Lilly shivered as she made her way down the frigid Manhattan street. She'd become accustomed to the perpetual warmth within Brakebills' wards and the cool spring air was quite a shock. She'd dressed up for the occasion, knowing that her mother was always styled to perfection. Evelyn Cole knew the power of a good pair of heels and a Gucci bag better than anyone.

Lilly, after an hour of deliberation and an emergency call to Margo, had decided on wearing a black and white striped blazer and matching pants. A white button-down showed from beneath, and a bright orange bag gave a pop of color to the ensemble. According to Margo, it was a 'power suit' and just what she needed. Lilly loved her mother, but she had high expectations for her only daughter, expectations that Lilly often couldn't meet.

She nearly stumbled over the threshold of the fancy Italian restaurant her mother picked. Lilly decided to let her choose, rather than suffer through her mother's comments about eating at a casual restaurant. Lilly would've been perfectly happy eating at the hole-in-the-wall pizzeria she loved, but Evelyn had standards that must always be met.

Her eyes scanned the immaculately set tables, searching for her mother's familiar blonde hair. Each table was covered in a white cloth and given a small candle in the middle to set the mood. Lilly didn't see the point of having candles lit at noon, but it fit the vibe of the prestigious restaurant. Almost all the customers were dressed in business attire, probably Wall Street employees on a lunch break.

"Lilly!" A familiar British voice called, and her mother stood to wave her over. Lilly made her way to the table and pulled her mom into a tight, much overdue embrace. She hadn't realized until now how long it'd been since she saw her in person- at least eight months.

"Hi Mum," the smile on her face was genuine as she slid into the seat across from Evelyn. She'd chosen a table by the window and already ordered a glass of red wine for herself and a mimosa for Lilly.

"Oh, sweetheart, it is so good to see you! You look so beautiful and professional in that outfit," Lilly knew that she and Margo chose well the minute she saw Evelyn's clothes. True to form, she wore a gray tweed dress and blazer set. Her pink kitten heels matched the Prada bag hanging off the back of her chair. Appearance was everything to Evelyn, and she was the epitome of perfection.

"Thank you, my friend, Margo, helped me pick it out."

"Well, you must tell her, thank you, from me, it's much better than what you usually wear." There it was, a backhanded compliment, something that Evelyn had a never-ending supply of. Lilly shifted uncomfortably in her chair and scanned the extensive menu.

"How's work? We didn't have much time to talk on the phone when I called you last." Her mother lifted the wine glass to her lips, showcasing her fancifully manicured nails in the process.

"Oh, it is wonderful! I've been working on a collection of art pieces by a man named Burton Armil, he did exquisite impressionist work. You will have to go see it once it's done, words could never do it justice. If only I could bring him back to life and pick his brain about some of these pieces. They're setting it up at the Guggenheim as we speak, I just barely squeezed you into my schedule. I almost had to cancel after someone accidentally misplaced the centerpiece. Honestly, I can't trust anyone to do their job," Lilly nodded along, sipping her mimosa. Lilly was interested in what her mother did for work, after all, she was raised to be an art lover, but it was hard to be supportive when Evelyn constantly chose work over her own daughter.

Growing up with a workaholic mother, Lilly was often left in their Upper East Side apartment with the nanny, Louise, who practically raised her. The woman still called her every year on her birthday, something her real mother had forgotten to do on multiple occasions. Evelyn was still talking about her work life and Lilly listened intently as she explained the different artists she'd worked with since they last spoke. Lilly ordered a pasta dish while her mother got a salad, claiming that she was watching her weight. Lilly had no idea why, since she looked like a model even at fifty.

"Enough about me," Evelyn began just as Lilly raised her glass for another drink, "how are you liking Brakebills?" Lilly choked on her drink, drawing a few heads in their direction. It took her a moment to recover, though her eyes were still bulging out of her head from the fit of coughs.

"Wh-" another cough- "what are you talking about?" Evelyn rolled her eyes like she hadn't just dropped the truth bomb of the century.

"Oh, you know, the school for Magicians," Lilly was completely baffled by her mother's knowledge of the school she'd spent the past few months at. Did the mind tricks Dean Fogg promised to do, not work? How could she possibly know about this? It took a few moments to run through the possibilities, and she blurted out the most logical answer.

"Are you a Magician?" Evelyn smiled conspiratorially.

