"I've been thinking," Aleah told Ducky one day about a month after their fancy dinner.
"About what?" Ducky asked.
"About Kelly and her situation," Aleah said. "I mean both of us together helped put her cancer into remission and while I told her she can do anything with her life even without her legs it would be easier for her if she could walk again."
"While that's true, I understand yours and your family's cautiousness," Ducky said. "I know that you and the others have a great deal to protect. While I believe Jethro will do almost anything so Kelly could walk again I do understand that you're family doesn't know him like I do."
"The thing is, as I told my family when we went to see them, is that I was given this ability for a reason and that was to help people. I truly believe that," Aleah said. "I truly believe that the goddess Hecate wouldn't have given me, my sister or my brother this ability if it wasn't meant to be used to help mortals. Yes, every ability that a magical has whether that's the ability to heal or telepathy or even something like bakery magic, it needs to be used responsibly and for the most part subtly. I doubt a lot of humans would respond well if they discovered that magic was not just fantasy but very real."
"For the most part you're probably correct," Ducky said. "There are a lot of greedy, evil people in the world that would want to use a magical's abilities for all the wrong reasons."
"They wouldn't even be capturing magicals for the most part as we never use our powers out in the open in front of those that have no idea that magic exists in real life," Aleah said. "Ever since we went underground many centuries ago we are always warned by our parental figures to be careful about using magic in front of anybody, which means basically every human on the planet unless they're married to one of us."
"So you're saying that magical's were once known by regular people like me," Ducky said.
"Yes, that's right. Back in Merlin's time magic, no matter how it was used, was considered dark and evil," Aleah said. "It wouldn't have mattered if it was used to help people, because if it was discovered that person would have been put to death no matter what."
"So Merlin actually existed and he's not just a story," Ducky said and Aleah nodded.
"That's right," Aleah agreed. "That's how my father was turned immortal you know, by a descendent of Merlin's named Godfrey."
"But why would your father ever agree to basically live forever?" Ducky said. "Watch his family and friends die while he lived on? That sounds like torture to me, to lose those I care about, because of old age if they weren't taken from me before that."
"And people didn't live as long back in my father's time," Aleah said. "People can live a couple of centuries now, well, humans anyway. As for why dad agreed, to allow Godfrey to cast the spell that turned him immortal, I don't know the whole story, so you'll have to ask him sometime."
"I'll have to do that, because I'm really curious, as to why your father agreed to be turned immortal or how he met Godfrey in the first place," Ducky said.
"As to that last question, it was because dad always liked to travel, which many people didn't do back so long ago, as it was dangerous to leave wherever you lived, because of natural elements like storms, hail, or snow, so being without some kind of shelter could see you get sick and perhaps die if such things happened while you were out in the open and there was also dangers like bandits. On his travels dad met Godfrey Ambrosius and his family and the legend goes that the family disappeared just before their upcoming execution for having magic. All of them would have been killed by the people at the time, even the children. Remember, I said that magic was considered evil no matter if it was used for good purposes."
"Do you think your father had something to do with that," Ducky guessed and Aleah nodded.
"Why else would Godfrey Ambrosius have turned him immortal if it wasn't as kind of a thank you for helping their family to escape their executions? It isn't the kind of magic that you just give to just anyone, as a lot of people would use it wrongly. I've never heard of such a spell, which tells me that Godfrey was smart and probably didn't spread it to others, not even his own family members. It was probably a personal spell, one he created just to see if he could do something like that maybe. It's also possible that Godfrey, knew that dad would rescue his family, help them escape into hiding, as he was rumored to be a powerful seer, at least according to what little that I know about him. Godfrey is rumored to be one of the most powerful magical's of his time much like his ancestor Merlin," Aleah said. "That's what I speculate anyway, as it makes sense if you think about it."
"It does," Ducky agreed after thinking about it. "We don't have all the facts and until we do, we can't really know what happened back then. So back to the subject at hand, have you decided to tell Jethro and Kelly about magic at least, even if you don't tell them you're immortal?"
"Yeah I think I have," Aleah said finally. "I can't get Kelly's plight off my mind. I have to admit, I've grown rather fond of her since I met her just over a year ago. She's just so upbeat, so full of life despite her illness and the lack of being able to walk if you know what I mean."
"I do indeed," Ducky agreed.
"We'll have to get Jethro and Kelly to swear they'll never breathe a word. Jethro at least will know how the world works and how people will betray you for an opportunity to get ahead or get something they desire badly," Aleah said. "But Kelly is just a kid and she might not realize that people are not always good and kind."
"She will, because remember it was a thug that worked for a dangerous drug dealer that made her lose her ability to walk and Kelly's an intelligent girl," Ducky reminded Aleah.
