"Charles, cancel my meetings today except those that are meant to take place here this morning. I will set out to survey the land the day after tomorrow and you might as well arrange a public meeting the day after in the early evening to discuss what any changes that will take place," Henry instructed his trusted butler.
"Yes, Sir. Is there anything else you require?"
Henry ran his hands through his hair, "that will be all." Charles bowed to Henry and began to leave the study to handle his master's requests. "Charles," he stopped him as he reached the door. "Can you call for Lord Daniel Winters to meet me this afternoon?"
"Yes, sir. Please excuse me," he bowed and took his leave.
Henry unlocked a small drawer hidden underneath his desk and removed a mahogany box with inlayed mother of pearl flowers and a swallow. He ran his hand over the intricate carvings with a sad smile on his face. "Lauren," he called out sweetly as he placed a small brass key and unlocked the box revealing a stack of letters tied with a red ribbon and removed a small velvet box that used to hold small gold bracelets with charms that his wife had enchanted for Peggy and Evelyn should their beloved daughters inherent her powers that have been passed down her maternal family for over 200 years. "I promise, I will not allow anything to happen to them," he clenched his fist as he stared at stack of letters. He placed the small velvet open box aside and his lips thinned as he grabbed the letters and carefully untied the ribbon.
While Lauren never wanted to imagine a life for her husband and children where she was not there, she was well aware of the risks that accompanied childbirth from her days of being a midwife. She had prepared two bracelets for her girls that she enchanted a small sapphire gem for Peggy and Emerald for Evelyn. The bracelets would disguise her daughters' identity as a witch and could be further enchanted as time went on to continuously change their scents and auras to that of humans to avoid being tracked should hunters appear in their area. Lauren had also prepared a series of letters to help Henry when the time came that their daughters' powers awaken. They detailed the purpose of the bracelets, what to look for, how to handle the various phenomena that could occur, and how to contact her sister Carol and her former coven for help. There was a total of twenty letters that were dedicated to the various types of magics and phenomena, but when Peggy's powers began to awaken, he only had to read five of the letters as she only began to manifest some wind magic and was able to miraculously heal small wounds that would appear on her, and her younger sister were playing. Peggy's powers did not attract much attention of the mansion staff; their nanny Charolette and their butler Charles were the only ones that noticed the times when the candles would blow out when she was getting sleepy, or objects began to slightly hover in the air. Henry read the letters that detailed the gold bracelets that she prepared for her daughters, two that detailed wind and healing magic, the one that contained the details of contacting her coven and how he should communicate with them and her sister Carol to prevent any prying eyes learning of her daughters' powers, and lastly the most important letter of them all, and the one that she left that would keep their daughters safe. Henry reached for the last letter and carefully reread it:
My Dearest Henry,
If you are reading this, I am sorry that I am not with you to weather the upcoming storm, but do not fear the powers that our girls have been blessed with. I know that right now it may seem that they might lose control and your peaceful lives will be destroyed, but hopefully these letters and my diary will help you along the journey. Please heed my warning where there is power, there will always be greed and envy. It is of the utmost importance that should either of our girls showcase powers that the full extent of them is not disclosed. I know that we would like to believe that our girls would be in the best hands being taken care of by my sister Carol and my former coven, but as we both have seen, the lust for power changes a person. As I stated before, the charms that I prepared for our beloved girls will hide their powers from others and it will keep them safe even around other witches so that they may not be able to see their true abilities without the girls demonstrating them. Please make sure that they are never removed, this is one of the only ways to keep them safe and with these powers starting to be as great as they are, many will seek to get their hands on them. I have left instructions in my diary on how I learned to train my powers as they appeared and grew. Please entrust Charolette with my diary, I know that she will never betray our trust and will keep my diary safe. I am sorry that you will be the only one to train our girls on how to handle their powers right now, but only you will be able to do it. No one will be able to read the contents of my diary other than our girls. I have enchanted it to only be accessible once a small drop of blood is placed inside the silver lock. There is also silver embedded in the pages which will prevent many other beings from being able to lay their hands on it. I have faith in you all that you will be able to handle all that is to come. I know that right now things may seem bleak but believe in our girls and yourself that everything will be alright.
Should Carol insist that they are to be taken to the coven immediately, please be careful. Warn our daughters that they are to be strong and try to suppress their powers while being tested. This is to keep them safe as they are young and as time goes on, they will safely be able to grow under prying eyes. I know that it will seem scary for them, but please instruct them from my diary on how to suppress their magics; it will take time so be sure to not contact Carol until they are able to do so.
Know that I love you all and I will always be with you.
