2 Chapter I, Locked Room

My name is Alexandra, sometimes Allix, seldomly Allie, but no matter what you call me, I am quite constantly in extensive trouble for absurdly idiotic, but quite plausible matters.

"So." the headmaster shuffled a stack of various accusational reports between his fingers without actually glancing at them. Though he was a pretty chill dude, I figured that this was one time too many on his 'you messed up' radar. "You think it is okay to storm out of class and leave in the middle of the school day?!"

"No sir." I said with mock guilt.

"Do you think it is okay then, to march out of the school during your final exam?"

I gritted my teeth, refraining from saying that I technically did not walk off the school property, and that I had finished the exam before all the other students. "No sir."

The headmaster sighed. "Look, Allix-"

"Alexandra."

He rubbed his temple, a look that plainly read 'Lord help me' plastered on his face. "I know you lost your father, and have issues with your family, But you are one of my top students, and you need to grow up. You are sixteen years old, and school is out a month from today; next year, you will come back for eleventh grade."

"Can't I just drop out now?" I pleaded. "It's just like you said, I am one of the top students, I have been in college math and English for a semester now, I am more advanced than almost three-quarters of the students in your school!"

"No!" The headmaster barked. "You can not drop out!"

His pale face softened. "I can't legally control you, but I highly recommend that you stay for the rest of tenth grade."

I could sense the father figure side of him - as he had two kids of his own - but right now, I was too angry to care.

"Fine." I tried to get up, but the headmaster put his hand on my arm, causing the hairs to rise on the back of my neck.

"Maybe it's better if you take the rest of the day off, hmm? Wait in the office until detention? I'm afraid I can't do much more than that, but I can at least spare you from going back to class."

"Family issues, losing dad, grow up…" I muttered as I walked down the hallway towards my locker.

In every single school I had ever been in, it had always been the same. '"Sorry about your dad, now grow up."' But the thing was, I had grown up. I was at the top of every class, I had read almost the whole library, picked my way around fights without saying a word, held my head high when people teased me, and left everyone and everything alone.

Well, it was mostly from habit after I lost dad. The thought of having friends, new phones, fashionable clothes, you name it; everything all seemed to fade away after he was gone.

My father died when I was seven. Around nine years ago.

I was alone, Mum locked herself away, then married another man, who hated my guts. My new stepdad wouldn't let me play with his children. And everything that was once dad's, was locked away in his old study.

His study was actually a bedroom. It was on the third floor and smelled like lavender, the air always crisp, and the window was never closed. Frequently dusted, though was never really clean. Papers and bottles of ink always seemed to be scattered across desks and shelves. I remember a time when I had sat for hours upon hours with him looking at sketches of beautiful ancient cities and flowing waterfalls in heavenly glades. He had told me that one day, we could go and visit the world behind the drawings. He would then laugh, and I could never tell if he was serious or not, but it was the only time I had ever been truly happy.

After he died, mum wouldn't let me go back in there. She cried and shouted at me through gritted teeth and teary eyes if I ever asked. I learned my lesson soon after. She closed the window, locked the door, and never went in there again; shutting anything that reminded me of him, away.

If heaven, or hell, or the underworld truly exists, and the souls of the deceased are reincarnated in the forms of ghosts, zombies, or even demons, my dad would find a way to rule them all; he was wiser than the wisest king, he was braver than the bravest knight, and kinder than the kindest maiden. He was my hero.

Of course, nobody else thought that. Mum acts like he doesn't exist anymore. But I'd like to think that he is out there, somewhere, watching me.

But these are the dreams of a seven-year-old girl, in the mind of a sixteen-year-old young lady. Such thoughts should not be tolerated.

I didn't go straight home that night. Instead, I went to the cemetery.

It was getting dark early, which I thought was strange for the beginning of summer. I didn't really mind, either; seeing as I would rather have it be overcast than sunny on a day I went to visit my father's grave.

