A Hidden Witch

By Melissa Oates
I wrote this piece for a module last term, I will be re editing but for now I hope you enjoy!

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Lucy had always known that she was different, hearing voices wasn’t normal, especially for a sixteen-year-old, and she’s pretty sure that seeing the dead wasn’t normal either.

             Lucy always kept to herself at school, especially since her best friend Jasmine had passed away, but it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that her best friend had reappeared into her life.

            ‘We’ve been through already, I told you to stop coming to me a school.’ Lucy whispered.

            ‘I know but just staying at your house is so boring, plus nobody can see me, well apart from you.’ Lucy’s best friend giggled.

            The first bell rang signalling the students to head to their first lesson of the day, Lucy lugged her backpack over her shoulder and went to class.

            Ms. Sinclair was writing on the board something to do with Shakespeare, Lucy had already blanked out when she felt a prod in her side.

            ‘Who is this fine specimen coming into the classroom’ Jasmine said, Lucy raised her head from her hands and looked up to see the principle bringing in a new student, he whispered something into Ms. Sinclair’s ear, smiled at the students and left.

            ‘Students this is Elijah Blackwater, he has just transferred, I would like you to give him a warm welcome and to make him feel comfortable, Elijah, there is a spare seat next to Miss River,’ Ms. Sinclair pointed to the seat next to Lucy, which was Jasmine’s old seat.

            Elijah silently sat next to Lucy, Jasmine ogled him from behind her, while Lucy side glanced him and resumed position with her head back in her arms, while the class continued.

            The class had finally come to end, and the students scurried towards the door, Lucy was the last one to exit when she noticed that Elijah was still sat down in his seat.

            ‘Go talk to him’ Jasmine spoke, Lucy shook her head,

            ‘And say what hello, I’m the school freak, please to meet you.’ Lucy muttered to Jasmine, making sure there weren’t any students walking past.

            ‘Just go.’ Jasmine urged as she pushed Lucy back into the classroom, but as Jasmine pushed her best friend into the room, unbeknownst to them, Elijah was heading to the door, so Lucy fell forward and straight into his chest.

            ‘I-I am so sorry.’ Lucy stuttered, and scurried away.

            ‘That was smooth Luce,’ Jasmine sarcastically said, leaning on the locker next to Lucy’s.

            Lucy put her textbook into her locker and looked at her dead best friend.

            ‘Look, I’m not good at talking to people like you were, plus I am the loner here, who would want to talk to me. Let’s not forget, I see the dead and constantly hear voices in my head,’ Lucy sighed as she shut her locker.

            Lucy walked out onto the school field, her sketchbook pulled to her chest and her headphones in her ears, she sat down in her usual spot in front of an old oak tree, the leaves turning a reddish brown, as the autumn season was arriving.

            Lucy turned to a page in her sketchbook, on the page is a sketch of the old oak tree, something drew her to the tree, and she wasn’t sure what. Lucy hadn’t realised she was alone until she lifted her head up from her drawing. She had no clue where Jasmine went, but a bit of silence was enough for her. Lucy gave a sigh of relief it’s been awhile since she has enjoyed her own company. But that was short lived as a shadow loomed over Lucy, she looked up from her sketchbook to see Elijah staring down at her.

            ‘Can I help you?’ Lucy asked, an annoyed tone in her voice.

            Elijah said nothing and sat down next to her. Lucy felt uncomfortable, thoughts running thorough her head as to why all of a sudden has he chose to sit with her? and why has he decided to bunk off the next lesson as she did?  Lucy daren’t ask him, she’d only just met him. It wasn’t long before Elijah spoke.

            ‘Your friend seemed a bit upset,’ Elijah spoke, looking at nothing in particular, he had no facial expression on his face, while Lucy looked shocked. Somebody else could see Jasmine, someone other than her.

            ‘You can see her?’ Lucy sputtered, staring at Elijah.

