Closed You came my way, and I knew a storm would come

[Siobhan McGowan]

Siobhan had been surprised to receive an owl from her brother. The man barely ever wrote and had even missed he and Finola's latest birthday, which did cause a bit of concern on their part. However, it wasn't totally unlike him, and Siobhan had chalked it up to a busy spring at work. He had been given more tasks at the farm, or so they had been told. But as she tossed the owl a treat and unrolled the scroll, she felt her heart start to beat faster as she attempted to absorb all the information her brother had just thrown at her - via a letter. She fell onto the couch, clearing her throat as she realized the first time she had attempt to call for her sister, no sound came out. "Fin!" she cried, feeling the panic start to exude out of her. "Finola, you better come down here. Now."

Dear S & F,

I'm aware this letter may well be a surprise to you, but I have no other way of spelling it out. About ten years ago, I got married to Mr. de Lundin's daughter, Maeve. You may remember her from when we were growing up. Due to all that has happened in our family, I kept it private, but recent events have led to a lot of my life becoming public, as Maeve has died under suspicious circumstances. I'll be arriving in a few weeks. ~ F

 

[Finola McGowan]

Finola was upstairs, curling her hair before work when she heard a panicked yelling from her sister, which wasn't out of the ordinary. Her older sister had always been a bit on edge, as Siobhan had taken more responsibility on that Finola and Flurry never dealt with. As she made her way down the stairs, hair half curled, she shook her head. "What's up?" she questioned, before being passed a note from her sister.

It was a vague letter from her twin but important nonetheless. "What does he mean he's been married for decade and never told us? That- aghhghgh!" she yelled, crunching up the letter. "And arriving in a few weeks? There's no date on this letter. When is he just coming? I haven't even seen him since-" she said, pausing as both sisters heard a rapt at the door.

 

[Daviana de Lundin]

Daviana was mildly nauseous as she and her Da landed in a field. She still was confused by what had just happened, even though they had practiced it a few times before this long trip. But the eight-year-old had only been able to absorb so much information since her Ma. Her Ma had always practiced witchcraft, but her Da had told her now that she was a different kind of witch, one that used a wand and wasn't just intentions and potions and written spells but actual spells that she could control. Her Da had even shown her, albeit badly, because of how reluctant she'd been to believe him.

But now, her Da was taking Daviana to visit her aunts, who she'd never met, to help her with her "training." Daviana wasn't sure why she needed training and if so, why her father couldn't do it, but he wasn't answering many questions right now. She held onto her backpack as her father led her to a door and knocked. "Is this where my aunts live?" she asked, taking in the rural farmhouse that was similar to her own. She wondered if her Grandad would approve.