IIIIIII Runa IIIIIIII

It's dark inside Cloud Tower as a dark-haired witch struts into her bedroom. The floorboards creak under her heels, and she walks with staccato steps. She exhales as she sits on her bed, and the first thing she does is slip her shoes off.

"What took you so long?" Ember asks. "I didn't think getting the information would be difficult."

"What are you talking about? I just went to the club." the witch says. Her brown eyes flicker over to Ember. She definitely wasn't the typical witch. With her long blonde hair and sea green eyes, Ember looked like a fairy. Not to mention her love for the color pink. Her entire side of the room was decorated with fuchsia pillows and blankets. She even had those furry slippers.

"Yes, Runa, but you were going to the club to get information on the Trix." Her voice is sassier than normal, and Runa barely manages not to roll her eyes.

"Well, I don't remember us talking about it," Runa replies. She goes and sits in front of her vanity and grabs a makeup wipe. "When was this?" She sees Ember's reflection in the mirror, and she's clearly not happy.

But then their eyes meet in the reflection, and Ember raises one of her finely arched eyebrows. "Wait, what's wrong with your aura?"

Another thing with Ember- she can see every aura of every magical creature and alter it. It was a subtle gift, but it had amazing results.

Runa raises her brows in return as she wipes off her eye shadow. The purple smears over her skin as she says, "What's wrong with it?"

Ember slides her small feet into her slippers and walks over to her. "It's like a murky gray. It's not lining up with the rest of your aura." Her manicured nails tap against her chin. "Did anything happen?"

The makeup wipe is cold against her eyelid. "Nothing much. It was crowded like usual, and I got in a fight with Lucy, and a bouncer kicked me out into the alley." She rolls her eyes and adds, "You know how Lucy is when it comes to the Trix. That stunt they pulled really messed with her, but it serves her right. Oh, I was getting information on the Trix." Her eyes widen for a moment. "There was this guy though- he looked like a specialist. He thought I was someone he knew or something." She shrugs. "Kept saying 'Scarlet.' Maybe he was possessed?"

Ember frowns and shakes her head. "It just doesn't make sense. May I fix your aura?" Ember's hand glow a bright pink. "Just to right itself back out."

Runa throws the make-up wipe away and says, "I don't care." Even though Ember was a witch like herself, Runa had known her long enough to know how odd she was. She had manners like a proper princess, but it would come back to bite anyone who insulted her. It reminded Runa of being in a royal court. Ember's pettiness is a force to be reckoned with.

Ember's hands now hover on either side of Runa's head. The soft pink glow shines on the edges of Runa's slim face, highlighting her cheekbones.

"You know," Ember says, "you really should try wearing pink. You'd look great in it."

"No thanks. Purple's my color."

The room warms up for a moment, and a thrumming pulse sweeps across the floor. Suddenly, Runa's eyes narrow and she slams her fist on the vanity. "It was that witch!"

IIIIIIII Scarlet IIIIIIII

Scarlet gazes up at the red moon, her eyes wide with fear.

Chains bind her wrists and ankles, and she desperately tugs at them until her skin is chafed and raw. The noise echoes in the open cavern, but trying to escape is of no use. She knows what's about to happen, though she doesn't understand how. Tears gather in her eyes, and she blinks them away.

Suddenly, the moon is directly above her, casting her in a red glow. Two beams rise above two stones. They connect at Scarlet's chained frame. She screams as she is forced upward, and the chains pull against its anchor. The opposing forces yank at her arms and legs, and her joints threaten to separate from their sockets. Finally, the chains snap, and the beams lift Scarlet into the air as she struggles for breath.

A female voice whispers in her ear now,and through the pain, Scarlet hears, "No one will ever dare hurt you again, Scarlet. With the power you possess, everyone will listen to you. And you'll never have to be in those dungeons again."

Images flash in the back of Scarlet's mind, of men and women chained in their cells, their ribs showing through their ragged clothes. They beg for food, for water, for death. There's the sound of whips stripping skin, of screams echoing in the chilly night, and one girl, making it all happen in their minds, forced by her parents to carry out their demands.

There is a tug in between her shoulder blades, of her wings trying to sprout, but Scarlet fights through it. She bites down on her lip, and a drop of blood slides down her chin. Her necklace grows hotter, until it burns against her skin like a branding iron.

"Fighting will only make it worse," the female voice cooes. "Don't you want to be more powerful than your parents? Don't you want to be free of them? You can do whatever you want with that kind of power."

The voice is right, Scarlet slowly comes to realize. If she had been more powerful, she could have stood up to her parents, could have saved her planet from their evil. And she could make her parents pay.

So she succumbs. Wings burst from her skin, and her necklace connects with dark maroon fabric. Gloves snake up her arms as her eyes reflect the light of the moon. Magic courses within her, and she finally feels the pent-up darkness burst from her heart. It wraps itself around her like an embrace, and she wonders why she had ever fought it for so long.