Alice Corey and the Hollows Curse

by Jimi Alan

  Alice looked over her shoulder at the stand in the middle of the room. Her eyes widened with fear as she saw a root twist up the stand. She saw the figure of the girl with the dark aura standing before her.

  The girl seemed strange to Alice as she tried to remember her name, which seemed to escape her mind for the time being. A small smirk dawned on the girls face as she stood before the stand with a book in her hand. The book looked modern in her hands. Reaching her hand out towards the stand, Alice heard the whispers grow louder.

  Deep inside Alice, she knew her body was fearing the books connection to the stand. She saw the girl, full of life as she stood before her. Her hands reached the stand as she placed the book down it snapped in place. A burst of light engulfed the book, making Alice squint as she felt her eyes burn from the brightness. She held her arms up to her face like her body needed protection from the light. Her mind felt foggy as she opened her eyes.

  Alice awoken in her bed with her hands up towards her face. She lowered her hands down as she took a deep grasp of air in. Her mind felt alert as her heartbeat raced in her chest. She felt strange for the dream has a feeling of urgency to it. Alice feared the book in her dream. She looked over her shoulder at the ‘Basic of magic’ book on her side table. She shook her head as the book looked the same as the one in her head.

  Muttering to herself, she said. “Your just tired. And in a new place. That's all.”

  She calmed her mind with those words. Covering herself back up with her blanket, and wrapping her arm around the pillow behind her head for comfort. Alice drifted back to sleep as the morning began to rise outside the academy windows.

  Not long after Alice dozed off to sleep, she woke back up. Ready for her day to start with her first class in the morning being ‘The Basic of Potions’. She rushed down the staircase to her class, hoping not to be late with her school uniform on. Alice was still getting used to the academy, being her second day an all.

  Rushing into the classroom, Alice saw Gloria standing with Justin beside their desk. She was surprised to see no teacher in the classroom. Her mind was at ease as she walked over towards her friends.

  Alice guessed the flash was delayed for a reason they had no idea about. She found an empty desk beside Justin and placed her books down. Her pencil was ready in her hand as she sat in her desk. She never felt more ready for her class in her life.

  The clicking of shoes on the marble floor echoed in her ears. She glanced over her shoulder at the entrance of the classroom as her eyes saw her teacher walk in. Grabbing everyone's attention with the click of his plate formed shoes. The teacher walked pass the students towards his desk at the head of the class.

  His hand reached for his wand in his pocket. He pulled his wand out of the cloak he hand draped over his leather vest and black dress pants. Waving his wand around, the candles in the classroom where lit with a blue flame. Making the classroom feel dark from the lake of sunlight from the small stoned windows.

  Alice eyed the teacher as he walked towards the front of the class. She wondered how old her was, his face and abs under his vest looked as if he was in his twenties. Her eyes darted down towards her notes as her hand got ready with her pencil to write down every word her teacher said.

  Standing in front of the class, their teacher raised his hand up. He smiled as a small piece of chalk lifted up from the chalkboard behind him. A calm look went over his face as he began to start his lecture.

  “Who can tell me what makes a potion?” The way he spoke was elegant and mesmerizing to the whole class. Alice tried to place his accent. She guessed he was from somewhere in South America with a beach covered shore.

  “Anyone.” He looked out at his young students. “Don’t be afraid to get it wrong. You are all her to learn, after all.”

  The teacher lowered his wand down to his side. Collapsing into the palm of his hand, Alice watched as his wand shrunk like her fathers had done. Only the handle remained as he placed his wand on the inside of his cloak pocket.

  “I know some of your parents have already taught you this potion.” The teacher explained. “It’s a pretty simple one to remember.”

  Gloria shyly raised her hand up from her desk to the sky. The teacher nodded his head for her to speak. She stood up from her desk for the whole class to see her.

