Surprise date

It had been nearly a week since Rowan attended Aella's birthday party, he almost could not believe that Jarek's imaginary friend was truly real. For many years now he was afraid his almost brother had gone mad. But she was everything he claimed she would be, stubborn, temperamental, yet he could tell there was a playfulness about her that she was pushing back. When he saw her blue eyes he thought he was looking in a mirror, and their hair was far too close in shade and texture. There were things about the conversation that secretly plagued his mind. He was finding himself restless as he replayed the party in his head, analyzing every word. He took the opportunity to walk around Thalainos to help clear his thoughts.

He ignored all the passersby as he headed to a familiar flower shop. He had visited the town every year and it had since lost its charm. He remembered when he first came to the magical city, the place his mother was from. He was not sure what he expected to find here, perhaps echos of her past that would give him some clues to what she was like. But there was nothing here, the nobles were insufferable, with their bright clothing and nose permanently in the air, and the Order protectively kept their young Sorceresses hidden within the Tower.

He paused before the flower shop and looked at some of the arrangements offered outside the store. He gently lifted a bouquet of pink roses. They reminded him of the pink dress Calixta wore that day. A smile lit his face as he envisioned her blushing sweetly, with their arms locked. She stirred his beast in a way no other girl ever had. Everything about her was perfection. Her ebony hair that reminded him of the black hollyhock blossoms that grew in his grandmother's garden. The way her eyes sparkled in the light, could make the stars themselves envious.

"Rowan?"

He smiled, even now he could hear her sweetly saying his name, breathing new life into it.

"Rowan?"

He was brought out of his thoughts, and he turned to see the very girl he had been thinking of as if he conjured her from nowhere. "Calixta?!" he asked in surprise, losing his footing and falling over into the flower display.

"Rowan are you ok?!" Her cute voice rose an octave in panic. She held her hand and pulled him back to his feet. Once on his feet he quickly fixed the display. He tried to look as casual as possible as he rested his elbow on the nearby shelf. "I'm great! H..how are you?"

"I'm well, thank you," She said as she tried to hide her giggles behind her hand. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, you didn't! It was just a surprise and I am a little clumsy in the morning."

"Just in the morning?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

He nodded his head confidently, "Oh yes. At night I am so smooth I practically float."

"I would love to see that, what are you doing out here?" She was graciously changing the subject.

"I was just clearing my mind, what about you? Is it ok for you to be here alone?"

"I was just headed to the library, now that I am so close to taking my vows, I'm allotted more trust and freedom. What's on your mind?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, he didn't want to admit it was her at that moment, so he went back to Aella. "It was about our conversation at the party, would you like to walk?" This seemed to make her smile, which made him smile in return. The pair began to walk towards the library as Rowan organized his thoughts.

"Did you not enjoy the party?" Calixta asked.

"No, it was fine, it's just... have you noticed how rare red hair is in Autheria?"

Calixta thought for a moment then nodded her head, "Now that you mention it, you and Aella are the only redheads I have ever met."

"It's rare in Daimos too. And what are the odds two people would have red hair, and blue eyes and mothers that were both Tempests?" Now that he had started voicing his thoughts out loud, he found he could not stop himself. "I mean has Aella not noticed how odd this all is?"

Calixta averted her eyes as she chose her words carefully, "She has had a lot of other things on her mind lately and also.." She trailed off before taking a deep breath to continue. "Once a girl's power manifests she is separated from her family. When you enter the Tower the Order and the Sisterhood, are your family. And Aella grew up in the Tower. She wasn't exactly encouraged to question anything Greta has told her her whole life, or to wonder about her family."

Rowan recollected some of the past conversations he would have with Jarek when they were younger. There were days he would become irrationally angry, claiming he wanted to destroy the Tower and sometimes Greta. His having Lycan blood, at times made his temper even worse. There was a reason Alpha Rainer kept Jarek far from the Order as he could. "I can imagine," was all he added. He then thought as he looked up to the sky, "How did Vetra die?"

"She died when Aella was born."

He slowly looked at her and things were starting to click, "Red hair, blue eyes, tempest, and both our mothers died when we were born." He was starting to feel stupid for not adding it up the day he first saw Aella.

"But the name differences, and what about your birthdays? You would have to be twins, When is yours?"

"April Thirtieth."

"And Aella's is October First... unless..." Calixta stopped, Rowan could almost see the wheels turning in her head. "Would you like to come to the Library with me? We can look up the record books. Vetra's death should be recorded there. If her death lines up with your birthday, then what other proof would we need?"

His face lit up, mostly for how brilliant Calixta was, but also for the opportunity to go anywhere with her. "I would love to."

