After a few more hours of continuous painting with a little help from magic, Annie, Maddie, Matt and Captious were finally done with painting the huge room that would now be a spare office.
"And I am finally done!" said Maddie as she smiled with the final stroke of her brush as she was done painting her wall.
She sighed in relief because her hands and fingers were starting to ache her badly, but it was worth it because her design looked amazing, if she did say so herself.
"And I am done as well" said Matt as he smiled.
"And so are we" replied Annie as Captious smiled.
"Okay, okay, the competition isn't tough at all, if I do say so myself" said Maddie as Matt scoffed and Annie and Captious chuckled lightly.
"It's not a competition Maddie" said Annie as Maddie ignored her and she moved back to the entrance of the room as she looked at all their works combined.
"Yikes! This looks horrible from far away..." said Maddie as she grimaced once she saw all their works combined together.
"What do you mean?" asked Annie as she frowned.
"What I mean is that it's like an explosion of colours from far away, like seriously, this could cause someone to have sore eyes" said Maddie as she shook her head.
"Oh stop exaggerating Maddie" said Matt as he walked over to where she was to see what she was talking about.
"I'm not exaggerating Matt, it's serious, no doubt we ruined this office" said Maddie as Annie walked to Maddie and Matt as she turned around the face their designs.
"Yikes indeed... this is... interesting..." said Annie as she hated to admit it, but all the contrasting themes made focus almost impossible, there was always something to look at, she didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it was creative, that's for sure.
"I mean... they look better when you walk to get a closer look at each individual design..." said Matt as he walked to Maddie's wall and then his own and then Annie's.
"Yes, this was a bad idea" said Maddie as she shook her head.
"Uncle Capi, what do you think?" asked Annie as she looked at him, after all, this was his request and he could easily repaint the room.
"I think it looks wonderful, yes, it may be an explosion of colours like Maddie said, but that's what makes it interesting, I love the colours and the differences" said Captious as he walked to where Annie and Maddie were standing.
"Maddie's design is contemporary, serious and yet calm at the same time, I love the colour choices of green, grey and brown, I love the half green, part grey wall design, and the natural wooden floor, and I also love how she kept the normal celling design" said Captious as Maddie smiled proudly.
"Well thank you Uncle Capi" said Maddie as she smiled happily, finally, someone was appreciating her vast genius.
"I really do love what you did with your side, I am sure that this is where I would put my bookshelves and second desk" said Captious as he smiled and he moved on to Matt's design which Matt was looking at rather intensely.
"Matt's design instantly reminds me of the great outdoors, I love the pine trees your painted, they are simple and yet they blend in so well with the blue cloudless sky that you painted, and the ground that you painted in brown, it's very good and so is the little stream, it makes a statement, I just feel like going outside when I look at it" said Captious as he smiled.
"Thank you Uncle Capi" said Matt as he smiled, that was what he was going for.
"I can just see setting a little coffee table there, or a tea table, to just relax" said Captious.
"And Annie's side... well it also makes a statement of creativity and just simplicity, she used simple colours that pop out on both the walls, celling and floor" said Captious as he smiled.
"I feel many years younger when I stand in there, so I might as well make it a little lounge" said Captious as he smiled and Annie smiled at him.
"And my desk can be right in the middle of all this beauty" said Captious as he smiled.
"If it was me I would have repainted the whole thing but alright then, it's what you want" said Maddie as Captious smiled.
"Yes Maddie, thank you all for your hard work" said Captious as he smiled.
"Now who wants some brownies that Lisa sent over yesterday?" asked Captious as he smiled.
"I do, I am starving" said Maddie as she took of her gloves and overalls as she dropped them on the ground and rushed out of the room.
"You don't even know where the kitchen is Maddie!" called Annie as Maddie was already gone.
"I don't need to, I can find it" replied Maddie as Annie sighed and shook her head as Captious laughed in amusement.
"Leave her be, now come on let's go enjoy some delicious brownies" said Captious as he smiled and Matt and Annie followed after him.
...
Annie, Maddie and Matt were all in Captious kitchen as he brought out the deliciously chocolate covered goodness of brownies that made Maddie's mouth water by just looking at them.
"And here they are" said Captious as he smiled and he set the tray of brownies on the wooden kitchen table as Maddie wasted no time at all, she took on brownie and proceeded to eat it when suddenly the brownie never made it to her mouth as it was blocked and almost squashed by an invisible obstruction.
"What in the world??!" asked Maddie in confusion as the brownie was not close to her mouth at all, and her hand was still holding it.
"Seriously Maddie, are you joking right now?" asked Matt as he looked at Maddie and laughed as she looked at him.
