Part 5

The next morning, Blair awoke confused, as she was still wearing yesterday’s clothes. The night before was such a blur. All she knew was that she felt sick, a horrible pain ripping at her abdomen. She shrugged it off and got ready for school, making sure to change.

She suffered through English, keeping her head down for a good portion of the class. The teacher was oblivious; as she was too busy rambling on about ‘dangling modifiers’. Though, when science came, Blair’s mood lifted a bit. Des greeted her as she came sat down at their desk, and they talked until Mr. Murray announced the beginning of class. Des seemed to enjoy Blair’s presence, and the two got along well, like they were long lost friends re-connecting after years of separation.

After class, Des handed Blair a note and walked out the door without a word. She stuffed the note in her pocket, afraid of what it might say. But she decided she would have to open it at lunch. There was one class period between now and then; forty five short minutes before Blair faced what she was certain would be her death. During math, she was extremely fidgety and had trouble concentrating on her work. All she could think about was Destry and the note. When the bell finally rang to go to lunch, Blair felt as though she was going to throw up. But she marched herself towards the cafeteria and sat at the table with her friends as she normally did. She did not greet them; she sat turned around on her stool with her back towards them. With shaky hands, she unfolded the note. For a second, she was afraid to look. But what it said astounded her, and sent a flurry of happiness through her body. It had Des’s number scrawled on it, along with the words, “Call me any time.” Although, she kept her excitement to herself, not wanting to hype it up to her friends. After all, it might not mean anything.

That afternoon, Blair rushed home and locked herself in her room. But this time, she would be performing a different kind of magic; calling Des. She took out her phone and carefully punched in his number. Taking a deep breath, she raised the phone to her ear and waited for his voice on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Oh, hey Des. It’s Blair.”
“I was kind of embarrassed to ask you this in class… but I really need help in math.”
“Oh…” Blair’s heart sank. She was hoping for something a bit more romantic.
“I know you’re really good at math. So, you think we could meet up after school some time?”
“Sure, how about tomorrow?”
“Sounds good. Thanks a ton, Blair, you just saved my butt.

When they hung up, Blair wasn’t very satisfied. But, at least, now she had something to look forward too.Perhaps this was healthy. Normally, Blair treated love like an affliction, all it brought was pain. But taking risks was what life was all about. Now, if she could only learn to trust him. Past experiences had scarred her trust in humans. She’d been used, mistreated, and beaten. Things she couldn’t talk about to this day.

Now that she thought about it, Blair realized she just needed one person; just one person, who loved her to no end for who she really was. It could be a friend, or a boyfriend. She just needed someone to go to, someone to tell all her secrets to, and someone who would be completely true to her. And if she worked on it, Destry could be that one, that one person who would rebuild her trust in mankind.

The main reason Blair took up magic was because she was looking for an escape from the extremely corrupt world she lived in, where all people cared about was how skinny you were or what brand of clothes you wore. She couldn’t stand it; she lived in a world of plastic, where people cared only about appearance.

That night, Blair lay awake in her bed, thoughts buzzing through her mind. This could be it. Destry could actually have feelings for her. She had a hard time grasping the idea though, as she never felt she was very attractive. She watched the minutes, and then hours tick away on her clock. If she couldn’t sleep, she might as well do something more useful than lay in bed and stare at the wall. So, she threw off the covers, pulled on her black hoodie, and made her way out the back door of the house.

The chill of the December air numbed her feet as she walked down her frozen lawn, but Blair didn’t care. Her soul was alive, and burning with a passion she had never felt before. Though that feeling came from something completely different, it inspired her in her magic. As soon as she was a good distance from her house, she broke into a sprint. She didn’t care if it were a school night; this couldn’t wait. Blair would just have to go to school dead tired.

She darted through the trees, hoping to find that one place she had come in contact with Diana. Maybe it was more than just a dream. Finally, she came to the strange, perfect circle of a clearing she had seen in her sleep. The moon seemed to illuminate the ground she walked on as Blair stepped out of the trees. There was definitely something magical about this place.

