Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update. I know I usually update on Sundays, but this weekend I was out of town without my laptop. I was going to post on Friday, but I had homework and a bunch of other stuff I had to finish beforehand. ): Today we have a day off because of Yom Kippur, so I'm updating now.

CHAPTER 3: LEAVING HOME

12 days until…

It was a still day, something almost unheard of on the volatile planet of Magix; the air was humid and unseasonably warm for the beginning of spring. No breeze lifted through the air, no leaves rustled, and no clouds floated through the sky. It was almost as if all of nature was mourning the tragic loss that had befallen the realms.

And on that planet, a girl was pacing around her hotel room, agitated and upset. Her long hair fell in tangles around her shoulders, and she felt nothing but anxiety overcome her. She'd left the room in the morning to get out of this place, but the city noise and gossip had been excruciatingly irritating, and so she'd fled back to the quiet of her room.

She knew she should have listened to Aria yesterday. But it had been so hard to be empathetic towards Aria, especially when she was dealing with her own problems. Resentment at Aria's conceit, and her attitude, had caused a rift to build up between them, one that Aria had not even been aware of.

But she must have had problems of her own, to go psycho like that… Had Aria been depressed? But she never seemed to doubt herself or have any insecurity – quite the opposite, in fact. She must have had some personality disorder… ugh, I can't deal with all this…

She hadn't been on Alfea campus yesterday when the fires had started. Against her wishes, her mother had come to Magix, and insisted that they spend some "bonding time" together. In other words, just another excuse for her mother to dominate. She wasted so much money on a stupid hotel and plane ticket, and took me off campus for absolutely no reason… Though, as they had now seen, it had been a good call. For now, after the tragedy that had occurred yesterday, all schools run by the Defense Administration were suspended, meaning that every student was being sent home. What should've been a happy ending, complete with graduation and excitement, was now teeming with sorrow.

"Shannon Maire Griffin!" a woman's voice called. She halted and stared up as her mother came into the room. The only time her mother ever called her by her full name, or first name for that matter, was when she was saying something serious. No one ever called her Shannon – she was always known as Maire.

"Maire, how're ya hanging?" she asked. "I know ya're feeling down after the news about Princess Galatea and Aria."

"Why do'ya care?" Maire snapped. "Don't even bother. It's not like ya mean it, anyways."

Her mother looked shocked for a moment, but that shock almost instantly turned to anger. "Don't ya dare take that tone with yer mama," she snapped. "Ya've gotten older, but not so old that I can't smack ya on yer backside. I don't understand what ya have ta complain about, anyways."

"Ya never listen to anythin' I say these days," Maire retorted. "So maybe if ya listened, ya'd get it."

"Ya nevah give me a chance," her mother responded.

Maire drew in an exasperated hiss. Her mother never acted this way with her brothers – they were always allowed to do whatever they wanted. But since she was the only girl, she was always expected to be submissive, to be docile – even though she was just as strong as the rest of them. The villagers always judged her, always made her life miserable.

And she was done with it.

"I should nevah have sent ya to Alfea," her mother continued on. "Ya've bin so full of yerself in the last three years. And the tuition theys expect is bonkers" –

"Ya barely pay half!" Maire fired up. "I work so I can make up for da rest ah it. I clean dishes, mow fields, plant trees" –

"And ya don't make no money," her mother interrupted. "Have ya evah stopped ta think about someone other than yerself? We barely make a living, huntin' and raisin' crops. I should nevah have let ya go to Alfea. I'm takin' ya home now.

Maire felt her heart plummet like stone. "No," she forced out.

"Yes, I will," her mother responded. "Ya have a duty to help us, Maire. Ya know family always comes first." She let out a bitter laugh. "So come home naw, Maire. Come home and get on with yer life!"

This was it. The final straw. Maire glared at her mother, hatred pouring out into her voice.

"Fine then, I will get on with my life! I'm leavin'! I'm gonna go and find a place to live, and I'm never comin' back again! I hate you, and I wish that you weren't my mother!"

Maire expected her mother to slap her, or to punish her, or refuse to let her leave. But none of that happened. Instead, her mother looked truly shocked, as if she hadn't expected this to happen. A moment later, she sat down, her face hard.

"Fine then. Go. I won't stop ya. Just don't come cryin' back ta me when ya've crasht in some sick boy's house an' he treats ya like dirt." She left the room, and said, "Ya have thirdy minutes ta get outta here."

Maire wanted to take back what she had said, to apologize. But something in her mother's voice told her that she had overstayed her welcome. She blindly threw everything she owned into her suitcase, packing it and heading out into the hall.

Aria woke up to an unfamiliar, dark room. Where am I? Her head felt as if it had been banged against a wall, and she was very weak and tired. She was lying in a surprisingly comfortable bed with sheets that felt like silk against her skin. As she tried to get up, she felt something constricting her – an icy chain that looped from her arms to her waist. She tried to melt the chain, but found that she could not summon her powers; the chain was completely leeching them from her. She struggled, but the chain held firm and taut.

Just as she had given up, she caught sight of something that she hadn't seen before. Behind a window on the opposite side of the room, leading to the hallway, stood a dark-skinned girl wearing a white dress. She was looking at Aria with curiosity, and she stared back, wondering who this girl was in this barren place. Before she had time to call out a greeting, the girl's eyes widened with terror, and she squeaked and ran away.

Before Aria had time to ponder what had happened, she heard loud footsteps in the hall. Is that what the girl was running from? They weren't loud like a giant's footstep, but they were like a horse's gait, the kind that warranted attention. The door opened with a creak and a tall woman with long blond hair and pale skin sauntered into the room. She wore a short black dress, complete with black mascara and a curved, twisted smile.

"Wh-who are you?" Aria's voice trembled. Reality smacked her in the face as she suddenly remembered. It's the woman who appeared in my dream! The same woman with the ice-blue dress!

"What's going on?" she demanded. "Why am I here? What are you going to do to me?" What happened last night?

The woman didn't answer, but a menacing glint started to appear in her eyes. "Tell me. I have to know what's going on!"

It was then that Aria noticed an hourglass on the stand. There were ice-blue crystals of sand inside, each that were slowly falling down. There were barely any on the bottom, but Aria still felt a glimmer of fear. What did this mean? Is that how long I have to live? "What's that for?"

"That is none of your concern," the sorceress said icily. "Listen, my dear girl." She strode up to Aria, placing her long fingernail on Aria's chin. Aria squirmed under her touch. The woman continued, her high-pitched voice echoing through the room.

"This is my castle. I am Queen, and you shall obey me. All of my servants have only one liege, and that is I, Queen Isolde of the Forgotten Realm of Glacia. I can help you achieve greatness, but I can also bring you great misery if you do not bow down to my commands. Are we clear?"

Aria glared at Isolde. What does she mean, bring me greatness? She took away all of my greatness by bringing me here! I should be back at Alfea, training so that I can continue on to the Opera House!

"That's a good girl," Isolde smirked. "I love the anger."

"Shut up!" Aria snarled. "You – why do you need me, anyways? What the hell do you want?" Her voice ended in a whimper, and she lay back, weakened by the draining power of the icy chains.

"You ask too many questions," the woman sniffed. "You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, my dear, just sit tight." She walked out the door, leaving Aria with nothing but her thoughts.

She shivered as she felt another draft hit her. She grabbed the sheets, but realized that she could not find any warmth in them. What am I doing here? Why am I not at Alfea?

As she lay there in the cold, dark castle, she wondered if there was any way out. She wished she could go back to Magix, where Daewon and Galatea had been her only problems.