She never understood her sister. She was always afraid of the dark, the nightlight she had one forcing the shadows to retreat in fear. They danced in the fringe of the light, only overstepping when the light bent under their curiosity. The dark wasn't evil, and it wasn't plotting on how to make a person go mad from fear. It was simply the absence of light, the place where imagination danced and the impossible became possible.
8-year-old Darcy was contemplating these thoughts, her room in complete shadows. She heard her sister, her young 4-year-old sister Kiera calling out to her parents wanting another light to try combat the darkness. She had tried to explain that the dark was her friend. It didn't want to hurt her it simply wanted to be there and give her mind a break from processing all the stimuli through the day. It had never worked, in fact the personification of it seemed to have the opposite effect and the young girl was ever more terrified of the shadows then before. She constantly kept the night light on and the door open so the light from the hall could flood through. The light even dared to try creep under her door and try force the darkness to retreat however the dark always won and drowned out the light much to her happiness. The dark was her friend, a support and protector and she always found herself wishing night would come faster and mourning whenever the sun took the moons place in the sky.
When she was 10 years old her parents became concerned. Darcy had all but turned her back on the sun and had become a glorified vampire. They had to take her out of school as she was sleeping during the day and was active at night she claimed the dark called to her and revitalised her and this caused even more fear to strike through the hearts of her parents. Every day they say their little girl slipping further away, turning from them and embracing the night as a new guide. It filled her mind with seductive ideas and hypnotised her and it made them even more fearful. They began to force her to have the light on and forced her to be in the sun, citing that she needed vitamin c if she was going to be healthy. She screamed as the sun hit her skin and begged to be allowed in the dark, claiming it brought her comfort. They declined, and when she deliberately ignored them and broke their word, they sent her to Nerine's brother, Magnus to fix her.
It started off okay. She would be allowed to spend 2 hours in the dark and he never forced her to be in the sun if she didn't want to. She was acclimatised to a normal sleeping schedule and gradually turned from the vampire chick to a normal girl, well, one who embraced the dark. He recognised something in her, an untapped magic that was as seductive as it as hypnotising. His hands started to linger on her in reflection of his gaze. His dreams changed from being filled with beauty to her beauty. His every waking thought was consumed by her and he drank in her milky skin whenever she was in his presence. He pulled her onto his lap, told her it was normal and told her to enjoy it. His hands began to wander, causing illicit pleasure to flood his body as eventually he took what he wanted, fully plunging into his greatest fantasies. She was confused, the darkness her only solace. It soothed her soul and whispered kind words in her mind, embracing her as much as an absence of light could. It was there with her throughout each twisted encounter keeping her strong and her mind clear. Eventually her mother and father came to collect her asking how her time was. She snapped. Spat out the story of her time there with so much vehemence that everyone took a step back. Her parents were horrified and for once she felt understood, supported, and protected by them. They took his side. Claiming she was making up stories and trying to break up the family that she was never able to be accepted by. She was devastated, could physically feel her bruised heart breaking and the tears leaking from her eyes. She begged them to understand, begged them to understand, they gave her an ultimatum. Either drop the ridiculous story and come home or be removed from the family and be on her own.
The 12- year- old Darcy was heartbroken but steeled her resolve and agreed to drop it. It took weeks for her parents to allow her near her sister however when they did, she explained what happened. Kiera, now 8- years- old, rejected her, saying that she was wrong and trying to get Uncle Magnus in trouble. Darcy was heartbroken, after all, she was trying to protect her sister. Kiera threw things at her and screamed her lungs out, calling her all sorts of names. When her mother Nerine asked what happened she looked at Kiera beseechingly and almost fell in her relief when she didn't tell the truth. A week later Kiera came to her and apologised, holding her big sister as she cried her pain out, telling her that she would love and protect her. the irony was not lost on Darcy, it should be her protecting Kiera but for once she released the self- imposed pressure and let her sister, the only one who loved her comfort her and that night the darkness took some of her pain way and scattered it out of sight.
A year later Darcy had managed to piece herself back together. She was once again succumbing to the dark, but this time did so silently. She was always observing, watching, checking for cracks in her parent's perfect façade they had crafted. Once she was sure her sister would be okay, she would leave them all behind, and flee in the shadows like she had always dreamed.