“Ajax!” hissed a voice from across the clearing. Panicking, Blair ran back for the shadows of the brush. No longer in control of her body, she dove for a nearby bush and made a loud crashing noise. Two hooded figures emerged from the thick darkness. One of them seemed to be looking right at the spot where Blair was hiding, and her heart pounded in her chest. After a few moments of tension, the hooded figure turned to face its counterpart.
“Right, only a rabbit. See Ajax, nothing to worry about.” The figured pulled off its hood, revealing the face of a beautiful young woman.
“Seda! You must hide your face! We cannot risk being discovered.” The other hooded figured warned.
“There is no one here but the Goddess.” the women said as she gazed at the moon. As soon as Blair heard this, she knew she had found some of her own kind. But she wouldn’t blow her cover quite yet, just to be safe.
“Fine.” the other hooded figured mumbled. He too removed his hood. Compared to the women, he was ugly, almost hard to look at. His skin looked like it was made of leather, tan and wrinkled with many scars. The moonlight shone down on his face, making the man look even more terrifying. Silently, the woman stretched her arms out in the direction of the sky, as if she were trying to summon it towards her. Three more hooded figures appeared in the clearing, gathering around the man and woman. They each pulled down their hoods one by one. The first was an elderly woman with long, coarse grey hair that resembled iron fillings. The second was yet another woman, looking around thirty. She looked a lot like the elderly woman, except she had less wrinkles and a puff of red hair. The third was a young man, whose youthful eyes glistened in the soft light.
“Hello Ajax, Seda…” the redhead breathed. Blair had finally realized that the first two to emerge from the forest were most likely the high priest and priestess of a coven.
“Ah, hello Lona.” said Seda, ad she dropped her arms and turned to face the redheaded woman. “And hello to you too, Piri.”
The old woman muttered something under her breath before shuffling to the opposite side of the clearing. The other two exchanged glances. Meanwhile, the two men were conversing in hushed tones, too soft for Blair to hear. Suddenly, a cry erupted from Piri’s mouth.
“A SPY!” she shrieked. “A SPY! THERE! IN THE BUSHES!” All head turned in Blair’s direction. Her heart seemed to stop, and she held her breath, praying they wouldn’t notice her.
“Are you sure, mother?” Lona asked, raising a brow.
“I may be old, but I’m not stupid.”
“Alright,” Ajax sighed. “I’ll take a look.” The man seemed to glide across the forest floor, his cloak rippling around his feet. Blair shut her eyes tight. Maybe if she thought hard enough, she would become invisible. Blair heard the crunch of leaves, and could sense the large man standing right next to her. She slowly opened her lids, and gazed up into his torn face.
“Who are you?” he breathed, his tone harsh.
“I…” Blair struggled to find her voice. “I am Blair.”
“Why were you sent here?”

