Freya Snow Pup Trilogy

by L. C. Mawson

  Freya had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She could have told him that much.

  “At least you’re not failing,” she said with a shrug.

  “Exactly!” Damon agreed.

  The man next to him rolled his eyes. “But you’re not the one Seph’s gonna kill if she thinks you’re not doing well here.”

  “Seph is my aunt,” Damon explained to Freya. “And this is my Uncle Gregor.”

  His uncle nodded in greeting.

  “These are my foster parents, Margaret and Ryan,” Freya said, indicating next to her.

  Margaret tapped her on the shoulder, and Freya had to suppress the urge to pull away.

  “I think your next teacher is free,” Margaret told her.

  Freya nodded, standing up with her foster parents.

  “See you,” she told Damon, before heading off.

  “So, that’s Damon?” Margaret asked.

  Freya nodded.

  “Do you two have any plans for half term?”

  Freya shook her head. “We’re friends, but we’re not really the kind of friends who hang out outside of school, you know?”

  “Not really,” Margaret admitted.

  Freya just gave an awkward shrug, not really sure what else to say.

  Chapter Seven

  While half term meant a much-needed break from Michelle and her cronies, Freya was lonely by the middle of the week. It was ridiculous, she told herself. There had been more than a few times when she and Alice had been separated due to being fostered. She was perfectly capable of being on her own. She preferred it, even.

  And yet, she still itched for company. Not any company, she realised. She was missing Damon. She would want to talk to him or wonder what he was doing whenever she let her mind wander.

  More than once, she had found herself on Facebook, wondering if it would be okay if she messaged him. She’d never messaged him before, but there had to be a first time, didn’t there?

  Thankfully, Alice called and arranged a cinema trip on Wednesday. She was going to take the bus into the city, so she and Freya could hang out.

  They ended up going to see a superhero film of Alice’s choosing. Freya wasn’t really picky when it came to superhero flicks, but Alice had a special interest in comics.

  “I can’t believe they completely ruined my favourite plotline,” Alice said as they left the cinema. “It’s like they don’t even understand why people like the characters in the first place. What’s with the fixation on gritty plots?”

  Freya shrugged, knowing it was best to just let Alice get her complaining out of her system.

  “And that outfit! How did her tits stay in place? If I had tits like hers, I wouldn’t so much as power walk without a sports bra on.”

  Freya gave an empathetic nod. She knew firsthand there was no way that outfit had stayed in place.

  “I need a drink,” Alice said before stomping towards a pub.

  “Alice!” Freya hissed under her breath. She indicated to herself, hoping to remind her sister she was underage.

  Alice rolled her eyes. “We’ll sit outside and I’ll order the drinks. No one will question you. You look older than me.”

  Freya decided not to argue the point. Worst case, she’d pretend she forgot her ID, and they’d get kicked out.

  Alice walked up to a pub with a decent outdoor area. “Find a table while I get drinks,” she told Freya.

  Freya nodded, finding a small table in the corner without other people around.

  While waiting for Alice, Freya pulled out her phone and played Snake. Because apparently her phone was so bad that Snake was still a selling point.

  Thankfully, Alice didn’t take too long, returning swiftly with two drinks and a plate of potato skins.

  Alice placed a bottle of beer down in front of Freya and a glass of coke in front of herself before placing the potato skins between them.

  “Did you get yourself a non-alcoholic drink?” Freya asked, less than amused.

  Alice smirked. “No, this has rum in it. But you need to taste the alcohol if you’re getting used to drinking so you don’t go overboard.” She indicated to Freya’s beer. “No mixers or alcopops until you understand your limits.”

  Freya nodded, taking a sip of her beer. It wasn’t the worst taste in the world, but she wasn’t particularly enamoured.

  “Oh, here,” Alice said, reaching into her bag. “Before I forget.” She pulled out her phone, passing it to Freya.

  “Why are you giving me your phone?”

