Angel and I Looked around the Crystal Hall as we called it while the maids took care of Ms. Teller. The basics were finished just furnishings and the like needed to be put in to complete it. I was proud of this wonder I made. It was good to get all that pain that I was holding before Friday. I decided to tell angel more of my story. All the girls knew the story up to my testing but the time between the testing and being sent to live at the school was still to be told. I left off solstice night. That is where I took up the tale.

After the testing my life changed. for the rest of the summer I was Ember. My Grandmother taught me all about being a girly girl as she thought of it. She also taught me the first steps in the art of magic. She told me stories and gave me exercises to make me more than just a ten year old kid. Everything went well till the end of the summer. I loved being Ember but I knew I could not be her at my parents house. I would have to live two lives for awhile.

My Mother was coming to pick me up so I thought I should change back. Grandmother did not like that but she did not stop me. I did not relies how much I had changed in such a short time. In boys clothes I still looked like a girl. This was not going to work.

Grandmother said "If you are serious then I will show you how to shift your looks to be Boyish or Girlish with magic. I will do this but you have to promise to come spend all your summers with me or where I tell you. Do you swear that you will?"

I had to do it so I said "Yes I swear!" That was it I had committed myself. She quickly showed me the spell and I shifted to look more like I did when I got here. Then she taught me to go the other way. Two looks for my two lives. It was sort of fun picking how I looked. I did not change my size or build just little things. Grandmother was pleased how easily I cast the spell.

Mother would be here soon so I had to stop playing and get ready. I made sure no Ember clothes were packed. As much as I wanted to keep the pretty things grandmother gave me I knew they would just start a fight if I had them. I did not like to fight with my parents I always lost. So I left behind the pretty things and faced forward.

Mother got there just a few moments later. My Father was working of course so it would be just her and me on the way back. She was in and out in hardly any time at all. Grandmother was a bit miffed but said nothing just kissed me goodbye. I did not know at the time but that was the last time I was to see her alive.

The ride back was a cold silence. Mother was stewing over something. I noted we were not heading home. I was afraid to ask so just sat and wondered. We pulled up to a medical building on the other side of town from where we lived. She got out and told me to come along. This place was scary. We went into a waiting room and Mother signed us in. I wondered what type of doctor we were going to see? It turned out to be a shrink! Grandmother had sent my Mother photos of me learning to be Ember! Mother was furious and made this appointment to De-girl me. Dang it this was bad! I was mad and would not talk till my Mother left the room. The shrink did not know how to deal with me. I hated this whole thing! He finally gave up after two hours.

Over the next three months Mother sent me to four other Shrinks. All male and all clueless. Mother did not try to talk to me about this just sent me to shrinks. Finally she had too much so over semester break I was packed off to boarding school. No one asked me, no one said word one I was just banished. That was a little over three years ago. There has been no contact from my parents till this phone call that lasted twenty seconds. So you see why I had such pain? I was not even told when Grandmother died! I only found out when the attorney contacted my about what I inherited.

Angel looked sad "How did you hook up with Lady Darla then? You seem to have been with her for a long time?

"The first summer after I arrived at school She came and showed me a letter from Grandmother placing me in her service." I grinned "We have been together ever since." I shrugged. "I have spent every holiday with her learning magic. Hard work at first but fun." A tap from the doorway brought me out of my memory's.

Zoe was at the door "The lady is awake. I have brought a snack over if you like? Will there be anything else?"

I smiled "We will be right in." I turned to Angel "I brought Ms. Teller over here to start setting up a circle of those who know and understand. That way if we need it we can have people to cover for us. What do you think?"

Angel smiled "Pulling the strings and playing the tune! I am in, let's do this." We walked back into the throne room. We could see that Ms. Teller was sitting by the wall drinking some tea. When she caught site of us she stood respectfully.

When Ms. Teller tried to curtsey and almost fell Angel stopped her. "You don't have to do that till you are recovered. I hope you understand who we are now?" Angel gave her a winning smile. When she nodded Angel said "You are one of the few so guard the knowledge well. We will call upon you from time to time to keep the secret safe. Do you understand?"

Ms. Teller said "I understand. This must be a great responsible to hold such secrets. I can guess why me but why now?"

I answered her "The tides of fate are moving. Those who walk the path will find the way limited. So we must open the path wider in this way." A good bit of BS to confuse her. Cryss glided in followed by Ben and Jenny. They barely looked around so it meant trouble. A moment behind them was Darla. They looked at Angel and me all fancied out so acted with respect.

Angel took control by striding to the Throne and sitting. "What news do you bring that is so urgent?" Her look was direct at Darla. Darla shook her head and Jenny was the one to speak.

"We came to find you the school is in a uproar! Cops are everywhere. They are looking for Eric. Seems they want to talk to him about his Mother!

I stepped in at that point "Are they local cops, marshals or Feds?

Jenny said "Mostly local but there are two Feds running the show. They want Eric bad!" I could tell Jenny was scarred. This was a bad thing to happen now.

