Ella woke up from what would have otherwise been a peaceful sleep. Her back ached from lying on the hard ground since she couldn’t risk sleeping in her cat form. The ground was harder than grass covered terrain should be. A cat would be powerless against the powers that Ella’s parents possess.

She pulled her talking stone out of her pocket to check in with her Aunt Mabel. This was her only means of communicating with her Aunt while on the run. This way she can communicate across long distances without being detected by her parents or their spies.

Ella’s talking stone glowed with soft, yellow light as she lets its communication field connect to that of her aunt’s talking stone. There was a soft click as contact was made.

“Good morning, Ella,” Mabel said, her soft voice crackling through Ella’s talking stone.

“Same to you, Aunt Mabel,” Ella replied.

“Still on your own?” Mabel’s voice took on an inquiring tone.

“Yes.” Ella pondered this for a moment, her voice strained. “It’s probably for the best.”

I don’t want to put anyone else in danger. I’m already in enough danger with my parents and their spies at large. I can’t let them get access to my powers. If that happens, it will be the end of me and my autonomy.

“You know that’s not true,” Mabel’s voice broke through Ella’s thoughts, pulling her out of her head. “Yes, you’re eighteen and you can make your own decisions but I still have to look out for you.”

Ella acknowledged this. “I know you care about me and I appreciate that. You’re all I have now.”

I don’t have parents. Not proper ones at least. Proper parents don’t use dark magic or want to control their children and their powers. Proper parents would accept you for who you are. Proper parents love and cherish their children. Proper parents don’t hate their children’s guts.

“I love you, Ella,” Warmth filled Mabel’s voice and it seemed as if she was reading Ella’s thoughts. “I love you more than you’ll ever know.”

Ella’s reply was automatic as if programmed in her brain, yet it had more power than she could ever imagine. “I love you too.” 

“Now we’ll cut down to the chase,” Mabel’s voice grew more insistent; more urgent.

Ella crossed her legs in preparation for what she knew would be a lecture of some kind. “I’m listening.” 

Mabel rambled on as if her words had the power to move mountains. “It’s not good for you to be on your own all the time. You may think you’ll be safer on your own but that is not the case. Your parents are very powerful and if they find you, they will stop at nothing to make you a puppet. You will not be able to fight them on your own.”

Ella cringed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” 

“I’m not saying you won’t be able to defend yourself,” Mabel’s voice flowed like honey with a soothing effect. “You’re a good fighter, Ella. I ought to know that after sparring with you every day for the past eight years. You did the right thing in coming to find me all those years ago. What I’m saying is, you need friends. Safety in numbers.”

“I have friends,” was Ella’s clipped reply.

“Friends you haven’t seen in eight years,” Mabel’s words hit somewhere deep in Ella’s soul. “What are you so scared is going to happen if you reconnect with your friends?”

“They only ever knew me as a boy,” Ella struggled to keep hold of her talking stone, almost dropping it. “What if they don’t accept me as I am now?”

Concern filled Mabel’s voice. “How do you know they won’t accept you?” 

“My parents don’t accept me.” Tears threatened to overwhelm Ella. “Besides, I’m a mess. All I’ll do is make things worse for everybody.”

 “You don’t make things worse for me. You brighten my days. You have a light that shines so bright, anyone who doesn’t see that is blind and foolish,” Mabel assured her.

Laughter erupted from Ella. “A very apt description of my parents.” 

It bewildered Ella that her aunt behaved toward her in a way that only a true mother would. Mabel was the closest thing Ella had to having a mother.

Mabel laughed as well. When the conversation began again, Mabel’s voice softened.

“You’re my everything.” 

A blow straight to the heart. Ella felt her heart threatening to explode.

You’re my everything. I can’t believe she said that! Do aunts say that? Are they even allowed to say that?

“Ella, are you okay?” Mabel’s voice broke through Ella’s thoughts once more.“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Ella heaved a deep breath.“Yeah, I’m okay. No one’s ever said that to me before.”

You’re my everything too. You’re like a mother to me. I wish you were my mother.

“Trust me.” Mabel’s voice felt like a hug. “Someone’s going to say that to you someday and you won't even see it coming. You won’t be able to unhear it either.”

Ella and Mabel fell silent for a few moments. Ella fiddled with her hair, deep in thought.