"Yes," there was a pause in conversation as Lilly processed, "well, technically, though I never graduated from Brakebills, and sort of swore off magic, but, yes, I am a Magician."

"Hold on," Lilly took a deep breath, steadying herself. If she was a Magician, then this meant that Evelyn had kept magic a secret her whole life. "All these years, you were lying to me?" She couldn't keep the anger from seeping through.

"I didn't l-" the server had returned, placing their food between them. Lilly thought that was good, it would keep her from crawling across the table to strangle her mother. Evelyn waited until the waiter was out of earshot before picking up where they left off. "I didn't lie to you, I just withheld the truth," Lilly scoffed, sitting back in her chair. The tension was so thick that they could've cut it with a knife.

"Cause that's so much better."

"I didn't want that kind of life for you. Magic is more trouble than it's worth, and I learned that first hand."

"And you didn't think of letting me decide for myself whether I wanted magic in my life?"

"I don't want to fight with you-" Evelyn's voice was hushed as she became increasingly aware of the attention they were drawing.

"Well, you should've thought of that before you decided to keep this from me my whole life!" Lilly pushed her chair back, abruptly standing and rushing for the door. The rage in her chest was burning, and she could sense tears beginning to culminate.

"Lil-"

"Save it, Mother," the sharp edge to her voice was unmistakable and Evelyn took a step back. A restaurant full of eyes followed her out the door and past the windows as she headed down the street and back towards the alley the Brakebills portal spit her out in. She couldn't believe that her mother kept such a giant secret from her. The betrayal stung and all she wanted to do was go back to her room in the Illusionist castle and have margaritas with Margo and Eliot while she cried her eyes out. Her wish was not granted, and a few moments later she heard the door to the restaurant swing open and the sharp tap of heels hurrying after her.

"Lilly!" Evelyn called, Lilly just ignored her and kept walking, "Lilly!" She managed to get a grip on her jacket, forcing Lilly to face her. Lilly's eyes were full of hurt, anger having diffused from her dramatic walkout, "please, listen to me."

"So, now you want to talk?" Lilly's words were ice slicing through the air, but her mother stood her ground.

"I'm sorry, I handled this poorly," Lilly scoffed, attempting to turn away, only to be yanked back again. Her mother was done with her sass and Lilly knew better than to fight with her at this point. "Would you give me a chance to explain? That's all I want, let me explain and then you can choose to hate me for the rest of your life, alright?" Lilly hesitated, but nodded, however reluctantly. Evelyn motioned for her to continue walking, anywhere but back in that restaurant.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lilly muttered as they passed by the shop windows. Her voice had lost its edge, and she was almost resigned at that point. Evelyn sighed, running a hand through her uniform blonde waves.

"Magic and I have a bit of a rough past, I went to Brakebills, actually," Lilly's head whipped towards her mother. If she'd gone to Brakebills, then why hadn't anyone said anything? "I dropped out in my third year, there was an accident- something awful happened. It made me want to give up magic, so I did. Brakebills has an office where they set you up during your transition, it isn't easy to give up magic, and it takes a while to reintegrate into the mundane world. I worked there while I was pregnant with you, and once you were born, I got a job in the art industry. It's been pretty uphill from there and I never looked back." Curiosity tickled the back of her mind, and she wondered what exactly happened to her mother that was bad enough for her to give up magic.

"Just because something happened to you, doesn't mean it will happen to me."

"You-" Evelyn started, irritation seeping between her teeth, but she steeled herself, "you should know by now that magic doesn't come from unicorns and rainbows, Lilly. It's only a matter of time before you end up on the wrong side of a spell."

"Don't you think that's something I should decide for myself?" Lilly asked, more hurt than angry that she kept her entire life a secret.

"Yes, but if I give you the freedom to choose, you will choose wrong."

"I can handle it, Mum," they walked silently side by side, though they couldn't be further apart. There was a bridge between them and at some point, they would have to cross it. Her mother's purposeful strides slowed, giving Lilly a chance to take in their surroundings. They'd turned into a little side street with nothing much going on, to their left was a small apartment building with many plants dangling from the fire escape. Lilly recognized the restaurant immediately. Her mother had taken her straight to Lilly's favorite pizzeria. A small sign hung above the narrow door, which read Francesco's.

"I thought I could bribe you a bit?" Lilly's smile was instant, this sort of gesture meant a lot to her. It was more meaningful than her mother buying her a designer bag to apologize. It showed that she truly did care, even if it was just to bring her to her favorite restaurant.

