The Crow

The crow flew around the forest. It was low enough for Evelyn to observe the animals and the scenery around her with ease. This wasn't her first time performing this type of magic, but it was intense and required her complete concentration. Extending her magic outside of her body to temporarily take over the being of an animal was a difficult task. This magic was her secret, she had never shared this ability with anyone, even Peggy was unaware of her sister's full powers, believing that Evelyn only possessed strong wind magic.

Evelyn focused, using the sounds of the forest to help guide her as she observed the forest around her. There was something about the forest at night that never failed to amaze her. Whether it was the stillness that came with the darkness or the way the moonlight made everything seem magical, she couldn't put her finger on it, but it was her favorite time to train her abilities. She watched as the rabbits retreated to their burrows and the deer snuggled up with their fawns. She took in the sight of the trees, their leaves swaying gently with the gusts of the late autumn wind. She led the crow downstream, watching the water shimmer in the moonlight. After a while, further downstream and tucked away further in the trees, she landed on a branch, curious about the sight before her.

In front of her eyes, she saw a tiny tree house, complete with a rope ladder and a beautifully carved door. From what she could see, it looked like it hadn't been used in a while, but one of the windows had been left open and it was large enough that the crow was able to enter easily. She guided the crow off the branch and flew toward the tree house, circling it to see the full size and shape of it. It was well built and surprisingly large. It almost wrapped around the entire trunk of the tree and was fitted with a small balcony that had a tiny telescope attached to the railing. She giggled to herself and decided to take a look inside. She flew in through the window and the crow perched on a little shelf. Inside there was a red rug in the middle of the floor with chairs lining one side. The shelves on the walls were packed full of jars that contained various items that looked like plants and rocks, and then some contained strange looking liquids. In the back, a long desk covered the entire length of the wall. It was lined with drawers on the bottom and neatly laid out instruments were arranged on top with a microscope and large item that she was not sure what it was for. Evelyn was curious, but she felt her magic becoming weaker.

{Ugh. This always happens when things start to get interesting!} Evenly complained in her head.

She led the crow out of the tree house, and left it perched on a branch as she began to slowly withdraw her magic. Tingling under her skin, her magic started to settle in her body. Keeping her breathing steady, she carefully hummed her magic down and allowed it to settle itself; she needed to make sure that she still had enough strength to be able to get herself back up to her balcony.

Evelyn relaxed her body and lay there staring at the moon once again. She decided that she needed to rest a while so that she wouldn't strain herself on the way back. The last thing she needed was to be drained in the morning and raise Peggy's suspicions about her nighttime excursion. Peggy was aware of her sister's tendencies to sneak out at night and practice her magic, but after several incidents, she stopped questioning her. That would typically be the case, unless she could tell that Evelyn had overexerted herself.

***

[Quincy, I followed that crow. It was strange.]

[What do you mean by that?] Not quite sure himself about what had happened.

[It just flew around and then headed downstream. It found the tree house but left after only a few moments inside. What do you think she's doing?]

[Well, she pulled her magic back, and now she's just lying there. I can't wrap my head around this,] Quincy was still staring up at the rock as he watched the beautiful girl before he gazed at the moon.

[I don't know. Do you think we should wait for her to leave and see where she goes?]

[Sure, I can follow her if you want to head back in.] Quincy secretly hoped that Carl was more interested in speaking to his father about what they had just seen instead of waiting to follow her.

[Okay, I'll go back to dad. If you see her do anything, let us know and we will come to see what is going on.]

With that Carl headed back towards the estate while Quincy concealed himself downstream, still able to see her.

***

"I guess I should head back," Evelyn thought aloud to herself.

She sat up on the rock, but laying on its cold and slightly uneven surface for that long had made her stiff and she needed some time to stretch her limbs before she could set off back to her room. After she felt satisfied that she could make it back up to her room without any trouble, she began to stand up. She passed before getting down from the rock; Evelyn was sure that she could feel someone watching her. She carefully scanned her surroundings, paying close attention to the sounds of the forest. Once she felt like nothing was amiss, she made her way through the forest to return to her room.

After only a few paces, Evelyn could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She decided it was best to weave her way back and attempt to shake whatever was following her off her trail, but it was no use, she still could feel its eyes on her. She stopped in her tracks and carefully scanned her surroundings; it was then that she saw what was watching her.

A large set of blazing yellow eyes were staring back at her, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from their gaze. A shiver shook her spine, freezing her in place. A large wolf slowly crept out of the shadows and Evelyn quickly composed herself and tilted her head down to further conceal her face. She had heard about werewolves before from her Aunt Carol. She remembered her endless warnings about their fierce nature, their ability to sense magic, and their history of disdain of witches. Evelyn carefully glanced up and watched as those piercing eyes scanned her from head to toe and hoped that her hood was low enough and the slight darkness of the forest concealed her identity. It was only after a few too many agonizing seconds that those yellows stopped scrutinizing her and she saw the wolf turn its head and slink into the forest away from her. She released the breath that she was holding and relaxed her body. Her eyes scanned the forest around her, searching for any other wolves that may also be watching her. With her guard on high alert, she arrived back in her quarters and hid her cloak before sinking into her bed.

***

Unbeknownst to Evely, Quincy, and Carl, a beautiful brunette vampire witnessed the entire scene. Maxine was taken aback that not only was Evelyn performing high scale magic, but the werewolf brothers had also witnessed the entire scene. She made her way back to the inn that Clyde and George were staying at to inform them of her discovery.

"Well, it looks like our little witch is more powerful than we guessed," Maxine smirked as she took a seat at their table.

"Oh," Clyde raised an eyebrow. "And why is that? Did our little bird flee the nest this evening?"

"Not only was she able to project her magic to summon and control the animals in the forest, but our little werewolves also saw the whole thing!"

"Is that so," Clyde hummed as he nursed his glass of blood. "That type of magic is not easy to pull off. George, didn't you say that the youngest daughter was not a member of the coven?"

"Yes, that is what I heard from my sources. It is quite interesting that she has been able to achieve that level of magic without any guidance."

Clyde licked his red stained lips, "has there been any moment from the Crown Prince."

"Nothing to report. They have only moved to their villa just outside the Gauthier Duchy, but there hasn't been any other movement. It seems that they are here to attend the party that the duke is throwing for his daughter Lacey," George replied.

"Good, can you see what you can do about getting us into that ball?"

"Yes, I can take care of that right away."

"Maxine, I want you to continue observing our little bird. I want to see what else she might do," Clyde smiled to himself.