Something Wicked This Way Comes

I used to think that fairy tales were make believe. Stories told over and over to children as moral lessons disguised as bed time stories. Before my parents died, I thought that magic and dragons and witches were just imagined up by authors one day, but that was before I stepped into their world.

It was a cold day, the ground was wet and muddy with every step I took I could feel droplets of mud splash the skirt of my jumper. I was dressed in black because I was still mourning, being an orphan is one thing, but being destitute and an orphan is completely different. None of my relatives wanted to take me in for the simple fact they didn’t have enough money. I looked up at the social worker, leading me forward with a cold and distant look in her eyes, her long skirts were worn and dirty, her skin looked the same. I bit my lip and tried not to stare, adjusting my blouse out of nervous habit.

The sky was dark grey, almost charcoal as the clouds blocked out the sun. The wind was cold as it whipped across my face and I stared at the black boots the social worker was wearing trying to hide my cheeks in the collar of my coat; small droplets of rain, usually harmless came harshly down like icy razor blades and all I wanted to do was go back to three months ago when I was sitting by the fire on a warm cotton rug at my Mother's feet, listening to her hum as she sewed. That was her job, she was a seamstress, and a rather good one at that. She would bring home the most wonderful, expensive fabrics and let me touch them, teaching me their names and how to sew them. I closed my eyes and I could almost feel the warmth of the fire and my mother’s soft voice humming through the wind.

“Emily!” the social worker snapped as she grabbed my wrist, I opened my eyes and everything was gone, the warmth, the singing, everything. I looked back at her, her eagle-like nose and dull eyes narrowing at me as I stopped. “If you are to be raised a lady you must act as one, you must keep your mind at the present, clear and focused!” She lectured and I nodded along, perhaps over eagerly because I just wanted to start walking to get out of the cold. “Now, the Hunter Estate should be near the next house, stay close dear,” She continued walking, I felt my teeth beginning to involuntarily chatter and as the sky darkened into black, orange lights lit up in the windows of houses, like a million teeth of a jack-o-lantern.

We stopped as the social worker, read the address on an old iron cast gate, checked a piece of paper in her hand then checked the address again before smiling and pushing the gate open. It creaked eerily as she pressed it, accompanying the howling, icy wind. I was certain that vampires or werewolves were going to come out and attack as we walked through a unkept lawn towards an old, dark Victorian. The social worker was braver than I as she knocked on the door three times and rang the bell. I stared at the sky and bit my lip wondering what I should be doing, my nerves and thoughts ran rampant in my mind. What if he didn’t like me? What if he didn’t want to take me just like all the others and I would end up in an orphanage, truly alone in this world.

“You may enter,” A man’s voice echoed from somewhere, I looked up and saw an old speaker attached the crowning in the corner of the porch. The social worker walked in after sighing and curled her index finger, cuing me to follow her. I walked in and saw magnificent artifacts lining the walls and filling the rooms while commonplace things, like couches and other furniture were covered in white sheets, clearly unused.

“Whoa,” I smiled, looking up at the fossil of an old dinosaur, looking down at me. My voice seemed to echo through every room, the walls relatively bare and wooden floors creaking under our feet. Our boots heels clicking with every step as I heard a man muttering and something thumping.

“Oh dear me,” The social worker whispered to herself before she called out, “excuse me, Mr. Hunter, but where are you?” My eyes studied paintings hung in the hallway walls, an excitement brewed inside me and squashed the the nerves and doubts. My fingers traced a crystal ball sitting on an old piece table in the hallway and my eyes widened as it light up a light pink, but quickly died out as soon as the social worker turned around.

“Oh, in the study, just take your next left; almost there my dears!” The man’s voice laughed, it was very deep but soothing at the same time. I followed the social worker and we turned left and my eyes widened and I let out a laugh. I looked up to see ceilings so high they looked like the sky. A fireplace took its place in the center of the wall, painting the room with an orange hue. I smiled upon seeing thousands and thousands of books on a book case took up the entire wall. “Welcome! Welcome! Please do come in and warm yourselves by the fire!” A rather average man, with an average face with round spectacles came out from behind a stack of books. He was about five foot nine in height and semi-lanky, brown eyes that shone as he removed his glasses.

“Mr. Augustus Hunter, I presume?” The social worker inquired leaning forward and pulling out a small envelope and holding it out for Mr. Hunter, I stared in awe of him, in a like khaki suit, wearing a vest and pocket watch and everything. This room alone was the size of the last house I lived in, I saw a small ferret dashing across the floor startling the social worker. “Oh good lord! Rat!” She cried out and I giggled, holding my hand out and crouching down towards the ferret.

