Chapter Two

Marcie is surprised that her sister Margot has decided to come to the Gathering.

Marcie Stewart poofed onto The Staging Area, just behind the fragrant camellia hedge, not too close to be seen by her guests or by the gawking teens, but close enough to give her a slight advantage of looking fresh and unruffled. She had seen Fiona and her friends make fun of precarious landings too often to make the blind landing mistake herself. As she approached the arrivals waiting for The Gathering to begin, she reminded herself to breathe, to take in the fresh air, to clear her thoughts of any negativity, in order to prepare herself for some of the inevitable criticism of her “witch rearing” choices, as she had knowingly kept Fiona cloistered from the magical society longer than her Sisters would have liked, choosing rather to allow Fiona to experience the non-magical world in order to shape Fiona into a more well rounded magical young lady. Some of the Sisters scoffed at Marcie's irregular ideas about child rearing, while others, simply chose to support her silently; but no one publicly chose to stand with Marcie in her defense. It was a lonely path, a less traveled path, but one that she had chosen after she had seen The Vision.

Marcie was familiar with visions. She had been having them all of her life, as early as she could remember. She frequently experienced premonitions during the day, as well as visions while she slept, but if she repeated a vision, or experienced a vision from different perspectives, she knew that it was a vision of some importance. This is how it had been with The Vision:

In her vision, she saw her twin sister Maegan and brother in law Vincent, 8 years since their hand-fasting, simply vanish into thin air! One moment they were in a wooded glen, the next moment, they were gone. A fog filled the glen, and through the fog, three children emerged, all holding something significant within their hands. A non-magical compass, a non-magical map and a magical hand mirror, each child's face was etched with a determined expression, but as they stared at something within the fog, they too, vanished suddenly.

 
It was an incomplete vision, and Marcie was left with the impression that the ending had yet to be determined, as there might be several magical paths and eventualities that had yet to come to fruition. While this conclusion gave hope to Marcie that her family might one day be restored, it also weighed heavily upon her soul that each potential conclusion to The Vision, all hinged upon the 3 year old child she was left to foster. No Wizard, no sorcerer, no witch of any measurable power was able to explain it to Marcie with any satisfaction, so she was left to her own understanding of the vision, and she took it as a warning of Fiona's immanent future, and her need to have an understanding of how the non magical world operated. She should have no fear of the unknown, she should be able to exist without the use of magic, and she should have good friends to help her on her quest.

The Staging Area was a long flat grassy area, mown short, with tall fragrant camellias running down the length of both sides of the magical runway, to act as a natural barrier, with the magical ability to expand or to contract, in order to accommodate all sorts of landings from the errant flier, the wide wing spread of the United Dragon Delivery Service or for the slightly off point landing of a beginner broom landing or take off. If it could be seen from the air, it would indeed look like a landing strip. The glamor which surrounded all of the property, protected the external view of the Stewart Mansion, but to anyone with any magic talent at all, it could be seen for exactly what it was.

“Marcie Darling, there you are! I have been looking for you everywhere! The Gazebo, The Mansion, and I was on my way to the landing area just now! When I was at The Gazebo, I took the liberty to stir the cauldron�"these cookies are divine! You are such an excellent cook, Marce. I'm so jealous!” Marcie's birth sister, Margot Stewart-Peterson, while older and every bit as talented of a witch as Marcie, had chosen to live completely within the magical confines of the Peripheral, after her hand-fasting to her high school sweetheart, Andrew Peterson. Andrew had the gift of Prophecy, and because of this gift, was not able to completely function in the non-magical world, as it clouded his judgment, and quite frankly, he liked wearing robes. Rarely leaving the magical confines of the Peripheral, Margot completely surprised her younger sibling with her unexpected presence.

“Oh stop looking so shocked! Give me a hug, and fill me in on all the local gossip!” said Margot, to her younger, more plump, little sister of everything domestic. If Marcie was the Queen of Domestication, with her tulle curtains, rosebud dresses, crisp white aprons and neatly pin curled white blonde hair with a black blaze that tended to fall down over her right eyebrow; Margot, was the negative of Marcie's positive register! Marcie had not always had white blonde hair, in fact, she was born with wild curling hair much like Fiona's.  It was only after the shock of her twins disappearance that her hair changed into the exact opposite of Margot. 

Margot was tall and willowy, with a slender figure and exquisite taste in clothing, she was the epitome of design and artistic taste. Her shiny black eyes, matched her boy short, spiky, black hair, with only the beginnings of a white blaze poking out at the top of her perfect widow's peak. Everything about Margot screamed elegance, sophistication, and all things artistic and feminine. Her soft satin cape of deep maroon, was cut so that it framed her body and pooled at her feet, so that she appeared to be standing in maroon colored water. She wore a beret' instead of the traditional pointed hat, and large brilliant diamond solitaires on each ear, that glittered in the low light of the evenings festivities.

“Margot! Oh it is so wonderful that you decided to come! Fiona will be so pleased...You are still planning on going shopping with her, aren't you Dear?”

“Naturally, Marcie! I would not miss it for a million Faeries�"she is such a precious girl--you know she is blossoming into a lovely young woman. And she has Maegan's pixie looks, and that dreadfully wild red hair. Haven't you tried to have it modified?” asked Margot

“A million times! Poor girl, is stubborn like her father, and just as smart. She knows it gets under my skin, and insists on doing nothing with it. She looks like banshee in a windstorm. She insists that it defines her sense of style!”

“Leave her to me, Mar, I will work MY magic on her�"maybe she can be convinced after she visits the Peripheral with me, when we go back to school shopping together!” and with that, both ladies, with hands clasped together, slumped into a shared moment of silence, each to say an unspoken prayer for their fallen sister, Maegan, with whom both sisters shared a special connection, but no one missed Maegan more than Marcie, as nothing could compare with the pain of a twin missing a twin.

Hand in hand, Marcie and Margot walked towards the Landing area to welcome guests to The Gathering. An ancient tradition, the celebration of Mid-Summer's Eve, though considered one of the lesser holidays according to the pagan calendar, was a special all night celebration of summer, faeries, and bonfires�"a gathering of friends, dancing in the moonlight sky clad or cloaked, in honor of the remainder of summer and the anticipation of the harvest to come.

Author's Note

Also not edited, helpful readings and advice welcome.