Chapter 3

Ariella's POV

I jerked my head up and found nothing around me. That voice was like it had been injected into my brain - no one could hear it except me.

"See that plant next to you?" The voice sounded in my ear again.

"Who's talking?" I blurted out, panic already rising in my chest.

Lilia's words were cut off. She frowned at me: "What are you yelling about? Ariella, are you really sick?"

I ignored her and continued scanning the entire room. Apart from a cactus on the bookshelf, there was no one else present.

Was I hallucinating? Had Lilia driven me crazy?

"I'm talking to you, are you even listening?" Lilia's voice rang out again, clearly impatient.

I took a deep breath and looked back at her, thinking I must have heard wrong just now.

"I'm that cactus, sweetie." That voice came again, with a strange gentleness. "Stare at me and imagine smashing me on your sister's head."

As if controlled by some magic power, I followed the voice and stared at that cactus, my mind going blank.

Could it be that the cactus was talking?

This was too unbelievable!

Last time it was a little flower, this time a cactus - how did all the plants around me suddenly start talking overnight?

Lilia said something else, but I couldn't hear it anymore.

Because all my attention was focused on that cactus.

"You bitch! Stop acting so high and mighty!" Lilia lost her patience and pushed me to the ground.

Looking at her arrogant expression, a surge of anger rose in my chest. I couldn't quite describe what it felt like - it was as if a new force suddenly appeared in my body, starting from my chest and extending all the way to that cactus.

Then the cactus actually moved.

I was startled, my eyes widening.

The cactus seemed to sense my anger. It suddenly jumped up from the desk, pot and all, leaping from the table.

Lilia finally noticed. She turned her head, and the pot hit her right in the face.

She screamed and staggered back two steps. The pot landed on her head, soil pouring down all over her head and face. The cactus fell out of the pot and stuck to her face. In an instant, her pretty face that she was so proud of was covered with cactus needles, punctured everywhere, blood streaming down.

"Ahhh—!!! My face! Mom, save me!"

"I'm disfigured..."

Lilia frantically pulled the pot off her head, her face covered in blood, her golden curls hanging with soil and cactus needles, and fled in a mess.

I looked at that cactus, crouched down to pick it up, and carefully gathered the soil back together, my eyes involuntarily getting moist.

This was the first time in my life I'd felt protected.

Even though it was just a cactus.

"Thank you," I said softly to the cactus.

The next morning, when I walked out the door with my bag, the snow had stopped.

No one saw me off.

Edith was upstairs crying and cursing, saying it was all because of me, this jinx, that Lilia was disfigured. That was her precious daughter - she'd spend any amount of money to fix her.

"What a heartless person, why wasn't it you who got disfigured?"

"You were right next to her, why didn't you block that cactus for her?"

"There's no place for you in this family, you'd better die out there!"

Randall was sweating anxiously, pacing around the house making phone calls. He wanted to find the best doctor to treat Lilia's facial injuries, no matter the cost.

When he saw me at the door, he glared at me viciously, like he was looking at disgusting garbage.

I stood at the door and looked back at this house I'd lived in for sixteen years.

I didn't ask Edith if she really didn't want me anymore, and I didn't care if Randall really thought I was garbage, because I felt it didn't matter anymore.

From now on, I'd walk my own path alone.

I took a three-hour bus ride to Massachusetts Avenue, but couldn't find number 117.

Number 116 was a gas station, number 118 was a small supermarket, but between them was just a brick wall.

I stood in front of the wall, staring at it for a long time. Just as I was about to pull out my phone to check the map, a hand suddenly pushed me from behind.

I stumbled, my whole body lurching toward that brick wall.

This is it, I'm going to hit it.

I instinctively closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands, but the pain never came.

When I opened my eyes again, I found I'd somehow passed through the wall.

And behind the wall was a world I'd never seen before.

At the end of the plaza stood a massive castle, its spires reaching into the clouds. The sky wasn't blue either - it was a pale purple, like dusk and dawn existing at the same time.

A winged creature flew over my head, its wingspan four or five meters wide, with silver-white feathers and a long trailing tail.

As it flew past, it scattered glowing powder that fell on my hair and shoulders like stardust.

"Make way! Make way!" A voice came from behind me.

Before I could dodge, something whooshed past me - a flying broom.

A boy was riding on it, wearing a black robe. He was lying on the broom, gripping the handle tightly with both hands, shouting: "Damn it! How do you stop this thing..."

Then he crashed headfirst into a nearby tree.

A few passing students glanced at him and walked on as if this was normal.

I stood there, my mouth hanging open.

Then I slowly turned around and found that the original wall had become a huge archway with a line of text carved above it:

Hollyvale Academy of Magic.

So this place really existed?

I pinched myself hard.

It hurt. Not a dream.

Just then, a hand suddenly tapped my shoulder.

I jumped, startled, my feet slipping, my body tilting toward the ground.

Just as the back of my head was about to hit the ground, the owner of that hand waved a wooden stick.

A flash of silver light.

My falling body suddenly stopped, and a force slowly lifted me up, steadying me on my feet.

I widened my eyes and turned to look at the person beside me.

It was a girl who looked about my age, with a bright smile on her face.

She wore a dark blue robe with a silver badge pinned to the collar, engraved with a twisted symbol that looked like a distorted square.

"Sorry," the girl said with a smile, waving the slender wooden stick in her hand. "Did I scare you just now? I didn't mean to."

I opened my mouth, looking at her, then at the stick in her hand, stammering: "What is this?"

"Oh, this? This is my wand. I just used it to catch you." The girl twirled the wand and tucked it back into a holster at her waist. "Let me introduce myself - I'm Maeve O'Brien, from Space House. And you?"

"Ariella Warren..."

"You're new here, right?" Maeve tilted her head, looking at me with curiosity. "What house are you in?"

"I don't know," I scratched my head. "Something to do with plants, I think."

"Plants..." Maeve's expression froze, a trace of sympathy floating in her eyes.

But she quickly recovered her smile: "Botany House is pretty good. Our school has several experts from Botany House. Come on, I'll take you to the administration office to register."

I followed her through the hall, seeing too many things along the way that left me stunned.

In a fountain we passed, golden stars gushed from the spout, rising into the air before bursting into scattered light.

There was also an orange cat, but it had two tails, each with a small flame at the end. Wherever it walked, the air carried a burnt smell.

"That's a Two-Tailed Flame Cat," Maeve noticed my gaze and explained. "Our headmaster's pet. It has quite a temper - almost burned my homework last time."

I nodded, feeling like my brain couldn't process everything anymore.

Magic brooms, flying carpets, star-spraying fountains, Two-Tailed Flame Cats - it was all too crazy.

But the craziest thing was that I didn't feel scared at all.

On the contrary, I felt a little excited.

I couldn't say why, but I just felt like I belonged here.

Just then, noisy sounds suddenly came from the playground: "There's a fight! The trio is bullying someone again!"

Maeve's eyes immediately lit up. She grabbed my hand: "Come on, let's go watch!"