Kellan laughed, "It's this way."

In front of their suite, Kellan took out the piece of paper from his pocket and unlocked the doors. He sighed at the lost opportunity. Few rooms in the mansion had actual keys because guests and residents were expected to not keep secrets.

He opened the door and with a grin, did a sweeping bow as he motioned for Jei to enter.

Jei laughed, giving his brother a shove as he entered the room. "Ever the one for dramatics, Kellan." He said, grinning.

Kellan mock stumbled into the room, "I am wounded!" He said, clutching where he had been shoved.

He straightened himself then, and sat onto the floor. "When do you think Uncle'll arrive?"

Jeisyn giggled and sat next to his brother, leaning against him. "Dunno... shouldn't be too long though..." He said, looking up at a knock on the door. "Enter."

Marius came in, smiling as he saw the boys together. "Now... What was it you wanted to talk about?"

Kellan grinned and wrapped his arms around Jei briefly, letting go when the knock on the door came.

Kellan raised an eyebrow, "Magic, fires, and firing." He looked at Jei, "Am I missing anything?"

Jei frowned slightly when Kellan let him go. He pulled away slightly.

Marius sighed, looking around, before sitting on the floor with his nephews. "We were out, travelling. Thank the gods... We were supposed to be home that day, though... I assume that since you're asking, you saw the damages..."

Jei nodded. "It's the same as what happened at ours, five years ago..." He said, frowning. "How long ago was it? The stone was still hot, like it'd just happened..."

"Couple months ago, actually... I know, it's strange..." Marius replied.

Kellan frowned, "Fires don't make stuff stay hot that long. Actually, isn't it kind of dangerous it's that hot? Could there be another fire?"

He paused, "It's magic?"

Marius nodded. "We're pretty certain that it was a form of magefire... Instead of producing light when it burns, though, it produces heat, and destroys everything in its path..." He said. "I think the people behind it are working through the slave-trades, planting people who still have powers, or who can use charms. They're targeting the old families- I'm sure you've read about that in your history text?"

Jei frowned, then remembered the story Kellan had made from their history book. "So... Both your family and fathers came from the same line?" He asked, a little surprised. He knew it wasn't uncommon for some interbreeding to occur. He just had never assumed that his parents would be.

Kellan raised his eyebrows, obviously the room was soundproof enough for Uncle Marius to discuss magic without impediment.

"You had slaves as servants?" He asked.

Marius nodded. "Most noble families get their servants from slavers... Quite often, I'll release them within a few years if they wish to go, once they work off their cost. Sometimes they choose to stay on, other times they leave. Once in a blue moon, you get one that tries to kill you... That's like a one in a million chance, though... If you're smart."

"How did you decide who to fire?" Kellan asked. "And this room is soundproof?"

"Soundproof enough..." Marius said with a shrug. "And... It wasn't so much that we fired people... More that they were either killed, or ran off in the middle of the fire."

Kellan raised an eyebrow, "So, they got literally fired." He quickly remade his expression so it looked serious, brushing aside the crude and ill-timed joke.

"Magic exists, and old families have links to magic. Why use magic to kill magic?"

Jei couldn't help but give a slight snort at Kellan's awful pun, nor could Marius.

"I haven't a clue. It might be targeted at our family specifically, or it could just be an attempt to eradicate magic entirely..." Marius said, frowning a bit. "One of our servants... A newer one... We found her a few miles down the road, half hidden in the bushes, throat slit. Her clothing was charred, but there wasn't a single burn on her. We think she may have been one of the ones to set the fire, then killed afterwards by somebody wishing to cover their tracks."

"Half-hidden in the bushes?" Kellan frowned, "That's incredibly sloppy, don't you think?"

He turned to Jei, "You wouldn't only half-hide a dead person in order to cover your tracks would you?"

Jei hummed softly, thinking it over. "No... Unless... What if the person - or people- behind this were trying to lead the search away?" He said. "Half-hidden would make it seem suspicious. Either they're that dumb, and ran in the opposite direction after dumping her... Or they were hoping we'd think they had..."

Kellan sighed, "Or they expected us to think that and now we're back to square one. They might have even just killed a random servant--"

He looked sharply at Uncle Marius, "Ones that started the fire?"

