Chapter 4 The Meeting

• As Ezra is waiting outside the big hall till he is summoned, he pulls out a book and starts writing in it. It seems he keeps track of everything that is happening. A small figure approaches him, the clerk. “Mr. Crow it’s good to see you after all this time”. Ezra acts polite and nods at his comment. He gives his coat to him and walks down the hallway.
• He sees a woman waiting there for the door to open. She is tall with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She has her gaze set on him. “Ezra, what a nice surprise” she tries to sound sensual.
• Ezra looks at her and gives his greetings. “Hello miss Ivy. Nice to see you again”. She bats her eyes at him, feeling the tension between them. “Yes. It’s a pity, it seemed you disappeared or something. You locked yourself in your mansion and never appeared again”.
• Ezra ignores her comment and waits for someone to open the door to enter. “You aren’t fun anymore. Ugh, anyway. Do you know what this meeting is about? They said it was an emergency” she pouts. Before he could answer, a man opens the door and they enter.
• “Ms. Ivy and mr. Crow, thank you for coming” a man with a long beard speaks and offers them their seats. He is the supreme counselor, mr. Theodore Adelson. There are five wizards having already taken their seats. “We are here today for a matter brought up by the King and Ezra Crow” he announces. Alyssa looks at Ezra, trying to find out what it is.
• “The King’s council detected a strange activity in a town of a non-magical world; an awakening of Magic. The King tasked mr. Crow to investigate. Today, he is gonna brief us of his findings and we will make a decision”.
• Ezra adjusts his seat and is about to speak.
• “The King himself informed me of the situation. The awakening was taking place to an orphanage that was located outside of the civilization of the humans. Before I arrived, I sensed Dark magic. I went in as fast as I could and it seems the Great Demon Amon appeared” the council gasped in shock.
• “He didn’t have his own form. He was really weak actually. He implored his dark creatures to take the form of nuns to get closer to the source of Magic. He had no powers and his creatures seemed to be in a weak state. I easily defeated his forces by setting the orphan house on Holy Fire. What he was after was a girl” he pauses for a second.
• Everyone is hanging from his lips.
• “A sixteen years old girl, named Eve”. Silence is spread across the council. Theodore is bending forwards, eager to learn more but also feeling terrified.
• “I’m pretty sure you are all familiar with her case, and I wouldn’t want to get more into it. It seems the girl’s powers awoke and they have actually been slowly growing all this time”.
• A wizard stops him to ask a question. “I’m sorry, we all know this girl was born here and was sent to the human world because she had no Magic powers. What changed that made her bloom now?”.
• “Well, Amon happened. It seems he is lurking in places that we can’t detect, trying to sustain himself. He must have sensed her aura being different. Some humans have some Magic inside them, it just never becomes something more. As he sensed her and tried to get near her, that must have provoked her powers”.
• Alyssa interrupts him. “So you say the Council was at fault we wrongfully banished her?” she goes in aggressively.
• Another one adds, “Calm down now. He didn’t say something like that but the truth is, we did a bad job. Obviously, the girl was so powerful that the King detected the change and made Amon, who has remained unseen for years, come out”.
• “Alright, so what happened to the girl?” Theodore tries to get to the main point.
• “I brought her here”.
• “You did what?!” Alyssa freaks out.
• “Why did you do that?” a witch asks.
• “That was the King’s orders. Find out what it is and bring it in. The ‘it’ became ‘her’. Also, she is one of us now. We can’t leave her there, or else Amon will be back and get stronger”.
• “What if she is a danger to us?” they voice a concern.
• “She is not. She can barely do anything. She knows and remembers nothing”.
• “Alright Ezra, but why did you bring this to us and not the King?”.
• “Because the King wants us to deal with this. We have to decide if she is gonna stay or not. Remember, we are the ones that took the decision for her creation. And also, you know that the Prince should stay out of this, as the King’s demand”.
• Everyone starts looking around, frowning and feeling weird. Ezra has just pushed a button.
• “Alright. Tell us about the girl” Theodore asks.
• “Well, I don’t know much. She was bullied in the orphanage, the nuns thought she was a demon. She seems… like a child would be. Interested to learn but she doesn’t seem so bright either”.
• “Okay. Do you believe she is a threat?” Theodore asks the important question.
• “She is more dangerous in the hands of Amon than here. She remembers nothing and seems the opposite of what we would expect. I believe she isn’t a threat” he sounds confident.
• “So Ophelia’s little experiment wasn’t a complete failure?”, Alyssa says cunningly, getting in Ezra’s nerves. “I still don’t know what kind of powers she will manifest. But, if it actually did go according to plan, we might get what we asked for back then”.
• Silence spreads in the room, but Theodore knows that they can’t vent more in this moment, as it is too painful for all. “Alright, let's vote then. Who is in favor for Eve staying in Alkalith?”.
• Five wizards raised their hands. Alyssa and Tessa refused to do so. “I guess it’s decided. She is staying here” Theodore announces. Ezra gives a crooked smile and feels relieved.
• “Okay, so I’ll have her ready to be picked up” he says, sounding certain. “Oh, where do you think she is going?” Theodore asks. “Um, somewhere to stay?” he is confused. “She is still underage, she needs a guardian”. Ezra looks around. “Well, then let’s find one”. Theodore looks at him. “No” Ezra refuses. “No way, not me”.
• “You found her, you insisted she stays and you are more responsible than anyone here for her existence. Also, you are a teacher! Who is better at teaching her than you?” Theodore decided.
• Ezra growls and clenches his fists. Yes, he wanted her to stay, more than Amon getting his powers back, but not under his wing. Theodore stands up and everyone does the same.
• “Alright. So this matter is solved. Thank you for attending this meeting” and with that said, everyone starts leaving. Alyssa grabs Ezra by his arm to talk to him.
• “Really Ezra? After all this time you take her side?”.
• “Alyssa, she is just a child. I’m taking no sides. Remember why we created her. You saw me, I don’t want her around but I’m not gonna let my personal issues cloud me. You should do the same”. And with that he unbinds her grip, leaving.
• “Theodore!”, he catches up to him. “Please, take it back” he begs. “What’s the problem Ezra, too heavy the crown of sins?” Theodore sounds arrogant. “Really? You know this won’t end up well”.
• “Look, I don’t really want to make you suffer. But I believe you are the best solution for that girl. I truly believe this is the best for you” Theodore is softer now.
• “Ugh” is Ezra’s reaction; annoyance.
• He exits the Hall and leaves the place.