Chapter Text
Have you ever felt like your entire world is breaking down? Crumbling, right beneath you? And that everything you once thought you knew, is actually fake?
Well, that's how I'm feeling now. And it sucks.
It was all normal before the war, before the pain, the change. Before this whole new world.
I don't like this world.
But, I don't want to start this off being rude, so, let's start over, shall we?
My name is Annabelle Woods, I'm 17 years-old, and I'm a Child of the Forest.
Just a fancy name to describe a witch.
So, yeah, I'm a witch. And a very powerful one, if you must know.
So, yeah, I'm a witch, and it absolutely sucks.
But, above being a witch, I'm also a teenager, which means that I have to go to school.
I attend West High School, located in Lafayette, Indiana. But, recently, after discovering that I'm a witch, my crazy aunt forced me to move to Italy with her for a whole month, because we had some "serious bussiness" there.
To make a long story short: I'm, apparently, a descendent of Wylla Woods, a very powerful witch who lived like a hundred years ago, and she was the one responsible for keeping the peace between all supernatural creatures, later being crowned as some sort of "Queen" of witches. It's a very long and boring story, so I'm not gonna explain it now.
The thing is, a couple of years before my aunt forced me to move, the world's most powerful race (in terms of physical strenght), declared war against their Leaders, the Volturi.
Yes, I'm talking about Vampires, something that I didn't even know existed, but, apparently, they do, and they're very powerful and have very complicated power dynamics.
Therefore, if vampires are in a war, then the whole magical world is at war, because we're all affected by them, in one way or the other. So it was up to me, the quiet nobody Indiana, to move to Italy and talk to Stefan, the current representative of the Vampires. He's from Romania, but is currently living in Italy, the "centre" of the Vampire World.
So, yes, we're at peace with them again, and this was just a waste of my precious time, since I didn't get to talk to him, because my aunt decided it was "too dangerous", but, apparently, it wasn't dangerous to officially introduce me to the Witch world, and it was, by far, the best party I've ever been invited to.
Okay, that was the only good part of this boring trip.
Now, finally, I've returned home, with new clothes (of course I had to shop, I was in ITALY), new books ("Learning Magic - A Guide for Baby Witches"), new powers (I'm not even gonna mention them, too long of a list and my wrist is tired), and, the best part, a new tattoo.
I had to make a feather tattoo on my collarbone, a symbol of my magical family, and, being "only" seventeen, my father freaked out that my aunt allowed me to get a tattoo, but I don't care, I really like it.
As about my mother, she doesn't really care about me that much. She's a model, and she doesn't have a single drop of magic in her blood, maybe because she doesn't care about magic either. As about my sister, my aunt says that she's probably a witch too, but she won't know until my little sister hits her 10th birthday. She's now 5, so we have some time left.
- End of Diary Entry -
I was surprised when I woke up this morning, because I not only woke up 10 minutes before my alarm, but I also woke up with a very strange feeling, like I had to go to school, which was completely weird.
After a long hot shower, I was finally ready to start my day. One of the many things that I'm now capable of doing is controling the elements. Water, fire, earth, air; I can actually control them, although they don't seem to be too fond of me, since every time my anger starts to rise something, somewhere decides to explode.
I get dressed as calmly as my body allows me to, and place my cheerleader uniform in my backpack, mindful of today's practice and not wanting our coach to yell at me again. Last time someone yelled at me, I almost flooded the house.
I start thinking about how, not even two years ago, I was the newbee in the squad, then rose to co-captain when the team picked up on my commitment and ability, and finally, FINALLY, became the thing I always wanted to be: captain.
I just love to dance, and love to teach people to dance, seeing the effect our movements have on the team and the school really fills my heart with joy, there's absolutely nothing like it. That's actually one of the best things about being home again, I can finally go back to my practices and duties as a Captain, and Lindsay, my co-captain, told me that there are a lot of girls waiting for me to come back to school, so they can have their tryouts to enter the Squad.
As soon as I finish, I rush downstairs, smiling as I see that my aunt Clarisse and my sister Erika are the only ones awake.
"Good Morning, my dearest-sss." I say, kissing Erika's forehead before turning to Clarisse, who's reading a magazine on the table while she fries some bacon with her magic. I sigh. "Clare!" I warn her, glancing at Erika, quietly drawing.
She rolls her eyes. "Fine." She says, putting the magazine down and finishing the bacon herself.
Normal witches, like Clarisse, only get to have control over one aspect of life. It can be Fire, Earth, Water or Air, or even people. Clarisse's power is Fire. She can create flames, control them, and talk to salamanders, the commanders of Fire. Unfortunately for her, she's not allowed to use magic here, especially not in front of my sister, because I do want Erika to grow up like a normal child, and normal children don't need to know all about the magical world, outside of fiction.
As Clarisse finally finishes the bacon, she places it on a plate and hands it to me. I look at it and smile, she made a smiley face with the bacon and eggs, like she used to do when I was younger. "Thanks, Clare." I smile, starting to eat.
