A/N: Hi! First, I have to say that I am really grateful for all of the reactions you gave this story! Wow! Really, I am so glad! Thank you for the lovelies reviews, the follows and the favorites. And to Anon, the Harry Potter reference is really funny, and I hadn't thought about it before haha! As requested, this is the second chapter of The Coven's Circle :) I have finished the third, and I'll try to always stay one chapter ahead at least, so I am going to work on Ch. 4 after posting this ;)
You can find me on tumblr under gardenia-queen.
I still don't own OUaT or anything else, sadly. All mistakes are mine, I am sorry if there is; I am still a french-speaking girl, and as such, far from an English expert!
Hope you like this one too!
The silence stretched in the classroom. Regina was giving time to Emma to process, while the blonde tried to understand. She broke the silence first.
"Ok, so I am a wiccan. What does it means?"
Regina exhaled. There hadn't been shouting or breakdown. Of course, the brunette had been ready for every kind of reaction, but this one was the best one in all the possibilities. Of course, explanations would take time, but it was still better than anything else.
"You can see it as a religion. It's more complicated than that and intertwined with spirituality, but the big picture would be that it's about a connection to all the strengths that surrounds you; the nature, the elements, the cycle of life. We meet to honor that and to be able to free our powers completely, but also to connect with our deities'. We get in tune with the forces of nature, and use this knowledge to heal, teach, give and protect all things."
The brunette took a handful of seconds to replace her ideas, and saw that, at the same time, her student was trying to absorb the information.
"The spells and potions that we do involve healing, love, harmony, wisdom and creativity, they can be almost everything as long as they stay in the realm of good, but magic always come with a price, and so, the most important part is the law of three. Everything you do comes back to you by three times, making us strive to do well around us. Otherwise, we have to accept responsibility for our bad actions and deeds, and we can't blame anyone else for the bad things that befall us. We must face the consequences resulting from those actions."
At that, a pained look passed over Regina's features, but got concealed fast behind a more professional mask. Oh, the blonde had seen it, and itched to ask about it, but thought it wiser not to. At least, not now.
"That is why we say that we must stay on the good side, or the bad one could destroy a Wiccan easily if he was to fall in dark magic." She finished.
Once again, the silence stretched between the two. Emma seemed too gobsmacked to say anything. Of course, it was a lot to handle, and she tried to proceed and absorb the onslaught of information she had just been given. It was now her life and she would learn to have control over what she had always feared inside of her. So it was Regina who broke the silence.
"Do you have other questions for now?"
Emma shook her head. She didn't knew what to say. "I… I think I need a little time to proceed."
"Yes, of course. But, before I let you go, I need to know something." Demanded Regina, face cold as stone, but betrayed by her eyes, who seemed full of worry and fear.
Emma felt like she had to prompt her teacher to talk and not wallow in the worry she felt.
"What?" She asked, softly.
"I'd like to have you under my tutelage. You would be my protégé, and I could start to teach you what you should know about magic in private lessons, to help you to get to the knowledge level the others are. Also, I'd introduce you to the circle, outside of our lessons. What do you say?"
At the announcement, Emma's excitement moved over the roof; she couldn't do anything else than answer a chirping "Yes, of course!" with a beaming smile for the brunette.
Regina's shoulders, that seemed so tense while she made the proposition, loosened, and a smile appeared over crimson lips. "Amazing. Tomorrow after class, wait for me. We'll start then."
The blonde moved from over the desk and took her bag from the floor, going for the door, never losing her smile. "Great. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Have a great night!" She said, before getting out of the class, searching for her friends.
Emma's thoughts reined free in her mind, and she seemed to have no control over them; they were frenetic. She couldn't believe her luck that she wasn't alone, and that she would spend more time with Regina, time not about school. That thought made her giddy. She couldn't wait for the next day.
She found Lily, Ruby Tink and Neal in the library, seated in one of the local to do team work. They probably had made a reservation long ago, if the time Ruby seemed to pine after the brunette librarian, Belle, was anything to go by. Oh, Ruby thought that her friends hadn't noticed, but she always had an excuse, as lame as it was, to go to the library as often as possible, and talk to the girl.
