Perhaps it was a lingering effect from having the life scared out of her the night before, perhaps it was the fact that Alistar’s lessons had left her very confused on life choices, but Elvie woke the following day feeling sorrowful.

She threw on her white shirt and dark leggings before enclosing herself in the comforting warmth of her purple cloak. It was strange how, at first, the cloak was a symbol of how different everything was – how different Elder House was from the others Great Houses. Now, not only did it give her physical warmth, but the warmth of belonging somewhere.

Elvie’s cloak gave her a brief reprieve from her melancholy, until she made it to the kitchen to see Goodwin sipping a coffee and reading the newspaper on one of the benches

‘Morning,’ she greeted, stealing a glance at the front page. ‘When is that from?’

‘Why, good morning Miss Elvie. It’s just The Times from Thursday.’ When Elvie’s expression didn’t change, he continued. ‘August 9, but this paper is three days old now – takes a bit of time to make its way here, I suppose.’

Then the date was August 12, 1933. Her birthday. She was fourteen today.

A tear ran across her cheek as she made her way back to her room to sit and think. Fourteen years old and stuck in the 1930s with no family to celebrate with.

That day was like running into a hard wall. Everything that she’d pushed back down, all the worry about getting home, about being in a different time, about seeing her family again; it all rose up in front of her as dark storm clouds that threatened to overwhelm.

Everyone expected to turn fourteen at some point in their life. It was a logical progression. If she was home, she would have been counting down every day, planning her party with her Mum and Dad, even giving them some subtle hints on any presents she hoped might appear with a cake.

But when you took away everything familiar and were instead placed in a world where you barely knew the date, then turning fourteen became a slap in the face.

Never again would her parents ever see her as a thirteen year old – and that thought triggered a pain deep in her chest.

Elvie realised she could have told her new friends, her teachers too, but a part of her welcomed the sadness that came with her birthday. It was a reminder that so much time had passed, and she still had absolutely no idea how to return home – or even any idea whether her actions so far brought her closer to doing so.

It was a reminder that she needed to do more if she wanted to get back – work harder, push harder… do whatever it took.

Rilla intrinsically sensed Elvie’s mental state. As usual, she was incredibly kind and considerate and gave Elvie enough space to dawdle through the day with minimal attention to any task. Several times she tried to talk, but Elvie knew if she told Rilla she was upset because it was her birthday, it would create complicated follow-up questions. No, it was better to explain it with ‘it’s just a bad day,’ and leave it at that.

Alistar, on the other hand, did not have the same level of respect for emotions. He knocked on her door, barely waiting for her response of ‘come in’, before he was in the room and dragging her back out.

In short order, Alistar had Elvie standing on the highest point of Elder House – not inside it, however, outside. Where the spherical shapes of the house moulded back into the hill, thick grass had grown up and over the structure. The roof. I could be standing on the roof of my room, Elvie thought.

The top of Elder House was not very high, no more than half a large tree, but it gave a nice view back out over the grassy clearings or forested areas of the Island. In the distance, she could see the dark blue of the sea, and if she listened carefully to the soft wind, she could hear the crash of waves on the distant shores.

For standing outside, however, it was not perfect weather – a gentle rain, turning everything damp and sticky.

‘If you’re going to impersonate a child with no presents at Christmas, I’m going to at least show you the other wonders of Yuletide.’

‘Huh, what are we doing?’

‘Looking for a wren.’

Ummm… okay. ‘Why?’

‘That’s what you do. What sort of education were you given? How can you be in Wales, or besides Wales, and not know your Christmas traditions? On behalf of the people of Wales, I find myself to be offended.’

‘You’re Welsh? I’m Australian.’

‘Oh… well, never mind then. I’m sorry for your loss. I don’t even know whether you get Christmas that far out in the Empire. But as is the miracle of Christmas, so you shall have a Christmas miracle here!’

‘It’s only August, Alistar.’

‘Then why are you looking like that?’

‘Can’t we do a lesson instead?’

‘No lessons today. It’s not possible to take a lesson when you’re in that state.’ He waved vaguely at her from feet to head. ‘No, no, instead, you need cheering up, and you should be thankful that I have a tried and tested method… Now, come on, raise your arms to the sky, keep your eyes peeled, and most importantly, SING!’

What?

Remarkably, in a resonant and surprisingly deep voice, Alistar started to sing.

‘O deued pob Cristion

I Fethlem yr awron

I weled mor dirion yw'n Duw;

O ddyfnder rhyfeddod,

fe drefnodd y Duwdod

Dragwyddol gyfamod i fyw:

Daeth Brenin yr hollfyd

I oedfa ein hadfyd

Er symud ein penyd a'n pwn;

Heb le yn y llety,

heb aelwyd, heb wely,

Nadolig fel hynny gadd hwn.’

