Chapter Three

   Talon is afraid that if Lily finds out what is he truly is, she will going to look at him in a different way far from the fairy she's referring to. That thought leaves him questioning his whole existence. They shouldn't create ties nor bond with normal people for it's a high order from the council of magic together with the non-mages. 

     A law that prohibits mages to visit normals and they should stay in their territory the same as the normal ones. 

     “It's not what you think I am, Lily.” Talon started to walk away from Lily but she stopped him holding his left hand. Her eyes were begging not to leave her alone.

     “Wait up! Where are you going?”

     Talon looked into her eyes, he knows that she will be going to tell him something so he waited for her mouth to utter words. He raised his right brow waiting for Lily to talk.

     “I-I would like to say thank you and by the way no more keeping secrets, I am Princess Lilliana of the west giving you this...” Lily lends her amulet with a symbol of the full moon as its pendant to Talon. 

     “...as a sign of our friendship,” she said while smiling. A friend, they can be good friends if happened that both of their worlds don't have walls. A strong wall that separates them from each one. Being normal and being a mage is a tough thing.

     Talon smiled at her and started to walk away while swaying his right hand to the air, for he thought that their paths will never gonna cross again.

     The moment he reached the streets of the village he remembered what is he going to do; find Falla, return to the coven safely and warn them about the ambush. He even cursed himself on his mind for being absentminded. He needs to find Falla as soon as possible to return to the mansion and warn the whole coven. 

     “What the hell is that?” Talon asked himself with his mouth and eyes wide open as if seeing a horrible thing. A large dark smoke is slowly mixing up to the clouds in the sky and it comes from the place where the mansion is located.

     “Oh no!” He immediately runs to the village market to find Falla for he knows what could happen there.

     Falla on the other side of the village market is busy talking to Ulrik, she doesn't know why she's been there listening to his unending stories. She only remembered that Ulrik's father is missing about seven years ago when he sailed across the sea and had never been found after that. 

     People thought that his father died in the sea storm or have been attacked by monstrous creatures of the deadly sea. But Ulrik still hoping that his father is somewhere that's been stuck and can't manage to go back home. He still hopes that one day his father will come to see him.

     “Hey? Falla? Are you listening?” Ulrik waved his right hand in front of her and that made Falla back to her senses. 

     “Uhm...yes, hihi.” She doesn't know how to socialize for she's the opposite of his brother Talon.

     Talon is good at socializing and blending with other people even if they're strangers or newcomers. But unlike him, Falla is somewhat a type of kid who would love to read a bunch of storybooks and learn new spells rather than talking to people telling stories about them like how Ulrik's doing right now.

     She rolled her eyes and puts her chin on the tip of the table while playing with the pasta using the fork they've ordered a while ago. They were in a local restaurant with lots of people. They're loud and jolly, far from what Falla is.

     She knows about the rules and looks at her for the first time in her life she break rules not only one rule but two. They left the mansion and now interacting with non-mages.

     But by looking at those people around her with their faces full of joy and happiness, she slowly feels that the rule of mages is somewhat wrong.

     “Why not put them on your stomach instead?” Ulrik asked after noticing Falla having deep thoughts.

     “I'm not hungry anymore, maybe because you filled my ears with your overflowing words that my entire body not only my tummy becomes full,” Falla sarcastically said while rolling her eyes. She's joking around just to hide how happy she is to have Ulrik as her new friend.

     Ulrik laughed at her an insanely laugh and that made her irritated reminding her of a former classmate from their coven who now had been turned into a frog. She was about to pull her wand to do the same thing to Ulrik just to get rid of him but she felt something strange. 

     Her chest beats faster than usual. She can also feel a little dizziness and anytime she will vomit. She looked at the forest and was shocked to see a large black smoke consuming the sky.

     “The mansion!” 

     Ulrik was about to say something but she immediately runs to the left-wing of the street. Pushing people who blocked her way, jumping and sliding to the obstructions that block her path.

     “Falla!”

     “Talon!”

     The twins reunite again and the sudden feeling they felt a while ago began to fade. It was the bond that causes them to find each other. A magical bond between twin mages helps them to have a great connection to each one. 