Of course, Belle never returned the affections; after all, she was happily wed to the mayor of the town, Neal's father, Richard Gold.
Emma knew that only because Neal had shared it with her in confidence. He thought that his father had placed his step-mother on that job to keep an eye on him. He was a bit of an overprotective father, as the boy explained, since he and Milah, his mother, divorced when he was only a toddler.
Of course, he also had a hard time to trust his ex-wife, and that could be understood, as she eloped with Killian Jones a month after the divorce had been final, and ended up pregnant with Ariel a handful of months after. It seemed as if her previous wedding had meant nothing to her, and had left Mr. Gold quite wary of relationships. And so, Neal was happy for his papa that he had found the one.
Emma flung the door of the booth where her friends were, and they all jumped in surprise. The blonde couldn't contain her giggles. It was such a perfect day, and her happiness couldn't be tampered off.
Lily looked at her with eyes as wide as saucers.
"Emma Swan. You are in so much trouble!" She almost growled, and Emma only kept on laughing, harder.
"Yeah, I agree with Lils. You think you are quite funny aren't you?" Tink chirped, as a show of support of her friend. Still, they all had smile on their faces, and Neal looked like he was trying so hard not to laugh too.
"Oh, well. It's not like you had magic power to hear me coming from miles away!" Replied Emma.
The mood shifted in the air, and seemed suddenly tenser. Then chuckles erupted, the ones that fills an uncomfortable silence. As if agreed by all the group suddenly, the subject changed, and Emma took the chair left around the table.
They took an hour to finish their literature project, hour filled with ideas flung around the local, jokes thrown around and a lot of fun.
"So, is anyone hungry?" Announced Ruby, as they finished the project. "Because as much as I'd like to stay with you, I have to go to work. Granny is waiting for me. What about y'all come to eat a little something and hang out?"
A chorus of yes and of course followed the declaration, and they found themselves heading towards Granny's, Emma, the only one with a car, driving them.
They were all seated at the counter, to be near Ruby and be able to chat with her when there was no patrons in the restaurant.
Just as Emma thought she was off the hook about her conversation with the brunette teacher, Ruby came back, and put her elbows on the table, leaning her head in her hands, as a nonchalant posture, and fired her questions.
"So, Em. What did Miss Mills wanted with you?"
"Um…" Emma said, as the other three whipped their heads toward the blonde with questions written all over their face.
"Oooooooh! You talked to the most beautiful, amazing, sexy, gracious, pretty woman who hold your heart, in private?!" Asked Lily, to rise the temper of her friend, who was less restrained when talking under the weight of the anger, and just as a humiliating payback for earlier.
"Shut up, Lily." Said the blonde, trying to stay calm.
"What? Do I see a little crush here?" she answered, in a condescending tone of voice.
"I don't know what you are talking about" scowled Emma, temper slowly mounting.
"You sooo do!" The brunette never stopped.
"No, I don't!"
"Yes, you do!" Lily was acting out, and knew that Emma's breaking point was near, so she pressed. "Emma and Regina, in a tree, K-"
"Stop it, Lily" Emma snapped, successfully angered. "Yes I talked to Miss Mills and it is NOT your business at all."
At that, they all sported confuse faces. It wasn't Emma's type anymore to hide things from them. She was always expressing herself freely about what was happening in her life, and never stopped talking about the teacher, to the point that they all knew the blonde was smitten by Regina, an idea that made them chuckle.
But, Emma shutting them out like that was unusual, and quite worrisome about what could have transpired between the two.
Tink, the most compassionate of the group smiled softly at her friend, before trying to calm her.
"Emma, it's ok. We don't want to force you to talk if you don't want to. We merely are curious, and if you want to talk about it, we'd like to hear."
