The Sanctuary

We arrived at the secret entrance that led to the library and stopped. James looked at us quizzically.

"Why are we stopped?" Dee asked.

"I'm not sure, but my marks are tingling. Like when I got my powers." I murmured, so no one but us four could hear. "Let's just get in the tunnel before we are noticed."

They nodded, and the entrance opened. We all walked through with Sabina closing it behind us. As soon as she did, my hands glowed.

"Well that's new," Dee quipped. "Why are they glowing?"

"How should I know? I'm just as clueless as you all," I retorted. "Just keep going."

As we walked through to the library, the glow became greater and greater. Once we were about to the library entrance, they drastically dimmed.

"Wait," I called out, "they dimmed. They were getting bright and then just dimmed out of nowhere." I turned around to look at James and Sabina while holding out my hands. At the moment I turned around, they began to grow brighter again.

"What in the world?" I said, bewildered. I took a step towards James, and the glow grew. Then another, and again, it grew. One more, and it dimmed. I took a step back and they grew brighter again.

"They glow their brightest right here."

At that, James started feeling the walls right next to me.

"Hmm, face that wall," he told me, I obeyed, and they dimmed. "Face the other one." I obeyed again, and there my hands went. Glowing brighter than ever before. "Now wave them around, maybe they're playing hot and cold with you trying to show you another passage."

"That's genius!" Dee exclaimed!

I started waving my hands all over the wall and the glow grew and dimmed, but eventually I found a spot where they glowed the brightest. I felt the wall, and sure enough, there was a spot that stood out from the rest. I pushed it, and a passageway was revealed.

We all exchanged looks and I entered the new tunnel. James followed right after, and then the girls.

We walked for a couple minutes, my hands glowing brighter and brighter until they were violet torches and we could see the way a few yards in front of us. Eventually, we came upon a wooden door. My hands were so bright, the light looked almost white instead of purple.

"Any guesses on what's on the other side before I open the door?" I jokingly asked the others.

"Oh! I think it's a wiccan library!" Dee suggested.

There's a whole wiccan section to the library, Dee. So I doubt it's just another library full of wiccan books," Sabina said. "Maybe it's a room full of mirrors with that sigil on them so you can call other witches."

"James? Any guesses?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, princess. Maybe it's a wiccan sanctuary. Like where you can recharge, practice your magic, enchant things. I have no idea. Maybe it could be all of our ideas," he added, and we all nodded in agreement.

"You're a smart one, James. I knew we kept you around for a reason," I jested, and turned back towards the door. "Alright, brace yourselves. Here goes nothing."

I turned the handle, but nothing. I tried to budge the door, but it wouldn't move.

I let out a deep sigh. "It's locked."

"Well that's super underwhelming," mumbled Dee.

I looked closer at the door knob. "Huh, there's no keyhole."

"Maybe you have to use your magic," Bina piped in from the back. "Try, I don't know, focusing on the locked door and it just becoming unlocked. Maybe that will work."

I shrugged, and did as she suggested. I focused solely on the door knob. I thought about how it was locked and I wanted it to unlock and open. Slowly, the knob started to turn, and then the door swung open.

I peered inside, and slowly stepped into the room. James was right, it was a wiccan sanctuary. I walked over to the desk in the one corner, and amongst the books and papers, there was a picture frame. I picked it up and inside was a small painting of my father and I. I looked to be about five years old.

"This must be my mom's sanctuary."

"Wait, your mother, as in the late Queen Lana Winsor?" James inquired. "May she rest in peace."

"May she rest in peace," the rest of us copied.

"Yes, we discovered that she was a witch when I gained my magic. She must have kept it hidden from everyone."

"I wonder if the king knows," Sabina stated.

"I don't think so, I'm certain he would have told me. Plus, then he would know that I am a witch also, and he hasn't given any indication that he does."

"That's true," she agreed, "well, I'm going to go back to the library and grab the compact really quick. Don't do anything exciting without me."

"We'll try not to," I giggled.

She left, and the rest of us continued to look around. There were spell books, jars of ingredients, what looked to be an enchantment table, and even a cauldron in the fireplace. We finished looking around before I finally grabbed a small book next to the enchantment table. The other two crowded around me to see what it was. I flipped through the book, and it appeared to be my mother's handwriting. It must have been her journal. I flipped to the last couple of pages and saw a drawing of a sigil. I looked closer and then compared it to the one in my ring.

"Hey! It's the same one as the one in my ring!"

"What does it do?" Dee asked.

"I'm not sure, she used some sort of code or a different language or something," I responded. "Ugh, and of course we have to leave for Vules in the morning."

"Just take the book with us. And anything else you think you might need," James offered. You can keep them in a personal bag, and I can carry them for you when you are outside of the carriage so no one will see them."

"Thank you, James. That is very kind of you," I stated with comfort. "Hey, could you guys help me find any other books I might need? Something tells me that the books here are more special than the ones in the library."

They nodded and began to look around. Sabina walked in, and I filled her in. She joined in on the search.

"You know, I think I remember seeing a translation book back in the library when we were looking for that other book the other night. You want me to go check?" Bina asked.

"Yeah of course. And if you see any others that might help me. Grab those too, but not too many, I don't want us to look too suspicious on the way back to our rooms." I suggested. "Actually, James, do you think you could go find a small trunk for us to put them in? That would look less suspicious, don't you think so? Especially if you are the one carrying it around the castle."

"Yes, your Highness, of course." James agreed, and he and Sabina left.

After a moment of Dee and I gathering a few small items, she broke the silence.

"Are you holding up okay, Elle? I know this can't be easy. First finding out you're a witch, then being engaged to a vampire in a kingdom that bans magic and supernatural beings, and then now being in a study that once belonged to your mother. I would understand if you're feeling overwhelmed, and I'm always here if you ever need to talk or even just need a hug."

I set down the book I was holding, and crossed the room to pull her into a deep hug.

"Thank you, Dee. You are always so kind," I said, then pulled away. "Honestly, I haven't really had the time to process everything. Right now it's been one thing after another, just like you said. I'm sure it will all feel so much more real when we are in the carriage on the way to Vules. I'm actually kind of curious as to what my fiance is up to right now."

"Probably off sucking somebody's blood or something," she quipped.

"DEE! That's terrible. I think that since he's been carrying a flask around kind of proves that he hasn't fed off an actual person. Don't you think so?"

"Yeah, but that's not as fun to joke about," she said with a shrug.

I rolled my eyes at her response.

"Come on, let's go find Bina," I said, and we grabbed what we found, and I closed the door behind us. We walked back down the passageway. I pushed the button again to close the wall and we turned to the library entrance and opened it. We walked in, but left the entrance open so James would know that we were all in here.