Dawn Baldwin was a teenage girl with a simple family and a simple life, with her fair share of trials and tribulations. Every day of her life was just normal until her 16th birthday when her adoptive parents gave her a mysterious key which belonged...
Slowly I opened my eyes and I felt myself coming back to my senses after blacking out for what felt like hours. 'That's odd...', I thought to myself. 'One moment I was looking into that weird mirror, then the next thing I remember is seeing that creepy carriage.' Now that I'm fully alert, I now realized that I'm in some sort of box with no way out. 'I don't think I like where this is going?', I thought while internally panicking about how I got myself into this mess.
Suddenly, I started to hear loud banging inside the box. "Crap. People are coming. Gotta get a uniform while..." Now I was really scared because someone or something is also inside this box with me. "Grrr!!! The lid is too heavy." 'If I stay quiet, maybe it won't notice me at all', I'd hoped against all odds that it won't find me. "Time for...my secret move! There!", I heard what the voice yelled and the next thing I knew, I saw a blast of what looked like fire and I found myself screaming.
"OK.OK. Gotta get..." I opened my eyes to see some weird animal right before me. "Whaaaaaa!!!Why are you up?!" I looked around to find myself in a room with floating coffins and that I'm in one of those coffins as well. I was so overwhelmed that the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "A talking r-raccoon?"
"Who are you calling a raccoon!!!! I am the Great Grim!", shouted the animal in frustration. Now that I took a good look at it, it looked more like a blue-eyed cat with grey fur and white chest fur; it has blue fire in its ears, a three-prong pitchfork-like tail, and a black and white striped ribbon around its neck. "Well, whatever. Hey human! Hurry up and gimme those clothes! Otherwise...I'll roast ya!"
Screaming while dodging the blue fireballs, I jumped out of the coffin and made a mad dash out of the strange room. Once I got some distance between myself and that thing, it took a moment for me to realize that I was no longer wearing my pyjamas; instead, I was wearing some black hooded robe with golden embroidery and a purple sash with a gold buckle around my waist, which looked like they were for some ceremonial purpose. But I couldn't stop and wonder how I ended up wearing these clothes, since I heard the approach of that fire monster right on my trail and made a break for it.
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While I was running, I saw myself passing through what looked like a classroom and a courtyard with a well; until I found myself to be what I think is a library. "Where the heck am I? If this is a dream, I need to wake up, right now!", I said while I still running. Suddenly, I was stopped by a wall of blue fire right in front of me, and when I turn around I saw that monster right behind me.
"Did you think you could get away from my nose? Dumb human!" I knew right there and then that I was trapped and in serious trouble. "If you don't wanna get roasted, better hand over" But the creature's sentence was cut off by a loud whipping sound which startled me. "Ow! What's with this rope?" whimpered the creature in pain.
"This is no mere rope. It is a 'Lash of Love!'" Suddenly, a weird-looking man in a top hat appeared before us; his face was concealed by a half-mask resembling a raven's beak that showed through his glowing gold eyes, he had pointed ears and short, wavy black hair. The man was wearing a great overcoat over his suit; thick blackbird feathers curl out from its blue collar, while the tips of the coat are cut to resemble two bird wings. He was wearing black gloves on both hands, with golden claw rings over each of his fingers. Attached to his hip were these mirror-like accessories, with four golden keys dangling from them. I didn't know who or what he was, but I was glad he stopped that little monster from nearly barbequing me.
"Ah, found you at last. Are you one of the new students?", he asked while looking at me. "You shouldn't do things like that. Leaving the Gate on your own!" At this point, I was completely confused about what is going on right now, and I almost couldn't speak. "Not only that, you have yet to tame your familiar which has broken several school rules."
"Let me go! I'm not their freakin' familiar!", shouted the little monster. "Sure, Sure. The rebellious ones always say things like that. Just quiet down for a moment.", replied the man as he muffled the creature's mouth with his gloved hands. "My goodness. It's unprecedented for a new student to leave the Gate on their own. Uuuggh... How impatient can you be?", he groaned in annoyance. "The entrance ceremony is already well under way. Let's head to the Hall of Mirrors."
".....new student?" I asked dumbfounded. "It's the room you woke up in with all the doors. All students who wish to attend this academy must pass through one of those doors to arrive here." He explained to me while we started to leave the library with me right in front of him. "Normally, students wake up only after the door is opened with a special key but..."
"The fire must have blown the lid off.", I mumbled as I tried to connect the dots in my head. "So in the end the culprit appears to be this familiar. If you're going to bring it with you, you have to take responsibility and properly take care of it....Oh my! Now isn't the time to be long winded. The entrance ceremony will soon come to a close. Let's get a move on."
"Just a second, who are you and where exactly am I!?", I asked in annoyance hoping to get at least one answer from my two questions. "What's this? Are you still dazed? It appears the teleportation magic has left you disoriented...", said the man. "Well, it is fine. It happens often enough. I shall give you an explanation as we make our way there. For I am gracious." So we left the library heading over who knows where with the creature; while I was trying to get a better understanding of my situation, we found ourselves in the courtyard.
"Ahem."
"This is Night Raven College. Those magicians blessed with a unique aptitude for magic gather from all over the world, hear at the most prestigious magical academy in Twisted Wonderland.", he explained to me as we were walking. "And I am the headmaster, appointed take care of this academy by the board chairman, Dire Crowley."
"Ma...magician?", I said in disbelief.
"Only those magicians seen as worthy by the Dark Mirror can attend this school. Chosen ones use the Gate and are summoned here from around the world.", he continued his story. "An Ebony Carriage carrying a Gate should have gone to meet you as well."
"I think I remember going through a dark forest...", I said.
"The Ebony Carriage goes to welcome new students chosen by the Dark Mirror. They are special carriages that carry the doors to the academy.", Crowley explained. "The market decided long ago that carriages are used to welcome people on special days."
"So you're saying that carriage just brought me here on its own!?", I exclaimed.
"Muggamm! Muggghh!!", muffled the creature in Crowley's hands.
"Come. Let's go to the entrance ceremony.", he told me.
As we were walking I thought to myself, 'This is officially the weirdest birthday ever.'
