Sprinkle of Magic

When the sun assaulted my eyes the following morning, I groaned and tried to roll over to block out the obnoxious light. I failed, however, as a hand tightened around my stomach, holding me securely in place. Panic started to set in, as well as an annoying pain from my bruised ribs. "Go back to sleep. Too early." The voice behind me made me freeze, the events of the previous night rushing back to me. I was in Niall's bed. Niall was holding me. My mother had locked herself in my room. Ardan was my father. Niall must have felt me tense up, because he removed his arm and slowly sat up. Finally, I rolled over. I really had no idea what to say to him. Up until yesterday, we had gone back to hating each other, but now we were cuddled up in bed like a happy couple. Let's just say I'm more than a wee bit confused. "Sorry. I guess I cuddle a lot in my sleep." I couldn't help but laugh, rolling my eyes at him. I reached up, poking him in the side. He instantly fell back onto the bed with a quick shout of laughter, and I took that opportunity to snuggle back up to him. He was warm, and he made me feel safe. Plus, he was the only one that came for me the night before when I 'ran' out.

As soon as I was against his side, Niall let out a chuckle, lifting his arm. I scooted closer, putting my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arm around me protectively. "Thank you, Niall...For last night, I mean. You didn't have to come after me, or yell at whoever you yelled at last night. Hell, you didn't even have to let me to stay in here with you, but you did, and I'm really thank-" My rambling was cut off by a hand clamping over my mouth. I blinked up at Niall, who was grinning down at me. I smirked against his hand before I licked his entire palm. At first, he made it seem like it didn't phase him, but finally he pulled away with a shout of 'ew' and wiped his hand off on the duvet.

"Really? You licked me? You're just a giant woman-baby." I couldn't help but laugh before snuggling more against his chest. "And you're welcome." He whispered the last words, and I looked up at him with a bright grin. He rolled his eyes a bit before he ruffled my hair, causing me to frown at him. "I think I made them hate me even more.." He said after a short silence. I looked at him like he was crazy, but he shook his head. I stayed silent to let him continue. "I yelled at them for making you so upset. I yelled at Ardan for the both of us. He kept us all in the dark. Ailbe didn't even know, though she seemed to have a clue. If they would have told you, they could have helped you sooner. You wouldn't be so confused about what you can do." He gave a frustrated sigh, and I wrapped one of my arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you." He gave a tense nod as I subconsciously nuzzled him a bit. "But it's alright, now...Yes. I'm angry they didn't tell me that I'm half human, half magical tree guardian thing. But at least now I know why I'm such a freak." I whispered the last word, wincing as I did so. It was true. I was a freak. But I hated that word with everything I had. I'd spent years running away from the odd things that kept happening to me. People would call me a freak because I would be the only one not screaming if something broke in a classroom, or if someone randomly got a bloody nose while they were beating me up. But it was true, they were all right. I am a freak. It's not just that I was born into a family of witches. No, of course it's not just that. My father wasn't even a little bit human. He'd been created by a magical tree.

"You're not a freak. You're Maerin Curruthers. You're a wonderful person. You may have so many walls up, and you may block people out, but when you let them in, you're one of the most kind people I've ever met. You'd give up anything to protect the people you care about. Mae, you almost gave up your life to save mine and Cece's." I let out a loud sigh. Niall was right. But his words made me smile. He gave me a bit of a squeeze, and I returned it before he let his head flop back down onto the pillow. "Can we just stay in bed forever? I don't want to deal with people." I couldn't help but laugh, lifting myself up onto my elbow so I could look down at him. His hand fell off of my arm, but he didn't seem to mind.

"No, Niall. You can't be lazy all day. I have to go to work today, I've been putting it off." Niall whiled again, but I rolled my eyes, pushing away from him. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, groaning when I realized that my wheelchair was down stairs. I couldn't wait until I got the stupid cast off, it would make life so much easier. Plus, I had training to do. Someone beat the crap out of me at that house. Sure, I still couldn't put a face to all of this, but it was a person, a flesh and blood person, and I'd hit plenty a person before, but I needed to get better. I wasn't only looking out for myself, now. I had Niall, Ailbe, Granda, Mam, Celia, even Da to worry about, now.