Part 4

At home, Blair found it was hard to keep Des out of her thoughts. His perfect image had tainted her mind, and she could no longer think straight. Blair knew how dangerous this could be. If she got too obsessed, it wouldn’t only hurt her emotionally, but physically. She decided a healthy bit of magic and meditation would help her stay focused.
She went up to her room, and sat on her bed cross-legged. As she closed her eyes, she inhaled deeply. She concentrated on her goal; getting herself into a trance. In her head, she imagined water swirling down a drain. Techniques such as these often helped her successfully will herself into a trance. It was such a simple task, but the steps to reach it were more complicated than one would imagine. It required a lot of practice to get it just right, but even if Blair did not manage to fall into a trance, it would still calm her thoughts.
“I am in a trance…” she thought to herself, hoping it would trick her mind. “I am in a trance..”
Suddenly, Blair woke. But her eyes were not open. Yet, she could see. As she looked around, she found that she was not in her bedroom, but on the floor of the forest where she usually went out hunting. She got to her feet, still slightly dazed and confused. Was she dreaming? Blair had never been in a trance before, maybe this was what it was like… maybe a cross between the two. The last of daylight was filtering through the leaves, making everything in the forest look like it was glowing. A dove landed in a high branch. Blair took note of this.
“How strange…” she said to herself. “Doves don’t usually show themselves around here.” The tiny white bird tweeted at her, and Blair giggled.
“Here birdy.” she cooed, holding out a finger. Of course, Blair didn’t expect that to work, but was surprised when the dove came and landed on her hand. It tweeted again, and leapt off Blair’s hand. Blair dove forward, trying to catch the snowy fowl before it hit the ground. But before her very eyes, it changed. In the dove’s place stood a tall, beautiful woman. Her silky skin glistened just as the forest did. Though there was no wind, her ivory dress seemed to ripple. Slung over her shoulder was a sack of arrows, and in her hand she clutched a bow.
“I know you…” Blair breathed. “You’re Goddess Diana.”
But the women did not respond. Instead, she stared off into the distance, her pond-blue eyes unfocused.
“Hello? Can you hear me?” Blair asked.
Confused, the girl stuck out her arm, trying to see if Diana was actually there. But to her surprise, her forearm went right through the Goddesses body. It wasn’t until then that Blair noticed that it wasn’t Diana who wasn’t there, it was her. Why, when she looked down, she could see straight through herself.
“BEEBEEE” screamed a voice from nowhere.
Blair was hurled back into reality. Once again, she was sitting on her bed. Michael was banging on her door and shouting.
“BEEBEE!” he cried. “GET OUT HERE..”
“Fine, fine.” Blair muttered as she got out of bed and opened the door.
“I’m hungry.” Michael said simply as Blair appeared in the doorway.
“WHAT?! Why did you have to bother me? Aren’t mom and dad around?”
“No, they left for the store. Now make me food!”
“Mike, you’re nine. I’m sure you can use a microwave.”
“NOOOOOO BUT I WANT GRILLED CHEESE. YOU CAN’T MICROWAVE GRILLED CHEESE.”
Blair knew that if she didn’t give her brother what he wanted, he would throw an even bigger tantrum. “Fine.” she said. “Come with me.”

Blair walked downstairs with Michael at her heels. She would try to make this as quick as possible, as she wanted to get back to a relaxed state. She took the bread, cheese, and butter from the fridge and prepared the sandwich on the stove.

“There.” she said when she was done. “Here’s your stupid grilled cheese sandwich.”
Michael devoured the sandwich in under a minute as Blair watched with horror. She never knew he could fit that much food in his mouth. Well, he couldn’t really, as soggy bits of food were falling out of his mouth and onto the floor. Blair winced; she had trouble keeping her own lunch down.
“You’re cleaning this up.” Blair ordered.
“Nuf! You if cweaning uwp.” Michael said, food spraying out of his mouth. Some of it was fortunate enough to land on Blair’s face.
“Ewwww!” she squealed. “This is so gross.”
“Haha!”
Blair went to the bathroom to wash her face with soap and water. She couldn’t stand having little boy spit on her. She vigorously rubbed her cheeks and forehead with the washcloth, trying to get the last bits of grilled cheese off.
“Make sure to clean up!” Blair shouted as she bolted back up the stairs. She threw herself back onto her bed. She was determined to get back to that place in the woods. So she sat as she sat before; cross-legged, and closed her eyes. She used the same technique as before, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not get herself back into a trance. Disappointed, she lay back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling, thoughts of Destry flooding her mind once more. His laugh still rang in her ears. Blair then remembered that she had homework due tomorrow, and covered her head with her pillow. She didn’t feel like doing work tonight. It was late anyways. She honestly didn’t care if the teacher yelled at her. The girl let out a soft moan and rolled over, falling asleep without even eating her dinner.

