Just Some Family History

~Peyton~

I was the first one back at the manor. Jack and Mayline were in the kitchen, talking with happy smiles on their faces.

They looked over at me when they noticed I was there.

"Hey." I greeted as I set my stuff down and took a seat at a bar stool.

"Good, your back. How's Michelle?" Mayline asked genuinely interested.

It shouldn't surprise me that she knew my mom's name, I mean she did admit to watching me my whole life, it still didn't shake the creepy feel of it.

"She's calmed down, she looking after my little brother."

"Oh, I love watching you with little August. It's so sweet." Mayline thought aloud.

I moved uncomfortable with how much she knew about me. I wanted to take the spotlight off me and put it anywhere else.

"So what do you guys do when you not stalking us?" I asked trying to be funny and hoped they caught onto it.

"Thinking of ways to stop your father. Our whole lives are devoted to it."Jack pipped in.

"You have never taken a day off?"

"We have to be prepared."

I was staring at them totally dazed about how committed they were when Ryker came in and took a seat next to me.

"Hey." He greeted awkwardly as he leaned forward.

We sat there in dead silence. This person was supposed to be my brother, I have one of those I should know how to talk to him, well then again Auggie is a toddler and could barely talk as is.

"So how's your mom?" He asked, his voice shook, but at least he was trying.

"Fine just worried. She always gets a little worried when she binge-watches Criminal Minds for too long."

Ryker smiled and nodded his head like he understood what I meant.

"My moms a nurse, so anytime I get hurt she acts like I'm about to go in for surgery."

It was my turn to smile.

"I bet it was nice to see her, especially with all this craziness going on."

"I actually didn't see her, she is working. I sent her a text and went home to change."

I noticed that he was indeed in different clothes. He was now in more comfortable clothes: sweatpants and a light gray sweatshirt.

"Aren't you hot?" I asked as I rubbed my sweaty palms against my thighs. He gave a shrug as if he didn't care if he got heatstroke.

The door opened and Jade made her way in, deep in thought. Hale followed her a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Good your all back. Are we ready to continue?" Mayline interjected.

We all made our way back to our chairs in the living room. Jack turned to Jade.

"How's your friend?"

"As good as a comatose person can be," she answered sincerely.

Once we were all settled Mayline started on her next story slash lecture.

"Now as I said, there are many different covens, we belong to the Crystal Coven. In our coven, we have five different types of witches, all sorted by class. Peyton your type of witch is at the top, so we will start with you. Your parents are the High Priest and Priestess of our coven. If everything was normal you would have lived a very comfortable life. Besides the fact that your a child of our leaders, mental magic witches are at the top of our classes. They are high class."

Once again I was at the edge of my seat, hanging onto every word that came out of her mouth. She had the answer to every question I had and I wasn't going to miss anything. I was starting to finally know things about my heritage. I mean sure my birth father was some psycho warlock who wants to enslave all of witch kind, but my Mother, I could cling to the stories about her.

"Can you tell me more about my mother?" I asked a single tear pricked at the corner of my eye. Mayline nodded.

"High Priestess Anna, she was the most caring person you would meet. She spent weeks making sure everything was ready for you when you came into the world. She used her magic to help people. To soothe anxiety, to help people with depression. To help with distrustful relationships. She always wanted to help people."

"And is she... is she still alive?" I asked shaking a bit not wanting to hear what I thought.

"We think so, no one has found her body, but no one has seen her since that night."

I nodded, nothing was confirmed, hope fluttered in my heart.

"And how did she help people? What exactly is mental magic?" I questioned.

"Mental magic is the power to look into the mind. Once you awaken your magic, you will be overflooded with it. Reading people's minds and learning to tune them out will be the hardest part."

I winced just thinking about it. To have the ability to read other's minds giving them no privacy. Just thinking about it was madding.

"Your mother helped them because she could see the problem inside their minds," Jack added, he was so quiet I almost forgot he was there.

My fingers twiddled with my pendent like I always did when I was thinking.

"Mental magic is represented with rose quartz," Mayline noted as she saw me fidget.

I nodded trying to keep up.

When I get the hang of this I will find my mother, until then I would have to rely on Mayline and Jack.

~Ryker~

I watched as Peyton's faces tensed up as if she was thinking hard. My mind went back to the beginning when Mayline said she would have had a nice life, a high-class life. What about the rest of us? If theirs a high class then we're lower classes.

When Mayline's gaze shifted to me, I twitched uncomfortably, her stare was intense and nerving.

