Arcane Crest

The decision

  A/N: Happy Halloween!! And a happy one it is for me. My editor finish revising this chapter allowing me to post today!!(10/31/2017)  

  In the Abah's mansion, all were asleep, except for the guards whom were on patrol. A magical energy built in the air like static, and those that could sense it began to grow restless. Yet even as the energy grew, their tired minds refused to allow them to wake, ignorant to the magic in the air around them. However, a small figure in plain pink pajamas emerged, her curiosity overpowering her sleep.Her tired silver eyes glowed in excitement, even through the veil of blonde hair which wrapped around her face and shoulder. Magic seemed closer to her than it ever had been.

The girl fixed her hair, and quietly opened the door, allowing moonlight to pour into the dim hallway. A shiver rushed up her spine as her feet pressed against the cold wooden floor of the hallway, and she quickly ran back into her room and put on her house slippers.

"Right," she sighed to herself, and walking again into the hallway, "it's fall, meaning cold floors."

The door closed, and as she ventured forward she was left in total darkness, the windows too far away to shed even a beam of light on her. She thought idly to herself,

'Maybe I should get dad to install a few more windows.'

And waited impatiently for something to pass.

Soon enough, her silver eyes began to shine with the collection of light from a far away source, and the crushing darkness around her lightened into a dim hallway.

'Thank you, Arcana of Light, for helping me with all my night deeds.'

She smiled as she walked down the hall, towards whatever it had been that had wakened her. The magical energy was quite odd, and while she couldn't quite pinpoint its exact location, she felt in her being that it was somewhere below her. Wherever it may be, there was one place which led everywhere else - the Entrance Hall.

Along the way, she considered what exactly the feeling could be. Something as exciting as an intruder? Or perhaps a gift from her father? Or, something more mundane, less magical - a storm brewing in the distance. Or perhaps it was a ghost, haunting the mansion. A dead ancestor brought back through some connection to their mortal world.

'Oh, the questions I could ask them!'

Her thoughts quickened her pace, and the girl soon found herself in the Entrance Hall. She peeked over the railing, hoping to get a glimpse of whomever it was.Instead, she only saw her family pendant printed on the floor, a diamond with layers of orange, red, and yellow about a white stripe - the sun throughout the day. Her hand reached her neck, and she felt the similar pendant which rested there. She couldn't help the surge of pride, which flowed through her as she remembers her family, their history, and their legacy.

Returning from her thoughts, her eyes suddenly landed on the door to the Pearl of Evolution - wide open. Her brow crinkled and eyes narrowed, and without much thought, she descended the stairs.

'Could it be an actual ghost?' she shook her head, 'it couldn't be a ghost, it could have just flown through the door. An intruder? Yes - but how did they get past without setting off the trap on the floor?'

She briefly considered waking someone up - it might be too dangerous to see for herself. But they might tell her to go somewhere, somewhere safe and secure, and far away from anything that actually happened.

'Maybe I can take a peek, and then-!?"

An invisible force slammed into her; her body thrown away, sliding on her back to the wall. She was riddled with pain, her vision was clouded and interrupted with various black spots, and her heart rammed against the rib cage with such force that she thought it might break out. She coughed violently, emptying her lungs, only to gasp for air and starting over and over again for several minutes until she could safely draw breath. She looked towards the source of the attack and braced herself for another, but none came. Her eyes were wide and hands were shaking, and what glinted in her eyes may have been fear, except for the danger in it. Excitement and adrenaline pumped through her veins as she sprinted into the hallway, her crest beginning to glow as it disabled the traps below her. She could see the pearl shining brightly enough to blind any normal person before she was even through the door, black and glowing amethyst, where it had always been white and gray.