            He didn’t speak after that, which frustrated Lucy, she needed to know how, needed to know why.

            Elijah stood up, still silent and walked away, Lucy wouldn’t have it. She stood up her belongings forgotten and ran after him, Lucy then grabbed onto his arm, halting him in his steps.

            ‘You can’t just say something like that and walk off,’ Lucy snapped. Elijah turned around to face her, a smirk on his face.

            The air once still now began to stir as they locked eyes, Lucy felt something rise through her, she felt a tingling sensations in her fingers, she let go of Elijah’s arm and was about to step back only for him to hold her hand and interlock their fingers together, he leaned closer and whispered in her ear.

            ‘Don’t fight it.’

            He held on to Lucy’s hand quite tightly as the wind began to move faster around them and bright light started to burst from them.

            ‘Let go of me!’ Lucy shouted trying to pull her hand from Elijah’s grip, he wouldn’t let go so she resorted to giving him a slap across the face.

            The bright lights ceased, and the wind returned to nothing, Lucy and Elijah were both breathing heavily.

            ‘What the hell was that!’ Lucy demanded.

            ‘We can’t talk here, meet me after school here,’ he gave her a note with an address Lucy knew all too well and soon left.

            ‘You can’t talk here but yet that crazy thing just happened,’ Lucy called out to him, she went back to the oak tree to collect her stuff, but not before being startled by Jasmine.

            ‘Where the bloody hell have you been?’ Lucy asked, Jasmine was pale, if you could even say that about a ghost.

            ‘Where did you go, it was dark so very dark.’ Jasmine whispered cradling herself.

            ‘Jasmine, what happened, I have been here the whole time.’ Lucy shivered as the air around Jasmine became colder.

            ‘I remember talking to you, then seeing the new boy Elijah, then it turned dark and I didn’t know where I was, then all of a sudden I was back in the car with my family dying over and over again,’ Jasmine started to cry.

            Lucy had never seen her best friend like this, even when she was alive, she always hid her feelings, she was the strong one out of the two, she wanted to hug her best friend, but she couldn’t. Lucy tried in the past when she first saw Jasmine appeared, she jumped up to hug her best friend only to fall flat on her face.

            ‘Elijah said he could see you was that true?’ Lucy asked.

            Jasmine nodded.

            ‘He stopped me before I could follow you, I was so shocked when someone other than you spoke to me, I didn’t know how to act, all he wanted was to know where you were.’ Jasmine said.

            Lucy began to question Elijah’s motives, but before she could ask Jasmine anymore questions, the bell rang again, signalling another lesson about to start.

            By the time the final bell rang, Lucy was already walking to the address that Elijah, had given her, Jasmine protested about going, saying there was something dangerous about Elijah to which Lucy agreed, but she needed to know more, especially about the bright lights around her.

            Lucy found herself standing outside her mother’s crystal shop, she looked and Jasmine and shrugged.

            ‘Well this is a bit weird, why would he want to meet you at your mums’ shop’ Jasmine said.

            Lucy nodded in agreement as the both went into the shop. A bell chimed signalling that they had entered the shop, Lucy’s mother appeared through beaded curtains.

            ‘Lucy, I didn’t expect you to be here today,’ Lucy’s mother, Kara said

            Kara was dressed in what could only be described as hippie clothing, she was currently wearing a tie-dye purple dress, bare footed with an ankle bracelet, her auburn curls curtain her, but no matter what she wore, Lucy always thought her mother look beautiful.

            ‘Neither did I, but I’m suppose to be meeting someone here today, he’s new and I said I would show him around the town,’ Lucy lied to her mother.

            Kara raised an eyebrow at her daughter, Lucy didn’t know how but her mother always knew when she was lying, but she’d always wait for Lucy to come clean about it.

            ‘And who is this new student?’ Kara asked unboxing a new shipment of quartz crystals.

            ‘His name is Elijah Blackwater,’ Lucy replied, twirling a dreamcatcher that was hung up beside her. She then jumped at her mother breaking one of her new crystals, Lucy rushed to her mother’s aid.