“That is a correct assumption, Doctor Augustus Hunter, at your service,” He smiled as he took the envelope from the social worker’s hand and quickly read over it, before sighing at the bottom and dripping candle wax over the envelope and resealing it with his ring. I looked on curiously as the ferret came over sniffing my hands tentatively before squeaking and climbing into my hands. I giggled and gently pet its head with two fingers before looking up to see the social worker looking completely disgusted at me. Even at six years old, I knew the house was special; a warm feeling came from entering its doors. It was home.

“Well, that’ll be all, I think I shall best be leaving,” The social worker snatched back the envelope and practically dashed out the door. The ferret let out another squeak and I pet him, giggling slightly. I looked over to the man, he smiled and walked towards me with his hands behind his back.

“He seems to like you, very good judge of character weasels are,” He smiled patting the top of my dirty head and frowned slightly looking at me. “Good Lord child, have they been feeding you? You look like a slight breeze could carry you away at any moment!” He stood up and started calling out for a Mrs. Wilson, weaving his way through stacks of books six feet tall.

My jaw dropped as I looked at my thin hands wondering what I was supposed to look like, all the kids in the Orphanage looked like this, the weasel looked at me and squeaked before scurrying off and a plump, petite woman bustled through the door with bright red cheeks. I ducked down behind a couch and peeked around the side of it.

“Yes, Doctor, you needn’t call for me incessantly! I can’t transport magically from room to room, give me time!” She scolded him, her blue eyes were large and angry, but not unkind. She noticed me and her expression softened me as she walked closer to me, her pale blue skirts swaying with every move, her white blouse sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and a cream apron was tied tightly to her waist. “My what a lovely young girl, Doctor!” She smiled.

I smiled back, slowly standing up realizing I didn’t have to hide myself. In that moment I knew they wouldn’t send me back or beat or starve me. I smiled shyly and slowly curtsied, but I was still too afraid to speak yet. Mrs. Wilson held out a hand to me and smiled, ushering me closer to her. “I presume you are Miss Emily! The doctor told me you were coming, I’ve prepared a room just for you! Would you like to see it before supper?” She asked with a kind tone, I shyly nodded my hand.

“Emma, my parents called me Emma,” I finally whispered, looking up at a kind smile. A familiar feeling warmed every inch of me as I looked around this strange place that I had never been to before, but I felt home.

After eating a warm meal I walked through the halls, my eyes locking on the crystal ball in the hallway. I wondered if it really did light up into a pink color or if I had just imagined it, tired from the long journey to get her. My footsteps echoed loudly through the empty corridor, as I got closer an anxiety pulled my stomach. I raised my hand over it and a glow appeared, but this time it was a pale yellow, nearly white.

“Whoa!” I whispered, my eyes widening as I watched the light grow, casting the shadows away and twisting and turning, almost dancing beneath my fingertips. It almost looked like flames, flickering, but it didn’t burn my skin. It simply tickled and gave me a warm feeling.

“Ah, I see you’ve discovered Azarath Ball,” Doctor Hunter chuckled to himself, I looked over to my hand, but the light didn’t go out as it had with the social worker. I lowered my head waiting for a scolding from my new guardian but instead, I felt his hand gently pat my head as he lowered himself to my level. “I have a secret to tell you, this ball can detect an ability in people, a special ability that you and I both share,” Doctor Hunter laughed as he lifted the light and it shrank into the size of a golf ball in his hand. He closed his hand gently and reopened it, revealing the light transformed into the shape of a blossom. My eyes widened in amazement and I giggled touching it gently.

“Your mother was like us too, but she decided to leave the magical world for your father. Claire was like that, always breaking the rules! I’m here to take care of you because the humans here, don’t understand your ability. They don’t know how to teach you, but there is another realm, come.” Doctor explained, gently placing the light back inside the little ball before walking towards the front door. He tapped three times on the old wooden door before turning the rusted door knobs.

He opened it and in front of me wasn’t the dirty city I had grown up in, instead it was a bustling and colorful town, I looked up and saw two moons in the sky. There were people riding what looked like vespas, but hovered over the ground and into the sky. I remained speechless, even the air seemed sweeter. “What is this place?” I finally managed, looking over towards a hill where an elegant and majestic castle sat. Music was playing, traveling from the center of town and I could hear laughter and singing. I turned to face the doctor with a fond smile on his lips.

“This is Montenegro, the kingdom, not the country in Europe. This is a separate world, it was created after the witch craft trials. It is a safe haven for people with special gifts like ours, you’ll learn all about it soon enough,” Doctor chuckled, patting my head again before he shut the doors. “For now, it’s off to bed with you, Miss Emma!” He ushered me towards Mrs. Wilson, who showed me to my room. It was a grand room with long white drapes and a canopy bed. After I had washed my face and put on a nightgown laid out for me, Mrs. Wilson came in.

“How are you doing, Emma. You’ve had a very busy day,” She smiled, her warm hand holding mine gently, I grinned looking out the window at the two moons shining through the windowpane and knew it was real. The stories my mother had told me, but my father insisted were fairy tales. They were real, they were of this land and these people.

