Shadows of war:A witch's legacy

Everything was shrouded in darkness, the kind that was so heavy, it felt murky against my skin. Cold dewy grass against my ankle and the soft wet ground told me where I was, creekside woods. How I became familiar with the feel of this place never made sense, I had never been outside Elora. Then came the ghoulish wails, a sound so bone-chilling it had me backing up before I turned and took off. It didn't matter how fast I tried to move, the undergrowth was too dense and the blasted boots on my feet picked up mud slowing me down further.

Like a scene out of a horror movie,l tripped on my flowy dress and ended up face-first into the wet ground. Whatever had been chasing me was still there, hovering, waiting, bidding its time. And then I felt it, cold fingers trailing down my exposed neck, leaving in its wake, a trail of goosebumps.

"Destinatio tua advenit. Esto spes quam porta's"

The raspy grating voice somehow permeated through the loud pounding of my heart and made its way into my muddled mind.

All I could think about was how I was going to be found dead face first in the mud, hexed by an angry witch.

No one else spoke Latin except the witch folk, I had always wondered how I would die, would it be old age? Or an encounter with our enemies, I guess today is the day I get my answer.

"Aelora! Aelora! You'll be late for work!"

My eyes shot open, my heart beating hard and fast, threatening to break free from my rib cage as I tried and failed to get rid of the remnants of that horrific dream or rather nightmare that had sunk its claws deep into my very being, for a second there, I had most definitely seen the end of my miserably mundane life had it not been my flatmate and workmate screaming my name.

"It's not real, it's just a dream." That was the mantra that somehow kept me from freaking out more than I already was.

"I'm up Aldora!"

Even to my ears, I sounded spooked, it didn't help that my voice came out shaky and raspy as if I had been screaming my head off.

Aldora Ruby had been with me in the orphanage that I had grown up in, and on turning eighteen, we had both left and looked for an apartment and jobs. We had both ended up getting jobs at the Caelum Mansion as maids.

Throwing the soft pink cover from my body, I stood up on shaky limbs, my body still on a running high from adrenaline. My eyes followed the meager light that seeped through my window and the magnificent Caelum mansion that sat atop the hill overlooking the whole of Elora.

There were three wards in Elora, segregated by social class and wealth. There was Hillcrest Ward, the definition of prestige and wealth. The royal family and nobles resided here and it was the most guarded section of the city. Bloodcrest Ward followed, representing the middle-class society of Elora. They weren't as filthy rich as Hillcrest residents, but they led good comfortable lives with good infrastructure and security, unlike the final ward that was set aside for the poor, Hell's Gate Ward.

Hell's Gate Ward held all the poor and unfortunate souls of Elora. No one ever really escaped that lifestyle. Everything was in shambles, from roads to necessities like electricity and running water, it was a wonder how Aldora was able to get us residency where we lived since it was considered "safe enough" as opposed to the other parts of Hell's Gate. Vacant houses were rare and jobs were even more rare. Most residents worked in Hillcrest as maids and gardeners since school was out of the question.

Walking into the square-foot room that was our living room with a kitchenette attached to it, Aldora and I picked up our jackets and headed out.

With a deep breath, I stepped out of our building bracing myself for the pungent smell that somehow always clung to the air, homeless people wandered around and a boy not more than sixteen was leaning against the wall close to our apartment, his eyes glazed and his pupils blown out. I had not noticed my pace had slowed until Aldora grabbed my wrist firmly and pulled me towards the bus station.

"He is far too gone Aelora, and you know that."

Squeezing next to an old, sleeping, man, I thought of the friendship dynamic that I shared with Aldora. We had somehow gone past friendship to just being used to each other's existence, almost like siblings who had a strong bond. I couldn't look back at any point in my life and not see her right next to me.

"It's your birthday today, what do you wanna do ?" Aldora asked me as we alighted from the cramped bus, the sun was now rising above the highest peak of Caelum manor as we walked towards the magnificent gate with digitized security plus a watch tower that had four men all day every day.

It was my twenty-first birthday, but I didn't feel like celebrating it. It had been that way since we were kids, I never really felt like my birthdays were worth celebrating. If my parents, people who were indisposed to love me gave me up, I must not be something very special, so why bother? It was just like any other day.

Going through the usual procedure of scanning our retinas and fingerprints, the huge gate groaned open.

"I don't think I'll do anything. Same as last year, and the year before that Aldora, just give up." My words were accompanied by a little smile, making my words seem less rude and mean. But she never understood when I tried explaining to her why I simply don't celebrate my birthday. For someone so perceptive, at times Aldora had a trait of overlooking people's decisions when she thought she was right. A very annoying trait at that.

Going through the backdoor that was designated for the workers, we immediately got caught up in our daily chores. But something was off today, the usual pretty cobblestones that made up the walls did not hold their usual grandeur, everything made me jump and I felt itchy in my skin. It was almost like live electricity had replaced the blood in my veins.

Chalking it up to the garish nightmare that had haunted my sleep, I decided to go clean the study room that resided in the east wing. Normally, Miss Jenkins the house manager, was the one who usually cleaned it, since it belonged to Prince Xavier, but both he and his father, King Cedric, had gone to war, meaning anyone else could clean it.

I could count the number of times I had walked into the east wing, it not only held the studyroom, but the Prince's room was located in the very same wing making it private and untouchable. The same foreboding feeling from before increased tenfold, when I walked down the hallway leading to the said wing. It could be the weird symbols and runes that covered most of the doors there, or the eerie air that felt freakishly similar to the one in my dream, but something was just not right.

"Destinatio tua advenit. Esto spes quam porta's"

That same raspy voice, but now more contorted whispered directly in my ear as I pushed open the door leading to the studyroom, making my heart stutter to a stop.