A murder of crows sat and watched from their tree perches as I walked between the graves of the dead. Listening to none but my footsteps and the rustle of leaves in the wind.

The way to my dad's grave was practically engraved into my mind. The seventh row, the third one from the east. I think it was he himself who selected the spot in the event of his untimely demise.

I knelt beside his grave, pulling out the white lily that I had worn in my hair that day. Mum wouldn't even notice that it was missing from her vase on the countertop. "Here you go, dad. I miss you."

It felt silly, talking to the dead, bringing gifts such as flowers. But who was I to judge the traditions established by those before us? Maybe it was to honor their legacy along with that of our deceased family. But that was an argument for another time, as this had been my routine, every week since dad died.

"Week four-hundred fifty-seven," I muttered, trying to sound cheerful despite the wet earth soiling my leggings and just being in a cemetery in the first place.

"I got all straight A's again dad, even in calculus." A warm liquid fell onto my arm which I realized to be tears, which I let flow freely. Without people to talk to when I was younger, I had shut myself from the world. Leaving tears to fall at inconvenient times or whenever I was reminded of my father.

There are times where I can look back, and only remember quiet sobbing and wavering lights. They are early memories though, and are probably best left undisturbed.

I knelt at the headstone for another hour, talking to someone who wasn't really there. The sky turned the color of soot, and the clouds started gathering overhead. I didn't notice the darkening sky until it was well past time to leave. A storm was brewing.

"Well, fate parts us yet again. I'll see you next week." I called over my shoulder as I sped off towards the iron gates, pulling out my umbrella along the way.

As I heard the first drops of rain fall onto my umbrella, I saw an old woman hobbling around the corner; a woolen shawl draped over her. She bore no umbrella, so I debated for a second before handing mine to her.

She gave me a kind smile wisened with age. Grey wisps of hair flying angrily in the wind. "Thank you, dearest." The skin around her eyes wrinkled at the corners from the expression of deep gratitude and I wondered how long she had been out here if the gift of an umbrella seemed to mean so much. "May fate be kind to thee." She murmured; maybe to me, maybe to herself. Her distant eyes revealed nothing.

I nodded, unsure of what to say, and walked with her until our paths parted. With the cemetery being about five miles from my house and having to walk in the rain, I dearly hoped that her abode was closer than mine. With my luck, it may not be raining like volleys of arrows by the time I returned.

"Crap, crap, crap. Please don't be locked, please don't be locked!" I muttered as I ran up to the back door. Trying furiously with the handle.

I had figured that I had stayed too long as I was trudging down my block. No wonder it was so dark when I arrived at the cemetery. I had spent two hours in detention and not even realized that time was passing. Odd, I'm normally acutely aware of the passing of time.

"Well, what now?" I really didn't want to stay out here, and mum would kill me if she knew I got back late.

So I did the most logical thing: I walked around the house looking for any open windows like the psychopath I was.

The wind howled in my ears, making it hard to think rationally. The rain beat against my jacket like hail, the trees swayed like they were dancing to a long lost melody.

The good news? I had found an open window.

The bad news was that it was on the third floor, but I was too cold and wet to care. "Now, how to get up there…" I muttered. My eyes fell upon a large maple tree that I had wanted a treehouse on when I was little. This could be the best idea, or the worst idea I have ever come up with.

I took a deep breath, and started to climb. Hand, foot, hand, foot, hand, foot. A few times, my long, reddish-brown hair got caught in the leaves and branches, and I ground my teeth in annoyance. But other than that, it was smooth sailing. Or, climbing, that is.

By the time I had gotten to the desired branch, I could easily climb through the window.

Crap.

Halfway down the branch, I realized that the window had been broken, not opened, and the sturdy bough on which I sat was not so sturdy after all. The branch was creaking as I contemplated my next move. The lacey curtains of my father's study were shredded as if the shattered glass had ripped them apart. Therefore, there was probably at least a bit of the broken window on the floor, which wouldn't be a problem since I was wearing my tennis shoes that day. I figured I would rather take the window as the branch continued to creak…

It was like one of those 'would you rather' games I had played when I was little. Would you rather jump through a broken window and risk an infected cut? Or would you rather fall thirty feet to your possible demise at the hands of a broken neck?

