"Carter, Carter, Carter!" A tiny voice called out from a distance.
Carter's eyes flew open and he jolted up in surprise. He turned to the direction of the voice and was met with his little sister Clara.
"Oh it's you Clara" Carter sighed in relief.
"Who did you think it was?" Clara's eyes peered at him in curiosity.
"Oh, it's nobody. I was just surprised to hear your voice" Carter hastily answered. His eyes then darted to stare down and he realized he'd been lying on the floor.
"W..why am I currently on the floor?" He turned to ask Clara. The last thing he remembered was Clara's voice echoing the numbers twenty down to one...oh that's right, they were playing hide and seek.
"Who knows, I was about to ask you" Clara shrugged. "By the way.." she added, she then brought her body closer to Carter and placed her arms on his shoulders.
"Father wants to see you" she said with a serious expression.
"Oh, is that so?" Carter turned to stare back at the floor as if not surprised. "Where is he?" He asked.
"At the study room, his friends are there too" Clara withdrew her arms from his shoulder and took a few steps backwards, this gave Carter room to stand up and clean off some dust from his clothes.
"You were probably sleep walking, hehe" Clara said and let out a little laugh.
"Yeah right, pfft" Carter laughed too.
The moment he had finished cleaning off a considerable amount of dust from his clothes, he walked over to Clara and patted her on her head. "I'll be back so we can keep playing" he said with a smile.
"Alright Carter" Clara replied smiling back and watched as Carter walked away from the hallway.
Carter took a few steps down the huge hallway and soon came to halt the moment he was in front of a big brown door. The words study room clearly visible in a white material glued to the door. Carter sighed and lifted his little arms to twist the door knob, the door opening afterwards and giving him access inside.
"You called for me father" Carter spoke as he walked into the room.
A group of men turned to look towards the direction of the voice. There were three of them seated in two couches next to shelves filled with numerous books. A large chair stood at the front and a small table in the middle, the table was filled with a few fruits and drinks.
Carter ignored the peering eyes of the few men and turned to the one seated in the single large chair, it was Mr Ronan Hubert his father. He forced a smile at that moment.
"And I'm here" he said.
Mr Hubert turned from the little Carter to the men sitted around and gave a smug smile. "See, I told you he was a sophisticated little boy" he said.
"Wow, he gives off this intense charisma. I can't quite point out why" Mr Jopel, one of the men sitted on the couch said with his fingers placed around his chin.
"The way he's dressed proves it all already" Mr Feilin, another man present laughed.
Carter stood still and listened to their words. 'I really hate this' he thought. He tried his best not to scoff and grit his teeth at their compliments, he knew all too well why they were saying this. His father was the most successful amongst all the men present there given that he owned the biggest law firm in the country, was married to a beautiful wife and had two wonderful kids. His life was one any man would dream to have but Carter certainly wouldn't.
"Of course my dear friends, nothing less could be expected from the heir to the Hubert law firm" Mr Ronan Hubert spoke with a grin.
Soon, another man who hadn't spoke ever since turn to Carter in curiosity. "Carter Hubert, isn't it?" Mr Kim asked, his eyes staring intently at Carter.
"Huh?" Carter looked up. "Yes sir, that's my name" He replied.
"Hmm, you don't seem too happy young one" Mr Kim spoke.
Carter looked up at him in surprise. He tried not to show it as much as possible, how could this man tell?.
"Do you perhaps, have a different ambition rather than becoming a lawyer?" Mr Kim spoke once again.
"Suho, what are you saying?" Mr Hubert suddenly snapped at him. "Why would you ask him that question?, he's just a child" he glared at Mr Kim.
"O..oh" Mr Kim stammered. "Sorry Mr Hubert, it's just...the little kid seemed quite glum at the mention of being the heir to the law firm, so I was just...."
"Don't you ever question me or my children ever again, you hear me" Mr Hubert cut him short angrily. "And same applies to the rest of you" he turned to the other men as he spoke.
The others nodded in understanding. "You really don't have a filter for your words huh Kim Suho" Mr Feilin said with a scoff.
Mr Kim gave him a glare but could only sigh and look away. "I'm sorry I ever said that" he said in embarrassment.
