The Girl with an Owl

Chapter 38

"Alright everyone, don't panic. You are scaring the children. Gather your young ones and the ones untrained in fighting and take them to your homes. Remember that the protection spells have been in place for this very possibility. Now please proceed calmly to your houses and the ones with the necessary training join me." Wallace said.

Ajana was surprised to see that people who were just moments before losing their minds started doing exactly as they were told. In her world, people would have panicked and stampeded away not caring if they hurt their fellow humans on the way. On the other hand, she thought that if God, or whatever the respective religious figure was, told them to do something they would have probably done it no questions asked.

For people in Mag, owls were the closest thing they had to live gods, so she shouldn't have been surprised that his word was obeyed so instantaneously. After all, not only was he closely related to their main divinity, but he was also the most powerful magical being in Mag. It only made sense to respect and obey him in times of crisis.

"That's just my luck. I come to a beautiful, magical land and instead of having a great time learning about magic and this new world it is all cut short because of the trouble brewing. I do hope it's not one of those life-changing wars that happen in books and movies in the moments where the main characters are least prepared to face them." Ajana thought to herself.

Before she had the time to spiral into the black hole of scary thoughts and even more terrifying emotions, her train of thought was interrupted by Cassie who was gathering them all up. Nectarine and Walnut were already with her and it seemed like Ajana, Bluebells, and Rex were all the beings she was in charge of gathering up.

"Let's go you three. We better hurry off home where you will all be safe and sound." Cassie said.

Before they got the chance to leave, Nectarine started pulling her mother's hand looking up at her with huge terrified eyes.

"Mommy, what about daddy?" The little girl asked.

"Honey, we talked about this before, remember? Sometimes it is daddy's job to make sure that other people are safe. My job is to make sure our family is safe so let's talk at home where we will be nice and cozy, okay?" Cassie said.

Little Nectarine nodded her head vigorously while tears streamed down her face. Although she wasn't aware of what was happening even she could feel that something bad has happened, and she worried about her father who went away with a huge group of other adults who went off to investigate the intrusion.

Even Bluebells, who was usually upbeat and energetic, had his wings crestfallen and was trotting close besides Ajana as if her mere proximity would provide some kind of protection, some comfort. At least Ajana didn't have to carry him like she did Rex who was too scared to move on his own and the only thing stopping him from falling apart was Ajana's gentle embrace.

They all headed towards the cozy little house and no matter how calm Cassie tried to pretend to be, Ajana could feel the tension radiating from the fairy as if it were a sound that only she could hear. Maybe because of the predisposition of her power to help others and focus on their well-being Ajana seemed to be the only one to sense how truly disturbed Cassie was.

On the outside, she kept a calm appearance with a small smile gracing her lips, but Ajana could sense it was a mask put up out of utmost need. It was necessary to keep everyone moving, to get everyone to safety. It felt to Ajana like the mask would crumble the moment they reached the house, but she was wrong.

Once they reached their home Cassie went around the house with all of them, activating the protection spells. It was as if she was afraid that if she lost sight of them for even one second something terrible could happen.

When they finally went inside the house, there was a silent agreement amongst them not to separate. Instead, they all settled in the cozy kitchen that was the hearth of the house. It was its huge beating heart pulsating with energy and the vibrancy. The life and vitality of it brought a huge amount of comfort to all who gathered around the kitchen table.

"What is happening?" Ajana was the first one to ask.

"I can assure you that it is not as scary as Bob made it sound. From time to time, something like this happens. There is unregistered travel through the portal that they have to investigate to determine if it was malicious or not. It's like visiting someone without calling ahead, you have to check who is at the doorstep before you open your door." Cassie explained.

"It feels different this time." Bluebells said.

"I have never seen Bob that scared. What did it mean they are here? Who are they?" He went on to say.

"Very well, all of you deserve to know what exactly is happening. You see, although what I said is true you are right Bluebells, it is different this time. There were rumors that the extreme fraction from the elf world was planning on infiltrating our world. We didn't think they would actually try to do that since they are well aware of how strong our magical defenses are, but I guess we underestimated them." Cassie said.

"Is war coming?" Walnut spoke for the first time since the whole ordeal started.

"Of course not, it's just a small security issue that will be easily fixed." Cassie said.

Ajana could feel the uncertainty in her voice, so she decided to help Cassie in calming down the others. After all, panicking and overthinking things wouldn't bring them anything good.

"Of course it will be easily fixed. I mean did you see? Wallace is in charge of fixing the problem and if anyone can fix whatever is wrong it's him, right?" Ajana said.

Walnut didn't say anything. Although he knew how powerful Wallace and the other owls were, he wasn't sure that everything was truly okay.

"Look, I know I am new to this world, but if there is one thing I am sure of it's Wallace. He is the most powerful being that I have ever met, and I am pretty sure that he is even the most powerful being you have ever met. So if there is a problem, I am sure that he is powerful enough to solve it. Am I right?" She asked.

"Yes, I guess so, I am just worried about it all, about dad," Walnut said.

That was when Cassie hugged him tightly embracing both him and Nectarine in a warm hug of maternal love and protection.

"Thank you." She mouthed over their heads to Ajana.

Ajana just nodded her head in acknowledgment. The truth was that she wasn't happy with what she did. She didn't like lying, even if it was for the greater good.

Still, she found some comfort in the fact that she wasn't exactly lying. Wallace was the most powerful being, and he was powerful enough to fix any problems but Ajana knew that sometimes that wasn't enough.

Power was important but it wasn't always the thing that determined who would win in a battle. If there were too many elves infiltrating Mag she wasn't sure that even Wallace's power could keep them at bay. Still, she kept her mouth shut and tried to stay upbeat for the little ones while they waited to find out what happened.

Soon enough, a message arrived by snail mail and as Cassie read through it Ajana was unable to guess if it was good news or bad. So she just sat there waiting to be enlightened, feeling like she had been waiting for a week or more.