by Nixon, Diana
“Once the person has made the first step, then he also wants to meet you. Are you mad at him because he left you many years ago?” he asked in a gentle voice.
“I'm sure that there were some good reasons. I don’t know how I shall treat him now, but I do really want to know him,” I replied.
“Let's hope that you’ll get such an opportunity,” said Evan.
Christian kissed my cheek and we went out into the street.
Unlike the previous few days, the weather was wonderful today. It was sunny and quite warm, and the lack of rain could be a real gift for my birthday. Christian referred to the fact that he had some urgent business and left us alone with Evan.
“So how did you use to celebrate your birthdays?” Evan asked.
We stopped at a bench under a huge tree, where the squirrels usually jumped.
“I have always loved this day. Hardly waking up early in the morning, I felt an extraordinary joy and excitement in anticipation of the upcoming day. I don’t know why, but something very special was there. No other day could bring the same emotions. Even on Christmas morning, the feeling was quite different. I liked to receive congratulations, but most of all, of course, I liked the presents. For the next few days I was usually admiring them, thinking that one day for a birthday wasn’t quite enough.”
Evan burst out laughing.
“I've always wanted to have more than one birthday per year,” he said still smiling.
“And I love to collect all the cards that were given to me on this day and put them in a special box and then, after some time, reread the words of congratulations and wishes. Oh, yes! I’ve always liked to blow out candles on a birthday cake, and make a wish.”
“Did they always come true?” he asked
“I don’t remember,” I shrugged in response.
“Do you know what wish to make today?”
“Good question, I didn’t have time to think about it.”
Indeed, what could I wish? There was no problem to buy something. The problem of having a full friendly family couldn’t be solved with a simple wish. And a person whom I would like to spend the rest of my life with, was already with me, unless...
“I think I know what to do!” I said.
“Will you tell me?” Evan asked.
“Of course, not! Otherwise it won’t come true.”
Evan laughed again.
“Okay, I won’t take your time any longer. You can go now. Amanda is probably waiting for you.”
“Thank you Evan,” suddenly I said.
“For what?” He looked surprised.
“For everything. Tara was right, you help me a lot. So thank you for this.”
“Not at all,” he said with a dazzling smile.
Amanda was actually waiting for my return.
“Eileen, do you have any idea how much we need to do before tonight?”
“Do you need anything from me?”
“Of course! To be a good girl and let your beloved friend make some magic over your appearance.”
“Maybe it was worth asking Evan about it? He is a better specialist in witchcraft,” I said smiling.
“Not this time!” said Amanda categorically, seating me in a round chair in front of the mirror.
I decided not to argue with her any longer and just rely on her skills.
After at least two hours she finally allowed me to open my eyes. In the mirror reflection there was a stranger looking at me. I’ve never thought that such a combination of emerald green, pale pink and silver eyeshades could befit me so well. In addition, makeup selected by Amanda, was matching my dress perfectly. My hair was done in large curls.
“Excellent!” I said to my friend.
“Of course,” she muttered in reply raising curls in some places.
“Can I already get dressed?”
“Yes. Just don’t ruin my work!” she warned strictly.
Knowing that I was born at half past five in the evening, Amanda always made some surprises just at that time. So it was planned today. Exactly at the appointed time we stopped, according to the fragrance of flowers, near one of Embry gardens. My eyes were covered with her hands, so a loud noise from somewhere was a complete surprise for me.
“And now, happy birthday!” all the guests said in one voice when Amanda opened my eyes at last and I saw millions of lights of beautiful fireworks in the sky. There were not just fireworks, but the whole piece of art with a variety of colorful flowers.
“Evan!” I realized, enjoying the rain of lights falling from the sky. Only he was able to create such a magical beauty.
I felt the gentle touch of lips on my cheek.
“This is for you,” said Christian handing me his present. Inside the golden package, there was a very beautiful casket, the entire surface of which was studded with multicolored stones. “It will help you to keep the best of your memories,” he said. “All that you're going to think about until it’s open, will remain here and no one could ever find out about it, including those material things that you put inside.”
“Thank you,” I said, kissing him on the lips. I opened the box and thought that this moment would be my first memory left there.
Evan was the next to come to me.
“I thought the fireworks were your present!”
“It's a small addition,” he said smiling.
The addition was also very beautiful - a golden bracelet with pendants in the shape of keys.
“Let them help you to open all the locked doors,” Evan wished, hugging me. The fact that his gift would be symbolizing was obvious. Judging by the warmth coming from the metal, it was also filled with magic.
Anna’s gift was a book about all sorts of plants, their properties and how to use them to make different amulets. One of them also came with the book - a small leather ball filled with flowers.
“To ensure that no one can unravel your true intentions,” she said.
Darcy’s gift at first glance seemed to me a bottle of perfume, but in reality it was much better than this.
“Elixir of courage,” she explained. “Use when you need it.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Lucas’s present was the most unexpected one – a globe lamp that could change color depending on the mood.