"You would be correct," the two laughed, despite the weight of their previous conversation. They grabbed a table in the corner, as far away from the other customers as possible. Lilly ordered a large Hawaiian pizza and had every intention of eating her feelings until every slice was gone.

To Lilly's surprise, Evelyn opted to share with her daughter. Lilly had a hard time picturing her eating greasy food without making at least one comment about its unhealthiness. They stood out like a pair of Jimmy Choos in a Payless. Their clothes may have been appropriate for the high-end restaurant, but they looked ridiculous in the pizza shop. When the food finally arrived, Evelyn made no snide remarks and simply enjoyed the comfort food for what it was.

"So," her mother daintily dabbed at her lips with a paper napkin. "Which discipline did you get placed in?" It was going to take some getting used to, talking about magic like it was a normal dinner conversation. She supposed it was for them, a new normal.

"Illusions," Evelyn smiled proudly at her daughter.

"Me too! Did you get the tower room?"

"Yeah, was that your room?" Evelyn nodded and a bright smile made its way onto Lilly's face. It was crazy to think that her mother had occupied the same room during her time at Brakebills.

"I'm not surprised you got it, they always give the best ones to the legacies. I only got it because there weren't any legacies in Illusions that year, and we picked out of a hat. I felt so bad for the guy who got the dungeon room." She chuckled, knowing the truth of that statement. A girl named Margaret had pulled the short stick on that room this year. "That castle is the coolest clubhouse. I mean, all those secret passageways? No one can top that." The secret passageways were new to Lilly. No one had mentioned them, but she wasn't surprised, it was the Illusionist's clubhouse.

"Mom," Lilly's voice took on a more serious tone, "do you know anything about Shifters?" Evelyn furrowed her brows.

"Where did that come from?"

"Well, when I was being sorted they did some tests, and they told me I was a Shifter," Her mother leaned across the table, intrigued.

"I think I read about them once when I was studying, but let's be honest, I didn't do much of that."

"Apparently, you have to have one in the family to gain their abilities, they're shapeshifters. That's all I know, none of the professors had an idea what to do." Lilly held her breath, expecting her mother to come out with a confession that she or someone in the family was one, but she was sorely disappointed.

"I'm not a Shifter, if that's what you're thinking, your father wasn't one either."

"What about your parents? Or his?" All Lilly wanted was an answer to why she was the way she was. The lack of explanation was eating her up inside. She wanted the truth, however painful it may be.

"I never knew my parents, you know that," did she? Evelyn kept a whole world from her, what was one more secret? "His either, though it's possible." Evelyn grew up in the London foster care system, her whole childhood, never knowing who her parents were. This was hard for Lilly as well, especially on grandparent's day in elementary school, she always ended up sitting with the assistant teacher while the other children were smothered with affection. Lilly never even met her father, who died in a car crash before she was born.

"Oh, well, a woman is working with me, her name's Eliza. She's some sort of expert on Shifters, so hopefully she can help me."

"I'm sorry I can't help more," Evelyn consoled, reaching out to clasp their hands together, "but, I did get you a little gift." Her voice went from sympathetic to singsong in half a second. She reached into her pink bag to produce a small package. She passed it to Lilly, watching expectantly as her daughter undid the paper. Lilly knew what it was, but still felt a bit of childlike excitement as she opened the gift. She beamed at the leather-bound book in her hands. The words, Fillory and Further, popped out at her from the front cover. An elaborate design was imprinted on the leather, a giant oak tree with a clock embedded in the center, three children gathered around the base. The edges were worn, making Lilly suspect that it was much older than she initially thought.

"Mom, thank you, it's perfect!"

"I thought you'd like it. You always did have an attachment to those books. Found it in a used London book store, first edition," Lilly's eyes widened at this, "I just want you to know that I love you and I hope you can forgive me for what I did," tears had sprung up in Lilly's eyes, threatening to spill over. She stood from her seat and threw her arms around her mother.

"There's nothing to forgive."

I honestly like this chapter a lot because you get to see more of Lilly's past and her relationship with her mom. Her mom is definitely a complex character and she truly does love her daughter, she just doesn't always act like it. Lilly's life hasn't been all unicorns and rainbows and that is probably why she can do magic. Please don't forget to vote and comment! It's the biggest compliment on Wattpad.