Caught Between (A Nozel Silva Love Story)

A turn for the worse

1,500 words for this chapter. I'm excited to start getting into the meat of the story in the next few chapters.

Hope you enjoy it! :P

Also, in case you were wondering, "Cade" is her nickname. I know it sounds sort of masculine but it fits her character. Leocadia means "bright, clear, white"

Leocadia is also the name of a third century Catholic saint. I'm not Catholic but I thought it was cool.

One Week Later~

"Come on Cade, it's time to go! We'll be late!" I heard my brother's muffled voice through the door to our adjoining bedrooms.

"Gimme a second! I'm coming!" I replied, taking a moment to look in the mirror. Regardless of how excited I am, I still couldn't shake the heavy feeling in my gut, as if I had a ball of lead sinking my stomach. I turned, walking away from the mirror and opened the door to see my little brother practically vibrating on the spot. As soon as he saw me, he lunged for my hand, and started pulling me along down the stairs, out the door and into the waiting carriage.

Brushing off any ill feelings I had, I joined Fuegoleon in his excitement. We wondered out loud what kind of grimoire or spells we would get, the color, the stitching, anything. Before long, the carriage ride was over, both of us hopping out of the ornate, House Vermillion carriage.

We quickly repressed our excitement, slinking smoothly into the roles of swaggering royals. We walked into the Grimoire Tower with measured steps, entirely aware of the eyes following us as we strode in. We were alone, just my brother and I. It was Vermillion house tradition to accept your grimoires on your own, signifying your growth towards adulthood.

We spotted Nozel in the far corner, being anti-social as he usually is around new people. When he finally saw us, he tilted his head in a respectful greeting, agknowledging us but not being friendly. I didn't take this to heart because we all had to keep appearances, regardless if we were friends.

Everyone present watched with rapt attention as an elder of the grimoire tower ambled with unusual grace towards the podium. It was set on a dais towards the back of the room, which was filled to the brim with grimoires of all sizes and colors. The shelves surrounded the perimeter of the tower, scaling up as far as the eye could see.

The man gave a short speech, congratulating all of us that were getting grimoires today before allowing the ceremony to begin.

I gazed upwards as I saw the room aglow with a rainbow of color. The grimoires floated down effortlessly into the waiting hands of the children in their fifteenth year. I looked to my right to see my twin brother receive his grimoire. It glowed with golden yellow light before it died down to reveal a deep red cover stitched in complex patterns of woven gold, and in the center a golden clover was stamped into the leather.

"Holy- Fuegoleon, your grimoire is so pretty! I'm so excited!" I whisper-shouted gleefully to him. In return, he gave me a look that reflected all of his joy, a bright grin and sparkling eyes.

I continued to stare in awe of all of the colors around me before I felt a powerful energy catch my attention. I looked up, expecting to see the room still bright and cheery, but instead was greeted with the darkening of the lights and a noticeable temperature shift in the air. It seemed as if time was frozen still, and the only thing moving was a thick book floating down towards me, glowing with a color akin to dried blood, a dark maroon. I was entranced. I could not take my eyes from the sight. Without even touching it, I could tell how powerful the grimoire was. It was a heady feeling, weighing down my bones with the crushing power of the magic held within.