  “It’s my old phone. I have a new one.”

  “Really?” Alice usually kept phones until they fell apart, but if she was giving Freya her old one...

  “My aunt got me a new one,” Alice explained, holding up a fancy phablet.

  “Your aunt?” Freya asked with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t have an aunt.”

  “Apparently, I do. My mum had a sister.”

  “And you’re only hearing about her now?”

  “She didn’t know about me before. She said my mum left Japan on less-than-great terms, and she didn’t know that I existed. But then she tried to reconnect with her sister and... Well, that’s how she found me.”

  “Huh... Lucky you,” Freya said, trying her best to smile. She really hoped she didn’t seem jealous. “So, how are things with her?”

  “Good. I... I’m actually going to live with her.”

  “Here?”

  “No. I would go back with her to Tokyo. She runs a company there.”

  Freya’s stomach froze over as her throat stung. She didn’t want to lose Alice.

  “What about school?” Freya eventually asked.

  “Well, I wouldn’t be leaving until after the January exams, and I’m so far ahead in my studies that I’m going to take my summer exams early.”

  “So, you’ll be finished your A-Levels before the summer?”

  Alice nodded. “Yeah. I’ll go as soon as my last exam is done.”

  “So, what about work and stuff? I mean, you don’t speak Japanese and you’re pretty bad at learning languages.”

  “I’m no worse than you.”

  “Yeah, but I at least managed English before I was four.”

  “My freelance work is all in English and I can do it from anywhere, and my aunt is going to get me a proper Japanese tutor. I can also work for my aunt, if I want. Which I might actually want to.” Alice grinned. “Freya, it’s just so nice to have someone... Someone so much like me, I guess. She’s autistic too. And we’re alike in other ways. We like the same books, and we both like Nutella ice-cream and... I don’t know. I guess all families must be like that.”

  She stopped talking, her hands - which had been excitedly gesticulating as she talked - moved to her lap, clasping each other to keep them still.

  “I’m sorry,” Alice said. “I was excited... I wasn’t thinking.”

  Freya shook her head, forcing as wide a smile as she could. “It’s fine, Alice. I’m happy for you. Really. Plus, I’ve been doing well here. I’ve been here for over a month and Margaret and Ryan aren’t looking to send me back yet. Though, of course, I’ll say that, and then they’ll send me back, anyway.” She gave her best self-deprecating smile.

  “Don’t worry,” Alice told her. “Call it a hunch, but I’m certain you’ll stay put this time.”

  Freya narrowed her eyes. “You don’t have hunches.” Alice never liked to suggest anything that she wasn’t a hundred percent certain of.

  Alice shrugged. “I just have a feeling, is all.”

  Freya nodded, but didn’t believe her. She doubted Alice started saying things based on feelings over facts overnight.

  None of it mattered, she figured. She would most likely stay put, and even if she didn’t, Amber had wanted her in the city. Her ghostly guardian probably had some magic to ensure she could stay there.

  Freya took a deep drink of her beer. The more she thought of magic, the more she wanted to tell Alice the truth. She was chafing under the n
eed for secrecy. She liked talking to Amber about it, but it was like a dream, almost. The time she spent with Amber, learning how to use her magic was like time spent in another world. As soon as she left Amber’s classroom, she went right back to the real world which was too far removed.

  Talking with someone else would help her mind to grasp the fact that it was all real, but she couldn’t chance it. Amber had been more than clear she could end up in severe trouble if she told a Human about her magic.

  But she supposed she didn’t have to be completely honest with Alice to talk through her feelings on the matter.

  “Hey, want to play a hypothetical?” Freya asked.

  Alice nodded. “This game is so much better with alcohol. Okay, shoot.”

  “Alright, well, what if you woke up with magic powers tomorrow?”

  “You’ll have to be more specific than that. Are we talking Harry Potter or Dragon Age?”

  “Neither. Remember that mermaid show you were into a few years ago?”

