“Why didn’t you come to me?” Alvy asked.  Alvy looked at the thin, starving child, “Abela, come here, you need to eat” Alvy said while walking towards the table. Abela followed and sat. She knew that a visit from Alvy meant food, real food, a lot of food. Eat while I help your mother.”
With that Alvy pulled a long golden wand out of her cape, the table began to sag with the weight of all the food. Abela began to down the food, for she had not had a proper meal since Alvy’s visit last year. Alvy looked sadly at the child, she deserves better than this. Memories of the past flooded back into her mind, and she dismissed all those thoughts. She was here on a promise, and nothing more.
She walked over to the bed and whispered the life spell under her breath. The woman coughed and woke. “Eat” was all Alvy said, as she pointed towards the table that was still covered with food. “Thank you Alvy, I was too weak by the time I knew I should come, and Abela is too young to go all the way to the castle, ” the woman said. “Next time come when it is early, or else Abela will be on her own, and you would not want that now would you Clare” replied Alvy. “No, we wouldn’t” she agreed, as she sat down and ate. “No, we wouldn’t.”
Clare and Abela ate in silence for a while. “Abela, I will watch your mother, go and run to the waterfront” called Alvy. Abela, happy to get some time to herself, left quickly. After she was gone, Alvy and Clare sat uncomfortably for a while. Alvy broke the silence with slow, thoughtful words, “I want you and Abela to move to the castle. You can’t live here.” Clare looked at Alvy with surprise. “And why, might I ask, can we not live here?” Alvy hesitated, “Enemies of the mainland want to come, and by that I mean they want to kill everybody and use my powers against Abela.” Clare was quiet, Alvy looked at her and said, “The Corbis Clan” Clare recognized the name, they were a family on the mainland, determined to kill Alvy. Clare gathered Abela while Alvy gathered their little belongings. Stepping outside, she whistled and then stepped into the carriage that appeared. Clare and Abela sat across from her as the black draft horses started to pull. Alvy smiled slightly at the look on their faces as they watched the horses, who like Alvy were not normal. They were made of water with tails and manes of ice. After settling down, Abela asked the question that had been nagging at her for a while, ever since her mother had picked her up and ran back to the house with her. “Where are we going?” she asked, eyeing all of their belongings. “There,” said Alvy, pointing to the castle on the cliff overlooking the island. “Your new home.”

Turrets of blue ivory started growing larger as the carriage neared the castle. The gardens of jade vines and strawberries were in full bloom. Abela new not to touch the vines. Alvy grew the vines to protect herself. The strawberry’s, on the other hand, were edible. Abela turned from the window to study Alvy. Alvy was not around often, she mostly communicated through letters. Alvy’s hair was golden like always, but it looked different, It was almost always down, it was strange to see it braided. Abela looked into her eyes. They were blue with green stripes. Golden dots here and there. Alvy glanced at Abela, and slowly started talking. “What would you do if you had the power to stop gravity, turn off the sun, view the world through someone else's eyes? It only takes a spell, I have them all.” Abela understood the spellbook, Alvy’s spell book. The carriage lurched to a stop in front of the castle’s marble steps. But there was already another carriage there, bearing the crest of The Corbis Clan.