Ravenswood

Chapter Two

The town has a rich history that the previous chapter can hardly do justice. The fact of the matter is the heart of Ravenswood beats in the Devereux women. Every bit of the town is an ode to a fallen Devereux, while the lives of the present Devereux women breathe life into the town's very being.

Isla Geneviève Devereux was hardly a typical 17 year-old, though she desperately wanted to be. Her 18th birthday was in two weeks and like most "supernatural" movies, the big 18 is a pivotal milestone. Edie Devereux, Isla's older sister, found her mate at her 18th birthday party. It was like a scene out of every romantic comedy in the early 2000s. Brendan Fisher, a well-known warlock, who had been an acquaintance of Edie caught her before she fell due to the wet floor and the rest was supernatural history. The sparks were literally flying as everyone watched at their inevitable pairing. They had crossed paths before, but things didn't seem to click until that day. Now at 20 they were sophomores in college and planning their lives together.

Are you thinking 'mate' – isn't that a wolf thing? It's not just a wolf thing. It's a supernatural thing. Every single supernatural being: witches, werewolves, vampires, dragons, etc. all have a mate. Even humans have mates, but since they rarely tap into their innate gifts the bond is downplayed. Humans throw the full title of soulmate to any and everyone, not seeing its true purpose.

Isla was a nervous wreck. Her younger sister, Arlo, felt Isla's nervousness and knew where it stemmed from. Isla had always compared herself to Edie. She felt her finding a mate at her own party was now expected versus hoped for. Arlo always had insight on everyone and everything. She was never wrong about her intuition. Never. At first when she was younger her family just thought it was a 'know-it-all' phase, but as she got older their grandmother, Nona, suspected that was her power.

"So her power is to be a smart ass?" 10-year-old Edie asked. "Edie Marbella! Watch your mouth!" Their mother scolded. "No Edie," their Nona chuckled. "I'm saying foresight is her gift." Isla looked at her then two-year old sister and smiled. She wanted to test this little theory that her sister could see the future, so she reached out to grab her while she wasn't looking. There were no mirrors. Nothing to indicate to her what she was doing, but Arlo knew and she moved before Isla could pounce. Down Isla went. Arlo laughed for a whole minute while the rest of them came to terms with the fact that their little Arlo had the gift of strong foresight.

Arlo's power suited her, just like Edie's power suited her. Edie was one of the smartest women Isla knew after Nona. She thought everything through and from various sides. She had the highest GPA of her grade and would most likely graduate summa cum laude. Her mind is the most powerful thing seen by any of the witches in the Charmed coven. It made perfect sense that she would have telekinetic and telepathic abilities.

Both of Arlo and Edie had gifts that made sense. They matched their owner. But in true Isla fashion, nothing about hers made sense. Her powers seemed to just blossom from nowhere with no true purpose. She wondered if something was wrong with her. It went on the long list of things she felt was wrong with her. As she often berated herself on the various ways that she was different it all always came down to her father and the reasons behind him leaving.

When Isla was younger she remembered her mom and her dad arguing about her often. He always seemed so furious, while her mother seemed defeated. Isla remembered hearing her mother say at the end of every fight, "I told you I was a Devereux and no matter where you're from you know what that name entails."

Isla wondered if they were always unhappy, but Edie said they fought all the time since she was born. Her dad was a warlock, but hated everything that was magic related. He left his coven and happened on Ravenswood where he and her mom met. Nona was not happy about their relationship, because he was not her daughter's mate. However, on her 18th birthday Isla's mom married her dad anyway and the rest was turbulent history.

Even after Isla they had Arlo, so it was not a matter of not loving each other. Everyone knew they loved each other. Isla just felt as though her dad couldn't love her. Not like he had Edie and Arlo. There had just always been a distance felt between them. It's a fact that Isla's mother or Nona refused to entertain or tell her why. She knew Edie didn't think about it, because she had used her power to pack all of their memories together away in a literal mental box. Their father left when Arlo just turned two, soon after she manifested her power. It was almost as if she needed to proactively know from then on out if her heart would be broken again.

Their mom knew telling them that he didn't like them using their powers, as an excuse wouldn't work. He didn't want to be a dad anymore. Love for his wife or his two out of three daughters was not enough to keep him. Their mom was served with divorce papers already filled a week after he left and it was finalized on Isla's then 8th birthday. Isla wished she could say that his leaving didn't impact her, but alas fortune never favors the weakling.