College of Charms

3

Rose had told Hana about her magic block on their way back from the dinning hall. Hana had suggested to go somewhere they both have never been before, to put all the associated emotions out of the equation. The only problem with this ideas was that by now Rose had been everywhere on campus. Everywhere where students were allowed to go. They wandered through the hallways as Hana got an idea.

"What about the old bell tower?" They both stopped walking. Rose turned towards Hana. "That's literally falling apart.", she responded.

"But you've never been there.", replied Hana. The campus has an old, abandoned bell tower that was once part of the original building. The tower had been closed off due to structural concerns. Rose rolled her eyes before she agreed to Hana's idea. It was worth a try.

Wind howled through the cracks in the stone walls, and the floorboards creaked ominously with every step. "We really shouldn't be here.", whispered Rose.

"Don't be silly. If anything happens, at least I still have my magic.", reassured Hana. She created an orb of warm white light in her hand.

"Alright. Try some magic?", started the red-head. Rose positioned herself in the middle of the room. The stairs went up the walls in spirals, ending at the bronze bell that hung from the ceiling. Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The bell, long silent, emited an eerie, low hum.

"Okay, that's creepy.", whispered Hana to herself. Rose was focused on herself. Hana started to feel uneasy. Rose seemed to distance herself from Hana, even though she didn't move an inch. Hana saw shadows moving in the corner of her eyes, as if the very tower was alive with dark magic.

"Rose.", her voice wasn't as steady as she wished it to be. And Rose didn't react.

"Rose!", she repeated louder. A pulse of power left Rose as she opened her eyes. A shudder creeped through Hana as she looked into Rose' eyes. They were almost white, their normal green eye color had faded. The room started to shake. Parts of the old stoned stairs crumbled. And then something fell down. All the way from the bell onto the ground.

"You gotta be kidding me.", whispered Hana to herself. Rose eyes turned back to their normal green shade. "Wow.", was the first thing she said. "What happened?", asked Hana while walking towards her friend. "I honestly don't know. I was lost in thought and then my mind was completely blank. This energy flowed through me and...", she looked down. In front of her feet lay something. She bend down, reaching for it. It was cold by the touch.

A dark-red gem pulsing faintly with dark energy, enclosed by tarnished silver, almost black. The pulse slowed down. "This probably reacts to magic.", figured Rose. Hana held her orb of light close to inspect it. The pulse grew stronger for a moment. "It does.", agreed Hana. "Let's get the hell out of here.", she added.

The moon shone through the windows into their dorm. Reflecting in the gem stone. Up close it looked more like liquid. Hana typed on her keyboard, searching the internet for anything similar. "Maybe it's blood.", thought Rose out loud. "Ew. I hope not." Hana was focused on the screen. After a while she smiled.

"Hey, I may not find anything on the amulet, but, check this out!" She turned in her chair, pointing on her screen and waiting for Rose' response.

"What?" Rose couldn't see what was on the laptop from her position. She sat on her bed, cross-legged, inspecting the amulet in her hand.

"The annual halloween masquerade ball! Friday night! I almost forgot about it." Rose didn't match Hana's excitement at all. "Oh, I suppose you wanna go?"

Hana nodded wildly.

She loved traditions that involved fun. Besides, the fact that they all wore masks made the guests not worry about doing anything that could be held against them for the rest of their eternal lifes. Rose had mixed feelings about it. She was also still thinking about what had happened in the bell tower.

And how her powers set that amulet free, or rather her power block. Sadly, the trip to the tower didn't magically reignite them like they had hoped. Her fingertips only made little sparks, plus her mind was definitely still a mess.

"Alright then.", agreed Rose and looked at Hana with a smile. They had become best friends by now. It was hard to label each other that, but they had spend so much time together lately that it felt natural.

"We need to go shopping!" Hana's blue eyes sparkled. Rose rolled her eyes, secretly she loved shopping just as much as Hana.