[I]The orange glow surrounding them was quite ominous, and all she could see in her line of view was a wall of flames cutting her off from everyone she had grown to care about. Her amber eyes had a darker hue in them, her heart racing as she screams from the other side of the wall grew louder, but no matter what Ophelia tried, the wall remained between them.

“Hold on!! I’m coming!!” shouted through the flames, the screams becoming more frantic and panicky. 

“Save yourself, Ophelia! I can handle this! Go!” a strong male voice shouted, but Ophelia couldn’t bring herself to leave as she continued trying to use her magic to douse the fire, but nothing was working. She could hear the screams still, and she could feel the tears burning in her eyes when the last one faded. She hit her knees, staring at the wall of fire as it slowly dwindled down, a figure standing before her as she stared at the bodies of her parents, her sister, and her brothers. She could hear the cackle.

“You see, this is why the Lockhart clan will never be as great as the Godwins.” The cloaked man cackled, but something snapped, and Lia stood before them with her eyes still leaking.

“And this is what you devoted type always do wrong….” She said, darkly, lifting her hands and touching his face, watching the light leave his eyes as she did. “You underestimate us Balanced souls and assume we don’t delve into necromancy.” She whispered and soon his body fell to the ground.

She could feel herself getting weak, but she needed to leave. Others would follow and try to finish the job that the fool now lying dead had started, but no matter what this had changed. Her life was different. She was now alone, but something caught her attention. Twigs snapping…[/i]


A cold sweat covered Ophelia’s face as she shot up in bed, her heart racing and breathing heavy. The nightmares were frequenting more and more as of late, and that meant nothing good. The witch with wavy golden strands pulled her knees to her chest and she sat in her locked [url=http://img.diynetwork.com/DIY/2010/01/04/HGTV2502053-smartchicbedrooms_blue-cottage-style-bedroom_s4x3_lg.jpg]bedroom[/URL] of the cottage she shared with one other. Kathleen Emerson, a dark witch recently found to be balanced, hence why the vampire coven wanted the two living with each other. Ophelia Lockhart, the last witch in the great Lockhart line, and a soul so balanced that it was almost eerie. 

Her manicured fingers found their way into her tangled tresses, and she clutched the sheet closer to her too. Her amber eyes finally adjusted to the darkness of her room, and she slowly got out of bed and crossed to the window. She had an east facing room, and the sun wasn’t quite to the horizon yet, but there was no use in her trying to sleep again. Not if all she was going to have bad dreams. 

Not to mention, the body guards were due in soon. They always arrived at dawn, whether she and Kathleen were up or not, but it was coven orders. The elders had decided once they took in Lia that she would need protection, especially because of her nature, and Kathleen would need it as well. 

Lia pulled her black robe around her form that was covered in a thin white tank top and a pair of fleece pajama pants. Early September was definitely colder this year than the last few, and once she slipped into her slippers, she headed downstairs and into the [url=http://www.ruiduwenquan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/country-cottage-kitchen-designs-inspiration-decoration-on-design-design-ideas.jpg]kitchen[/URL], and began making herself some tea and some breakfast for everyone. She opened he refrigerator  and pulled out some eggs and sausage and began cooking. 

This wasn’t an every morning thing, but she had to get her mind off of her dreams. She hadn’t told anyone about them, hell most of them barely knew she was there half the time. And the ones who did… well…

“It’s Tuesday,” she muttered to herself as she walked over to the coffee pot and turned it on, “Mitch will have coffee black because of my late night research in the coven library like every Monday night into Tuesday morning, Atticus will take overly sweetened tea because he likes tea with his sugar, and Kathleen will probably want pancakes.”

She sighed and took a long sip of her tea and then turned on one of the pans on low to cook the sausage before she drew her robe closer to her and sat out on the front porch of the cottage that had been her home for many years. So far from human civilization, but so modern all the same. She closed her eyes and took another long sip of her tea, but the glow of flames came again and she shot her eyes opened.

“By god, I hope Mitch talks about something worthwhile this morning.” She grumbled as she headed back inside, hanging her robe over one of the dining chairs where she had a stack of books sitting. She had them out from a few nights prior, but translating the texts was delicate and time consuming work. Her ears perked at the sound of footsteps on the front porch. The porch needed redoing, but it was a want not a necessity. She sighed, pouring Mitch’s coffee and setting it in his normal spot, and setting the sugar – tea mix for Atticus at the table as well as she flipped the sausage and began mixing the stuff together for pancakes. 

