April's POV: I thought about the day's events, the weight they carried, and slowly drifted asleep... or so I thought. It felt like I was being pulled into another realm, and truly, I was pulled into that same place. But this time, I met the Astaroth man, not mom nor her twin. His expression was impatient, as if he had been waiting for me for a long time. His expression turned to one of relief when he saw me. "You're finally here," he said as he walked towards me. "You're quite strong mentally. I tried so hard to summon you, but your soul was adamant, so I waited for almost an hour."
"Anyways, we were in sort of a rush, so I couldn't tell you all you need to do and can do. First, you can summon me, not just me, every other person – I mean demon or witch, not humans. Although you can summon humans, it comes at a grave price, especially with ancient witches like myself. We have to make a lot of sacrifices and lose a lot of blood, and that causes a lot of pain. You don't need to summon them anyway since they're just obstacles to your mission at the moment. You don't have much time, and you have to find the prince before the blue moon, so you have to focus. Any mistake from you could shatter KHAOS..."
As I was listening, he continued, "You can also come here without being summoned. You can do that with two methods: through a spell I'll give to you or through your demonic powers, which I don't think you have control over yet. And according to my calculation, next tomorrow night, you'll fully hatch into a demon. Oh, my, the young shall grow! Ophelia has truly made a life for herself. Ophelia of yesterday's daughter is now grown and will soon turn into a demon. Oh, I'm so emotional." I was so lost for words. Wasn't Astaroth supposed to be like a powerful old witch? I didn't know he was this talkative and dramatic. "Oh yes, I am girl, but do not underestimate me. Do not play with fire..." he laughed like a maniac. I was lost for words and could only just laugh uneasily with him,how the hell did he hear my thoughts???!!. "Bye..." he added as he blew a powder into my face and flung his coat.
I coughed out water and tried to scramble out of the tub when I felt the same force pulling me back in. I met Astaroth... again. "Hey, I was wrong, you are not like Ophelia at all. You're so forgetful. How could you forget to ask for the spell??" I wanted to tell him that it was because he was being all talkative, but I remembered his words, "Do not play with fire..." It sent chills down my spine, so I just stayed put and accepted my verdict. But instead, he just walked towards me and whispered some words that made goosebumps rise on my skin into my ear. "Any questions?" he said as he moved backwards. "Yeah," I answered. "What?" he snapped. Jeez, what's up with him? He was the one who asked if I had questions.
"Why do you call my mom Ophelia when her name is, in fact, Mia?" I asked cautiously. "I don't know, ask her yourself!" He yelled. What a terrible temper he had. "Okay... wait," I said. "How do I remember the spell? I didn't memorize it, and you just whispered it once." "Now you're talking," he said. "Don't worry, you'll remember when the time comes," he said as he blew the powder in my face again.
I woke up still inside the bathtub. I rubbed my head as I looked at the wall clock. It was 3:54 AM. I relaxed my body back into the water, and that's when I realized that the water had gotten cold. I glanced at the ceiling as I thought about it all. For about three days now, the craziest things have been happening to me. I rested, enjoying the somewhat lukewarm water and the quiet of the night. I unconsciously touched the bracelet on my wrist that mom had given to me. I missed her so much... I wish I could just see her right away. Wait, I can, I thought about the spell the weird witch man told me about. Immediately, I thought about it, and it came to my mind and fell on my lips. I don't know how, but somehow I said the spell, and I fell into a familiar yet unfamiliar place. But this time, it didn't feel like I was pulled; it felt like I was walking down the stairs, and I suddenly skipped. The feeling of rolling filled my mind as I finally landed.
I looked at the surrounding and immediately recognized the place. It was the beautiful house, the one Mom and her twin came to last time. I remember her telling me the building was a castle of dreams and illusions or something. I surveyed my surroundings and saw a familiar slender back. Mom! She was sitting on the couch, looking out the curtains as she drank a glass of wine. She was gentle and elegant as always, with a silent smile playing on her thin lips.
