by Jimi Alan
Alice walked with Lucia towards a back door in the room. She opened a glass door, which head out into the greenhouse in the back. Alice was amazed to see so many plants in one spot. She saw some pants she never saw before, and others that snapped at her as she walked by. Alice guessed all of the plants had some kind of purpose for my different potions. She wanted to get what they needed before they got caught. Alice knew her aunt would be furious if she got expelled for trespassing on private property on her second day.
Her aunt seemed to have a ‘go with the wind personality, when it came to her everyday chores and general means of never planning anything. She was not as strict as Alice thought she could be. Her aunt was strict about when it came to the rules of the house and laws. Alice could hear her aunt's voice in the back of her head, warning her to not get into trouble for an experience like Graves Academy was hard to come by. Alice wondered if there where other schools out there in the world for wizards and witches. She never heard of any before she got the letter from her parents graves.
Apart of her thought it was possible.
She walked through the greenhouse, absorbing in all of the plants around her. Alice saw a few trades on some of the plants. She guessed it was a reminder to those who hid no idea what they were looking for.
Lucia seemed to be in some kind of zone. She walked around the greenhouse, taking leaves and small pieces of plants for their potions. Alice was glad to have Lucia as a friend. She knew what to look for and probably read a book the night before to compile a list of ingredients for the potion. Lucia even had some cases for the more lively plants as well.
“I think that's the last of it.” Lucia told her. “Do you think the others are done by now?”
“Probably.” Alice shrugged her shoulders. “We can head back to the academy.”
“Sure.” Lucia carried everything she was able to collect into her hand.
Alice and her walked out of the greenhouse. They headed back to the academy, walking up the hill from the lodge. Alice remembered they never said where they would meet the others once they were done collecting their supplies. She guessed in the library would be the best place, since Justin would not be allowed in the girls dormitory.
Walking down the hallway with Lucia, Alice was worried for Justin and Gloria. She felt like something had happened to them. She saw some if their classmates whispering as they passed by them. Alice wondered if they were in some kind of trouble. Her mind thought the others might of got caught and told a teacher what they were up to. She hoped they weren't walking into a trap.
Lucia reminded her. “We have a class soon. The fortune seeker class.”
“I thought that was tomorrow.” Alice was worried.
“No.” Lucia looked around. “But something does feel off.”
Alice was glad she wasn't the only one to notice everyone staring at them too. “I thought I was going crazy there for a second.”
They rushed up the staircase with Lucia placing her supplies in her school bag. Alice walked into the classroom. She saw all of the students staring straight at her and Lucia. The two of them seemed to have become big news over the past few hours they were gone. A few students whispered among each other as they passed by. Alice wondered what everyone was whispering about as she heard her name on her fellow classmates breath.
Spotting Gloria and Justin sitting beside each other, Alice walked towards them. She sat in the chair behind them, not getting even a glance from either of them as they whispered to each other before the class began. Alice looked over her shoulder as Lucia sat in the desk beside her sister, who seemed to have given her a hug.
Alice was surprised to see Lailah showing such emotion in the classroom. Alice noticed a tear rolling down the side of her face, but she didn't seem to be sad. The look on her face was as if she hadn't seen her sister in such a long time.
Curious to know what was going on, she tapped Justin on the shoulder. She heard Justin say something about a rumor her heard in the halls before class. His eyes met with Alice's eyes, right away.
“Not now.” His eyes darted over to Gloria as he took a second look. “That's not funny Franny.”
Alice saw the look in his eyes. Gloria looked over her shoulder as she noticed Feanny, the jokester of the classroom beside her. Luckily, his voice was low enough to not draw much attention to himself.
“What are you going on about?” Gloria asked him as she pointed at Feanny on the other side of that classroom, who seemed to be minding herself for once. “She's over there.”
Justin was speechless as his eyes met with Alice again. Gloria looked behind her to see what had Justin lost for words. She had a look on her face that Alice never saw before, like she had been missing something in her life for a while.
The class started with the teacher walking out from a door. She walked to the back of her desk, keeping her eyes down to the floor. The teacher seemed nervous to Alice. Her dark blue jacket was covering her red blouse which had a faded flower pattern on it.
Alice could not take her seriously with her pig tails of blond hair. She looked like a bad hippie version of a spice girl. Alice kept herself from laughing by putting her books on her desk. She flipped the book open, turning onto the first page.
The teacher looked out at the class as she reached her desk. “Welcome back. The holidays are over and I see that we have two students with us today. I don't recall getting a notice about anyone new in my class. Maybe it's somewhere on my desk.”
She glanced down at her cluttered desk. The teacher seemed to be confused by Alice and Lucia joining them. Alice looked over at Lucua who seemed to look confused about the situation as well.
“Can I have your names?” She asked them. “The one behind Gloria first.”
Alice sighed as she stood up. “Alice Corey.”
She felt something odd as she looked out the classroom window. Alice noticed the trees outside had lost all of their leaves in the forest that covered the land outside. The mountain tops had snow covered on them. Alice wondered happened to autumn with the stunning trees full of colors.
The teacher snorted. “Don't you have a morbid personality.”
