Damien's pov

I opened my eyes to flickering candlelight and shot up in excitement. 

"Yes! It worked!"

I saw Mirabel wandering around before she spotted me and ran over.

"Damien! Where are we?"

"This is your mindscape. This is where we find out what your power will grow from."

I gave her a gentle nudge forward and several affinities appeared before her. 

A bright fire, a dripping water sphere, fluttering butterflies, a tiny tornado, and a glass orb full of music. 

"Go to the one that calls to you."

She timidly walked forward and noticed them. In the darkness, hundreds of faint, glowing eyes looked down on us. If you really looked hard, you could see the faces of the Witches of Old.

"Don't worry. It's a special occasion when a witch takes an apprentice. They are the Witches of Old. Witches are able to converse with them through years of prolonged and uninterrupted meditation or traumatic life experiences.. They are the overseers of the affinities."

I turned my head up and smiled tearfully at the proud gaze of Mama Sofia. Mirabel nodded and started forward again. 

Mirabel's pov

The fire looked powerful and dangerous. I felt the righteous fury of the years of mistreatment. The beating of wings made me stop and turn. The butterflies flew gracefully, unwavering and unbothered. I moved toward them and let them land all over me. My hand moved up suddenly and plunged into the tornado. I moved my fingers through the winds , but they didn't hurt. In fact, the winds were gentle, kind almost. The wind wrapped around my hand like an invisible hug.

Damien's pov

Two affinities...The Witches of Old spoke in huried, hushed whispers. Mirabel looked concerned at the sudden change. I started the applause. Soon, the Witches of Old smiled down and started cheering and applauding. Two affinities isn't a rare thing, but it is rare enough to be cherished and blessed. I waved to Mama Sofia and tapped my heel sharply to the ground, shattering our presence from Mirabel's mindscape.

<~>

Mirabel and I woke up in her room. I shot up and started pacing excitedly. 

"Damien -"

"Two affinities! That's amazing! The last witch with two affinities was Lady Juliana ten years ago!"

"What affinities do I have?"

"Insects and wind. An insect affinity doesn't give you power over bugs, but you get wings and antenna. Try it out. Only you know what to do for that, but try to feel your wings. That's what I read about."

She closed her eyes and scrunched up her face. A pair of dark green and light pink butterfly wings appeared attached to her shoulder blades. Thin, black antenna poked through her messy hair. She opened her eyes. I held made a mirror appear before her. She gazed into nervously and gasped. Her wings fluttered, making them shimmer in the sunlight.

"Damien, they're so beautiful..."

"Do you feel anything through your antenna?"

"Yeah, it's a weird feeling. I can feel every vibration in the room." 

I smiled and watched her try to clumsily fly to the roof. Despite the enchantment, there is a solid roof.

"Mirabel, I don't think you should try flying just yet."

She landed a little too harshly, so I made a small bed of water for her to land on. Her wings and antenna dispelled upon contact. I patted her head and pointed my hand at the wall. A dark brown intricately carved door appear with a small butterfly shaped hole in the middle. I handed Mirabel a small metal butterfly infused with my magic.

"Put the butterfly into the hole."

She did so and opened it to reveal my cottage's kitchen. 

"My room is full of nature.  Plenty of space to practice flying. Not right now though."

"Why not?"

"It's almost time for dinner. I need to fix your hand so the magic won't disappear with your Mama's cooking. Right this way."

""Dinner time?! How long have we been in my head?"

"Mindscape, and the ritual can take several hours. It's not uncommon to spend days or even weeks in the mindscape. We're fortunate to only have spent a couple hours."

I led her to Mama Sofia's potion room and pulled two vials off of one of her shelves. 

"This one will stop the bleeding, and this one will will permanently scar the symbol into your hand. A witch's scar is light pink for the first day and thick black permanently afterwards. Careful. They taste, really bad."

Her chugged both and I gave her a mug of rose milk. 

"Fun fact, rose milk is my preferred remedy for getting bad tastes out of my mouth."

"Definitely works."

We left left through the open door back to her room and made sure to lock it. I showed her a hidden button on the behind her bookcase. She pressed it and the room became like the ratty old nursery she lived in before. 

"Whenever you leave your room, be sure to press that button. A similar button is behind your wardrobe so make sure your family doesn't find out."

"Dolores probably already knows now."

"The one with super hearing?"

"Yeah."

"No, I soundproofed your room while decorating it, so no one can hear without being inside it."

We left the room and made our way to the dinner table.

"And where were you two all day?"

"Isa, no."

"Isa, yes! I wanna know!"

I chuckled. These two's relationship was a thing to behold.

"I was planning what to plant in my garden. You can help, but no magic allowed, Miss Isabella."

"Sounds fun, but I'll to see if I'll be free. Let me know when you start."

I gave Mirabel a reassuring smile and ate the delicious meal Julieta prepared. Afterwards everyone dispersed to their rooms. I started walking to the stairs, but Casita pulled me toward the tower.  Señor Bruno was going inside the room and held the door open me. 

"I need a word with you Damien. Please come in."

I followed Bruno inside and he disappeared in a wall of sand. I pushed my way through it and fell forward. I managed to form bed of water to fall on instead of the sandy ground. An intimidating staircase stood in front of me. 

"Yeah, no."

I found a huge piece of rubble and levitated myself on the rock up to the surface. Bruno stood there combing his little ratas. 

"What's up Señor Bruno?"

"I, um, my gift is seeing the future. I had a vision I want you to see."

I followed the hunched man into a cave where he handed me a glowing, green, glass tablet. Mirabel stood there surrounded by butterflies, her face screaming in rage, a raging tornado behind her. I saw myself standing to the side with a pained, worried face. 

"What, what is this?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that."

"The butterflies and tornado yes I can explain that, but I have no idea what happened to cause this."

"What did you do to my bebe?"

"Wait what?"

"Oh, I, um..."

I held his body still with a constricting water constructed serpent.

"Please explain, Señor Bruno."

My fury contorted in a sickly sweet grin as I tightened the snake.

"I'm Mirabel's father! After I left in self exile, Mama had Julieta adopt her! Please don't kill me!"

"Your mother, made your sister adopt your daughter because you left so she doesn't know  who you are to her."

"Yes!"

I released the serpent and helped him stand. 

"Anything else I should know?"

"Camilo is also my son."

"So your children think they are nothing but your sobrina and sobrino?"

"Y-yeah..."

"I...I'm so sorry."

"So please, tell me what's going on with mi bebita?"

"She wanted to learn witchcraft. This morning was the teacher, student bonding ritual. She has affinities for both butterflies and wind."

"Alright. Hey, I don't deserve to call myself her father, but I still look for for her, where I can. Please, teach her to be a powerful witch and help her if she runs into hardship. I'm asking not as your senior, but as a father."

"Of course, Señor Bruno. I'll do my best. However, it's none of my business, but you should tell your children as soon as possible. The longer you hide their true parentage, the more they will resent you later."

He patted my back and I jumped on the cliff. I slowed my fall with a big ball of water. I finally made it to my room and found Selkie watching Mirabel fly a bit off the ground. I smiled and jogged over. 

"Master? Is Missy a new witch?"

"She is indeed. Selkie, when it's time to summon her familiar, would you assist her?"

"Yes! Selkie loves the scent of new witches!"

I patted her head and watched Mirabel fall into the water. I helped her out and built a small fire to dry her off.

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