A Little Touch of Magic | The Callers #1

Chapter Twenty-Two

'Can I ask you a question?'

I was sitting with my father in the study, picking up books and sorting them into piles for him to look over later. He was sitting in the large chair that used to be behind the desk; with the desk no longer in the room it looked strange.

'You may ask one, yes.'

'Was it you that left me at the Home?'

I couldn't help myself, I needed to know which of them had done it, and why. He sat back in the chair and pressed his fingertips together, watching me. I went back to the books, wondering if he was going to answer me at all.

'I didn't know you existed until a few years ago,' he finally said. 'Your mother ran away from me and it was only by chance that I stumbled upon you. I can't imagine why your mother gave you up, but I can only imagine it has something to do with my dear relatives.'

I try not to frown at him. How could he not have known I existed? A whole new world of questions popped into my head. Did he leave my mother? Or did she leave him? Why had my entire family gone to such great lengths to hide my existence from him and how had he found out if they had hidden me so well?

I looked up to see him tilt his head the way an animal does when its studying something a human is doing. It was an odd look for him, but it unnerved me all the same. I didn't want to give myself away. He had to believe that I was truly on his side. That Mr Ravencroft and I had fallen out and I wanted revenge.

'Are you happy you found me?' I asked, trying to raise my voice above a whisper. I was too scared for the answer but I had to know all the same.

He kept his gaze on me for a long moment, his eyes narrowing as he thought through his answer. I couldn't tell anything from his face. Resisting the urge to scream at him to just answer me, I picked up a couple of books and sorted them into piles while I waited.

'It was a surprise,' he finally said. 'I won't deny that. I had always longed for a child but Annaliese was reluctant. When I learned of your existence I knew she had done it to hurt me. Your mother was... bitter.'

I had to frown at that. I opened my mouth to ask another question but he raised a hand to silence me.

'We were happy, once. It's like every good fairy-tale romance gone wrong. One of us began to drift away from the other and in turn, the other does something to hurt them. In our case, my ideals changed from those of your mothers and she, in turn, decided to hide you from me.'

'So... did she even want me?' I could feel tears prickling at the back of my eyes. I had spent so many years picturing what my parents had been like, whether they were still around somewhere but unable to care for me. To find out the truth was the biggest disappointment I could imagine.

'I can't answer for the woman she became after I left,' he said slowly, 'but the woman I married had wanted no children.'

I let out a sharp gasp as a pain pierced inside me. My mother hadn't wanted me. 'Then why did she keep me?'

'I don't imagine she had a choice,' he said flatly. 'Family and all that.'

I knew he was talking about Mr Ravencroft. He wouldn't have wanted a potential Caller to have gone unborn. Perhaps that was why my mother had left me in the Home. Perhaps that was the real reason. Nothing to do with protecting me at all.

'Is she still out there?'

'That, I cannot answer,' he replied. 'I haven't heard word of her for a long time. Now, enough questions. You were granted only one, I believe I've been more than fair.'

I nodded and went back to my books.

After a moment, I saw him rising from his chair. 'No matter what anyone has told you about me, Ilaina, know that I would have always wanted you and would never have abandoned you.'

'Then why didn't you come for me?'

'Because I knew he was watching.'

I knew who he was talking about. Mr Ravencroft. Could it be that I had it all wrong? That Mr Ravencroft was the evil one while my father was not. I didn't know what to think. I tried to focus on the books as I stacked them into neat little piles but I couldn't get rid of the information swirling around in my head.

My father had always wanted me, my mother hadn't. Mr Ravencroft had convinced her to keep me but put me in the Home when I was really young to protect me from my father ever finding me. They had always been watching me, perhaps planning for this very thing to happen.

The more I learned, the more the lines blurred and I couldn't tell who was telling the truth. Who was bad and who was good.

For the time being, I just had to be content to finally spend time with my father. I had always wanted to know him and now was the perfect chance. I would deal with Mr Ravencroft and the others later. For now, I would revel in the small moments.

'Thank you,' I said as he turned to leave the room, 'for telling me this.'

'I will never lie to you, child. Now, finish those books and we'll have some dinner together. Perhaps we can discuss things more then.'

I nodded as he leftme alone. The sharp pain inside had dulled and was joined by a lightness that Iwas finally going to know the man and him, me.

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Thank you so much for reading this new chapter of A Little Touch of Magic. If you enjoyed it, please do hit that star button and leave a comment down below!

We're in the home stretch now, only a few chapters left! Are you excited for the end?

Have a great week, I'll see you next Sunday!

Heather x