Alice sat back down in her seat. She thought the teacher was odd now she knew she was being ridiculous. Alice leaned back in her chair, she felt bad for the teacher.
The teacher touched a pair of classes on her desk. She held her glasses up to her face as she looked at Alice. She blinked her eyes heavily as if she was seeing something she never thought was possible before.
“Both of you.” The teacher ordered. “Come with me.”
She headed away from her desk as Alice and Lucia gathered their things. The teacher held her wand in her hand as she looked around the class. She thought of what to tell the other students to do as she waited for Alice and Lucia to join her.
“Everyone.” She told the other students. “Turn to page one of your books. I want you to be up to page twenty-five by the time I get back.”
She looked over her shoulder at Feanny. “And then we will have a quiz on what you read. And yes, you will need to pass it. So read carefully.”
The teacher placed her hands onto Alice and Lucia's shoulders. She walked them out of the classroom with her. The classroom filled with chatter of soft whispers as Alice walked out of the classroom. She feared what was going on might be dangerous.
Walking down the hallway, the teacher was quite. She did not speak to Alice or Lucia. They both had questions they want to be answered. The teacher headed down the hallway, moving her hands away from their shoulders as they arrived to a doorway.
Opening, the doorway appeared to he an elevator. The teacher stepped in with Alice and Lucia following behind her. The door closed as Alice stood in the elevator. She saw her reflection in the metal door, like it was built sometime in the modern age. Alice wondered if the elevator was magical.
A second had passed, which told Alice all she needed to know about the elevator. The door opened and in front of them was
a large office with a receptionist standing by the desk in front of the door, like she was expecting them.
Alice took a deep breath in. She saw Lucia standing beside her, looking composed and not nervously like her friend. Alice wondered where were they.
The receptionist smiled. “Mrs Monroe is expecting you.”
A nod of the teachers head and the doors beside the receptionists desk opened. The teacher stepped into the room as Alice and Lucia followed behind her. Alice felt her nerves making her sweat. She followed the teacher into the office with her hands tucked into her pockets to cover how nervously her hands were shaking.
Chapter Five
Four Months Later
Standing in an office, Alice stood with Lucia by her side. She remembered seeing the women before her before. Her hair was a dark brown color with her stunning grey eyes making her unique to anyone who lay their eyes on her. She stood before them with her eyes on Lucia.
Alice remembered Lucia's last name was Monroe. She wondered if the woman before her was Lucia's mother. The teacher lowered her head out of respect for the women. She seemed to not care as she rushed up to Lucia. The women hugged her child.
She asked her. “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine.” Lucia told her. “Just a little confused. What's going on?”
The teacher sighed. “I think they have been bewitched. Maybe impostors or posters.”
Mrs Monroe glared at the women. “I know my daughter.”
“Are you sure?” The teacher questioned her. “Just saying. It could be a spell.”
Mrs Monroe seemed to think the teacher had a point. “What is the most common spell the Monroe family have used?”
“The curse spell.” Lucia sighed. “Well technically it's a cursed spell and a potion is needed to make it work. So it's not really a spell.”
“That's correct.” Mrs Monroe seemed to be pleased with her daughters question. “See, she is my daughter. Now I'll answer year question when the others arrive.”
Alice heard the door to the elevator open. She heard voices coming from behind her. Looking over her shoulder, Alice saw her uncle Cedric and aunt Serena.
Her aunt whispered. “This isn't the mall.”
Cedric said. “It's another one of those portal spells.”
“Oh.” Serena sound annoyed. “I wonder if they have heard something.”
She rushed into the room, spotting Alice right away. Her aunt gave her a huge hug. Alice felt like her lungs where going to bust from how tight her aunt was squeezing her.
Her aunt looked over at Mrs Monroe. “Thank you for portaling us.”
“No buggy.” Mrs Monroe waved her hand to excuse the polite notion. “Alice looks to be healthy and so does my daughter. But we do have to disgust where they have been.”
The doors of the room closed quickly. Mrs Monroe snapped her wand out of her pocket and flicked it into the air. The teacher vanished into the air, like she wasn't even there. Alice guessed that was Mrs Monroe's way of sending her back to her classroom. She sat down in the chair behind her desk as four chairs appeared up from the red carpet which covered the floor. The chairs built themselves as they appeared below where each of them stood. A force pushed Alice down into the chair. She didn't see what did it, but she had to guess it was Mrs Monroe's doing. In a blink of an eye, each one of them where in front of Mrs Monroe's desk. She placed her wand down on the surface of her desk.
“It seems as though, something bad has happened to you girls.” Mrs Monroe said. “I have one question.” She.crossed her legs like she was getting ready for some disturbing news. “What month is it?”
Lucia sighed. “September.”
Alice thought of what the teacher told them. “But the trees have no leaves.”
“Well someone is observant.” Mrs Monroe pointed it. “It's good to see in a young witch.”
Serena placed her hand onto Alice's hand. “It's January.”
Alice knew her aunt had always been bad at giving bad news. The silence of the room made Alice feel embarrassed. She sat quietly with her hands crossed over each other in her lap. Alice knew what Mrs Monroe had said was true. Her mind tried to understand how traveling in time could be possible. She remembered the cellar pathway.