Your loving wife and mother,
Lauren
Henry's eyes glistened with unshed tears and returned the letters back into the box. He traced the small carvings and hoped that things would turn out okay. Things were different with Evelyn, her magics were far more powerful and he feared what might occur should they get out of hand because she was still struggling with how to properly suppress and control them. On one occasion the bath water began to overflow and then sprayed up toward the ceiling, soaking their bathroom. On another, in their garden, which was in the process of being tended, a large gust of wind began spiraling and picked up the weeds, soil, and flowers that were awaiting to be planted and injured the eyes of two of their gardeners. Henry knew that he needed to reach out to Carol just as he did when Peggy's began awakening, but he feared what may come to his daughter. As much as he wanted to trust Carol, he couldn't help but the gnawing pit in his stomach that told him that this time, things may not turn out as he hoped. Just the fact alone that Carol demanded that Evelyn be taken to the coven and fought with him to take her, left him on edge and his heart clenched recalling the events of this morning.
Three knocks on his study door pulled Henry out of his reverie.
"Yes," he called out as he locked the box away.
"Lord Daniel Winters is here for you sir," Charles replied.
"Come in."
"It's been a while, Henry," he greeted as he made his way into the large office and took a seat in the leather club chair in front of Henry's large Chestnut desk.
"It certainly has. I'm sorry for calling on you unexpectedly, but I need your help." He stroked his chin and let out a deep sigh.
"What's going on, Henry?" He could tell that it was something serious and began to worry himself.
"I'm sure that I don't need to say this to you, but I need you to promise me that what I'm about to discuss with you does not leave this room, but I will also need your wife's help."
Daniel crossed his ankle over his knee and slightly tensed up. "I can assure you that nothing will leave this room. Now, tell me what's going on."
"It's Evelyn," he furrowed his brow.
"What about her? Is she okay?"
"I don't know and that's why I called you here. You're one of the only people here that I can trust with this. Her powers have manifested."
Daniel's lips downturned, "have you managed to get them under control yet?"
"That's the thing. I wasn't expecting her to be so powerful. I mean, I know that Lauren's powers were great, and she was one of the most talented and powerful witches throughout the country, but I wasn't prepared for Evelyn's powers to be this great so early. I have followed the instructions that Lauren left behind and she has gotten them to a good place now. I contacted Carol and discussed the situation with her, and she has taken her from me."
Daniel uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, "what do you mean she has taken her?"
Henry got up from his desk and stood in front of the large window overlooking their garden. "She told me that she needed to take her to the coven right away to test the full extent of her powers. When I asked her why, I could tell that it was not for Evelyn's own sake, but for Her's. I told her that I wanted her to come here and stay with the girls to help them, just like what she did for Peggy, but she fought me on the issue and showed up this morning to take her."
"Where did she take her?" He exclaimed. Daniel's wife, Susanna, was close to Lauren as they were in the same coven, and she had recently started to play a larger role in training Peggy whenever she would join them during their meetings. He was aware that Carol was not a member of Lauren's coven but the one that was formed near her estate.
"I believe she has taken her to her coven, but I am not sure of the exact location. I am hoping that she will be returned to me by this evening, but after everything that has transpired, I have my doubts that that will be the case. I was hoping that you or your wife might know the location of her coven, should it come down to it."
Daniel leaned back in the chair and let out a deep sigh. "Honestly, I am not sure how much help we will be. As you know, my wife is a member of Lauren's coven, and she may not be aware of its location as they are usually kept secret even to other witches. Let me speak with my Susanna once I return home and see what she knows. Even if she is not aware herself, we can see what we can do to help, should it come down to that."
"Thank you, Daniel. I can't help but worry. Carol's behavior this morning was unexpected, and I am hoping that I am worrying for nothing, but something tells me that that is not the case."
"I will send you a letter once I speak with Susanna to let you know what she has to say. In the meantime, the distance from her estate to yours is about two hours, so there is a good chance that they may not return this evening to avoid travelling at night. It would be much safer for them to set out tomorrow instead. Why don't you wait until after dinnertime tomorrow to see whether she returns or not? If she does not, please send for us and Susanna should have an idea of what to do."
"Thank you once again Daniel. And thank Susanna for me as well. Peggy has told me many great things about her as she has gotten to know her these few months. I cannot express my gratitude for all the care she has shown her. I'm not sure what I would have done without her, and she was a great friend to Lauren. I do hope that we will see more of each other in a more pleasant setting soon. It has been ages since we have properly entertained."
"I agree and look forward to doing so. I shall take my leave now so that I can speak with Susanna as soon as possible about this. Please await my letter, but I do hope that Carol brings her home soon without any problem," Daniel rose from his seat and bowed his head to Henry before he exited the study.
Staring out the large window overlooking the garden that his late wife had designed, Henry let out a deep sigh, "I do hope that nothing will happen to her."