I stopped tempting fate, and jumped.

The branch broke away as my weight left it, and though I didn't fall three stories down, my arm had scraped some of the broken glass and was now throbbing.

How could my parents give me a name that means 'defender of man' if I can't even defend my own arm? I shook my head in annoyance. I suppose it was inevitable. It was either this or dying, I think I got off with a fairly square end of the deal. It started bleeding more heavily, and I picked out a shard of the glass from the edge of the cut, swearing colorfully.

Sitting down on the broken bed, dust clouds formed around me. The once lavender smelling room now had a musty odor, while everything was coated in a thick layer of dust. My father would go crazy if he could see the state of this room. The air was so thick with the filth, my eyes took a while to adjust to the point where they could see.

I scanned the study until I found a small piece of cloth to hold against my arm, hoping it would help the bleeding.

As I tied the fabric loosely around my arm, I walked over to the door. I don't rightly know why I even bothered testing the handle, I had seen mum with a key to the study. She probably locked the door from the other side.

When I felt that the knot in my makeshift bandage was satisfactory, I curled up in the corner of the bed; brushing away cobwebs from the dirty walls. I was tired, much more tired than I had been a second ago. It would be okay if I took a quick nap. Mum probably thinks that I am in my room. She knows not to disturb me when I'm there…

I awoke to a burning pain in my arm. Out the window, the sky was a dark navy color, and the rain was thundering loudly against the roof.

I stood up and stretched, forgetting my surroundings for a second, and examined my arm. Thick droplets of blood were dripping from the wound; almost wine red in the darkness of the unlit study

Drip, drip, drip.

Three blood droplets hit the ground. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?

Just then, a circular shape started glowing on the floor. Right where the blood had hit it. Pale bluish-green in color, it almost seemed to be pulsing to a heartbeat.

Not just any heartbeat, my heartbeat.

I'm just hallucinating. I'll wake up in just a second now…any minute…

A roar of wind came from outside the shattered window. I whipped around, startled out of my wits. The sky was green, the storm was growing stronger.

A sudden throbbing filled my head. I clutched my ears, knowing it was futile, but hoping that the aching and the noise that accompanied it would cease.

The one whose blood watered the stones of time, can make the wind roar, the devils cry. Time will pass, do not wait. Daemons will destroy the pillars of fate.

Before I could contemplate the meaning behind the eerie voice that had just raked its claws on my consciousness, the words had stopped, and everything began to shake.

I fell to my knees, branches snapping outside from the wind, the green leaves of springtime viciously ripping off the trees. My head ached, I felt dizzy.

I passed out immediately as I tried to stand up.

When I regained consciousness, I slowly pulled my head off the ground, though slumping it back down when I smacked it against the iron bed stand. My ears felt abnormally sore, but that was probably from laying on the hardwood for god knows how long.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes; which had no trouble adjusting to the dark room. Trying to stand up way too quickly resulted in falling to the floor as a crack of lightning illuminated the room and scared the hell out of me.

As I tried to get off of the floor (for the third time now), a glimmer of silver caught my eye from under the bed, dully lit by the sliver of moon peeking through the clouds. I ventured my hand outwards and tried to grasp whatever I saw, skimming my hand over the dusty hardwood. When I felt something cool under my fingertips, I grasped whatever it was as I pulled my hand back towards me.

I opened my hand and found a key in the center of my palm. I got up off the floor and pushed the key into the keyhole of the door.

It clicked.

If it hadn't been a situation of 'I just stumbled across my dead father's study from climbing a tree and stranding myself on the third floor' kind of a situation, I would have laughed at my mother for leaving a key in there. I mean, come on, someone besides myself had obviously tried to break in here from the outside, and you're just gonna let them have a free ticket inside? Well if she didn't, you would be in a very awkward situation trying to explain to her why you climbed through a third-story window to avoid her wrath.