"Fine. I'll take you downstairs. I have to ask your Granda a question." I gave a nod, reaching my arms up for him. As soon as he picked me up, I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding tightly. I knew that Niall wouldn't drop me, but I guess I still had some trust issues. My ribs ached a bit as we went down the stairs, but I ignored the pain. Niall set me straight into my wheelchair, before he went off to the den. I pushed myself into the kitchen, where Ailbe was waiting for me. She had a warm cup of tea and a plate of pancakes waiting for me. The events of yesterday were still fresh, and the thought of food made my stomach churn.

"Just the tea, Ailbe." The woman just nodded and took the pancakes away from me while I sipped on my tea. "Has she come out of the room?" Ailbe shook her head, still saying silent. I clenched one of my fists, annoyed with the way the adults were acting. They were worse than children, keeping secrets and throwing tantrums. I rolled my eyes before I knocked back my tea, rolling to the front door right afterwards. I could hear Granda and Niall talking in the den, and no one tried to stop me, so I pulled open the front door and wheeled myself outside. I made sure to check the road before I wheeled across, going into the bakery through the back door. Most everyone was surprised to see me there, but they welcomed me back with open arms as I got to work.

Since I really couldn't do anything in the front room, I stayed in the back, helping the bakers with one of the specialty cakes they were making until Granda came in, Niall trailing behind him. I ducked my head, not looking at either of them until Granda pulled my wheelchair away from the table. I clenched my fists as he pushed me out the back door. He reached into the pocket under my chair and pulled out my smokes with shaking hands. He pulled two of them out, then lit them both, surprising me. He handed one to me, and I took it without hesitation, the other he kept for himself. I raised my eyebrow at him, and he only scoffed. "Don't give me that look. I smoked for nearly forty-three years, once more won't kill me." I couldn't help but laugh. Even if I was still angry at all of them, this was still my family. "I wanted to apologize, Mae. We should've told you, but it was your mother's decision." I shook my head with a shrug.

"Don't. I understand, Granda. I know how stubborn Mam can be." He laughed at that, and I was glad. I didn't like being angry at them. They were my family, after all. After that, we smoked in silence, the two of us simply smiling to each other every once and a while.

"That boy, Niall. Keep him close. He cares about you. He may not show it, but that boy cares." I couldn't help but smile. Yes, I was hard on Niall. Yes, I wanted to punch him in the jaw most of the time. Yes, he's a complete and utter idiot. But for some reason, I can't help but feel safe around him. Hell, I'd risked my life for his, and he'd hated me at the time. I still remember the first day of school, when he was practically glued to my hip, even though I'd told him to go away. I'd felt an odd pull to him, then, I was just too stubborn to admit it. I guess I was just like my mother in some sense.

"Don't worry, Granda." I gave him a smile as I put out my smoke. Granda did the same, grinning as he pushed me back into the bakery. I went straight back to work, though I ended up doing up some cupcakes instead of working on the big cake. I liked working with the cupcakes. I didn't have to rush. I could take my time and make them beautiful if I really wanted to. I had a batch of red velvet in front of me, and I had already did swirls with the cream cheese frosting. I tuned out the world around me as I worked on stamping out petals with red fondant, spraying them all with edible glitter before I started to mold them into roses to put on top of the cupcakes.

By the time I was finished, I was fully relaxed, and I set the tray on my lap, wheeling over to the stand. I set the tray in with only slight difficulty before I peeked up at the clock. An hour. I'd been sitting there frosting cupcakes for an hour. I shrugged to myself before I went back to the table, waiting for something else to do. Lucky for me, the bakers took pity on me and brought me out three more trays of cupcakes, and some of our small house cakes that we do. By the time my shift was over I couldn't feel my hands, and my face was covered in bits of frosting and flour. My arms were so sore, I could barely roll myself into the front room to find Granda. I found Niall instead. He'd been heading towards the back room, and ran into me. "Sorry.." He mumbled, but I just shook it off with a smile. "I was just coming to see if you were ready." I gave a nod, and thankfully, he wheeled me through the back room. As soon as he opened the back door, a chill ran through me. It was raining, heavily, but there was something else in the air, something I couldn't place.

