, we know you," Maggie said, beaming at the new witch.

"I guess, that makes you the closest link to my real family. Before this, all I had was Carrie.," Gwen's voice trailed off. Carrie, she'd almost forgotten about her.

At that point, Gwen hated herself, how could she forget her surrogate mother for 15 years, the smile faded from Gwen's face.

"Is there something wrong?" Nancy said.

"No.it's just, I never even got to say goodbye and now she won't even remember me. It's like, my whole life has just been erased," Gwen said, looking at the floor.

"Well, you've got a new life," Maggie said smiling, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

But do I want this new life? Gwen thought to herself.

She started to ask another question but was cut off by Nancy, "why don't you go upstairs and get changed? Hmm.?"

"But.,"

"Go. Your clothes are in the drawers," Nancy said, indicating the door with her sewing needle.

Gwen didn't put up anymore of a fight and quietly went upstairs.

"She's so like.," Maggie began but stopped, there was no point saying it, the other two had already thought it too.