Chapter 10 - As Time Goes By

 

Abbey Behr giggled as her aunt hoisted her into her arms.

“Little monkey,” Candy said, fondly. “Who’s going to be a good girl for Auntie Candy, hm?”

“Nah!” Abbey said, decisively, laughing again.

“Cheeky little monkey!” Candy set her down, watching as she tottered over to the flowerbeds. It seemed like forever since the girls had been that old, delighted with everything. She could even remember when Yuki had been this old, though she hadn't been that much older herself.

 

Abbey almost made it to the flowers she was after until the garden gate creaked and she squealed in delight.

"Mamma!"

"Hey, Yuki. Me and the little rascal were just talking about you," Candy fibbed, grinning as her baby sister rolled her eyes.

"I'll bet. Rem's nearly finished boosting your weather wards, so I thought I'd come check on Abbey."

Candy smiled at her niece affectionately. "She's doing fine. Are you guys staying until the girls come back from school?"

She tried not to count the ways she could see her sister had grown up. Her eyes automatically went to Abbey now, her hair was longer, and she seemed altogether more distant. She wasn't a teenager anymore, and not having her around had been a lot to take in for Candy.

Sure, she visited...but Candy missed her. A lot. 

At that moment, Remington headed over, his eyes bright, and he swept Yuki into his arms and pecked her cheek.

"There, that should stop any lightning from hitting the roof. How's my queen?"

Yuki giggled, and Candy, a bittersweet feeling in her heart went inside to give them some privacy. 

It wasn't as if she wasn't happy for Yuki. Remington was a great guy, and having a niece was amazing. But she did miss the days when Yuki had just been...her baby sister who lived with them. Yuki and her family visited often enough, though. She sighed and tried not to mind. 

If she was honest, Abbey also made her long for the time when the girls were that small. They were approaching that age now when they were slowly discarding childish things, and while Ciara was helping out at her scout group, she'd lost interest in other things she'd liked not even a year ago. Chanel still kept a few of her dolls out of sight in a box under her bed, but she still loved things like Brookefield, charm bracelets, or whatever fad was sweeping through her classroom at the moment. She'd even asked for an expensive palette of makeup, which Morgyn had put his foot down about. 

Candy sighed. Perhaps she was just feeling old.

"Can you believe it? Rhea is losing it over the new Brookefield episode!" Chanel had just stopped texting Rhea, while her sister was scribbling in a notebook. "Lacey went to the Pumpkin Parade with Hugh, even though he asked Lake? And Lacey's a witch!"

The twins had gotten home from school after their aunt, uncle, and cousin had left, to the disappointment of them both. 

However, Chanel was in the mood to talk about the latest episode of Brookefield, even though her sister was occupied. In fact, Ciara really wasn't in the mood.

"Well, what does Rhea think?" Ciara asked, offhandedly. 

"Oh, well, she thinks that Lacey is a cow - I mean, don't tell Mum, but that's what Rhea actually said. Love potions are such a taboo even in Brookefield!"She hopped off the bed and headed over to Ciara's desk.

Ciara quickly turned the page of her notebook. "Well, obviously. I'm surprised Dad lets you watch that trash if that's how it represents spellcasters."

"Hey, Brookefield isn't trash! Besides, Calliope Ward plays Lake."

"Do you even like Calliope?" Ciara rolled her eyes.

"Hey, if you're just going to be mean..." Chanel's voice faltered and she looked at the book on the desk. "What are you even doing?"

"Writing in my journal." Ciara didn't look at her sister. Chanel had an annoying habit of being persistent about things you wish she wouldn't. 

"Mom said Auntie Yuki dropped round today with Abbey, by the way. I can't wait for the holidays, I bet Abbey is going to be dressed up really cute! She's getting so big."

"Yeah!" Ciara gratefully pounced on the subject change. "She's super adorable. Do you think Aunt Izzy will come this year, too?"

"Maybe? I mean, I hope so. It's not like we get to see them often." Chanel hesitated. "I guess she'll be at the Realm for the celebrations, though."

Ciara closed her book. "I mean, yeah. Probably. Rhea and M..Marcus might be there too, so I'll probably see them there." She hoped her stutter wouldn't be picked up, and luckily Chanel only gave her a slightly quizzical look.

"Rhea also said she's not getting that new palette because her mom said no," Chanel added, after a slight silence. "You know, the WARD one everyone wants?"

"Do you even use makeup? Why do you want it?" Ciara asked, but Chanel merely shrugged before wandering over to what was mostly 'her' side of the room.

Her peers' current obsession with Calliope Ward confused Ciara. As far as she could see, Calliope was just like any other starlet, admittedly one with a very famous mother. She'd tried to take interest in her, really she had, but it was harder for her. She just couldn't relate to the others on this one, especially when it came to wanting makeup. Personally, she didn't like the powdery feeling on her eyelids (she and Chanel had tried out some of their mother's makeup before) and it just felt strange.

"Ciara!" Her dad called from the other room. 

"Coming!" She scrambled up, hoping Chanel wouldn't check the journal while she was gone. Not that she would, but...

In purple pen, her latest entry had mostly been about Marcus. As much as she'd wanted to concentrate on her studies, she found herself thinking about him more than she'd ever care to admit, and wondering if she should start asking her sister about him more. She'd seen him with the latest Greywall book in school the other day, too, and desperately wanted to ask him about it. 

Why won't he be my friend too? What makes Chanel so special? 

If her sister saw that line she'd know. What exactly she'd know, Ciara herself wasn't even sure, but she'd know, and Ciara wasn't ready for anyone to know whatever it was yet. This strange, hurting feeling...She didn't want it anyway.

She might have changed her mind if she'd read her sister's journal, of course.