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Belonging
The last few weeks of the semester passed in a happy blur. Eliza found herself now fully part of her classmates’ social circle. Melissa had marched Eliza to the table of sixteen-year-olds and placed her in the seat of honour in the middle and—like magic—Eliza immediately seemed to belong there. She and Melissa eventually sat in the middle of a series of tables that were pushed together. This became where nearly everyone in her year crowded together to share meals, magical theories, and study.
Despite her initial distaste for being surrounded by so many people, Eliza was beginning to enjoy it. It felt nice to be part of a community. The stimulating conversations of her younger classmates had a buoyant effect on her. They were all just as positive and optimistic about the future as Melissa had always been, and their enthusiasm was refreshing. Eliza began to forget the decade of conforming to society’s rat race and began to truly believe that even though she was fast approaching her thirties, anything was still possible for her.
Eliza told Mashu the whole story of what happened one afternoon as they strolled the gardens. Tulips were quickly overtaking daffodils and bees were working their way from stem to stem. Mashu chose to remain faithfully by Faye’s side as she recovered in the Healer’s room. The two of them left the school together one sunny afternoon, a couple weeks before the end of term.
No one could do anything to help Faye recover her magic. Her soul had become too damaged by the dark magic which corrupted her. Mashu would escort her back to her family. Perhaps in time, she might heal what had been broken. Though Faye did not look at or speak to Eliza, Mashu gave her a smile and a wave goodbye.
It took a few weeks to convince Professor Claeg to start reuniting the severed souls with their bodies. Once he did, Melissa immediately returned to her usual over-achieving, show-off self. But Eliza did not mind. The trees were now fully in their leaves and flowers were blooming in all the school gardens. It was only a few days before the exams in June that Melissa had her magic back. Eliza and the other first year students worked day and night to help Melissa perfect all the spells she had not been able to perform since before Christmas. Luckily, Melissa had painstakingly memorized the theory these past months. Her success was quick.
Eliza’s grade passed all their exams with record-breaking performance. The professors associated it to the teamwork and camaraderie that had sprung up amongst the students in the lead up to exams. Eliza knew it was all down to Melissa, who was now celebrating the end of exams by producing a most impressive multi-colored light show from her staff.
Professor Stone had come to congratulate Melissa on her craftsmanship, and offered to give her one-on-one time in his classroom to refine her instrument. By the end of the semester, Melissa’s staff was no longer a huge clunky thing, but a work of art much admired by the rest of the students. The magic Melissa was now able to produce was of exquisite composition, much influenced by the staff’s many ingredients.
When the very last day of school finally rolled around and it was time to return home for a two-month break, Eliza found herself standing in front of the principal.
“How was your first year at Kentree?” Principal Crinwere asked.
“Definitely not what I expected,” replied Eliza, thinking back to how naively she had imagined herself immediately outperforming the rest of the students, “but I cannot wait to come back for a second year!”
Eliza and Pal braced themselves as Holly Quaker raised her wand. She caught a glimpse of Kent standing by the front doors before she felt Holly’s spell hit her. With the familiar sensation of bursting into innumerable pieces, she was teleported home.
Pal and Eliza unlocked the door to her bungalow, the tenant who had rented it for their own school year had left the place looking a little different. With a few waves of her wand, the furniture was quickly back where Eliza liked it, and the kitchen and bathroom had scrubbed themselves spotless. The garden was another thing. With no one to tame the wilderness all spring, it was an eruption of plants and weeds.
Eliza and Pal went out to the garden shed and prepared to plant some new seeds that Eliza had brought back from school. She had purchased a book from the school’s shop before coming home about creating habitat for magical creatures and was eager to get to work. On her hands and knees, digging into her old garden, Eliza felt at peace. This was the site of her first magical manifestations. She felt even happier when, for the first time since her mother’s spell had been lifted from her mind, she sat in her garden and watched a plump gnome pluck a fat, juicy strawberry and eat it with great gusto.
Author’s Note:
Thank you for reading Kentree’s Stolen Souls! If you enjoyed this story, you might be glad to know the sequel is now available!
Kentree’s Haunted Halls follows the events of Kentree’s Stolen Souls and delves into Eliza’s mysterious origins.