Carter looked away from his dad and turned to stare at Mr Kim who had his face down to the floor. 'This man is a pushover' he thought.
"Anyways Carter" Mr Hubert called out grabbing Carter's attention.
"Yes Father" Carter replied.
"How about you show these men some of your works, I'm sure they'd love to see it" Mr Hubert said with a smile.
Carter could tell his smile had an underlying message. "Yes Father" he sighed and walked over to a corner of the study room. He stretched out his arms to grab a few books in a small cabinet. The moment he had gotten them, he wrapped his arms around them protectively and walked back to the men seated at the other end.
Carter walked towards the table and placed the few books on it.
"What are these?" Mr Jopel asked.
"How about you take a look at them" Mr Hubert said.
Mr Jopel, Mr Feilin and Mr Kim all reached out to the few books on the table to take a look at their content. The men spent the next few seconds glancing through the books.
"Woah!" Mr Jopel suddenly exclaimed. "D...did you write all this?" He turned to Carter in surprise.
"Y..yes sir" Carter said with a slight blush on his face. 'Why do they make a big deal over some silly stories' he thought.
"Not only is he the heir to the Hubert law firm, but he's also an amazing writer!. I mean even a country man in his 30s couldn't compose a story like this without proper studying and training" Mr Jopel turned to Mr Hubert this time with words of praise.
"You're right, this kid is a rare gem" Mr Feilin said. "I mean, his books even got published. This is incredible!" He added.
'Did they even read those?' Carter thought, just a little slip and he would've let out a huge scoff at these men.
He turned to Mr Kim this time waiting to hear the silly words of praise he would say as well.
"Wow, your son is...incredible" Mr Kim spoke.
Mr Hubert let out a smug smile. "He is my son after all" he said.
Carter sighed inwardly. 'I really want to leave' he thought.
Mr Jopel turned to Carter with a smile this time. "We look forward to seeing you grow into a fine successful man Carter Hubert" he said.
Carter stared at him in surprise for a while and then forced a smile. "Thank you Mr Jopel" he said.
"You can leave now" Mr Hubert said with a stern tone afterwards.
"O..oh, yes Father" Carter bowed politely and turned to leave the study room. 'Finally' he sighed inwardly.
"Oh by the way, a strange woman was spotted in the great hall last week" Mr Jopel said to the other men.
"Oh, I heard that too" Mr Feilin said.
"What's so strange about a woman at the great hall?" Mr Kim couldn't help but ask.
"Well..." Mr Jopel spoke and brought his face closer as if to whisper something.
"She was seen to have been using magic" He said in a low voice.
Carter who had just reached the door paused in his tracks at Mr Jopel's words, he then turned back in surprise.
"Huh? How's that possible. Magic doesn't exist any longer" Mr Kim said with furrowed brows.
"I know right? It's still hard to believe, the woman was even reported but she disappeared the moment the police arrived. The great hall is heavily guarded, there's no way she could've escaped" Mr Jopel said.
"This is scary" Mr Kim spoke.
"I'm pretty sure it's just some weird story, there's no way anyone uses magic in this century" Mr Feilin laughed slightly and crossed a leg over the other.
Carter turned to stare down still in surprise. 'If it's true then does magic really exist?' He thought.
"Carter, why are you still here?" Mr Hubert's voice echoed jolting Carter out of his thoughts.
"O..oh, I was just..um...trying to open the door Father" Carter quickly thought up a lie.
Mr Hubert furrowed his brows at him. "Then leave already" he said.
"Yes Father" Carter bowed politely and quickly opened the door to leave the study room. "Phew" he sighed in relief the moment he stepped out.
"Do you think he heard any of what we had said?" Mr Jopel asked in a panic.
"Don't worry. Even if he did, he won't get any silly ideas" Mr Hubert said.
"It's bad enough that he's the reincarnation of that abominable witch" he added with an irritated expression.
Carter sighed and began to walk down the hallway. "Father is so scary" he said.
He kept walking, his steps echoing round the huge hallway. "Hmm, magic huh?" He said, his mind thinking back at the discussion of his father's friends. His lips then curved up into a smile, "That's so cool" he chuckled.
