The spirit of Christmas filled the air and the quarter was fashioned with all sorts of bells and whistles for the holiday. Ornaments and lights decorated balconies and walls all around. The streets were crowded with people going in and out of restaurant or getting last minute shopping done. Music and laughter could be heard everywhere as they walked about. It was far from a peaceful day but Flora quite loved it. Home was so different from Safehaven and in the best of ways. It always felt like something was going on in the quarter. Magic was a constant in the air and it felt like life would breathe in and out of everything or everyone there. It was a beautiful chaos, especially around this time of year. Sure, the tourists could be a bit much sometimes, especially with all the partying and the night life. But there was something about it all that just made her feel at home.

Flora waded through the throngs of people, arm looped around that of her younger cousin, Estelle. The two stood just around the same height but Estelles hair was cut shorter in a wavy bob that ended just above her shoulders. Flora thought it made the high school senior look older, but luckily she still had a baby face to even it out a bit. They made their way into a cafe, finding a seat outside as they waited to make their order.

“Boy have I missed it here,” Flora said, a smile on her face as they sat down.

“Must have if the first thing you want to do is come here,” Estelle chuckled, taking look at the menu before her.

“Cafe Du Monde is amazing, even if it’s also kind of a tourist trap,” Flora said, eyes scanning her own menu.

“Hey, Flor.” Estelle leaned over the table, tugging Flora’s menu down to try and get her attention.

“What are you doing?” Flora asked, slightly annoyed by the sudden action.

“I think you’ve got an admirer. This guy’s had eyes on you since we walked in,” she said, quickly glancing to the side and giving a quick nod in the direction of the assumed admirer.

“What are you going on about?” Flora whispered, carefully looking over in the direction she gave and her eyes caught on a familiar green and orange aura. She immediately looked back to her menu before she even got a look at the man himself and let her hair fall off her shoulder to shield her face from him as best she could. She mentally reached out to Jean to see if he could confirm that this was indeed who she thought it was.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Estelle asked, catching onto Flora’s sudden shift in attitude.

“Well,” Flora started, putting a smile on her face as she thought of how to explain to her cousin all that went down recently in Safehaven. “Okay, you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone, okay? I already told my mom but like, there’s some stuff that just isn’t our business to tell and I don’t know how to go about any of it.”

“Okay?” Estelle looked hesitant but nodded. “Alright, I won’t tell a soul. I promise.” She nodded and gave Flora a smile.

“You know how Lady Amastacia had a daughter who left the quarter a long time ago, right?” Flora asked and Estelle nodded.

“Yeah, duh. That’s why auntie’s helping her lead the coven right? Cause something happened to her daughter.”

“Yeah, well, when I was looking into applying to SHU and stuff, mom told me that that’s where Ms. Arina went to and opened up a shop. She thought that even though Ms. Arina had passed, I should check out the shop and see who was running things and it turns out that she had a son.” She gave a quick rundown of Kleo, how his powers were hidden from him, and basically all that happened in the past five months.

“You’re shitting me,” Estelle’s eyes widened. “Wait, who knows this? Does Lady Amastacia know?”

“Nope. At least, I don’t think so. I don’t think Kleo’s even met or heard about her or any of his family out here. When I told mom, she told me to just keep it to ourselves. She figured Ms. Arina had a reason for it but, I don’t know.”

“Wow, that must really suck.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Estelle started, but paused as she thought it through. “I mean, that whole situation is pretty shit, don’t you think? Your friend grew up not knowing about magic or any of his family and then there’s Lady Amastacia who, from what the elders say, hasn’t been the same since Ms. Arina passed. She’s the head of the coven but she’s so distant due to grief and she might not even know she has a grandson. Wait,” Estelle stopped and Flora tilted her head to the side, waiting for her to continue. “Whose his dad?”

“I don’t know,” Flora shrugged her shoulders just as the waitress came to take their order. Once she had walked away, she got a confirmation from Jean the man there with them was indeed the same guy who stalked her on campus weeks ago. “Amastacia drama aside, that so call admirer you pointed out to me is one of the dudes that stole the selkie skin and stalked me around campus. I can’t let him recognize me,” she explained.

“No worries, I got your back,” Estelle said, leaning forward on the table to rest on her elbows. She took Flora’s hand in her owns and muttered a quick spell. Flora felt a spark run through her and a smirk formed on her lips when she realized what she had done.

