Alexandra was in a dark, windowless cell. The walls were made of a thick, impenetrable stone, and iron bars lined the entrance. Darla stood on the other side of those bars and tears were streaming from Darla's red eyes. She looked haggard, her hair was frizzy and unkempt.
"You killed me! Killed me to bring back your stupid brother," snarled Darla, pointing her finger at Alexandra.
"You tried to kill me first!" said Alexandra.
"Only because you're a dark, evil sorceress who doesn't deserve to live."
"Says you! I'm not the one throwing the killing curse around!"
Suddenly, the world around Alexandra disappeared. Now she was back in the Lands Below, floating in the sky. Below her, she could see little elves crowded around a young girl blowing a flute, and a portal opening up. A boy suddenly came rushing up behind the girl, with a wand in his hand. He was waving it desperately.
"NO!" cried Alexandra. The scene changed again.
Alexandra was outside, and felt herself being carried by a giant woman. She looked up, and noticed the woman's face looked exactly like Dean Grimm, only more youthful. However, she wore an expression Alexandra had never seen on the Dean, one of intense adoration.
"Magic's so wondrous, magic's so old, magic to shape and magic to mould," sang the witch, stroking Alexandra's head gently.
"Magic protects and magic brings power, magic's with us and magic is ours."
Then the witch's eyes popped out of their sockets and her skin melted. All that remained was her skeletal frame. The skeleton's eye-holes blazed red and sang again.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.
A body for a body, a fate for a fate, a soul for a soul.
Where she once stood, may he now stand.
His life restored, her life taken. Good-bye, Alexandra Qui-"
Alexandra screamed at the top of her lungs. The world around her dissipated quickly, and she shot up from her bed, sweating buckets.
The room was well lit, with the light of sunrise penetrating the window. Alexandra could hear Anna snoring. She sat up on her duvet.
It had been just over a week since she went to the Lands Beyond, killed Darla Dearborn, revived her dead brother and lied to The Confederation. Charmbridge had held a funeral for Darla, which Alexandra avoided by feigning sickness. The mood around the school was sombre.
Following her meeting with her father, Alexandra did eventually sit her friends down and tell them a story. Despite all they had gone through together, Alexandra didn't trust them enough to tell them the truth. This time it was serious, and she couldn't risk the WJD finding out. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel guilty as her friends consoled her one-by-one, telling her it's not her fault and she shouldn't feel bad.
Alexandra thought about Max. Him suddenly reappearing would throw her story into doubt, and who knows what the Confederation might do with someone who returned from the dead. She wasn't sure he would ever be able to return to the world as himself again. He's back, but at the same time he isn't.
A persistent peck at the window interrupted her thoughts. She got up to take a closer look. Hagar stood on the window cill, with a letter in his beak. Alexandra opened the window to let the bird in.
"Alexandra," said Hagar, in a loud, scratchy voice, dropping the letter on her desk.
"Thanks Hagar."
Hagar gave a curt nod, and flew out through the window again, leaving a pile of feathers in his wake, which Alexandra vanished.
Alexandra opened the letter.
Dear Alexandra,
Father told me everything that has happened since I died. There are a few things I want to say.
Firstly, thank you. I am aware of the great lengths you went to try and bring me back. Stealing time-turners, scouring myths and legends, opening the portal to the Lands Beyond. I never asked for you to do all this, to jeopardise your relationships, your future, your life. I owe you everything and more, Alexandra. You're troublesome and a terror, but you're amazing, and I'm proud to have you as my sister.
As for Darla, she can go burn at the stake for what she did to you. I haven't forgotten how she tried to kill you that time, and all the shady businesses she was involved in with Manueltio. If it wasn't you who killed her, someone would have, and I can't say she didn't deserve it.
I love that we were able to find each other that year Alexandra, and I love what we had. However, I wasn't being entirely honest with you that year. There are some things I need to tell you that I wanted to tell you before you died, but didn't know how. Things you deserve to know.
Alexandra noticed that the next part of the letter was a different shade of white to the rest of it. Deletion spell. He must have spent ages trying to write this bit.
I'm a bent wand. I like men and only men, which was obvious to me from a young age, when I would stare at the older muggle boys in Roanoke, or steal Julia's copies of Witch's Weekly. I don't know how muggles treat people like me, but in our world it would be social suicide (not that being the son of Abraham Thorn isn't already that). There's a boy I love, a boy who I won't reveal because he wouldn't want me to, but you can probably tell who he is. There are so many times I wanted to tell you Alexandra, or tell Julia, or my mother, but every time I tried the words just couldn't leave my mouth. I have to be a role model, an example for my younger sisters to follow.
