Everything about this summer was supposed to be amazing! For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Ella was going to be free from the grasps of her cruel Stepmother Edelina and at least Anastasia as far as she knew but every day there was still going to be Drizella to deal with and even though she was staying behind because her Stepmother didn’t trust her she didn’t mind that much. Honestly, the very thought of going back home filled her with a horrible fear so sharp that Ella could feel the heat begin to rim around her eyes making her eyes gloss over like she was about to cry.
Her home was drowning in physical and verbal abuse. Where she felt like a complete stranger, and unaccomplished, stupid, and forced into long hard days of servitude to her own family that didn’t appreciate her even being around. It no longer felt safe to leave Ilvermorny anymore to go back. She liked it better here than being back in the utility shack even if she’ll miss the ocean air, and watching the morning sunrise on her roof before she had to make breakfast for her Stepfamily. Sneaking off to sit on the beach when she needed a moment to clear her thoughts. Even sneaking into the ocean to catch a couple of waves on her surfboard when she was blamed for something she didn’t do. She loved that house so dearly she’d sell her soul to keep it but she had to face the reality that it was no longer a place to call home.
Not when her family didn’t want her. Not when she wasn’t really wanted. Not anymore.
Laying flat on her back outdoors in the flower bed outside the Pukwudgie house. Happily hidden among the large hydrangea bushes this hot summer evening invisible to passerby’s re-reading her first year's edition of Defence Against the Dark Arts book falling in and out of interest like she didn’t have the concentration for it but. . . she needed it. She needed to push 2 years of magical learning in one summer break and with a library full of books and with her sisters handy down school books she’ll study her charms and her magic. She no longer felt happy between the Acceptable and Poor range. Rapunzel, Eric, and the mysterious boy (Jim Hawkins) she met on the roof of the Astronomy tower seemed to help her realize the meaning of being passionate about something. Everyone had hardships in life but that didn’t mean give into it. She loved magical creatures and she wanted to c h a n g e. She wanted to make something of herself someday and the pace she’s going she’ll get nowhere.
Though that was just part of the reason. .The other? Anastasia made her realize something very valuable and dark during the Solstice Ball that struck pure fear into her own heart that night. If she wanted to survive in this world she’s going to have to learn how to defend herself because she’s not sure what’s going to happen to her when she turns 18 and that alone frightens her. Thus why she begged Edelina if she could stay at school and get a summer job and Greylock Landing. At first, she denied the idea but came around for some reason with the agreement she gets half of her paycheck (because of financial issues).
If that’s what it takes to stay and earn her own keep and study&practice her magic all summer break then so be it.
Finding the strength to read the first four chapters and working on memorizing spells and practicing wand motions with a stick for now. Before she knew it Ella was practicing in the dead of night surrounded by fireflies but there was something odd about tonight. Still laying on her back hidden among the hydrangeas with her book on her stomach as she felt the wind pick up and the night air lost it’s summer humidness as Ella inhaled a strangely cold, crisp, clean smell that intensified over time until. . . “Snow! In the middle of summer? How beautiful” Ella said mesmerized by it slowly rising up forgetting about everything for a moment. It was snowing, Ella was watching white flakes fall with such ethereal beauty and elegance that she was convinced they were magic! The weight of her problems melting like the snow that brushed against her skin just for tonight. Finding her breath appear in soft puffs of grey. Spending this night dancing gracefully in the snow falling all around her (✰). Stopping only when her bare feet burned from the cold that night.
