Unsurprisingly, my new lifestyle didn't hold up. It was all just boring without something to entertain my mind! I mean, honestly, what kind of person walks around mindlessly, talking about makeup, boys, and actually looking forward to chores. I hated it, but I wasn't about to give up my life for a book.

Apparently, I had other ideas.

Every single time I would go and work in the garden, or cleaned Phil's office, or even went into the town square, I felt compelled to go and read the book. Almost like I was the south pole of a magnet, and the book was the north pole. It got to the point where I started thinking I needed it.

"Come on, Aria. Think! Your life could fall apart in a snap of someone's fingers. You're way safer in ignorance."

But even my family saw the change, and my brother spoke out about it that morning.

"Aria," he had said, "stop moping around. Never in my life have I seen you act like all the other girls. Where did your spark go? Where did it go, Aria, because even father recognizes something's not right."

"Brayden, you just don't get it. My-" I was about to say job, "gardening internship just isn't right for me anymore! What do you think I should do? People might hate me for voicing my thoughts, but what should I do?"

I had indirectly asked my brother if he thought I should break the law and look at the magic book. I trusted my brother infinitely, so I would do whatever he said. In my rant, a single strand of my dark brown hair fell across my face from the tight bun it was in. I sympathized with the strand, it couldn't handle staying with the group any longer. Almost like me. On the brink of breaking.

"Aria, look at me." I had met his brown eyes hesitantly, afraid he would be able to see what I was doing. "You need to do what you think is right. What if you gave the internship one more try before quitting? You used to be so happy when you came home from helping the kingdom, maybe you should see if it was one bad day."

Happy with his indirect decision, I went straight to school on a high, and for the first time, I wasn't bothered by the magnetism I seemed to share with that curious little book about witchcraft. Really, what harm could I do by reading it? 

~o0o~ 

"Now class, this is called the drop eye technique," Mrs. Harding was teaching yet another makeup technique while I sat in the back of the classroom, trying not to think about my job today. The plan was simple and hopefully fool proof. I would go to work with my backpack, clean Phil's office and slip the book into my backpack, and after that, find him and pretend to be sick so I could go home without looking at him guiltily the entire afternoon. I would return it tomorrow before he knew what had happened with the book. The entire plan depended on my abilities to lie, and sadly, they had been improving.

I even had a plan for what would happen when I read the book. The only reason it was banned was because it held the real reason as to why the witches became illegal. This reasoning was the thing that kept my good conscience alive. 

Mrs. Harding was still demonstrating the drop eye technique, which apparently caught all of the extra makeup and made it look natural. I didn't understand how makeup could look natural, but sometimes people have different views. Mrs. Harding had been the one who almost died of shock when I asked for extra work after school two days ago. She had looked at me, her eyes bulging unattractively, and gasped. After saying "Hallelujah" about a million times, she walked around her desk and gave me three extra pages on makeup, hairstyles, and manners. She had obviously been waiting for that day for a while. Too bad that was ending today after I read that book.

"And that's how to properly administer the drop eye makeup technique! Do I have any volunteers to show it off?" her eagle eyes landed on me. "How about Aria?"

Having not paid any attention to her lecture, I decided it would be best to put powder underneath my eye, since it was called 'drop eye'. Apparently that was correct because Mrs. Harding actually smiled at me. And it wasn't a grimace.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but well done, Aria!" Mrs. Harding announced, and there was almost a collective gasp from the entire class. 

"I can't believe it! Aria actually did something right. Maybe this should become a holiday!" Hadley Drecce announced, getting giggles from most of the girls in the room. Mrs. Harding glared at her, but it didn't seem to have any effect on Hadley. When the room was once again quiet, Mrs. Harding started babbling again.

"Sorry about Hadley, she didn't really mean it," whispered a voice somewhere around me, but both of the girls that were sitting near me weren't looking at me.

"Hello?" I whispered back, trying to figure out where the soft and melodic voice was coming from.

"I'm in front of you. You know, Hadley's twin?" 

"Anastasia? You can talk? I thought you took a vow of silence!" I was completely shocked. Hadley told the entire student body about her sister's vow to silence everyday while Anastasia waited on a bench, looking out into the distance.

"That's what Hadley says. Really, I'm just shy," she explained.

"Oh, okay then. Thanks," I replied, still a little dumbfounded she talked to me.

When she didn't respond, I went back to listening to Mrs. Harding's idle chatter with one of the girls in the front, Venna. 

"No, no. Your class won't meet the men until this unit is finished," she was saying, "we can't have the only options for your future husbands to see you all without the proper makeup or clothes! It just simply wouldn't do."

At her words, most of the class started nodding their heads, like sheep following a shepherd. I, however, didn't nod. I didn't even blink. My mind was racing like crazy because of the words Mrs. Harding had just uttered. The unit ended next week. In one week, I might have to be tied down to a man before I was 18. We couldn't legally marry, but I would become his property anyway. A mere object in his line of sight. I started trembling, on the verge of tears. I would lose my freedom in one short week if something didn't change.

"Mrs. Harding, do we get to choose who we are to be married to? Or do they choose us?" a girl by the name of Fiona pipped up.

Mrs. Harding smiled warmly in her direction, "Worried about looks, are we? Well, only the men who pass the chivalry, beauty, and intellectual tests will be able to pick a girl to be their wife. So don't worry, dear, your husband will be handsome."