Part 3

Finally, she spotted him; Destry. He was tall with a lanky build, and had soot black hair that stuck up every which way. Though he was not the best looking, Blair being Blair had the biggest crush on him. How she craved to be with him… but Blair had a feeling that Destry didn’t even know she existed. This was not normally a problem for her, as she had a loud, outgoing personality. But something about being near Destry made her extremely shy, and Destry in specific, Blair normally had no trouble with boys. In fact, half of her friends were boys.
“Blaaaiiirrr…”
Christine’s voice snapped Blair back into reality.
“Sorry.” She muttered, her eyes still focused on her prince.
“Oh no!” Christine gasped. “You’re not staring at him again, are you? He’s not even that great looking.”
“Thanks for the support Chrissie.” Blair sighed as she turned to face her friend.
“Well, you should be glad you don’t have any competition.”
“I guess.”
The bell rang, and she began her long hike to English class, with Christine chattering away at her side.
“This weekend I went canoeing,” Chrissie gushed. “Even though I fell in at LEAST four times, it was insane… in a good way, like fun!”
“That does sound fun.” Blair said, trying to sound as interested as possible. Her thoughts were still dwelling on Destry. She would see him after English though. That was it; she would see him. Although she wanted to, she could never get up the courage to talk to him. He was like a flawless, untouchable mystic being. Something only fabled to be true, something Blair knew she could never have.
The time seemed to tick by extra slow in English class. Blair frequently wondered if there was actually something wrong with the clock. One minute felt like ten. The annoying teacher made the forty-five minutes of hell even worse. Blair couldn’t stand her teacher. She didn’t seem to know the things she was teaching, because she used incorrect grammar herself. She also had a nasally high voice that made her students cringe.
When the bell finally rang to signal the change of classes, Blair walked out of the room with her heart pounding in her chest. She would have to see Destry next period in science. Just thinking about him made her nervous, and she stumbled.
“Don’t fall on anyone.” warned Christine from behind.
“Hehe, thanks.”
Blair waved goodbye to her friend and headed off to her next class. When she got to science, she noticed everyone was sitting in new seats. “Oh joy, a seat change.” thought Blair. She was happy sitting next to her friends like before.
“Where do I sit, Mr. Murray?” she asked the teacher. He referred to his seating chart before pointing to a two person table in the back of the room.
“Right over there, across from Destry.” the teacher said. Leave it to Mr. Murray to torture his students. How could he do this?! Well, of course he didn’t know. Blair began to freak out as she walked to her seat, clutching her books in her sweaty hands. Destry was sitting there drawing. He didn’t even seem to notice that Blair was walking straight towards him. Blair sat down, placing her books on the table. Destry looked up.
“Hey.” he said simply, grinning.
“Hi…” Blair responded awkwardly.
“You’re Blair, right?”
“Yup, that’s me.” She blushed. She surprised he even knew her name.
“I’m Destry but feel free to call me Des. I’ve seen you around before,” he laughed. “You seem interesting.”
“You don’t even know the half of it.” Blair said, letting out a small chuckle. It was now that Blair took the time to really look at him; his features were even more beautiful up close. He had freckles scattered across his pale face, and the most the most amazing amber eyes. His eyes really caught Blair’s attention, and seemed to lure her in. They were so warm and inviting, and it felt like they could stare right through her. Another thing that drew her to him was his amazing scent. He didn’t wear cologne, the way he smelled by itself just appealed to Blair.
“Okay class, get your textbooks out and turn to page thirty six.” Mr. Murray announced. The class simultaneously flipped to the page in the book, and began to read. Blair couldn’t help but glance up at Des every few minutes.
The rest of the class was only a little less awkward, but it had gone better than Blair had expected. It seemed at Des actually enjoyed her company. That was a good sign. She was almost sad to hear the bell ring at the end of class.

