Chapter Two

Chapter Two

     “You did what?! Mikayla! What did you just say?”

     “We’re doomed now!!!”

     “Tabby darling, we are just fine. Mikayla is just getting a bit unreasonable. Why don’t you go take a nice hot bath?”

     “Belle, how can you be so calm?! They’re going to know! They’re going to find out!”

     “Oh pish and who are ‘they’ anyway?”

     “You can’t tell me that you’re not sick of it? It’s dirty Belle!”

     “Yes, it is dirty and yes, I don’t care for it, but I’m not going to start flinging spells willie nillie without an ounce of care or thought. Honestly, do you ever think past your actions and see any consequences at all?”

     “Hah! It’s just a boy! Who cares? There’s more! There’s one right there!”

     “Who are they?!”

     “Who? What?”

     Kelly and Colin had just entered a chaotic scene as they slowly walked through the door. They stood motionless as their eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light inside the townhouse. There they stood in a dark wooden foyer. A large window above the door let in sunlight which served as the room’s only light source. In front of them was a breakfast bar which seemed to tower above them since to get to it required going up a step which was to their right. Behind the breakfast bar there was an open kitchen with a lady hastily scurrying around making breakfast. She had light brown waves loosely clipped on top of her head and as she worked she contributed to the conversation without stopping. On the left side of the foyer there was a door with a lady standing inside. Her hair was jet black and her skin was a pale white. She wore a cross expression on her face and glared at the children as they stood in the empty foyer. Up the step and to the back of the kitchen beside the refrigerator there was another door with another lady standing right inside. This lady glanced back and forth at the children carefully avoiding eye contact and occasionally ducking her body behind the door leaving her strawberry blonde head to peak out. The children had no idea what to make of this situation and stood motionless beside each other watching this spectacle play on. The door had opened on it’s own and they presumed that they were invited inside yet as they stood in the open foyer no one paid them any mind until now.

     “Oh my! Oh heavens to Betsy I AM sorry! Please come in!” the lady in the kitchen beckoned as she paused what she was doing and moved towards the breakfast bar. “Please come up and sit down.”

     Kelly and Colin looked at each other and slowly moved towards the step. Together they stepped up onto the landing and made their way between the dark wooden rail and the stools that stood in front of the breakfast bar. They each pulled back a heavy wooden stool and climbed up on top of the tall seat and turned toward the lady watching them patiently.

     “Oh Belle! We’re going to be in so much trouble for doing this!” the lady in the door beside the refrigerator warned and ducked further behind the door.

     “Tabby, how about that bath?” the lady asked with gentle pleading eyes and the door slowly shut.

     “Hello”, the lady began, “My name is Isabelle. You can call me Belle. That was my sister Tabitha and the noisy one down there is Mikayla.”

     “Who are you calling noisy?” Mikayla yelled up from her door by the foyer.

     Belle turned her soft hazel eyes in the direction of the shrill loud voice below and then gently smiled before turning her attention back to the children.

     “I am so sorry about our door. We just acquired it from a wizard in the north and it seems to be a bit friendly. We’re having a hard time trying to get it to stay shut. It seems to want to let everyone inside which isn’t really the best thing for a door to do is it? I guess you could say it’s in training!” Belle quipped. 

     “A wizard?” Colin mumbled.

     “We’re sorry”, Kelly began. “Maybe we should go. We didn’t mean to barge in. We just thought...”

     “You’re fine dear! Really! Would you like some hot chocolate while I get Merv out of the house?”

     The two children just nodded their head. To their right, just over the step, another door opened up and a man walked in dressed in a business suit. He strode over to the end of the bar and placed his briefcase on top and turned his attention to the children.

     “Well, good morning”, he nodded to the children. “Belle, why are there two children sitting in my kitchen?”

     Kelly and Colin looked at each other as their faces turned scarlet.

     “Merv dear, this is Kelly and this is Colin”, Belle introduced. “The door has been very cordial this morning.”

     “Are we really keeping it?” Merv asked.

     “It’s new dear. We’ll give it some time to adjust.”

     “Well, hello to you both”, Merv greeted and shook the children’s hands. He then produced a magazine from his other hand, placed it on top of his briefcase and began to leaf through it.

