The Blackening Of Olive Lane

5:45 am,

Lane Residence,

Ravenwood.

She was being pursued, she had to keep running. Why was she in a forest, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep on her bed and now she was here. She didn't even know what was pursuing her but she knew she couldn't let whatever it was catch up. She looked behind her and it was getting closer and in her panic, she didn't see the elevated root and she tripped. It was over, she had been caught. Fear gripped her, she could feel it behind her. She raised up her head to see what had been chasing her...

"Ahhhhh" she bolted up from her prone position on her bed. She was shivering, her body and clothes soaked in cold sweat. "It was just a dream Olive, just a really bad dream" she tried to comfort herself but no matter what the terror would not go away. She tried to calm her fast-beating heart. This was the fifth nightmare in two weeks and they always ended the same way, her waking up before she could see the face of her pursuer. She kept convincing herself and everyone else that there were just nightmares but she knew better than that and as for why her screaming didn't wake up everyone in her house as well as the entire neighborhood, well a simple silence rune carved into her bed post was to thank for that.

She looked at her alarm clock which didn't go off for another hour "It's just a few minutes to six?!" she knew she would not be able to go back to sleep "Might as well prepare for Miss Adeline's quiz" so she grabbed her bag from its place beside her bed, took out her history textbook and began to read.

An hour later, her alarm rang so she put her textbook in her bag and cancelled the silence rune. After getting ready for school she went to the kitchen and saw her mom, Mrs. Rosabella Lane at the stove g making pancakes. Olive took a deep breath "Smell delicious mom" she was already drooling. Her mom laughed"Good morning to you too Olive". A plate with a mountain of pancakes was placed on the table. Olive took a bite after drowning the pancakes in maple syrup and gave a satisfied moan"Mom, your pancakes are the best" she continued to eat like a ravenous wolf and took a sip of the orange juice her mom placed on the table for her. "Take it easy so you don't choke" she warned with a smile.

In five minutes, Olive had wiped her plate clean." Thanks mom" she greeted with a kiss on her mother's cheek. A car horn sounded outside the house "That must be Chelsea, her brother promised to take both of us to school". There was a knock on the door and a yell. "Olive, get your butt out here, we're gonna be late". Both mother and daughter looked at each other and cracked a smile and with a flick of her wrist, Rosabella Lane had packed her daughter's lunch. "Off you go, don't keep them waiting" she said while pushing her daughter to the door.

The door was opened to see a young girl with a slim body, blonde hair, brown eyes, and freckles dotting her face with her hand poised to knock once again "Olly!" was all Olive heard before she was tackled by her bestie and dragged into a hug. "I missed you so much" was what was heard next. "Chelsea we literally saw each other on Saturday" a giggling Olive reminded "So? Am I not allowed to miss my best friend?" the complaint was muffled because Chelsea's face was still burrowed in Olive's shoulder." Yes, you are Chelsea" Rosabella said making the girls separate from each other." Good morning Mrs. Lane" a blushing Chelsea greeted. Rosabella let out a laugh" Good morning to you too Chelsea"

A loud honk came from the car interrupting the moment, an annoyed voice following immediately after"Chelsea if you and your friend don't get in the car in five seconds I'm leaving the both of you" that was Jackson, Chelsea's elder brother, and their ride to school. Both girls yelled goodbye and went out the door.

Once the girls were gone, the smile on Rosabella's face fell and her face became dark as she shut the door.

Elsewhere,

A mother and daughter duo were in a car driving on a deserted road. "Mom, what is Ravenwood like?" the question broke the silence that had been carrying on for an hour. The mother, Eva Ross looked away from the road and at her daughter.

"What would you like to know, Jess?" she asked in return. "Everything" was the reply, an excited gleam in Jess... Jessie's eyes.

"Well, Ravenwood is a place of absolute wonder. It's a place where the supernatural and the human world meet without problems. There is peace and harmony, no arguments or quarrels. Magic runs free and people from every race are accepted". There was a smile on Eva's face as she spoke of the place she grew up.

"Mom, would they accept someone like me?" Jessie asked biting her lips. "Of course, they will! It is as I said everyone is accepted at Ravenwood, regardless of their powers, clan, or supernatural race". Jessie was unconvinced but decided not to say anything lest the good mood that had been set up be destroyed.

Eva turned to her daughter " Have you been able to learn the light spell yet?" Jessie became excited " Yeah! I'm actually having a lot of fun making it change colours. Check this out" she said with a grin, flicked her wrist and whispered "Hyacintho lumina".

An orb of blue light came into existence and rested stably on her palm. "Viridis", the orb turned green, "Flavis" and the orb turned yellow. With a whisper of "Noctis" the orb of light sputtered out of existence.

"You really did get better, I'm so proud of you Jess" Eva said making Jessie beam at her mother in a way that she hadn't ever since she(Eva) told her(Jessie) that they would be moving.

Two hours later and there was finally sight of civilization within reach. Eva glanced at her daughter who got more and more excited the closer they got to the town"Seems like someone's excited" she commented a smile on her lips.

"With the way you keep talking about it, of course, I would be excited," Jessie said with a mock frown. Eva laughed and turned the radio on and Jessie's favorite Kpop song was playing. As Jessie was singing along her Korean speaking skills were only limited to singing, Eva would occasionally glance at her daughter, a soft indulgent smile on her face.

After twenty minutes, they finally drove into town, and seeing a strange car driving into town, people stared and waved. The town looked like any other town but there was something in the air that just felt right with her. A warm feeling enveloped Jessie and she turned to her mother "Mom, I think you were right. Ravenwood just might be the place for me" her smile reaching her eyes and making them sparkle.

Meanwhile.

At Ravenwood High,

"Miss Adeline's tests are such a pain" Chelsea was whining for the fifth time since they finished the test. "Why did we have to have her class at the end of the day? Now I'm going to keep thinking about how I completely bombed the test for the rest of the day" she said dramatically. "Oh please Chels, the day you bomb a test is the day Mrs. Hemsworth makes Mundane History, interesting enough that I don't sleep through her class" a male voice said from behind them making Olive's face light up. She turned and yelled "Ash", jumping into the arms of the aforementioned boy who was her boyfriend and Chelsea's cousin.