C4 Discovery

Lily my dear, you have to be careful next time, so you do not hurt yourself just like you have now", Edgar admonished lovingly.

The little girl nodded, her dark locks bouncing up and down, little hands rose up to wipe at her tear stricken face.

Lily's mother pulled her close into a hug, "It is going to be okay my child I promise. Sir Edgar will make you feel better very soon", she crouched before her, holding her hands and peering with was unmistakably love in her eyes, "And of course your mother will always be here and would never leave your side" Lily smiled sweetly and although it was obvious she was in pain, she limped towards her mother covering up the space between them and hugged her.

Cleopatra sat on a stone watching from afar. Her blue eyes was clouded in emotions as she watched the pair. Her long raven black hair cascaded down her back past her slim waist. She was petite, her eyes were as blue as the skies on a bright summer morning. Her lips were the reddest pair of strawberries.

She had on a white and sky blue checkered gown, her long black hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She watched as Lily and her mother conversed, it brought back bittersweet memories of her and her mother, they had been an inseparable pair when she was alive. Her heart ached for her mother more than it had ever done in time past...

"Cleo my child", Edgar called out to her and he gestured for her to come over, "Come help me with a few things"

She walked up to him and smiled reassuringly at Lily, "Do not worry child, grandfather Edgar would see to it that you feel better soon"

Lily only smiled, it was a warm smile.

"Pa?"

"Oh yes Cleopatra, help me light the fire wood", he instructed, "Pour two cups of water and put these leaves in it, just let it boil I will check it myself.

She put the last piece of wood in the pile, she picked up a fire stones and proceeded to strike at it.

A naughty smile played out on her face, her memory recollected the fire incident from when she was just five, "Just a little concentration Cleo, calm your nerves, let it all come back to you", she whispered to herself, she struck the stones together and fire enveloped the wood immediately. It was a huge fire, she was left dumbfounded. She stared at her hands wondering what had happened. She knew it happened once but she had never thought herself capable of doing it all over again.

"Cleo!", Edgar shouted from behind her.

She spun around startled, "Grand father, it is you"

Edgar stared at her and looked at the fire in what was complete amazement.

"That is a huge fire you have started Cleo", he said dryly. "Yes...yes grandfather, I struck the stones...emm...a little too hard", she said unconvincingly.

"You will need a fuel to create that much flame Cleopatra"

"Yes", she nodded vigorously, "Yes I poured fuel over the woods".

"Cleopatra", he called out to her.

"Grandfather that is all that happened, I promise you"

Edgar sniffed the air, "I might be old my child but I can still sniff out scents. There is not even the faintest trace of fuel around..." Cleo folded her arms, determined to stand on her ground, "You can not be so sure pa maybe this one time your sense of smell has failed..."

"Cleopatra!"

"Grandfather", she called out pleadingly, "I do not know how any of this has happened, I merely thought about it, I...I entertained the thought but then...then there was some huge fire and you came and I was terrified", she said in a rush.

He opened his arms wide and she ran into his comforting embrace, "Cleopatra..."

"What is happening to me pa?", she didn't know she was trembling, till he embraced her, tears escaped her eyes, "What is wrong with me?", She asked in a frantic manner.

"Nothing Cleopatra, I have always known you were special. I watched you grow into a very amazing woman. I always knew there was a part of you that was hidden still waiting to come out..."

Cleo pulled away from his arms and looked at him, "What are you saying father?, I can't possibly have magic, could I?. How is that possible?"

"I agree that none of this makes any sense my child, not to you and not to me even but somehow we would make sense of it", Edgar replied in an assuring tone.

"Magic is rare father, a gift possessed by only a chosen few", she whispered, "My parents were humans, I am human...at least I think I am", she added after a while, "My father was a fisherman and my mother was a house wife, she stayed at home taking care of us. There was nothing magical about our lives pa. I have lived a very normal life all these years..."

Edgar pondered on her words, "The gift of magic is usually handed down to generations, that is the only way the gift can be transferred and if your parents were truly humans like you claim...then we might just be dealing with more than we can handle"

"I do not know any spells pa, I have not learnt them like you have", she said in a panicky tone, "I did not murmur any spells, I did not move my hands. How would I have set the wood ablaze..."

"There is only one other place where magic was observed to have been wrought from through out history, in the mind", he said, "It is an ancient magic practice, particular amongst only a few witches and wizards. It has long been extinct..."

"No", Cleo shook her head in denial, "None of this makes any sense, how is it possible?, What do I do now?, How do I hide this side of me?"

