The dawn had never looked so dull and foggy in Alden for a long time. The chill in the air could cut the glass. The sky was empty and blurred with fog. Peacefully sleeping Ivie suddenly woke up with a shock. She looked around her to find herself sleeping in the forest. Her confused mind looked around in disappointment.
"I was sleepwalking again" she murmured to herself.
"Third time this month. Oh darn it's chilling out here" she said out loud while picking out leaves from her hair. From 3 months Ivie is waking up many mornings at random spots in forest with no memory of how she got there.
"I better start for home before mother discovers I am not in bed" she said and started walking. Her whole body was paining like she had been breaking stones all night. When she reached home, the whole village was gathered near the holy fountain. Curious Ivie hustled her way through the crowd to see what's happening.
"The gate of Realms sealed from centuries was opened last night" an old man standing in middle of crowd was shouting.
All of the villagers were in shock.
"How did someone manage to open a stone gate, locked over centuries" someone asked.
"The door can only be opened with witch's key. It isn't a good omen" a women answered.
Ivie patiently listening to all of this held her exceexcessivly paining wrist in her other hand. She looked at her wrist and found a weird mark of three circles crossing one another.
It wasn't there till yesterday. She tried rubbing it off, but all in vain.
"Witch's mark" she thought with her eyes wide open