            Lucy crouched down next to her mother helping her pick up the shards of broken crystal, when Kara grabbed her daughter’s arm.

            ‘I want you and Jasmine to go into my office, don’t ask any questions, I’ll explain later,’ Kara whispered.

            Lucy stared at her mother in shock, she opened her mouth to speak, when her mother pointed to the beaded curtains.

            Jasmine stood by the desk while Lucy began pacing.

            ‘Are you sure?’ Jasmine asked concerned for her best friend.

            ‘Yes, she knows you’re here, pretty much think she has known you’ve been with me this whole time,’ Lucy snapped, punching the wall. Her mother finally entered her office.

            ‘You better start explaining!’ Lucy growled at her mother.

            Kara motioned for her daughter to sit down, but Lucy wouldn’t budge, Kara sighed before she began to explain to her daughter.

            ‘To put it simply, you’re a witch,’

            Kara was blunt with her daughter. It was quick and easy like ripping off a plaster. Lucy stared at her mother like she had two heads, she a witch, that can’t be true, a witch is just something from a fairy tale a make a character in a book, she couldn’t possibly be one.

            ‘I know you probably think what I am saying is silly and made up, my dear, but it’s not, your powers are growing fast and becoming more powerful each day, more so that the Blackwater coven have noticed.’ Kara turned and went to her desk. She rummaged through her draws trying to find something in particular.

            Kara let out an ‘aha’ as she pulled out a small trinket box, she then placed it into Lucy’s hands.

            ‘You are special, but you need to stay away from that boy, he is trouble, that whole coven is trouble, they steal other witches’ powers to make their coven stronger.’ Kara pleaded with her daughter.

            ‘How long have you known about Jasmine,’ Lucy demanded to know.

            Kara sighed.

            ‘As soon as she appeared.’ Kara confessed.

            Lucy glared at her mother, she knew all this time but never spoke up, making Lucy feel isolated, to every student in her school she was known as the freak who talks to herself. Lucy stormed out with the trinket box in hand, ignoring her mothers’ calls and not caring even if Jasmine followed her. Lucy was just about to reach the front door of the shop when the windows exploded.

            A scream erupted from Lucy as she fell to the floor to cover herself from the shards. She heard her mother and Jasmine cry out her name. Lucy looked up to see people covered in cloaks, apart from one.

            Lucy’s pale blue eyes locked with Elijah’s dark ones. A smirk was plastered on his face, she shuffled away from the windows.

            A few of the cloaked figures took a step forward only to be blown backwards, Lucy looked behind her to see both her mothers’ arms raised, her eyes glowing.

            ‘Give us the girl!’ one of them shouted.

            ‘You won’t have my daughter,’ Kara bellowed back, she then looked at Lucy.

            ‘You need to get out of here, run and don’t come back, get away from this town, know that I love you and keep that box safe,’ Kara then moved one hand away from the cloaked figures towards the beaded curtain, a portal opened up.

            ‘Go now!’ Kara urged her daughter; tears stained her face as she looked at her daughter one last time before facing the enemy one again.

            Lucy said one last I love you to her mother before jumping into the portal that her mother had summoned. Once through her feet buckled from beneath her, crouching forward she vomited.

            Lucy wiped her mouth as she stood up, looking at her surroundings, she was in the thick of an unknown forest.

            ‘Ugh I am never going through another portal again,’ Jasmine said holding her own stomach.

            Lucy turned around so grateful to see her best friend is still with her, she saw something reflect off the ground from the sun. The trinket box was upside down, opened, and not far from it was a necklace that Lucy presumed was from the box, she lifted it up.

            A deep purple stone hung on a leather strap; Lucy stared deeply at the stone before placing it securely round her neck.

            ‘Where to go from here,’ Lucy asked to nobody in particular.

            The necklace started to levitate from Lucy’s neck. Both Lucy and Jasmine looked at each other.