Part 2

Her clock sounded the alarm at exactly 7:00 Am. Blair had forgotten what day it was. It was Sunday; Church day. The rest of her family were strict Catholics, with a strong faith in God. They attended church every Sunday morning, and expected Blair to do the same. So, every Sunday at 8:00 AM she was dragged to the place she hated most. Not only did it go against what she believed, but churches in themselves made Blair highly uncomfortable. The stuffy, formal atmosphere, the paintings that hung on the wall, they disturbed her.
“Blair, get down here!” her dad Burt called from downstairs. She let out a sigh and got out of bed; she had been hoping to sleep in late. Those missing four hours of sleep would surely come back to haunt her later. After she had gotten dressed, she went down the stairs and lumbered over to the breakfast table. It was already almost time to leave, so Blair stuffed a large waffle into her mouth. She was then marched out of the house, and filed into the red minivan with the rest of her wretched family. Her parents did not worry about the fact that Blair loathed going to church, after all, who likes it?
While on their way there, Burt talked excitedly about his day at work. He worked as business man in a big cooperate office. But no one else in the car seemed as excited as he was, not even his own wife.
“Oh look, we’re here…” Blair’s mom said, in a desperate attempt to quiet her husband. They pulled into the gravel parking lot, rocks crackling under the tires. Without another word, they got out of the car. Not even Blair’s dad said anything.
As they approached the brightly painted church, Blair drew her black sweater even tighter around her body. She wanted to hide, to disappear. She felt like people were staring. It felt like they could see right through her, like see her secret. This wasn’t really like her; Blair McGinnis was usually a very happy and cheery girl. She was always smiling and laughing. No one could see the pain she had locked up inside her. Nor would anyone expect her to be a witch. On the outside, she appeared a bit odd, but still like everyone else. She fit in, she was accepted. Blair’s biggest fear was that, if everyone knew, she would be shunned. She knew she needed friends, and she couldn’t afford to lose them during hard times like these.
Very recently, Blair’s father had gotten sick with cancer. Every day, she was scared of waking up and seeing her lifeless father lying still in his bed. She knew there was nothing she could do to save him; no magic could ever help him heal. But he was going in for surgery in a week. Although the surgery was very risky, Blair tried to have complete faith in the doctors.
Every time she looked at her dad, Blair was reminded of how sick he was really was. He was turning yellow, and had lost so much weight that his skin hung off his frame.. His legs looked like toothpicks, and he had lost all the strength in his arms. Yet he still managed to be active. He rode his bike, went on hikes with his kids, and cared for his beautiful garden. Blair knew he’d make it out in the end… somehow.
Once they got inside, they sat themselves down in a pew, and waited for the service to begin.. Blair grunted. Why did they have to come so early? It just meant more time sitting on an uncomfortable bench and breathing in the musky, moldy church. The building was so old that it was starting to decay. The paint had worn off the pews, and roaches were the new full-time residents.
After what seemed like an eternity, the service started. The priest began by giving some words of inspiration, and let them in song. Then he talked, for a long, long time, during which Blair had dozed off. Usually, Blair had the strength to stay awake during these incredibly long sermons, but her lack of sleep was definitely a factor.
Blair awoke to the sound of her mother’s voice. “Sweetie,” her mother cooed. “church is over. It’s time to go.”
“Mmmpphh… Finally.” Blair grumbled as she rose out of her seat. They were the only family left. Apparently her parents didn’t want to wake her, and hoped that she would get up on her own. It was now 9:30 AM. Maybe now she could go home and take a nice, long nap. But no, her parents wanted go to their favorite restaurant for lunch. So Blair was trapped in the car for another half hour, where it was impossible to sleep because of her whining brother. When they got to the restaurant, Blair wasn’t particularly hungry, so after eating only half her food, she lay her head down on the table and fell asleep again. Oh, how she dreaded Sundays. Always some formal occasion, whether it be church or a nice brunch. She couldn’t stand it.
Another unfortunate thing about Sundays was that the following day was a Monday. If it weren’t for all her friends, Blair would have hated school almost as much as she hated church.
So, the next morning, she was shipped off to her high school in a large yellow school bus. It was early October, so the school year had only recently begun. But by now Blair knew the drill; anyways, she was a sophomore. When she got to school, she was greeted by all her friends gathered in the cafeteria.
“HI BLAIR!” her friend Christine shouted as Blair walked through the double doors.
“Hey Chrissie.” Blair said with a smile. Christine was always full of energy, which matched Blair. They were almost like twins. Not only did they look somewhat alike with their firey red hair, but they also acted alike. Although, they didn’t act the same outside of school, Blair tended to be more calm and sensitive.
As Blair was practically swallowed by her large group of friends, she turned around, scanning the other side of the cafeteria. “Where is he?” she breathed.

