Clara continued, “Your family are all deplorable narcissists with no hope of redemption,” Clara chuckled, “maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that part.” Patting Sharna’s knee warmly again, she said consolingly, “don’t worry dear, that definitely doesn’t include you.”
Sharna blinked at Clara blankly for a moment, unsure how to respond. She felt like a normal person would defend their family, however.. she pursed her lips and after mentally reviewing her relatives, she felt that Clara may have a point..
“My cousin Jarrah’s not so bad..?”
Clara had been watching carefully as the flow of Sharna’s thoughts crossed her face, at her response she burst into laughter that was tinged with relief. Sharna grinned back at her.
“I guess a blanket response is not entirely fair, I haven’t met Jarrah so I promise I will hold off on my judgement about him for now.” Reaching into her apron pocket, Clara pulled out a pile of nuts and held them out to Sharna, “would you like a pistachio? They’re off my own trees and they’re very good.”
Sharna thanked her and reached out her hand, Clara tipped the nuts into it and grabbed a second handful for herself. They sat in companionable silence for a while, enjoying the salty sweetness and the sunshine.
“Would you like me to tell you about your grandmother and I?” Clara asked eventually.
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“Please,” Sharna replied, turning towards Clara with interest, “she rarely spoke to me about her childhood.”
“Well, we grew up together, Evelyn and I, our houses were 800 metres away from each other,” she grinned widely at Sharna, “your grandmother made me measure the distance with her one day.”
Sharna smiled back, “that sounds like her, she always liked to know all the finer details about everything.”
Clara smirked and continued, growing more introspective, “we were best friends, more like sisters, and were inseparable. Our childhood was a golden time for us, we went to a little school in our town run by the sisters of light, have you heard of them?”
“Yes of course, they’re heavily involved with The Pillars and so I’ve had a lot to do with them.”
“Of course they are,” Clara mused, “I had forgotten, I was impressed when Evelyn got them on board right at the start, they were such a good fit.”
The sisters of light were a matriarchal religion that had roots in the very start of their kingdom’s birth, which was why it was still tolerated in what was now a heavily patriarchal society. It was based on some esoteric ideas centred around their version of visions and certain magically attuned creatures. It was information gained from these visions, shared at great personal risk, that had been the impetus that changed the tides of war to secure victory for the ancestors of the current royal family.
They sat in thought for a few minutes before Clara resumed her story. “My home was close in location to Evelyn’s but our situations were worlds apart. Her family lived in an estate that had been in their family for generations, both her parents were talented and respected in their fields of magic while my parents..” Clara lifted her hands helplessly, “..my parents were a different story.”
“What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t really matter to the story,” Clara shifted in place, “I’ll tell you another time. Anyway, as children, we were allowed to run fairly wild and we took full advantage of everything that freedom offered.” She smiled as she contemplated for a moment. "My specialty is in the area of potions and that blended well with Evelyn's image manifestation. We had a lot of fun exploring how those two could be combined, and made a lot of trouble for those around us."
Clara chuckled again, and then her eyes saddened. “Then we hit high school and everything changed, for both of us.”