"Let's go back I need to face this now." I sounded confident but I was anything but! I led the group to the mirror room. Ben wanted to stay with us but that would not be good so I sent him back to his school. Then I took a deep breath and opened the portal to Ms. Tellers office. I shifted as I passed through the others following quickly into the small room. I peeked out there was no one out in the hall. I looked at Jenny "As soon as I open the door you head back to class." I looked at Angel "You too, I will handle this myself." They both looked like they will argue but I cut them off. "This is a birth family mater so please do as I say! I opened the door and the girls scampered off to class. I stood with Ms. Teller and Darla for a moment. "I don't know what is going to happen but stay out of it! This could get messy and if I have to run it would be better alone." I thought Here goes nothing. I walked out to the main office.

There was a few people in the office and as soon as they caught sight of me I was swarmed and pushed into the Headmasters Office. The headmaster stood and introduced me to two women in suits "Eric Vine this is Helena Snow and Deanna Wright of the Tangent Institute. They have been looking forward to talking to you. We will talk about where you were later!

Ms. Snow said "Have you heard from your mother lately?"

I answered "Yes, Yesterday for about twenty seconds."

Ms. Snow "Are you sure it was her? Could it be anyone else?"

"It was her. Nobody irritates me so much in so short of time. I am as sure as I can be after a little over three years of no contact." I sounded put off and tired.

Ms. Snow "Did she say when she would see you? Anything would help.

I sighed "Friday, she did not say when on Friday."
Ms. Snow "Anything else you can think of that might help us find her?"

I laughed "She and I don't speak. I was exiled three years ago. Yesterday was the first phone call in all that time. Personally I don't want anything to do with the woman! Now can I go back to class?"

Ms. Snow "That's all we need for now. Tell her we want to talk to her if she shows. Thank you for your time." She handed me a card and she and her partner left.

The Headmaster looked at me "Where were you for the last three hours?

I sighed "In with Ms. Teller having a breakdown over the phone call."

The Headmaster "OK go back to class, first get a pass from Ms. Teller I am sure she is worried." It was then that I caught that the Headmaster was wearing a Rose Crest Ring! He smiled and waved me out.

I walked over to Ms. Teller's office and tapped on the door. It opened and I was rushed in. "You look tired what happened? Are you in trouble?" Ms. Teller did look worried.

I sighed "It is all cleared up as far as they wanting me. But it brings up a ton of questions I can't answer right now. Can I have a pass back to class. I said I was in with you having a breakdown over the phone call." I shook my head.

Darla knew that look "What is it something has you puzzled?

I sighed again "The headmaster has a Rose Crest Ring!"

Darla gasped "I'll look into it. You get some rest."

I smiled took the pass and headed out to return to class. Classes went fine the rest of the day. As soon as the classroom was empty I stepped up to the mirror thinking about crossing over to do some snooping. Angel came in right at that time.

She shook her head "leaving without me? You know you should be back in your room resting. You have been though a lot lately. But if you insist on going through then I am going with you." She smiled that winning smile.

Dang it, I did not need this. "I was thinking of snooping but I can't do that with a Queen along. So I guess I will go back and rest till dinner." For once I meant what I said and curtsied then left for my room. The rest of the day was quiet. In the morning I got ready for school wondering if my Mother would show early or at all? I hoped she would get here fast and leave just as fast! I wanted to go to Sanctuary and work on more rooms in the Crystal Hall. There was twenty four rooms yet to do in the shell that the Hall is right now. We only have almost two months left till summer starts. That is not much time when we can only work weekends. Well that is for later now is time for breakfast.

The classes went fine all day. I put aside her visit and worked on my studies. Finally classes were over for the day. All the girls left for Sanctuary without me. Still I waited for Mother Dear. This was really bugging me! If she does not get here by dinner I think I'll take off. It would serve her right.

It was in the middle dinner she finally showed. She looked older than I last seen her a bit of gray in her hair and few lines on her face. I handed the card to her and told her they wanted to talk to her. She put the card in her bag. She looked around then handed me a bag said that was from my grandmother. Then left quickly. So much for having a lot to talk about. I felt an enchantment coming from the bag a strong one. I decided to check out the bag in Sanctuary. No tracker made even magical ones can work though a portal. I decided on one more precaution. I would get a mirror for my room and leave from there.

Getting the Mirror for my room was not as hard as I thought it would be. So I set it up in the corner and locked the door. I got ready to go for the weekend. I was signed out and on one was around to see me not leave. I opened the portal and shifted as I stepped through. I was good being Ember again. I headed to my home. I was tired and had all I needed to investigate the bag there. Cryss was gliding around and swooped down to land on my shoulder. I gave her a scratch hello and kept on walking. Darla was at the house sitting on the porch drinking tea.

"Did you finally see your Mother?" Darla smiled when I nodded. "From your look it was as you expected? Learn anything new?

I sighed "She waited till I was eating dinner then showed up. She was there and gone in under 90 seconds. All she was doing was giving me this from my Grandmother." I held up the bag. "There is a enchantment on the bag that I can tell. I am going to check it out as soon as I get settled in.

Zoe came out. "Tea Miss? Have you eaten? I can fix you something if you have not."