“A glamour?” She said, impressed.

“Should last a few hours at least. Let’s hope it’s enough to get him off your back,” She said before leaning back in her seat. Flora glanced back towards the man as the waitress came to bring them their order. Flora thanked her, trying to look past her to see the man.

“I think he’s lost interest. The glamour must have worked,” Jean said to her and she smiled back at Estelle in relief.

“Thanks for that, honestly.”

“It’s no worries,” Estelle smiled. “Glad I could help my favorite cuz out.” Flora rolled her eyes and they dug into the hot beignets that were placed in front of them.

“Looks like our guy is headed out. Do you still want me to keep an eye on him?” Jean asked and Flora thought it over for a second before looking at Estelle.

“Do you think you’d wanna help me with a little spying?” Estelle returned her gaze then shrugged.

“It’s not like we have any other plans,” she smirked. “Why not.”

With Jean keeping a look out and tailing the guy, the girls were able to keep their distance while they followed. They went through shops and looked at different stalls in the market as they made their way, waiting for Jean to let them know when the guy got to wherever it was he was headed.

“Shouldn’t we get closer to him in case he says something or meets someone?” Estelle asked as they wandered through the French Market.

“For now, this is safer but we will get closer once he’s stopped moving. Jean can catch whatever we may miss between now and then,” she explained.

“Well,” Estelle said, dragging out the word in a way that reminded Flora of herself when she was up to something. “How about we pass the time with you telling me more about those friends you made at school. Did you say Kleo was his name? That’s a pretty name for a guy, don’t you think?”

“Apparently it’s short for something but Alexei won’t tell me what,” Flora huffed as they continued to walk around. Estelle hummed and nodded in response.

“And who is Alexei again? Is he another witch?” “No, he’s human but he knows about everything. Took Kleo some time but he ended up telling him about everything. He’s the one that helped get the selkie skin.”

“Wow, he must be really trusted.”

“I mean,” Flora chuckled, “they’ve known each other since they were young and they’re dating so it’s understandable. Alexei’s very trustworthy.” Estelle cursed to herself and Flora laughed. “Did you think you had a chance or something? You don’t even know anything about the guy!”

“Hey, I was looking into going to SHU next year okay,” Estelle began to defend herself. “Plus, Amastacia’s are powerful dude. I’m surprised you didn’t think to go for him.”

“First of all, you shouldn’t date someone because of their family,” Flora scolded her. “And secondly, you know he’s not my type.”

“Ah, you’re right. I nearly forgot you played for the other team,” she looped her arm with Flora’s. “That mean we’re gonna try and find you a cute witch girlfriend then? Someone from the quarter perhaps? Or maybe you’ve got your eye on someone back at school?” She started to pry and Flora rolled her eyes with a laugh.

“You’re horrible and I don’t know why I ever agreed to hang out with you.”

“Oh hush, you know I’m your favorite,” Estelle joined in on her laughter only to stop as Jean spoke to both of them.

“He’s headed inside an occult shop down the street and it looks like his friend is there too.”

The two of them quickly made their way there, noticing Jean sitting atop a light post right outside. They walked inside behind a group of tourists and started to look around. The shop was small and crowded with displays and merchandise stands selling everything from crystals to incense and candles. Flora immediately saw the two men talking behind the counter and recognized the taller one to be the guy from before. She guided Estelle to a rack a fair distance away and cast a spell of hearing.

“We’ve gotta stay quiet and concentrate for this to work,” she whispered to Estelle, who nodded in return. The two quietly pretended to walk around, looking at random stuff as they eavesdropped on the men.

“What are you hoping to achieve by doing this?” Jean’s voice played through her mind as she looked at a display of crystals.

“Honestly, anything about why they went after Effie or who sent them to do it would be helpful,” she thought back to him, picking up a piece of agate to get a better look at it.

“I admire your drive, but what would you even do with that information?”

“I don’t know yet. I guess it depends on whatever I get, but it won’t be anything if you keep distracting me,” she said, ending their conversation so she could concentrate. Those guys gave her a real bad vibe and for some reason, she felt compelled to figure out why they did what they did to Effie. At the very least, maybe she could figure out who they were working for.