"Elemental witches and warlocks take up the second class. Where the first-class take up our politicians and leaders, the elementals use nature's balance and apply justice and fairness. So they make up our justice system. They are represented by the Lipitz crystal, meant to mimic the earth." Mayline explained in length.

"And my Mother?" I asked in a tense voice, now understanding why Peyton looked so nervous when she learned the fate of her mother.

"Kayla hasn't been since she gave birth to you. Know one really knows where she is, or if she's alive."

It was weird to grief someone I'd never really met.

Today was really starting to take a toll on my mind. So much information was entering my mind and it was hard to focus on one emotion at once.

"Kayla never regrated her choice of what she did when she found out she was going to have you. She went down to the Cave of Crystals herself and picked out which one you'd wear for the rest of your life." Jack commented.

I felt Peyton slip her hand over mine, her warm hand squeezed mine, offering comfort. I gave her a soft smile.

My birth parents may not be here but I still had my mother and now I had siblings. That was then more enough.

~ Jade ~

Peyton's mother might be dead. Ryker's mother is missing. I was sensing a pattern, my hope was starting to dim.

I went still as Mayline and Jack looked over at me. It was my turn to learn my life story, to hear everything I didn't know. I was about to hear what my life could have been before it was shattered into pieces.

"Jade you belong to the third class of witches, our designers, builders, and actors. Your life would be roughly the same as it is now. Maybe a nicer house, not that it would matter that much." Jack started with a short smile.

"What do you mean?" I asked, all this confusion was starting to make my brain hurt.

"Enchanting witches have the power to change things into other things. Even though they will turn back to their original shape."

"Oh like transfiguration in Harry Potter?" I asked hoping I was starting to get it.

Jack made a face and nodded slowly.

"I guess so, in a way."

I bit at my lips, thinking. Interesting, kind of cool. I mean I can make things change into whatever I want.

Unlike Hale I can't lose control, you can't just uncontrollably change everything, right?

I only really had one big question left. One that tightened my throat and made my hands sweaty.

"And my Mother?"

"She died, she was weak after birth and our did herself with magic, trying to save everyone.

I let the breath that was stuck in my throat out. Both of my mothers dead.

"Enchanting witches are represented by purple amethyst, for its alluring color." Mayline went on.

"Can I know more about my mother?"

"Of course, what do you want to know?" Jack asked sincerely.

"What was her name?"

"Emma. She was a good friend of mine when we were kids."

"And how did she meet Edward, on a personal level?"

Everyone found that to be an interesting question.

"Emma, Kayla, Anna and Julia were all best friends, connected at the hips. Edward was the most popular guy around. Some slight flirting and a few drinks and it wasn't hard to cajole them one at a time."

I wiped the tears out of my eyes. Damn, I was so tired of crying.

"Emma was a very powerful witch, her enchantments could last for days before they returned back to their natural state."

She was strong, which means I could be strong. I would get rid of Edward. I could be strong, I would be strong for her.

~ Hale ~

I don't know how long everyone was talking. My mind was stuck in a constant loop. The harsh snap of Mickey's neck. The rumble of building, the whisp of that man soul as I yanked it from. I didn't even know the name of the man I killed. Maybe that was for the best. My brain tried to justify it. I mean he did Kill Mickey, he was going to Levand me. No matter how I phrased it my mind went back to the unforgettable fact that I had killed somebody.

It was odd to be fixated on it, this wasn't my first brush with murder.

"Hale? Hale! Are you even listening?" Mayline grimaced slightly annoyed.

I looked with wide eyes, my attention pulled from my head and back to reality.

"What?" I asked with a cracked voice.

"I asked if you were ready to start?"

"Start what?"

She rolled her eyes not pleased.

"To learn about your heritage? To ask questions?"

I shrugged and leaned back farther into the chair.

"Not really. Lev kind of explained everything about dark magic, and my pendant. I guess just my family. My Mom. What happened to her?"

Jack and Mayline exchanged looks.

"No one really knows. She kind of just disappeared. Edward doesn't have her, we know that. There are rumors. Rumors saying she is on a different plane, hiding, waiting. " Jack told me.

"Waiting for what?"

"For her daughter."

"Julia was always so smart and cunning. It wouldn't surprise me if she escaped to a different plane to hide."

"What was her last name? My whole life I'd never had a last name. A name to pass down."

" Well actually since Edward is your father your last name would be Woods, All of your surnames would be Woods. Peyton, Jade, Hale and Rkyer Woods." Mayline smiled.