Then I sit up again, switch on my lamp and look around the room. I am a witch. Me, Ellis!
It’s the most amazing and fantastic and wonderful and ridiculous and crazy and outlandish thing to ever happen. And it’s happened to me.
I must be the luckiest girl in the world.
I can conjure chocolate out of thin air – that’s the dream, right there!
I do it again, just to prove that I can and laugh out loud.
What else can I do? How will I ever sleep again?
I run to the window, open the curtains and look out.
The sky is a blanket of black. I add stars, shooting stars, raining confetti – I like confetti. I add birds, eagles. Ooh, I wonder if I can conjure up something that isn’t real – like a unicorn or a dragon.
My toes are actually curling with the excitement of it all.
Then I stop myself. It’s awfully hard, but I stop myself and go back to my bed. One of the reasons witches stay low key is so that they don’t get found out. So they don’t get hurt.
If my parents came into my room right now, there’s no way they’d believe my story. They’d think I was insane – they’d take me to the doctor. Even if I showed them some magic, their logical brains would discount it.
I need to calm down.
I’m getting far too carried away.
I need to sleep, and then tomorrow I can ask Fletcher a million questions.
Fletcher. No wonder he’s so handsome, no wonder everyone fancies him. I actually feel a bit cheated. Would I think his hair was delightful if he wasn’t a witch?
7
FLETCHER OPENS THE door, hoping, but knowing there’s no chance, that everyone’s gone to bed and he won’t have to relive this horrible mess.
In fact, he can hear them before he sees them – same as always, but this time it’s not squabbling, teasing, gossiping, laughing, there is a serious tone to the voices, hurried whispers, panic.
He joins them in the kitchen.
His mother is stirring a pan of food and comes to hug him. “Did she get home okay – no magical mishaps?”
He shakes his head. “She’s fine. Her mum and dad were waiting for her, they were worried.”
“Did she say how she got in? How she got through the protections?” This from Ember.
“There was a gap – the dog got through it.”
“Bloody dog.”
“It’s not the dog’s fault.”
Ember humphs, and takes a spoonful from the pan. She tastes it and nods. “Lovely, sis.”
“What is it, mam?”
“Toffee.”
Fletcher nods, pleased. His mother is always making sweet things. She passes him a spoonful and he tastes it.
“So what now? Has Lincoln left?”
Elodie nods. “He was in quite the rush. I think he feels responsible.”
Ember is filled with fury and she has nobody to take it out on. She stamps her foot. “This is a travesty. That’s what it is. We should be celebrating now, drinking, dancing, enjoying ourselves, with Fletcher in charge. Instead, this stupid, pointless, plain girl is in charge. This accident.”
“She’s not an accident and she’s not plain. She’s just normal. And sad. Her best friend died.”
Ember glares at him. She is not the sympathetic kind.
The twins glare at him too. “She is plain.” They speak in unison.
Fletcher rolls his eyes. He can’t be bothered to argue about Ellis. “So what do we do?”
Elodie sits down. “We really don’t know. We’ve tried Woogling it.”
Fletcher nods, witch Google was handy for so many things but apparently not this.
“I didn’t think you’d be able to Woogle it.”
“We thought it was worth a try.”
“No, we didn’t – we’re just petrified. This cannot be happening. A girl – a human girl – is in charge. If she had any idea of the power she wields... it’s frightening to even think of it.” Ember clutches at her heart, like she might have a heart attack any minute.
Elodie pours the hot toffee on to a tray and puts it to one side to cool. Even in the midst of a crisis, she cooks.
Fletcher smiles, maybe everything will be okay. “She’s coming in the morning. She’ll probably have a lot of questions.”
“I don’t care!” Ember shrieks. “Can’t you understand? Elly, stop cooking, Fletcher, stop blathering. A human girl is in charge – a human girl. This isn’t the time to cook or worry about her questions. I’d like to murder her or lock her in a cupboard until we figure this out, so she can’t do anything stupid in the meantime. What if she tells someone, what if she-”
“What’s that?”
Ember whips her head around to glare at Thea, daring to interrupt her, when she sees it too. Out of the kitchen window, the sky is alight with stars, shooting stars, confetti?
“What the hell is she doing?”
“We don’t know that it’s her.”
“Of course it is.”
“Go and get her. Now.”
“I can’t. Her parents would freak out. They were probably about to phone the police earlier – she was out till 2 o clock in the morning.”
“I really don’t care. Elodie tell him.”
Elodie nods and touches Fletcher’s arm. “You’ll have to. She can’t be allowed to do this. Someone’s going to see. If they haven’t already.”
“Girls, go with him.”
“No!” Fletcher’s voice is harsh. “I’ll go – I’m not taking those two.”
Thea and Talia protest but Ember raises a hand. They are instantly contrite.
“Fletcher – you’ll have to spell the house, so none of them wake up. We need to keep her here until she understands the severity of the situation – before she does anything else.”
“Can you do it?” His mum asks him, and he nods.
“I won’t be long.”
“You better not be.” Ember is snarling now, and he quickly ducks outside.
