#OriginalFiction – November 9

She woke up before the rest of the house. It was quiet and still. She loved that. She got up and retrieved the lockbox from where she had set it on her desk the night before, then settled back on her bed. Slowly, she turned the box over, not exactly shaking it, but feeling and listening for contents moving inside. She could definitely feel motion, but there was not a lot of noise. Whatever it was, she doubted it was breakable.

From her spot on the bed, she could reach some of her school supplies. She managed to find a paperclip and poked it in the lock. She did not expect it to work, but figured it could not hurt. Today was Saturday. She was caught up on homework, and as long as Aria did not call in sick again, she had nothing she had to do, or anywhere she had to be.

She looked at the clock. It was just after 8am. Her mother usually slept until 9am. Dorian, left on his own, could sleep until Noon. She did not have the patience for that. She really did not have the patience for that.

She pulled on warm wool socks, grabbed her robe, and stepped out into the hall. Just a few steps brought her to her brother’s door. She knocked, but not loudly enough to wake up their mother, so also not loudly enough to wake up Dorian. She let herself in.

Dorian was one of those people who just naturally took up space. He slept sprawled across his bed in the oddest way. But always even funnier to her was that their cat, Egypt Atlantic, would only sleep on his bed. So there was her brother, sprawled as if to take up every inch of space on his bed, and there was the cat, staking out her own claim to the center of the bed.

She touched her brother’s shoulder and shook him gently. “Dorian, wake up.”

He mumbled something about it being Saturday and pushed her away. She did not let that stop her. “Dorian, wake up.”

“Go away, Mina. I want to sleep.”

“Dorian, please, I need your help with something.”

She had a lifetime of experience interpreting her brother’s mumbles. “Go away, Mina. It can wait.”

“But it can’t, Dori. I need your help with the magic.”