  “A potion can be made out of many things.” Gloria told her classmates. “Herbs are commonly used for the more common potions. And some of the more complex spells use other ingredients that are more challenging to come by.”

  “Very good.” The teacher clapped softly for her as she sat back down in her seat. “We are going to begin with a simple potion today. One that all of you may use.”

  He turned his back to his students, making his way to his desk. His hand touched the chemistry vase on his desk. A green like liquid sat inside of the vase. The teacher turned to his students holding the case in his hand.

  “The sleep potion.” He told them. “I use this all the time. Just to get those extra few hours of beauty rest in before the night gets to wasted away.”

  Justin raised his hand slightly beside him, in a way like he was waiting for the teacher to notice him. A nod of his head told Justin he was free to ask his question.

  “I didn't catch your name.” Justin looked down at his desk as he spoke. “Mr.-”

  “Good question. I always forget to introduce myself, all the time.” The teacher smiled. “I am, Ludi. No misters or misses in my classroom, em kay.”

  He moved the case around with his hand. Drawing the students attention back to what he was talking about before Justin's question. He went on to tell the class the rest of his lecture about the sleep potion. Making a list of all the herbs the students would need to make such a potion to make anyone go to sleep. He had warned them of the potion being powerful, with one drop a person can be asleep for hours or even months.

  After his lecture, the class was dismissed for the day. Gloria stayed beside Justin and Alice as they head out of the classroom together. Lucia stayed by her sisters side for most of the morning, but met up with them later on. Alice remembered what Lucia said about there being something she wanted to show her. She knew there must be an excuse for her to get alone with Lucia, without Justin and Gloria thinking she was avoiding them.

  “Hey.” Alice thought. “Do you want to work on the potion together?”

  Gloria said. “I can do it in my sleep.”

  Justin reminded her. “Some of use have never done a potion before.”

  “I haven't.” Alice told them. “Maybe each one of us should give it a try.”

  “There is a greenhouse towards the lodge.” Lucia seemed to be happy with a smile on her face. “Me and Alice can get some of the ingredients from there.”

  Gloria reminded her. “But I thought, only faculty can go in there.”

  “Yeah.” Lucia said. “And our parents run the school. So what are they going to do, expel us for just trying a potion we learnt in class.”

  “True.” Gloria agreed. “Maybe I should go with you.”

  “We can go.” Alice reminded her. “You and Justin can find some wood for a fire and a pot to make the potion in.”

  “I think it's called a cauldron.” Justin smirked. “I mean the pot you make spells in.”

  “Sure.” Gloria shrugged her shoulders.

  Alice walked off with Lucia by her side. She had a feeling that Gloria would be suspicious of her pressing for her to go with Justin to get the supplies instead of the other way around. Alice hoped she wasn't reading too much into the situation.

  Gloria and Justin started walking back towards the school as Alice walked with Lucia down towards the lodge by the lake. Alice could hear Justin nervously talking as they departed from the academy. She knew he was trying to make small talk or even to understand why they were heading back to the academy.

  Justin asked. “Where are we going?”

  “To the potions lab.” Gloria told him. “It's the easiest way to get al
l of the supplies we need.”

  “Wow.” Justin sound impressed. “Your smart. I was still trying to figure out where we could get everything. But that makes a whole lot of sense.”

  Gloria said. “I’ll race you to the classroom.”

  Alice glanced over her shoulder. She was glad to see Gloria and Justin getting along. Gloria ran back up the hill towards the academy with Justin chasing after her.

  He shouted at her. “No far.”

  Gloria joked. “Last one to the classroom gets to be the lookout.”

  Alice could hear the two of them bonding as they approached the top of the hill. Lucia was taking her time as they walked down to the lake. Alice could see the lodge made out of stone down by the lake. The lodge seemed to be ghostly left abandoned with no sign of and disturbance around the property. She guessed the lodge was bewitched to appear in such a way, to make it seem less appealing.

  Lucia smiled at Alice. “What I want to show you is down by the lake, where the retrain wall begins.”

