Chapter 61

April 16, 2002 – 16:00

"It is what it is. We have about an hour before we have to leave again for the game. Honestly, I'm starting to truly understand how you felt when you decided to tell Frank the truth about us. Stephanie already knew about me when we met, so I never had to do that."

"If you're full-blooded, but grew up in group homes and orphanages… how did you find out? Did you receive a letter like that?" said Frank looking at Coralis when she stood by the invisible door, about to take it down.

She stopped her movement, but kept staring at the door.

"Two agents came to visit me and my cousin."

"You have a cousin?"

"Had."

Coralis took down the invisible door and returned to the living room, followed by the men. She stopped in the middle of the living room and looked at Frank's family. Frank stayed by the doorway, leaning on it. Sebastian stood close to Coralis. She took a deep breath.

"I do not have much time, so I'll try to quickly rip the bandage off, so we can answer as many questions as we can before we have to leave."

"I can stay here a little bit longer, but I work tonight," said Frank.

"What is going on? Is it some type of fraud or prank? Is my ex behind this?"

"No… and yes. It is not a fraud and it is not a prank. Winisk Elemental School exists, the admission letter is real. As for your ex… he is involved, yes."

"But I never registered her there. I am struggling to pay the rent here, how am I supposed to be able to afford that kind of school? I didn't enroll her there, I don't even know where it is."

"We believe you. Her father did enroll her there, recently by the look of it. Audrey's father isn't human, he is what we call an elemental being, someone who can control and manipulate the elements surrounding us, and so is Audrey. That school is where elemental beings learn to control their powers when they come of age."

"What do you mean? My daughter is human."

Coralis looked at Audrey.

"Besides the ink on that letter only appearing when you touched it, did anything else happen that you couldn't explain?"

Audrey looked at her hands.

"One night, when mom was still at work, I was hungry, but the babysitter was asleep on the chair. I wanted to warm up leftovers, but the microwave stopped working halfway through the cooking. I was about to eat it anyway… I looked at the food, wishing it was warm… and I swear… when I took a bite… the food was hot."

"Did you feel tired after that?"

"Yes… I went to bed early that night."

"You're half-blooded, but you are definitively an elemental, probably mage. If you weren't, the ink on that letter wouldn't have appeared to you when you touched it. Without realizing it, you used your elemental energy to warm up your food, but your aura is still developing and you didn't use a wand, so it drained your energy," said Coralis.

"If the letter's content appeared when you took the letter… does that mean that you're… also that?" said Molly.

"Yes. I am an elemental, a mage."

"So am I," said Sebastian.

"Did you know?" said Molly, looking at her son.

"Yes, and so does Stephanie. Coralis and Sebastian aren't evil and trust me, they are no danger to us. I don't know the situation with Audrey's father, but this isn't bad. Shocking, sure, but not bad."

Lizzy brought her face into her hands and Molly passed her arm around her shoulders.

"This explains so, so much," said Lizzy, looking back at Coralis and Sebastian. "I don't want to believe it, but deep down, I know that you are right. I think that her father has been wanting to tell me for a long time, but didn't for some reason."

"That's what I want to find out and that's why I had to make a phone call. The letter you received is intended for people who already knew about our world, and clearly, you didn't. Not only does it constitute an exposure breach, but also makes me suspect that Audrey's father might be up to something. I had to warn the CMMA about this irregularity. In 4 days, two agents from the family affairs department will come to meet you and better explain the situation. They will also have you situated with the school."

"What does CMMA mean?" said Lizzy.

"Canadian Ministry of Mythical Affairs," said Coralis.

"The both of us went to different schools, so we can't tell you much about the Winisk one, it's in Northern Ontario. We have to go back to work, but uh, like Coralis said, the CMMA agents will explain it better to you, and will be able to shed more light on the circumstances and who her father is. If you have questions, you can ask any of us. Frank and Stephanie can also answer most questions I believe."

"Thank you for coming over on such short notice. This is a lot to take in," said Lizzy.

She got up and followed them to the door. Frank joined them.

"That's no problem. We suspected that this is what it was about when Frank mentioned the unusual aspects of the letter."

"Call me when you get off work," said Frank.

She nodded. He kissed her and she left, following Sebastian.

"For how long have you known?" said Molly as soon as Frank closed the door.

"For about 2 months, but Stephanie has known about Coralis for about a year, she saw her on a case at work. She knew about Sebastian when they started dating."

"It still looks like an elaborate prank to me, and I still don't understand how Audrey, Sebastian and Coralis aren't human when they look like us, and act like us. I gave birth to you and your sister… you and your sister aren't behaving any differently and the love you two have for them seems genuine… I've seen Audrey grow up… how?"

"The answer to it is very complex and nowhere close to what we see in movies when we see non-human characters. I had ton of questions when I found out, and I still do. I am also having a hard time to believing that Audrey is one of them, but honestly, even after knowing that, she's still the same to me and you should continue to see her as the Audrey we always known. This isn't bad news."

Audrey got up and went to hug her cousin. Lizzy's eyes became wet. Molly hugged her.

"I don't care what the agents we will meet are going to tell us, she is still my daughter to me. Her father won't take her away from me."