Miss Midnight

Chapter One: Miss Midnight's Magical Awakening

Miss Midnight

By Alexandria Francetic

Chapter One: Miss Midnight's Magical Awakening

I opened my eyes to a world I did not recognize. I raced through a snowy wasteland, howling, icy wind biting at my face. I didn't know why I was running, or what from, but I needed to get somewhere, anywhere but here. The tendrils of my frilly, fluffy black skirt whipped out behind me. Nothing but pitch-darkness surrounded me as I bolted across the barren white expanse.

My pounding heart slammed against my ribcage. The beads of sweat dripping down my neck froze into tiny ice crystals. I charged through the bitter cold, seemingly endlessly, until I caught sight of a tall, spiraling structure melting out of the blackness. I halted at the foot of a gigantic spiral staircase twisting up into the churning, blackened skies.

Without thought, I took off, taking the stairs two at a time. Why I wanted to get up there, or what would await me at its peak, I had no idea, but I had to know. My scrambled mind demanded that I escape this infinite darkness. Every second I ascended higher and higher above the frigid, snowy landscape. The stairs ahead of me seemed to stretch on for eternity, but at last, I reached its summit.

A jolt of pain cracked down my ankle as it twisted after taking my last step. The last step that did not exist. My stomach lurched, and my heart leapt into my throat. My body turned numb as I came to the realization that I was falling. Falling, falling down an endless black void. I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting to feel the bone-crushing impact of the ground below. I didn't. Instead, I landed on something soft and warm.

A white sheet greeted me when I peeled open my eyes. A bed? Slowly, I craned my head upwards. I was dead wrong. I found myself sitting in the white-gloved palm of a gargantuan creature, with wispy, ink-black hair, skin as pale as ceramic, and piercing sky-blue eyes that bored into my very soul. I let out a scream, paralyzed by sheer terror. I couldn't run away. There was nowhere to run to. I was locked in this creature's clutches.

His thin lips morphed into a sinister smile. He spoke in a booming, yet elegant voice. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you? But you can change this destiny. You can change how this ends. All of the tragedy, all of the destruction that is soon to come, you can overturn it. The power to do so lies within you and you alone. Come now, little one. Accept your destiny...Miss Midnight."

And then...everything faded to black.

I awoke with a gasp to the sound of my teacher's voice. "Ms. Sakura? Ms. Sakura!" I jolted up from my desk, vaguely realizing I had fallen asleep in class. "Ohh...ummm...yeah, I'm awake...what is it?"

Ms. Shirokuma opened her mouth, probably to ask me a question, then fell silent as she likely realized that I hadn't been listening to her lecture at all. There were a couple dim giggles from some students at the back. I ignored them and hung my head once more, a pair of long, messy crimson pigtails slithering over my shoulders. It wouldn't have been the first time I passed out at my desk. But it wasn't my fault. How could you blame me? After all, there'd been a goblin under my bed scratching around all night, keeping me awake. If you could see what I see, you'd never sleep again.

But I guess I should probably explain that. And I should introduce myself too, I suppose. My mother always taught me that it was rude to not introduce myself first when meeting new people.

My name is Charlotte Sakura. I just turned 16, and I attend Everfall High, in the heart of Tobari City. Ever since I was a little girl, I've been able to see things that other people can't.

Now, you may think that means I can see ghosts or something, but that's not the case. In fact, it's a lot worse.

I've witnessed an array of creatures, beings from a world on the opposite side of ours, teetering on the knife's edge of reality. They told me it was called the Otherworld. Who are 'they,' you might ask? Well, they go by many names, depending on who you talk to. They call themselves Neighbors, Faeries, Fey, Youkai, Ayakashi, whatever, but I just refer to them all as fairies. It's easier that way, even if these so-called 'fairies' aren't quite always the cute, winged creatures I'd read about as a child.