I woke up to the sun filtering through the gaps in my curtains. My hands grasped the bulky comforter as I slowly started to realize I was in my room. But… How did I end up here? I had passed out in the field on top of Maverick, and…

  I glanced at the clock on my nightstand: 9:00. I slept the whole night? I must have used too much ether…

  I slipped out of bed and immediately felt a migraine coming on. The craving for sweets was still just as strong as it was before. I guess I should go get something to eat.

  I realized I was still wearing the same dress I was wearing yesterday. Good… nobody had tried to change me out of it. I quickly grabbed a change of clothes and stumbled out my door.

  Something about the hallway — no, the entire manor — felt ominous. I couldn’t place it, but something around me felt wrong — like I could sense the energy around me twisting and convulsing. Even though the sun was peering through the windows unobstructed, the hallway seemed dark. I’d normally dismiss it, but the overwhelming wrongness of the situation was impossible to ignore.

  I hesitantly made my way to the dining hall. I felt uneasy knowing that if something happened, I likely wouldn’t be able to defend myself thanks to my ether being depleted.

  On the way there, I realized someone was covered entirely in electricity. They reached out to steady themselves using the wall, but accidentally brushed against a metal fixture, causing it to be covered in electricity as well. That was strange...

  The dining hall was unusually empty — only two or three people sitting at tables strewn about. And Maverick. He looked oddly amused, yet hadn't noticed me walk in. There was also only one person working at the counter as well. I placed my rather large order and sat at my usual table. To my surprise, Aidan was already there.

  “E-Ella! H-How are you?” he asked, stepping out of his seat. He looked genuinely concerned about me.

  “Very dizzy and hungry,” I answered, quickly taking a seat so I wouldn’t collapse.

  “That’s no surprise. Maverick said you drained your ether… H-He looked really guilty, too. He’s the one who carried you back to your room.”

  “I thought as much,” I paused. “He was that worried about me?”

  “Y-Yeah. It looked that way, at least.”

  My food arrived faster than usual, probably due to the lack of other diners. An entire cake, a bowl of dried cream (ice cream), and a plate of crunch cakes (cookies), appeared before me. I wasted no time stabbing my fork into the cake and shoving a giant piece down, washing it down with fruit juice. I winced a little at the sourness compared to the cake. Why had I ordered fruit juice? Oh, right, because I was craving sugar and couldn’t think straight. I quickly scarfed down three cookies, nearly choking on them in the process.

  Aidan reached over to grab one, and I glared daggers at him, keeping my hand above his, ready to swat it if necessary. He instantly backed away, looking terrified. That’s right! They’re my cookies!

  “F-Feeling better?” he asked, forcing a smile.

  “A lot better,” I answered, my mouth full of cake. I had nearly devoured half of it. But I wanted more. Needed more. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “W-Well, um, some weird stuff has been going on since early this morning…”

  “Weird how? Is it related to the spooky hallway?” I asked, only half aware of what I was saying. My mind was still consumed by the sweets in front of me.

  “S-Spooky hallway?” Aidan furrowed his brows in confusion. Clearly, he had no idea what I was talking about.

  “You were saying?” I redirected him back to the matter at hand.

  “Everyone’s magic seems… stronger.”

  “Does that mean you can use magic now?” My eyes widened as a bit of ice cream dripped down my lips. Better wipe that off.

  “U-Um, my elemental magic is better, but I still can’t really do anything else…”

  “Finn’s magic got stronger yesterday too…” I was starting to piece things together. “Could my magic awakening also be related to this phenomenon? And where’s Marge?”

  Aidan shook his head. “I haven’t seen her. It’s kind of… weird outside right now. And throughout parts of the manor. I-I’d try to keep my distance from others, e-especially people whose magic was already strong to begin with.”

  “Does that mean I’m also a danger to others?” I looked at my reflection in my spoon. My pink eyes were still prominent.

  "Maybe..." Aidan bit his lip, turning away from me.

  "What about Maverick?" I asked, glancing over Aidan's shoulder to get a better view of him. He was snickering as he watched a girl's ponytail levitate in the air, yanking its owner over and over. Strange magic to have.