     “Are you oka—” Talon immediately asked his twin. Falla cuts him as she hugged him so tight as if they don't see each other for a very long time. 

     “F-Falla...I... can't breathe,” Talon said and Falla immediately released him.

     The both of them moved their pace to the forest and they knew what would probably happen there. They looked at each other as if they thought the same thing. 

     “We need to go back now!” Falla exclaimed and Talon can sense that she's anxious through her voice. He can feel that she's scared so as for him.

     “But we need to get there as fast as we could, we cannot just walk to go there,” Talon said while thinking of a different way to go to the mansion. Since walking can make them exhausted and the mansion is far from their location.

     Falla saw a pile of broomsticks peacefully laying on the walls. She immediately grabbed one of them and she throws the other one to Talon. 

     “We need to get there using the old method.” Falla looked at the opposite sides of the street to see if there's someone's watching them, the moment she assures no one's watching she sat on the broom and began to run spurt before engaging to the air. Her feet began to float in the air as she began to fly.

     Talon hurriedly followed his sister and he's doing zigzags in the air. Falla is in good balance using the broom to fly while Talon began to go upside down. He doesn't know how to use broomsticks to fly and he even forgot the right spell to use.

     “I regret skipping lessons about controlling brooms in the air!” He shouted, causing Falla to laugh so hard but her joy eventually vanished the moment she saw what did happen to the mansion.

     Falla moved closer to the burning mansion where the fire is slowly swallowing it. She can feel the intense hotness around the place. Talon is also shocked to see what did happen to their home being ruined by fire. Everything is set on fire, even trees and shrubs had been damaged too.

     Falla pulled her wand and cast a spell to eliminate the fire until it's too late.

     “Tollere ignis!” As she said that the fire is gradually getting smaller and smaller until it turned into a thin smoke that mixed through the air and fades away.

     From being swallowed by fire the whole place became pure ashes and black and smoky. Falla was about to cry to see the whole place but she holds those tears to show that she's strong in front of her brother.

     “This is my fault, if only did I warn them about the king's plan, this will never gonna happen.” Talon started to cry with his knees surrendering to the ground. The pearl-like droplets began to flow from his soft-ivory skin.

     “I'm so sorry, I'm sorry,” he cried. Falla held his brother up and hugged him so tight. It is the same scenario before when they were young Talon is always been a clumsy child, he always cries from a small scratch from his knees, from being not so good in magic, and from being called a loser. But his twin, Falla, is always been there to defend and make him feel better.

     They can hate each other's capabilities but they still care for each other and that's the good thing they develop at a very young age. They know that they can only depend on each one and they need to protect each other for they are twins and that's what siblings do.

     “You shouldn't blame yourself, Talon. In the first place, we don't know how they found the coven and how come they can...kill our parents, as if? The coven of the west has the strongest pair of mages and that's our parents plus aunt Morgana is there at their side. Just hope that they're still alive.”

     Falla hoped that they survived and had escaped from the ambush. She left Talon to scan the whole place wishing that they leave a note for them. Her black boots create cracking noise as she stepped into burned debris.

     “What the hell?”

     She holds her mouth with her right hand and with her eyes wide open she saw something horrible other than the mansion being turned to ashes. 

     A lot of knights were slaughtered mercilessly and there's no trace of life left there but only from the twins. Drops of blood are anywhere, some of them lost a part of their body both external and internal organs and they were scattered around which explains the fetid atmosphere in the place.

     “There's no trace of mages' bodies being slaughtered around, but what did happen here?” Falla asked her twin brother as she gets into him. Talon already stopped crying and now has a positive ambiance.

     “I don't have any idea, but I know that the coven is safe and I can feel it.” Talon stood up and accidentally slipped from the debris.

     “Did you put your bad luck to me, Falla?” 

     “You're just being clumsy at all times, Talon.” Falla crossed her arms while rolling her eyes as they're back from being the two witch kids with “unending arguments.”

     For the moment Talon stood from the debris, a stone nearby glows in a radiant red color as if it is activated by his touch. A note is slowly revealed as the fire started to carve words from the stone. It is a note made out of magic and they know who made it.

     “I think we know where the coven is.”