Kate heard the shot, muffled by distance and her bedroom door. It was followed half a second later by an even duller thud. The people responsible for the gunshot talked and laughed loudly, carelessly traipsing through the house and stealing anything they could get their hands on. Kate, however, was distressed by something else. She was nearly in tears because the shot had to be a gunshot, and the thud had to have been her father falling dead.
Knowing that it’d only be so long until she was found by the attackers, Kate frantically conducted a cursory search of her room for something she could use in self-defense if someone were to threaten her and settled quickly on a pair of scissors. She knew that they wouldn’t be very useful against someone with a gun, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Opening the door as quietly as physically possible, Kate peered out cautiously. No one had come upstairs yet. As stealthily as she could, Kate snuck on cat’s feet by the wall. The house was considered by many to be rather “fancy” and had, in a sense, an overhanging hallway surrounding the walls. Several doors lined this overhang, but Kate’s desire was to get into only one of these. It stuck out from the others, being made of dark, heavy, polished wood. This was her father’s study. As a child -- and even into her teenage years -- Kate had often asked her father to go inside, even for the tiniest peek. Unfortunately for her, his answer had always remained the same: “When you’re ready.” Well, it’s not like there’s going to be anything worth seeing inside after today, Kate reasoned.
She edged closer...closer...almost there...and then a vase nearly landed on her head, shattering upon impact with the floor with a mighty CRASH! Throwing any and all caution she’d been so careful to exercise out the window, Kate made a mad dash for the study. Several surprised shouts rang out from downstairs, and a gunshot went off. It hit a part of the railing on the wrong side of the floor and splintered the wood, evidently just a hopeful shot and not an aimed one.
Thankfully, Kate was able to make it to the study alive. With a great push, she slammed the door behind her, locked it, and then looked around. The study looked like something from a cartoon or movie. Books of many different cover colors and thicknesses lined dark wood shelves and a desk sat next to the door. Fearing for her life, Kate hastily shoved the desk over in front of the door.
She looked around, wondering what could be in this dusty old place that her father had wanted to keep secret for so long. The shelved books varied in subject, though most of them were thick fantasy titles. Figures, Kate thought, The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, huh? She and her father both shared a passion for the genre. The exhilarating battles, thousands of types of bizarre and wonderful creatures, faraway kingdoms… There were just so many reasons to love fantasy. Moving to the desk, Kate looked at the heaping piles of stuff that had, in large part, been knocked over from her moving it. An old, yellowed note stuck out to her. Ignoring the intruders trying to take down the door battering-ram style, she read the note.
“Hello, Kate. If you’re reading this, then you’re likely ready to have an incredible secret revealed to you. You are what’s referred to as a Mage, capable of doing extraordinary magical tasks. To help you to learn how to control your abilities, I have provided you with a book. A ‘spellbook,’ if you will. It has your name on it, quite literally. I hope it helps you to learn your newfound abilities. ~Dad”
Kate’s heart skipped a beat and she began to fantasize, but was jolted back into reality by a sharp splintering sound from the door. She quickly looked back among the bookshelves and found the book, cursing mentally at herself for not seeing it earlier. Flipping to a random page, Kate read aloud. In the same second that the door finally gave way, a deafening explosion ripped through the house. As the dust settled around a somehow unharmed Kate, the crisp night air seemed to call to Kate, whispering, “Magic is real. Welcome to your destiny.”
Knowing that it’d only be so long until she was found by the attackers, Kate frantically conducted a cursory search of her room for something she could use in self-defense if someone were to threaten her and settled quickly on a pair of scissors. She knew that they wouldn’t be very useful against someone with a gun, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Opening the door as quietly as physically possible, Kate peered out cautiously. No one had come upstairs yet. As stealthily as she could, Kate snuck on cat’s feet by the wall. The house was considered by many to be rather “fancy” and had, in a sense, an overhanging hallway surrounding the walls. Several doors lined this overhang, but Kate’s desire was to get into only one of these. It stuck out from the others, being made of dark, heavy, polished wood. This was her father’s study. As a child -- and even into her teenage years -- Kate had often asked her father to go inside, even for the tiniest peek. Unfortunately for her, his answer had always remained the same: “When you’re ready.” Well, it’s not like there’s going to be anything worth seeing inside after today, Kate reasoned.
She edged closer...closer...almost there...and then a vase nearly landed on her head, shattering upon impact with the floor with a mighty CRASH! Throwing any and all caution she’d been so careful to exercise out the window, Kate made a mad dash for the study. Several surprised shouts rang out from downstairs, and a gunshot went off. It hit a part of the railing on the wrong side of the floor and splintered the wood, evidently just a hopeful shot and not an aimed one.
Thankfully, Kate was able to make it to the study alive. With a great push, she slammed the door behind her, locked it, and then looked around. The study looked like something from a cartoon or movie. Books of many different cover colors and thicknesses lined dark wood shelves and a desk sat next to the door. Fearing for her life, Kate hastily shoved the desk over in front of the door.
She looked around, wondering what could be in this dusty old place that her father had wanted to keep secret for so long. The shelved books varied in subject, though most of them were thick fantasy titles. Figures, Kate thought, The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, huh? She and her father both shared a passion for the genre. The exhilarating battles, thousands of types of bizarre and wonderful creatures, faraway kingdoms… There were just so many reasons to love fantasy. Moving to the desk, Kate looked at the heaping piles of stuff that had, in large part, been knocked over from her moving it. An old, yellowed note stuck out to her. Ignoring the intruders trying to take down the door battering-ram style, she read the note.
“Hello, Kate. If you’re reading this, then you’re likely ready to have an incredible secret revealed to you. You are what’s referred to as a Mage, capable of doing extraordinary magical tasks. To help you to learn how to control your abilities, I have provided you with a book. A ‘spellbook,’ if you will. It has your name on it, quite literally. I hope it helps you to learn your newfound abilities. ~Dad”
Kate’s heart skipped a beat and she began to fantasize, but was jolted back into reality by a sharp splintering sound from the door. She quickly looked back among the bookshelves and found the book, cursing mentally at herself for not seeing it earlier. Flipping to a random page, Kate read aloud. In the same second that the door finally gave way, a deafening explosion ripped through the house. As the dust settled around a somehow unharmed Kate, the crisp night air seemed to call to Kate, whispering, “Magic is real. Welcome to your destiny.”