Her mind flashed back with the stone walls around her being covered by those who the names belong to. Alice thought she was leaving her mark on the stones like her mother and father did with their friend many years before her and Lucia even stepped foot into the cellar.
She looked over her shoulder as a reflection of herself stared back at her from the damp stone behind her. Her hand stuffed the stone up against the wall of stones. Alice carved her name onto the stone with Lucia struggling beside her.
The look on Lucia's face was as if she was afraid. Her mind seemed to be struggling with spelling her name. Alice looked at the stone wall with her name spelt with three out of the five letters in her name. She tried to search for the fourth letter.
Looking over her shoulder at her reflection in the wall, Alice saw her face surrounded by darkness. She looked at another stone as her body stood without a face. Alice blinked as she stuffed the stone onto the wall. She heard the echoes of her voice in her ear as she began carving the fourth letter in her name.
Alice finished with her name. She looked over at Lucia who seemed to be dealing with the torture of not remembering how to spell her name. Alice saw her friends hand on the stone with her other hand on her forehead. Her hair was covering over her face as her eyes glared at a reflection of emptiness on the wall behind her.
Lucia started to shake as Alice looked at the stone in her friend's hand. She knew how to spell her friends name as her memory of walking into their dorm room returned. Alice placed her hand onto Lucia's hand. She forced her to carve the rest of the ‘C’ onto the wall.
Her memory of her friend's name on a journal on the side table next to her dormitory bed began to fade. Each scratch on the stone made her memory seem to be eaten away. Alice knew there were two more letters to her friend's name. She scratched her the fourth letter. Lucia's cry of despair echoed down the tunnel. She knew her friend was getting weaker by each scratch of the stone on the wall.
The later letter of her friends name was scratched on the stone. Alice felt Lucia collapses as her name was finished on the wall. She collapsed beside her with the stones they carved on the wall fading onto the pathway of stone around them.
Alice looked at the entrance of the tunnel. She saw a figure standing in front of an archway at the end of the tunnel. The figure looked at Alice with her dark skin and eyes she saw once before. She took a deep breath as she remembered those eyes on the body of her mother's best friend. The figure looked towards her with her body vanishing into the darkness around her with a moonlight glow creeping in from the archway behind her.
Slipping into a slumber, Alice played on the floor of the tunnel. Lucia played beside her with the stone covering over their bodies. The tunnel began to shift as it changed their location.
Alice remembered waking up with stone covered over her body. She stood up from the stone pathway with the rocks rippling down her body. She looked at the pile of stone in front of her. A face looked to be asleep before her.
Knowing the face in the stones, Alice helped Lucia up to her feet. She brushed the stones off of her tired friend. Alice looked up at the wall. She saw her name carved on the wall with an empty face where hers in the reflection should of been. She gasped at the sight as her reflection faded. Alice had no recall of anything else, which could have occurred in the tunnel. She looked over her shoulder in Mrs Monroe's office at Lucia.
Alice wondered if Lucia would be able to recall what happened. She placed her hand onto her friend's hand. A shimmer in her eye told Alice, Lucia saw it too. She lowered her head in shame of what occurred in the tunnel. She was not strong enough to carve her name onto the stone without Alice's help.
“What is it?” Serena had picked up on the girls body language. “You know
you can tell us.”
Alice slid her hand away from Lucia’s hand. She hoped a simple touch of her hand would give her friend enough courage she would need to face the truth. Letting out a soft sigh, Alice knew her aunt and uncle needed to know.
She looked over her shoulder at Lucia. Giving her one last chance to tell them, before she would. Lucia looked away from Alice with shame on her face. She could not face what happened.
Alice sighed. “We found a cellar door, down by the lake.”
Cedric looked confused. “And you stayed there for four months?”
Mrs Monroe glared at him. “Let her explain.”
“We need to keep an open mind.” Serena reminded him. “We all know what our kids are here to learn.”
Alice nervously sighed. “It’s complicated.”
Mrs Monroe told her. “We are listening.”
“We were curious about the cellar door.” Alice told them. “So we went into the tunnel. And…” She tried to put what happened into words.
“Take as long as you need.” Serena told her. “We have as long as it takes.”
Mrs Monroe looked over at Lucia. “True.”
Alice could tell that Mrs Monroe was disturbed by the silence from her own daughter. She held her arms over herself, like she was cradling herself. Her eyes looked out of the window at the cloud in the sky.
“We walked for a long time.” Alice told them. “Until we didn't.”
She heard the screams from herself breaking as her memory began to fade. Her hands begin to shake. Alice clenched her hands onto the armrest of the chair. She had to keep fighting as the fear of the tunnel haunted her.
“We came across a wall of stones.” Alice looked down at the floor. “It made us forget.”
Mrs Monroe leaned back into her chair. She seemed to have heard of a similar story before, with the look on her face seeming pale. Her eyes shifted to her daughter who had not moved.
“Carving our names into the stone, helped us remember.” Alice told them. “But only when our names where complete where we released.”
