Fantasmical 2023 Entries

A Fate Deserved

Being sent to the boarding school was the worst thing that happened to me.

At school, the headmistress, Mistress Morina West, took every chance she could to humiliate me. Her daughters Clara and Jordyn were disgusting bullies, to say the very least. There's a lot more to those two - trust me, you don't want to know.

"Well, Ambrose, have you had a nice nap?"

Oh, shit. I zoned off again. Mistress Morina crossed her arms, a drawing of oxygen atoms on the blackboard behind her.

"Uh- I wasn't-"

"Spare me." A few werewolves in the corner began to snicker behind my back.

"She's probably daydreaming about Kai again!" A shrill voice called out from behind me. Jordyn smirked evilly.

Jeez, I only bumped into him! Kai pushing me away didn't mean anything!

"For the last, fucking time, you brat-"

"Detention for the next three weeks, Ambrose." The headmistress declared, earning me multiple abrupt chuckles from the back of the class. I hissed through my teeth, running my tongue over my fangs.

"To my office, Nyx!"

I sighed. My luck never changed, did it?

***

After a long, boring lecture about manners and discipline, (none of which the West sisters have an ounce of) I returned to class. My beige satchel was cluttered with hot pink detention slips; so many I couldn't count.

Suddenly, the books nestled in the crook of my elbow spilled onto the floor. I stumbled forward.

"Oops!"

Whirling back, I snarled:

"Jordyn."

"You know, Kai's not interested. Take a hint." Flipping her barbie-blonde hair, she strolled past me, shoving me with her shoulder as she went by. There was nothing more I wanted than to wipe that smug smile clean off her face. Scoffing, I rolled my eyes.

"Who said I was interested?" I yelled after her. I didn't get a response. Jordyn was too busy swaying her hips as if she owned the place when in reality, she's just a spoiled brat fishing for half-hearted compliments because no one ever gives her a genuine one.

"Miss?"

What now, I thought, turning around. Expecting to see another Sanders Academy student, I plastered a frown on my face. But the old man I saw was far from a young student. Wrinkles adorned his face like ornaments, and his legs shook violently. Quickly, I grabbed his arm and sat him down on a nearby bench. I knelt at his side.

"Do you need help?" I inquired. He nodded, coughing and hacking as he breathed in the harsh winter air.

"W-water," he wheezed. I dug into my satchel and brought out a plastic bottle of water. With hands so cold and worn, the man couldn't have drank it by himself. I poured a small sip into his mouth. Many seconds passed until he managed to say:

"Bless you, child." He reached into his pocket and brought out a vintage ring, old and slightly rusted. Opening my palm, he placed in my hand and closed my fingers over it. I shook my head violently, trying to give it back.

"No, I don't—"

"Take!" He shoved the ring back in my direction, eyes wide. "It magical, this ring. It give you gold!"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Who are you? And why are you on school campus?" I glanced around to make sure no one was watching; it was after school hours now and I had detention in exactly six minutes. The winter sun began to take refuge in the pine trees up ahead.

"I live that house." He gestured to a wooden, rickety house on a hill in the distance, not very far from the academy. "Who I am not important. You have good heart." He patted my shoulder. "You good person, eh?

Confusion swarmed my head.

"But-"

"Wear it just after sunset when the moon is nice and ripe, you get gold!" He waved his hands in the air animatedly.

"Ambrose, late to my class, as well detention? I ought to give you another weeks worth of them."

Mistress Morina lifted her chin haughtily as the old man got to his feet and waddled away, muttering little nothings to himself beneath his breath. The headmistress eyed him suspiciously, then turned her critical gaze towards me.

"What were you doing out here?" She asked coolly, as if she was interrogating me.

"Nothing-"

"Lies!" She roared. Surging forward like a wave during a full moon tide, she clutched the front of my academy uniform.

"That ring," she spit. "Give it to me."

"No."

"Give it!"

Morina shoved me back so hard I tripped, but I recovered and dodged all her attacks. While she was panting hard, my breaths were normal and steady - one of the perks of being half vampire.

But the headmistress had magic on her side.

"Comero!" She cried desperately - some sort of ancient spell. The ring flew out of my fist as I yelped in surprise. It zoomed into Mistress Morina's grasp and she grinned, triumphant.

"Now, I just have to—" She slipped the ring onto her finger.

Wear it just after sunset when the moon is nice and ripe...

I looked up at the sky; instead of a full moon, a waxing crescent smiled down upon me.

"Wait!" I yelled. "DON'T!"

But it was too late. The ring's ruby gem glinted dangerously under the sunlight.

"Now," Mistress Morina started to say, but she never finished her sentence. Her face began to wither away — literally. Her skin melted and oozed down her body as she screamed and bellowed in agony. My ears rang as she— there was no word to describe it. Melted? Collapsed? Either way, the headmistress, once a tall and proud woman, became a puddle of black waste. I stepped back from the sight, looking away, not believing my eyes.

What just happened?

The ring sat innocently in the middle of the puddle. Stars glittered against the dark sky, as of nothing happened.

And in the distance, the old man cackled in glee.