"Oh Max," said Alexandra softly. Suddenly, a lot of his actions made sense to her. He'd never respond to the girls who flirted with him, and he'd never mentioned a sweetheart. It must be Martin. It was obvious, with hindsight, and Alexandra was kicking herself for being too caught up in her own troubles to notice it.
There are other things I want to tell you too, but those are too dangerous to reveal by post. I'm with father, and I'm going to be staying with him for the foreseeable future, for my safety. When you activate the portkey at the end of term we'll meet again.
Please burn this letter after reading it.
Love,
Your brother Max.
Alexandra had to cast incendio a few times to incinerate the tear-soaked letter. It was perhaps the most heartfelt and open that Maximilian had ever been with her. For the first time since she'd made the choice, she felt conviction in her decision.
Anna was still asleep, but was starting to stir and open her eyes. Alexandra tried her best to compose herself, and cast a drying spell at her face.
"Good morning Anna," she said, smiling. Anna grunted and rubbed her eyes.
Three more weeks had passed since Alexandra received Maximillan's letter. The mood at Charmbridge had perked up as the tragedy of Darla's death became overshadowed with the looming exams. Among Alexandra's friend group, most of her friends had moved on too. Except for Angelique, none of them had been particularly close to Darla.
Angelique had not taken Darla's death very well. She had been worried sick on the day of the disappearance, and Alexandra hadn't seen her for over a week after Darla was pronounced dead. When Angelique did return, it was to clear out her room and pack her things. She told Alexandra that she couldn't bear being at Charmbridge anymore, and was transferring to Baleswood.
Alexandra tried her best to keep her head down and not draw any unnecessary attention to herself. She began to soak herself in her studies, catching up on all the work she'd missed as a result of her tunnel visioned focus on the Lands Beyond. She also tried sending a letter to Maximilian through Charlie, but Charlie returned with the letter the following day.
Julia sent Alexandra a letter after she heard about what happened at Charmbridge, offering her condolences. Alexandra debated telling her about Maximilian in the reply, but decided against it: if Maximilian wanted Julia to know he was alive, he would have sent her a letter already. It was also risky, the WJD could easily be monitoring her post.
As the days went by, and the initial shock of the situation had worn off, Alexandra felt almost normal. For the first time since Maximilian was alive, she wasn't having to worry about murder attempts, or strange lands, or dealing with Death. She could just be an ordinary school-girl worrying about her exams, or her annoying teacher, or pesky bullies like Larry Albo.
It was during her potions exam, as she was writing an explanation of the role of black rose petals in the magnification potion, that Dean Grimm came barging in.
"Quick, my office now!" she bellowed.
The Dean waved her wand furiously, and silver handcuffs appeared around Alexandra's wrists. Alexandra's face lost its colour.
As she was leaving the room, she noticed the terrified expressions on her friends' faces. Anna looked like she wanted to say something, and started to rise from her seat, but the Dean fixed her with a glare.
"What did I do this time?" whined Alexandra. The Dean shot a silencing spell and a stinging hex at her.
"What you've done this time is land yourself a stay at Eerie Island," she spat. "What on earth were you thinking, you troublesome spawn of Hecate?"
Alexandra's stomach dropped. This is it, they've found out.
When they arrived at the Dean's office, Alexandra gasped. At the centre of the room was the Governor-General Elias Hucksteen, who fiddled with his beard. His expression was neutral, but there was a devious glint in his eyes. To his right stood Richard Raspire, and to his left was Diana Grimm, who gave Alexandra a disapproving stare.
"Alexandra Octavia Quick, you are under arrest on suspicion of reckless endangerment, practising Necromancy, and for the murder of Darla Jean Dearborn. Please hand over your wand," said Diana Grimm. She sighed and had a sad look in her eyes.
"What did I do?" she said. There's no way they could have found out…unless someone saw me.
"What didn't you do?" said the Governor-General. "It seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He laughed.
Alexandra bit down a retort to the Governor-General's comment and tried to think. There was nobody in the basement when I left except for… She felt a sinking feeling. Oh. Mr. Journey. He's betrayed me twice!
She had to think fast. How do I get out of this situation? I'm handcuffed, the Dean has my wand and it's four against one. Then she remembered her father's bracelet. Well, I guess it's now or never.
"HECATE!"
Alexandra adopted an adrenaline fuelled, rabid grin as she felt herself being whisked away with a familiar portkey sensation, taking one last look at the shocked expressions of the room's inhabitants.