It was Welsh; that much was obvious. You didn’t need much exposure to the Welsh language to learn how to spot the distinctive abundance of the letter y. But as to what Alistar was singing on the top of Elder House or how she was expected to follow, Elvie had no idea.

That didn’t stop Alistar, standing ramrod upright, singing for thirty minutes with arms raised to the rain and view across the Island.

The following day, at the end of a Magical History class about Irish influences on spellcraft, she approached James Vermont.

‘Sir?’

‘Yes, Elvie?’ He paused in his writing, tilting his head to give her his full attention.

‘I don’t like to speak ill of people…’ A frown formed over James’ eyes, but she pushed on. ‘But is Master Alistar… well?’

James threw his head back and laughed, taking some time to recover his breath. ‘For a moment there, I thought you were going to talk of another student, not to say talking of a teacher is any better, you understand. But, Alistar would be proud to hear those words. Proud! I’ve known him some time, we’ve worked together on our research. We all have mannerisms, and they’re his. He doesn’t try to hide them; in fact, he tends to go in the absolute other direction.’

‘So he’s sane? What he asks me to try with magic… doesn’t match anyone else. And then yesterday, he made me stand on a hill for the better part of an hour singing Christmas songs in the rain.’

James’ eyes widened slightly at that. ‘Well, it is certainly unusual, and not the sort of behaviour another a Master would be inclined to make you do. But let me ask the more relevant question – what was he trying to get you to learn?’

‘Alistar said it wasn’t a lesson, that we were going to celebrate Christmas because I was sad.’

James smiled. ‘If there is one thing I’ve learnt over the years, Elvie, it is that everything in life is a lesson; you just need to work out what to take from it. Why were you upset?’

It was an innocent but dangerous question. ‘I miss home,’ she replied. Surely, lots of students were homesick when on the Island.

‘And were you still homesick afterwards?’

‘Ummm, no. I was cold, and if I’m honest, just a little bit angry.’

‘But not sad?’

Elvie sighed. ‘No, not sad. I see your point – but if I have to stand in the rain every time I get sad…’

James laughed good-naturedly. ‘So what do you think Alistar’s lesson was really about.’

‘I guess that I can overcome sadness by focusing on other things and moving on.’

James nodded. ‘And what else?’

There was more? She gave it some more thought before replying: ‘I’m not sure.’

‘One more thought-provoking question then. Was Alistar with you on the hill the whole time, or did he leave you there?’

‘He stayed and sung. The whole time.’ The memory still amazed her, as did his repertoire of Christmas songs.

‘So the lesson?’ James nudged her thoughts on.

‘That there is someone always with you who will help.’

James nodded. ‘Certainly seems like that, doesn’t it?’ Adjusting his glasses on his face, he continued. ‘There are two other points you should consider when judging Alistar. As I said, we’ve spent some time together, and I understand what he is trying to do – understand might be a misleading phrase – No, I appreciate what he is trying to do. Personally, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to be a magician trying to teach you something that you can only barely do yourself. Who knows the correct method to teach Elder House spells is – if anyone knew, life would be much easier, wouldn’t it?’

‘That leads us on to the second point. Alistar’s behaviour, well, it’s part of something he has been conditioning himself to do. He is trying to live as different, unusual, odd, abstract – however you want to describe it – because that might help him approach Elder magic in a way not considered before. Magicians have tried for a long time to create Elder spells, and they’ve failed. Between us, we’ve spent endless hours in the library looking over this very topic. Alistar knows this and is taking a different approach.’

‘The crazier approach you mean.’

‘Just so, but think of the commitment and sacrifice necessary to approach magic in such a manner. Also, think about the kindness in him; remember that too.’

It made sense to Elvie, in an unusual way. Clearly, normal teaching of spells didn’t work for Elder House. Alistar must have taken to thinking outside the box – well and truly outside.

‘Stark raving mad! That’s what he is. Crazier than a dog infected with rabies.’ Flynn offered a differing opinion of Alistar at lunch. ‘Would you believe that two days ago, I saw him wandering the halls talking to himself? When I asked him if he was all right, he laughed and said: ‘I get better answers if I talk to myself.’ What sane person would say that?’

Elvie trusted Flynn’s judgment, but she wasn’t so certain about the case of Alistar. James had provided a perspective on Alistar she hadn’t considered, and her own instincts told her there was good in him. Callum, Elisabeth, Goodwin and Rilla all had positive relationships with him – was that enough of a sign for her?

She faced an internal dilemma. While Alistar might not know any Elder spells, Elvie suspected she did – she must have. How else did you travel back in time? Was now the time to put her trust in Alistar and tell him the truth?