I shook the thought from my head as I stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind me. I'll admit that I took a few steps before it occurred to me that I should lock the door again. Who knows how often the twins jiggle the handle on their way down the hall? I pocketed the key and went to my bedroom.

In a few hours, mum came to wake me up. She told me to watch my step twins and keep them out of trouble while my stepdad was at work. At least until I had to leave for school. She kissed my head and smiled in that sad way of hers before departing for her office.

I got dressed and forced my long hair into a slightly messy braid, and went downstairs for breakfast.

Carter was in the kitchen drinking orange juice and reading his book, while Ellie was sitting by the television. I made myself some coffee and the twins some eggs.

"Some storm last night, huh?" I turned to see Carter surveying me over the book he was reading.

"Yeah..." I replied casually, grabbing a mug from the cupboards

"Where were you anyway?" Ellie asked without taking her eyes off the television.

"Oh…you know, in my room." I said, trying not to sound guilty.

Carter scoffed "Don't give me that crap. I know you did something. You were in there a really long time. You didn't even come down for dinner."

"I wasn't hungry, and besides, I had a lot of homework." Not to mention detention as well. I frowned at him. "You aren't supposed to say crap."

I turned off the television and set the eggs on the table.

Carter sighed and turned back to his book, which I realized to be a dictionary. My stepbrother was smart, but in a very 'I will kick your ass with my knowledge' kind of way. "You're insufferable."

Ellie looked from Carter to me, then back to Carter. "What does insufferable mean?" She asked, through a mouth of eggs.

"It means that I am supposedly being annoying." I told her through a half-concealed smile.

"Well, actually, it means 'not able to bear,' and 'intolerable,' but since you don't understand those words either, it seems, then I have to agree with Allix on this one."

I glared at him and sipped my coffee. "Arse." I muttered.

"I'm telling dad!" Carter warned.

I glared at him. "I don't care about Dave. He doesn't scare me. HE ISN'T EVEN MY DAD!!!" I yelled at Carter, who tried not to cry alongside Ellie, who I wasn't even yelling at in the first place. I stormed up to my room and slammed the door. "So much for keeping them out of trouble." I grumbled to myself.

Leaving for school out the back door, I pulled The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring out of my backpack. Burying my nose in it as I walked to school. By the time I got to the front steps, I had read a good four chapters. I placed my bookmark and bounded up the stairs.

Everything went smoothly until fourth period.

I had skived off lunch and headed to the library, where I continued to read. This wasn't part of my usual routine, but I also didn't want any more human company that I am forcefully subjected to by the educational laws of our country. Try liking human contact when you have two nine-year-olds as stepsiblings. When the bell rang, to signal that lunch was over, I walked to history class with my nose still stuck in a book. Well, until I accidentally ran into someone.

"Oof!" A gruff - though definitely female - voice exclaimed.

I looked up from my book to see Sarkili Collins glaring at me.

"Oh! Ummm...sorry Sarki!" I squeaked.

Even though I'm not afraid of much, Sarkili Collins scares me.

A bunch of kids started laughing, (probably Sarki's goons, Tyler, Theresa "Thorny" and Ryan) Sarki glowered, her piggy eyes narrowed. "You wait, Gryffiths, just you wait until fifth hour, you'll be sorry you ever stuck your nose in that horrid book…" Then, she stalked off.

I gulped, bending down to scoop up my dropped belongings. First of all, how dare she use my last name. Second, Fifth hour was physical education, also known as the reign of Sarkili Collins, and my consistent demise.

We have around twenty minutes before we have to be changed and ready in the gymnasium, so when I arrived in the locker rooms, I was unsurprised to see Sarki heading menacingly in my direction. "Come with me." she growled.