  "That's the worst part of it!" Aidan slammed his fists on the table. "The ass is getting a kick out of all of this! Even if he knows what's going on, there's no way he's going to help us!"

  "Well, if anyone is going to have an idea about what's going on and help us, it's Sylvis. Let's go see her." I scarfed down the rest of my food and beckoned Aidan to follow me. I was already feeling so much better. The dizziness had completely subsided, and I felt an overwhelming strength course within me. But I had complete control over it. Maybe I was the only person left in the manor who could control their magic... Though, Maverick seemed in control of his. I wonder if it has to do with being an Ethereal.

  My wrist being squeezed pulled me out of my train of thought. Aidan had pulled me close to him, against a wall right before a room that led to one of the classrooms.

  "What is it?" I whispered to Aidan. Whispering just seemed like the right thing to do in this situation.

  "Can't you feel the strong ether from the other side?" Aidan whispered back.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Ether?" Come to think of it, the wall seemed to reek of that same eerie feeling the hallway had. Was it ether I had been sensing all along? "You mean that feeling like the air has become thick and twisted?"

  Aidan nodded. "W-Why are we whispering?"

  I shrugged. I kept my eyes on the doorframe and froze in place when I noticed a figure covered in all sorts of objects walk out. Knives, cups, nails, and a bunch of other objects I couldn't make out.

  "Fredrick," Aidan said to me, finally breaking the whispering. "He has control over magnetism."

  "Totally not freaky." I sighed. Once the magnetic dude was out of the way, we continued to the elevator. Something tells me I'm going to see scarier sights than that guy.

  "Ella! Aidan!" A gust of wind blew my hair into my face.

  "Aqua...?" I asked hesitantly. That was her voice, but I couldn't see her.

  "Ugh!" she grunted, and I realized she was standing by the window across the hall. She immediately ran past me and caused another person to stumble over and turn into a weird pig-lamb mix...?

  "I'm so sorry!" Aqua apologized before running back to the window and stumbling back. Did she run into the wall? She sighed again. "Can we just talk over here?"

  I nodded and walked over with Aidan. "What's wrong?" I frowned.

  "It's like I have no control over my magic! Neither does anyone else! Also, thanks for ditching me yesterday. I thought we were supposed to be a team?" She crossed her arms.

  "S-Sorry. I ended up getting distracted when I was supposed to be the one doing the distracting." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

  "Oh? Distracted by boys? I saw you with Finn." She smirked at me and I felt Aidan's hand tighten around mine.

  "Distracted by my newfound magic is more like it." I shrugged. "I think you forget I have a boyfriend back at home." A boyfriend I should have been able to get back to by now. With how dangerous the manor was now, perhaps Sylvis would make an exception? Probably not...

  "Is that so?" She stared at me, waiting to see if I would falter.

  I smirked back. If she was going to tease me, I'd just have to tease her back. "Besides, I think you two would make the cuter couple."

  "W-What?" She instantly blushed. "W-We're just friends!"

  "Friendships can always become something more. Believe me, I would know." I winked.

  "W-Well, don't let me stop you two from whatever you were doing." She dashed off, though I'm guessing that wasn't intentional.

  Aidan and I entered the elevator and waited for it to reach the top. I really hope Sylvis will have an idea of what's going on... And have the solution.

  "D-Do you still think of your boyfriend? Mark, was it?" I couldn't help but notice Aidan's gaze was at his shoes rather than on me as he spoke.

  "Matt," I corrected. "Of course. Just because I haven't seen him in almost a month doesn't mean I don't still love and care about him." I bounced between my heels and toes, keeping my gaze on the elevator door. I tried not to make the situation as weird as it felt.

  "Right... Bet you're looking forward to seeing him soon..." Aidan mumbled. Sometimes I didn't understand this kid.

  The door opened, and we practically sprinted to Sylvis' office. Not bothering to knock on the door, I immediately pushed it open. Thankfully, she wasn't the type to lock it while she was in.

