LIONDALLE 

If Aza first thought that it was a brilliant idea to come with her aunt, now she's having second thoughts. But certainly, that lampshade wasn't an ordinary trick, was it? A part of her reasoned out and that gave her a steady ground. From the corner of Aza's eyes, Aunt Ruella was happily humming a familiar tune while barely keeping her eyes on the road.

"Auntie?"

She turned to head completely to Aza while turning at a curve. "Yes, dear?" Aza fidgeted and nervously glanced at the road ahead.

"Where are we going?"

When her aunt told her about travelling to a place where people like them belong, Aza was half-expecting to see a flying pirate ship or some golden ticket. But unfortunately, for the past couple of hours, all they did was recklessly drive along the bumping highway of some small town near Carson City. And to top it all, Aunt Ruella hasn't given her a single clue on what to anticipate.

"You'll see for yourself, child."

Well, that wasn't much help, Aza thought and imagined whether Dina would have a fit if she as much as found out her only sister was being misguided by their crazed aunt. Aza then remembered how her older sister went balistic when she told her that she would be joining Aunt Ruella. All in all, it took them a good one hour before Dina Sterlings let the two of them out of the front door, unscathed. Though, she did called every minute to check on Aza. It was a great relief that halfway along their trip, Aza's cellular phone lost signal.

As Aza was musing over these little things, her attention was abruptly caught by a loud ringing sound that went off somewhere in Aunt Ruella's car. Red lights where flickering inside the vehicle and that alarmed her. "Auntie, what's happening?!" But to her astonishment, her aunt grinned at her and took her hands off the steering wheel.

"We're here."

But when Aza looked outside, she saw the most terrifying sight. A large wooden sign board harbored the letters for: DANGER! with a demolished bridge up ahead; other than that, it looks as if they were in a deserted place judging from the dirt and vegetation that nestled them. Aza's eyes shot wide and panic rose in her chest. Was her aunt aiming to get themselves killed?

"Aunt Ruella, we're gonna die!"

But when she checked on her aunt, her jaw nearly dropped upon seeing her calmly drinking some tea. A teapot suspended in the air. Aza stared at her, bewildered. How can she be so composed in a situation like this?!

"Want some, dear?"

"AUNTIE! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!"

Sure enough, as they edged the bridge, Aza gripped the dashboard and closed her eyes tightly. She was so sure she was going to see that umistakably blinding flash of light any moment now, but to her surprise, Aza only felt lightheaded.

She felt dizzy for a minute, and in the background, Aunt Ruella's joyful laughter rang. After what seemed like an eternity, her aunt finally said "You can open your eyes now, dear. But of course, it's your choice if you want to keep them closed instead."

Aza opened her eyes slowly, checking to see if her body parts were still in one piece. She was alright. Relief washed over her. The car seem to be moving again on solid ground. Curiosity got the best of her but it was not until they came to a sudden halt did Aza peered outside the car's window. They seemed to be in front of large iron gates that resembled those in gothic films.

"This is the MidWorld, Aza.. Where witches, wizards and all types of magical creatures dwell." Aunt Ruella said.

Aza got out of the car and took in her surroundings. From where they just came from, she saw distant houses and shops. A vast forest on either side of her and a sun shining high in the sky. She tore her gaze away from everything else, and focused on the tall, antique-looking gate in front of them. She can't see anything behind it except from an open field. Everything looks normal to me.. Well, except from that car travel, though.

Aunt Ruella took out her want and magicked her trunk to appear beside her.

"Come on, now. We still need to notify the headmaster of our arrival, though I believe he already knows this by now.. He knows everything."

And then she started to walk towards the gates. Aza was confused more than ever. "Um.. Auntie? There's nothing beyond that gate." But Aunt Ruella only gave her a mischievous grin and gestured for her to come closer.

"Oh, right.. You see, Aza, you can only see what lies beyond these closed gates if you believe that magic exists within you. That way, only true witches and wizards are able to overlook that empty field."

She paused, clearly not getting what the elder woman said.

But before she could ask more questions, Aunt Ruella had already flicked her wand at the gates, muttering, "Frequesillus!" And just like that, the tall gates creaked open. She followed her aunt inside, dragging her trunk along with her. Aza's brown eyes widened to it's full extent when she spotted a figure emerging out of thin air.

It was a castle.

The empty field suddenly became "not-so-empty"; In fact, the large ancient castle that stood a good twenty meter distance from them was only one of the many things that instantly caught Aza's attention. At her left, she can see several teenagers in wizard robes blasting each other with their wands. The blonde boy, looking quite smug, yelled, "Avenatricos!"

Aza watched as more than a hundred birds came swooping down on his enemy's head and started chasing him around in circles. The blonde boy and his companions laughed wickedly. Aza turned to her right where the largest tree she had ever seen in her life stood towering them. It's huge branches were covered with beautiful green leaves. She spotted a few creatures (that looked like a squirrel with big black beads as eyes, having a rat's tail) dangling from the smaller branches.

"What is this place?" She asked in no one in particular. But, as if someone sent his voice through the wind, she heard an answer, "This is Liondalle School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, miss." She turned her head to locate the origin of the voice, but saw no living soul standing near her for a ten-meter-radius. Could it be that ghosts were also a resident of this enormous castle?

Witchcraft and Wizardry?

That idea stuck on her mind. And now, she know what she is.. Or atleast what she should be. When they entered the grand doors, Aza saw every student, who were either busy chatting, giggling or bullying others, stopped to look at them. Specifically, at her. A thousand curious eyes followed her as she passed through the crowd and from a distance, she even saw a guy making himself float in midair lose his concentration with the sight of her and fell with a thud. When they reached the marble staircase, a young girl with brown hair finally spoke,

"Professor Vine, who is she?"

