The Broken Angel & Her Overprotective Brothers

[Flashback - ]

Nightfall Academy ~

"I don't think it's a good idea." Emily could not help but whisper as she tried to keep herself hidden in the shadows.

"Em, please stop demotivating us. Even I'm getting scared now." Shane whispered back as he stood right in front of her.

"You are scared not because of my words but because you are starting to realize that this idea of yours sucks." She mumbled back as she stared at the emerald ring on her index finger, praying for Shadow to hurriedly return to her from whatever place he had disappeared since the morning. 

"Guys, calm down!" Rylan whispered shouted from ahead of Shane as he turned back to glare at both of them with an unhappy expression on his face. 

Both Emily and Shane scoffed at the same time in response which made Rylan let out a sigh as he tried to think of a plan to get all of them out of their current situation.. 

"Seriously guys, can't we just return to our dorms? I don't think it's a good idea to follow that group of seniors anymore. We don't even know in which direction they had disappeared." Emily tried to talk some sense into her friends but just one look at Rylan and she knew that the man wasn't ready to give up yet.

She again cursed herself in her heart for even agreeing with their stupid plan in the first place. How could she have known that she would end up in the depths of the Enchanted forest in the middle of the night?

After their final exams of the first year two weeks ago, they had received two months' vacation. However, the students weren't allowed to return to their homes even during the holidays. Instead, the Academy allowed them to visit the nearby towns and areas to enjoy their free time in whatever way they wanted. They were allowed to enjoy their holidays as long as they followed the Academy's rules.

Since the barriers around the Academy grounds allowed them to enter the Enchanted forest, they were not breaking into any of the forbidden areas of the Academy but the fact that it was the middle of the night, well... that was a different case.

Her eyes traveled over her dark surroundings, noticing the weird silence that had descended over the forest. 

"I'm having a weird feeling about our current situation." She found herself speaking as her eyes returned to her two friends who were standing beside her.

"What kind of feeling? Is it a bad premonition?" Shane asked as his eyes also looked around their surroundings to see if he could find something unusual.

"I... I am not sure. It's just a feeling. Not really a bad one, but... as if something is going to happen." She replied while thinking hard but the frown on her face clearly stated that she was having a hard time deciphering the feeling that she was getting at the moment.

Both Shane and Rylan shared a look as if to decide what they should do at this point. 

"How about we teleport back to the Academy?" Shane suggested after a few moments of silence but realized that the idea was not good enough seeing that only he and Rylan had learned the spell of teleportation but even the two of them were currently rookies.

But to his surprise, Rylan looked impressed by his suggestion. "I think we can try it." His friend said as he turned to look at Emily who was staring at the two of them with a confused expression on her face.

"I know that only the two of us can perform this spell and that too to a certain limit. But our destination isn't too far away and I'm sure the two of us will be able to take her away if we tried." Rylan explained his idea and waited to see his friends' reactions.

"I... I don't know to be honest. This seems like a dangerous idea." Shane was first to respond and he genuinely felt that the idea carried too many risks. One wrong movement from them and they would be facing severe consequences.

"But we also can't stay here. Can't you feel that something is changing here? There's no breeze, no sound, no moonlight even though we saw a moon before we entered the forest and there's no cloud to hide it either. Following those seniors, we have ventured too deep into the forest. Do you think we will be able to return to the Academy if we used our feet and sense of direction?" 

Emily's questions were met with silence as neither the boys had any proper answer. Of course, they were aware that they no longer had the option of returning to the Academy by walking back.

Besides, after Emily pointed it out, they could clearly sense the changes that had appeared in the forest after they entered the wilderness. Why did they even want to follow those stupid seniors in the first place? Their curiosity had landed them in deep troubles.

"Let's try your idea of teleporting back. It's our best and also... the only option at the moment." Emily told her friends and watched as they slowly nodded their heads in agreement. Still, she could see the reluctance in their eyes.

It wasn't like she was not afraid for their safety but somehow she felt like staying any longer in the forest would lead them to even more dangers. After all, the Enchanted Forest was not a place for enjoyment. It was rumored to be the home of ferocious beasts and mythical creatures.

The three of them formed a triangle and joined their hands in tight grips. She almost felt like the boys were going to crack her knuckles if they kept gripping her hands with such force.

"Can you guys lose your holds? It's kinda hurting." She complained ad even after trying, she failed to bear the pain that their grips were causing.

"Nope! You need to bear it for a few moments. We can't take any risk." Rylan informed her and Shane too nodded his head to show his agreement.

Emily let out a small sigh but decided to follow their instructions.

***

It did not take the boys long to merge their magical energies as they tried to cast a powerful spell to teleport the three of them back to their homes at the Academy.

Emily closed her eyes when she started to feel the tingling sensations that suddenly but slowly erupted over her body. She felt the spell working perfectly and her body relax at the realization.

She did not open her eyes but she could tell that if she opened them, she would only be able to see darkness and nothingness around them as the three of them traveled through the void.

It felt like ages but in truth, barely a few seconds had passed. Everything was going perfect but then a sudden force pushed her body away from her two friends.

Her body landed against something hard before she fell on the cold damp ground, a shiver of pain ran all over her body as she found it hard to breathe all of a sudden.

Nothing happened after that. She just laid there motionless with her eyes closed as her body and mind tried to process all that happened.

Thankfully, the pain did not last for long, and within a few seconds, she was able to breathe normally. Her eyes finally fluttered open, meeting the same darkness of the forest that she had left behind a minute or so before.

Her head turned from left to right, assessing her surroundings only to find that she was alone this time and that too in some other part of the forest.

For a moment, she thought about calling out to her friends to see if they were also nearby but then the thought of grabbing the attention of the creatures of the forest made her immediately gave up on the idea. She could not take such a risk, especially when there was no confirmation that the boys were actually still in the forest.

She stood up and dusted her clothes to get rid of the dirt. She was sure that she no longer looked like the previous little princess of a well-known family. Her white blouse was no longer white and her shoes were covered in dirt. Her hair had come undone and was falling around her face.

"I'm sorry, my dear child. I was not thinking properly when I yanked you out of the formation that your friends formed. I hope that you are not hurt." 

A soft musical female voice made Emily turn to face the lady who was standing a few feet away from her. A black cloak was draped over her body, hiding her face and identity.

What Emily could see were the long red curls that were falling around the woman's shoulders. Somehow, the red color of her hair fitted perfectly with the black of her outfit.

"Who are you?"