"Niall..." I reached up, touching his arm, and he instantly stopped. "Something's wrong." We stood there in the rain. I tried extending my senses, as I'd read in one of Granda's books, but I didn't have the time. As soon as we heard the scream coming from my house, Niall started running. The rain was unforgiving, but we didn't stop until we reached the house. Before Niall could open the door, I was out of the wheelchair, hobbling into the house. The darkness was strong inside the house, and I wondered why I hadn't been warned beforehand. "Niall. Stay outside." He opened his mouth to protest, but I whipped my head towards him, my gaze serious. I knew what the Shadow could do to humans, and I wasn't about to see him hurt. "Stay. Outside." I hissed the words between my teeth before I took the first step into the house, my foot dragging behind me as I extended my senses once again. All I could feel was the darkness from the Shadow, but I couldn't pinpoint it.

"Mae?" I whipped my head around, trying to keep my balance when I saw Da in the shadows, tight against the wall. I nearly stumbled, but he ran out, catching me in time. "I don't know what happened. Someone must have tampered with the wards. It's with your Mam." The words sent adrenaline rushing through my veins, and I took off as fast as my legs could carry me, ignoring the burning from my broken one as I hobbled up the stairs.

I couldn't hear anything coming from my bedroom, but that meant nothing. Slowly, I turned the handle with one hand, the other already out in front of me. I'd done this before. It was really the Shadow I was dealing with, I knew exactly what to do this time. My happy memories were already in my brain as I flung the door open, taking in the scene. The room was pitch black. My Mam was hovering over my bed, maybe three or four feet, and the Shadow was looming over her. She was losing her color, and I didn't even hesitate. I focused my thoughts into my hand, the light pouring from it, engulfing the room. I could hear its screams before everything went quiet. I watched as my mother fell back to the bed, un-moving. "Da!" I shouted the word before I crumpled. My knees were weak, but I clawed my way to the bed, frantically grabbing my mother's hand. I used what little medical training I had to search for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. I let out a sigh of relief before I felt the hand on my shoulder. I didn't have to turn around, I knew it was Ardan. "She's alive." I breathed out the words before the hand moved to my hair.

"It will get easier, Mae." I shook my head, swatting his hand away. It would never get easier. I would never get used to seeing my loved ones seconds away from death. I needed to get out of this damn cast. I needed to learn to protect them properly. "Go on, I'll tend to her." I only nodded as I shakily got to my foot, using the wall to guide me back down the stairs. Niall stood in the doorway, my wheelchair in front of him. He instantly rushed over to me, and I turned around and sat in the chair without a word. He rolled me into the den, and was about to put me on the couch when I stopped him.

"The bookshelf. I need to go to the bookshelf." He nodded and shifted me in his arms, carrying me to the large bookshelf. I scanned the spines, not having the energy to use the trick Da showed me. I plucked a few books from the shelves before I nodded to Niall. Finally, he settled me down on the couch before sitting next to me. He propped my legs on his lap before taking the blanket off of the back of the sofa, draping it over us. "I'm scared." I whispered softly, mostly to myself, but I knew Niall heard it. He placed a hand on my good leg, and tried to give me a reassuring smile. I returned it with a nod before I cracked open a book and got to work.

By the time I got through the third book, Granda and Ailbe finally came home, takeout bags in their hands. I knew Da would have called them, so I said nothing as I opened the final book I'd chosen. So far, I'd learned a bit. I had a good memory, almost photographic, so I knew I would be able to pull bits and pieces from my mind when I needed it. "Go on and eat, Niall." He nodded before he joined the others in the kitchen. I heard Da come downstairs, but he didn't stop to say hello.

I had no idea when I'd fallen asleep, or how long I'd been out, I only knew one thing as I gasped awake, the books falling off of my lap. "Talia." The name slipped off of my tongue as my Da knelt next to the couch.

"You were having a nightmare." He whispered to me, brushing my hair out of my face. I furiously shook my head, slapping his hand away.

"No. Da. I remember. I remember everything." I turned to look at him, the fear still clear in my eyes. This bit of information changed everything. "Tell Granda to forget about the spell, we don't need it." He looked at me in confusion, so I continued. "It was Talia."