I looked over at the beautiful woman sharing my truck’s bench seat. Who was she, and why did I feel so connected with her? The streetlights glow and the flashes of lightning showed a woman who I’d guess was somewhere in her early-to-mid-thirties, with an athletic, slender frame and dark blonde hair. All she wore was her “wrap,” but as I looked at her in the seat, it covered her like a dress of finest silk, elegant and stylish.

Elisabette smiled and looked at me. “I confuse you, don’t I, Emily?”

I turned to watch the rain slicked road. “Yes, Ma’am, you really do. I hope you’ll pardon me for staring, and that you can excuse me if I sound stupid, but somehow I know that you are important to me, and I feel comfortable with you. I can’t really explain it, but I somehow feel honored, I guess, that you are here, and I know I can trust you.”

“Well then, let me begin with an introduction. As you know, my name is Elisabette. I am also known as the Sorceress, and yes, I know you are familiar with that name.”

Yes, very familiar. Mrs. Andrews had told us a lot of what I had believed to be silly fairy tales involving an immortal Sorceress, the strongest, oldest and most mysterious of all witches. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that there might actually be some truth to them.

“Please excuse me, Elisabette, because I truly and honestly want to believe you, but from everything I have heard about you, that would make you well over a thousand years old, and my mind just can't handle that!

She smiled at my disbelief. “I know how difficult it is for you to accept. It’s a big step, but one you need to find the strength to make. Magic is truly much more than you believe it to be, and that’s why I was sent to you, to prepare you to accept it.

Emily, you already have great strength, and a powerful heart. Still, you don’t believe in Magic’s true potential, and this weakens and limits you. I am here to open your eyes to a world of magic that is beyond your ability to understand, a world that defies all of your ideas and your logical perceptions and expectations of reality.”

“I’m still struggling to take it all in, Elisabette. I’ve always known that I didn’t really understand magic. I thought that it was just a way for people to describe abilities like telekinetics, or telepathy, even teleportation. It’s very hard for me to believe that the stories I’ve been told about could be true.

For example, I know that every young witch is told the amazing story of the five lucky girls that first touched the rock, and developed magical abilities. The idea that you were one of those girls in the story is quite frankly difficult for me to accept.”

“All right then, to begin your training, I’ll tell you the real story of how we found the rock, and how it changed us. As you might guess, the truth is quite a bit different than the story.”

This I had to hear! “Elisabette, I really want to hear your story, but it might be better told in the comfort of my parent’s home, and we’re almost there.”

“That’s a good idea, Emily. Do you have an umbrella??”

“Yeah, molded into clips under the arm rests on each side of the truck. My father and I got the idea from Rolls-Royce.”

“Very clever!”

“Thank you. I’ll park as close to the door as I can get.” I pulled it in and got the passenger door within a few feet of the door. I shut the truck down, then ran around and opened the side door, to the house, then held the truck’s door open for her.

We went in and hung up the umbrellas and wiped our shoes on the coarse rug. Debbie and Tim came in just a few seconds behind us, and we all went into the living room. Not surprisingly (as I was sure Debbie had already called), my parents and Grandma were waiting for us, and there was coffee, tea and hot chocolate, and a nice welcoming fire in the fireplace.

My parents stood and welcomed my new teacher. I could tell Grandma was particularly impressed.

“Welcome, my lady,” She said, bowing. “This is a very great honor.”

“Nonsense, my dear, the honor is all mine. I have long wanted to meet you again, my dear.”

‘Thank you, Grandmother, for agreeing to tutor my grandchild, Emily. It can be difficult to train such a powerful and talented child.”

“I am proud of what you've done so far, and what was sacrificed by this family. No one ever suspected that this was the path we would be taking. Still, she has proven to be so acceptable, and I have to admit to being very proud that she comes from my line. You and Jennifer have both have done so well.”

Okay, wait a minute, back up. “Elisabette is my great-grandmother?”

Grandma smiled. “Well, you would have to add several ‘greats’ in there, but out of convenience and respect, we’ve always called her Grandmother.”

I was stunned. I’m related to Elisabette the Sorceress, the greatest witch ever known? I knew that I was somehow related to one of the five girls who touched the stone that gave us our powers, but I never would have expected this!

Elisabette waited until everyone was seated, then she started to explain.

“As a beginning of her formal training, I have promised Emily that I would tell her the story of how this all began. While you’ve all been told a simplified, pleasant version of this, very few people actually know the sometimes painful truth, but those of you here are about to learn of it.

We were playing on the shore near our fishing village, just a bunch of kids, somewhere between 10 and 16. We saw and heard the thing fall from the sky, and I now understand that it was probably only a piece of a much larger rock. I can only imagine how the world would be so much different, had the entire original stone survived.