She took me by the shoulder and shoved me out of the locker room's back door. I didn't expect the other girls to interfere, but it still hurt when they refused to even acknowledge what was going on.

Sarkili led me down a hallway that I had never seen before, turning left at the fifth door and shoving me inside.

The classroom was dark, the desks were piled in the corner, covered by a dusty sheet. The wastebasket was tipped over, revealing wads of bubblegum and balls of paper. The room smelled of mildew and mold, the air was still, the AC clearly didn't work here.

"Why am I here-" I turned around, looking for Sarki when I felt a punch collide with my face.

"'The hell was that?!" I turned on Sarki, who tried to throw another punch at me. I dodged it with ease. "Is that seriously all you got?" I don't think the taunt went over her well, seeing as I had also already been punched once and could feel my face starting to swell and turn red.

She raised her fist for another punch, and I feinted to the left. She obviously saw that coming, and I got hit in the stomach. My eyes watered slightly as I fell to the floor, futility attempting to crawl out of Sarki's reach. When I tried to get up, Sarki bounded over and placed her foot above my diaphragm, pushing harder every second I struggled to get up.

"Not so cocky now, huh?" She gloated. "I thought punching you in the face was enough, but after getting another detention," she pouted her lip. "Well, let's just say that by blaming this on you, there is a chance you'll at least be suspended for a week. No more finals for Miss booknerd over here."

I writhed under her combat boot (which was really nice and I envied, by the way), trying to get up. Who did this arse think she was? A medieval assassin? Nobody had the right to treat me like this, not because I was a girl, or anything special, but because this is just plain cruel. No-one should be treated like this.

You know, says the girl who is going to do anything in her power to get out of this situation.

I focused all of my energy on attempting to get up, when suddenly, there was a flaming feeling in my hand as light-filled the room.

She stared at me "How did you do that? Who- oh, nevermind, you're just a freak."

A freak? How dare she. I didn't even know what had happened myself and I was defending it. I snarled and kicked upwards, right where, well, you can imagine.

"OW!!!" she whimpered in pain. I stood up and punched her face.

CRACK!!!

I think I might've broken Sarki's nose.

I darted out of the classroom and returned to the gymnasium, just as the tardy bell rang.

Coach Clarkson didn't even notice as I walked in, even though a few of the kids pointed and snickered. He just continued taking attendance.

"Abernathy, Lisa?"

"Here!"

"Bakers, Holly?"

"Present."

"Bloggens, Connor?

"Here."

"Collins, Sarkili?" Silence. "No Sarki today? Okay then, Darby, Tyson?"

"Here as always!"

"Gryffiths, Alexandra?"

I gulped. I couldn't find my voice. "Here!" I squeaked.

Clarkson looked at me over his square-framed glasses, squinting against the bright light of the bleachers. "Are you okay, Gryffiths? There seems to be some blood on your hands. Are you hurt?"

I stared down at my hands. I didn't even realize that they were bloody - probably from Sarki's nose. "Er...Yeah, ummm, can I go to the bathroom to wash this off?"

"Sure. Now, where was I? Oh yes, Hill, Megan?"

The coach's voice trailed off as I walked down the now empty halls. I washed my hands and was just heading back when Holly Bakers ran up to me.

Holly had bushy red hair and typically wore a bright green jacket. She looked like she was a walking Christmas, which was funny, considering her name.

"Oh, hullo Holly!" I said cheerfully.

"Hey. Allix" Holly panted, she had clearly run all the way from the gymnasium. "The…front…office…is looking…for you." She muttered, trying to catch her breath.

"Er…what was that?"

Holly sighed. "The front office is looking for you. Clarkson told me to come and get you."

I had a sinking feeling in my gut. Had the headmaster found out about what happened with Sarki? Would I be expelled?

"Thanks, Holly." I managed to say.

"No probs." She held up her hands like she was surrendering. "But hey, don't say anything if I stay here for a bit, Jackson's trying to get me to go on a date with him, and frankly, I would rather not have to deal with him right now."

