Chapter 1:

Marie opened her eyes to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. The woman's feet felt more relaxed than ever, sinking her toes into the crumbled sediment below her. She needed this, after everything that happened, all she needed was time to relax. Still feeling somewhat guilty, she began to slowly graze her hand through her hair. She sighed as she took in the feeling of every kink and curl there was. Her finger dwindled between each space as time went on. WAS she okay? Her family was dead for crying out loud. Did she even deserve to sit and relax in the sun?

"Gosh, this is annoying." She moved her eyes to notice the person walking up her from the beach house. That person was Alex, her best friend and mentor. Even though she was looking, the dark sunglasses were enough to make sure her moment was minimized. "Why hello there." The girl took pleasure in the fact that she scared the other beyond belief.

"Well I was!" They spoke as they moved their hands to shake off the flour. "That was until you wanted to play games." By looking at their outfit, Marie could tell Alex was cooking something. Something dough-like. The suspicion of what lies inside their kitchen was almost too much to handle.

"Well you know me." She smirked as she slowly began to stand up. After stumbling a little, she decided to wave her finger to command her outside activities to pack themselves. "So, what did you make?" Even though she sounded confident, she looked out the corner of her eyes to make sure her spell had been casted correctly. She was good, but she wasn't even powerful enough to be considered a beginner yet.

"Actually! Come see." After making their statement, Alex began to hastily push Marie closer and closer into the house. Even though they could've just teleported them there, they always took pleasure in the human part of the world. When Marie got older, she would definitely remember the person who brought the love of magic in the first place. After what seemed like forever of pushing, Marie was finally brought to the kitchen of her new home. The walls were decorated with the same blue and white wallpaper she hated so much, and each and every cabinet was painted different shades of pastel. It looked as if Alex didn't know what color to pick so just ran with it. Overall the kitchen was shabby, but welcoming. That seems to be her whole life recently, one big oxymoron. After looking around the room her eyes navigated to what delicacy rested on the table. The pan seared bread was decorated with cinnamon, sugar and topped off with syrup and raspberries. Around the nicely placed food were two decorative plates with cups filled with milk and another filled with orange juice. Despite everything. It was perfect. From the tablecloth that decorated the otherwise dingy table to the probably outdated orange juice that was now worse due to sitting out.

"It's… nice." Her voice was instantly softened at the sight of it all. Even though it wasn't much, it meant so much right now. "I really enjoy it." Marie's sentimental words were met back with the sound of air punching out the others mouth.

"Nice," Alex waved their hands to dismiss the thought. "I tried, but it just looks crap." They continued to go on about all the imperfections their kitchen held. From the same thing Marie mentioned, to even more things, the young witch never noticed. As Alex spoke, you could see the way their face shined over with red. Alex was a mess, but they were there when no one else was. When Marie's parents passed away, the first person to carry her away from her harsh life was sitting right in front of her. Ranting about how terrible their food looked. In response to all the yapping, Marie waved her finger to cast a spell that she wouldn't be able to do without months of training. As a ring of magic dispersed in the air, Alex's body began to slowly inch towards the table. Which caused a smile to spread across their face.

"Just go with it!" Marie took a slightly upset tone when she saw Alex easily pushing back the spell that took her almost a whole year to master. Even though she was proud of her progress, she could see the way the bright orange line that surrounded Alex's body would struggle. Almost as if it was a flickering light waiting to die. It was worthless. She couldn't defeat any enemy with this? How was she supposed to avenge her family when she couldn't even drag a less than 200- pound person to a damn table? Marie's once happy-go lucky face turned into one of shame. A face that was instantly picked up by her mentor.

"Hey. C'mon, let's eat." They made their way over to pat their pupil on the back. After consoling the best they could. Alex started to be the happy one dragging the condescending one to the table. Marie watched them move to their own seat and began to fit the silverware around them.

"Do you think I'll ever see him again?" Marie uttered as she began to pick up one of her knives and fiddles with the soft, sweet bread that lay in front of her. Would she? Would she see the man that slaughtered her family? Her mother, father, her brothers and sisters. Everyone was gone. "He's pretty strong, ya'know. He could be anywhere." Alex never met the man that killed Marie's light, at least that's what they claimed. After moving to live with her, she learned some things about the man he was, Exo Frenward. Supposedly, a magic prodigy. Unlike other witches, he was born with cold magic in his blood. It's rumored that at the age of sixteen he'd already mastered all that she never even had the chance to experience. Tears started to swell in her eyes as she stared at her french toast. Right now, she is worthless. Barely a piece of tape on a six years old art project. Soon, soon she would be stronger. Strong enough to slaughter Exo.

"Marie, I don't like you thinking about that man." Alex pushed themselves up as they spoke in a harsh tone. "I promised you that I would teach you magic. Strong enough to topple over anyone you pleased. Trust me. Not only that, trust yourself." After putting their two pieces into the subject. Alex stormed out of the kitchen into their room.

"Great…" Marie picked up the plate and carried it to the sink for a quick washing out. "Another tantrum for the books." As she pressed the scrub closer to scrub the plate, she thought about the time she and Alex have always argued. It started with Marie's self-doubt and ended with one of Alex's common storms out the room. After the plate washed in the water for a few seconds, she turned off the water and headed into her room.