Emma deflated at that, and sprawled herself on the counter, head hiding under her arms, and so her reply came muffled "I know, I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's just… " she shrugged. The blonde knew she couldn't tell the truth to her friends, and so she had to find something solid as lie. As much as she was able to pick up on them, she never seemed able to lie convincingly herself. And she couldn't stay silent, knowing it would be weird when she usually extended her talks about Miss Mills.
"She asked to see me because she noticed I struggled with the test for the first half hour, and wanted to be sure I wasn't cheating." Emma finished, hoping it would be enough to pass as the truth for her friends and help her forgo a lengthy explanation.
"And so, were you?" Asked Neal, seemingly unconvinced, receiving approval nods from Lily and Ruby for his question.
"Really, now, Neal? How could I have cheated?"
He shrugged his shoulders, almost sorry for asking as he knew she would never do that, and certainly not in Regina's class, as she wanted to impress the teacher, but still wanted the answer.
"Well, no, of course, no, I didn't!" Emma hissed.
The bell over the door chimed, and Ruby looked at her friends, apological, and left to serve the new customers.
"And, so, how did it went?" Said Tink, once again the one to relieve a bit of the tension shimmering between the friends.
"Um, It went good, I think. I couldn't stop looking at her, and she seemed to support my eyes all along. And she smiled at me, a genuine smile, like, the ones that lit up the hole room and-"
"There it goes again." Whispered Lily under her breath, regardless relieved to have her friend back in her usual good mood and goofy antics.
Time came when she had to part way with her friends to go back to the apartment, and see Mary-Margaret and David. She would follow the advice Regina had given her earlier, and talk to them; they could be a good support and help her with her learning.
She would really be a part of the family, just like them, and there would be no secrets and no reasons either to send her back because she is a freak. It was a damn great sensation, as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders.
She wanted to tell them, but she could still have fun to make them discover, right? She had successfully harvested her power to do her bidding today; she could do it again.
So she entered the apartment, and chuckled before saying her favorite replica from a book they read for literature, a remix of old fairytales, in a deep, rich voice, on the verge of threatening.
"Sorry I'm late." She had the time to end her line before bursting out in laughter.
Mary-Margaret jumped, because she hadn't heard her enter. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart beating fast. "Good god, Emma. Don't frighten me like that, I'll do a heart attack!" She said, in a high-pitched tone, only succeeding in making Emma doubling in laughter even more, making it hard to discern her next words "Well, Snow White, as I am the Evil Queen, I'll have your heart no matter." But they still picked up on them.
At Emma's good mood and laughter, both foster parents smiled.
"So, I gather you had a good day?" Asked David
"Yeah!" Emma told him, still smiling. "I'll go in my room."
"Emma, just go put your bag in your room and come back, dinner is ready!" The brunette half-
shouted, as Emma ran up the stairs.
"'Kay!" Was the only answer they received. Seconds later, Emma walked down the stairs. "What are we eating?" she asked, trying to see what was on the plates on the counter.
"Do your task and you'll know once we're seated." Replied the pixie-haired woman, eliciting a groan from her foster daughter. The sound pulled a smile from her and David, who looked at each other with eyes filled with love for their little family and the girl they had the chance to have in their lives. The air was relaxed and full of mirth and love.
Emma, always going for the shocking way smiled wickedly and closed her eyes, calling her powers forth, and concentred to put the table, tablecloth, ustensils and plates. No sound was heard as the items floated in the air and placed themselves as Emma willed them.
Mary-Margaret and David were gobsmacked, open-mouthed looking at the power display.
Emma seated herself as her foster parents were still rotted in place, and she broke the silence.
"So, my task is done. What are we eating for dinner?"
It seemed to snap her foster parents out of whatever trance they were in, and they looked at each other before looking at Emma.
"Emma…" Mary-Margaret started, with a soft voice, as if she wanted to tame a wild, frightened animal.
"Relax, MM. Regina suggested for me to talk to you both."
Their faces were identical pictures of astonishment.
"You talked to Regina? When? Why didn't you told us sooner?" Questions were suddenly fired at Emma really fast, once their new reality sank in.
"Woah! Slower, please? And can we eat in the same time? I'm famished!"
