6. Magic

"WHAT?!"

Bella's stomach was churning. It was completely absurd. Magic. Magic. She was just Bella, ordinary, plain, normal Bella. There was no way she of all people could be magical. Her stomach was doing flips. Was that the magic? Some new wild beast now occupying space in her body. Oh wait, that wasn't magic…

Bella rushed over to a nearby bush and started throwing up and simultaneously blacked out.

...

Bella was sure someone was knocking on her door, but she couldn't distinguish the knocking from the pounding in her head. She opened her eyes, but even the little light coming through her opaque curtains was blinding. She was still extremely nauseous, but could feel that there was nothing left in her stomach to throw up. She tried to sit up, but the minute she began raising her upper body, her head started spinning. Bella gave up and instead grunted to signal she was awake.

Jessica slowly opened the bedroom door, letting as little light in as possible.

"Hey Bells, how are you feeling?"

"Oh god, stop shouting," Bella moaned.

Jessica quietly entered and dropped off a Jamba Juice drink on her nightstand.

"I brought you something to help with the hangover," Jessica whispered.

"What happened last night? I can't remember anything past going outside with Edward." Bella could recall a vague recollection of bursting lights and fireworks or something, but it was all fuzzy.

"Well as far as I know, you both left to go outside, you got sick, and then when you returned, you were knocked out, and Edward was carrying you in his arms. You should've seen him Bells, so freaking manly and handsome. He held you the entire way home, even carried you to bed and tucked you in. Super swoon-worthy."

"I can't believe he saw me throw up. I can't think of anything more unattractive." Bella covered her head with a pillow and, as far as she was concerned, she would stay under this pillow the rest of her life if it meant she didn't have to confront Edward about emptying the entire contents of her stomach in front of him.

"Well if it makes any difference, you were a champ last night. In fine drinking form. I'm surprised you didn't blow sooner."

"That doesn't make it any better," Bella moaned into the pillow.

Bella's phone, buried underneath another pillow on her bed, vibrated with a text. Bella could feel it rattling her skull and made the pounding headache come to the forefront of her problems.

E: I would say good morning, but I'm sure your morning isn't feeling too good. Can I stop by and bring you anything?

B: Depends, have anything that can erase the memory of me throwing up?

E: Now why would I do that? I want to treasure that memory for the rest of my life :)

B: Ughhhh

E: I'll be there in 15

With Jessica's help and a huge sip of the Jamba Juice, Bella rolled out of bed and into the bathroom to brush her teeth twice. Bella glanced up into the mirror. She looked like a hot mess. Her carefully placed makeup was smeared all around her eyes. Her hair, so nicely curled just hours early, looked like rat's nest. Bella scrubbed everything off her face and ran a brush quickly through her hair. Her eyes were still slightly red and the headache was thumping twice as hard, but at least she looked normal-ish.

Bella was just changing out of the dress she slept in to a pair of shorts and long t-shirt when she heard Jessica letting Edward into the apartment. Bella was starting to feel dizzy again and lay back down in bed. A few moments later, Edward entered and closed the door behind him.

"How's the birthday girl feeling?"

"Like death." Bella's head was spinning so badly she couldn't muster the embarrassment she felt about vomiting in front of him. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on top of it.

"I can do something to help with that," he took a seat next to Bella on the edge of the bed.

"Does it include being unconscious, cause that seems like the most appealing option right now."

Edward brought his hands up the side of Bella's face and placed a single finger on each of her temples. Edward stared directly into Bella's eyes with an unblinking connection. And then she experienced a most wonderful feeling. A wave of calm cooled the pounding in her head completely. Within seconds, the entire headache disappeared; even the nauseous feeling in her stomach had abated. It felt glorious, but then with a crashing clarity the events of the night before came reeling back.

Bella couldn't stop the fear that exploded in her. She hit Edward's hands away from her face a little more forcefully than intended.

"What did you just do to me!?" Bella began looking around her room, for an exit, for a weapon, for anything to help her feel stable in a world that was just flipped upside down. "What happened last night?!" Bella demanded, as she tried pushing away from him.

"Bella, calm down," Edward tried reaching for her but she moved away, backing herself against the wall.

"Don't tell me to calm down! What the hell is going on?!"

"I can explain it all, but you have to promise to listen to everything. I know you're scared, but this is nothing to be afraid of. Will you give me a chance?" he reached out an imploring hand.

Bella gazed hard at his hand, weighing the options. She looked into his questioning eyes and was met with complete sincerity. There was nothing he was holding back this time. And maybe she would finally get answers. She hesitantly placed her hand in his. He gave her a tenuous smile, and gave her hand a small reassuring squeeze.

"Bella, haven't you noticed strange things happening, weird stuff you couldn't explain? Small occurrences throughout your life, but they've gotten more frequent recently?" She nodded her head. "There's no easy way to prep for this, so I'm just going to say it. You have the ability to control magic." Bella gave Edward the most incredulous look.

