Moonflower

 Rie washed her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She could clearly see the dark shadows under her eyes. She hardly had any sleep last night, or the last three nights. The nightmare kept on coming back to her. It just became even worse these past few days. It’s like she returned to that moment. That faithful moment that changed her and her sister’s life forever.

Rie dried her face using the towel hanging on her shoulder and then walked out of the bathroom. She weakly sat down on the bed. She no longer knew what was happening. Rie was still drinking tea made of flax seeds every night. Flax seed was one of the major ingredients for a sleeping potion.

That’s why she couldn’t understand why she was still struggling to sleep. It had been hard for her to sleep since she was young. The solution her aunt thought of was to make her drink tea made from flax seeds. It was effective since she slept much more comfortably. So, what exactly changed?

She needed to contact their aunt. The other would definitely know what to do. Maybe Rie should ask for a dose of sleeping potion instead, since drinking tea made from flax seeds seemed to not work anymore. The only problem was, Rie couldn’t contact her using normal ways.

The other rarely brought modern communication device with her. According to her, why would she need those devices when she could use other methods to contact people she wanted to contact?

Why could she do that, you ask? Because she’s a witch. And Rie didn’t mean that to call her aunt names. She meant it as it was. Her aunt was not human, but a witch.

Rie couldn’t contact her using the paper charm she left for her and Eri. Because the barrier surrounding the academy couldn’t only protect them from outside harm, it could also detect any kind of magic that was used inside the school grounds. And that’s one thing she couldn’t let happen. No matter how simple the magic was, Rie could never let it be traced back to her or to her aunt.

It’s because her aunt was no ordinary witch. She’s a rogue witch. Which meant that she didn’t belong to any coven that was under the jurisdiction of House of Hecate. And coven witches didn’t have any good opinions regarding rogue witches. Aside from that, Rie also couldn’t let anyone to know the real family she and Eri belonged to. It wouldn’t be safe for them. Especially for her sister.

But she really needed to speak to her aunt. Rie felt like she would go insane if another night passed, and that nightmare continued to bombard her. She could only think of one way. She would contact her outside the academy.

With that in mind, she stood up and changed clothes. She took a small box from one drawer. Rie opened it and took a piece of paper charm. She folded it and put it inside the pocket of her pants.

Before Rie could go out of the academy, she needed to talk to the head of the dormitory first. It’s a good thing that today was Sunday. It would be easier for her to get permission to leave.

She looked at her wristwatch. It’s only eight in the morning but she was sure that the dormitory head was already awake. She walked out of her room. But before she went to the dormitory head, she opened the door of the room opposite hers.

It was Eri’s room. Their two rooms in the dormitory were inside a suite, sharing a common room. While each of their rooms had their own bathroom. When Rie saw her sister was sleeping deeply, she closed the door gently.

Rie walked down the ground floor and went straight to the dormitory head’s office. When she was standing in front of the door, she took a deep breath before knocking.

“Pojd’!” said a voice from inside the room, telling her to come in.

She smiled a bit. Her guess was correct. The head was indeed already awake. Rie opened the door and walked inside. She saw a middle-aged woman arranging the books on the shelf.

“Miss Snow,” the other said when she saw Rie. “Do you need something?”

“Miss Nováková, may I ask for permission to go out?”

The other put down the book she was holding. “May I ask why you wanted to go out?”

It did not surprise Rie that the dormitory head had asked that. The academy had a strict policy regarding going outside the school premises. It’s for the safety of every student here. The only immediate way to go out of the academy during a non-school day was to get permission from the dormitory head.

“I needed to go to the hospital. I kind of injured my left wrist and I’m not sure if it’s sprained or fractured. I want a doctor to have a look at it as soon as possible.

“That’s terrible!” the woman exclaimed in a worried tone before walking up to her, as if ready to hold Rie’s wrist.

“I’d really appreciate it if you don’t touch it, Ma’am. It’s kind of painful,” Rie said, tactically pulling back the hand that was supposed to be ‘injured’.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the other said, no longer trying to hold her hand. “But I think it’s better if we just request for a healing potion from the Headmistress instead of going to the hospital. Your injury will definitely heal faster.”

“Ma’am, although my aunt enrolled my sister and I here for safety reasons, our parents didn’t really trust supernatural beings. They didn’t want us to be reliant on potions and stuff. They said it’s still better to have faith in modern medicine. I just want to honor their memory. That’s why I don’t really want to use any potions. No offense meant to the Headmistress, of course.”

Rie almost cringed while saying that. She was getting better and better at lying as times passed by. The school thought that her parents died in a car accident. Which, of course, was not true. It was much bloodier than that.

“I understand. Then, I’ll just go with you to the hospital,” the dormitory head said in an understanding tone.

“No need!” Rie quickly said. Then, she noticed that the way she said that was forceful. So she quickly calmed herself. “I mean, I couldn’t possibly impose on you.”

“Nonsense. How could I let our academy’s top student to go to the hospital on her own? I know that this is your last year here, but until you graduate, you’re still one of my charges,” Miss Nováková said with a smile. “Now, wait outside. I will just get my coat.”

Rie could only force herself to smile. “Thank you, Ma’am.”

Now, this was a complication she did not expect.

***

RIE silently looked outside the car window. She was watching other vehicles passing by. The old town of Prague still favored cars on land. In today’s time, people usually used flying cars that were being powered by electricity. Even with the appearance of supernatural beings in the world, the rapid development of technology still didn’t stop.