Mary-Margaret smiled; Emma was always hungry. Once they were all seated, Emma tried to answer to their questions.
"I used my power sooner, in class, and Regina picked that I used magic. SO, she asked me to stay after the class, and told me about being… Wiccan." Both adults nodded at that, but said nothing, prompting the blonde to go on. "So, yeah, I always thought my power made me a freak, and so I hid it. But since she told me you both have it…"
"Yes, honey. You don't have to hide anymore. You are just like us, and it's the most natural thing. You can always come to us." Mary told her, before David added "We can start to teach you, and make you come at our meetings with us!"
Emma squirmed in her seat at the last proclamation. "Well, I mean… Regina already told me she'd teach me. We'll start tomorrow after school, and she'll bring me to the next circle, she said."
"Oh." Was the first answer from the brunette. "Well, Regina is the best, and it's amazing she's willing to teach you. You have so much to learn! And if you need anything, of course we'll be there. Don't hesitate to come to us."
"Thanks, guys!" Emma said, moisture pooling in her eyes. Bad memories seemed to lose their weight with these good ones replacing them. Acceptance was new to her and it made wonders to start to mend the broken pieces of her heart. She was loved as she was.
Emma had had a hard time sleeping last night, too excited at the prospect to start lessons with her – not so secret anymore – crush. A small smile, hidden at the corner of her mouth, never left her face all day long, even if he seemed to drag slowly. Her anticipation made it like her classes seem longer than an hour each, and she hadn't been able to take notes at all.
In her last two classes, with Miss Mills, her mind stayed unfocussed, and she couldn't stop looking at the latter, entranced. Finally, classes ended at four, and students left the class. Ruby and Lily turned to Emma, still seated, and the brunette snapped her fingers in front of the blonde, eliciting a chuckle from Regina and Ruby. "Em! What are you doing?"
"Um, I'm sorry, but I have something to do tonight." Emma answered, looking at their teacher, who was looking at her friends with a kind look on her face.
"She's taking extracurricular lessons with me." Regina completed, with emphasis on extracurricular, at the lost look on the girls face after the blonde's answer.
A heartbeat passed in silence, and shock registered on the girls' faces.
"What? Emma's li-" Lily started, cut short by Ruby.
"Shut up, Lils. Don't make assumptions, we don't know."
Emma eyed their conversation curiously, then looked at Regina, who had a small smile on her face, and back to her friends. Then, it clicked, and her eyes widened.
"Oh, GOD! You are like me? Both of you?"
The smile on the teacher's face bloomed. "Yes, they are, Emma. I told you, you weren't the only one."
"Oh, god. This is so not what I expected today!" the blonde whined
"Well, you now know some of our circle members, and new people to talk with."
"Emma, this is amazing! But why haven't you been to any of our circles yet?" Ruby asked
Regina lightly coughed. "That would be because I found she had powers she hid only yesterday."
"Oh! That's why we haven't felt anything from her, Miss Mills?" questioned Lily
"Yes, dear. Denial can do quite strong things to people."
"Um, Right." Mumbled Emma, eyes cast down.
"Now, dears, I am sorry but I have to ask you to go so I can start my lesson with Miss Swan."
"Oh, yeah, sorry." Said Ruby, sheepishly, while Lily looked at Emma with a gaze that told the blonde she would be teased later about private lessons. The thought made her roll her eyes at her friends' back.
"See ya, Em! If you need us, we'll probably be at the park!"
"'Kay, bye!" She answered to her friends, smiling at their antics. When she'll see them all next, she knew she would have to face the music and that the news would have spread in the group by then.
"Miss Swan, would you be so kind to follow me?" The brunette asked, few seconds after the two girls were out of view and that the clatter of their shoes on the marble floor was silenced by the distance.
"Yeah, sure." Emma replied, raising from her desk, and slung her bag over her shoulder by the unique strap, similar to a purse's one.
Regina left the classroom with her briefcase and her trench coat hanging from her left harm, as the day was still quite hot and sunny.