He’s cursing as he walks up the hill to fetch Ellis. None of this is his fault. They should have known that she would test her magic – who wouldn’t? They’ve had it all their lives; it’s not a novelty to them.
Confetti is still swirling in the air as he approaches her house. He’s sure he can tell which her room is – the only window with a light on. He can only imagine the fun she’s been having.
This is the scariest thing that has ever happened to him, his family or his species as a whole, but for her it’s literally magical. He can’t help but smile. He can remember being young, making silly magic; it was the best way to entertain himself, and when he was with the twins, he knows – because his mother and aunt tell them all the time – they had been little monsters, causing so much magical trouble that the neighbours often had to be spelled to forget about the weird and wonderful things they’d seen.
He looks up at what he thinks is her window and magically calls her. His voice will sound as though it is in the room with her: “Ellis. I’m outside. Let me in.”
She comes to the window and opens it, peering down. “What?” Her voice is a whisper.
“Let me in.”
She disappears from sight, and the window closes. Hopefully she can tell from the tone of his voice that he’s not messing around.
Less than a minute later the front door opens. “You have to be quiet.”
He shakes his head and stands in the doorway. He touches the walls on either side of him and mutters something Ellis cannot hear. He feels a shift in temperature and knows he’s done the spell right.
“ELLIS!” He shouts at the top of his lungs and there is silence. He does it again. No one has heard.
“You’ve put a spell on my family?”
He nods.
“Rude.”
He grins and then catches himself – he must make her realise how serious this is. She looks cute – she’s wearing a Disney onesie and her hair looks different to how he remembers. She looks young and vulner
able – not like the most powerful witch in the whole country.
“Take me upstairs.”
She hesitates for a second, a funny look on her face and he frowns. “What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head, seeming to snap out of a reverie and then nods for him to follow her.
She seems awkward when she opens her bedroom door and then he sees why. She’s been ‘shopping’.
“Ellis!”
“What? I’m a seventeen year old girl. Of course I was going to shop.”
He laughs, examining the pile of boxes and bags.
“You’ve spent a fortune.”
She shakes her head, blushing. “I had to test my magic, and there was nobody to ask what I’m allowed or not allowed to do. I got over excited.”
“Just a bit.”
She shrugs and pulls the covers tidy on her bed, so they’ve got somewhere to sit.
“We shouldn’t have let you come home. This is much too new for you to handle on your own.”
“I think so.” Suddenly her eyes fill with tears, and Fletcher shifts closer to her, takes her in his arms. “I’m scared.” Her words are muffled by his shoulder.
He cannot help but feel sorry for her, protective of her.
He pulls back so he can see her. She looks bashful and he smiles, wiping her tears away. “You’re bound to be scared. We should have kept you with us. This is huge for us, but for you too.”
“Is it bad for you? Have I put you and your family in danger?”
“No – but maybe confetti rain isn’t the best idea.”
She laughs. “Sorry – I just got so excited. I couldn’t help myself. How do you get anything done?”
“It’s not exciting to me anymore. I’ve been a witch all my life. I don’t play with my magic anymore.”
Ellis looks down at her lap, but he puts a finger under her chin, lifting her face up to meet his. “I don’t blame you; it was funny. My aunt’s face!”
“Oh don’t! I bet she’s furious with me.”
“She looks scarier than she is. None of us are cross with you, but we weren’t thinking straight, sending you home. Come home with me.”
She nods. “I need to change.”
He nods, looking again at her cute onesie.
She raises an eyebrow at him, and he coughs, embarrassed. “Sorry, I’ll wait outside for you.”
He shuts her bedroom door and leans against it for a second, listening to her humming as she gets ready. He’s smiling as he walks downstairs, everything has changed, everything has gone wrong, and yet he feels weirdly happy.
Ellis
HE SHUTS THE DOOR AND I almost faint. I look in the mirror and I’m as flushed as I thought I was.
I’m half mortified that he saw my confetti rain, and my cache of ‘shopping’ and half excited that I’ve seen him again, that he’s been in my house, been in my bedroom, sat on my bed.
My heart is actually pounding loud enough that I can hear it. He is the most gorgeous boy. And he’s waiting downstairs for me. And he’s seen me in my onesie.
Now I’m blushing again. Why wasn’t I wearing something sophisticated. Maybe because I don’t own anything sophisticated.
I take a breath – it’s too late to worry now – he’s seen my ridiculous shopping and he’s seen my ridiculous onesie.
And he’s waiting downstairs for me.
And he’s spelled my family.
And I’m a witch.
I sit on the bed, feeling dizzy all of a sudden from it.
Everything has changed.
Everything is different.
I’m not Ellis anymore.
I’m Ellis – the witch.
And Fletcher is waiting downstairs for me.
I freeze. I cannot move. I cannot think. I cannot comprehend the changes I’ve gone through. I could change my parent’s life forever – giving them all the money in the world, so they didn’t have to work so hard. I could change the world for everyone who lives in it.
There’s a knock at the door. “Are you okay?”
Fletcher.
I don’t answer. I can’t.
He knocks again. “Are you decent? I’m coming in.”
Again, I don’t answer.