  Alice hopped the others would take their time getting the supplies. She wanted to see what Lucia had discovered and why she wanted them to see it with her alone. Alice knew a friendship with secrets could get messy, especially when none of them knew each other. She had a feeling that whatever Lucia had to show her should be something personal that others would not understand.

  Following Lucia to the lake side, Alice felt nervous as they walked closer to the lodge. She guessed the eerie feel was starting to get to her. She knew her feelings might get the best of her. She shyly walked closer to Lucia, hoping her nervous feeling would start to go away.

  Reaching the stone retaining wall along the lake, Alice saw a small wooden cellar door along the wall, where the shoreline of the lake met with the wall. She followed behind Lucia, placing her sneakers on the rocks Lucia was stepping on. Alice could tell the cellar door was built a long time ago with the bottom of the door having elgie on it from being submerged in the lake water for a long time. She guessed it was low tide for the water seemed to have reseed from the shoreline.

  Lucia told her. “Yesterday, the water was up against the door. I took a peek inside and thought it might be cool to explore.”

  Alice thought to herself. She wondered if the cellar door could leave to the dark room she saw in the library the other day. Her body was telling her to stop and turn back, but she felt an intriguing appeal to follow Lucia.

  Lucia reached her hand for the door. Pulling the door open as parts of the wood seemed to crack off of the edges. Alice was surprised she was able to move the door by herself. She saw Lucia slip some kind of herb in her pocket.

  “It's a Stovelily.” Lucia explained. “It gives you strength for a few minutes after ingesting it.”

  She walked into the cellar with the door still attached to the side. Lucia figured she should explain why she had such an herb as she walked I to the cellar. “I had a hard time opening the door yesterday, so I did some light reading.”

  Alice walked behind her. She saw the old stone walls of the cellar. She admired them as her hands touched them. The stone path below her feet seemed to be wet from the lake water. She guessed the water came into the cellar during the high tide. Hoping they had a while before the tide came in, Alice kept close to her friend. She kept her hands on the stone cellar wall for support, as her sneakers seemed to slip of a few of the stones.

  Lucia told her as they walked deeper into the cellar path. “I found it on page one hundred and two of the ‘Herbs for Temporary Usage’ for our potions class. It get mistaken as a dandelion all the time, for they look almost similar.”

  Alice wondered. “So how did you know the difference between them?”

  Lucia told her. “The stove-lily has a sweet smell to it and never blooms. Most of the dandelions have bloomed for the season, which made it not as hard to find.”

  “Oh.” Alice told her. “I guess you do a lot of reading.”

  “Only when I can't sleep.” Lucia let out a soft yawn. “But that only happens when I get excited. See, I like exploring new classes. My sister thinks it's weird, but I think it makes me unique.”

  “Yeah, I like exploring too.” Alice admitted to her friend. “But I feel this strange feeling, like we have been walking for way too long.”

  Alice stopped dead in her tracks. She noticed the stone she held her hand on. A dark grey color slate like stone that almost looked like it was black in the dark corners of the cellar pathway. Alice was surprised she could see what was written on the stone before her. The dark cellar was lit by the entrance they came from, with light hitting pools of water on the floor.

  Two names were carved on the stone Alice's hand touched, like many of the stones they passed. Her eyes noticed the names. ‘Martina and Jacob’ were the names she thought were familiar on the stone. She saw the surnames written below them. ‘Lakes’ was written under Martina with ‘Corey’ carved under the name Jacob. She knew her parents names far too well. Visiting there headstones in the graveyard back home, she was used to seeing them written in stone.

  A third name was carved on a separate stone beside her parents. ‘Natas’. Alice remembered what she saw in the chamber with her Justin and Gloria the other day. The dark figure spoke to a girl with the same name. She guessed her mother was friends with her.

  Lucia looked over her shoulder at Alice. “What is it?”