Fiona and the rest of the girls happy sighed. I continued to tremble. No more gardening, my parents would keep me on a tighter leash, and no more books. Those were things bound to ensue a man choosing me to be his wife in only two years. No, no, no. This couldn't, wouldn't, be my reality.

I raised my hand, "Mrs. Harding, may I have a bathroom pass?"

Mrs. Harding took one look at the tears threatening to spill over in my blue eyes, and she nodded her assent.

When I saw this subtle motion, I walked out of the classroom as fast as I could, and then, without any regards to the rules, I ran down the corridor and into the bathroom. 

Locking the stall door behind me, I threw up, losing all my insides as I cried. If all that book was only a history of witchcraft, there was no way it could help me now. There was no magic spell or herb that could possibly get me out of this dreadful situation. And I wasn't given a choice to whether or not I wanted to meet the men my age. Or the man that would take me away from my cozy little home on the hill with my family and books. 

After I walked out of the stall and washed my hands, I gazed at myself in the mirror. If that book couldn't change anything about my life, then I would change my life. Simple and easy. But if it could, I don't know how much I'd be willing to give up.

~o0o~

The chime of the school bell signified the end of class, and I was the first one out the door. I half walked, half ran, to the garden. I needed to put the plan in action. 

Before leaving the bathroom, I changed into my gardening clothes just in case Phil didn't believe me. I had still brought my backpack, though. 

I unlocked the iron gate and walked back to Phil's shed. I didn't need to even glance at the map anymore, I knew the garden's paths by heart.

"Phil?" I called when I walked into the smaller garden for the baby plants. "I'm here for my shift!"

"One second!" I heard him call back from on of the paths in the larger portion of the garden. 

When Phil came around the corner, he looked drained. His eyes had huge bags underneath them, and his arms hung limply by his side as he took dragging steps.

"Phil," I started, frightened by what I saw, "what's wrong?"

"Just tired, that's all," he replied gruffly, "you can start in the shed."

"Yes sir," I told him, slinging my backpack off of my shoulder as soon as I walked into his office. 

Suddenly, an aroma of roses filled the room. I breathed deeply, wondering if this was the book's way of welcoming me, drawing me in to take it.

I wasted no time. I walked around the desk and crouched down so I was level with the bottom left drawer. Pulling it open, I was pleased to see that the cloth was still over the books. Phil wouldn't even think I had taken the book if all he could see was the height.

I pulled the cloth off, setting it aside carefully. Then, I slowly started pulling books out one by one. Another one of the books caught my eye, The Real Reason There's No More Trolls Under Bridges, but it would have to wait for another time. This girl was on a mission. 

Finally, at the bottom of the stack, lay my prize. I took a moment just to stare at the cover illustrations. Unicorns and fairies, pixies and goblins. All of the magical creatures were gathered in a sunlit meadow underneath a rainbow. If only that was real.

 Gingerly, I picked up the book at the bottom of the drawer. I knew I was imagining it, but I thought it glowed after I picked it up. Not able to wait until I got home, I flipped open the cover and started reading.

Hello, wanderer. 
If you have never quite fit in, or just aren't happy with your life, there could be something missing. You could be a witch. Now, despite what people in the kingdoms are taught, witches are able to do good as well as bad. My sisters and I have personally worked with too many good witches to count.

Now, you must want to know what happened to witches if you picked up this title. Be warned, however, that if you take the test on the following page, you could be thrust into a world of magic. Beautiful, amazing, magical magic. And danger. Weigh these two facts in your head, and decide whether you want to put this book down and continue on with your life, or see if you are destined for more.

I really, really needed to put the book down. I had a family; my mother, brother, and even my father. I couldn't just up and leave them!

But I flipped the page anyway.

Good. Now we know you are brave. Say the incantation below to test if you are a witch.

'lassamque magicae'

This was a silly test, but in the back of my mind, I wondered. If this was a silly test, then why would the book be banned? 

"Lassamque magicae," I whispered, feeling my cheeks heat up from embarrassment even though no one was around. Nothing happened, and I was disappointed. But, at least I wasn't a witch because I could be sentenced to death.

I spoke too soon. I looked up from the book. My plain worker's outfit had become a beautiful ball gown, not unlike Cinderella's, and when I looked up, my breath caught in my throat. In the middle of the shed, suspended in mid air, was a beautiful galaxy. I got up and ran my hands along the tiny glittering stars, staring at the galaxy in wonder. So I was a witch. 

When I was done being struck with awe, I tried to make it stop so I wouldn't be caught, but I couldn't swat anything away. Desperately, I tried to tear off my dress, but it seemed as though it was glued to my body. Suddenly, the magic didn't seem so wondrous. Especially since I heard Phil's footsteps fast approaching.

~o0o~

Word Count: 2264

This chapter was brought to you by chocolate.

Also! A special thanks to @starrylegends, @Renaissance1111, and for talking to me almost all day, and supporting me as I agonizingly brought this chapter to 2k words. But, even if I didn't mention you, this chapter is dedicated to YOU. You, the reader, who pushes me through the tough word count. You, the reader, who helps me remember why I entered the contest.

Thank you, all my love,
~happyperson081