Amelia, in turn, had chosen very beautiful turquoise gloves and a scarf in the color of my eyes.
As I expected, a gift from Patrick was also practical – a watch engraved with my initials and today's date.
“Unfortunately, we have no control over time and can’t stop it,” he said, “but we can always calculate it so that to have time to do all planed things.”
“Thanks,” I said taking the last gift.
“It's not all,” Patrick added pulling from his jacket pocket a white envelope. “This is also for you.”
I took the envelope, which seemed to be surprisingly heavy. There were some keys and a note written by Stephanie Mitchell: “Let now and forever you have your own home where you can return at any time. Happy Birthday, Eileen! With love. Stephanie”. Only after reading the note, I realized that those keys were not to any house, but to my beloved house in Norfield. And now it belonged to me!
“Thank you, Grandma,” I thought with happy tears in my eyes. In addition to all the above I found in the envelope two plane tickets to Paris.
“Arrange yourself some vacation and come to visit us!” was written in the note attached to it by my mother. It seems that nobody has forgotten about my birthday.
“Did you like the presents?” Christian asked, removing the rebellious strand of my hair.
“Very much!” I replied. “Didn’t expect that there would be so many of them!”
“Shall we dance?” he asked when inside our beautifully decorated garden began to play a slow tune.
“With pleasure,” I smiled.
That night seemed to be really magical. Starting from Evan’s fireworks and ending with an incredibly beautiful cake with eighteen candles, deliv
ered specially by Amelia. There were a lot of pleasant words, wishes and smiles. Everyone who was dear to me, shared that day with me.
Chapter 29. The power of magic (Christian)
“Christian, can you come here for a couple of words?” Evan called when Eileen and I were about to leave.
“Is anything wrong?” she asked worriedly.
“Nothing, I just want to discuss something,” Evan said.
I stepped aside along with him.
“She shouldn’t wake up alone in the morning!” Evan said quietly. “Frederick has already given her his power.”
“What? When?” a little louder than expected I asked.
“The medallion. He filled with it the jewelry, which he gave Eileen. I felt his energy, not even knowing that this thing was his present. If Eileen hasn’t taken over all this power yet, then this will happen after midnight. And it shouldn’t catch her by surprise. So you must be there for her.”
“Why couldn’t he do it later?” I asked worried.
“Because he didn’t have a choice, it would happen by itself, but who knows how. Therefore, he has prevented it in advance.”
Eileen continued to cast anxious glances in our direction. She clearly felt that something was wrong with me. I was simply unable to control my emotions that were filling every inch of my body and mind.
“Calm down,” Evan said, “we have to be on the alert, just in case.”
I couldn’t resist but to ask:
“Just in case, if something terrible happens?”
“Christian, you are the only person she would listen to. I'll be somewhere near, and Frederick should be back soon, but you shouldn’t leave her alone. I'll talk to Amanda. Let Lucas take her to his room. Ha! And this is an excellent opportunity for them to make up!” changing the subject, exclaimed Evan. “Okay, now go and don’t tell her anything.”
“Easier said than done!” I muttered. Especially with our bond. I'll have to ask the permission to stay for the night...
“Are you ready?” I asked Eileen casually, trying to save a carefree expression on my face.
“Yes. Will you help me with those presents?”
I picked up a few packages with gifts and saying goodbye to those who still was able to have fun, went to the dormitory.
“What did Evan want to talk about?” she asked.
I knew that my calmness wouldn’t cheat her.
“Oh! He just offered some idea of how to make Amanda and Lucas up.”
“Really? How?”
“Evan will tell Amanda that she'd better spend the night with Lucas, because tonight I have to stay with you... well, in case... if something unusual happens...”
Man, my explanation was good-for-nothing!
“Something unusual, huh?” she asked, smiling. “For example, if you really want to spend this night with me?”
“Well, yeah,” I said, surrendering. Denying the obvious didn’t make any sense, and it was better to let her think that it was my unwillingness to leave, rather than the main cause of this mess with an overnight staying.
“A friend of yours thought of everything. He cared about Amanda and you.”
“Yes and just forgot about himself,” I agreed.
“It has already become a habit,” Eileen said sighing.
We entered the dark room. Both my hands were busy, so I walked carefully over to the sofa and put the packages. The absence of light didn’t matter to Eileen. She was quietly moving around the room, not noticing my frozen figure.
“Oh, sorry! I forgot about the light,” she said lighting a table lamp.
“I still can’t get used to your abilities,” I said sitting on the sofa.
“It’s hard for me too. I don’t even want to think about what else I will have to get used to,” she said standing in front of the mirror. I came to
“You will handle,” I said embracing her waist. “Have I already told you how beautiful you were today?”
“Apart from a few hundred times? No,” she said turning to face me.