I snorted "Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

"Thanks, you should probably go on down to the office."

"Yeah, see ya later!"

I walked down to the office with the sinking feeling growing heavier in my gut. I had no idea if I was going to be expelled, punished, or get a detention. This may be the first time in my life that I would be punished for punching someone in the face; not that I had done that very recently, though.

When I arrived at the front desk, the secretary asked my name, then directed me to the headmaster's office.

I walked into the headmaster's office for the second time this week, today, he was looking especially grim. "Sit down."

I sat.

"I just got a phone call, from a woman named Elena Triskey, who claimed to be your aunt. Do you know this woman?" The headmaster inquired. "She is not on your emergency contact list, so I figured I would call you down to make sure."

"Yes sir, she is a friend of my mother's, she has always been like an aunt to me and my step-siblings." The sinking feeling in my gut was numbed, but replaced by dread.

"Well, she called to inform me that she will be pulling you out of school early today."

My heart leaped. "Is that all?"

The headmaster looked down at the papers that were on his desk. "Unfortunately, no. I thought Ms. Triskey ought to be the one to tell you this, but your mother was in a car crash and is gravely injured."

I gasped. Mum was the most cautious driver there was. She never overreacted when idiot drivers cut in front of her, she always made sure that her brakes worked perfectly, she even taught me how to drive, though I hadn't taken my test yet despite being almost a year over sixteen.

"I'm sorry, I know this is hard for you, and-"

There was a knock on the door.

The headmaster sighed. "Yes?"

The secretary popped her head in. "Miss Gryffiths is to get her belongings, Ms. Triskey is here."

I stood up. "Well, goodbye, then."

"Goodbye, Alexandra."

I smiled, "Call me Allix." Then, I walked out the door.

Elena Triskey was waiting for me in her car. "Hey, Allix! You ready to go?"

I climbed into the shotgun seat. "Yeah, where are the twins?" I asked, buckling my seatbelt.

"I took them to see her earlier. Besides, I don't think I could deal with having to look after more than two kids at once." she scoffed.

You see, Elena is one of those single ladies who works as a barmaid at night clubs, and is always between relationships, one may call her 'carefree ' and 'non committed' while another may say that she has to 'get a life.'

"How is whats-his-name… Arrin?" I ask.

"Phf, I dumped him a while back, now I'm with a motorcycle guy named Jake, he's pretty bad-ass."

Elena went rambling on about her previous boyfriends, and how I should consider hooking up with somebody, which to be fair, was completely like her. Elena was an odd person, but I liked her that way. She was always aloof and tried to cheer everyone up no matter the situation. Mum said that was because of some brain damage she had when she was young, but I didn't care. Maybe I needed some aloof right now.

We got to the hospital in twenty or so minutes, though with my mess of a conscience and my anxious mind, it was no wonder that it felt like forever. Mentally drowning in oncoming dread.

A young lady at the reception desk led us down the maze-like hallways of the hospital after making us thoroughly wash our hands and asking me to bind my long hair up as she claimed that it was best to avoid any repercussions of carelessness. I tried to look at things that would take my mind off mum, but nothing helped. It was just white, plain walls with people in white, plain coats walking on white, plain floors.

Elena was humming a sad tune as she bounced along behind the nurse. I wished she wouldn't, as the noise was getting to me and I was already anxious as it is.

The young nurse stopped us before she opened the door, looking deep into our eyes and sighing. "You know that this could be your last visit; so I'd say what I had to say this time around. Second chances are rare and valuable, so be cautious in your words."

It was with that ominous statement that she let me through the door.

"Mum?" I quietly stepped into the room as the nurse shut the door behind me. The room, like everything in this hospital, was white. It would be torture for me to have nothing to do but stare at blank walls and monotone furniture all day, and I knew it was the same for my mum. She loved the colors of forests green and oceans blue; the dazzling night skies and mountains of places far away that my father had painted. Blank canvases and clear slates were never her familiar.