  Alice told her. “My parents, where here.”

  Lucia walked over to Alice's side. She seemed to be looking around for something.

  “Um.” Alice nervously asked. “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for a rock to carve our names.” Lucia told her. “Just like your parents did.”

  “Do you think we should?” Alice was worried if anyone found out they vanished school property. “I really can't get kicked out.”

  “Do you really think anyone comes down here?”

  Lucia had a valid point, Which Alixe understood. The cellar door seemed to not be moved for many years. Alice wondered if he presents where the last visitors of the cellar pathway before the tide mode it flood with lake water.

  Holding up a stone to the wall, Lucia carved her name into the stone wall where it was untouched. Alice grabbed a stone from the pathway below her feet. She carved her name into the wall, like her parents did before.

  Expecting to see flashes of her parents as they carved their names into the wall, Alice was surprised to notice no vision came to her. She finished her name with a smile on her face. Feeling connected to her parents, with her name on the stone below theirs.

  Lucia admired her handiwork on her name. She left a star beside her surname with the ‘i’ in her first name with a heart where the dot should of been. Alice thought it was cool for them to do something together. She knew the others would feel left out, mentioning it to them might make their friendship crumble before it could start. Keeping their advantage together as a secret seemed like the only logical thing to do.

  “Let's get going.” Lucia told her. “We have a lot to get from the lodge before the others get back from the classroom.”

  “Yeah.” Alice told her. “Maybe this leads to the lodge.”

  Lucia smirked. “I noticed a staircase up ahead.”

  They kept walking, making sure their steps were careful not to fall. Alice was glad to see the stone staircase. She saw the tunnel seemed to continue. A feeling deep in her soul told her, they had reached their limit for today. They headed up the staircase with Lucia opening the wooden door at the top.

  Walking out from the cellar pathway, Alice walked into the lodge. She was amazed by how the lodge looked compared to the outside. The room looked like an old hunting cabin she would expect to see hidden in the middle of the sticks. She was amazed by the sight.

  Magical creatures she never seen before, he their names written below their heads, like they were some kind of trophies. Alice took a few minutes to absorb the essence of the room. Her heart leaped out of her chest as she saw the head
of a Griffin on the wall.

  The griffin had a golden brown color on its feather that changed as it reached the bird like head of the magical creature. Alice never saw such a majestic creature before. She saw how the griffins colors became a softer brown towards its pointed beaks.

  She read the plaque below it's species name. ‘Lort, with glory and pride. Died in the battle, sad for we had to say goodbye.’

  Looking around the room, Alice saw many pictures on the surface in the lodge. From the ledge above the stone fireplace to the side table beside the chair, the pictures covered the room. Some of the pictures where hung up on the wall, between the magical beings heads. Alice watched as the pictures moved with a different witch and wizard in each photo with a magical creature she never saw before also in the picture with them.

  Words of deep meaning were written on the plaques below the magical creatures heads like they were missed. Alice realized the cabin was not home to a hunter like she initially thought. The lodge seemed to be a place of honour to magical creatures, which belong to a witch or wizard.

  “It’s a bit creepy in here.” Lucia told her. “All of them died. But are placed up on the wall to be honoured.”

  Alice wanted to know more. “Why?”

  Lucia crossed her arms over her chest. “Each one was born at the academy. So they are barred and displayed here for their companions to visit them.”

  “Their companions.” Alice thought for a moment.

  “Wizards and Witches.” Lucia told her. “Some have a magical creature to be their companion. Magical creatures are drawn to powerful witches. And we can always use the companionship. It is a true honour for a magical creature to pick someone.”

  “Um.” Alice saw a door in the back of the lodge. She was expecting to see Gloria and Justin come rushing through the door at any moment. “We should get the supplies we came for.”

  “Your right.” The words flowed smoothly out of Lucia's mouth, like she was used to saying them in everyday conversation. “I think the entrance is this way.”