Legacy- Xavier Thorpe

𝖔𝖓𝖊

 Annabelle Reddington was reaching out. The darkness was surrounding her, pressing in and obscuring her vision. She pressed on, and there, through the darkness she caught a glimpse of light. As she got closer, it was more than a glimpse, it was the sun and darkness itself, a somehow black sort of shine emitting from the stone on the rock pedestal. The light was somehow overwhelming and unreal, like the universe had ripped a hole in itself and cast out the impossible light straight into the stone. She stretched her arm out further, her fingers flexing, her fingertips about to brush the strange rock-

She woke up with a jolt, her alarm blaring loudly next to her. Anna groaned and rolled over, smacking the snooze button before laying on her back and rubbing her eyes. Oh crap, she realized with a start, sitting forward suddenly. Today was the day, the first day at the new academy, and she had forgotten all about it. She rushed out of bed and then paused, staring at the folded uniform on her dresser. They had sent her uniform to her before arrival, so that she could enter the school like one of them. A student. When Anna had received it, she had taken it upstairs and just stared. It wasn't necessarily unnatractive, it was just very different from the uniform of her old school, black shirt, black skirt, black blazer. The Nevermore uniform could not have been further from it. It was a rich, royal blue, with a blue vest and white button up. Good material too, quite soft but also thick enough to keep her warm. Now, Anna ran her thumb over the blazer she held up, trying to imagine herself dressed in it, walking down the halls and going to classes. No time to imagine, she chided to herself, pulling on the uniform and hurrying to the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth, watching as the sink water washed away the toothpaste, and she tried to remember her dream. She'd been having dreams like this for the past week where she would wake up and have that nagging feeling that what she had dreamed was important. And yet each time she failed to remember what she had dreamt, only that she had been woken up right before the important part, like being dunked into cold water. Anna shut off the sink, annoyed with herself, and finished getting ready. She quickly pulled her long, wavy brown hair into a ponytail, grabbed her phone, and hurried downstairs.

Her bags were already waiting downstairs, as were her parents. They waved her over and she hugged each in turn. Her father, Caine Reddington, his brown hair the same shade as Anna's and her mother, Esme Reddington, her pale skin and jet black hair nicely contrasting Caine's.

"Now remember, stay safe, strike first, and always watch your back," her mother quipped, crossing her arms with a stern stare.

"And make friends!" her dad added cheerfully.

"I know, I know, thank you guys. I'll stay in touch, and I'll miss you," she patted the uniform blazer pocket where her phone was. Then, she gave a final hug to each, before grabbing a bag and heading to the car. The person hired to drive gave her a friendly smile, helping her load the rest of her bags in.

She hopped into the car, buckled up, and then turned around. She watched everything she knew grow smaller as the car drove away. Her parents, her home, everything except for her clothes in the trunk and the phone in her pocket.

Anna scolded herself for being so dramatic, but she couldn't help but turn to look out the window to her side. She watched the lush countryside, the giant, fir trees rush by, the sun cast away by grey, melancholy clouds. Fitting, she thought to herself, leaning her head against the window and preparing for the long drive.

⌌⊱⇱⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊰⌍

Annabelle awoke again with a start, her head jolted by the window she had leaned on. She'd had the same dream that had plagued her for the past nights, and once again it had cut off at the important part. She was about to scold herself and try to remember what she had dreamt about, but as she looked through the front window her jaw dropped. The car slowed to a stop, and Anna jumped out of her seat to lean in the space between the driver and passenger seats for a better view.