Her uncle was infuriating. Serena had known from the first few seconds she had spoken with him. Infuriating and terrifying. Her eyes were fixed on him as they went for their second round of tea. Thin, pale, with well-kept black hair and an equally well-trimmed beard. He was meticulous in his appearance, presenting an image of a man who was in control of everything. He also smelled of smoke, had large variety of sneers and snickers, most of which appeared when he spoke of her mother, and he was incredibly rude and invasive.

Thankfully she had been able to get some answers from him. First of all, her mother hadn’t faked her surprise and horror upon learning of Serena’s powers. Chances were apparently one in a million, or something (she hadn’t listened to the actual number), that three generations of mages were born in the same family. She didn’t fully appreciate that fact until her uncle told her that there were less than a thousand mages in the UK, none of whom had studied in a magical castle.

There didn’t seem to be any kind of real formal teaching method at all. Many mages had figured out how their magic worked themselves. “The major benefit of an apprenticeship is that, generally, you are provided a safe place to study and practice magic, without interference and less danger. And then there is of course mage society, which is the worst kind of snake pit if you don’t have a master to guide you through it.” He said in a chipper voice.

“Ehm yes, about that,” Serena said. “I’m to return to the States once I’m done training with you. I don’t need to enter mage society.” The words came out quickly, as if she couldn’t wait to have said them.

“No.” Her uncle said, his voice as cold as a midwinter morning. “You will enter mage society to meet other apprentices. Your apprenticeship with me won’t end until I deem you a master and then we will have a conversation about returning to the States or staying here and becoming my heir.”

Serena was about to angrily reply when the meaning of his last words hit her. “Excuse me, what?” She said. “Your heir? What do you mean your heir? Are you dying or something?” The questions sounded confused and angry. Her uncle’s lips curled into a smile, which was more a sneer than a smile.

“My heir, the person who will inherit my estate, my fortune, my magic, everything. I can’t have kids and you are both a mage and my own blood, which makes you the perfect candidate. Somebody needs to manage it and, since I’m not studying immortality, I will need a successor someday.”

Serena was speechless. They had just met and he had already decided to give her everything that owned. Was this man insane? He smiled at her with a serene smugness that infuriated her again. “Mum won’t be happy to hear this.” She said guardedly.

“I will deal with your mother.” He promised, sounding so grim that it scared Serena a little. “You’re not going to do anything to her, will you?” He gave her a disdained look.

“Why on earth would I hurt my own family?” He asked incredulously.

In her defence he had cursed her when she entered his house. “Now then, do you want to learn magic from me or don’t you?” He asked.

“Do I really have choice?” She countered.

“Naturally, I have no interest in an unwilling student. If you don’t want to follow an apprenticeship you can walk out the door right now. I’m not in need of another distraction.”

Once again, she was taken aback by his brisk and rude manner. “So, what will it be?” He asked impatiently.

“I don’t know.” Serena uttered. “Alright yes, yes, I will take the apprenticeship.” She stuttered as her uncle’s brows furrowed. His face cracked into a smile.

“Excellent, I expect to learn a lot from you, I don’t often work with light mages, they tend to go to the other side.”

He stood up, cracked his neck and left the room. Serena sat still for a few moments, until she realised, she was meant to follow. They went through a corridor, ignoring a number of doors, until they entered the reception hall. They took one of the stairs to the first floor. “Servant rooms, west wing first floor, there shouldn’t be any reason to go there.” He motioned towards the right hallway. “The east wing is over there. There is a small library there, which will suffice for your coming year of learning. Additionally, there are a number of leisure rooms, which will be free for you to use however you like.

They went up the single staircase which hung suspended between the first and second floor. The wood was worn, but recently polished, giving the house a very old feeling. Serena smiled as she touched the old railings. Her uncle chuckled. “What you feel is three centuries of mages who let their magic seep into the house.” When he turned to look at her there was a genuine smile on his face. He clearly loved the house.

“Second floor, the west wing is my wing, my personal library, laboratory, bedroom, bathroom and studio are not to be entered, unless I invite you to.” His voice was grave. “The east wing contains a number of guest bedrooms with adjacent bathrooms. Within the rooms you will find anything you should need, for refreshments, food or anything, simply ring the bell. Your bags have already been brought upstairs. We will start your lessons tomorrow. We will see each other tonight at dinner. Take the time to settle in and get familiar with the house.” Promptly he stopped talking, turned around and walked away, leaving Serena standing alone in the hallway.

“Hey stop, wait a minute. Are you just going to leave me?” Her uncle turned around, a sneer on his face.

“Do you need me to hold your hand while you unpack?” He asked, his eyebrows rising.

“Ehm no, never mind.” Serena said, her face red from shame and anger. “Fucking dick.” She muttered as her uncle disappeared from view.

She took the time to enter every room and look around. All of them were designed to impress, filled with expensive looking furniture, art and state of the art technology. They were also all without any personality whatsoever. So stiff and formal she almost choked. Her room wasn’t much different. Comfortable, but lacking any form of identity, beyond expensive. Her bags had indeed been carried into her room and to her dismay they had been opened. When she looked inside however, nothing was missing, somebody had refolded her laundry however.

She shook her head, living here was going to take some getting used to. She sighed, sat down in one of the chairs in front of the empty hearth and grabbed her phone. She looked at the bars with fear, this place was about as remote as it got. To get here she had flown, taken several buses, which had been hell with her bags, and ordered a cab for the last couple of miles. Thankfully, she had exchanged dollars for pounds at the airport or she would have had to walk the last leg of the journey. To her surprise, all bars were full. Gratefully she went to her contacts and dialled her mum.

“Yes, I arrived safely. No, it wasn’t much of a hassle. Yes, he has taken me on. Yes, I think he’s a little scary too. Okay mum, stop talking for a second. We need to talk about the house.”

As mother and daughter spoke in the east wing music came from west wing. A single violin, playing a fast melody, reminding of the thread of mice.