            ‘This has been such a crazy day and that’s me saying something,’ Jasmine said.

            The girls stood silent for a second and burst into laughter, it helped make the fear disappear for a while.

            The necklace tugged at Lucy’s neck, persistent that she follows it, she didn’t resist it as she walked towards an opening in the forest. A woman stood in the centre, a white dress enveloped her, feet that were bare and a flower crown placed upon her head. Lucy thought this woman looked stunning.

            ‘Lucy Rivia, Jasmine Grave, Welcome. We have been expecting you.’ The woman had a powerful voice.

            ‘You can see me?’ Jasmine asked.

            ‘Yes child, I can. Like I said we have been expecting you, now follow me,’ The woman answered Jasmine and started to walk away, Lucy and Jasmine, decided it was better for them to follow her instead of being stuck in this forest.

            They arrived by a stream, the woman raised her hand and spoke an unusual language, the air around them rippled as the three of them stepped forward.

Both girls were in awe as in front of them stood a small village, Lucy took another step forward when she heard Jasmine gasp in pain.

            ‘What’s going on?’ Lucy asked the woman as she watched her best friend, kneel to the floor in screaming.

            ‘Just wait my child.’ The woman replied.

            What felt like hours for Jasmine was only minutes, the woman pushed Lucy towards her friend, Lucy felt helpless for Jasmine, there was nothing she can do to ease her pain.

‘Grab her hand.’ The woman ordered.

‘I can’t touch her.’ Lucy shot back at the unknown woman, but she continued to urge Lucy to grab Jasmine’s hand.

            Lucy knelt down next to her friend, she hesitantly reached out her hand, ready to feel nothing there, but as she grabbed Jasmine’s hand, she felt the softness of flesh. Lucy gasped as did Jasmine, both girls immediately grabbed each other in a hug they had waited for and needed for so long.

            ‘Come now there is much to discuss.’ The woman gestured the two girls once again to follow her.

            They came to what looked like a village hall, except in the middle was a thorn throne. The woman sat on the throne and crossed her leg over the other. Lucy and Jasmine stood in front of her.

            ‘My name is Talia, I am the keeper of the stones, I am here to show you your powers Lucy and to teach Jasmine they ways of being a guardian,’ the woman, Talia, announced.

            ‘I just found out I am a witch, I am now on the run from a coven that I didn’t even know existed, my best friend who was dead has now magically come back to life. My mother is probably dead and I’m here to learn about my powers, just excuse me while I take this all in.’ Lucy bellowed; her exhaustion overwhelmed her as she fainted.

            Two men appeared as Talia ordered them to take Lucy to a guest chamber. Talia and Jasmine were the only two now in the room.

            ‘You know your duties; I presume Kara spoke to you about them.’ Talia asked Jasmine.

            ‘I feel bad for lying to her all this time, but yes Kara told me what I have to do.’ Jasmine replied.

            ‘We must protect Lucy at all costs, the prophecy cannot come true. The Blackwater boy shall not have her.’ Talia spoke her voice laced with venom at the mention of the Blackwater boy.

            Jasmine bowed her head at Talia and took her leave, but not before asking where the guest chamber was located. She climbed up some stairs, she was greeted with the men took Lucy as they opened the double doors to the room.

            The room was lavished in a white and gold theme. Lucy looked small in comparison to the massive bed they had laid her on, Jasmine headed to the balcony and looked out towards the peaceful village and gave a sigh.

            ‘I wonder how long this will last.’ She said to no one in particular.

            Jasmine walked away from the balcony and towards her sleeping friend, giving her a small smile.

            ‘I’m sorry Lucy, but I am afraid this is only the beginning of what is about come, I just hope they can prepare you in time.’ Jasmine whispered.

            The peaceful village lay still as just beyond the horizon a dark cloud loomed. Elijah stood just outside Lucy’s hometown borders. With an evil smile upon his face.