My dad chuckled and dropped his gaze, “Of course you are.”
He didn’t believe me. Great, I thought, this isn’t the time for jokes.
“Where are you going?” Helena asked confused.
I opened my mouth to speak, yet my mother interrupted, “She’s wants to go the city.” She said hesitantly, “Don’t you?”
I cleared my throat weakly and discovered that words had failed me, so I simply nodded.
Helena looked simply outraged, “The city?!” She fumed, “That’s a four day walk away!”
“What do you want to go the city for?” My father asked. His tone was even though I could tell he was just as confused as my sister.
I heaved a sigh, “I need to leave Mortlock.” I started to explain, “I can’t stay here … it’s not safe. I decided a few weeks ago that it was time for me to leave before something terrible happened. I’d never be able to forgive myself if …” My voice broke off and I looked away, blinking angrily.
“How long are you planning on going for?” Helena demanded.
This was the question I had feared. How could I tell my family – my family that I loved more than anything in the world, that it was unlikely that I would be coming home any time soon?
My father must have guessed this fact. He stood abruptly and glared me down, “You’ll be doing no such thing, young lady.” He growled in an undertone.
“I’m sorry, but I have no choice. I can’t stay here and put Helena in danger again and again.” I turned to my mother, hoping that she would understand my position. “I don’t want you to have to worry about one more thing; we’ve got enough on our plate as it is.”
“Avalon, we’ve managed to keep Helena safe for the past ten years, so why would you decide to leave now?” My mother said calmly.
“Mother,” I began, my voice pleading with her, “You have to understand … I don’t want to leave, but I have to. I can’t control my Power like you and father. It’s reckless of me to stay under this roof with Helena, one tiny slip up-” I fell silent.
Helena was glaring at me and repeated her question, “How long will you be gone for?” She said impatiently.
A lump formed in my throat and I looked at the floor, scuffing my boot against the grain of the wood.
“Ava!” Helena said angrily.
“I’m not coming back!” I snapped abruptly, fire spurting suddenly from my hands. I could smell burning hair but Helena had already swatted away the flames. This was exactly why I had to leave.
She looked affronted at the very idea of me never coming back. Her mouth opened and closed bewilderedly as she stared at me.
It broke my heart to see the poor little thing getting upset. She was truly my one weakness. After all, wasn’t I leaving everything behind to start a new life, just to keep her safe from me? She might think that I was being selfish, but when it came down to the facts, it was for her own good.
“You can’t.” Helena’s voice brought me back into reality.
“Helena, I-” Words eluded me as I looked at my father. He was gripping the piece of parchment tightly in his fist, and smoke billowed from his palms centre. The parchment was on fire within a second. I bit my lip worried.
“I won’t let you do this.” My father breathed heavily. He was trying his hardest to control his mood, though I could tell the topic of my leaving was severely upsetting him.
“I’ll leave anyway.” I whispered, my eyes determined.
He fell silent and unclenched his fist, a pool of ashes falling onto the tabletop.
“I’ll stop you.” He threatened.
“I’m of age!” I protested.
“That doesn’t make a ruddy difference.”
“And what about if the Realm finds out that we’re keeping aa-” I flailed a hand in Helena’s direction and she flinched just in case more fire came her way, “They’ll find out we’re hiding one!”
My father banged his fist on the table “The Realm of Mages will not find out anything!” He was furious now. It seemed I was just making him angrier, “Don’t talk about your sister like – like she’s a-”
“Human?” I offered.
“Human’s are filth!” He scowled at me.
“And how do we prove that she is of a Mage bloodline?” I pressed on, “What if they come here to take her away? What do you think they will do to me, to you and Mother?”
“They will not discover her!”
I glared at him furiously, my whole body was on the brink of combustion, “Fine.” I snapped. My abrupt change of mind seemed to shock him for he stared at me momentarily before mumbling something about teenagers.
It was silent for a long while. I stood there in the doorway watching my family. Helena was blinking furiously, obviously trying to fight back tears. My mother’s face was serene, and my father’s face was pink. I couldn’t tell whether it was because he was angry, or if he was shocked that I wanted to leave.