  “Still into,” Alice corrected her. “It’s on Netflix.”

  “Well, it’s like that. Total control of water. And you might be able to learn how to cast spells and create runes and stuff, but that would be much later down the line. For now, it’s just water. And you tire easily.”

  “Oh, easy. I’d become a superhero. Though I would wear a sensible costume.”

  Freya blinked as her mind mulled over the idea.

  What was stopping her from helping people with her powers? Apart from helping Damon to get glue out of his hair, all she’d done was practice parlour tricks with Amber.

  Though, Amber worried about her over-extending herself.

  “What if you tire too easily?”

  “Then what would be the point of the powers? I imagine, unless I got them in some freak mutation situation, the powers would have a purpose. What would be the point of them if they were so weak?”

  Freya hesitated once more. Alice was right. Amber had said her mother had the ability to rewind time, and yet she worried about Freya moving around drops of water. Sure, Freya felt a little tired when she did too much at once, but Amber had told her it was like working out. Feeling tired was a sign you were getting better, rather than the barely-breathless Freya got when she did Amber’s timid exercises.

  Alice smiled at something, but the smile dropped as she raised her hands to her head, her face contorting in pain.

  “What is it?” Freya asked, resisting her urge to move closer to her sister.

  “I... It’s all tangled!”

  “What’s all tangled?”

  “The threads,” Alice gasped as she rocked back and forth in her chair. “They’re not... I can’t... Why can’t I...”

  “Alice, please, what’s wrong?”

  Alice shook her head as if trying to shake something off. “You can’t stop it... I can’t stop it...”

  Freya was wondering if she should try to get Alice inside when her sister finally let out a sigh of relief, slumping forward in her seat.

  “Are you okay?” Freya asked her.

  Alice nodded before taking a long drink from her glass. Freya was about to suggest that more alcohol wasn’t the best idea, but Alice had drained her glass before she could speak.

  “What happened?” Freya asked.

  “Headache,” Alice said.

  “That didn’t look like a headache.”

  Alice sighed. “Freya, if we could be honest with each other, we wouldn’t be playing hypotheticals, would we?”

  Freya froze. Did Alice know about her magic?

  “Don’t worry about it,” Alice told her as she stood up. “These threads don’t cross yet.”

  Freya didn’t have a response as Alice slung her bag back over her shoulder.

  “I’ve got to go,” Alice told her. “I’ll see you later, okay? Definitely before I leave.”

  “Yeah,” Freya agreed as Alice left.

  As soon as Alice left, Freya decided to leave too. There was no reason for her to stay, and she would be tempting fate, given she had no ID.

  Freya couldn’t help but think as she walked, her mind running a million miles a minute.

  What had been wrong with Alice? That definitely hadn’t looked like a headache. And she had seemed to know about Freya’s magic. Or, at least, know that Freya was keeping something from her. Something about her hypothetical question. But Freya couldn’t think of anything Alice might have thought it was, apart from magic. And then she had suggested Freya use her powers more actively, and that she might be capable of far more than what Amber was teaching her...

  How much did Alice know, exactly?

  Freya almost jumped as Amber appeared in her ghost form in front of her.

  “Get your phone out so people don’t think you’re talking to yourself,” Amber told her.

  Freya nodded mutely as she brought out the phone Alice had given her, pressing it to her ear.

  “I felt you were troubled and thought I would come and see you,” Amber said.

  “Were you watching me?”

  “Not as such, but we’re tied to each other. I can feel when your emotions are in turmoil. I figured you might want someone to talk to...”

  Freya nodded. “I was talking to Alice. She said something about being sure I was going to stay with Margaret and Ryan. But Alice doesn’t say things just to be nice. Not things that really matter like this. She certainly doesn’t say things if she’s not sure of them. And then she seemed to know about my magic, and maybe suggested I was capable of more than I’ve been doing, though that was all in coded speak. And then she got this really vicious headache and had to leave. She wouldn’t tell me why she got the headache, she just told me she knew we couldn’t always be honest with each other.”

