Misty Creek (RPDR AU)

XIII

Jonbers motioned to the bottom of the door. Amethyst looked down, eyes wide when seeing water oozing out from underneath it. "What the hell..."

"That's what I'm saying." Peppa mumbled. She put all her strength into twisiting the knob and pulling back against it. Something snapped and it flung open, almost making her fall back as the girls were hit by a gust of cold wind.

Amethyst had never felt so much relief. She went to run back down to find Aura but was stopped by Jonbers quickly grabbing onto her. "Wait..."

Amethyst was confused until she looked down. The stairway was filled with water that threatened to spill right out of the doorframe. Her heart sank. "Th-That can't be possible. There wasn't any sort of water down there..."

The three girls stood in silence. Jonbers kneeled down, touching the water and immediately pulling her hand back. "It's like ice." She said, backing up against Peppa.

Peppa was lost in thought. "I think I may have an idea..." She whispered. "But I don't know if you'll believe it."

Amethyst started to cry again. "I just want Aura back..." She whispered. "I'll do anything to find where she was taken."

Peppa led her and Jonbers out, closing the door tightly. "You might think I'm insane, but come with me."

----

Irene waited until that night to go see her teacher. Luxx clung onto her hand and followed her down the corridor, despite still being sick. She had refused to listen to her girlfriend when she was told to stay in bed, insisting that she was still going to help.

"Why do you think Miss Colby can help?" Luxx asked, shivering as she snuggled herself under Irene's arm.

Irene was quiet, unsure if she should share the teacher's secret. "...Because she knows more than most people think." She said, tightening her arm around Luxx and leading her to the library.

The door was cracked open, dark feathers littering the floor around it. Irene pushed it open fully before closing it behind her and Luxx. She didn't want to risk any other student or teacher hearing their conversation.

"Miss Colby?" She called out for her, staying on the lower level. All the students knew by now that the library doubled as the literature teacher's room since she hardly ever seemed to leave it. Between there and her classroom, Sasha was hardly seen anywhere else. "Are you here?"

Instead of getting a response from her teacher, she got one from the raven that was perched on the stairway to the second level. Irene tried not to groan when she heard it squawk down at her, making Luxx giggle. "Can't I go anywhere without that damn bird?"

Luxx smiled a bit. "Be nice, you're technically the one in her territory now." She said, looking up at the bird who had flown down in front of them and now circled them. "Come on, I think she's trying to lead us."

Irene reluctantly followed the bird up the steps, holding onto Luxx protectively. The books around them went from neatly stacked and organized to looking as if they had been frantically scattered and strewn around. They were all filled with notes and opened to different pages. The only light was from tons of lit candles and the smell of sage grew stronger the more they walked. Irene began to feel uneasy when seeing the different salt circles along the floor.

"I think Miss Colby might be insane..." Luxx whispered, keeping close to her girlfriend's side. Irene nodded a little, even though she knew she wasn't any better.

The raven flew over to a large window. In front of it was a desk, and there sat Sasha. Her head was resting on a pile of stacked papers, a quill in her hand as if she had fallen asleep while writing.