I walked closer and kneeled beside the bed and took her hand in mine. One of her legs was suspended in a sling and the other arm had some pretty severe bandaging with a crown of burns on her brow. There were some blue wires hooked up to various machines and tubes leading from them to various places on my mother. I didn't even want to imagine the scene of the crash if this was the outcome. I definitely didn't want to see what the other people ended up like.

"How are you feeling." I asked, trying not to cry but failing miserably. I felt the warm tears slide down my cheeks and onto the edge of the hospital bed.

"I'm probably not going to make it." She said, her voice straining. "They said I probably won't make it through the night.

"Mum…" I cried harder now. I knew it wouldn't change anything, but releasing the wave of emotions made the pain in my heart feel better.

"Listen carefully." She whispered. Her voice was wavering like she was about to cry. "You need to get into your dad's study. There is a key, in my room…"

This was the first time she had mentioned dad in a long time. "Mum, I…found my way in there last night…"

"Then you've heard the ancient prophecy? 'The one who's blood watered the stones of time, can make the wind roar…'"

I gasped, and continued the line. "'The devils cry. Time will pass, do not wait.'" Then mum's voice joined mine. "'Demons will destroy the pillars of fate.'"

More tears fell onto our hands, I was half wondering if I was indeed halucinating, or if I had actually fallen off of the maple tree and was dreaming in a coma. "What does this mean?" Mum shook her head. "Re-return there." her voice was getting fainter and fainter. "I can't-"

Elena poked her head in the doorway. "Allix, it's time to go, let her rest."

I got to my feet and squeezed mum's hand. "Love you." I whispered. "I love you too Alexandra."

I smiled and walked out with Elena.

As I shut the door, I heard a rattling breath.

The heart monitor started beeping.

Mum's funeral was pretty quiet, and Elena ended up staying with us for a while.

I was sitting on my floor late at night, listening to Elena try to calm Ellie and Carter.

This had been happening for the last month, ever since mum's funeral. Because only Elena and I knew what had happened at the hospital, it really shocked the twins when Elena explained that mum wasn't coming home. And from that moment on, Ellie and Carter cried themselves to sleep every night.

There was a knock on my door.

"Come in…?" My step dad came into the room.

"Stand up." He growled through gritted teeth.

I stood, and was overwhelmed by the smell of whiskey.

"What happened at the hospital that day?" He asked. "When I went, my wife was fine, when you went, she died moments later."

I said nothing. Was it really my fault that my mother died? Was I carrying some unheard of disease that killed her?

"ANSWER ME!!!" Dave roared. He pinned my head against the wall.

I started to cry. "I-I don't know!!! I don't know what killed her!!!"

Dave pulled an army knife from his pocket. "Don't lie to me you little-"

"DAVID CARTER VALE!!!" Elena yelled. "That is a child!"

Dave rounded on her. "A child who could've killed my wife!" he spat on the floor.

"You know very well that a sixteen year old girl would never intentionally murder her own mother!" Elena shouted.

"Fine." Dave raised his hands like he was surrendering. He gave me a dirty glance that clearly read: I'll murder you later, punk. Then, he stalked from the room, and Elena followed him, shouting at the top of her lungs.

Okay, maybe I was exaggerating with the murder. Or at least, I hope I was.

I cursed, and sat on my bed.

I grabbed my backpack from the foot, and pulled out The Fellowship of the Ring. I am on "The council of Elrond." Elrond is about to assign the quest to destroy the ring. I want to go on a quest, adventure around a world of fantasy. Ride dragons, banish evil, talk to elves, parlay with dwarves, all so I can prove myself to be the defender, the warrior, my father named me to be.

Besides, it would take my mind off of the reality that I never wanted.

When I finished the chapter, I marked my page, and placed my book on my bookshelf. Or, at least, that was my intention. I actually slipped on my jacket that I had left on the floor, and fell on my butt.

