Chapter One: Pure Magic

Have you ever felt a pain that consumed your entire being? A pain that latched onto your heart and felt as if it shattered it into a million pieces? A pain that you try to shove down deep, but in the end, you weep until your eyes run dry and there should be nothing left inside of you? And yet, you somehow come out unscathed. You’re still alive to see another day, to sleep, to eat and to live.

The pain I am referring to is a pain like no other.

The pain of losing your parents.

My entire world came crashing down around me when I heard about my parents’ brutal car accident. It’s been three months, and I’ve been living a walking nightmare ever since. Day after day, week after week, wondering what I did to deserve such a harsh punishment.

I’ve learned that showing how much pain I’m in is useless. Everyone else moves on, leaving me behind in the darkness. No one wants to hang out with the “sad” girl who lost her parents. So, I do what I do best. I hide that pain, deep inside the cavern of my heart. I plaster a smile on my face, showing everyone that I’m still the happy girl who has all the love in the world in her heart. Even if I don’t believe it if others do that’s all that matters, right?

It still hurts. Everything- my head, heart, and soul. I’ve tried shoving the pain so far down, that there should be nothing left inside of me. Yet here I am. I live, I breathe, and I live on trying my very best not to cry at every moment.

My first flight was anything but eventful. There was no magic as the shiny green grass turned to huge white patches, which turned into miles of it. There was no excitement as I felt the tires skid to a stop on the tarmac, and there was no excitement when everyone pushed their way passed me to get off the halted flight.

Being escorted to Windamere Academy should have been fun. Riding in the back seat of a huge leather SUV should have made me feel special. It should have felt like a new chapter of my life was finally starting, that I could forget the last three months and finally be happy for a change. But I felt none of that. I felt empty, as if there was a hole inside of my heart the size of a bowling ball.

It’s been three months, and 2 days since the accident and I’m standing on the stairs staring up at the castle like building in front of me. Windamere Academy. My uncle was the only relative that could take me in after my parents died. He’s the headmaster here, making it the perfect place for him to keep an eye on me. It feels more like a jail, then a prep school.

Although the school was huge, it looked way more elegant then any other building I had ever seen. The top of the building was surrounded by gargoyles that had different expressions on their little faces. Some looked extremely happy, while others had prominent frowns on their faces. I eyed them curiously for awhile, and I noticed that thick tufts of snow had began to fall around me as I stared at the building. Coming from Victoria BC, seeing snow was something I was looking forward to, but I didn’t expect for something to finally feel magical.

As the snow began to fall around me, I couldn’t help but get lost in the surrounding area. It made the castle feel a little less overwhelming and a lot calmer as the thick blanket of snow covered every inch of land. The trees swayed slightly, the snow catching on their thick branches making it look bigger then it was. With the snow falling around me, making a thick blanket across the school grounds, the silence of it all was overwhelming.

“Evanora!” a familiar voice called from the castle front door, “Evanora!”

I turned around quickly, to see my cousin Morgan barreling out of the castle, “It’s Evie,” I said, rolling my eyes but plastering a smile on my face for her. Morgan was always the cousin that I was closest with, but that’s mostly because she was one of my only cousins. She and I grew up together until she moved away suddenly when she was ten.

She was always pretty when we were growing up, and I always questioned how we were related. Her brown hair and deep green eyes were always a topic of conversation when we said we were cousins since we looked nothing alike. Her smile was a little crooked, but it added to her giddy attitude that could charm the pants off anyone.

“Oh, right,” Morgan said, a blush rising to her cheeks, embarrassed. She quickly ran to me and pulled me into an embrace that felt warm, “Let’s get you inside, it’s freezing out here!”

I hadn’t even noticed the cold air that was slapping at my cheeks, until she said it. That’s the thing about not remembering how to feel things. Sometimes you just don’t remember.

Morgan grabs a suitcase of mine, as I grab two and followed her up the stairs towards the castle. Walking behind her slowly, it’s not long before I am struggling to breathe. I am not out of shape by any means, especially since I was a cross country runner at my last school, but here I was huffing and puffing trying to get to the top of these stairs.

“Don’t worry, Evie. It’s not you. It’s the altitude. It’s going to take a couple of days for you to adjust,” Morgan starts, seeing the obvious worry on my face, “I mean, you are coming from sea level, so it’ll take a couple of days for you to get used to the air here.”

Although she explained what was happening, I still couldn’t shake the feeling of the oncoming panic attack. The thought of not being able to breathe was overwhelming. I could feel the tightness in my chest beginning to consume me, so I closed my eyes and began breathing by counts, just like Doctor Simon taught me.

Ever since my parents’ death, I had begun to see a therapist to help with my anxiety and depression. They wanted to medicate me, but I refused saying that I would get over this naturally. While she admired my determination, it didn’t mean she was happy about it. If I really told her how empty I felt, or how I constantly felt like I was drowning, she would have probably shipped me to an asylum instead of Windamere Academy. Luckily, Doctor Simon showed me tips on how to deal with my feelings of anxiety and depression which deemed very helpful in this moment.

“Evie? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Morgan said, as my eyes opened to meet hers. Panic and worry were plastered all over her face, which made me feel guilty that I just stopped on the steps. I take in a couple more deep breathes before deciding to answer her, plastering a small fake smile on my face.

“I’m just practicing not being able to breathe,” I say, trying to make light of the situation, “I should probably get used to it if I’m going to be living at this altitude, right?”

Morgan gives me one of her crooked smiles, as she takes my suitcases the rest of the way up the stairs. I watched her in awe for a second wondering how she was so strong. She moved along effortlessly, her shiny brown hair flowing beautifully behind her.

I let out a huff as I try to keep pace, but a flash of color above me catches my attention. From the stairs, I can’t see much but it looks like a flash of red, then blue in the tallest tower of the castle. I can see the outline of someone watching from above, and it sends a shiver directly down my spine. I envied the person who had such a high room, able to look out onto the horizon.

“Ready to keep going?” Morgan calls from the top of the stairs, turning my attention back to her. She brought all my suitcases to the top of the stairs without my help, making me feel embarrassed that I didn’t even notice she had done so. I guess I was staring at the outline for longer then I realized.

“Oh, yeah. Right,” I say as I start to ascend the stairs once again. My head was spinning from the high altitude of Windamere Castle, but I pushed past it, not wanting to embarrass myself on my first day. Making my way up the last 30 or so stairs, I meet Morgan and she taps my shoulder lightly.

Morgan flashed me a small smile as she pushes the huge double doors open for us. I let out an audible gasp as I take in the main foyer. I have never seen something so opulent before in my life. The archways in the hall were exceptionally high, and huge tapestries lined the walls. Four laid on each side of the main stairs, all portraits. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling causing the light from the fireplace to shine throughout the room.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Morgan said.

“Are you sure I’m not Repunzel, being locked away at Windamere Academy?” I said, as Morgan let out a deep chuckle, “This place is pure magic.”

Maybe I could still feel happiness, or magic. Whatever this was, it piqued my interest.

Morgan moves her gaze away from me, as a small blush rises to her cheeks, “Want to see some more magic?”