Yasmine stares out into the yard as the snow fell from the sky. She had an afghan wrapped around her shoulders as she stood and just watched the snow flakes fall from the sky. She had shared with her mother everything she had seen at the holding center. Her mother had said there was two ways she could handle what she saw.

The first choice was for her to learn how to deal with it and overcome how it affects her. The second choice would be for her mother and father to either block the memory or remove it from her. If they removed it, she would more than likely forget everything that happen that day. She would have a blank spot in her mind.

She decided to learn to overcome it. Her mother, aunt and father said they would help her. Just like Arion said he would help her. She watches as Arion comes trotting up to the back porch. He leans forward over the rail, so she could pet him. She always felt better when she touched him.

How are you feeling?
“I’m doing better. I still have nightmares about what happened.”
It takes time to heal from trauma. There are those that will never overcome what they have seen, but I know you will. You have a good heart and have been god touched. Plus, you have me and I am not going anywhere. I will never abandon you.
Arion rubs his head against her body.
“Thanks Arion.” Yasmine hugs him.

She holds onto him for a while, before she starts shivering. She releases him and heads inside the house. She notices that Lily was standing in the kitchen with a nice mug of hot chocolate.

“I thought you might want this, with as long as you were outside.” She hands the mugs to Yasmine.

“Thanks Aunt Lily.” Yasmine takes a sip of her hot chocolate.

“You’re welcome pumpkin.” Lily watches her niece as she drunk her cocoa.

She stirs the stew she had started for dinner.

Yasmine watches her aunt as she stirs the stew as she enjoyed her cocoa. The cocoa she was drinking was a special blend that her aunt put together. Her Aunt Lily imported cocoa beans from friends of hers in Africa, Mexico, and Brazil.

Yasmine finishes the last of her cocoa and rinse her mug out.

“Feel better now?” Lily knew Yasmine always felt better from drinking her special blend of cocoa.

“Yes ma’am.” Yasmine walks over and gives her Aunt a hug.

Lily returns the hug. She holds Yasmine and let Yasmine feel the love she has for niece flow into her. She knew Yasmine needed that more then anything else. She may have the mind of a fourteen years old boy, but she had the emotions of a ten-year-old girl.

Yasmine could feel the warm glow of her aunt’s energies enter her body and fill her up with nothing but love. She soaks it up and holds onto it.

Lily lets go of Yasmine “now off with you, youngster.” She kisses her forehead, as she releases Yasmine.

“Yes ma’am.” Yasmine felt better as she left her Aunt’s side.

Yasmine heads into the library and pull a book down off the self. She curls up in the big leather high back chair to read the book. The book was about The Adventures of Sinbad the sailor. Yasmine quickly loses herself in the story. She doesn’t even feel her mother when she comes in to check-up on her daughter.

Lydia knew Yasmine has been restless because of the nightmares and after their talk. She was proud her daughter wanted to solve this problem, instead of taking the easy way out of it. She had tracked her down to the library and found her engross in a novel. She didn’t want to disturb Yasmine, so she just stood at the doorway and watched her as she read.

After about twenty minutes of watching Yasmine read. Lydia heads towards the kitchen to start making the dough for the walnut bread she was making for dinner tonight. She finds Lily in there working on a ritual for their next meeting. They were going to change and replace some of the old rituals with new ones. That way, the rituals didn’t become boring or stale.

She doesn’t bother Lily as she goes about making the mixture for the Walnut bread. She preps the loaf pans and fill them up. By the time she had everything done, there was at least four pans filled and ready to go in the oven.

“I think that should do us. What do you think Lily?” Lydia looks over at Lily.

Lily looks up from the parchment she was writing on “yep, four should do us. One for Yasmine, one for Ryder and one for us to share and one left to have with our coffee.”

Lydia covers them up and set them aside. She walks over and sit down next to Lily and take a look at what she was working on. Since, she was the head Priestess. She would like to see what her maid had written for her.

Lydia picks the parchment up and reads over the ritual. She like how it flowed and channel the energies into the circle.

“I think this one is really good. I can feel the energies as I read the parchment.” She hands it back to Lily.

“Thank you.” Lily places a kiss on Lydia’s cheek.

Lydia just smiles. Her, Lily and Ryder have been in a three-way marriage since they were neophytes in their first coven. All three have exchange blood with each other and have each other’s blood flowing in their veins. It was risky when they did it, but because each of them had Fey blood somewhere in their ancestry. It tilted the odds into their favor. They were thinking about doing the same thing to Yasmine. Let her blood mix with theirs and theirs with her.

That way Yasmine could claim blood relation to her and they could claim blood relation to her as well.

When Lydia goes to find out what Yasmine wanted for lunch. She finds her sound asleep curled up in the chair she had been reading her book.
She spots the book on the floor next to the chair. She places a bookmark in it to mark the last page Yasmine may have read and grab a blanket from the downstairs hall closet and cover Yasmine up.

Lily was placing bowls on the kitchen table when she noticed Lydia walking in by herself.

“Where’s Yasmine?”

“She’s sound asleep in the library. She fell asleep while reading a book.” Lydia sits down at the table.

“Who fell asleep reading a book?” Ryder comes walking in from the back porch.

He had been out in the barn taking care of the animals. He hangs his heavy jacket up by the back door. He places his gloves in the pockets of
his jacket.

“Our wonderful daughter. She’s sound asleep in the library.” Lydia gets up and helps Lily with the stew from the stove.

The three of them sit down at the table and eat lunch, while they let Yasmine sleep.