Beyond (Simon Snow Series)

11

                                   PENELOPE
          "Okay," Shepard says. "Question one, who is that?" He points ahead.
          "That's my mum," I say.
          He raises his eyebrows at me.
          "She's the headmistress at Watford, and the head of the Coven until they remodel- back to how it was before the wars. Or at least similar to that."
          "What's the Coven?"
          "It's like the government, but for the World of Mages. It's made up of a lot of old families. Except for the Grimm-Pitch family. Baz's family was angry with the Mage, the headmaster before my mum. They thought all that he was doing to stop the wars was wrong, which, I guess it was."
          I try to go on telling him about the Mage, but I can't bring myself to tell him what happened at the end of last year. We've moved past it (mostly), but we still can't talk about it. I don't know if Simon will ever be able to. I will, just... not right now.
          We stop in front of a building that looks just like the rest. Tall, old, with little bits of faded concrete chipped off the corners. Large pillars stood in front of a large arched doorway and a drawing of people with wings was sprawled across the wall. Pixies I'm guessing.
          "What happened to him?" He asked.
          "Later," I say.
          Mum opened the door and we all filed through.
          Inside people- mostly women -are crowded along the walls, some crunched down on the floor, holding on to others. Some are children, no older than I was when I first attended Watford.
          They look healthy, not too skinny, which is good. I wonder what happened to them. I feel a slight tug on my skirt and turn to see a little girl around eight standing below me. She's wearing a pink dress that's just a little too big. I bend down to my knees to face her. She says nothing but instead reaches out with something in her palm.
          A pale blue flower bloomed in her fingers, but it's petals are balled together in the middle, making a cone with a small opening in the middle. I take it from her and smile as she turns and walks back over to a woman standing near the wall, dressed in an oversized coat and a muddied pair of rain  boots. Her hair is messy, but otherwise she just looks like a mom who took her child out for a walk in the rain. She takes the little girl's hand and catches my eye, a sad smile tugging at the ends of her mouth.
          I wonder how long these people have been here. I wonder what happened to them.
          I've seen people look worse. There've been people in London that looked worse. People who sit on the street corners of the new city we lived in the past year. Every time I pass someone with a sign or even just a cup with a little bit of change, I make it a point to pull out a five dollar bill (sometimes a ten) and give it to them. I used to do it for me. For them. I think now I do it for Simon, or at least, partly for Simon. When you give that little piece of paper to someone, you give them a little piece of hope they can hold in their hands. Something physical. I want to show Simon that there are still good people in the world, and that there are still people like him, that need help. But that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. I think he knows it's not, but he still needs to know that others can help. He needs to know that we can help.
          Baz and I, we're here. Neither of us are going anywhere.

                                     AGATHA
          The room is full of people, but they're not happy. All of them wear a frown, not one of them has a smile on their face, exempt from the one smiling at Penny. It's a sad smile, but a smile.
          We continue on and walk through another large archway. Gold plating lines twisted pillars in a circle in the center of the room. Faded and dusty, it's clear that the room hasn't been kept up.
          I'm not quite sure what we're doing here, all I want is to grab my wand and get out of here. Granted, America wasn't exactly the break I was hoping for, but now that we've taken care of Braden and much of Lamb's posse, it would probably be a lot safer. I'm not naive, I know it's not totally safe, I get that. But it's still better than here, for me at least. Maybe not for Simon and Baz. Actually, maybe for them too. And Penelope. I get the feeling they could use a fresh start too. Just, not with me. They can find their own state. America has like, fifty.

                                         BAZ
          I stop when I see it. A giant, bronze sundial sits engraved in the floor in the center of the room.