There’s a beat of hesitation and Fletcher comes in. He rushes over to kneel in front of me, concern written all over his face. He’s so close to me that I can see the freckles on his skin, the spot on his cheek, the length of his eyelashes. “Ellis?”
When he talks, I can feel his breath on my face; I can smell his chewing gum.
He touches my arm; my bare skin and I get goose bumps. “Ellis?”
He moves away and although I don’t move, I follow him with my eyes. He grabs my coat off the back of the door and some shoes. He puts the shoes on my feet and puts his arm around my shoulder, helping me to my feet. “Ellis? I think you’re in shock. I’m taking you home. Your family won’t know. They’ll be spelled until I come back.”
I don’t answer, just nod.
He puts my coat on me, like I’m a child and then he takes my hand.
I allow myself to be led out of my bedroom, out of my house, and down the hill, to his house.
Inside, he stands me next to a table, pulls out a chair and helps me to sit. Then he disappears.
I still cannot move. I am paralysed by fear, worry, stress, anxiety, any other word that means feeling completely out of my depth and helpless.
Fletcher comes in and sits beside me, he reaches out and touches my shoulder. “Ellis, my mum is here.”
His mum sits the other side of me. I see her but don’t look at her. I can hear her though. “Fletcher – I think she’s gone into shock. What did you say to her?”
“Nothing!”
“You’ve scared her.”
“I didn’t scare her. She likes me.”
My head snaps up at that and I look at him. He’s looking at me. What does he mean by like? Does he mean like, like or just like? He smiles and asks me if I want a drink. I nod.
“Fletcher, there’s some pep in the fridge.”
I don’t know what pep is, but when I drink it, I feel instantly better. It’s delicious and warming. Aware now, feeling more like myself, I look around the room.
It’s a huge family room – with a kitchen, this table and two huge sofas. It’s warm and clean, with pictures on the wall, and blankets on the sofas.
“Better?” This from Fletcher’s mum. I nod. “What was that drink?”
“My special brew. Do you want more?”
I nod again. Fletcher refills my cup.
“It’s full of good stuff, healthy ingredients and just a tiny bit of witchcraft – guaranteed to make the drinker feel instantly better, no matter what the trouble. Now, we weren’t really fair on you earlier, and I hope you’ll forgive me.”
I nod. “Of course.” I answer before she thinks I can’t speak at all.
She’s really pretty, with much softer features than her sister. Her voice is kind.
“Fletcher explained what happened, what we are?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“But it’s a lot to take in, I’m sure. I think that’s why you went into shock. It shouldn’t happen again, but in case – when you do go home, I’ll bottle up some pep for you. Fletcher – did you spell the house?”
He nods and she turns back to me. “That just means that nothing will wake your family tonight. They won’t be disturbed and find you missing, again. It’s not harmful.”
I didn’t think it could have been, but it’s nice to be reassured.
“So, we’re all in a bit of a pickle. We just need to figure out how to get out of it. That’s down to us, nothing for you to worry about. In the meantime, your magic...”
“I’m sorry about the confetti, and the shopping, but-”
She holds a hand up to stop me, and I bite my lip.
“Ellis, don’t worry – I completely understand – who wouldn’t have wanted to experiment? We should have kept you here, explaine
d everything a bit better, supported you. We were in shock ourselves. But, it’s really important that you understand why we don’t go wild with our magic.”
I nod, I know why, I was just being silly and irresponsible.
“We cannot afford to be found out. Can you imagine how a witch might be exploited if a human knew they could magic money out of thin air? We do have witches who have gone mad with money – but then they learn quite quickly that it doesn’t make them happy. We also have an agreement and understanding with the Queen – she is the only human in Britain who knows about us, except you. We have to live in this country without disrupting it. We have agreed not to magic money or possessions but to work for them – the same as the humans have to.”
I feel like crying. I feel so stupid, and shallow. It’s like she can read my thoughts.
“Ellis – you aren’t the first teenage witch to go on a mad spree. Don’t think I haven’t found those two girls out there with piles of chocolate and makeup they haven’t bought. It’s something that each family figures out, and there are some rules that are always bent a little bit. But we are very careful not to be caught – not to draw attention to ourselves.”
I am so embarrassed and yet she’s being very nice about it. She’s not being unkind or sarcastic, but I’m sure she’s still thinking about my confetti rain.
“I’m very sorry. I know you’ll say it’s okay, but it’s not – I got carried away and I wasn’t being fair on you lot.”
She’s beaming. “Would you like some toffee? I made it earlier?”
I grin and she potters around, bringing over a feast on a tray. “It’s a source of pride for me – I can conjure up anything, but it never tastes as good as what I can make myself.”
There is a clear jug of pep, a glass full of ice, toffees on a plate, as well as little sweet and savoury pastries. “Please eat. I’ll go and tell the others that we’ve sorted everything out.”
“Please apologise to them, too.”
She waves my words away and bustles off.
“She’s lovely, your mum.”
Fletcher nods. “She is. She can be steely when she needs to – but she’s much gentler than my aunt.”
The Accidental Witch Page 7