"So, want me to drive you?" She asks and I shake my head.
"No, thanks. I'll take the motorcycle." I say, smiling.
When I finally turned 16, my father gave me a red motorcycle, and I could finally take my license. I didn't even wait 3 weeks, I wanted to take it before classes started, and that's what I did.
I love my motorcycle, I feel so free when I'm driving it. The wind, the adrenaline, it's all so fantastic.
I quickly finish my breakfast and brush my teeth, helping Erika to get dressed before going back to the kitchen. Clarisse smiles at me. "Beware today." She says before kissing my forehead. I nod.
"I will, I promise." I say, rushing to the garage.
It takes about 10 minutes to arrive at school with my motorcycle, which is good, because I couldn't wait to see everyone again.
As soon as I park, I put my headphones on, knowing the whole Squad would probably be on the field, and that's where I go.
Lindsay is the first one to spot me, she smiles widely before running to my arms.
"You're back!" She yells, attracting some glances from people. They wave at me, and I smile awkwardly, being on the spotlight was never something I enjoyed, because that means that people need me, and I don't want to let them down.
The first classes were completely boring, but luckily I had Kyle, Lindsay, Tamara and Bryan to spend time with, which made things much easier to bare.
Before we arrive at the Cafeteria, I see Lindsay applying some lipgloss and I frown.
"Why are you doing this?" I ask her, chuckling. "We're going to eat soon, there's no point." I roll my eyes. But, as soon as I look around, I notice that Lindsay isn't the only one doing that. Other girls, from different ages and academic years, are also doing the same, which kind of freaks me out, they could've just applied at home like I do, it's so much more practical.
"It's because of the Cullen's." Kyle says and I raise an eyebrow.
"The who?" I ask.
He smiles widely. "You'll see." He says and I roll my eyes again, entering the Cafeteria with them.
As soon as we come in, we go to our usual table, in the middle of the Cafeteria, and a lot of people take advantage of that to talk to me. Of course, I reply politely, saying that my short vacation was amazing.
When I sit down, I look around the place, smiling at some people. But then, I spot something different, something new.
New people.
And I suddenly understand why all the fuss of looking pretty.
They're nine. Sitting together on a "private", tucked away table, all talking low, not making eye-contact with anyone else. I roll my eyes at them, sighing loud. "So that's why you were freaking out about the lipgloss?" I chuckle.
Lindsay looks offended. "What? Don't you think they're, like, the most beautiful creatures you've ever seen in your entire life?!" She asks, whispering.
Yes. I think, but I don't dare saying it out loud. Something about them kind of freaks me out. "They're just new students." I shrug.
"Okay, do you want a full report?" Lindsay asks and I sigh.
"No, but you're still going to tell me all about them, right?" I chuckle, shaking my head.
"Yes!" She smiles and I let out a low laugh. "So, let's start by the youngest of them. The one with the long brown hair and brown eyes? Her name is Renesmee, she's in our grade. She also wants to join our squad, and everyone seems to like her, but I don't think her family allows her to talk to people." She says, glancing at the sweet girl who's eating a cupcake. I nod quickly, already getting bored. Why do I have to hear this whole bullshit about new people? They're just people. "And the couple next to her, the girl with medium brown hair and the guy with bronze hair, they're Edward and Isabella. They're totally a couple, and they're kind of cute, if you think about it. The other couple, with the blonde guy and the girl who looks like Snow White, they're Jasper and Alice, they're obviously in love, and it's kind of gross. Now, there's Rosalie, the stunning blonde, and Emmett, the strong brunette, I don't know much about them. And, to finish, we have Jane, the small girl, and Alec, the tallest one. They're all new in town, and they come from Washington, I think, somewhere else really rainy. They're the step children of Doctor Carlisle Cullen, your aunt will probably work with him." She finishes and I nod.
"Now why did I need to know that?" I ask, sighing.
"It's kinda creepy, isn't it? They're all dating and stuff." Kyle says.
"They're step brothers, it's not illegal." I say.
"Well, not all of them. Rosalie and Jasper are actual sibilings, so are Jane and Alec." Lindsay says.
"Which means." Kyle smirks. "That Mr. Alec Cullen is single." He says and I roll my eyes.
"And probably straight, Ky." I laugh.
"How do you know that?" He asks offended.
"Well, I don't know, but... He doesn't look like he's gay." I shrug, digging myself a grave but knowing he understands my humour.
"Offensive." Kyle pouts.
"You know what I mean." I roll my eyes. "Well, enough is enough, can we all please end this conversation, because our break will end and you guys have to eat." I say, pulling a book out of my backpack.
"You're not eating?" Kyle raises an eyebrow and I shake my head.
"I'm not hungry." I lie, even though I can feel my stomach complaining.
As they rush to the line, I glance at the Cullen's again, and I feel this strange urge of running away, even though I don't know why. Suddenly, one of them, Alec, looks at me, and I can't help but blush and bury my head in the book.
What's wrong with me?
But, most important:
What's wrong with them?