their only grandchild, but they never laid eyes on me. Rupert infuriates Dad, but they’re the only relations that they both have. And he doesn’t want more bad feeling. Well,’ she laughed drily, ‘at least not from his side.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m guessing you didn’t tell Rupert or your Mum that you were meeting me here?’
I shook my head.
‘No, that’s what I thought. I didn’t tell my parents either. They wouldn’t have any problem with me seeing you, but they know that you'd have to go behind your Mum’s back, and could have given us hassle from that angle.’
Our hot chocolate arrived. I took a sip. It burnt my tongue, but the heat spreading out in my mouth was heavenly.
‘Aradia? Can I ask you a question?’
She looked up warily. ‘You can ask, but I might not answer.’ She looked guarded for the first time since I’d met her.
‘The other day, when Rupert was acting like a prize idiot, I thought that your eyes changed colour.’
‘Oh! Is that all?!’ Aradia’s face lit up in a grin, ‘yes my eyes change colour.’
‘How is that even possible?’
‘Well, Paganism is really another way of viewing the world around you. Rationalists , she said the word with heavy irony, ‘see the world through one filter. Children with magic in their blood, their eyes change colour with their emotions. It influences how they see, changes the frequency slightly. When kids hit puberty their eyes come under their own control. If they want to see through a different filter they have to control the colour change themselves. ’
‘So you changed your eye colour on purpose, to see differently.’
‘No I didn’t. My eyes changed because I was angry.’
‘But you’re what, sixteen? How come you haven’t outgrown that?’
‘Because I’m not fully a Pagan child. I got magic from my Mum, but not from Dad. I have most of the powers of a magic child, but I have to work harder to hone them. Hence the heavy duty school. The Ravensborough Minervan Academy costs a lot of money. Rationalists hate it because it produces most of the intelligent opposition to them and their dominance. Mum and Dad sent me there because, if I’m going to control my powers at all, I’ll need a lot of help.’
I was incredulous. ‘But if the eyes of Pagan children change colour, how do the Rationalists explain that? I mean, how can they deny that you’re all slightly different from them.’
Aradia laughed. ‘They say it’s illusion. Contact lenses even. Anything that stops them from admitting that there might be something more beyond their concrete world, where everything has a price.’
‘But, do you actually believe that you have magic powers, and that fairies,’ I pointed to the delicate iron bracelets on her wrists, ‘actually exist?’
‘Do you?’
I shook my head so vehemently that a piece of my dark red hair went into my chocolate. ‘No I don’t. I think that Rupert was wrong to be so rude to you, but I can’t believe magic exists.’
Aradia leaned back in her chair and gave me an appraising look. ‘Then why did my eyes change colour?’
‘I don’t know. It’s not something I can explain.’
Aradia stood up and put on her coat. Oh no,’ I thought. Now I’d offended her.
‘I’m really sorry if I offended you’, I said quickly, ‘I didn’t mean to.’
‘None taken. I’ve got to go and help Mum in the apothecary. It’s late night opening. But clear your schedule for tomorrow, I’m going to show you a side of Avalonia that Rupert would never show you.’
‘Where are you taking me?’
‘If I tell you I’ll ruin the surprise.’
I wanted to know where I was going. ‘But what will I tell Mum and Rupert?’
She grinned and tucked her book in her bag. She threw some coins on the table. ‘You’ll think of something, you rationalists always do. Meet you here at ten tomorrow.’
‘I’m not a...’
But she was gone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Part of me was indignant at Aradia’s
I shook my head.
‘No, that’s what I thought. I didn’t tell my parents either. They wouldn’t have any problem with me seeing you, but they know that you'd have to go behind your Mum’s back, and could have given us hassle from that angle.’
Our hot chocolate arrived. I took a sip. It burnt my tongue, but the heat spreading out in my mouth was heavenly.
‘Aradia? Can I ask you a question?’
She looked up warily. ‘You can ask, but I might not answer.’ She looked guarded for the first time since I’d met her.
‘The other day, when Rupert was acting like a prize idiot, I thought that your eyes changed colour.’
‘Oh! Is that all?!’ Aradia’s face lit up in a grin, ‘yes my eyes change colour.’
‘How is that even possible?’
‘Well, Paganism is really another way of viewing the world around you. Rationalists , she said the word with heavy irony, ‘see the world through one filter. Children with magic in their blood, their eyes change colour with their emotions. It influences how they see, changes the frequency slightly. When kids hit puberty their eyes come under their own control. If they want to see through a different filter they have to control the colour change themselves. ’
‘So you changed your eye colour on purpose, to see differently.’
‘No I didn’t. My eyes changed because I was angry.’
‘But you’re what, sixteen? How come you haven’t outgrown that?’
‘Because I’m not fully a Pagan child. I got magic from my Mum, but not from Dad. I have most of the powers of a magic child, but I have to work harder to hone them. Hence the heavy duty school. The Ravensborough Minervan Academy costs a lot of money. Rationalists hate it because it produces most of the intelligent opposition to them and their dominance. Mum and Dad sent me there because, if I’m going to control my powers at all, I’ll need a lot of help.’
I was incredulous. ‘But if the eyes of Pagan children change colour, how do the Rationalists explain that? I mean, how can they deny that you’re all slightly different from them.’
Aradia laughed. ‘They say it’s illusion. Contact lenses even. Anything that stops them from admitting that there might be something more beyond their concrete world, where everything has a price.’
‘But, do you actually believe that you have magic powers, and that fairies,’ I pointed to the delicate iron bracelets on her wrists, ‘actually exist?’
‘Do you?’
I shook my head so vehemently that a piece of my dark red hair went into my chocolate. ‘No I don’t. I think that Rupert was wrong to be so rude to you, but I can’t believe magic exists.’
Aradia leaned back in her chair and gave me an appraising look. ‘Then why did my eyes change colour?’
‘I don’t know. It’s not something I can explain.’
Aradia stood up and put on her coat. Oh no,’ I thought. Now I’d offended her.
‘I’m really sorry if I offended you’, I said quickly, ‘I didn’t mean to.’
‘None taken. I’ve got to go and help Mum in the apothecary. It’s late night opening. But clear your schedule for tomorrow, I’m going to show you a side of Avalonia that Rupert would never show you.’
‘Where are you taking me?’
‘If I tell you I’ll ruin the surprise.’
I wanted to know where I was going. ‘But what will I tell Mum and Rupert?’
She grinned and tucked her book in her bag. She threw some coins on the table. ‘You’ll think of something, you rationalists always do. Meet you here at ten tomorrow.’
‘I’m not a...’
But she was gone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Part of me was indignant at Aradia’s
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