How did you get here?

He smiled, his eyes glinting. "Walks have become one of my many pastimes over the years. I admit, little does surprise me these days."

I thought he was finished, but he continued. "But you," he came closer and knelt down beside me, matching our eye levels. "Continue to surprise me."

We've only met twice.

"Exactly."

Why don't you cast a shadow? I almost forgot that he hadn't answered my original question. I had to be more direct.

"Your eyes," he was staring directly at me, he felt so real it seemed that if I reached out, I could touch him. "Do not let anything pass them by. Truly magnificent."

My patience was wearing thin. Could he not hear my thoughts clearly? Did I have to speak aloud?

I frowned. "Why won't you answer me?" It felt strange speaking so fluently. I had been cautious around my maids, but I got the feeling that there was no point hiding this from Castiel. Not when he already knew how coherent my thoughts were.

And unlike Castiel's voice, mine seemed to bounce off the walls.

There was movement down the aisle and Lettie came around the corner. I tried my best to hide the book under the debris around me.

"Have you finished yet, Miss Edythe?"

Either she was completely unsurprised by Castiel's presence, or was blind.

She was either ignoring him or just couldn't see him.

"Um-" I was at a loss for words.

"Not yet." Castiel said, directly at me and not even glancing behind him.

Lettie didn't even look in his direction. Had she not just heard him speak?

Judging from her blank expression, clearly not.

"Not yet." I finished, put off by Castiel's intense stare.

Lettie smiled. "Let me know when you want to leave, I'll be waiting near the entrance."

I nodded and she walked off.

What had just happened?

I narrowed my eyes at Castiel. Fess up.

He chuckled. "You see? You are a complete mystery. Not even Kael can see me in this form if I don't want him to."

Kael couldn't see him?

"But you." He gave an evaluating look. "I can't escape you."

Why was that? I had no idea. Honestly, if I hadn't noticed that he didn't cast a shadow, I would have assumed he was here in the flesh.

He held out his hand, giving it a strange look. "Some psychics I have come across in my time here, have managed to sense my presence. But there have been very few who could see me. Perhaps that is why your father and I became friends." He then smiled, as if recalling a memory. "Though I highly doubt he would call it that."

Then his eyes cleared and he looked directly at me, the silver flecks in his eyes gleaming. "Let's keep this meeting a secret between you and me."

I smirked at him, gesturing to my own tiny body. Seriously, who would I tell?

He winked, an amused smile beginning to form. "One thing before I go. Give me that book."

I quickly searched the pile of debris and pulled out the old faded book he had given me.

"Place the book before me."

Frowning, I did as he requested.

Castiel then placed his hand on the book and muttered a few incoherent words. He then handed the book to me. "If you are to practise, little rose, it would be best not to arouse suspicion. The walls have eyes and ears here."

When he gave the book back to me, it looked exactly the same.

What did you do? It is no different.

Another chuckle. "There is no fooling those eyes of yours. You will see, for now, just take that with you."

He then leaned forward, catching me off guard and I closed my eyes. There was a whisper beside my ear. "Until next time."

When I opened my eyes, he was gone.

Vanished.

If I hadn't been staring at the book before me, it would have seemed like a dream. It was strange, having an adult speak to me as if I wasn't a child. Having someone that could speak to me as an equal.

Yet I didn't know if that was a good thing.

However, there was no going back now. Castiel and I had a relationship that I couldn't describe. Was he technically a family friend?

Considering how I didn't regard Kael as my father, then I guess it made Castiel more like an acquaintance?

I wasn't too sure.

When I gave Lettie my book, she glanced at it and smiled. "How beautiful Miss Edythe! I had no idea you liked butterflies!"

Butterflies?

What exactly was she looking at? Did it have something to do with the weird incantation that Castiel had said earlier?

Either way, it was better than her seeing the original book. I had no idea what she might say if she saw it. For some reason, I felt it was a good thing that no one could see its true contents.

I had no idea myself what was inside. But if Castiel had to hide it, it made me slightly apprehensive about opening it up.

When we were back in my room, Lettie left me to my own devices when I said I wanted to read the book to myself.

She smiled at me. "Let me know if you want some help, I'll just be in the bathroom cleaning."

I nodded, too curious about the book before my eyes to reply.

Inside, I was surprised to find strange symbols that I recognised. Was this this world's language, yet because of my heritage and intellect was somehow able to already understand it?

