midnight | paul lahote

chapter 6 | magic waits for no woman

The next morning was an early rise despite Margery's late-night stargazing. Gran woke her up before dawn, ushering her to get dressed and to follow the old woman. 

Margery sleepily pulled on a dress that reached just above her ankles, putting on some of her knitted socks and lace-up boots. She brushed her hair and left it down, putting an elastic on her wrist in case she'd want to put her hair up. 

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Gran was in the kitchen, cooking what looked to be pancakes. "Mmm," she said through a yawn, "those pancakes smell good." 

"They're called Bannocks." Gran was quick to correct the girl, gesturing for her to set the table.

Margery placed down the utensils and cups, going to the fridge for some water. The two women sat down and ate their meal, Gran choosing to pour molasses over hers, while Margery used maple syrup. When they finished, they both rinsed off their dishes, leaving them in the sink for later. 

Gran leads her out into the garden, handing her a watering can immediately.  Margery worked while Gran slowly went around with some fertilizer, ensuring each plant had some. Then, the two set out into the forest with a basket each, Gran saying they would require some things for today's magic lessons. 

They returned to Gran's house with their baskets filled with various plants, mostly wildflowers. Gran sat among the grass, urging Margery to do the same, and Gran began telling her about the history of magic, and witches, and her ancestors who fought hard for them to even be alive now. She told the young woman about the Salem Witch Trials, and how her ancestors had migrated to La Push and were accepted into the reservation, under the protection of the wolves who lived there. She told Margery about the coven, and some of its rules, the most important of which was to keep magic hidden from mortals. 

Then, Gran showed Margery how to bring life into a plant. It was difficult but by the time the sun had set, Margery was watering the flower she had brought back to life after picking it from the woods. It wasn't a lot, but it was a start, and it set the tone for the next few days for the two women. 

One day, Gran taught Margery about hexes, another day, the girl learned about potions, and another day, she was taught spells. Margery's favourite thing to learn had to be the worshipping of the deities. There were many deities that Gran told her about, most of them being represented in many different ways, but Margery's deity of preference was Persephone, the deity who had control over plant life. 

Every night, Margery had visions, fleeting glimpses into the future, which she would quickly write down in her journal as soon as she woke up, lest she forgets the vision. She often caught the gaze of a large wolf along the treeline through her window, but she knew Paul was giving her time to adjust to the new lifestyle. 

Granted, magic wasn't an easy thing to grasp, but Margery had managed quite a few things in her two weeks of learning. She'd begun studying more about potions on her own time and created an altar for each deity Gran told her about, leaving little offerings as often as she could for each. Margery could light a small flame in the palm of her hand, although it almost always blew out before she could stabilize it. 

Gran decided the girl was having too much studying at once when she found Margery hunched over a potions book, chewing at her bottom lip as she stirred a small cauldron filled with a light purple liquid. "Margery, dear, I think we can ease off on some of your studies. We have plenty of time to learn, and you've gotten a hang of things so quickly, it's only going to get easier from here. It's summer, go have fun, be a kid while you can," the old woman laid a hand on her grandaughter's shoulder, urging her away from the potion, "go, call to the boy. He's been waiting so patiently, you may as well throw him a bone." The old woman chuckled to herself at the dog joke, and Margery could see where her humour came from at that moment.

Margery furrowed her brows, "but I don't have his number."

"Did I say phone call? Dear, he'll know you're calling to him before even you realize it." Gran answered, and Margery smiled, giving her Gran a quick peck to the cheek before walking slowly up to her room. 

Once in her room, Margery felt drained, the day finally catching up to her. The girl changed into a pair of shorts and a long-sleeve shirt, opening her window just slightly before eating herself on the window sill. She could feel the magnetic pull again, a feeling she now associated with Paul being near, and found him in human form, just along the tree-line. 

A smile graced her face as he came closer. "Oh, Romeo!" Margery called in a teasing tone, "wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

Paul rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face betrayed him, "Yeah, yeah, move over Juliet, I'm coming up." 

Without thinking, Margery backed away from the window, jumping when he abruptly appeared on her windowsill, having climbed the cherry tree by the house, and jumping into the open window. "What are you, part monkey too?" Margery asked, an incredulous look on her face as she remembered how far up her window was.

"Would that make me more or less appealing?" Paul countered, smirking. 

Margery sat across from him on the windowsill, peering out the open window before returning his gaze, saying, "as long as you're not the feces-throwing type of monkey." 

The two settled into casual conversation, mostly talking about what school would be like for Margery. 

It was well into the night when Gran went to check on Margery, only to find her and Paul surrounded by books on the bed, both of them in a deep sleep. The old woman smiled, then stepped back into the hall, a very heavy feeling falling over her as she recalled what was to become of her granddaughter and her soulmate.

A/N: So, fun fact, where I'm from, we have something sort of like Bannock, called Toutons, and they're made of just fried bread dough. Usually, you either fry them in butter or oil, and they're very similar to pancakes. Also, if there's anybody who knows more about native culture and could show me a thing or two, it's really hard to find anything on the Quileute tribe and I really wanna research more for this story.