Her sweet little cheeks flushed delicately as she looked shyly to the ground, and they continued their walk. They reached their destination a little too soon for Rowan. He opened the door to allow Calixta in and they headed to the record books. Fortunately for them, the building was empty, so they had no risk of someone running off to tell Greta what they were up to. Calixta expertly navigated the shelves as if she were born in the building. Once she found a set of large books she placed her finger on each one, ticking past each of them till she found the one she wanted. "Her we go," She said as she pulled the dusty text out of its hiding place. She sneezed as dust flew into the air. Rowan took the book for her and pulled out his handkerchief that had a red R stitched in the corner. She took it graciously and sneezed again into it. She offered it back but he shook his head, "You can keep it."

She smiled and placed it in her dress pocket. Rowan placed the book on the table and began flipping through its pages. He felt himself heat up as he sensed Calixta watching over his shoulder. She smiled as she took note of something, "You know Aella's ears turn red when she blushes too." This made the poor boy turn three shades brighter. He quickly cleared his throat and tried to force himself to concentrate on the task.

He moved his finger through the names when he reached the V's. He stopped at Vetra, but the date of her death had been marked out. "Blast!" he whispered loudly. "Sorry!" He quickly added.

"It's ok," Calixta stared at the name and bit her lower lip. "This is odd."

Rowan felt his temper begin to flare, "someone and I can guess who didn't want to risk Aella looking into her mother's death."

"I have another idea!" Calixta said as she rushed back to the shelves. She came back moments later with several scrolls. "These are documents of name changes."

"Name changes?"

"When our power manifest we get to choose from the approved list from the Order and change our names. If we can find proof that Vetra's original name was Priscella then that's all you need!"

"You are brilliant!" It took everything in his power to not kiss her cheek. His beast side was making him far too bold. They both made work of going through the scrolls looking for Vetra's name. "Here she is!" Calixta cheered. She pointed at Vetra's name but once again the name she had before the name change was blotted out. Calixta sighed, defeated. "I guess it was too much to hope for..."

"Do they keep a copy of these documents anywhere?" Rowan asked trying to find one sliver of hope.

"Only other place I know is in Grethis and that's days away from here, and only the Order can access their documents. There is no way we would be able to access them in such a short time. But, maybe...Celest!" she turned and grasped Rowan's hands tightly. Rowan brightened at the touch and held her hands too. This did not seem to bother Calixta at all but she quickly took her hands back as she remembered herself. "What I mean is, maybe Celest can summon a copy of them. She has gotten very good at scribing... if she will help that is."

"Do you mind speaking to her? Honestly, I am convinced something sketchy is going on. But from what I know of Aella, she won't even try and see what's in front of her unless you hit her over the head with it."

"You speak as if you know Aella well already," Calixta accused. To this Rowan looked away. He was not allowed to speak about the relationship between Jarek and Aella, and he risked saying too much already.

"Rowan?" she asked softly, sensing they were reaching a forbidden topic so she thought carefully of how to phrase her question. "When Aella was a kid, she had an imaginary friend. His name was also Jarek... we convinced ourselves it was a coincidence ... was it?"

Rowan rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sideways glance her way as he thought out how he should answer this. "I can't talk about Alpha Jarek's personal affairs, but he had a friend I thought was imaginary too once."

Calixta's eyes widened as realization burned deep inside them. "Please keep today between us, as much as you can," Rowan begged. Calixta nodded in agreement. "I'll try and talk to Celest but I can't promise she will scribe them for me. But I will see what I can do, I'll let you know what I find the night of the ball."

"Will you save me a dance?" He asked boldly. He hoped this would not repulse her but to his delight, she smiled excitedly, "Yes! I mean... yes" She corrected herself, trying to not sound too excited. He smiled and escorted her out of the library, "I would love to escort you to the Tower, but I am afraid that would cause you more trouble."

Calixta looked to the ground with a shamed face, he could see she hated the truth in his words. "I hate to admit it, but your right. But I will see you at the ball."

He lightly kissed the back of her hand, "I can't wait." She said nothing, as she smiled madly and blushed. Finally, after a moment she turned around and left. He watched her runoff longingly. For the first time, he finally understood how his father could have fallen for a Sorceress so easily. He had been told terrible stories about the Order, but if girls like Calixta could exist in it, then perhaps there was some good there after all.

He took a deep breath and headed back towards the estate he, Jarek, and other pack members were staying in. He would have to tell Jarek everything, and he knew this would just strengthen Jarek's will to take Aella far from Autheria. For once, Rowan agreed, he just wished he could take Calixta with him.