“Are you still there?” Mabel asked, breaking the silence.

“Yeah.”

“So what’s the plan?” Mabel prompted.

“I guess I’m going to reconnect with my friends.”

“You guess?” Mabel countered. “I need you to be more confident than that.”

“Fine.” Ella was almost to the point of snapping. “I’m going to reconnect with my friends.”

Mabel continued to probe at her.“Tell me more!” 

“What?” Ella’s frustration reached the breaking point. Her voice came out louder than she had planned so she immediately lowered her voice so as not to attract unwanted attention.

“I know there’s more you want to say but you’re not saying it.”

Mabel could give Ella a nudge even if she did it remotely.

Ella sighed in an attempt to control her frustration.

Caught again. If she’s going to keep this up, maybe she’ll become a therapist.

“Everden is the only place I felt at home,” Ella whispered, her voice dropping even more in volume.

It was a precaution she had to take in case any of her parents were around, or their followers.

Mabel lowered her voice too, understanding the exact reason that Ella lowered hers. Ella glanced around to make sure no one was watching her, knowing that her aunt was doing the same thing on her end.

“You have an advantage you know,” Mabel said at last.

“What is it?”

“From the information I’ve gathered from you over the years, you’ve hidden a lot from your parents.”

“So…” Ella trailed off, her turn to prompt her aunt.

“So your parents aren’t aware of all of your magical abilities,” Mabel replied. “Am I right?”

“Yes,” Ella’s response gave the confirmation her aunt needed. “They only know about my shapeshifting abilities. They likely know that I have other abilities I’ve been hiding from them as they were furious that I hid my shapeshifting abilities from them.”

“You did the right thing in hiding the rest of your powers from them.”  Mabel's voice washing over Ella in calming waves. “They’re plotting something. I don’t know what but they’re definitely plotting something. And I don’t think they’re alone in their quest.”

Ella nodded along although her aunt couldn't see her.

“Do you follow?” Mabel asked.

“Yep,” was Ella’s response. “I always knew my parents couldn’t be trusted. Sorry for not answering right away. Nodding has become a force of habit and I forgot that you can’t see my face.”

Mabel laughed and so did Ella. When they started talking again, Ella took on a more serious tone.

“I’ve got another advantage against them.”

“And that advantage is…” Mabel prompted, trailing off so that Ella could respond.

“My parents don’t know I’m trans!” Ella whispered, excited. “They’ll keep looking for a teenage boy because they’ll refuse to accept the fact that they have a daughter. They’ll also be looking for a male cat instead of a female one when I’m in cat form.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Mabel responded. “But don’t forget that your parents are so powerful that you would have no chance against them if you faced them alone.”

“Noted.” Ella smiled a little. “I won’t be alone when I face them again. I’ll have Ailish, her sister and our other friends as well as Ailish’s parents and you of course.”

“Of course you’ll have me,” Mabel said in the most affirming way possible. “Just remember that I won’t be there right away. It’s best if we arrive separately. If any of your parents’ spies find me, however unlikely that may be, they will expect that I will unknowingly lead them to you.”

Ella’s smile grew. “I hadn’t thought of that. They totally would think of that. If they knew how close you and I are, they would definitely use that to their advantage!”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t happen.”

Ella's smile turned into a frown.“Yes. Let’s hope so.”

Mabel’s response was grave.“You had best get going before your parents’ spies have the chance to pick up on your trail.”

“Yes I should.” Ella slung her bow over her shoulder so it hangs off of her quiver and strapped her sheathed rapier to her waist. “I must be prepared for anything.”

Mabel’s voice filled with laughter.“I like how you think. I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you, Aunt Mabel.”

“Right back at you, Ella Rockfall!” 

Ella could hear Mabel’s smile as she said this.

“You’re the mother I never had,” Ella whispered. “You have no idea what you mean to me.”

Mabel sniffled as she let the tears fall.“I have some idea. I’ve always thought of you as my daughter.”

There was something in Mabel’s voice that told Ella that Mabel was keeping something from her. Ella didn’t bother asking about it as she knew not to push her aunt. Mabel would tell her when she was ready. But there was something about Mabel’s response; the warmth in her voice that made Ella feel that even if Mabel wasn’t her mother by blood, she would always be a mother to her and always be her family. 