"I observed that you have a car, and yet, I won't let you drive that deathtrap to my house. No, you'll come home with me, and I'll drop you back here." The brunette went on. When she registered that she was the only steps that resounded, she faltered a bit, worried she had overstepped something. So when she looked at the young woman, she expected a shocked, or even angered face, not a mouth agape, a face contorted in an expression of profound disbelief.
Emma couldn't stop to replay the phrase that had caught her attention and held such a deep meaning for her. She had misheard, right? There was no way her teacher was implying anything about her house, right? Her questions went on in her head for a handful of seconds, and she saw Regina's step falter and come to a halt.
Regina narrowed her gaze at the young woman; she was rotten to the spot, and didn't seemed to snap out of the inside of her head. She rolled her eyes. "Miss Swan." She said, without success, before repeating, with a bit more intend "Miss Swan!" Still, the blonde was lost to the world. It took an almost yell of "EMMA!" to get her back.
She lifted her head, startled, her cheeks a light shade of red.
"Did you thought we would do that in a public place where anyone could overhear us? No. And I don't carry my books around, either, dear." Offered Regina, tone still as rigid as her back seemed to be.
"Oh, right. But why your house?"
"Because it is the place we reunite before the circle every Friday. We have a special room for magic, and it seemed the best option. I'd rather not go to Mary-Margaret's and David's apartment if I can."
"Ok. But I can drive myself over, you know."
"As I said, I'd prefer to know you are safe for at least the moments you are under my supervision."
"I'm sorry, but my Bug is really safe!"
"Somehow I doubt that, dear. Climb in."
"Right." Emma muttered, under her breath, exasperated.
The ride went mostly in silence, the kind that don't need to be filled by idle chatter, and soon enough, the Mercedes parked in the ally of a big white mansion, who looked almost as a castle, with the elegant lines and curves of the structure.
If Emma had been impressed by the outdoor appearance of 108, Mifflin Street, it couldn't compare to the interior design that left her agape. The high cellar made the house look bigger than she was in reality, and the pristine of the walls was attracting the light. There wasn't a lot of decoration, but the touches, here and there were pretties and gave a bit of light to the house.
Emma hadn't been given the time to dawdle and gape at the magnificent décor, she'd been lead rather fast to a big room, at the end of the hallway next to the kitchen. Regina stood in the doorway, after Emma had entered the room, and let her explore. The room seemed to be an extension of the previous built of the home. Had it been constructed on purpose? Probably.
Emma's eyes roamed over the room. The walls at the back of the room were entirely made of glass, almost giving the feeling to the visitors that they were outside. The other two walls were painted in a light shade of brown, almost beige, and were half covered by deep brown wooden bookcases and cabinets, giving the room a homey-like feel. The energy radiating from the piece was one of welcome and comfort.
Nothing was on the wooden floor, except on the north corner stood a big stone with a flat top, almost mid-waist high, who had a rectangular form.
"The stone is our altar, you will learn it all. In time." Said the sultry voice, who had creeped behind Emma while she was occupied to look at everything else.
"It's a beautiful, but really big room…"
"Yes, well. We need enough space to be able to do the circle, and we are twelve, well, thirteen now, with you."
"Now that you've asserted the room, we can start our lesson. I'll come back with something to sit on."
"Right. I'll be here!" said Emma, earning herself an eye roll and a quick quirk of the crimson lips she desperately wanted to kiss.
While she waited on her teacher, Emma perused the bookcases, almost filled by books, stones, knives, candles, incense, plants, fresh and dried, and other objects that she was sure to learn about. She let her fingers run on the spine of the books, reading the titles in the same time.
Just as she moved to the book 'History of magic', Regina returned with two rather comfortable-looking chairs.
"Ah! I see you've found the book I wanted to start with first. Pick it up, and come sit with me, Miss Swan."
"Can you call me Emma, when we are alone? I… I really don't like being called Miss Swan. It's so… Impersonal and cold."
"Yes, of course, Em-ma." Regina replied, putting emphasis on the girl's name, making her blush and sport a sheepish smile.