"Too many questions Cleo, I can not keep track, we will talk about this some other time I promise you"

"Grandfather, please don't brush it off", she begged, "I need all these answers now.

"I have to be alive to be able to answer your never ending questions my child", he replied.

"You would not die grandfather", she rebuked and took his palm in hers, "You are not dying anytime soon. You will be alive long enough to watch me grow older"

Edgar smiled, "My spirit agrees but my mortal body is in disagreement. Let me rest my old weak bones my child. There is a lot you need to know about your new found powers. I will help you every step of the way"

***

Months passed like antelopes running through an open field and Edgar had kept true to his word. He had gradually taught her all she needed to know about magic. She was beginning to fall in love with that side of her much to her own surprise. Although they had to keep it concealed she could not help but sneak in one or two magic tricks when no one was looking.

"Cleo", he handed over to her a basket of leaves, "Help me lay this out to dry, I'll crush the powder and I will add to the new potion I am working on. There has been an outbreak recorded in Molvania and although we are yet to trace the origin of this strange disease, we must be able to curb the spread and treat the symptoms before it spreads into our lands"

She took it from his hand and nodded in understanding.

"Hopefully the scorching heat of the sun will dry them by evening"

She took the baskets with her and a mischievous thought crept into her head. They seemed to be finding their way into her heart every time...

"Okay Pa", she took the baskets of leaves and proceeded to the back of the house. She spread them on a mat outside and casually watched them. She closed her eyes briefly and drowned out the constant tapping of the carpenter a few yards away, even the light chirping of the birds. In her head it was still as the early morning, by the time she opened them again, the leaves had shrunken, she had dried them by merely thinking of doing so.

She smiled to herself, proud of what she had done. She was getting better at establishing utmost concentration. She packed them back into the basket and rushed to Edgar excited to show him what she had achieved on her own.

"Grandfather", she called out excitedly, her dress billowed in the breeze as she ran towards him.

"Cleopatra, what is the matter?", he asked, he placed the lid securely over the bottle in his hand and turned to look at her with great difficulty.

"Here", she handed the baskets to him, "Here are your dri...ed leaves", she laid emphasis on the word dried.

When he took the basket from her and peered at it, his reaction was nothing like what she expected, he looked utterly displeased, "You used your magic?", he asked the obvious question.

She nodded, "I figured it would save time and speed up whole process and look it did, my concentration is a lot better now"

"Come sit here my child", he said, patting the stone that served as a chair besides him. And she did.

"There are no shortcuts to life at all, my child", he began, "Those who use shortcuts sometime have had to pay dearly for it"

"I know you are yet to get over the excitement of your new found powers...", he continued, "You are not to misuse it my child.

"I was not misusing it father, I promise", she explained, "I was only helping, trying to make our jobs less tedious. On my side I was putting to practice all I have learnt from you about magic in these past months".

He looked intently at her, "C...le...o", he drawled out.

"Gra...nd..fa.. ther", she did same.

They stared at each other for a while then they burst into laughter.

"Okay pa, I have heard all you have to say", Cleo said in between smiles still not fully recovered from the sudden outbursts, "I will never misuse my powers again, I promise you" Edgar smiled at her revealing missing teeth, "I know I could count on you, come here", his arms were spread wide.

"Pa, you have lost another tooth?", Cleopatra asked in surprise.

He nodded, "I am aging quickly", he said.

She walked towards him, "Let me have a look, there is nothing a little magic can't fix"

"Cleo"

She tried not to stare at him, she was not sure she would be able to keep from laughing.

"You do not have to worry Pa, I would fix your teeth and...", her eyes trailed to his greying hair, "And you hair of course, your hair...what color would you like your hair to be?"

He did not answer.

"Green?, Blue?, Yellow?", she rambled on, "Whatever you want father, this grey makes you look old and I could change..."

Edgar reached for her, bringing her rant to an end, sending her dashing in the other direction

They burst into another round of laughter.

"When I was your age Cleopatra, no one could outrun me. You would not have been able to I promise you"

"Maybe", she shrugged, then she broke into a wide smile, "Or I could just use magic?"

"Cleo!"

"Pa!"

"You know what?", he said after a while, "Come closer and give Pa a hug"

"I love you so much grandfather but I do not want a hug right now", she replied still smiling.

"Are you sure?", he asked.

"Affirmative"

"I could teleport to where you are standing", he said.

"That would be misuse grandfather", she replied confidently.

"Exactly, I just want you to be good and safe at all times", he said.