Prologue
Prologue
The world had ended more than nine years ago.
Well at least the world according to Maya. It’s hard to fathom sometimes that a war had occurred back then. Some pieces just never got picked up though it seems. Some memories stay shattered, sharp enough to draw blood even till that day.
To everyone else Maya was— is broken. The dull shell of a woman— not a mere girl who went through too much too soon. They would never be able to understand what she went through… what she managed to survive. Sometimes it was hard to live in her own mind, it just reflected back the carnage of that night every time she closed her eyes.
But that hadn’t been happening as often anymore. Things had changed, her life had changed. Maya needed to be better now, not just for herself but for the little bug that had grown to own a large part of what’s left of her fragile heart. She glanced down quickly at the small human that is tucked away snuggly in his green blanket that she managed to grab for him.
A flutter of fondness shot through her at seeing a small, soft, brown curl swept over his forehead. Things were going to be different now— better. Which is why some wounds of the past needed to be brought up again and revisited. One of those such wounds was the house standing in front of her. It wasn’t the house that Maya was born in, the stately one where her family was able to trace its roots back to practically the beginning of magical time.
No, this house was the one that she preferred over all the others. This house nestled into the countryside of Lancashire hidden away in the rolling hills, protected by a muggle repelling charms. That small manor in the country was the one that always felt the closest like home to her.
Now it was time to reclaim a bit of the past that Maya could fondly remember. Slowly, she made her way up the flagstone path that led to the front steps. The tan color of the house was slightly faded, and the green window shutters had chipped paint. She finally came to a stop in front of the wooden front door and procured a key from her robe pocket.
Before she could even insert the key, the door swung open and stood in the doorway is a creature that Maya never thought she’d see again. The small house elf’s ears were still long and bat like and her bulbous blue eyes were watery in greeting.
“I always knew mistress would be coming home, and that this would be the home she’d come to.”
Winnie the house elf had not changed a bit, except for the pretty little yellow flowered sundress that clothed her body.
“W-Winnie what are you doing here?” Maya asked, her voice caught in her throat. She had set her free almost nine years ago. She should be living her own life as happy and free as she should have always been. Maya should no longer be anyone’s mistress.
“Winnie has a house to look after. The Sutcliffe house will always be home to Winnie, free or not.” The elf said with a stern look her way. Maya shifted, slightly uncomfortable with this light accusation. The child in her arms moved and made a gurgling noise. She glanced down at him quickly and Winnie’s bulbous eyes widened.
“Mistress… is that a baby?” She asked with a trembling voice.
Maya nodded her head, momentarily stunned by the soft brown eyes that blinked up at her sleepily.
“Yes, Winnie.” She said softly glancing up at the house elf. A giant smile broke out across her face.
“Wonderful Mistress. I’ll prepare some nourishment for the young charge.” Winnie said while she jumped happily on her feet.
“Winnie, you don’t need to. We’re not your problem anymore.” Maya said desperate for the poor elf to understand that servicing her needs or that of her family was not necessary anymore.
“This is my home Mistress Maya and you are my family. No clothes are going to change that.” With that final statement there was a loud crack and the elf disappeared leaving her to look around the entrance hall that opened up to the sitting room. The light and airy greens and yellows of the rooms were the same as she remembered them.
This country house always was one of the lightest and cheeriest of places to be. Maya glanced down once again at the little baby in her arms. He deserved a happy childhood. After what he’d been through in his short life, he deserved the best that she could offer him. Slowly, she made her way through the sitting room. Her right leg ached in old pain and injury, and she grit her teeth through it.
All of the furniture was immaculately dusted and preserved, so she knew that Winnie must have been living here for a long time. She always had loved being in this house as well. The Sutcliffe family was always at their best and happiest there. The Manor back in London was never her favorite either.
“This’ll be home now Mattie.” Maya said once again glancing down at the small boy in her arms.
Some days she feared that she was doing the boy a disservice by choosing to rescue him and take him with her. She was not the type of person that he deserved, but maybe she was just the right kind of person he needed. Maya finished walking into the kitchen and saw that Winnie was now carefully ladling some warm milk from a sauce pan into a bottle. Maya didn’t want to even know how she managed to get one so fast. The glory of magic.
She pulled up a mismatched wooden chair along the lengthy wooden table. She ran her free hand over the polished grooves in the grain. This table had been in the house longer than she’d been alive, it was probably as old as her family was. Winnie turned around from the stove and handed her the bottle.