“I’m fine... Am... I really special?” I whispered, hesitating to ask. Since my parents had died, I was just another orphan no one would take in. The opposite of special, and if you hear those words long enough, you believe them yourself.

“Indeed you are, now, close your eyes and go to sleep,” Mrs. Wilson instructed and with those words it was as if the whole day had caught up to me, my eyelids were heavier and I let out a tiny yawn as my vision grew blurry. “Pleasant dreams, my dear.”

That was eight years ago, since then Doctor and Mrs. Wilson had been like parents to me. You’d think growing up with magical powers would really nice, but when everyone else in the house can use magic too, the fun is drastically decreased. I would try to cast an invisibility spell to sneak out and explore the town only to have Mrs. Wilson reverse it with an effortless wave of the hand.

I sat on my bed with an unlit candle, trying to practice lighting and putting out fire with my fingers, but every time I lightly pinched the cotton wick the only resulted in a puff of smoke. I coughed and sighed, walking across the room to open the window, I rested my arm on the window sill and looked down on the town below me. Montenegro was so green and open, as if never ended. Birds sang and the sweet morning dew still rested on the blades of grass, it was a beauty I would never tire of.

“Emma! Emma! Emma!” Mrs. Wilson came bustling into my room, screaming up a storm and ripping my from my thoughts, I whipped around and tilted my head. Mrs. Wilson was out of breath and her cheeks were red, she had clearly run quite a distance. Mrs. Wilson never ran, my eyes widened with worry for a minute.

“Mrs. Wilson! What’s wrong? Is it Uncle?” I asked, jumping up and my back straightening as I started towards the door, instead Mrs. Wilson caught my arm and continued huffing and puffing while shaking her head. I raised my eyebrows, trying to be patient as she caught her breath again.

“The Doctor is fine, here it’s finally come. My own little Emma, has been selected and called on,” She spoke with tears in her eyes, still quite breathy as she pulled an envelope from her apron. My lips curled into an excited smile as I saw the seal on the envelope. I pulled it out of her hands and ran over to my bed.

“From Princeps? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I giggled, ripping the envelope open, its carefully handwritten calligraphy read my name. I quickly unfolded the letter and my eyes scanned the words as I mumbled along, “Dear Miss Hunter,
As a child of the craft, we have been watching your progress in magic. We are pleased to inform you that due to your skill you have been called upon to join Princeps Academy at the beginning of the fall term!” My volume got louder as I read before jumping up and hugging Mrs. Wilson tightly. “I got chosen! I got chosen! Me!” I squealed as Mrs. Wilson danced around with me, the two of us laughing loudly.

Right now, you’re probably really confused, wondering what all this stuff about being chosen and Princeps and magic and, well, everything. I should start by saying that in Montenegro, there are different kinds of magical ability, some people can use spells, some people control objects, some people can read minds, others are healers, it goes on and on. The Royal Conference is a group of aristocrats that watch and sense the ability of children with different abilities and sort them into schools.

There are different level of schools, Princeps is the best. It’s reserved for those with the most promise and ability, all the great witches and wizards went to Princeps. Everyone wants to get in, seriously, everyone. Now there are five other schools, but there are sone kids that don’t get called into any schools. Those kids have to go into remedial schools, which is like repeating kindergarden. Its embarrassing and no one wants to do it. The worst part of this system, is that the Conference keeps sorting people until the week before school, which means every fourteen-year-old in Montenegro spends their entire summer with their nerves shot and on edge. So, now that you’re all caught up I’ll continue with that fateful day.

“Have you told Uncle yet?” I asked, clutching the letter to my chest, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might leap out. I kissed Mrs. Wilson on the cheek before dashing madly down the hall and into my Uncle’s office, he looked up with a smirk. “I got into Princeps!” I grinned proudly, holding up the letter in my hand as proof.

“I know, I saw it!” He grinned holding a magic ball under his hands. That was Uncle Augustus’ gift, foresight. Though, apparently it was only convenient to him. Witches and wizards with the gift of foresight are called seers, but there aren’t many of them, so they’re sought after which is why I was home schooled and Uncle mainly stays home. Mostly, he spent his time reading his books and studying artifacts and history. I suppose with the ability to see the future, the past is more exciting. My jaw dropped as I raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean you saw it? Don’t you think you could have told me? I was stressing out about this for weeks!” I yelled, but I couldn’t get angry I was far too happy to be going to the school of my dreams. It was the school my mother had gone to before she met my father and abandoned this life of magic. Although, in retrospect I’m sure she had used a touch of magic getting her work done when she was overwhelmed.