“You were the most beautiful flower this evening. No masterpieces of Embry can change this fact,” I said leaning over to kiss her lips. To do it properly in the presence of all the guests was simply impossible, and I didn’t want to confuse Eileen even more. She blushed every time I held her in front of my parents. But now we were alone, and nobody could stop us.
She responded to my kiss immediately. Her lips were so soft and sweet, that breaking away from them at that moment seemed like the most terrible punishment. We both felt the temperature in the room rising. We were not going to spend one more night in our clothes. Without interrupting the kiss, I found the zipper of her dress on the back and slowly pulled it downwards. She took off my jacket and began to unbutton my shirt. In the dim mirror image I saw the fiery lacy pattern on her back, making an already wonderful silhouette of her body even more perfect. My shirt was on the floor, and now the light of her lines was added by the light of my own pattern. Her dress fell to her feet with a soft rustle.
I had no words to describe all the admiration and unconditional love that I felt at that moment. I swept her in my arms and carried her to bed. Our embrace was so strong that a single gram of air wasn’t left between our bodies. I kept kissing her, stroking the delicate curves of her body. I had no idea that in such a moment I would be so nervous. I was afraid to do something wrong, afraid to spoil this already wonderful night.
My fears proved unfounded, because instead of me our idyll was broken by something else... A terrible cry of Eileen. She was screaming in pain, holding her hands where Frederick’s medallion touched her skin. The pain was gone as quickly as it appeared. We both got scared.
“What was that?” in a breaking voice asked Eileen.
“Did you feel something?”
Eileen didn’t answer immediately as if trying to find the right words.
“Some kind of blow, just right here,” she said touching the back of the medallion around her neck.
I glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Midnight. This moment meant the end of her birthday and a start of a new life, unknown before. And in this life Eileen had already had all the powers of her father... In addition to her own. A new day meant the beginning of new challenges.
Eileen took off the medallion and began to watch it carefully, turning it in her hands.
“I swear that the blow came from this thing,” she said thoughtfully.
I didn’t know how to say that I could understand and explain everything.
“It is charged with magical powers,” Eileen said again, speaking of the medallion. “I felt it as soon as it touched my skin. Whoever was the person who sent it, he obviously knew about the properties of the medallion. Moreover, now I'm starting to believe that it was my father. His energy seems so close, so familiar...”
I thought she would finally realize where she could feel that energy before, and I would no longer have to lie. But Eileen put the jewelry on the table and leaned back against the pillows staring pensively at nothing. I sat down, embracing her.
“I can only say that what happened today, means that you officially became an adult, which means all your abilities have increased by several times, and your power is stronger than before.”
That was the part of the truth she knew perfectly well. I didn’t have any right to tell her about Frederick.
“How can I check it out then?” she asked. “Maybe this way...”
Those words were followed by a wave of her palm and the instantaneous collapse of the chandelier in the middle of the room.
“Oh, God!” she exclaimed jumping out of bed and putting on the first available thing - my shirt. I jumped too.
“How did you do that?”
“I have no idea...,” she said nervously. “Actually, I just wanted to turn the lights on, but it seems as I have overdone a bit,” she added sitting next to the remnants of the former chandelier.
“Can you fix it again?” I asked. “If you are going to ru
in here something else, let it be just one thing.”
“I'll try,” she said hesitatingly.
She touched the chandelier and it slowly began to acquire the former shape - a little rough but better than the first time.
“Try again,” I said.
She touched the already almost collected item. This time the chandelier became itself, shaking slightly in the air and instantly re-falling down. Luckily I managed to catch it, not allowing breaking again.
“I can’t believe that!” Eileen said. “It's not just the power of the elements. This is magic!”
I stood on a chair and hung a chandelier where it used to be.
“Please, just don’t touch anything else, get dressed and we will go to Evan. Okay? I'm afraid I can’t cope with this alone here.”
“Okay,” she said trembling.
Eileen returned me my shirt, replacing it with jeans and a long sweater. We left the room, and I called Evan, who, fortunately, still wasn’t even thinking to go to bed. Eileen was a little scared. We went up two floors above, and came to the room of my friend. He opened the door, even before our knocking.
“Just look at you!” he smiled broadly, leaning casually against his doorframe.
“Evan, please!” Eileen hissed, barely uttering the words. She went into his room and sat quietly in the chair, tucking her legs.
“And why can’t you sleep like most of the people at this time, my dear friends?” he asked, closing the door behind me.
“Eileen has just blown her chandelier to smithereens with a single flick of the wrist,” I said dryly.
“Well, well! I hope there wasn’t anyone under it, right?”
“Evan, if you don’t stop joking, I’ll smash the one under which you are standing right now!” Eileen snapped.
“Okay. Let's start from the very beginning. Why did you decide to take revenge on that chandelier?” he asked.
In response, we told him about everything, well, not really everything. We missed that part about kisses and being naked.
“I have just one question, Christian. What the hell were you looking at?” Evan shouted. “Thank God, it was only a chandelier! But there are too many useful things in my room too, so let’s go somewhere else.”