"True," Aleah agreed. Aleah took a deep breath, as if to firm her decision and then spoke again. "Let's do it. You need to be there, as Jethro isn't as likely to believe me as he is you. If he thinks magic doesn't exist or thinks it's evil, then I'm gonna have to take his memories. If that happens, I won't go ahead and tell Kelly the truth and heal her."
"I'll be there," Ducky promised. "If anybody asks why Kelly is suddenly walking we'll just say that she had surgery that gave her the ability back."
"I hadn't thought about that, but you're right people are going to be curious, at least those that know Kelly hasn't had the ability to walk ever since the car accident that killed her mother."
"Which will mostly be only those in the neighborhood in which they live, as it's not like Jethro has gone around talking about it to everybody and neither have I," Ducky said.
"She's gonna have to keep up the charade at least for awhile," Aleah said. "At first, that's not going to be a problem as her legs are going to be too weak for her to walk very far anyway. You should probably get her a cane, because she'll need it at least for a few months. I would have suggested a walker, but I doubt she'd go for it. A cane will at least give her balance until she can sit down somewhere. She'll be running around like she used to before you know it and this period of her life will finally be behind her."
"I can't help but pray for that outcome," Ducky said, even as he kissed Aleah to show how grateful he was for all she was doing for somebody he loved very much.
Aleah accepted the kiss enthusiastically and the two of them smooched for quite awhile.
~~~Aleah and Ducky~~~
"What can I do for you?" Jethro asked curiously when he opened the door to find Ducky and Aleah on the other side.
"Is Kelly in her room?" Ducky asked.
"Yes, why do you want to know," Jethro asked.
"Because I have an offer for you and I don't want Kelly overhearing until you hear what I have to say," Aleah explained. "It has a potential benefit for Kelly and I don't want to get her hopes up."
"We can go to the my workshop in the garage and then you can tell me exactly what you mean," Jethro said.
Jethro led the way to the garage and closed the door once they were all inside. The door they had exited to lead into the house while the door that allowed cars in or out was already closed. Jethro's car was off to one side and on the other side of the garage were various toy boats made of wood in various stages of completion. It was Jethro's hobby a way to release stress and he gave any finished boats to the children at an orphanage. The children of course, were grateful for the small wooden boats, especially the boys, so when they were taken on an outing to the park they usually sailed them in the lake.
"All right, tell me what you meant in the house," Jethro said. Aleah sat on Jethro's workbench and begin tell him exactly what she could do for Kelly.
"You see, all over the world there are what is known as witches, those with magic," Aleah began after taking a deep breath to relieve her tension. "I know that most people don't believe in supernatural forces and we really don't tell most people for very good reason."
"All right, if you can do what you say what does this have to do with Kelly," Jethro said not sure if he believed it, but on the other hand, he'd gotten to know Aleah over the last year and he couldn't see her not being able to prove her words if she needed to.
"Well, every magical has one main talent that is specific to them," Aleah explained. "In my case, I can heal by magic and is one reason I went into the profession I did. I am only one that got this talent other than my cousins Aeon and Ariana."
"So if I'm understanding you right only you and your cousins can heal, which I would love to see by the way," Jethro said.
"First, let me prove to you that I'm speaking the truth and then I can tell you a little more, but I don't want to tell you too much," Aleah said. "We want to remain basically unknown to most people and the only reason I decided to tell you is, because I've become really fond of Kelly and I know you're honest and can keep a secret."
Jethro watched as Aleah turned her hands palms outwards and with a flick of her wrist formed a blue globe of light that hovered over her shoulder.
"This is known as a witch light and every magical in the world can do it by a certain age and this is only a small example of what magic can do," Aleah explained.
"And why aren't you surprised at what Aleah is saying Ducky?" Jethro asked his friend. Ducky had been silent as Aleah explained why they had come and Jethro's question startled him.
"Because I was told once I met her family after I proposed," Ducky explained.
"And you said nothing?" Jethro said.
"It wasn't my secret to share Jethro," Ducky told him firmly. "I can understand why the family doesn't tell many people. You're not naïve, you know what would happen if magic users were discovered."
Jethro nodded as that was the response he had expected as Ducky could be like a vault if he needed to be and he wouldn't have considered it his secret to share, as that would be a betrayal of his fiancé and her family. If there was something Ducky would never do it was betray somebody he loved or anybody really. It was one of numerous reasons why they had gotten so close though, because both of them were honorable men and would never betray anyone even a stranger, not unless that stranger had done something to them first that had harmed them or someone they cared about.
"OK, if you can heal Kelly's legs why haven't you done so before now?"
"One thing dealing with the cancer was more important," Aleah said. "The cancer could've killed her while not having use of her legs is just inconvenient."
"Could you have use magic to cure the cancer?" Jethro asked Aleah shook her head.
