Chapter 9: ~Tell me about the Fray~

—The woman who taught you the art of guardian puppet magic is known as Madame Hester, a witch of a very high rank in the terrestrial and spiritual world— he answered.

I was somewhat confused not knowing anything other than being outside my family, but even so I wanted to clarify my doubts by asking Alepou more questions.

— Do you know how she met the Fray family?

—Sure, that's easy to answer. According to Mr. Tristán, he said that Madame Hester approached them because of the wide variety of old books that the Fray family guarded with such suspicion.— he sighed heavily and with an expression that showed her tiredness, he continued speaking.— Your great-great-great-grandmother did not want to lend her a book, so Madame Hester offered to teach them something in exchange and... here I am in front of you thanks to that.

Because of his answer I began to worry, but before jumping to conclusions I tried to articulate something to calm my restless mind that was beginning to wander little by little due to the conspiracy theories that were gushing like a waterfall.

— Alepou, the books... — still fearful of the answer he could give me, I asked him directly to clear up my doubts — what are they about?

When he heard me, his tiredness seemed to leave his body and with his eyes wide open in surprise at my sudden response, he said; — The books?! he asks but when his face relaxed he sighed and then looked directly at me. — they were varied. I vaguely remember seeing Mr. Tristán and his twin brother wandering through that great room that was divided into sections that consisted of: medicinal, magic, stories, legends, archives of the spiritual world and its divisions, religions, languages from all over the world, astronomy, about the records of families around the world that have gifts like yours, books about spirits... I don't know if it's all, but it's the only thing I remember seeing from the few places they went to for study.

—My uncle had a twin?— I asked trying to hide my surprise since my mother had only mentioned that two of her brothers had died, the older one and the younger one that followed her.

—Does that surprise you?—He answered me with that question, to which I just nodded.— Wow, I thought you'd be surprised by the amount of information your mother's family keeps but... you're more surprised by a relative never mentioned before .— he said while raising one of his eyebrows.

—Alepou... if I don't know anything about my mother's family, it's because she hid it as if it were something she didn't want to remember." With some annoyance I closed my eyes and with a lump in my throat I tried to continue explaining. so as not to give the impression of being ignorant of the affairs of the Fray family. — she took me away from them when I was five years old and took me with my paternal family to follow the tradition despite the fact that they hate us both.

—I'm sorry— he apologized with a clear expression of regret.— didn't know that had happened— If I had been there or your mother's puppet... that wouldn't have happened.

— They hate me just for being the son of a Friar, it's not your fault or anyone's...so don't apologize for something that can't be changed.

—Look... I have vague memories before Mr. Tristan and his twin Fraust passed away. I don't remember what happened at that moment since they sealed me and the other puppet, but what I do know is that... the Castelia are envious that the Friars have been visited and bathed by the wisdom of the great witch Madame Hester . They wanted to destroy the great treasure just because of that... there was a dispute and more puppets were created but... something happened and my memories of those days are blurry.

Everything was beginning to make sense in my mind, but something was not adding up, there was a missing piece for the misfortunes that had occurred on both sides. I believed that Alepou would be the one who would give me all the answers to put together the incomplete puzzle that I had discovered by listening to my uncle's imprisoned soul.

Apparently, I had to start my search and train myself more to face any obstacles that might appear in the not too distant future.

—Alepou, do you know magic?— I asked him somewhat hopeful.

— Sure, I'm almost pure energy and charms — he answered me with a big smile — but if you want me to teach you more spells and rituals... you must do your part by giving me new clothes.

— I will if you answer some last questions that I have. — He looked at me with concern but resigned sigh to make a sign for me to continue. — Well, do you remember where the Fray house is?

My question made him look away, he didn't seem to want to answer but in the end he ended up giving in when he saw the lock of hair that he had tied up and left on the side of my nightstand.

— The last thing I heard is that they lived almost 10 blocks from the Castelia farm. But... I also know that The Frays had a farm in the mountains, so... if they don't live in the town, they may be hiding there.—he mentioned as he got up from the ground to start walking towards the window to see the mountains— Although it is said that you can't easily reach them if you don't have something from that family.— Giving me such a warning, he turned to look at me with some concern.

— Alepou, I have you, my last name and the blood that runs through my veins. That will be more than enough.

— But... do you want to go there to visit your grandparents?

— Yes, also... I want them to teach me and tell me more about them. I want his legacy to remain.— When I answered him, I lay down on the bed to be next to my body that was in a kind of deep sleep.— Hey, this may be something you don't know but I still want to ask you.— The I said while keeping my gaze on the ceiling.

— Oh sure. You can ask me, but you know that I decide whether to answer or not depending on what I know.— he spoke to me before sitting on the edge of the bed.

—Do you know Madame Hester's real name?

— That's easy, your grandparents asked those kinds of questions to your uncles and your mom. Madame Hester's real name is Eileen, I don't know her last name but what I do know about her is that she was born in Spain, I don't know exactly where in it. She loves to travel and quiet places full of vegetation and streams. She speaks Latin, Spanish, Catalan, French, Nahuatl, English, Greek, Chinese... although I don't know if she speaks more languages today.

Hearing him say that, I interrupted him to dispel my doubts that had arisen with the information I knew about that talented witch.— How come today? That woman must have already passed away.

— Hahaha, she's a long-lived woman.— he answered with a smile.— And I don't want you to ask me why, because I don't even know.— he told me to prevent me from asking more about a topic that could be dark.— well, going back to what I know about her is that... she knows very well voodoo, dark and white magic, the rituals of the different witch cultures in the world, she knows how to use runes, she creates barriers with quartz and gems beautiful makes simple spells, there are even rumors that she created more than a thousand puppets that have the role of choosing people with special characteristics and descendants of witches and wizards to protect. She is very powerful, so much so that she can heal any small or serious injury with a simple spell in the underworld.

— And she is well known?

— Nope, she is only known by experts on these topics. It is said that she cast a spell on each person who meets her so that they can only talk about her with witches or sorcerers because she does not want to be used by others who would seek to harm her or harm her with their spells that she uses for the good and undo evil.

— Alepou... you are motivating me to go to my grandparents' house as soon as possible. — I told him without taking my eyes off the ceiling.

— If you want, let's go tomorrow, but... first you must give me a new outfit and return to your body.

— Right, that's the most important thing. But... I don't know how to return. — I spoke somewhat embarrassed.

—I see why Mr. Tristan left me by your side— he sighed.