All the cards

16

I got home, on my own, and called Rebekah.
"Hello sister." She greeted.
"Hey, Bex. Are you ready?"
"Say the word and I'll be there."
"Okay, come." I told her and she hung up. She appeared in front of me. "I missed you, little sister."
"I've missed you too." I smiled. "It's been a while."
"It certainly has. Where are the kids?"
"Oh, Jackson was babysitting last night, so I'm gonna just pick him up later in the day."
"Give him kisses for me?"
"Of course. Okay, I know you're kind of busy, so we should get started." I told her. "Go to the sitting room, I'll go round up everyone else."
"Sure." She walked away, and I sped to Amira's room. She lay in bed on her phone.
"Hey, sweetheart."
"Hey."
"Family meeting, come down to the living room."
"Is Elijah going to be there?" She pouted.
"Yes, but I need you there. It's urgent."
"Fine." She groaned.
"You get Freya, I'll get Nik and Elijah. Deal?"
"Sure." She said, reluctantly getting off her bed.
"Thank you." I smiled and she pulled a face. I headed to find Nik next, and found him standing on one of the balconies. "Nik, can you come down, please?"
"Why?"
"Family meeting. I have a lot to explain."
"About what?"
"Just go down to the living room?"
"Fine." He sighed and sped away. I headed to find Elijah next. He was in his office.
"Elijah?"
"Hello, sister."
"Come down please. I'm calling a family meeting."
"When?"
"Right now. Everyone else is already there."
"Sure." He said and I led him to everyone else. Nik and Rebekah stood as far from each other as the room would allow. Amira stood beside Nik and Elijah walked over to Rebekah. Freya stood between the two pairs and I walked over stopping in front of her.
"We should get comfortable. It's a very long story." I said, walking over to the sofas. I sat down and Amira followed my lead, sitting beside me. The rest of my siblings took their places around me. "I don't even really know where to start."
"How about the beginning?" Rebekah raised her brow.
"There's a lot of beginnings." I said. "Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a town filled with people with the gift of magic. It was never particularly powerful magic. Most of the villagers would just be able to sense the feelings of their neighbours, a few had an affinity for herbs and medicine. But never practical magic."
"I know this story." Rebekah said. "The royal family did have powerful magic, though. They had a daughter, who was a badass warrior princess who didn't need a prince to come save her. She was skilled enough with her magic that she saved her kingdom from all sorts of threats. You used to tell me this story whenever I couldn't go to sleep."
"There's a lot more to it." I sighed. "She wasn't the only daughter. She had an elder sister and a younger brother. The three were the most powerful beings the village, or even the world, had ever seen. It seemed that they held powers that no one else ever had or could have even dreamed to have. They weren't witches- they were more than that. Spells were hardly ever required. Anything they wanted they could get with just a little concentration."
"Like your friend. Aria?"
"Yeah, pretty much. For a little while things were great. The three of them were happy together, as a family. Then came the time for them to choose which path they wanted to follow with their sorcery. The oldest chose a path of light and vowed to remain ever devoted. The middle child chose to remain neutral- to use magic only when things affected her, sometimes selfishly, sometimes selflessly. But the youngest, wanting to forge his own paths- to be his own person, chose a path of darkness."
"Oh?"
"At first, it wasn't anything bad. For the first couple millennia he mainly just annoyed his sisters, causing trouble and mischief wherever they went, and occasionally set his sights on local human towns. Eventually he decided to be truly dark and got out of control. His sisters devised a plan to stop him. The eldest linked herself to him, and let her sister perform a spell. One that would make them human. That would ensure they be reborn into new families with no memory of their previous lives."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"She had her sister curse her to be reborn every time she died. And their brother would suffer the same fate."
"You're not saying-?" Freya said.
"I was born as Zia. Over a thousand years ago, I was reborn into this family."
"That's what Céleste meant when she was saying you weren't really my sister?"
"I am your sister. I have been for a thousand years, and I always will be. You are the family I've known for a thousand years, that I've loved."
"How does this work?"
"Well, when Aria performed the spell on me, I killed myself. Mal and I were both reborn. I don't really remember much of that life, I died as a child, and was reborn into this family. This life was all I've known for a thousand years. Then, a few months ago, when I was trying to wake up Isaac, Aria gave me this substance that purifies a person- washes away curses and hexes. I spilt some on myself, and it began to wash away the curse from so long ago. My memories started coming back, and my normal magic."
"You have a whole other family?"
"Mal and Aria, yes." I looked around. "It doesn't change the fact that you're my family too. My brother and sisters." I looked at Amira, with a small smile. "My granddaughter. It just means I have another family too. And I love all of you."
"This is..." Nik started.
"Weird." Amira finished. "So totally weird. I mean, woah."
"I know. I thought you deserved to know. I didn't want to lie to you."
"So the stories were true?" Rebekah asked.
"Pretty much."
"Aria and Mal?"
"Her name is actually Aeliana. His name is Malum."
"That's evil in Latin."
"Yeah, I told you he went through some dark times. It wasn't that he was named evil- malum in a really ancient and forgotten language used to mean regal son. But eventually the Romans heard of his... activities, shall we say and decided to give his name a whole new meaning."
"I'm still stuck on the part where you're not really our sister." Rebekah leaned forward.
"I am your sister. Freya had a journey into the ancestors realm to talk to Céleste who told her that I'm not really her sister. But I am. I'm still me. The girl who would make you jump on clouds." I smiled at Nik. "Who'd tell you fairytale stories when the storms got too loud and assure you you'd get your very own prince one day who'd save you from the terrible thunder." I looked at Rebekah. "The girl who would try to help you get the hang of actually looking after a baby so you could impress the women you loved." I turned to Elijah and then to Freya. "The girl who would spend years searching for you, for a way to contact you and save you from the wicked witch." I put my arm around Amira. "I'm still the woman your grandfather fell in love with, who raised your father for the first eight years of his life."
"Yes." Nik said. "You are. Nothing's going to change that."
"You can't get rid of us." Rebekah assured.
"Always and forever." Elijah added.
"You've never given up on me. I'm not giving up on you." Freya nodded.
"You're still my grandmother. If it weren't for you, I literally would not exist." Amira hugged me back.