I had no idea.

Nevertheless, I could read it. It was a spell book. It had everything, from focusing your breathing and clearing your mind, all the way to complex incantations and summonings which required unique resources and the carving of symbols which were way too complex for my understanding. But what excited me most—was the beginner introduction.

How to channel mana.

It was all here? How did Castiel know?

After a minute I shrugged, there was no use guessing. I wouldn't be getting any answers anytime soon.

Inside the book, the explanation was surprisingly simple.

Mana, also known as magic, is a material that makes up this world. It's invisible, but can be accumulated by breathing and making miracles. To accumulate mana, one must first breathe in slowly and exhale, then repeat. After that, one sensitive to mana should begin to feel the mana around them.

"That's it?" I accidentally spoke aloud, thrown off by how simple the explanation was.

Seriously? All I had to do was breathe?

It felt like fools gold. Surely not.

Yet after glancing through a few more pages, it appeared so. So that left me with only one thing left to do.

Breathe.

And I did this for few minutes until ten minutes had passed and I began to feel a bit frustrated.

Did I have no talent? None? What was I doing wrong? I read the instructions again, but this time I tried to breathe in even slower, keeping my eyes closed and my mind blank.

In...out...in...out

A light.

Startled, I opened my eyes, expecting Lettie to be there, shining something in my eyes.

Yet no one was there.

Had I...did I really just sense something? Or was it a trick of the mind?

Trying to calm myself down, I started all over again. Breathing in and out slowly, and purposefully. With a blank mind, I tried my best to expand my awareness further than just my body.

Again.

I couldn't see it. But I could feel it. As if the mana itself were sticking on my skin.

I continued to breathe despite my excitement at being finally able to sense something.

That was when I began to feel lighter and lighter with every breath.

After a few times, I stopped and continued to read on to the next page of the book.

By circulating mana throughout ones body, it results in an increased recovery speed. The more this is practised, it will subsequently positively benefit ones strength, agility and endurance.

I leaned back from the book and pondered.

Interesting. It was almost as if it levelled you up.

Breathing can give me mana, and it can heal and strengthen my body! But the rate limiting factor was ones sensitivity to mana, because the less sensitive you were to mana, the harder it was to accumulate that mana.

The only thing was, I had no one else at my level to use as an indicator for my own sensitivity. Was I highly or lowly sensitive?

I had no idea.

Therefore, all I could do was practise.

If I wanted to be able to utilise spells and such, I had to be able to use mana as if it were second nature to me. If I wanted to have any hope of surviving past the age of nineteen, I had to be at least competent in magic. Even if it meant using it to run away.

Therefore that meant practising and practising until I didn't have to focus so much in order to sense the mana. It was much like learning to ride a bike or water ski back on earth. Initially it was extremely difficult to learn and get a sense of balance. The more I practised, the more it became second nature to my body to automatically balance itself in such a way that I never had to actively think about balancing anymore, therefore giving me the freedom to pursue tricks and other more complicated endeavours that I would have never been able to do as a mere beginner in the beginning.

I assumed it must have been similar for my body and magic.

The more I practised on sensing the mana around me, the less time it would take for me to tune in on its frequency.

That night as I laid in bed, I stared at the darkness ceiling above me and felt the wind circulate throughout the room. It was quiet and peaceful.

Outside, I could hear leaves rustle in the trees and the sound of some nocturnal animals coming to life. I had yet to investigate the species in this world. Just how similar would they be to earth?

And it was in this stillness, that I closed my eyes, and instead of falling asleep, I purposefully breathed in and out. Much like before, it took quite a while (with some perseverance) before I finally began to feel it.

It felt as if the mana were circulating in the room much like the air. And as it blowed around, some of it stuck onto me. I could feel it on my skin like a gentle hum of energy.

It was comforting and completely surreal. In all my life, I never imagined that I would one day be actually sensing mana. It was completely unreal and foreign. Like a dream.

Here I was in this tiny body with piercing red eyes and dark hair, able to actually utilise magic. It made me feel giddy inside. It was almost as if I was having an out of body experience. Yet, the body I was in—the heat, the blood I felt pulsing through my veins and the heart which beat so strongly in my chest—I knew that this was real. This was my new reality.

I was here. I was alive. I was real.

And I had just accessed magic.