A small demanding huff came from Mattie, and she chuckled and brought the nipple to his lips so that he could start sucking it greedily. He needed all the nourishment he could get.
“So, Mistress Maya it is time to update the Sutcliffe tree is it not?” Winnie said breaking the calm that had surrounded Maya’s mind. Just the mere mention of her last name brought back the weight of this whole decision to return, the responsibility and the hurt. She looked up and met the house elf’s eyes. There she found compassion and understanding in those large blue orbs of hers.
Sometimes she forgot that she was not the only one who was left. There was still Winnie and now she was bringing in new life to continue on the tradition and pride of her line. “I know that I haven’t really demonstrated it but… being a Sutcliffe is something to be proud of. I like to believe that father would be happy with my decision.” She said working around the thick lump in her throat.
“Master Henry would be most proud of you Mistress Maya.” Winnie said and wiped at her eyes discretely. Maya gave a mirthless laugh, and settled Mattie who grumbled upset with being jostled so rudely.
“What’s there to be proud of? I ran away, I left everything and my duty behind.” She shook her head feeling a bout of self-loathing wash over her.
“There is nothing wrong with taking the time to take care of yourself Mistress Maya. Now, come along, no time to waste introducing the newest charge of the Sutcliffe family.” Winnie said reaching out and pulling part of the blanket down to reveal more of Mattie’s face. Even though the baby had never laid eyes on a house elf before he merely blinked at her slowly before returning his attention to the near finished bottle.
With a sigh, she slowly removed the nipple from Mattie’s mouth seeing as the bottle was now empty. He gave a grunt of unhappiness that turned into a hiccup. She smirked, knowing that this happened to him all the time in his eagerness to eat. After a burp, they left the kitchen, and walked through a small hallway into the back room.
This was the only room of the house that even remotely reminded her of the home that she grew up in. The library was painted deep burgundy color with chocolate-colored bookcases lining the walls pray for one. On that wall was an ornate painting of all the members of the Sutcliffe family. The mighty Oaktree was adorned with the names, dates, and portraits of all of the members of this noble house.
It’s a somber and painful thought to know that the only name on the tree that was alive today was Maya. It’s lucky for her that Grandma Celeste passed on peacefully or she’d be one horrifying ghost now with the near end of the honorable Sutcliffes. Maya took a step closer to the wall and ran her hand over a portrait of a young man. Merlin, he looked so young, eternally so, more of a boy than the man he never got the chance to be.
“Master Matthew would be pleased to know that you’re home safe now.” Winnie said softly.
Maya chocked back a sob at her words. Matthew had been only seventeen when he died. He never even got to graduate Hogwarts. His dream was to become a healer, he always said that there was too much violence in the world and not enough people trying to put a stop to it. How right he was.
“Well, I’m home now Mattie, and I’ve brought with me someone to help get things better.” She said, adjusting her grip on the tired baby in her arms so that the portrait could see. “This is Mateo, Mattie for short just like you. He’s going to be on the wall now with us. I found him in a situation that was— just terrible, but I saved him. I just knew that I had to. I’m going to make you proud of me again.” Maya said staring into the smiling blue eyes of her brother’s portrait.
She took a step back from the wall and prepared herself for what she’d have to do. She stared at her portrait and the space below it. With a deep breath she silently muttered the spell that would add a spot on the tree for Mattie.
“I Maya Olivia Sutcliffe do add my heir and legacy to the great house of Sutcliffe, let it be known that Mateo Alejandro Sutcliffe is the new heir apparent to the Sutcliffe family. May he have pride in his noble lineage.” With that binding statement a portrait of baby Mattie was added onto the great Oaktree under her own.
A sense of peace settled over her as she stared at the newly completed tree. It’s almost as if the whole family was resting easier now that there was a new heir and future to the family. Maya glanced at Grandma Celeste’s portrait and thought once more about how she would be furious and horrified about this new addition. Diluting the name of Sutcliffe more and more with bastard children and orphans. It was always Maya’s job to make her life miserable and it seemed that she could continue to do so even in death.
Winnie came over to her and there was a big smile on her face as tears leaked down her face. “It’s good to have you home Mistress Maya. I truly have missed you so.”
Maya glanced between her oldest and most loyal friend as her son nestled in her arms. More of the crushing weight that had been on her shoulders lessened.
“Yes Winnie, I believe that it is in fact good to be home.”