Ever since Carter was born, he'd picked up several interests but got bored of them eventually. "Maybe I should try exploring magic" he said in deep thought, "I'll eventually get bored of it anyways" he shrugged.
Carter soon arrived in front of Clara's room, he was planning to keep playing hide and seek with her. His eyes peered into her room and he was quite surprised to see her already fast asleep. "Ooh, she's asleep" he said, "So cute" he chuckled.
"Now then" his lips curved up into a smirk. The study room was the last option for some research on magic, he was going to go to the best venue for that. The Hubert family library.
"Hehehe" Carter chuckled to himself.
The next few minutes, Carter stood before the entrance of the Hubert family library. He then caught sight of the man guarding the door.
"Act cool, don't act suspicious, act cool" he muttered to himself and kept walking towards the huge door.
"Young Master" the guard came to stand right in front of Carter, towering over him and preventing him from going any further.
"Oh hello Richard" Carter called out with a smile.
"May I ask what your intentions are for coming in here?" Richard asked and stared down at Carter suspiciously.
'It's a library dude, what's with the stare?' Carter thought and bit his lip to avoid revealing his irritation.
"Oh, I came to check out a few popular works of Tim Jerald. As an author, reading the works of other well grounded authors is essential for good development" He said with a half assed smile.
"Oh" Richard scratched his head nervously. "I guess you can come in then" he said and turned to open the library door.
"Thanks Richard, you're the best" Carter smiled but it faded instantly the moment he was inside the library. He then rushed towards the deep end of the library.
For some reason his family hated witches, from his great grandfather to his grandfather down to his grumpy father, this fact only piqued his interest even more. Knowing the explorative nature of his family, he was sure there was bound to be at least one book involving magic and he was going to find it whatever it takes. He rushed to grab the staircase and smiled in determination.
3 HOURS LATER.....
"Urghhhhhhh" Carter let out a long groan and sat lazily on the floor. "I forgot how much I despise hard work" he said and let out a heavy sigh.
"Guess they hate witches that much huh?" He rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. It was getting late so he was going to have dinner and go back to writing, he barely enjoyed it these days but he just had to do it.
Just when Carter was about to leave, a huge book fell to the floor and a loud thud was heard from behind him.
"Huh?" Carter looked back instantly in surprise. "Oh, a book fell".
Carter walked closer to the book to put it back to where it had fallen from but his eyes widened at the sight of its title. *The pinacle of magic* .
"Huh?!" He exclaimed and grabbed the book immediately. "M..magic? Magic?!" He exclaimed once again but closed his mouth to avoid any one from hearing him from outside.
Carter rushed towards a table in the library and dropped the huge book on it. His hands reached to open it.
"Wow, not only did they have a book about magic but it has no lock? This must be my lucky day" he smiled in satisfaction as his fingers carefully flipped through the pages of the book.
"Let's see, witches were all the rage back in the 12th century, the witch queen...um...spells.." he muttered. "Wow, there's so much to learn, this is so exciting" he chuckled. Just then, he flipped another page and came across an interesting picture.
"Hmm? The Greatest witch of all time?" He wondered. "Gressil Helenor.." he called out the name on the book, his eyes peered towards the picture shone in the book, it was more like a painting though. For some reason, the guy looked awfully familiar. He had deep red eyes, long white hair, pale white skin and delicate facial features.
"Wow, he's beautiful" Carter said in astonishment. "But where have I seen him?" He couldn't help but wonder once more, that was until....
CREAK! Carter heard the creaking sound of the library door. 'W..what? Did someone find out?' He thought with widened eyes.
"Carter, where are you?" A feminine voice called out to him.
"M-mom?" Carter said in shock. He quickly carried the book and hid it under the table before she could find him.
"Y...yes mum" he answered and his mum arrived at where he was at that moment. "Oh, you're here" she smiled.
For a second, Carter paused. 'Wait, white long hair...' he stared at his mum's white and long hair which was braided behind her.
'Red eyes' he turned to stare at his mum's eyes and indeed they were red.
'Pale white skin and a beautiful face' Carter gasped inwardly.
"Huh?!" He exclaimed. 'No wonder he looked familiar!'