Caitlin
October 14th, 2018
Caitlin didn't move for a second. She just stood frozen in one position, breathing heavily. No one else said anything either. No one dared. When she finally regained the ability to move Caitlin slowly lowered her wand and turned to face the team. In her peripheral vision she could see Cisco watching her with wide eyes, Ralph's jaw hung open, Iris looked a weird mix of confused and angry, Barry looked like he was trying to figure her out.
"What the hell?!" Ralph explained, breaking the silence.
"Caitlin? What was that?" Cisco asked.
"How did you do that?" Iris said, overlapping with Cisco's comment.
"It's kind of a long story," she admitted.
"Oh is it now?" Cisco asked.
"Care to share?" Iris asked. Caitlin sighed.
"Before I do you have to promise me that you will never tell another living soul," she begged them.
"Why?" Ralph asked. Iris hit him.
"You guys just have to trust me," she said. "If this gets out it could be bad for all of us."
"Caitlin, just tell us," Iris told her.
"Okay," she said. Taking a breath. "The truth is...I'm a spellcaster."
"I'm sorry, a what?" Ralph asked.
"A spellcaster," she said. "We're like wizards but real."
"But wizards aren't real," Ralph said. "That's just nerd stuff."
"Maybe not but magic is real," Barry said. "Just ask Oliver."
"I'm with Barry on this one," Iris said. "Magic is definitely real and evidently spellcasters are too."
"So wait," Cisco said, "that thing was some kind of Harry Potter nightmare monster right?"
"Sort of," she said. "They are called dark phoenixes."
"That explains a lot," Barry said. Iris looked at him questioningly. "Just, something she said earlier."
"I'm guessing that's also why you knew about their eyesight?" Cisco asked.
"That thing was sentient?" Ralph asked.
"Okay, my brain is processing a lot right now," Cisco said, holding his head.
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Iris asked.
"Like I said, if this gets out, things could go bad," she responded. "There are rules that have to be followed and consequences if they are broken."
"What kind of consequences?" Iris asked.
"Jail time, magic removal, memory wiping and in some cases death," she told her. "I didn't know what would happen, just that it wouldn't be good."
"And that's the only reason you didn't tell us?" Barry asked like he didn't believe her.
"Not entirely," she admitted. "I was also scared. I have been hiding my powers since I was eight years old. It's all I know how to do. I was taught to hide who I was or bad things would happen."
"Taught by who?" Barry asked.
"My mom," she admitted. "She is a spellcaster too. And my dad. That's why I am."
"If you're a spellcaster then why are you a scientist?" Ralph asked.
"Because once I left the Spellcaster Realm I couldn't continue to use my powers regularly, I had to learn the new rules," she informed him.
"Spellcaster Realm?" Cisco asked.
"That pocket dimension that the dark phoenix came from," she said. "That's where I lived until I was eight years old."
"You're from a pocket dimension?" Cisco asked in awe.
"Yeah," she said. "But I didn't know that until today. I always thought it was just some magical elseworld, not a scientifically explained pocket dimension."
"Glad we could clear that up for you," Ralph sarcasted.
"You didn't do anything," Iris said.
"That must be why you could open that breach," Barry said absentmindedly.
"What was that?" Iris asked her husband.
"Cisco. We didn't know why that specific breached connected to that specific pocket dimension but it's because of Caitlin," he clarified. "She was bracing him so they were in contact. He opened a breach to her home dimension."
"That actually makes sense," Iris said. "And I'll bet that light was magic. That's why it affected us like that."
"What light?" Ralph asked.
"Not important," Cisco said. "The point is, a lot more makes sense now."
"Glad to hear it," Caitlin said. "Now we just need to make sure no member of the royal family or the royal guard ever finds out that I told mortals about magic."
"Mortals?" Ralph asked. "That's actually a thing."
"Yes Ralph, it actually is," Caitlin retorted.
"What was that part about the royal guard?" Iris asked.
