The Mysterious Legacy

Catherine had such a boring life. She was 15 years old and her parents never let her do anything! She was forced to work in her home in Edenton, North Carolina. It was the year 1852 and children during those times were forced to do chores before and after school. At times, they also had to miss school during planting and harvesting season. Girls in those days usually completed the 6th grade and then stayed at home and helped around the house until they got married, but Catherine had other plans for her life. She had already completed 6th grade, but wanted to pursue a more advanced education. They don't offer school for girls past 6th grade in Edenton; therefore, she would have to leave and go live in Bath, North Carolina. She was working for a seamstress in town and saving up her money to further her education.

One day, Catherine met one of her childhood friends in town and they decided to go visit Catherine's aunt that lives near the edge of town. Her friend, Sarah, came from one of the oldest families in Edenton and they had family money that would help Sarah continue her education in Bath. Catherine enjoyed being around Sarah because of her experiences and wealth of knowledge of the town and families that lived there.

Catherine and Sarah met up and had tea and cookies at her family's restaurant. They talked about the good, old days of growing up together and all their crazy adventures. Sarah told Catherine that her family had discovered that some of the original townspeople were thought to be involved in witchcraft, but Catherine just laughed it off. She said we're a long, way from Salem and didn't give it a further thought. They paid for their tea and cookies and left together laughing about the old witches in town.

They knocked at her aunt's door and Aunt Aurora answered the door in one of her beautiful dresses. Aunt Aurora was always eccentric and had the money to buy expensive things. She liked to accentuate her wardrobe with silk accessories and hats with feathers. Catherine was always impressed by her aunt's exquisite taste and fashion sense. She was very different from her parents and grandparents. Aunt Aurora had married a wealthy merchant in town and was living very happily until her husband died suddenly two years later from yellow fever. Aunt Aurora inherited his money and never remarried, but she was perfectly content living alone with her cat, Felix. She never had any children, but had formed a special relationship with her only niece, Catherine.

Catherine introduced Aunt Aurora to her friend, Sarah. The two had a lot in common and conversation was very easy for them. Sarah told Aunt Aurora about the girls' conversation at lunch. Aunt Aurora was not surprised by the news of witches in Edenton. She left the room and returned with a book about the Kingston family which was Aurora and Catherine's family legacy. She sat down next to the girls and began turning pages in the book and talking about the members of their family. Aunt Aurora turned to a page and Catherine recognized the young woman in the picture. The woman was identical to her and Catherine was perplexed by this picture. She asked Aunt Aurora how she had gotten a painting of her and Aunt Aurora told her that it was a picture of her great grandmother, Isabella Kingston. She read the notes on the page and it said that Isabella had belonged to a small coven of witches in early Edenton. Catherine and Sarah were both speechless. They couldn't believe that witches were real and that someone in Catherine's family had actually been a witch and belonged to a coven of witches. But according to their family history, Isabella Kingston was her great grandmother and belonged to a coven of witches. She lived in a little cottage that was located on Aunt Aurora's property. So Catherine and Sarah decided that they would try and find this cottage. Aunt Aurora gave them directions and they took an oil lamp with them in case it got dark before they returned to her home. They followed the directions and walked for a couple of hours before they found the tree that lead to a fork in the road. They took the path to the right that lead to a dark path in the woods. It was really spooky and the girls thought about turning around, but their curiosity got the best of them and they continued on the path. Finally, they came to this old, decrepit cottage. Catherine had a weird, tingling sensation as she approached the cottage. Sarah stayed outside and wouldn't cross the threshold of the cottage. She got bad vibes about that place and decided to follow her instincts and stay outside. But Catherine had a strong desire to find out what was inside the cottage. She walked inside and saw all the cobwebs and wooden furniture and an old trunk. She walked over to the trunk and jiggled the lock. The trunk opened suddenly and she saw a lot of dust on top of an old book. She blew the dust off and used the sleeve of her dress to wipe off the top of the book. Catherine took the book out of the trunk and opened it up. It was written in Latin and Catherine had never learned how to read Latin. Then from the east, an owl flew in the window and landed near Catherine. She saw a bright light, as bright as the sun, and then heard this voice that came from the owl. It said "habes potestatem" which means you have the power. Catherine repeated those words and then this bright light with stars around it encircled her like a wreath and her body began to glow. She felt dizzy and fell down. Sarah ran in to help her and saw her friend on the floor of the cottage and her body was glowing like the sun in the sky. The owl also glowed and she heard a voice come from the owl's beak. The voice said "Welcome Home, my child". All of a sudden, Catherine woke up and her body felt tingly and uneasy. When she went to stand up, she blinked her eyes and the owl flew off. Then the trunk flew from the floor into the wall. Catherine grabbed Sarah's arm and they ran from the cottage. The sun was setting in the western sky and the girls grabbed the oil lamp and kept running. They didn't stop until they were out of the dark woods and at the fork in the road. Catherine realized that when she repeated those words that she had inherited this power from her great grandmother. She wondered if her great grandmother had this same power or if she had just inherited some witchery from her family.

She didn't share her concerns with her friend, Sarah. They walked together in silence back to her Aunt Aurora' house. Neither one of them said anything as they walked through her door. Aunt Aurora had cooked dinner and had waited on the girls to return before she ate her meal. She tried to make small talk at the dinner table, but something had happened and the girls seemed very distracted. They ate in silence and then Catherine and Sarah helped Aunt Aurora clean up. Then they washed up and got ready for bed.

Once Sarah was fast asleep, Catherine walked into her Aunt Aurora's bedroom and sat down at her dressing table. She told her aunt what had happened in the cottage and Aunt Aurora got up, put on her robe, and walked downstairs. Catherine followed her into the living room and helped her tend to the fire in the fireplace. They took out the family book and opened it up to the page with her great grandmother. They read it together and found out that Isabella Kingston had a pet owl named Kanter and he was always by her side. Catherine believed that the owl she saw was Kanter and he had visited her for a reason. She was meant to be in that cottage and find that book to inherit her legacy.

Catherine decided that night that she was going to live with her Aunt Aurora and discover this craft that she had inherited from her great grandmother. She would visit the cottage again and she would study that book she found so she could learn about her family heritage and this power that she had inherited.