Professor Vine? She glanced at her aunt and saw her acknowledge the girl by smiling, "She's my niece, Cloe. The one I was telling you about last semester."

"Oh. Is she leaving the land dweller's world then?"

Aza saw her aunt gave the girl a curt nod before passing her by. She reluctantly followed her to a room at the end of a spacious hallway. Aunt Ruella pointed her wand on the black lion engravements and muttered an incantation Aza was sure wasn't in English. Soon enough, the large oak door opened and they walked inside.

To say she was amazed was an understatement.

Because the room was a whole lot larger inside than she expected it to be. The place screamed antiquity and magic. Polished wood nestled the floorings and several odd looking ornaments made of stone were displayed everywhere. There were paintings that each had the similar face in each of them. Aza had to squint her eyes before she recognized the face. But before she could voice out her discovery, a man emerged from what seemed like a trap door. He dusted himself and smiled upon seeing her aunt.

"Ah, Professor Vine! I thought you weren't coming back until old Fenrock Williams is in good shape again?"

Aunt Ruella smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I believe he can manage another day of suffering with his Bird rashes. He's a grown man, for pete's sake! Anyway, headmaster.. I would like you to meet my niece," she darted her eyes at Aza. The girl immediately straightened up, still staring at the old man in wizard robes.

The headmaster smiled kindly at her and gave a thumbs up.

"Aza Sterlings! How nice to see you again. You look thinner than I remembered, child!"

Aza couldn't help it and blurted out,

"You're that old git that talked to me a year ago!"

The headmaster, who had a long gray beard and amused gray eyes, nodded. "Yes, I do believe we have met last spring. Though, I'd expect you to enter my school premises earlier, Miss Sterlings." Aza then rubbed her eyes, and secretly tried to pinch herself in hopes of jumping back to reality. But the little pain she felt told her that this was the real thing. She turned to her aunt who was chatting with statue.

"Aunt Ruella.. What are we doing here?"

Aunt Ruella laughed at her niece's ignorance and outstretched her arms to give emphasis,

"Welcome to Liondalle's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Aza! This is were I go whenever I'm not in the land-dweller's world.. Obviously, child, you have to learn how to deal with magic. Headmaster Trimus Liondalle III tried to pursue you last year to start the your studies but unfortunately.." Aza didn't need that sentence completed to know what her aunt meant. She didn't believe in magic before... Well, maybe she's still in doubt now. This isn't kid's stuff anymore. No. Aza's life is already at it's turning point.

It was the headmaster who continued, "You were bound to start your wizarding studies last year, Miss Sterlings. But somehow, we haven't got any confirmation letters back from your address, so I made an appearance." He smiled reassuringly at her. That made Aza a little more comfortable. Truthfully, Aza thought she's be thrown in jail or something..after calling the headmaster a "crazy" man before. And the funny thing is,

"Um.. Headmaster, I haven't gotten any letters from Liondalle last year."

"Really, now? Well.. no matter! Late blooming flowers are always the ones who outstand all others in a garden. Believe me, I've been planting gruffle pots since I was three!"

"Ah," Aza didn't know how to respond to that. What on earth is a gruffle pot? Aunt Ruella cleared her throat and that pulled the headmaster out of his reverie.

"Yes.. Yes, of course. You are a year behind your studies, Miss Sterlings.. But I strongly believe that this school will always have a space for latecomers. You're HA will be the one to explain such arrangements. Here is your schedule," with his want, Headmaster Liondalle levitated a piece of parchment to Aza.

She read it's contents and furrowed her eyebrows. The next thing she knew, her aunt was leading her to one of the dim hallways and through a dozen flight of stairs, until they came to a stop. Aunt Ruella opened the new set of doors and admitted her into a large room with glimmering walls that reflected their beings.

Aza could feel a light force pulling her towards the center of the room.

"This is the Sectioning Room, Aza. All first years must be sorted into their respective Houses. It's part of the tradition. Go on, now.. There you go.. Now, I'll leave you here for a minute. Focus, and tell me what you saw afterwards."

With those words finished, Aunt Ruella slammed the door shut. Leaving her alone, standing in the middle of the shiny room. It was as if silver painted the walls.

She stared at her reflection.

"What am I supposed to see, exactly?"

Aza walked forward and glided her fingers on the wall. After a moment, she decided to just sit on the floor and wait for whatever magic erupts. She was currently staring at her reflection when something caught her eye. Aza followed the blurred image in her reflection until it stopped and positions itself beside her. She immediately turned her head, only to find nothing but thin air. "What..?" Aza averted her eyes back at her reflection and saw the blurred image still there.

Until it reeled into focus..

"A fox.."

The fox in her reflection looked like a large inked cat with floppy ear. It's eyes were striking gold, staring back at her in the reflection.

A knock on the door disrupted her. Aunt Ruella came in, looking slightly agitated. "Aza? Is everything alright? You've been in there for more than half an hour!"

Aza got up and walked out of her room. That long? Well, maybe the room had some kind of charm on it to deflect the hands of time. Aza doesn't know.. But she wants to.

"I'm fine, auntie.. I-I saw a fox."

Aunt Ruella sighed, led her out of the room and looked uttermost relieved.

"Where are we going now, auntie?"

"To your domitory, my dear.. You belong in Nickerfoxes House."

Aza hesitantly nodded and glanced back at the door of the Sectioning Room. Watching it vanish with every step they took.

***