"What do you mean?" asked Maddie as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Looks like you forgot to break the barrier spell you casted on your face as protection" said Annie as she was resisting the urge to laugh right now, Maddie looked so silly with a brownie in her hand that was smooshed over the invisible barrier.
"Gosh Maddie, like seriously, how could you forget about the barrier you casted yourself?" asked Matt as he shook his head and tisked.
"Oh be quiet, it can happen to anyone" said Maddie as she snapped her fingers and the barrier disappear and she ate her brownie in peace, it might have been a little squashed but that didn't stop it from being delicious.
"It never happened to me" said Matt as Captious chuckled and Maddie scoffed.
"Oh just shut it, I was lost in a moment of passion" said Maddie as she continued eating.
"Passion for a brownie?" asked Annie in disbelief as Maddie nodded.
"Yes Annie yes, once you have found the perfect brownie, everything is lost in a moment of passion" said Maddie as Annie scoffed and laughed at her.
"Maddie seriously, this is something that's getting serious, now you're falling in love with food?" asked Annie as she shook her head and ate one brownie.
"I've always been in love with food Annie, you know that's the truth" said Maddie as she continued eating more brownies.
"Seriously Maddie, you need to relax" said Annie as she shook her head, she was getting a little bit worried, it seemed that Maddie was diverting her boredom into eating, and there was nothing wrong with that in a sense, only that she was getting too carried away with it.
"I am relaxed Annie, very relaxed, besides, I don't get why you are complaining" said Maddie as she frowned.
"Uncle Capi is the one who invited us over here and offered us brownies, I don't see him complaining, or do you mind my behaviour Uncle?" asked Maddie as she sweetly looked at Captious who smiled at her.
"Oh not at all Maddie, I find it rather amusing, not everyone is the same, and that is part of our mortal charm" said Captious as he smiled.
"Why thank you Uncle Capi, now here is a man who knows true character and won't judge my love for food" said Maddie as she glared at Matt who ignored her.
"Now tell me, do the two of you always fight like this?" asked Captious as he smiled.
"Not really, she usually always diverts her energy into fighting Ollie" said Matt as he smiled and Maddie smacked him on his head.
"Firstly, I don't fight the blondie, I put him in his place and you shut up and eat brownies" said Maddie as Annie shook her head.
"What did we say about getting physical Maddie?" asked Annie as Maddie scoffed.
"Not in this case, he deserved it" said Maddie as she scoffed and Annie shook her head.
"I'm sorry for our rude behaviour Uncle" said Annie as she looked at Captious.
"There is nothing to be sorry about, I prefer the minor arguments than extreme silence" said Captious as he smiled and Annie smiled at him, Captious was such an understanding, sweet simple man.
The next day.
Maddie and Matt were in the library as usual when Annie suddenly rushed into the library looking concerned.
"Guys, Guys, I have something to tell you" said Annie as she stopped in front of them as both Maddie and Matt looked up at her.
"What is it?" asked Matt as he looked worried because Annie looked worried.
"Aunt Stella just told me that she wants to see us" said Annie.
"The three of us?" asked Maddie as Annie nodded.
"Did she say why?" asked Maddie as Annie shook her head.
"No she didn't say anything, all she said was that we should meet her in her office right now" said Annie.
"And I'm worried, it's odd for Aunt Stella to sound so serious like that" said Annie as she was already thinking of what Stella could possibly want to talk to them about so seriously.
She had not heard her that serious ever since Azazel's final defeat, and this sudden change was causing warning bells to ring in Annie's head.
"That is odd..." said Matt as he was also a bit worried, he knew that Annie never overreacted, if she was talking so worriedly like this, then it meant that it had to be very serious then.
"What's even more odd is that she asked to see the three of us, all together... this is worrying..." said Maddie as she frowned her mind also already wandering to what could possibly be wrong that Stella would want to see them all.
"Very worrying, so come on, let's go so we can find out what is actually going on" said Annie as Maddie closed the book she was reading, threw it and it returned back to it's place on the shelf while Matt left his book on the couch as he stood up.
"I don't think we should all start panicking already, maybe it's nothing really serious" said Matt as they walked out of the library.
"Maybe, but we can't be too safe, we'll see for sure when we get there" said Maddie as Annie agreed with her.
...
Annie, Maddie and Matt stopped right in front of Stella's office as Annie was about to knock when the door suddenly opened by itself and they walked in.
"You asked to see us Aunt Stella" said Annie as she walked to Stella's desk and she smiled.
"Yes I did, I asked to see the three of you I want to talk to you, please have a seat" said Stella as she smiled and she gestured that they sit across her desk.
"Thank you Aunt Stella" they said at the same time as they all sat down.
Stella closed the files she was reading as she turned her full attention to them, after all she wanted to discuss something very important with them, as if that was not already apparent enough by the serious look on her face.