"April, you're now all grown up," Mom said as she turned around slowly. I was startled; how did Mom know I was here? "It's part of the demon stuff," Mom said as she smiled with a hint of amusement. Wait, how did she know what I was thinking too, just like that witch, Astaroth? She sighed, "There's a lot you need to know; you're new to all this... but hopefully, with time, you'll understand." "Come with me," she said as she held my palm. We walked up the stairs of the castle, and there we chatted like we never had. I found Mom very interesting and funny. She died when I was very young, and we didn't spend a lot of time together, but she didn't feel strange to me. It felt like we'd been together all along, as if we never separated, as if she never died. Yes, death! About that, if I were to judge according to the story, Mom died while giving birth to me in the demon world, and her demon side was awakened. So, how did I find myself in the human world, and how did she die in the human world and is alive here in the demon world? "Yes, you are very smart, April. Let me answer all your questions when we get to the fountain," Mom smiled gently but radiantly, again. She had somehow read my thoughts, and I was getting used to it. We got to a beautiful fountain behind the castle. "Is this also..." I started, but Mom cut me off. "Yes, it's also an illusion."
"Come sit, April," she said as she smiled at me. I sat down as she caressed my hair. I didn't remember much of her, but I recalled that this was a habit of hers – she always caressed my hair whenever we sat down together. Mom suddenly stood up, walked behind me, and started braiding my hair into cornrows.
"I bet you must be wondering how I'm still alive, firstly I want to say that I'm very sorry April, I'm sorry for toying with your heart, I'm sorry for leaving, I'm sorry for everything ", I was confused as to what Mom was talking about, leaving?, she paused for a moment before saying "I and your father hid you in the human world and changed your appearance to blend in with theirs for security purposes,we wanted to keep you there temporarily but the situation forced us to leave you there, everything was all chaotic and we were waiting till things quietened down but it didn't, it haven't and it'll never, when we realized the risk we'll take by bringing you to KHAOS,we decided to leave you to grow on your own away from demons, witches or anything beyond the ordinary eye, your dad wanted you to forget us but I didn't and that almost caused a rift between I and your dad because I went to the human world against his will to be with you even if it was for just a day but as time went on, I got attached to you and I didn't want to go back , I just wanted to stay with you forever, how adorable where you then, we lived happily but as they say happiness is short-lived,we started receiving some threats and we had to relocate that's when I realized I had to leave, so I faked my death and came back to this place..., The silence that followed wasn't peaceful, it was like when something shattered, the silence after, At that moment, I felt very betrayed, so she didn't die after all and I've been leaving with the brunch of her death all my life, I was so furious and felt like breaking down, I felt like a rejected stone, like an unwanted child, I grew up without parental care, it felt like the world hated me, with no siblings and no family, I had to rely on the peanuts neighbors gave me,altered my appearance?, I've been called ugly all my life not knowing that my own parents altered my appearance to this?, All in the name of protection and blending in with humans?!, I stood up abruptly as I prepared to say the spell, wait.. Mom desperately said, "we can bring back your original appearance", without knowing that it annoyed me more, she was not talking about the matter at hand, this was not all about appearance, no apology, no remorse, she wasn't talking about how I've felt all these years, I felt tears streaming down my cheeks as a voice sounded from nowhere "April, April!!", I didn't say goodbye to Mom as I chanted the spell,As I envisioned back to my world, perhaps I imagined it, I saw Mom mouthing "please forgive me" with sad eyes.
I opened my eyes to April's panicked expression as she pulled me out of the tub, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw my eyes open, "you scared me "she yelled as she punched me lightly in the arm, I was still lost and didn't know how to react, she looked at me strangely but didn't say anything more but I knew it was just a matter of time before she starts find out, "come down for breakfast", she said as she walked out the door, I followed her but went back in to change when she teased me about looking awful with only a towel on, As I went in, I thought about it all but I knew I shouldn't bother Ivory with my personal issues and it'll even sound crazy if I tell her about it, so I just changed into my clothes and went downstairs,we chatted as we ate and I could feel my cheerful side slowly resurfacing when I'm with her..