Marius nodded. "We're not sure how many were involved... Several of our servants were unaccounted for though, even after searching the wreckage... I don't know whether they were involved with it, or just abducted, or decided to run." Marius replied, frowning a bit. It was certainly frustrating.

Kellan sighed and stared blankly at Uncle Marius. "Well. That's a dilemma." He remarked, not knowing exactly what could be done about the situation. "Why would they be targeting old families anyway, whoever they are? It's not like we have magic or anything." He frowned, "Do we?"

Marius glanced between his two nephews. "History says that our line did, once upon a time. I've been doing research, and i can trace us directly to magic-users of the first family... Our line used to be mostly Air and Earth elementals." He replied, pulling a sheet of parchment from his pocket, unfolding it to show a handdrawn family tree, going all the way back to the first family, just as Marius said.

Looking it over, Jei picked out a few names that he recognized from some of the books they'd looked through.

Kellan looked at the tree and frowned, "When did our family line stop having magic? Or, when did we stop having magic as often? Furthermore, if they targeted this home--someone with magic must have had been here..." He trailed off. Did Uncle Marius or his wife, or maybe his children show signs of magic?

Marius sighed. "Our line never actually stopped... Our abilities just started getting weaker and weaker the more we tried to hide them, and the more 'watered down' our line became..." He replied softly, lifting one hand towards the fireplace, a small swirl of ashes coming towards him. "Usually, powers will manifest between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. Sometimes, however, they might appear early, such as in times of great distress, fear, sorrow, or anger." He said, gllancing at Jei.

Jei looked back just in time to see Marius looking at him

"I don't belive your survival five years ago was any kind of miracle, Jeisyn... If your mothers account was anything to go by, at least..."

"Are... Are you saying... That my inheritance came early?" He asked, incredulous. He didnt remember much about that night, except the flames, and his father and brother burning to death. Though, now, as he thought about it, he couldn't remember the heat of the flames...

Kellan stared at the floating ashes. Magic was real? Well, he knew it was, but he'd never seen it after all. Magic was possible?

His eyes flickered back and forth between Uncle Marius and Jei. Times of great distress? It would make sense that Jei's powers had already manifested. An inheritance? It was a rather apt description of magic, he supposed. Between 18 and 21? He had turned 18 already. 3 more years to see, he supposed.

Marius smiled at the boys' reactions. They were certainly taking it better than he had when he'd come into his inheritance. Then again, his interitance had manifested in front of the whole court...

"Magic, less common nowadays, is frowned upon by most people. I believe that is why our families were targeted... When I came into my inheritance, my parents sent me away- for my own protection, they assured me, though I imagine it was to dispel threats against the rest of the family..." He said, frowning slightly. "It wasn't so bad. They'd placed me with a small family not too far from here with similar abilities as mine, and they taught me control. I believe that to be part of why your mother let the two of you go so easily. She likely worries that one or both of you will come into your powers in front of kthers, especially you, Kellan, now that you're beginning to take over the role of ruler."

Kellan frowned, "Well, that certainly wouldn't bode well." He paused, raising an eyebrow, "Although, you would think we'd be told about this sooner to help avoid this kind of trouble."

He looked over at Jei, "And were you just waiting for Jei's powers to manifest a second time before telling him about it?"

Marius sighed softly, shaking his head. "Normally, there's only one manifestation per generation, usually following the same line... I hadn't expected it to happen to any of you... I honestly never even thought about Jei's survival that night as being anything but luck until the fire happened here, and then talking to your mother... She had her suspicions, which led me to wonder. That's why I suggested bringing you two here for a while." He said, looking at both boys.

"But... Why would my powers only manifest the once? With the number of nightmares I've had of that night..." Jei trailed off, flushing when he realized he'd just admitted to that night affecting him so badly still.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. Perhaps its because it's just a memory, and your mind realizes there's no physical threat."

Kellan frowned. Their magic sure seemed like a double-edged sword. Or maybe going to war with nothing but a shield. Based on what he was hearing, their magic was normally not very strong with all the "watering down" it had gotten. Although, he wasn't really too sure.

