Moonlight Red

Danger

I go to the one place in the entire estate where only my mother could find me; in the wine cellar beneath the estate. I sit at the very back in the far corner where the best and fine aged wine is secluded. I sit on the cold stone floor twirling my wand in between my fingers making three small orbs of light dance circles around one another. Tears stream down my face as I think about what had occurred not too long ago. I could've killed my sister.
Yes, Aristol had struck me first and I had every right to retaliate, but I didn't have to go as far as I did. I'd lost my temper. I had my cacti tentacles squeezing the life out of her and if it wasn't for Zyphire, I probably would've crushed her bones.
Out of all of my siblings, I got along with Aristol the least. She is father's favorite and has always set the standard on how Solana and I were supposed to act. Ever since Mother's passing, Aristol tried to step in and be the female authoritative figure for us, which she sucks at. She's narrow minded, a know-it-all, condescending, and does not have a single nurturing bone in her body. Solana, on the other hand, is actually the calming peacemaker of the family. She always tries to understand and see things from other's perspective, and she's nurturing. And me? I've always been a little rebellious and constantly challenge the societal and traditional norms. I've never been one to fit in the same box as others, and thus, causes my father and I to butt heads. Add on the chaos of today, I know for a fact that I am my father's least favorite child.
The tears continue to roll down my cheeks when I hear a faint pop and some footsteps along the cellar floor. Who else is down here? I stand and call for my light orbs to evaporate. I come out of my corner and follow the sound of the footsteps. I hold out my wand. I see a shadow along the wall and I know it's not mine. Just as I turn the corner of the next row of wine, I hear a voice say, "Calm down, little sis, it's just me". A sigh of relief escapes me as Zyphire comes into view. "I knew I'd find you down here".
I raise a questioning brow. "I followed mom a long time ago when she found you down here. You was upset because Aristol's cat ate your new baby owl". A faint smile appears on my face as I nod, "And I inflated her cat like a balloon and the cat had to go to the vet for a week for deflation. I remember".
Zyphire chuckles. "You can't hide down here forever, you know". I sigh, "I know. I'm just not ready to face all of this. Father is still forcing me to marry Sebastian, and then that tiff with Aristol," I shake my head, "I just can't do this, Zyphire. I can't". Tears began to run down my cheeks again. "I don't want to marry him, and father officially hates me because of what I'd done to his golden child".
Zyphire shakes his head and places both hands on my shoulders. "I get it. That's why I encouraged you to say no at the altar. You need someone who is more compatible and that douche bag is definitely not it. As far as Aristol goes, she'll be fine. Mei healed her, so don't even worry about that". I wipe a tear from my cheek and exhale. "How do I get out of this? What do I do?".
"Do you know the reason why I travel the way that I do?" Zyphire asks. I shake my head no. "Because it is a way for me to learn the real me. What I want, what I need, what I am, and who I am and my true purpose." He says, "maybe getting away from Enchante Isle can help with that".

"What are you saying, Zyphire?".

"I'm saying get the hell out of here and go discover you for yourself. There's more to life than power ranks and arranged marriages. Just promise me one thing, Nia".

"And what is that?" I grimace. Zyphire goes into his pocket and pulls out a folded sheet of parchment and places it in my hands. He smirks, "Don't forget to write".

Night has finally come and I sit in my room staring at my reflection in the mirror. Zyphire's words had sunk in and before I knew it, I had packed a rucksack and enchanted it to make it deep enough to fit things like: enough clothes to last for a few weeks, a couple of spell and potions books, another pair of boots, some lady personals, a small lock box that has my own stash of prepared potions, my wallet, a small sac with my own stash of money just in case my card gets cut off, some bandages, and last but not least, a photo of mom.
Once the bag is packed, I enchant it again to make it smaller; small enough to tie the strings around the belt loops of my jeans. Then, I grab my hooded purple cloak and toss it on. The final thing that I grab is my wand. I waste no time walking into my bedroom Terrance, pulling out my wand, and calling the vines and roots to rise up from the ground. They bind and twist together until they reach the tail of my balcony; forming a ladder. I hop of the rail and quickly climb down. I freak out a little because I didn't realize how high up the second floor was. When I finally make it down to the ground, I call the vines and the roots back into the earth as if the earth was never disturbed. Then, with my wand, I dig a small, but deep hole. I slide the engagement ring off of my finger, toss it in the hole, and bury it. Reason being so my family won't try to use to scry for me. Granted, there are other items that they can use, but the engagement ring would've been a for sure way to definitely locate me.
I make my way to the tall iron gate. "Permetos Exidos," I whisper. The gate swings open on command and I walk through. Once I'm off the estate grounds, the gate swings shut with a loud "CLING". I keep walking until I hit the hit the Main Street of Enchante Isle. A few of the Main Street lamps are illuminated, and I can easily be spotted. "Invisilante Vapurium". I cast a spell to make myself completely invisible and undetectable. Once I'm clear, I step onto the Main Street and make my way towards the village exit.
It takes me about two hours to make it to the village exit and onto the dirt road, and about another two hours when I approach a sign that reads: BEWARE. YOU ARE NOW ENTERING REDVILLE TERRITORY. Redville is the land of the vampires. I pull out the sheet of parchment that Zyphire had given me and stare at it. It's directions to a place called United Topia; a place where all beings live in harmony. He says it's peaceful for the most part and folks can pretty much live how they choose as long as they follow the basic laws there. And according to this parchment, I'd have to go through Redville first before taking any legit short cuts.
The witches and wizards don't necessarily have bad blood with one another. We're not really enemies, but they are tricksters and always have an agenda, and therefore, cannot be trusted. Typically, it would have been more safe to travel these lands during the day because vamps can't really be in the sunlight like that. But because of my current situation, leaving during the night was best.
I exhale and shove the parchment down in my cloak pocket. Keeping my wand close to my person, I press forward into Redville territory. The light of the half moon is bright, so I can see the path before me. The road splits the forest directly down the middle. I keep walking ahead, but remaining alert.
Thirty minutes in. No vampires. So far so good. Or so I thought. Suddenly, I feel pull as if invisible strings are trying to make me veer right and turn to the wood line. I fight it and keep straight. It happens again. This time, trying to pull me to the left. I fight it again and stay walking on the dirt road. What is this? Is this the compulsion that I heard about? Are vampires near? And if so, how can they see me? They can probably sense my magic some how. Vampires have their own gifts as well.
I pull out my wand and whisper a command. "Revelus Apperatus!". Not a second later, four pairs of crimson red eyes were looking at me; two on each side of the wood line. I watch as four vampires step onto the main the road about seven feet in front of me. Four vampire men. Very good looking. Tall. And wearing the look of dark hunger. "Well. Well. Well. Look what we have here, fellas," the lead vampire says with a sneer, "what is a pretty little witch like you doing in our neck of the woods?".

He can see me? Shit...I'm in trouble...