It happened during her parents wedding university. Both her and Kiera had to speak as was the custom in the realm of Antares, the brightest moon of Solaria. Both Nerine and Anthony had given her strict instruction in what to say during her speak. She said the words robotically, putting the emphasis where it needed to be. It was a perfect performance, her acting lessons paying off and devoid of any true love. Kiera's was more genuine; however, she was spiteful that her parents didn't take care of her older sister the way they should and never backed her. The fury flooded her veins and she felt magic surging through her, replacing her outfit with the sparkly form that was characteristic of a fairy. Wings sprouted from her back and as the magic faded, she stood there in all her glory.
Every cheered, Darcy didn't but she smiled genuinely at her sister which was enough for both girls. Everyone cheered and cast her as the ideal daughter, her parents leading this. Darcy felt the words carve a hole in her chest as she was shown once again that her parents preferred her sister. In the commotion she managed to sneak out the door, leaving everyone to rave about her sister and surround her with adoration. She moved through the shadows with practiced ease and exited the hall. The shadows welcomed her, and she smiled softly as she danced through them. She followed her intuition and wandered through the square in an almost trance like state. As she existed, she made her way to a large tower, moving on instinct to the upper floors. She was in a fog, following her intuition and before she knew it, she was at the top and on the balcony.
She stood at the balcony and shut her eyes, calmed her breath and gave into the darkness. The dark enticed her, dancing around her as it shared its power. Her untapped magic slid its way through her veins; the seductive nature of her powers coming through and she finally felt at peace. She felt the magic in her veins and the calmness that was elusive to her before finally settled. She was no longer little Darceline Douglas, she had finally found herself.
She took a deep breath as she left her body fall over the railing. Her mind kicked in and her body started to float and for a second, she was the child who found the light in the darkness. She spent the rest of that night flying through the sky, the cool night wind wrapping around her body. She started to play with her magic, sending burst of purple rings and orbs or darkness as she darted around. Eventually the euphoria faded, and her body started to ache, so she flew home, sneaking through her sisters' room.
The two sisters were ecstatic. Their excitement caused them to talk over each other and ending up in peals of laughter. Darcy enthusiastically explained that she had her true power now and explained it was why she was so drawn to the dark. She rapidly stated she was the witch of dark hypnotics, meaning she had dark and hypnotic base powers. Kiera laughed and said she was the fairy of honest clarity, giggling that they were opposites. When their parents came in, they were almost delirious was happiness. Kiera excitedly stated that Darcy had found her magic and they were momentarily proud. It struck Darcy to the core as she finally felt accepted, until they said they wanted to see her wings. She apprehensively explained she wasn't a fairy, but a witch and had strong magic. She explained she saw a shadowy figure when her magic came and had never felt more herself. Her parents were furious. Her father backhanded her, and she felt more pain in her heart than in her check.
"You are not my daughter. You are nothing" Anthony coldly stated causing the crack he had caused earlier that night to fracture further.
"You are no longer welcome here. Get out. We need a witch repulsion spell her" Nerine snapped, her voice trailing as she looked at her husband for agreement.
"Mother, Father, you can't kick her out. She is my sister, our family!" Kiera begged, her desperation shining through her voice.
"She is a lot of things, but family is not one of them" Nerine sneered, glaring at her favourite child as she dared to speak against her.
"Key, I love you and I will always be your big sister. Perhaps once you are free of them and are able to be the beautiful person I know you are we can hang out again but for now I gotta go" Darcy explained, trying to put some happiness into her voice.
"Give me an hour to pack my things and I'll be out of here." Darcy snarked to her parents, "trust me, seeing the back of you guys will be the best thing iv seen in a while" she snarled, walking between them making sure her shoulders smacked into them.
Her sister followed her, not meeting her parent's eyes. She slowly and sadly helped her sister pack, giving her all the money she had saved. It wasn't much, but it made her feel better and Darcy was touched. After an agonizingly slow time she was out the door with her sister and gave her a big hug before turning her back and flying away, not bothering to give the people who birthed her a glance.
Darcy spent the next few months getting herself situated. She managed to get herself to Magix and caught the eye of the headmistress of the witch school. It was the start of an adventure that she knew would be a wild ride but one she knew she could handle, after all before she became the witch of darkness and illusions, she could handle some petty high school drama. Even meeting the two girls that would become her honorary sisters didn't dampen her remaining love of her little sister and they helped shape her into the fearsome witch she is now. She was no longer little Darceline Douglas, a girl she left in the light when she fully embraced the shadows and, in all honesty, she hadn't looked back since.