  "Sylvis, I—" I paused, noticing it wasn't Sylvis behind the desk but Rosalie. The place looked like a tornado, hurricane, and earthquake happened at once. The only thing intact was the desk, and barely at that. Books were strewn about on the floor, some were torn in half, their pages littered across the office. Trinkets decorated the stray pages and documents. The bookshelves had also been knocked to the ground and broken in half. I closed my eyes and sighed. "Okay, what did Maverick do?"

  "Maverick?" she asked quizzically, and I nodded toward the mess. "Oh, that was my doing."

  That was it. Rosalie was officially scarier than Maverick.

  "F-For what reason?" Aidan asked. I noticed he peeked over me, using me as a human shield.

  "Sylvis is missing. I thought she might have left a clue in one of these books. Or the bookshelves. Or the drawers. Or the vases." Now that she mentioned it, the sides of the room had small puddles of water filled with cracked glass.

  "Did you check under the desk?" I asked sarcastically, crossing my arms.

  Her eyes lit up with enlightenment as she grabbed the desk, throwing it into the wall. "Not here either." She looked me dead in the eye as if what she did was completely normal and reasonable.

  "W-What's this?" Aidan asked, and I turned to see he had a brown scarf wrapped around his neck, which did not match his bright red hoodie.

  "I saw you were shaking and deduced you were cold," Rosalie answered. At least she cared.

  "O-O-Oh, T-T-Thanks!" Aidan was shaking even more.

  "Perhaps I should light a fire around you." Rosalie rested her chin on her index finger, lost in thought.

  "I-I don't think that will be necessary!" I quickly interjected. "Why would Sylvis have left at a time like this?"

  "I don't know. Perhaps she finally went on that vacation she was talking about taking. I should go check." She disappeared. ...Had Sylvis really gone on vacation?

  It was only a few seconds before Rosalie reappeared. "She's not on vacation."

  "Then where is she?" I tapped my fingers against my folded arm impatiently. "Do you happen to know what's going on?" I asked.

  "There seems to be an influx in ether. Specifically, in the environment. That's likely how your magic was able to manifest. And why others can't control their magic."

  "...So, what can we do about it? If ether is increased, that means that you're more likely to have a vision of the future and can therefore tell us how to fix it, right?"

  "My Talent is the opposite of everyone else's. The less ether, the more likely I am to see the future. Too much ether distorts my vision."

  "Well, isn't that just convenient. Do you have any other idea of what might be causing this?” I asked.

  She was quiet, thinking hard about what I had asked. “Perhaps it’s connected to Sylvis’ disappearance.”

  “So her being missing is messing with the manor?” I repeated, making sure I understood.

  Rosalie nodded. “There’s one other thing I’d like to mention.” She paused before turning to Aidan. “Can you leave?” she asked very matter-of-factly. If it had been anyone else I would’ve been insulted on his behalf, but now all I could simply do was stare at the lilac-haired girl in disbelief.

  “O-Okay.” Aidan made his way to the door. I think he was too startled and surprised to say anything else. And also relieved to be away from her.

  Once the door closed with a click, Rosalie turned her attention back to me. “Sylvis cannot leave Meridia.”

  “You mean that bad things happen when she’s gone, right?” I asked.

  “I mean literally. She physically cannot leave Meridia. Yet, somehow she has managed to.”

  “But why would she leave?”

  “That I do not understand. Perhaps I have annoyed her in some way.”

  “…I somehow doubt that.” I sighed. “Listen, I don’t think Sylvis would just randomly leave, especially if she’s physically incapable of doing so. Something must have happened to her. We should find her.”

  “Agreed. Where do we look?”

  “I should be asking you that!” I shouted, facepalming. For someone who had lived for several centuries and supposedly knew Sylvis better than anyone, she sure wasn’t coming up with the ideas she should have been!

  “Logic would dictate that we should look somewhere other than Meridia. Unfortunately, I cannot travel to other worlds without Sylvis’ help. Therefore, we will need to enlist Maverick.”

  “About that...” I began.

  “I see. That is very inconvenient.” Wow, she knew before I could even explain! “Very well. I will begin searching the other islands.” And with that, Rosalie disappeared.

  “And I’ll go be useless over here, I guess…” I mumbled.