SciFi and Fantasy Stories: A Hand Full Of Magic* Prologue_

It was a crisp, fine night. A night Tahlia had waited impatiently for a full year to finally enjoy. But despite her giddiness, she couldn’t help but feel the nervous butterflies flittering around in her gut. In the next room, thousands of very important people awaited her for her annual debut. It’s okay, Tahlia. Breathe. It’s just a party, so what’s the worst that could happen? Just relax and go enjoy yourself. Lord knows you need a break. she thought, calming herself just enough to bring her heart rate down for little less than a minute. Slowly, she took a breath and opened the door.

Just as she’d predicted - and feared - every pair of eyes in the room turned their gazes upon her in dumbstruck awe. It was like this every year. Though she was a little nervous - okay a lot nervous - and a bit irritated by their stares, she couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride grow from within her chest. And shouldn’t it? Shouldn’t she feel special on the very day of her rebirth? The one day she had to silence her cravings for human companionship, even for only a few hours? She sure thought so. After all, it would be so long until she would get even a glimpse of another human being. She needed all the attention she could get tonight.

And that’s exactly what she got. Everywhere she looked, someone greeted her with such warmth and respect, as they should. The only thing that bugged her was the fact that everyone who dared to touch her would do it ever so delicately, as if she was made of glass, as if she might break at any moment. To her this was much like an insult. She was stronger than how everyone treated her. Much stronger. It was at that moment that a middle-aged couple pulled her away from her thoughts. She immediately recognized them as Reia and Bartholomew, higher-ranking officials on the Witches Council and the hosts of this large get-together.
“Happy Birthday, Lady Dreamkeeper,” Reia greeted her with a warm, kind smile, the sort of smile a mother might give to a child. In more ways then one, this really bothered Tahlia. Bartholomew also smiled, but his was more tight-lined, more forced. This amused her somewhat. He took her hand when she offered it and kissed it gingerly.
“Happy four-hundredth, thirty-seventh Birthday, my Lady,” Bartholomew winked. 437 years, had it really been that long since she’d become the Dreamkeeper? And yet, she was still considered so young for her position in the Council, the most important position.

Tahlia smiled and nodded, her emerald eyes sparkling under the lights from the chandeliers suspended above them.
“Thank you again for hosting this year. You have no idea how much that means to me,” she replied. When Bartholomew smiled this time, it wasn’t as forced.
“For you, my Lady, I’d do anything,” he gave her a low bow that was extremely close to mocking, but Tahlia didn’t care. She enjoyed Bartholomew’s sense of humor and light energy. He was one of her favorite members of the Council. Reia didn’t look as amused, however - whether it be for the fact he was mocking the Dreamkeeper or the fact that Tahlia seemed to like it, she didn’t know - and she pursed her lips in annoyance and cleared her throat loudly.
“Well, then Bartholomew, I best think it’s time we left our Lady Dreamkeeper to wander around and enjoy herself without us tagging along, don’t you?” she shot Tahlia another kind smile, but under her smile, Tahlia could see the jealousy and annoyance that wanted desperately to come out - to strangle her, most likely. Reia attempted to drag Bartholomew away, but not before he grabbed Tahlia by the elbow.
“Now, just a moment, Reia. I wasn’t done speaking with my Lady yet,” he said in a gentle voice. Tahlia noticed that his grip was soft, but also firm. He leaned in close to her so that he couldn’t be overheard.
“Tahlia, I need you to listen to me. You. Are. In. Danger. I’ve now had the same premonition twice in the last 24 hours. It’s a warning. Something terrible is going to happen tonight, and it will have something to do with you. I suggest that you stay in our range of sight for the remainder of the evening so that I may be able to either protect you from or foresee any danger,” He pulled away, allowing his grim face to be hidden with more fake cheerfulness.
“Have fun tonight, Tahlia. Oh, and Happy Birthday, again!” this time he allowed Reia to drag him into the throng of people, leaving Tahlia by herself. Have fun? Was he serious? How could she even pretend to have fun knowing someone planned to do something to her tonight? Stupid Bartholomew; he should’ve just not had said anything to her at all! Well, the harm’s been done. There’s nothing to do about it now, Tahlia thought with a humongous sigh. She decided it would be best to keep her guard up the rest of the evening, but just a small barrier to keep people from coming within two feet of her. Quickly, she slid through the glass doors that led to the balcony, leaving the crowded room behind her.

