Magic's How-To

Beatris was not pleased.

That was putting it lightly. She didn't like to see her primary charge harmed. She had vowed, from the day that she had met the two boys who had seemed so alone, that she would protect them both. And look where it had gotten her at the moment! She grit her teeth and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself. Hendrik was alive. That was all that mattered. He was okay. She didn't have to worry about losing him today. She tried to remind herself of that as Clay's question actually sank in.

"What?" she asked. "Nous pouvons aller à ma maison. Nul ne le sait. Et elles ne viendront." She spoke in rapid French before turning thoughtful once again.

"You realize we have absolutely no idea what you just say," Hendrik growled in a tense voice.

She could feel how weak he was at the moment. And more importantly, how annoyed he was. She hadn't realized that she had spoken in French, but it was clear she had to explain it. "We can go to my home. No one knows it. And neither shall they," she repeated this time in English.

Both males stopped forcing her to stop as well. She couldn't understand why they were looking at her with such shock. What had she said that was so far-fetched to them? "You have an home?" they asked confused. "Does it belong to you still?"

She had never thought them so dense. "Yes. The estate has remained in my name since I inherited it when I was seven. That did not change even after my death. It was kept in trust and made into a private estate and treasure of France to be cared for. I have-"

"You want us to go to France?" Hendrick demanded loudly only to find himself smacked in the back of the head.

"We wouldn't have to go anywhere if you hadn't sneaked out," Clay snapped before sighing. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that," he apologized unable to look at his brother.

Beatris shook her head. They didn't have time for this kind of thing. "We can argue once we are safely to my home," she insisted. "For now, Allons!" she cried. She was met with two blank looks again. She rolled her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. "Let us go!" she snapped in English. Her accent was growing heavier with the combination of anxiety and anticipation. They had to leave before someone decided to come back. And who would think to hunt down her estate when no one even knew who she had been in her past life in the first place?

It seemed like a sensible enough conclusion to her. And since the boy's weren't objecting she was hoping that they would think the same thing. After all, they would be the ones taking them there. Though she wasn't looking forward to this particular trip. She hated the Paths of the Dead. They called to her more strongly than the two brothers whose Half-Breed nature seemed to make them immune to the effects that it had. For her, who had already died once, it was a pain to walk the paths. The paths demanded that she stay and say there forever. A shudder ran down her spine at the memory of former trips.

"Is there any chance we could take a flight to France? Or perhaps a boat?" she heard herself almost pleading. "I mean, it would be a good idea non?"

She knew she had made a mistake in saying anything the moment that Hendrik looked up at his twin, a wicked smile on her face. "No!" she snapped trying to pull away from the man who had, only moments before she was certain, been weak from his encounter. "No, don't you dare vous avez peu salaud!" she shouted at him.

"I think she just swore at me Clay," Hendrik chuckled as Clay rolled his eyes.

"Hmm, I wonder why," his brother drawled sarcastically. "He does have a point though Beatris. It's the quickest way and the safest."

A sharp glare was thrown his way. "Maybe for you," She hissed. "But for so-" The tunnel that led to the Paths opened and cut off her argument as she found herself dragged inside. If she made it through this trip through Hell, she was going to kill them both...

...After she she regained consciousness.