In fact, because of the presence of these supernatural beings, humans just became more determined in inventing new things or making the existing technology even more advanced. Their inventions ranged from everyday items and appliances to industrial weapons.

Maybe they thought that it’s the only way they could fight against these supernatural beings. But if there’s something these humans could be proud of, then those were their intelligence, ingenuity, and their uncanny ability to survive.

In just a few moments, they would soon arrive at the hospital. But Rie still couldn’t think of how she should get away from Miss Nováková. Now she’s kind of regretting why she gave this ‘hospital’ excuse. She could have thought of something that wouldn’t let the dormitory head worry, but also allow her to go out of the school grounds without a hitch. She could only blame her lack of sleep for this.

But things had already happened. She could only live with the stupid she made. Rie would just make some excuse along the way. It seemed like the other would believe her whatever she said, anyway.

Of course, this was not because she was looking down at Miss Nováková. It’s mostly because, just like the other said, she’s the top student of her year. And since she and Eri enrolled here in St. Marketa at the age of nine, she had nine years of being responsible and trustworthy to back up whatever excuse she might come up with.

“Your aunt hadn’t visited for months now, is she very busy?” the dormitory head suddenly asked.

Rie turned to her and tried to smile. “Yes. She’s travelling around the world right now.”

Rie couldn’t possibly tell the other that the woman visiting her and Eri wasn’t actually their aunt. It was her aunt’s friend who was living in Prague. Their aunt only asked the other a favor to pose as their guardian. But recently, the other got married and moved to Canada. That’s why she hadn’t visited Rie and Eri as of late. It’s a good thing that the both of them would soon graduate. Or it would definitely look suspicious.

The reason their aunt asked someone to pose as their guardian instead of going with them herself was because she couldn’t be seen by the Headmistress of St. Markéta. If that were to happen, the Headmistress would definitely find out her and Eri’s real identities. And the House of Hecate would surely take the both of them into custody.

Rie once asked her aunt if that was the case, then why did she have to enroll her and Eri at St. Markéta? Wouldn’t it be much better if the three of them were together? The answer she gave Rie was they wouldn’t be much safer with her. She also said that it’s good for them to have anonymity and live a normal life.

That’s why she enrolled them at St. Markéta despite some things. Because the pros definitely outweighed the cons. It was the safest place for her and Eri. No one would dare trifle against the Heamistress, Svetlana Kramarová—one of the four Grand Mages. They were the four strongest witches and wizards and they could act independently from the Grand Meister of the House of Hecate.

“But she will come for you and your sister’s graduation, že jo?” the dormitory head asked again. It’s because they would graduate from high school soon.

“Yes, she wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said, blatantly lying.

Their aunt became their legal guardian nine years ago when their father died. The other was their mother’s only sister. Their mother died of childbirth and their father had no other living relative. That’s why their aunt was their only living relative. It was really hard at first because she was still traumatized by what happened to their father. And then, suddenly, they had to live with a woman they barely knew.

After a month, their aunt immediately brought them to Prague, straight to St. Markéta. It was really hard for her and Eri to adjust. They were barely nine back then, and she suddenly put them in a place they knew nothing about. They didn’t even know the language being used. The language they knew was English because they grew up in London’s countryside. It took years before they fully learned Czech. It was hard, but they endured it all. Because they knew that’s the only way they could be safe.

“We’re here,” Rie heard Miss Nováková said.

Rie glanced out of the window of the passenger’s seat and saw that they were indeed at the hospital. They both got out of the car after the dormitory head parked it. When they entered the hospital, a hologram of a woman welcomed them. It was saying the things that one should and shouldn’t do inside a hospital.

Now, Rie’s only problem was how she could get away from Miss Nováková without the other being alerted that she was up to something. As she was thinking of excuses, someone suddenly called the dormitory head’s name.

Both of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man probably in his 50s sitting in a liftchair. It’s something similar to a wheelchair, except this one was levitating from the ground. It’s the one used by those who had problems walking.

“Martin, jak se máš?” Miss Nováková asked in an excited tone.

“I’m doing good, Tereza. How about you? What are you doing here?”

“I just accompanied one of our academy’s students.” Then, as if realizing what she really came there to do, Miss Nováková turned to Rie. “Shall we go now to the E.R.?”

Because of the sudden appearance of this man, Rie immediately thought of a viable excuse to give the other. “I’ll just go there on my own, Ma’am. It looks like you have a lot of catching up to do with your friend here,” she said with a smile that’s almost telling the other ‘I’m a good girl, so please believe in me’.

“Well, it’s true that I haven’t seen Martin for a long time now. But are you sure you’ll be alright on your own?” Miss Nováková asked, she looked like she was still hesitating.

“I’ll be fine, Ma’am. Don’t worry,” Rie assured the other.

Finally convinced, the other just said, “Then I’ll wait for you here.”

Rie quickly turned back and started walking before the other changed her mind. Thank you, Mr. Martin!

When she was finally out of the two people’s line of sight, Rie quickly rode into the elevator. It just so happened that there was no one inside.

“Which floor, please?” asked by a machine-like voice in Czech.

“Top floor,” Rie answered.

And the elevator moved upwards. When she reached her destination, she got out and walked straight to the rooftop of the hospital. Once Rie made sure that there was no one around, she took out a paper charm and stuck it on the door.

She then put her hand in front of it and whispered, “Casandra Pontiff.”