"Thanks." She finally said, sitting on the chair provided by her teacher.
"So, before we delve into the books and everything you have to learn, I'd like to tell you the, well, history of where magic came from."
Emma smiled, lighting up the room, and that was all confirmation Regina needed to carry on.
"A long time ago, a Fertility Goddess and a Hunter God were worshipped. Life was hard, but still, mostly happy. Seasons came and went, until a man, who wanted control and power over all of the beings started to rallies men in his wake. He wanted more, and was never satisfied with what he received from the Earth. In his search for power, he destroyed the gifts the nature was offering, and since the God and the Goddess seemed to stop hearing his pleas, he created a new entity to worship; known today as the God of Judaism.
"The man was convinced that his kind was superior to the fairer sex, and so, started a conception that men were better. His ranks never stopped to fill themselves, and every pagan could see that war was brewing against them. Alas, they were neither equipped to do lasting damages nor wanted to, as their deities asked for fairness and justice without spilling blood.
"All that was left for them to do was to pray and to wait for the massacre that was sure to come for them. Villages after villages, the man created devastation and left death in his wake. Seeing that nothing could stop him, and not wanting for their subject to be destroyed, the God and the Goddess came to a solution. They infused magic into some loyal subjects, 12 in all, separating them by element on which they had the biggest control.
"3 were now in tune with the element of fire, 3 with water, 3 with earth and 3 with air. In each family, one was a woman, one a man and the last was what we call a polar soul, meaning, the person was either woman and man at the same time, had been born with the wrong body, - what we call transsexuality today -, or someone who loved the same sex as his own. The polar soul were the most balanced ones, as the magic came to complete them as a person. It gave them what they sought, and in return, they became the more devoted practisers. They used to say that a thirteenth person had power, but somehow disappeared and his power remained unknown.
"Once with the power, the new wiccans won over the self-proclaimed king, and were left alone. Life restarted in peace, and while the men that had followed the King stayed in his religion, the pagans let them be and never tried to win them back.
"Life went on, and the 12 members of the family kept on meeting every full moon, to pay homage to the deities, to thank for the harvest, to help with fertility, and some holidays started to appear. Power was given to the children at birth, even if only one of the parent was magical. Families were staying with their kind, and never in history have someone been a union between two powers. The fear of that probably came with the vision.
"The air family was known to be able to have vision and to talk to the goddess in their dreams. So, one night, she appeared to the polar soul of the air family, telling about a lost child, a polar soul, who would be born from the union between the air and the earth; the goddess talked about her power who would be magnificent, but would need a tether, because the child could become their destructor, or their salvation. The goddess left that night with a prophecy still known today by every family.
"After that, the four families were wary to interact with each other. They protected their newborns, and avoided as much contact as possible with the others. Years went by and nothing happened, so circles reformed, and fear left place to magic and nature discovery; to news spells and potions, new rituals and new holidays to honour their deities for the powers. They were respected in the community, but never felt superior because of that. Vanity and controlling wiccans were not well seen. Being Wiccan was being selfless, and good, and equal to everybody else. A millennia passed in peace.
"The society the man and his new religion had left behind had only increased with time, and while the pagans lived in peace, they made war to each other, destroyed forests and rivers as if the nature was theirs to possess, as if they were superior. And time came that the religion had morphed to the Catholicism we know today. They were eager for power, to be known as the only religion, to be feared and bowed in front. Pagans never did any of that, mocked them for taking ideas out of our own holiday to create theirs, kept doing magic and when the high powers of the Catholicism saw that, they swore to destroy us.
"That was what started the witch hunts, demons hunt, and we had to hide, to protect ourselves, because we were decimated. Our books, spells, potions, remedies were burned and destroyed, until all that was left was what was easy to carry. We lived in fear for centuries, passing knowledge to only the immediate family who had powers, we hid from mortals, and so, here we are today. Mentalities are more open, but not enough still to come out to the world, and so we keep the secrecy. Still, even with that, the families never produced an heir with powers from two different families, as they were still wary of the prophecy."