Today they would be in the garden for Kathleen’s lessons, but she could feel it in the air that it was going to rain. The rain was good, but for the lessons it would be better to have a dry day. It also didn’t help that she was having these bad visions too, her mind was everywhere today, and as she began cooking the pancakes she subconsciously began humming to herself. It wasn’t a song anyone really knew, but it was what she did when she was thinking, a bit of a habit she never really even caught onto herself.

She opened a cabinet once the first set of pancakes were on and pulled out plates, her mind still restless and she continued humming to herself, not greeting the boys when they came in even.

--

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Now Atticus was really beginning to wonder why the coven didn’t have he and his partner, Mitchell, living with the two they guarded… but it was something he quickly remembered. Ophelia had explained once upon a time that it would be dangerous to live with them, but she never explained further. Atticus had also been told early on that witches were a secretive sort, and after training with Mitch and Ophelia for as long as he had, being assigned to Kathleen was a breath of fresh air.

He rolled on his bed and pulled on his jeans, shirt, and jacket before pulling on his boots and yawning. Seriously, if he and mitch could stay in the cottage with them instead of in the tower of the coven grounds to them, they could sleep in like the girls did on occasion. 

He walked up to Mitch’s door and knocked, seeing their blood bound brethren heading to bed as they were waking. “Come on, man. We better head over there.” He called through the door as he yawned again and stretched some more as he thought about the day. They would be outdoors which he loved and being an energy vampire and blessed with daylight walking abilities, he would love it even more.

Once Mitch joined him, he looked his partner over again. “You look like you got no rest, man. She keep you in the library for an age again?” he asked as they began the trek towards the cottage that sat on the edge of the coven grounds. The elders had been pressing the girls for more answers in less time, but with Kathleen also learning from Ophelia it made things more difficult.

Atticus shoved his hands in his pockets and once they approached the porch, he could smell sausage and coffee, and he looked over to Mitch. That was definitely Lia. Something no one could explain, but for being as cold as she was, she had her kind streaks that was certain.

“Kat’s still asleep, probably not for much longer, but she is. And we’re in the garden today, so we should have a relatively calm day, since we aren’t dealing with everyone who stays awake in the castle.” He said, and once on the porch he could smell pancakes getting cooked. He smiled a bit once he opened the door and noted his tea sitting there and a cup of coffee too, but Atticus took his cup and headed up the stairs to check on Kat as he always did.

Normally his morning consisted of talking to Mitch until the girls woke up, but he had a habit of checking on Kat regularly because she was his responsibility  and he wasn’t going to mess this up. Not with his friend sticking his neck out for him. Atticus listened for a moment at Kat’s door before he opened it to check on her and when he deemed it was okay, he quietly shut the door again and walked back down to join Lia and Mitch. “Morning.” He finally greeted Lia who just kidding do of half waved while she hummed. She hadn’t done that in a long time, and he now hoped that Kat would wale up soon. Somehow she managed to diffuse any small bit of tension in the room on mornings like this.

However, Atticus decided to take his tea outside and watch as the sun finally began to rise. His mind wandered back to the day when he was assigned to protect Kathleen.

[I]The Council was meeting in the main room, only three members not of the council were there that day. Mitchell, Atticus, and Ophelia. Mitchell was seated beside Ophelia and Atticus was standing before the council, still wondering what was going on.

Finally, Elder Checkov spoke. "Atticus Slater, as I am sure you know the coven has taken in a new witch as of last week. She has been in the coven's guest chambers while Ophelia sets up the cottage to accomadate our new addition... And as per our laws, our new addition requires a bodyguard."

"Yes sir," he said, his eyes traveling over to Ophelia and Mitch before he looked forward. "But why am I here sir?"

The elder half chuckled, "Because, you have been recommended for the job." He answered, "And the council wanted to have a formal meeting to evaluate your performance. We will be starting with Ophelia's accounts, and you will be allowed to listen to them."

Atticus nodded and watched as Ophelia came forward and said her piece, a short but rather well versed piece, and then Mitchell went up as well. They had to have been his recommendations. 

"Anything to add?" Checkov asked.

"I can guarantee her safety if it is entrusted to me." He spoke, simply. 

"Good, you will meet her in the morning." Checkov said.[/I]