Learning to Live

Chapter 2

-A month later-

Morrigan was confused, for the past month her mother had been acting oddly, at first she had thought it was due to her and Freya's celebration, at two they had their naming ceremony and now at five, they had a celebration to mark them living past infancy.

It had been a wonderful celebration, there were bonfires and a feast that lasted all night long, Morrigan had felt like a Queen, she had received a lot of gifts as had Freya. From Elijah they had gotten sloppy kisses, from Finn he had picked them wildflowers, their mother had gifted them with amulets for their magic and Father had given them daggers.

Mother had started acting odd by getting upset when Father had left for a raid, which was unusual, usually, Mother was very relieved when Father left.

She had been pushing them to do more with their magic to show her just how strong they could be, They had both thrived as their magic flowed easily, Morrigan was perhaps slightly more powerful and intricate with her magic but Freya enjoyed making her creations brighter and more alluring, both girls liked to be creative and think of fun ways to use their magic and with the reserves they had magic wasn't difficult.

Their mother was a mighty witch, despite rarely practising, so they worked hard to make her proud, but it was difficult to do so.  Mother didn't allow for mistakes and her tongue was harsh when they made mistakes, recently the pressure had become greater as if there was a test coming up or something. Morrigan didn't know but she and Freya were dutiful daughters and so would obey. Even if her fingers hurt and her head ached by the end of the day...

The only reason mother had even started to dip back into magic was that firstborn daughters were always powerful and Papa had wanted to nurture their gift despite being out of practice, Mother was easily able to show them how to start and leave them both in awe of what she was capable of. 

"Mama are you okay?" Morrigan asked tentatively, all morning Mother had been pacing back and forth, she had left the chores so Morrigan and Freya took it upon themselves to do the morning chores, wake and dress their siblings and make breakfast. 

After a breakfast of porridge and berries, Morrigan had fed Finn, who was thankfully a neat eater whereas Freya had drawn the short straw and got landed with Elijah, whose face was currently covered with porridge and tinted red from the berries, his oak brown eyes shining with mirth. Giggling merrily at his indulgent older sisters. 

"We're going to have a visitor today girls, they are like us and will be evaluating just how strong you are" Mother explained, her eyes were filled with emotion and her grip was tight on the pot she had been cleaning. Mother had been cleaning it for the past half an hour, Morrigan kept quiet because Mother had already snapped at them several times. 

"Are they important?" Morrigan asked, did Wix have Kings and Queens? 

"Yes" Mother breathed out

"Mama, do I get to show my magic?" Finn asked his face scrunched in worry, while he had shown capabilities with magic, the most he could do at the minute was to cause the petal of a flower to open and close.

"No son, just the girls I'll need you to watch over Elijah in the bedroom" Esther ordered Finn nodded his head obediently before moving over to grab Elijah and going into the other room, the Mikaelson's had one of the largest homes and even boasted a separate room.

Freya and Morrigan traded nervous looks, their hands entwined for comfort, mirror images but for Freya's golden hair versus Morrigan's honey-coloured hair. They waited in silence watching their mother as she prepped for their visitor, she made some tea and placed three cups to the side.