Spellbound

The Witching Hour

I wake to the sound of Serena snoring from the trundle bed beside my own. It's been almost a week since the ceremony, and almost a week where I've existed in a world without my father—

As the days have drawn on, it's becoming more apparent that I'll be beginning a new life here. Starting over—as if it were that easy. Day to day, I hear whispers of students who are getting ready to head back to The Academy. Apparently I'll learn to use my powers properly, and take classes in things I'm interested in, even though they all sound interesting to me. I can't remember ever seeing Potions or Elemental Theory on a syllabus before...But to really top it all off, is that classes begin on the first of May—something about Beltane which I'm still unclear about. Now, all my plans to spend my holidays staying up until midnight and sleeping until noon are a distant dream.

I turn on my side and watch Serena sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and falling in perfect synchronicity, and I can't help but feel jealous. If I thought my nightmares were bad before, they were nothing compared to now. His lifeless face, haunting me. Wishing on every star that he would come back, and our lives would resume where they left off—but I know it will never be the same.

I roll onto my back and watch the tiny flickering stars dance above my eyes, praying for the exhaustion to wash over me—just as my eyes become heavy and sleep feels inevitable—the trundle bed rattles in excitement from beside me.

Serena's eyes, wide-eyed and alert, "It's the Witching Hour!" She leaps from the tangled blankets clumsily, and falls onto my bed, "Come on, come on!"

I rub my sleepless eyes and stare at her—crazed violet eyes, and grin from ear to ear stare back at me, "The what?"

"It's a tradition!" She tells me, pulling me from the covers of my own bed, "Every year, the night before we head to the Academy, we play the game, here!"

Without warning, she slaps a shiny silver bracelet over my wrist—there are five spaces where gems should be, and a tiny hourglass as a countdown.

"The game starts at midnight," she says—with a quick glance at the watch on my wrist, that gives us about sixty seconds.

I attempt to pry the bracelet from my wrist, but it doesn't work, "And exactly how do I play this game?"

"It's easy! The gems are hidden in objects around the castle, once you find the first four you go on to the finale for the final piece. Whoever finds it, wins! Oh, and don't stay idle for more than sixty seconds, you only get three lives, and you'll lose them if you stay put."

She pulls me outside of my room, where we stand side by side, counting the seconds away. Beside me, she is a ball of electric energy that pulsates through my own veins—sleep becomes a distant thought.

The halls grow louder as more people eagerly await the witching hour, and without any warning, golden sparks ignite like fireworks, people disappear into clouds of smoke, or run off in every direction. The energy magnifies, and my body pulsates with the adrenaline of a hundred students—

Serena turns to me with the biggest grin I've ever seen, "good luck!"

She turns left into a dead end, but before I have a chance to call for her—she evaporates into the wall—

I hesitate for a moment, but there's no time to think. I inhale deeply, thinking back to the oak tree at the back of my house, I place my foot tentatively through the wall. Then, all at once, I follow through.

My legs jar from beneath me and I topple onto the padded floor, swearing under my breath as I go. A discarded rock from the rock garden—the culprit, mocks me, and the tranquil indoor waterfall does nothing to calm my mood, all the more ironic, since I've somehow stumbled straight into a meditation room. Yet, no blonde girl draped in sparkly fabric to be seen.