Page 55 of Dreams of Magic

Aiden

Aiden had seen Raven a few times and she always surprised him. The witch really was eccentric on most days and a little crazy on others, but she was always friendly. Right now, it looked like her favorite color was pink but that could change in the blink of an eye.

Literally. Last time he saw her she was wearing yellow, but then she saw a teal button and liked the color, and suddenly all her clothes changed colors. It was very surprising, but that was just how she was.

He followed Raven and Marshall into her cabin, then turned to watch the women walk in so he could see their reactions.

He was not disappointed.

Sorcha stumbled a little on the threshold and reached out to take Kenzie’s arm to steady herself, then both women looked around in amazement.

Kenzie’s face was frozen in shock, with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. Her eyes kept darting from one place to another like she was trying to take it all in at once.

The thing about Ravenswood, obviously named by the witch herself, is that it is one hundred percent magic. Being the quirky person that she is, Raven enjoys illusions. So, the small hut that the house appears on the outside, is completely different on the inside.

Once you walked inside it was huge. There were 8 bedrooms at his last count, a huge living room, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, green house, library, workroom, and several bathrooms. And each room was more eccentric than the last.

There were random splashes of color everywhere, but most of the house was painted in different shades of black and grey using the brighter colors as an accent. The decorations are what made it so interesting.

One room had an entire wall filled with drying herbs and plants and the dining room had teacups and saucers glued to the wall all the way up onto the ceiling. He was always scared a cup would fall on his head.

Also, there were books stacked everywhere because the library was full. The last time he was here he asked her why she didn’t just expand the library. She shrugged and said she had plenty of space to stack them so why bother.

He left it alone after that. Raven could go off on a tangent about her decorating choices and after hearing it all the first time he’d met her, he knew better than to stir that pot.

“Alright,” Raven spoke, bringing all of their attention back to her, “Sorcha, let’s start with you since what you are here for is much simpler.”

Sorcha blushed a little, obviously not prepared to be the center of attention. Aiden watched as Kenzie patted her arm reassuringly then nudged her forward.

“Come on love, I won’t bite. Promise.” Raven smiled at Sorcha as she walked over to her.

“So, you’re here for help sleeping, right?” Raven asked, then turned around to rummage through a cabinet full of glass bottles.

Sorcha nodded, which Raven could not see because she was turned away. Sorcha cleared her throat nervously, “Yes, that’s right if you don’t mind? I’m willing to pay whatever you ask.”

Raven casually waved her hand in the air and continued what she was doing, “I’m not charging you. I owe Marshall a few favors so this one is on the house.”

Sorcha took a light step back, then started twisting her hands together, “No, I can’t use one of his favors for this. I can pay you.”

It was Marshall who replied, “Sorcha, please let me do this for you? It would mean a lot to me.”

Sorcha stood there looking at him with a stern look on her face. She obviously didn’t want to give in, but Marshall was just as stubborn.

Aiden really hoped they could make it work between them; they both deserved to be happy. He figured they were having a silent conversation and didn’t want to intrude so turned away.

Glancing over to Kenzie, he saw her watching him with a small smile. When she noticed him looking back at her, she moved to his side. She lightly bumped her shoulder into him, then laced her fingers with his.

“You are a sweet man Aiden Matthew.”He glanced down at her, looking into her beautiful green eyes and felt like he was home. Her hand in his felt perfect.

Aiden pulled her a little closer, so their bodies were just brushing,“Why do you say that?”

She squeezed his hand gently, then put her other hand on his chest and lifted up on her toes to place a light kiss on his cheek,“I can feel your hopes for them. I can feel how much you care for them. It’s just very sweet.”

He kissed the top of her head,“They are family. I love them both and I want them to be happy. Just like I want you to be happy.”

She smiled, then leaned her head on his chest. He wrapped his free arm around her, and just held her while he watched as Raven mixed a bunch of things together in a bowl.

He tried to watch what she was mixing but nothing was labelled. He didn’t know how she did it without messing it up. He would never be able to tell the difference. He assumed it was a witch thing, or maybe just experience. Either way, nothing had blown up yet, so he figured she knew what she was doing.