I smiled "Yes to tea, Earl Gray I think. Yes I have eaten but something sweet would be nice." I sat on a chair on the porch next to Darla. Zoe went in to get my tea and nosh. I set the bag on a table between us. It was not hard to open. The only thing in it was a letter and the magic box that I got the Rose Crest Ring from when I was with Grandmother. I took the box and letter out and put them aside. Strange thing was I still felt the enchantment coming from the bag. I picked up the letter and checked the seal. It was my Grandmothers seal. I opened the letter.

Dear Ember,
If you are reading this I am dead and you have my bag. I don't know how it came to you so I hope it is still whole and the enchantment is still on it. I only want you to break the enchantment. If you are still with Darla you should know how by now. Have fun with what is in it. I love you and always have. Goodbye
Your loving Grandmother

Well that was a sad but lovely note I guess. Now how to break the enchantment? Hmmm A unlock spell might work or maybe a knock spell. I looked and thought of something to try. I took out my Rose Crest Ring and placed it on the bags opening. There was sparks and the bag jumped a bit. The enchantment felt less but not broken. I put the ring away. I thought for a moment then placed my Sword and the Rose Crest Ring on the seal spot and the bag shuttered and the enchantment broke. Books started to flow out of the bag. It turned out to be seventeen spell books. A treasure trove of spells. I guess this is what my Grandmother truly wanted me to leave me.

Darla was smiling "I am sure that enchantment is in one of these books so you can lock the books away until you need them. This many spell books are hard to come by.

I giggled and started looking at the books. It helped that they were libeled by the type of spells they contained. I found the enchantment book and reset the enchantment so only I could take out or put things in the bag of holding. It was not a hard spell so I was done in a hour. Zoe made me some more tea and I ate the pie she had brought me. I picked up the box and like the first time I put my will into it and said "Open please." It opened and inside was two rings. The first was my Grandmother's Falcon Crest Ring then another Rose Crest Ring. Well now I had two Rose Crest Rings. One I will use to test new people like I was tested. The other I will keep with the Falcon Crest Ring as keepsakes. I can travel everywhere with my Sword and the Rose Crest Ring. I had copied the Rose Crest Rings enchantment as well as the one for Sanctuary into my ring. I wonder where the Falcon Crest Ring goes to. It is a portal ring that is certain. I will have to check into that sometime. Not now though it was getting late and I want to get up early. So I said goodnight to Darla and headed to bed.

In the morning I came down to find my tea waiting and Darla making a list of some kind. I sat and Zoe served me some breakfast. I sure liked having a maid. As I was eating Darla finished her list and passed it to me. It was a simple list of what rooms were needed in the Crystal Hall. The list was for twenty rooms leaving four open. I was not sure why she was helping in this way but any help may get things done faster. I guess she has seen a lot of Great Halls. I thanked her and went on with my breakfast thinking. I had a lot of things to do today.

Jenny came in "What's up? I am going shopping today need anything? Byron is going with me so he can carry a lot." She was all smiles.

I smiled back at her "Zoe how's the pantry?" She gave me the thumbs up sign. "Looks like we are fine Jenny. Where you shopping at?"

Jenny smile went to a grin "Crossroads Trading Post!"

Darla put in "I am taking them through a mirror I know about."

I looked at her "How many you taking?"

Darla replied "Jenny and Tina plus their Knight escorts. Angel set it up. two today and two tomorrow. Should get all the homes stocked well this weekend. Any objection?"

I shook my head "If Angel set it up I don't have any say. " I grinded "Though I do need to start teaching magic soon. I will work on the Crystal Hall till the girls are free."

Angels voice came from behind me. "You have a problem with the way I do things Lady Mage? I tuned and could see she was angry.

I stood and curtsied "No your Majesty just stating my opinion. The last few days have me on edge I guess. Excuse me." I moved to go get ready for the day. I was a bit testy with them but the thing with my Mother was still on my mind. I should let her decide things like this. She is the Queen after all. She was right to call me on it. I need to calm down and let others do things without me being in on the planning. Oh well let it go! I have work to do.

When I returned downstairs the only one left was Angel. She was dressed down but I decided to curtsy and waited for her to ball me out. She sighed "Is this how it is going to be between us from now on? You made me Queen why don't you let me do my job? I am not that bad at it you know!"

"I will try. I am use to being the planner of the group. Maybe I should move to the other side of the lake. That way I won't interfere with the running of your court." I was feeling a little out of sorts today and it was showing.

Angel asked "What about the magic classes? What about Crystal Hall? Are you going to leave it unfinished?"

I could not look her in the eye. "You have Darla here she taught me so that would be fine. Crystal Hall can be finished in a normal way. I am not needed for that. I don't see one thing I can do for the group that is worth me staying for."

Angel looked at me and shook her head "Go, you are of no use to me in this state!"

"Please leave the house, Zoe you too." I shrank the house to the size it would fit in my bag. I walked to the waters edge and created a crystal boat. I stepped into the boat. Zoe quickly followed me into the boat. With a flick of water magic I sent the boat across the lake. Looks like I will be starting over.