Of Magic USUK

Chapter 9

As my green eyes meet my sister's, I know what happens next. I barely catch a glimpse of the collapsed body of the headmaster, hoping she's merely unconscious before a hand clamps over my eyes and I feel the pull of magic moving me. Not knowing what else to do, for she is much more powerful than I am, I let out a harsh scream, feeling my throat and lungs burn with the effort, and it quickly turns into a cough that has me doubling over in pain. 

"That was stupid," she says. "We've already arrived."

I open my eyes, wincing at my surroundings. It's the old castle, where I used to live before my heritage was discovered and the kingdom was torn apart by rebellious groups with nothing to lose. "Why do you still live here, Alice?" I ask, watching with a wince as she steps into the light.

Her blood-colored hair is long, done up in pigtails that somehow make her even more threatening in a Wednesday-from-The-Addams-Family sort of way. Her green eyes, framed by a thin pair of wire glasses are lazily half-lidded but riddled with fury that is unmatched by any other living thing. She's wearing a black Lolita dress, finished off with a small top hat and thigh-high combat boots. She looks so much different than when I last saw here, blonde hair with a smile and in a bright blue dress. Her white bat-like wings are folded behind her and her sharp incisors stick out from her lips, despite how they're closed.

"I don't answer to you anymore," she returns haughtily, sitting down in the throne that rests behind her and crossing her long, slender legs. 

"We both know that," I deadpan, feeling my feathers ruffle in aggravation. "And we both know that I can't give you what you want."

"I disagree," Alice states simply, tilting her head with that innocent smile that sends chills up one's spine. "Mother said that you held the key, and I need to know what that means."

I sigh, shaking my head and looking at her pleadingly. "Don't you understand that, even if I were able to give you the key, there is nothing left to rule over. Our people are few and far between, let alone enough for someone to rule over!"

Her eyes sharpen at my tone, and suddenly, a thorny vine, covered in crimson roses wraps around my leg, making me bleed almost instantly. "Watch your tone, brother. Relatives or not, I won't be spoken to in such a voice."

I laugh bitterly. "Who would respect someone that's lineage includes Tom Riddle himself?"

"What people don't know won't hurt them," she says simply, shrugging her delicate shoulders without  a care in the world. "Besides, we belong to the same gene pool, my dearest little twin. You wouldn't dare out me, because you'd die if that little boy toy of yours ever found out."

"You underestimate how distasteful you are," I return, spitting at her feet angrily. "That's like saying that a poisoned drink won't hurt the victim as long as they don't know the cup has been tainted."

"You speak like mother did," she comments, gaze hardening as another vine erupts from the ground and wraps around my neck, just enough to make it hard to speak. "I always hated her." She rises from the throne, walking around as her heels echo through the empty, barren castle. "Now, let's avoid anything unnecessary and make it simple for your feeble mind." She slams a pale hand upon the vine that's wrapped around my neck, causing the thorns to dig into my skin, and I cough and wince at the warm liquid that snakes down my neck. "Where is the key, and how do I use it?"

"I...don't...know." I glare at her, mustering as much fire as I can into the gaze.

"Now, now, Arthur," she lectures, mocking me. "You know that's not what I want to hear." She walks in circles around me, smirking to herself at something I'm probably better off not knowing about. "Make this easier on yourself. Tell me what I want to know, and I'll release you, never bother you again. Just tell me where the key is!"