     “Are you going to tell him?” sounded the shrill voice from below.

     “Tell me? Tell me what?” Merv asked looking puzzled.

     “Oh nothing really. Nothing at all.” Belle answered nonchalantly.

     “Really?” Merv asked Belle closing his magazine and focusing his attention onto her.

     “Really!” Belle answered decisively as she took his magazine and replaced it with a large travel mug of coffee. “Please have a good day.”

     Merv raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He glanced at Kelly and Colin and winked then picked up his coffee and briefcase. With a quick kiss on Belle’s cheek, he was down the step and out the door.

     “Are you going to tell him?” Mikayla asked as she glided around the rail and perched herself onto the closest stool.

     Belle set two mugs of hot chocolate in front of the kids and one in front of Mikayla. She slid up a stool on the other side of the bar and set another cup of cocoa in front of her. Kelly casually glanced at the magazine that Belle had taken from Merv. The cover looked just like every other magazine that she had seen. There was a lady on the front smiling and several smaller pictures bordering the cover. Kelly’s eyes grew wider as she noticed the magazines name - “Wizarding Weekly”. She squinted and tried to read what was written around the photos. “Wart removal - safe or pointless.” “How to throw more power into that spell.” “No pocus in your hocus?” Kelly nudged Colin and motioned with her eyes to the magazine cover and watched as his eyes grew larger too. They both looked at each other and then slowly moved their gaze to the two witches who were blowing steam off the top of their cups before continuing with their conversation that was started in the foyer.

     “So now what did you do Mikayla?”

     “In ront-fay of the ildren-chay?”

     “Hmm? Oh right!” Belle exclaimed and then looked at Kelly and Colin who were looking at her with large, round eyes.

     Well, my...” Belle began, “I’m guessing that you may already know.”  She picked up the magazine and turned it to Mikayla.

     “Are you really”, Kelly began to ask, “a wizard?”

     “Technically, no. I’m a witch. Merv would be the wizard”, Belle explained, “Oh, but please don’t be afraid or upset. We really are nice people. We don’t eat children or anything like that.”

     “Well, you may not”, Mikayla mumbled.

     “Mikayla!” Belle hissed.

     “We’ve never known a real witch before,” Colin spoke up.

     “Oh really! Well, we are quite normal really”, Belle replied ecstatically and shot a warning glance to Mikayla.

     At that moment the back door slowly began to open. Tabitha, the strawberry blonde sister, timidly tip-toed into the kitchen. Her breath was unsteady and her steps were quiet as she snuck up behind Belle and cleared her throat.

     “Oh my pimpy toad!” declared Belle as she jumped from her seat and spun around to face Tabitha. “You need to make your presence known Tabitha!”

     “I did”, whispered Tabitha.

     “Before you are breathing down my neck!”

     “Pimpy toad?” Mikayla asked rolling her eyes up at Belle.

     “I was alarmed. It was the first thing that jumped into my head. Anyway, Tabby would you like to meet our guests?”

     Tabitha approached the bar in between Belle and Mikayla and nervously glanced at Kelly and Colin. The kids could feel her anxiety which began to make them nervous as well. 

     “Tabby”, Belle began, “this is Kelly and this is Colin. They’re children dear and totally harmless.”

     “Hi”, Tabby murmured then quickly looked to Belle. “Do you really think that this is a good idea? What if they tell? What if the whole neighborhood finds out? What if they come to our door with pitchforks and torches?! Belle, the door will let them in!!!”

     “TABITHA!” shouted Belle “Please contain yourself! Honestly! Who really does that anymore and who is ‘they’? You are WAY too concerned with them.”

     “Tabby, we won’t tell”, Kelly whispered reassuringly. “Really, no one needs to know if you would prefer that.”

     “Would you do that Kelly?” Belle asked obviously trying to calm Tabitha’s fears.

     “Absolutely”, Kelly answered.

     “Me too!” Colin chimed.

     “There! All settled then! See Tabby they won’t tell anyone.”

     “And we all know how trustworthy children can be. Look at Hansel and Gretel”, Mikayla casually added before she blew on her hot chocolate and took a sip.

     “Thanks Mikayla”, Belle said, “your input is always helpful.”