After we saw it come down, Agatha, Molly, Mary, Colene and I decided to find it, and show our parents. To make a longer story short, we found the rock in a small crater on the hill.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that the damned rock grows in peoples memories. It was really not that impressive, perhaps only about the size of my fist, and once it had been cleaned and polished, it looked like a strangely blue colored gem. When I first picked it up, though, it was covered in a black, ashy coating

“You were the first to hold it?” I asked.

“Aye, if you want to call it that.” She laughed. “I picked it up and it knocked me flat, totally unconscious. That was the first sign that something was different about it. All of the girls were afraid to hold it, but like a hot potato game, it was passed between the four of them as they went to get some help for me. Eventually, they saw some adults at the pier, and they carried me home.”

“It knocked you out that long?” Tim asked.

“Aye, and it did far more than that. No one tells the true horrors of the tale, for while it’s true that I was the oldest, and charged with watching the girls, I was not actually one of them. I was a boy called Eric, tall and strong, the second of five sons of Ulrich, who was the Captain of his own boat. I was well liked, and proud to be a crewman on my father’s fishing boat.

When I finally awoke, my world was very different. From a tall, strapping young fisherman to a beautiful girl was a huge shock for all of us. Of course, my father was far less than impressed. He was not happy to see my change, not in the least. He saw nothing good in my transformation, and in fact he seemed to feel that it was somehow all of my doing, which had brought down some kind of a terrible punishment from God. He was sure that I must have done something horrendous indeed, to have been scourged so badly. After all, no one else had been changed, had they?

No one knew it at the time, but all five of us had been changed, in many mysterious and miraculous ways.

As things began to happen around us, it soon became apparent that the others had indeed been changed. People began to grow afraid of us, and some said that the stone had changed us by the power of Satan, himself. Less than a fortnight after the fall of the stone, we were cast out, banished from the village, and told that we were dead to them.

Wee Aggie took it the hardest, of course, and she cried for her Mummy for days. It truly hurt all of us very deeply. Our own families had turned us out, and in some cases they did much worse. Colene’s parents had even beaten her, chasing her out of their home, and into the rain. Mary’s parents tried to do the same, but Mary’s talents grew terrible with her powerful rage. She left them alive and mostly unhurt, but their cottage and everything they owned was leveled.” Elisabette snorted, sort of a small, unfunny laugh. “That girl always did have a terrible temper.

“My father was the worst. My mother tried to defend me, but he cruelly struck her down and killed her, then came after me. It was the last thing he did. I called down the lightning, and I destroyed him and his home. Some have said that because I killed him, I am doomed to live until the judgment, but for what he did, I don’t think even God would gainsay my actions.

We left, and we made our way into the world. We learned to be extremely careful with our powers, but quite often the superstitious people around us became troublesome, and we moved frequently. Eventually, we learned to defend ourselves and we decided that it would be best for us to split up, though Aggie stayed with me.

Over the years we had families, and I like to think we’ve changed our world, mostly for the better. We all went to different parts of what you call the United Kingdom, but our powers allowed us to continue to keep in touch. Colene went to Eire, or Ireland to you, now. She had many children with that big loveable lug of a husband of hers. I think I’ll always miss their laughter, and I have a great love of the irish.

Molly and Mary both moved to the North, and found good husbands among the Scots. Like Colene, we all had long, healthy lives. I know that Aggie, my beautiful adopted little sister, lived until the age of 90, before she passed, which was unheard of in those times. She was quite a beauty until the last decade or so. None of the others lived past 100, except me, of course. I’m not sure why I’ve lived so long, nor why, of all of us, I was so strong. We had many, many children, and our power grew strong, as you know. It has been so long since they've been gone, and I still mourn for them all.”

Her tears told us that while she had her Magic and a will of steel, her heart was still soft and loving, and Mom, Grandma and I all hugged her, to give her a small bit of our love, as well.

“I often walk that shore where we once played. The village is long gone, and I own a large estate there. A small city lies nearby, and I know I have family there, but I keep pretty much to myself. My last husband died only a few years ago, and my children from him all have their own lives, although they frequently come to visit, and my youngest, Elaine, is currently taking care of my house for me. I am sure that before your training is complete, Emily, you will meet her, and visit the place where it all began.

Our families number in the thousands, and our children continue to be healthy, and have long, generally happy lives, though we lost many in the great war. I’ve trained many young witches to become important members of their communities, but you, Emily, are a very special young lady.”

“What makes me so special, Grandmother?” I asked.

“To the best of my considerable knowledge, young lady, you are only the second person to have been gender changed, and you’ve already shown amazing strength and courage since your transformation. I’ve come to believe that it is something in the change of gender which gives the two of us our strength.”

”You mean, I could live as long as you have?”

“Well, we won’t know that for many years, but I believe you do have that potential.”

Oh. Uhhhm...is this good news?