Even if my parents don’t accept me, Aunt Mabel always will.

“You’re the best person I could wish to have as my mother,” Ella said at last.

“You’re the sweetest thing, Ella,” Mabel replied. “Now get on your way. I’ll see you as soon as I think it’s safe.”

Ella’s face glowed with love for her aunt. “I’ll see you then and I’ll make you proud.”

“I know you will. You already do.”

There was a soft click as the connection between Ella and Mabel’s talking stones broke. The soft, yellow glow faded from Ella’s talking stone. It became cool again and once again resembled an ordinary stone.

It was only then that she let the tears fall. It had been weeks or maybe a month or two since she and Mabel had parted ways. Although Ella knew that it was for her own safety that they parted ways, she felt as if a part of her was missing.

I’m not going to let that bring me down. I still have a ways to go and maybe time to figure out who I am now that I know who I am on my own.

Ella put her talking stone back in its pouch so that only she would know where it was. She cleaned up the area where she was sleeping so that it looked as if no one had ever been there and stood up, running a hand through her long, dark, wavy brown hair.

Motivated by the beauty of her surroundings and how close she was to getting to the only place she could ever have called home if her parents hadn’t uprooted her from Everden when she was ten years old, Ella began to walk.

Ella walked for minutes that felt like hours. Finally, her surroundings looked quite familiar. The trees grew taller and the forests were thicker over there. There was a road through the trees that led to Everden. Ella gasped in wonder at the mystic beauty of it all. This was the first time she’d let herself do that.

Her parents were always telling her to toughen up as a child. They wanted her to behave as their “son” should.

They never truly knew me. If they did, they would know that I’m never going to be their puppet.

Ella glanced over at the road, stared at it for a moment before heading toward the forest.

The road’s too obvious. I need to stick to the shadows. Besides, wouldn’t people think twice looking at me if they saw me in my cat form, carrying a longbow, a quiver and a rapier?

The rapier, the longbow and the quiver that came with it were gifted to Ella from her Aunt Mabel. They contained enchantments but Ella didn’t know what the enchantments were or how they work. Her best guess was that they would cause extra damage when hitting their target.

Ella entered the forest. Mist had settled in, coming from the treetops

Perfect! That’ll make it harder for people to spot me.

Ella crept along, keeping to the shadows. After a few minutes, she heard rustling and approaching footsteps.

In a flash, Ella shifted into her cat form. Seconds later, someone came into the clearing. He didn’t notice Ella at first but gasped when he did.

“I wasn’t expecting to find a cat here!” he yelped, stepping back so as not to scare her.

Ella couldn’t help but recognize the person’s voice.

Andrew Brushenbush! It’s been a while.

Andrew reached down to pet Ella in her cat form. His curls left an auburn trail down halfway down his neck, kissing his face and neck. He shook his hair off his face, exposing freckles on his cheeks, his blue eyes glistening in the daylight. “Who do you belong to?”

I don’t belong to anyone.

“Someone’s been looking for a black cat for the past eight years,” Andrew muttered to himself, a smile beginning to flower.

Is it Ailish? Please tell me that it’s Ailish! Has she really been looking for me all these years?

Ella and Ailish were best friends before Ella was dragged away by her parents.

“Ailish will be pleased to know that I may have found her a clue.” Andrew broke out into a grin at last. His dimples showed as he smiled.

He hasn’t lost those dimples. 

Andrew looked in the direction of the town.“Hang on. I will go get her. She won’t believe her ears or her eyes!”

Andrew rushed off to find Ailish. When he returned, a familiar figure was beside him. Ailish. Her dark eyes shimmered with a violet tinge which was enhanced by her dark hair and her dark skin. Her hair dangled above her shoulders in frizzy wisps. Ailish glanced over Ella’s cat form, taking in her green eyes.

Ailish looked at her in wonder and said “You can go home now, Andrew. I’ll fill you in later.”

Andrew dashed off, heading back to the city of Everden. Ailish watched Andrew disappear from view, his hair bobbing up and down against his back. Ailish laughed a little as she watched him go. When Andrew had disappeared from view, she turned back to Ella and gave her her full attention.

“Strange place to find a cat,” Ailish said at last. She bent over Ella, lowered her voice and said “Welcome home, El.”