“Well, isn’t that part of what makes this moment so exciting?” Uncle asked, looking up from his book once again. I turned the page to see a list of things I needed: a uniform, books and supplies, I bit my lip looking up. “We have enough money, I’ve taken on a few clients since I’ve seen your acceptance letter,” he added on returning to his book. I opened my mouth to yell at him, he always looked into my future and meddled, but this time I was too grateful.

“Thank you, Uncle Augustus!” I grinned clutching the letter to my still racing heart.

“Do you best, why don’t you go get your uniform with Mrs. Wilson now?” He smiled as the doorbell rang. It was three short notes, I knew it was the doorbell for the non-magical worlds. I sighed and walked back into my room. “Hurry now, I’ll have to cast to open the door for our visitors,” Uncle chuckled, I noticed the proud look in his eyes even though he had been acting so nonchalant. I nodded and grabbed my coat and across the body bag before searching for Mrs. Wilson.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, the kind of day where the wind blows a perfect, mild breeze that shakes the trees. It was as if the word was in perfect harmony, I sighed contently as a smile crossed my lips, feeling the sun’s warmth on my cheeks. “Ah, here we are Woolen Oak’s Academy Uniforms,” Mrs. Wilson read off the sign hanging above a hidden shop on the outskirts of town. We opened the door as a bell chimed, the atmosphere in the store was completely different, there were puffs of sparkling dust flying in the air and people running rampant.

“I think we should’ve waited a day or two,” I muttered, my eyes wide. I had never seen this many people in one place before. We descended the stairs into the madness, I kept my lips clamped shut as I waited for Mrs. Wilson to flag down a sales clerk. There was someone using a super speed charm, but Mrs. Wilson caught him with ease.

“If you don’t mind, sir. My young niece needs a uniform!” She smiled kindly.

“We’re sold out of Blue Mountain, Tokimeki and Gratin,” The sales clerk responded shortly, but I didn’t take it personally it looked like a madhouse in here. “What Academy were you summoned to?” He asked, his eyes looking over to me.

“Princeps,” I gleamed with pride, it was my first time saying and my stomach flipped with excitement. He looked shocked for a moment before he scanned my body carefully and dashed off again. “Mrs. Wilson-” I began but before I could finish the sale clerk had returned with a navy blue blazer, a blue and green plaid skirt with two white undershirts, a pair of brown loafers and a blue and green striped tie. I grinned taking them from him.

“Not that many Princeps students from around here, we had plenty in stock. Go over to try it on and one of the fairies will help you with alterations,” He said, he sounded unimpressed and uninterested as he zoomed off again. I suppose I should get used to that feeling of rejection. My mother had always told me that every victory came with a fight. I walked over behind a curtain and tried on my uniform, it was a little loose on me and I stepped out.

“Watch it!” A high pitch voice called out, I turned around looking for someone I might have offended instead a blue ball of sparkles came up into my eye level, I saw it was a fairy and I smiled. “Yeah, yeah, too loose. Coming right up,” He rudely muttered keeping his arms crossed as he flicked a wand the size of a tooth pick towards me. I started coughing as a thin dust coated me. I turned into the mirror and saw that my uniform fit snuggly and even flattered my body. I turned to Mrs. Wilson who gasped with a proud smile.

“Go and change, I’ll pay for everything just meet me in the front,” She smiled kindly. I nodded and walked back into the curtain quickly changing back into the simple dress I had been wearing. I wrapped my fingers around the curtain only to have someone’s hand on top of mine. I stepped back and blushed.

“Sorry,” I muttered picking up my folded uniform and hurriedly placing them into the box they had come in. I peeked from the corner of my eye and saw a tall guy with shaggy dark brown hair and bright yellow eyes sighing. He had tanned skin and an arrogant face, but he was attractive. “Excuse me,” I said trying to leave the fitting room, I looked up into his eyes and felt a chill down my spine.

“Princeps, huh? Figures,” He growled in a low, but oddly smooth voice. He pushed past me and slid the curtain shut violently, my eyes widened. What an ass, I thought to myself as I weaved through the bustling crowd to find Mrs. Wilson waiting patiently by the door. I didn’t mention the jerk I had met in the fitting room, it wasn’t even worth mentioning.

“People really don’t like the kids who get into Princeps, do they?” I sighed, I clenched my lips shut as I realized that I had been thinking out loud. Mrs. Wilson’s eyes saddened for a bit before she smiled sweetly, gently rubbing my back as we returned to the house.

“The people who will become your friends won’t care where you go to school, I suppose you could say it weeds out the jerks,” Mrs. Wilson smiled, before lightly brushing her lips in an awkward movement, “pardon my French, dear.”


“Mrs. Wilson, I don’t think jerk is actually a swear word,” I giggled, my mood already lightened. She laughed along with me as we made our way through the city streets back home, it made me nervous to think that in a few weeks I would be living in a dorm room in the capital. I would miss home.