"Maybe and I do mean maybe," Aleah answered honestly. "Cancer is one of those diseases that's hard for even someone of my talents to beat unless it's caught in the very beginning stages. I could literally burn out to where I couldn't perform magic at all until I healed, which can take a long time, years in fact. I could even put myself in a coma if I'm not very careful. I could have inserted some of my magic into Kelly to where her bodies defenses would be more efficient in fighting it off, but I can't really do much more than that I'm afraid. As for Kelly's legs, that's a totally different story, as that type of injury is easy for someone like me to heal. It would be like she had surgery where her leg muscles will be weak, because she hasn't used them in three years since the car accident. She will need assistance to walk, like a cane or a walker like the elderly use at least until her legs regain strength. You both would also have to keep up the charade that she's bound to a wheelchair at least at first. In less than six months she will be walking like she did before the car accident."
"If you can do what you say what do you want in return?" Jethro asked nearly afraid of the answer, but he had to ask before he would agree to at least give it a try.
"The only thing I want from you and from Kelly is you not to say a word about how her legs were healed. When people ask, because they're curious, tell them she had surgery. To most people, magic users don't exist, but you know that criminals would want to capture one of us for their own purposes and would likely only capture regular people. That is all I want Jethro is for you and Kelly to swear to keep the fact that I healed her legs to yourself. Magic needs to remain unknown to the general population. I was given this talent for a reason Jethro and that's to help people, even if I usually have to be subtle about it so that nobody never knows that I was the one that healed them enough for them to fight off whatever disease they have like cancer on their own."
"I told her and her family that you and Kelly know how to keep a secret and if Aleah healed Kelly's legs that you would never reveal how it was done," Ducky told Jethro.
"If you manage to heal Kelly's legs to where she's walking again I swear, I'll never say a word," Jethro said after a minute of silence as he seemed to be contemplating the information he had been given.
"Make sure that Kelly doesn't say anything either," Aleah told Jethro. "This is why I wanted to talk to you first."
"I find what you did pretty amazing," Jethro said, "and you implied that this was just a small sample of what magic can do."
"That's true and magic can do a lot of things that would seem impossible to science," Aleah said. "My aunt for example is a powerful telepath, a power that most people don't believe really exists and my mother on the other hand can cook any dessert type item and have it be so scrumptious that she always has a long line every day she's open. She adds just a little magic to whatever recipe she's working on and does it on instinct, as it's not conscience for the most part. That type of magic is called bakery magic so that makes her a bakery witch. It's why she owns a bakery in the first place so she can use her talent on any dessert type items that she handles personally."
"And your cousin that runs a bakery the one you've been bringing all the sweets from?" Jethro asked.
"Yes, Avril inherited the bakery magic that runs through our family," Aleah agreed answering Jethro's unasked question. "It's why whatever I bring when I come is so scrumptious to where they are gone in a few days."
"Yet you ended up with this healing power?" Jethro said.
"It also runs through our family, as one of our ancestors married someone that had it," Aleah shrugged. "Every few generations it pops up again that's all. There are quite a few talents that run through our family that pop up again every few decades in different generations. The bakery magic is simply dominant, while the other talents are recessive, so only appear once in a blue moon."
"I'll take you to Kelly and try to explain what you're going to try," Jethro said finally.
"You know her family was very worried, when Aleah mentioned how she really wanted to try to help Kelly," Ducky spoke up. "Having such an ability that is called magic is not told to anyone lightly and without being well aware of possible consequences if that person or persons blabbed," Aleah said.
"So what would happen if I talked about it," Jethro said.
"I would move to another city, I might even have to go off the grid for a few decades, change my identity. Ducky, of course, would come with me, since we're engaged to be married unless he broke things off. You would still be here with Kelly who still wouldn't be able to use her legs unless she had multiple surgeries and even then those surgeries might not work, especially after so long since the accident that took ability to walk away."
Jethro thought about that and realized that what Aleah was telling him was that she would not harm him or Kelly, that she would simply move away from the fallout, likely taking Ducky with her. That realization brought him great peace as he knew he had not misjudged Aleah and that she wouldn't kill him or Kelly just so he couldn't talk about magic
Aleah wouldn't have told him about her ability at all or about magic if she hadn't genuinely cared about Kelly or about Ducky and trusted them to keep the information confidential.
"As for what Ducky said about my family, he was absolutely correct that they were worried when they knew I was thinking about telling you and Kelly about my magic. Magicals live quietly for a reason as we're well aware what happens to those that are considered different. They warned me to be very careful when they knew what I was contemplating," Aleah said.
"We better go see Kelly now, as I'm sure she's wondering where we are," Ducky said.
"I'm sure she knows we're around somewhere," Jethro said, "but we might as well go."
The three of them left the garage and went back into the house immediately heading for Kelly's room.
~~~Aleah and Ducky~~~