"The Spellcaster Realm is a monarchy," Caitlin clarified. "Currently ruled over by the house of Liam head King Alexander. His daughter Natalie is princess and believed to be next in line for the throne. They are the most ancient and powerful of all spellcaster families."
"So they can just, do whatever they want?" Ralph asked.
"They are fair rulers but they do also meet with a council of members of the other ancient families and high ranking members of the community," she continued. "They can do a lot but not everything. However, the royal guard makes them more powerful, they are basically the police force, some guards main job is to protect the royal family, others are to enforce laws. Basically like CCPD only with magic and kings."
"So, is this royal family the reason you have been lying to us?" Iris asked. "The reason you couldn't tell us about your powers."
"Technically," she admitted. "They aren't really friendly with the mortal world. No one knows why but there are rumors. They tend to believe you are either with them or against them no matter if that it true or not. That's why I have only been back once. I'm effectively banished even if I'm not officially."
"And that seems fine to you?" Cisco asked.
"I'm sure the king has his reasons," Caitlin said. "They don't interact with the mortal world in positive or negative ways. It's just the way it has always been and it has worked so far. It's way above my knowledge to weigh in."
"I think the king doesn't know what he's talking about," Barry said dryly.
"Please don't stage an uprising," Iris told him jokingly.
"No promises," Barry grumbled. Iris gave him a weird look before turning back to Caitlin.
"So you said that you've only been back once, why go back at all?" Ralph asked.
"I needed a new wand, I outgrew my trainer," she told him, holding her wand up. "I was finally a high enough level."
"Level?" Iris asked.
"It's a scale used to measure your skill and power level," Caitlin clarified. "I'm a level three, my mom is a level seven and my dad was a level ten. The highest level is a level ten master caster but that one usually requires strong power as well as skill so it is extremely difficult to reach. That used to be my goal."
"What changed?" Barry asked.
"Life," she said. "It's hard to study magic with limited resources in a place where magic isn't aloud. So, I'm a level three."
"Why didn't your dad teach you?" Iris asked. "I know he died when you were young but he must have been a good teacher until then."
"He was but he was also a castle guard, that took up a lot of his time. It's also how he died. During the riots," she said. "He was killed protecting the princess." No one said anything for a moment.
"I'm so sorry Cait," Barry said sadly.
"It was a long time ago," she said. "But it was my father's death that made my mom want to leave the realm and I went with her. She couldn't be around magic. It reminded her of him."
"Well, that does explain a few things," Cisco said.
"Okay, okay," Ralph said. "Caitlin, I'm sorry about your dad and your semi-tragic backstory. I really am but things just got really deep and in depth explanationy and I really just want to see you use some magic!"
"I can't," Caitlin sighed.
"Clearly you can," Cisco said. "Or was that whole story just for kicks?"
"I mean I can use magic but I shouldn't," she specified. "Using magic in the presence of
mortals can set off all sorts of alarm bells. As a level three using it once won't do much but if I continue to cast spells in front of you guys someone will notice."
"What? Are there like people who just sit around monitoring magic usage in the human
world and jump at the chance to make an arrest?" Ralph snorted. When Caitlin didn't say anything Ralph piped back up. "Wait, seriously?" She nodded.
"Wow," Cisco said. "What even is the Spellcaster Realm?"
"Insane," Caitlin said. "But can we just stop talking about this for now? I just need to get my wand back in my safe and rest and hope my whole world doesn't come crashing down."
"Fair enough, and we promise, we won't tell anyone," Iris said. "Right?"
"We promise," the rest of the team chimed in.
"Perfect, let's call it a night," Iris said and stepped up to give Caitlin a hug. "We're always on your side." Then she turned and walked out, Barry shot Caitlin a quick smile and then followed Iris out. Ralph headed out shortly after and Cisco gave her a hug.
"You want me to breach you home our are you going to magic it?" he asked laughing.
"I'll take the breach, thanks," she said, smiling. He turned and opened one up and dragged her through. If only they had stuck around a second longer. If they had they would have seen the telltale blue light that would be just the beginning of a whole new breed of problems.