"I know how it sounds," he continued, "but it's true. Magic is passed down from generation to generation. In most magically families, it is a normal part of life. You are brought up learning magic and are prepared for when you turn 21 and receive your full powers. But in your case, your mother was the magical one and your father was not. So when your mother passed away, you didn't receive the training most others would have."

He gave her a breath to absorb.

"You can't be serious. Magic isn't real," Bella tried to weakly justify, yet as she said it, instance after instance of unexplainable events flashed through her head.

"I assure you, Bella, it's as real as you or me."

Edward took Bella's hand and laid it flat in the air. He used both of his hands to cup around hers, covering her palm. Bella could feel a tingling sensation and a warmth flood her arm. When Edward uncapped his hands, a group of beautiful large monarch butterflies fluttered out. They lazily flapped circles around Bella and Edward. One was still perched on the palm of Bella's hand.

She was completely amazed; at a total loss for words. She reached with a finger to touch the flapping multicolored wings. She ran it gently along the tip that felt like silk before the butterfly launched off her hand into the air with the others.

"Ascensus," Edward commanded to the butterflies. They all redirected their paths towards the ceiling. When they collided, the butterflies disappeared but left painted versions of themselves on the ceiling.

"How is this possible?" she asked in wonderment.

"Because we are connected. We are decedents of the original families and have their blood running through our veins. And even if you never knew it, you could feel it. You have a special tether to your family's element, earth. You draw strength from it and it is strengthened by you."

Edward's eyes were alight. He was bursting to share with her this world that belonged to them both.

"I have so much to tell you. There's so much you need to know, but I don't want to overwhelm you. Have you ever received a book from your mother?"

Bella nodded and glanced at Familia Terrae on her desk. Edward gestured at the book with a single outstretched hand and it flew immediately to him. He caught it easily and gently, placing it on the bed in front of Bella.

"This is your family's grimoire. It contains spells and notes passed down through your family. This is the key to your history."

"But it's locked. I haven't figured out a way to open it."

"Try again; I think you'll encounter different results. And when you're ready, I will be here to walk you through every step."

Edward rose from the bed. Bella didn't move at all, not towards Edward or towards the book. He approached her anyway and kissed her forehead. Before leaving the room, he spoke one more time.

"You can't see it, but Bella you have an amazing power within you. You were meant to do great things with your life. And as much as you try to convince yourself you're ordinary, you're going to have to accept you're anything but."

He closed the door behind him and left Bella with the book.

She looked at the book for a long time, debating if she was ready to do this. Bella was teetering on the edge of a precipice. But unlike how she felt yesterday, it wasn't silly like being able to gamble or drink; this was a choice between deciding if she wanted to live in just one world or two; if she was ready to plunge into the wildest unknown she had ever encountered.

But then she realized there was never any choice. If everything Edward said was true, and in her deepest of hearts Bella knew it was, then this was a part of her. She couldn't turn her back on this book; her history; her family.

Bella ran her finger across the gold letters and the worn down cover. However, this time she could feel the book, almost as if it were trembling, wanting to be opened, wanting to bestow its many secrets on her.

With a trembling hand, she accepted her fate, and opened the cover.

Tucked into the first page, was an envelope with her name neatly scrawled on the front. Bella would know that handwriting anywhere. It filled the pages of her family scrapbooks, it was on every birthday card from Bella's childhood, and it was imprinted on Bella's heart. The letter was from her mother.

'My dearest Isabella,

I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I'm not there for you right now. I'm sorry I can't see the beautiful woman I know you will become. I'm sorry you had to grow up without a mother.

I may not be with you, but you are not alone. I have poured my life into these pages knowing that on your 21st birthday they will bring you guidance on this new journey. I wish I could offer more, but I hope you'll take comfort in the strength of your past and use it to light the way of your future.

Never forget how remarkable you are. Never forget you are in control. Never forget who you are, Isabella Marie Swan.

With all my love,

Mom'

Bella didn't realize she was crying until the tears slid down her face landing on the book. But instead of leaving tear stains, the book absorbed it as if acknowledging her pain and wanting to share the burden of it.

She tucked the letter back into the envelope and into the cover before flipping through the pages of the rest of the book. It was chaotic. On each page there were spells or potions written in Latin. And in every free margin there were little notes. Some she could tell were her mother's; others were from ancestors who had long since passed. Some notes were suggestions on how to improve what was on the page, a special ingredient to add, a certain technique to do with your hand, some notes made no sense at all.

Bella turned page after page wondering how she was ever going to make any sense of the book. But she felt invigorated. Although completely foreign, she was going to dedicate herself to understanding her mother's gift.