"Aunt Stella, what do you want to talk to us about? It sounds very serious" said Maddie as Annie and Matt nodded, they hadn't seen Stella looking this serious in such a long time.
"Well you are right Maddie, it is something very serious, and that is why I want you all to be present for what I have to say" said Stella as with the way she was looking so serious, Maddie, Annie and Matt started to get a little bit worried, especially Maddie.
"You see the thing is..." said Stella as she was suddenly cut off by Maddie's interruption.
"Oh no, don't tell me that Azazel has somehow escaped from the holds??!" asked Maddie as she shook her head and Stella was taken aback by her words while Annie's heart skipped a beat at the possibility of her words being true.
Stella was so taken back by Maddie's words that she remained silent for a second too long in Maddie's mind which caused her to continue speaking.
"Oh I knew it, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before Azazel escapes again" said Maddie as she sighed and shook her head.
"Annie I told you to just kill that man, now look, he's back in our lives yet again" said Maddie in frustration as Annie frowned.
"What are you talking about Maddie? Don't say that, this isn't my fault" said Annie.
"Oh it is, if only you had just killed him like you were supposed to, he wouldn't have escaped now" said Maddie.
"Don't blame me for something I know nothing about" said Annie as she frowned.
"Hey, you two stop fighting" said Matt as he didn't like where this was going, Maddie was way too quick to point the accusing finger at Annie.
"How can I stop when Azazel is released probably seeking ways to get his revenge" said Maddie as she sighed and Stella who was shocked by what Maddie had said had enough of all the speculation.
"Alright enough Maddie, Azazel hasn't escaped, he is still in our custody in the holds" said Stella as Maddie and Annie both looked at her.
"He is?" asked Maddie as Stella nodded.
"The holds is the one and only most secure prison in the Realm, no one has ever succeeded in escaping from there, it is almost impossible, and with Azazel being drained of all magic, he cannot even dream of escaping from there" said Stella.
"So you can all rest assured that Azazel is no longer a threat, and he never will be again" said Stella.
"You see Maddie, and yet you started accusing me in no time" said Annie as she was annoyed and Maddie looked at her.
"I'm sorry Annie, but can you blame me? That man has a way of showing up when you least expect him to, I feel like the only time we can be sure of him never returning again is if he's dead" said Maddie.
"Oh Maddie dear, that is not true at all, I assure you, Azazel can never bother any of us again, he is defeated, never to be heard of again" said Stella.
"If you say so" said Maddie as she sighed.
"You know what I am to blame for your sudden conclusion, I should have at least given you an idea of what I intended to speak to you about" said Stella as she felt guilty for Maddie's train of thought heading straight to Azazel's impossible escape.
"It's fine Aunt Stella, we just have very big imaginations" said Annie as Stella smiled.
"Well I have a very important question to ask you three" said Stella as Annie, Maddie and Matt nodded.
"Where do you see yourselves in the near future?" asked Stella in a very serious tone as Annie, Maddie and Matt looked at each other in confusion.
"Where do we see ourselves in the near future?" asked Annie as Stella nodded and they all went back to thinking, they definitely were not expecting such a hard question like this.
"Alright I think that this is a little bit too difficult, let me rephrase, what do you want to do with your lives, not just in the future, but right now" said Stella.
"To be honest with you Aunt Stella, I don't know" said Annie as she shook her head.
"I don't know as well" said Maddie.
"Neither do I" said Matt.
"So you don't have any goals or anything you are specially working towards in the future?" asked Stella as the three of them shook their heads.
"That's what I was afraid to hear" said Stella as she sighed, she already knew their answer, and now that she heard it straight from them, it made her feel even more worried.
"Alright, maybe I should make the questions easier... what did you all intend to do in a week, or a month or just in the coming days?" asked Stella as they said nothing and they shook their heads.
"Nothing??" asked Stella as they nodded.
"Well except for reading, eating and sleeping Aunt Stella, there's really nothing we do" said Maddie.
"It should not be like that Maddie, not at all, you are young, these are your best years, and you cannot just waste them by doing nothing aimlessly" said Stella as she sighed.
"Which brings me to the reason I called you three here" said Stella.
"I know that due to the entire ordeal with Azazel you had to bring to a halt several things that you used to do, your entire life was changed in one moment" said Stella.
"And one of those things that was put on hold was your education" said Stella.
"It has come to my immediate realization that during this whole ordeal you all missed two full years of your education and that saddens me" said Stella as Maddie, Annie and Matt just listened to her, they didn't know exactly where she was going with this.
Yes, it was absolutely true that in a literal sense they had missed two years of school for their protection and also in order to work towards defeating Azazel, but that was just one of the sacrifices that they had to make, she understood that, but right now, she could not help but feel like she didn't do as much as she should have.