Part 1

As day turned to night, Blair sat on the hill overlooking the forest, watching the different hues of red and pink as they played out on the canvas of the sky. It was almost time, almost time to go out on the hunt. Blair snickered – when she told people she ‘hunted’ at night time, they often assumed that she was actually out looking for prey. Though she did have a kind of blood fetish, Blair was not one to kill. She was a peaceful being. Her hunt was mostly a search. Not only for herbs and ingredients, but for answers.
The sun disappeared behind the horizon, and Blair was up and on her way. She walked the path to the forest, pulling her hood over her head. The moonlight illuminated her emerald eyes. Tonight’s mission was to find dead bamboo stalks, so she could harvest the powder inside. Bamboo powder for protection, she muttered to herself. As she went deeper into the forest, vines began to sneak onto the path, snaking around trees and plants. Blair made sure not to trip; she didn’t want to have to explain any injuries to her parents, seeing as she was supposed to be asleep in her bed right now. She let out a deep sigh, her breath rising into the chilly air. Sometimes, Blair wished she could tell her friends and family about her beliefs. But, she knew they wouldn’t understand. She wouldn’t expect them to. Although it would be a lot easier if everyone knew, it wasn’t worth the risk of losing everything. It was better to confide in a few, close friends. If anyone else found out, there could be a disaster… horrible things could happen. People weren’t very accepting. These thoughts clouded Blair’s mind, and she pushed them away. Now was a time for clarity, a time to be one with nature. These worldly dilemmas shouldn’t be eating away at her.
Fall was perhaps one of the best seasons for collecting ingredients. Everything was crisp and fresh – or even better, dead. Some might think Blair was a drug addict, as she always carried plants and had strange smells on her. But, smells that other considered strange comforted Blair. She thought about this as she inhaled, taking in all the mystical scents of the forest. The girl’s pace quickened as she took a look at her watch. She didn’t have much time left; and she needed that bamboo powder. She kept her eyes peeled as she hurried, she didn’t want to leave without what she came for. Finally, she came across some pale green shoots of bamboo sticking up from the ground. They were huddled close together in defiance of the cold. Though it was already too late, their lack of color showed that they were plainly dead. This didn’t mean that they were easy to get out of the ground, which Blair was not expecting. She battled with one shoot for five minutes, trying to yank it from the soil.
Once she had finally managed to uproot the bamboo, she laid it along the width of the path. Then, she stepped on it, breaking it in half.. As she shook one of the halves, pellets of white powder fell into her hand. Blair smiled; perfect condition, slightly damp. She removed several vials from her jacket, and poured the powder in, filling each to the brim.. It was difficult to re-cork them, and Blair was forced to abandon some bits of powder. Once all her vials were filled and corked, she stuffed them back in her pocket and began to sprint in the direction of home.
When Blair finally reached home, her watch read 3:00 AM. Perfect timing. Her parents were most likely still in bed; unless her little brother Michael had woken them up claiming he was sick. This happened frequently, but Blair had learned to deal with situations where she might run into her parents while coming home from a hunt. Sometimes she had to sneak in through her bedroom window, which required scaling up the side of the house. But not this time; her parents and her brother were sound asleep, and Blair was able to enter the house through the front door. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she climbed the stairs to her room. When she opened the door, the wonderful odors hit her like a bomb. It was welcoming, and it was also useful for keeping parents out of her room. Looking around Blair’s room, one could see potted plants covering every desk space and table. There were many different varieties of flowers and herbs, both intriguing and strange at the same time. In one corner, there was a large, onion-like bulb. Near the window was a prickly vine, curled up in its pot almost as if it were sleeping. Colorful lilacs, daisies and pansies lined the room. A large box of rocks and crystals lay open on the floor, and on a low shelf right over it, was a vial stand, missing all but two vials. Blair knelt down and took the vials full of powder out of her pocket and carefully placed them in the holder. She then removed her jacket and took her hair out of its bun, letting it flow freely around her shoulders.
How all this began is an incredibly long story in itself. This new way of life sprang from interest, curiosity, and pain. Blair did not lead the tortured life of a vampire or a werewolf, but she was of the same genre, something most people would shun and declare a fictional being. Blair was a witch, a misunderstood soul looking for the Divine.
After changing into her pajamas, she go into bed, and lay there, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come.