With each page, Bella could feel the little curled ball of magic beginning to unfurl its tendrils in the pit of her stomach. The magic poked and prodded at Bella, enticing her, encouraging her to use it. But she was cautious. She knew she shouldn't mess with anything quite yet until she could grasp the basics of this new world.

Bella flipped through the book, giving everything a cursory glance, reading what she could. When she finally reached towards the end of the book, she found two pages stuck together. Unlike the other pages that were covered from top to bottom in notes, this page was completely blank except for one line in the very middle that read:

Cum perdis viam tuam

She tried to make a mental note about translating this page later, but considering a good majority of the book was in Latin that needed to be translated, she quickly forgot about it.

After running through the pages again, she decided it was enough. With some effort, Bella finally forced herself to close the book. She could still feel it calling to her, but she was steadfast in her decision. She needed direction before she attempted to tackle anything in that book. And there was only one person who could help her; who she wanted help from.

Bella wasn't sure how it was possible, but when she looked at her phone, a couple hours had passed since Edward left. With her hangover gone, and a new task at hand, Bella didn't want to just stand around. She texted Edward.

B: Meet me at your spot in an hour

With only a beat between, like he was anticipating her text, Edward responded.

E: Okay

Bella grabbed something to eat, assured Jessica and Angela she was okay and functioning, and then dashed out the door to her car. By the time she reached the pull out for the spot, Edward's car was already parked. He wasn't anywhere nearby which meant he must already be at the clearing.

As she made her way to the clearing, she could feel a difference in herself between yesterday and today. With every step she took, she could feel the power of the earth reverberate into her body. The land around her was breathing and alive and, in a way, she was finally alive too.

Edward stood at the end of the clearing waiting for her. When she came into view, he started moving towards her, but hesitated. He wasn't sure how she was going to react, angry, still scared, or something else. He was going to take her cue this time.

Bella calmly walked up to him and stopped a few feet away. She appraised him, for the first time understanding who he was, what he could do.

"I have questions," Bella said, breaking the silence.

"That's understandable."

"I need truthful answers to all of them."

"Always. I promise I have never and will never lie to you."

Bella nodded in acknowledgment and took a seat on the mossy ground. Edward followed suit.

"So you've always known about magic?"

Edward nodded his head. "Yes, both of my parents are magical so I grew up with it."

"And you have a book like mine?"

"I do. I have a few grimoires that run in my family."

"And you knew I had this inside me…magic. And you didn't tell me. Why?"

At this point, Edward showed a twinge of guilt.

"When I first met you, and I realized you didn't know, I didn't think it was my place to tell you as it's usually something done by parents when you're young. I thought your parents might have been waiting till you turned 21 as some people choose to do. And I'm not exactly proud of it, but it was kind of fun to play around with the magic without you knowing." He looked away from Bella for a few moments, Edward's admission to embarrassment.

Bella turned over her memories. "The ladder in the library and the flowers? Magic?"

Edward gave her a sheepish grin. "Also, I used a location spell to find you in the quad that day and maybe had a little help in bowling. I would say sorry, but I wouldn't mean it. I'm glad I did those things, because it let me get to know you, and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world."

Edward was sure he could see the hint of a smile play on Bella's face, but she quickly turned business-like again.

"You said earlier about weird things happening to me. Was that magic? Does that happen to everyone?"

"Magic is a part of you, it wants to be used. When you don't use it, it can sometimes happen sporadically or when you are feeling heightened emotions. As long as you use the magic, exorcise it like it's an extension of your body, then it won't feel out of control. And this doesn't usually happen to people who grow up in magical families. Even though you don't get your full powers till your 21, you can still control small amounts of magic while you're young to stop it from randomly coming out."

Bella took a minute to absorb the information, slightly chewing on her lip as she processed.

Edward was rocking ever so slightly in his sitting position. The patience in his voice was betrayed by the excitement apparent in his body. He was yearning to tell her more, but wanted to go at a pace Bella felt comfortable with. She asked her next question.

"Sometimes, like in my room, you use words to control magic, but other times you don't say anything, but things still happen. You don't need to speak a spell or use a wand or something?"

"When you first learn about magic, you don't know how to control it yet; speaking the words out loud helps to sharpen intention and purpose. But after you study it for a while, you learn how to command silently. Wands and other items can be conduits for magic. They can help strengthen certain spells, but magic is inside you. You don't need a stick to use an ability you were already born with."

Bella nodded, acknowledging his response. It was crazy, but it all made sense. And Edward's unbridled enthusiasm, not just to uncomplainingly explain the logic of an entirely illogical world, but to want to show her and help her, made Bella resolute in her next decision. The ball of magic in Bella's stomach hummed happily as it knew her next question before she even asked it.

"Last question," she took a breath, "will you teach me?"

A slow grin tugged at the sides of Edward's mouth until he broke out in that all too familiar smirk.

"Everything I know," he responded.