  Amber frowned as Freya spoke, her expression only darkening as she went on.

  “Non bonume, meticre nat, ag’ntes sors...” Amber muttered.

  Freya had no idea what that meant, but it was very clearly a curse.

  “What language was that?” Freya eventually asked.

  “It’s Daemonium. My husband spoke it, and he taught it our son. I was never any good at learning languages, but I picked up the swears well enough.”

  “Why were you swearing?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Amber said quickly.

  “When it concerns Alice, it does. Come on, what’s going on with her.”

  Amber simply gave her a pleading look. “Freya, there are some things you simply aren’t ready to know yet. Things you aren’t yet equipped to handle. Please, just drop it.”

  “No. You can’t just say it’s something I’m not ready to handle when it involves Alice. Is she in trouble?”

  “She’s not in trouble. She is the trouble. Freya, magical beings are drawn to each other. We know Humans are different, and Humans know we’re different. We’ll gravitate towards our own kind instead. I wouldn’t be surprised if your oldest friend had magic as well.”

  “Wait, so Alice has magic? She’s like me?”

  Amber sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Maybe,” she eventually said with a shrug. “But you can’t just start talking to her about magic. Not until you’re certain. If I’m wrong...”

  “Even if you are, I can trust Alice. She’d never tell anyone about magic.”

  “No, Freya. No Human can ever be trusted with magic. Not again. We cannot risk it.”

  Freya nodded, believing her. Mostly because she said Human the same way Alice said Neurotypical. The same blend of fear and resignation that came from knowing that many hated you, and most saw you as less-than. And knowing it didn’t matter; they controlled your fate regardless.

  “Is it really so bad?” Freya asked. “I mean, there was a protection spell once, right? If the same spell could be cast again...”

  Amber shook her head. “If you remember, that spell broke. Even if we cast it again, it would have the same weakness.”

  “Which was?”

  “That it has to be tie
d to a person,” Amber admitted. “If that person died, or their soul was no longer in their body, the spell would break.”

  “How did it break last time? Who was it tied to?”

  Amber sighed, folding her arms. “It was tied to your mother.”

  Freya’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “My mother?” She frowned. “Wait, you said the War restarted when my mother was thirteen. She was nineteen when she died.”

  Amber nodded. “It didn’t break because she died. Do you remember what I told you about Creation?”

  Freya thought for a moment before saying, “You said it’s divided into seven realms. There are the Old Worlds, the Overworld, the Underworld, and Earth in the middle.”

  Amber nodded. “There’s another realm. A sort of sub-realm, in between all of the others. Humans keep all of their soul with them on Earth. But magical beings only have half of our souls that exist on Earth. The other half exists in a place we call the Shadow Realm.

  “The Shadow Realm is merely a reflection of the other realms. The part of your soul that exists there can’t do anything that’s not a direct reflection of something you do here. Unless, of course, the rest of your soul joins it. Then your actions in the Shadow Realm can be as real as those on Earth.”

  “How does someone’s soul end up in the Shadow Realm?” Freya asked.

  “It’s sent there. Due to the nature of the Shadow Realm, things that exist beneath the surface on Earth can be clearer there. Disagreements can be wars, uncertainty can mean you are physically lost, and a fracturing of identity can create two separate wholes.”

  “So, what happened to my mother?”

  “The latter. She became so conflicted within herself that she lost control of her magic and was sent there to heal her mind. No one realised she had been the anchor for the protection spell. The War broke out once more, and your mother, who would have been one of our strongest fighters, was lost to us. She could only return when she healed, you see. She was gone for five years.”

  Freya frowned. “Wait, five years? How quickly after getting back did she become pregnant?”

  “She actually came back pregnant. We hadn’t even known it was possible, but it happened.”

  “So... That’s why you don’t know who my father is?”