"What's your magic?" Kellan asked abruptly, "It can't be just ashes right? And what's Mom's? And Aunt Augusta's? And Dad's? What about Grandma and Grandpa's?"

Marius laughed at Kellan's rapid-fire questions. "Slow down there, and maybe I can answer a few... I'm not sure if your parents have any, which is why I never thought about Jei having any. By the time your mum would have reached her inheritance, I'd already been cast out. And your father... He never knew about our family having any. If he had magic, he never mentioned it."

He stood, walking over to the fireplace, and grabbed a stick of kindling, heading back over to the boys. "My power's not very strong..." He said, focusing on the stick in his hand. If the boys watched carefully, they'd see the grain begin to shift slightly, as a new branch began to poke out from a knot. "Mine is Earth magic. I can manipulate the growth of plants... Though it is easier when the plant is still alive.... As for your grandparents, my mother had Air magic, which she kept hidden from my father- he didn't have any powers, hence why I was shunned from the family. My uncle, on the other hand- your grandmother's brother- also had earth magic... Augusta, poor dear, has no powers, though she does know about mine... She can get right jealous over it at times."

Kellan laughed, partly from the euphoria of seeing a thing just grow--magically--and partly from a sudden feeling of irony. It came out half hollow. "Magic even divides the family these days." He shook his head. "But jealousy. For those who aren't your wife, I can see how this extermination of magic came about."

He thought of himself then. Suppose his mother did not have magic and his father didn't either. Suppose then that he didn't have magic. Well, at least he knew magic existed. In that sense he wasn't so estranged.

His brow furrowed slightly in contemplation. "Earth and air. What other types of magic are there?"

"Fire, obviously... And water too. There are runors of those who can manipulate light or darkness, though no one has seen one in decades." Marius replied, merely nodding in confirmation as to Kellan's first comment.

"I don't have any more things to ask." He looked over at Jei, "Do you have anything?" Kellan grinned, "Because I feel inclined to exhaust Uncle Marius of as much information as possible."

What was Jei originally interested in again? Right. If their family was magical. Turns out, their family was magical after all. What else then? Who was behind the killing of magical families? Did anyone have the answer to that? Why did magic exist? No one would answer that.

Oh. There was the mysterious killings, the erasures from the family book. He had forgotten about that.

Jei happened glance up at the clock as he yawned. He was shocked by how late it had gotten already. "No... Not right now, anyways..." He said sleepily, stifling another yawn.

Kellan looked over to the clock as he heard Jei yawning. One hour to twelve, it read. He grinned "Well, Uncle Marius, I suppose it's time we went to bed."

Marius nodded, getting to his feet. "Alright. Sleep well, boys... Do you want me to send someone to get you for breakfast?"

Jei shook his head, not really wanting to have someone waking him up. "No thank you, uncle. We'll just get something from the kitchens when we wake."

Nodding, Marius wished the boys goodnight, and left the room.

Kellan waved goodnight to Uncle Marius as he left.

When the door had closed, he ruffled Jei's hair with one hand. "Get some sleep, sleepyhead. I'll be going to my room now."

Jei nodded, heading for his room."Night Kell'." He said softly, shutting his door behind him. He got changed and slipped into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Kellan changed into a set of pajamas and turned off the lights.

He laid awake for a little while in wonder at how little and how much had transgressed. But as was his habit, his eyes soon closed, and he fell asleep.

Jei almost made it through the night. It was about five in the morning when he woke from a nightmare. Shaking slightly, he got out of bed, heading for Kellan's room, just slipping right inside without knocking, heading for the bed. He shook his brothers shoulder lightly, calling his name to wake him.

Kellan yawned as he stirred. when he opened his eyes to find Jei and an unfamiliar backdrop behind him, he wearily wondered if he was still dreaming. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was indeed not inside a dream.

Kellan sat up and ruffled Jei's hair before shifting himself to a side of the bed. "Come on, it's all right."

Jei slid into bed next to his brother, curling up to him, still trembling slightly. He'd had another of the burning dreams... Though this time it'd been his uncle burning as well, and Kellan, and him, right there in their sitting room. And naturally there was nothing he could do oto stop it- despite any powers he may or may not have.