Dedicated to elsannalover23 for being the first to vote on this story.

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My blood boils. "Is everyone insane around here? Am I the only one who is not okay with Tally going with this woman to God knows where to do God knows what? Do you even know that she is who she says she is?"

"You don't think I am who I say I am?" Miriam asks.

"How would I know?"

"Have you ever noticed Tallulah has an unusual shade of gray eyes. Have you ever really looked at my eyes? Why would our eyes be the same shade?"

"That could be coincidence. Of course, you also say that you are a witch. But I have yet to see anything magical." I huff.

Testor maiorum manifesta signa.

No sooner did she finish speaking this gibberish, then the items on the coffee table start levitating. Then one of the books off the bookshelf flies over and lands at my feet.

"Okay!" I say looking at the book just laying there.

She smirks. "Do you need another demonstration?"

When I don't answer right away, some more gibberish flies out of her mouth.

Testor maiorum docere puerum docet.

Several books shoot off the shelf towards me, which causes me to freeze. One by one, they start falling all around me.

Miriam laughs. "Have you learned your lesson now?"

"Okay, okay. You're a witch." I plead as another one lands on the couch.

Testor maiorum puto id accedit. Obsecro ira.

The books stop flying towards me when some more gibberish comes out of her mouth. Sitting down on the couch, I look at the mess all around me.

"Never doubt someone who says they're a witch from Tallulah's family." She chuckles.

"Okay, what is the exact plan?" Tallulah's dad asks from the side of the room, away from the scattered books. When I look at the mess I hear, "Danny, you have a mess to clean up." He tells me.

"Yes sir." I don't have a problem picking up the books. They never ask me to do something that isn't what I should do.

Miriam begins to explain about the training at the cabin up in the mountains, although she won't disclose the location. She talks about everything that the Protectors are going to have to learn, like spells, healing, weapons handling, survival skills, more advanced knowledge about the Avic Islands, like topography, cities and populations, law and politics. It sounds pretty interesting to me, but she won't disclose any information about the islands - at all.

"Can Tallulah come home to visit?" Her mom asks.

"As soon as the threat of the rebellion is over, she may come and visit. It might be limited at first, because there is always going to be a need for someone to guard the item, but short vacations wouldn't be out of the question." Miriam attempts to reassure Tallulah's mom.

"That is the best we can ask for, Nikki." Her dad tells her mom.

Her mom sighs. "I suppose you are right, if Tallulah wants to do this, everything will work out for the best."

"Maybe after a time of peace, the Elders might consider a more permanent solution, if the family chooses to take that route. But I'm not promising anything."

"You mean like moving to the islands?" Her dad asks.

"Yes, we are always in need of skilled doctors. Spencer would have to continue his education here, since we don't really have universities on the islands."

"How many old people do you have on that island?" I question.

Miriam turns her head and glares at me. "Give respect to the elders of society. They can teach you more than you realize. Anyway, witches basically age just as humans do. Their life span can be up to 150 years, but we age slower after the age of between thirty to forty, so we don't look as old as we are."

"So how old are you?"

"Watch it!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean disrespect by saying that. You don't look much older than your early fifties."

Her face softens. "That is nice to hear. It isn't too far off. I am currently in my early sixties."

Pain grips my chest, and I know Tally is sad and miserable. Maybe I should go up and see how she's handling everything.

"I need to go check on Tally, if you all will excuse me." I say politely, before I get up from the couch to head to Tally's room. This just gets more interesting as new information comes to light.

I walk upstairs and pause at Tally's door. Taking a deep breath, I enter her room. She's sitting in her window seat, arms hugging her knees.

"Why now?" A mouse is probably louder than she is right now.

"I don't know." I get to the window seat and sit down next to her. "Come here, Lavender." I say while wrapping her in a hug. So much has been dumped on my girl. My cheeks heat. Wait! Did I just think of her as my girl. Why? I don't have time to think about that right now.

She looks up, a few tears fall down her cheeks. I resist the urge to wipe them off. What the hell? She wipes them herself before she asks, "I wonder if there's any more secrets?"

"I'm pretty sure Miriam said there was more information she would give you, if you decide to train and if you become a Protector. Because of that, I'm sure you will learn more you didn't know."

"All of this is so unbelievable. A month ago, I was just normal Tally, doing normal things."

I laugh, and she tilts her head; her brow creases.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at the idea that you're normal. There's nothing normal about you. You're better than any of those girls we went to school with."

Her forehead scrunches. "How do you see it that way?"

I grin. "Have you looked and listened to most of the girls at the high school?"

She looks out the window and then shake her head. "No, not really. They never liked me anyway, so why should I pay attention to them in high school?"

"Most were just snobs or didn't want to get to actually know someone. They wanted a trophy. I'm not a trophy. Other girls were attached or didn't want to be."

"But at least you had people ask you out, I never did."

Oops. How do I approach that topic?

"I'm not sure why guys didn't ask you out. They're all idiots?" I hold my breath waiting for her response.

"Probably."

Whew. That's a topic to talk about another time or not at all.

Wanting to get away from that topic, I ask if she wants to go out for a hike. She agrees. I go change my shoes while she is changing hers. We stop at the bottom of the stairs to tell Tally's parents that we are going hiking at one of the nearby trails. There's no one I'd rather spend my time with.

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Translations:

Testor maiorum manifesta signa. (I call upon my ancestors, show a sign)

Testor maiorum docere puerum docet. (I call upon my ancestors, teach this boy a lesson.)

Testor maiorum puto id accedit. Obsecro ira. (I call upon my ancestors, I think he gets the point. Please stop.)