Regina ended her tale and the silence lingered in the air a long time.
"Wow. Our history is something else. Like, the process of Salem witches was real? I mean, it was, obviously, but it happened because there was real witches, and it's so sad, but mind-blowing at the same time."
"Yes, dear. History had been written as such as to look like the Christianism was the good party and won, but in fact, they did horrible, horrible thing in the name of a God that does not even exist. But, people can believe in what they want; we are not here to judge and make the same mistakes they did."
"That is so wise."
"Of course! It's one of the creed of the Wicca." Replied Regina, and looked at her watch. When she registered the time, she knew she had to close the day's session and send the girl back to her parents'. "Dear, it's just past seven. I think you are late for dinner with your parents, I'll drive you to your bug."
"Oh," Groaned Emma "Mary will be so angry at me, but I can't seem to stop to want to learn about this part of me I just freed."
"Yes, I get that, Emma. So, maybe we can meet tomorrow? I have a block of two hour to help you before I have to prepare for the circle."
"Sure!" Beamed Emma.
"But, Emma, I think it would be better if you don't participate yet in the circle. You can be here, and watch what happen, but I'd like for you to know more before getting you involved. Is that alright? And it will give you the time to get to know the other members, and they, you."
Emma's excitement had been tampered with the brunette words, but still, she understood why it was necessary, so she nodded.
"Great! And before we leave, I will give you homework." Said the brunette, with a wink to Emma. The playful side of her teacher was amazing to witness, and the blonde felt privileged to be able to see it.
When Regina came back next to her, she had a book, the one Emma had eyed earlier, 'History of magic' in her hand. She gave it to her student, who took it almost reverently.
"I'd like you to read at least the two or three first chapters for tomorrow. Can you do that?"
"Yes, of course, Miss Mills."
"Emma, call me Regina here."
"Ok… Regina." The blonde said, testing the name on her lips. A smile bloomed on both their face.
"Enough, now. We really need to get going." Stressed the teacher.
Once in the car, Emma asked the question that had burned her lips.
"Do you still use the families?" She blurted.
Regina smirked. "Why, yes, I do believe so." She waited for the next question; she knew it was coming.
"Which are you?"
"What do you think?" The fiery brunette sent back.
"I can't see you coming from either water or air. It seems too tamed in regard of your personality. You are driven, and a nature strength, but also…" Emma faltered before finishing her sentence. What she had almost said wasn't professional, and wasn't something you'd say to a teacher. But of course, Regina's curiosity was piqued.
"'But also' what, Em-ma?" she asked, her voice like a purr.
"Also really hot, I was about to say, but, well, the right term would have to be stunning."
Regina was silent for almost a minute before she replied, in a soft tone of voice "Thank you, dear. And I am from the fire family, if you still wanted to know."
The rest of the night had went well, and she had talked with Mary-Margaret a bit about what she had learned. At 8:30 pm, she went to her room, and prepared for bed. Once ready, she slipped under the sheets of her bed and started to read the book Regina had loaned her and asked her to read.
'Witchcraft in ancient history was known as "The Craft of the Wise" because most who followed the path were in tune with the forces of nature, had a knowledge of Herbs and medicines, gave council and were valuable parts of the village and community as healers and leaders. They understood that mankind is not superior to nature, the earth and its creatures but instead they were simply one of the many parts, both seen and unseen that combine to make the whole. These wise people understood that what they took or used, must be return in kind to maintain balance and equilibrium.'
When Emma closed the book, having reached the last page, she looked at the time. 2:27 AM. She would be tired the next day, but well. It had been worth it. The history of the wiccans had been explored in depth, and she felt that she connected to her magic sometime into her lecture. It was right. And good. She only missed someone to hold her at night and to show care.
She closed the bedside lamp and snuggled in the covers, imagining it was the thin arms of an olive-skinned, dark-haired woman, whispering sweet nothing in her ear.
Hope you liked it! See you soon! :) And thanks for reading!