My knee landed on something hard, and I reached into my pocket to find the key to dad's study.

I recalled what mum had said before she died: "Return there."

Had she meant the study? The place she had locked away for so long? The room that she, herself, had told me never to return to?

I tried to shake the feeling that there was a great power at work here, but I couldn't. I got out of bed, and peered through the crack in the door. The coast was clear.

I tip-toed down the hallway, key in hand.

When I reached the study door, I fitted the key in the lock, and turned.

My first thought as I entered the room? The floor was glowing.

I walked into my dad's study. The blue-green light filled the room, emanating from a circle of blue flames.

I examined the glowing floor, and it turns out that the ring of light was not on the floor at all, in fact, it was hovering a few centimeters above the floorboards. And what appeared to be flames, were actually flickers of writhing blue light. The flaming configuration swirled into nothingness at the center of the spiral.

Before I could examine it further, an open desk drawer, that had somehow escaped my notice, caught my eye. I strode over to the desk and looked into the drawer. There was a book. And it was locked shut.

Out of instinct, I reached into my sweatshirt pocket and pulled out the key, and fit it into the lock. I opened the book, and took it out of the drawer. It was much heavier than it appeared to be at first glance. Underneath the tarnished silver lock, there was a worn, red leather cover. I carefully opened the book, and gasped at what laid inside.

It was a map. Of another world. And on the opposite page, it read: Astralla. Farther below the map title, there was a short passage in dad's handwriting:

In Astralla, long ago, ere the second age of elves, there were evil demons that wrought their way into our land. The high elves called them the obscuros daemons, or The Dark Demons. They took control over the capital of Mythfall and slayed many a great warrior.

When the sky was at its blackest, and the moon had waned in full, The obscuros daemons took over the Tower of Aeos, and murdered the Lord Aldric, The mortal keeper of the sword of fate. The obscuros daemons attempted to seize the sword, which was given to the elves of light as a weapon against evil, it was named Atropos, Powerful Fate.

When Lord Aldric was murdered at the hand of Ciaran the Evil, Lady Calandra gave Atropos to her eldest son, Favian the Wise, in the hopes that it may escape the Dark Demons. Favian the Wise brought Atropos to the original protectors of the pillars of fate, the elves of light. The light elves gave the Sword of Fate to the priestess of stars, so she could choose the next sacred warrior.

Then, the obscuros daemons attacked, fire was everywhere, great towns and forests were burned to cinders. Hundreds upon thousands of fierce men and women were slain in battle. From humans, dwarves, and shifters, to light, high and forest elves, many were killed. The skies were filled with battling shadow wyverns and elven dragons of war.

But when all hope was lost, and the troops of Astralla were weary and greatly outnumbered, There came a fierce elven maiden who was blessed by Theia, the goddess of stars. She carried Atropos and slew many a foe. With renewed vigor, the people of Astralla fought harder than ever, and with a final blow from Atropos, the battle was won.

The mysterious elven warrior said to the elves: "There shall be a day when evil returns and none of my kin can meet it in battle. But fear nought there shall be one blessed by Theia who shall wield Atropos and vanquish the evil. This new warrior shall guard the pillars of fate, and take the lost throne to restore peace to the realm."

So the light elves sealed Atropos into the realm of light and time to await the one who could vanquish the evil.

The new warrior.

I stared at the page. Where was this place? What happened next? Was the evil ever truly vanquished? I read the last few lines again, then I noticed something in the bottom corner. It read:

My dear, Alexandra,

I know that you are reading this,

and that you have thereby found the portal of light and time.

Step into the glowing ring of blue flames

Time will become irrelevant, nothing here will change.

For them, at least.

Astralla awaits

I looked over at the glowing configuration hovering above the floor.

Without hesitation, I rushed over to my bedroom, and tiptoed across the room to my wardrobe, I grabbed a sleek faux fur jacket, then I walked back into the study, shut and locked the door, and stepped into the ring of flaming blue light. I was going to…Astralla.