Being in that room with all of those people was just making her even more jumpy. Stepping out into the cool night air helped her to clear her mind a bit. Noticing no one was out on the balcony with her, Tahlia allowed herself to relax some. She gazed up at the moon contently. How long had it been since she’d last seen the moon? Tonight it was bulging and full; the rusted, orange color making it look like a giant pumpkin. Tonight was the first night of the lunar eclipse.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” came a voice from behind her, making her practically jump fifteen feet in the air. She turned around quickly to see a man standing there. He was handsome, if not quite young. The moon illuminating his pale skin made him look almost transparent. He moved with such confidence, such grace, it left Tahlia in a state of awe, something she wasn’t used to. She had to shake her head to clear her thoughts enough to think.
“Um, yes. Yes it is.” she replied at last. The boy smiled and walked over to stand next to her on the balcony, her small barrier allowing him to come within two feet of her.
“I always enjoy looking at the moon. It always seems to have a sense of claming, no?” He looked at her, she knew, but she did her best to not return his gaze. After a moment of resistance, she failed miserably.

She was stunned into speechlessness by the examining of his features up close. His hair was pitch black, almost as black as the sky around them. His eyes were a dark, rich color that stood out boldly against his pale skin. His full lips were the only actual color on his face, but they were also quite pale in comparison to her own. All in all, this was definitely the handsomest boy she’d ever seen in her entire life. But despite the boy’s stunning beauty and kind smile, something inside of her was telling her to keep her distance. The feeling annoyed her though, so she pushed it into the back of her mind. She nodded.
“I feel the same way sometimes,” she said with warm smile in return. She hadn’t noticed at first, but the boy seemed much closer to her than before. She could’ve sworn her spell was for a two-foot barrier. Maybe she had cast it wrong? She didn’t care much about it, however. The boy seemed much too beautiful and kind to be any real threat. But to be cautious, she set her barrier a little higher; now it was set to three feet. But as their conversation went on, she noticed him get closer and closer. Soon, he was only five inches from her altogether. Something was very wrong. Why weren’t her barriers taking any effect?
“Is something the matter?” he asked suddenly. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump back. Something was definitely wrong.
“Don’t touch me!” she said defiantly. He gave her a quizzical look.
“Why?” he asked taking a step forward. She reacted quickly, letting out a stronger barrier, one that should’ve pushed him into the opposite side of the balcony, pinning him in place until she could get help…

But nothing happened. She looked down at her hands, confused. She could feel her power, it was there. So why weren’t any of her spells working? She looked up to see the mysterious, handsome boy smiling coyly.
“What did you do to me?” she demanded, a small growl emitting from the back of her throat. He flashed her a wicked smile, then suddenly he was right in front of her.
“Oh, I think you already know,” he replied. His hand brushed lightly against her cheek, moving a few dark spirals behind her ear. She noticed he was wearing a ring on his right hand. On it was the symbol of a dragon rearing its head up in a ghastly bellow towards a blood red moon: the symbol of the Cloven clan. Her eyes widened in horrific realization which caused his smile to broaden.
“You.. You’re part of Clov-?” she didn’t get to finish because her words were caught in her throat. She tried her best to speak, only to realize that he’d used a muting spell on her.
“Now now, Tahlia,” He scolded as he lifted her up by her wrists, so that now she was sitting on the railing of the balcony.
“Cant have you screaming and alerting everyone about me now can we?” He leaned forward and kissed her brow. She realized only too late what his plan was. She looked up at him, terrified for the first time since becoming the Dreamkeeper. She shook her head, pleading silently: Please.. Please don’t do this! He smiled wider when he sensed her fear. This was little more than a game to him..
“Good bye, ‘my Lady’!” with those last words he released her wrists and watched as she freefalled from the balcony, powers bound and completely helpless.