20 years later. . .

Ariella "Elle" Lewis closed her History Book and sat it back down on her desk. Looking at the clock in the classroom, she realized class was only half over.

"Already done with your report, Elle?" Her teacher, Mr. Hallows, asked as he stopped at her desk.

"Um, yeah. I just finished it." She replied, putting all her stuff into her backpack.

"Oh, really? Mind if I read over it?" He asked, clearly not believing her.

"Sure. Here you go." She handed the paper up to him.

After a few moments, he handed it back to her, a pleased smile on his face.

"Very well written. Type it out, print it, and you'll be ready to turn it in."

"Thank you, Mr. Hallows. I'll have that finished by tomorrow. May I be excused early?" Elle normally always finished her work early, resulting in her having perfect grades.

"Miss. Lewis, you always impress me with how quickly you get your work done. For that reason, I will allow you to leave. Just be sure I have that report by Friday."

"Yes, sir. In fact, I'll have it to you by tomorrow morning." With that, Elle swung her backpack over her shoulder and exited the classroom. "Thank you, Mr. Hallows."

History having been her last class of the day, Elle walked out the front doors of the school, making her way towards the forest just behind it.

As soon as she was in the forest, Elle took her backpack off and switched out her school clothes for her training clothes.

"A little late today, I see." A voice spoke from nearby.

"No, I'm not. I'm right on time." Elle responded, looking down at her silver watch.

A chuckle was heard as her older brother stepped out from behind the trees, dressed in his own training gear. This consisted of a short-sleeved, white button up shirt, dark leather jacket, black pants, and black boots.

"Are you ready for your lesson?"

Elle nodded, sitting her backpack aside. She, herself wore a silky white shirt, blue jacket, blue leather pants, and black boots.

"Never been more ready, William." She said, taking a stance in front of him.

"Let's begin." Without hesitation, William held his palms a few inches apart, forming a greenish-colored orb made of electricity.

He launched the orb towards Elle with no warning. She reacted immediately, creating a silver shield in front of herself. The electricity orb hit the shield, the shield and orb disappearing when it made contact.

"Very good, little sister."

A small smile formed on Elle's face, but it disappeared as William sent a larger orb towards her.

She groaned as it made contact with her, feeling the jolts from it.

"Always keep an eye on your opponent, Ariella." He spoke in that serious tone he always used when training.

Elle sighed, climbing to her feet.

"You should take your own advice!" She shouted, shooting silver flames out of her hands and towards him. The flames made contact, but did little damage, for William brushed them off like nothing.

"Is that all you have? Grandma Julie could do better than that!" He taunted her, sending more electrical orbs out.

She formed another shield, blocking almost all of his attacks.

Out of breath, and feeling like she had the upper hand, Elle let the shield down. This was a huge mistake as a very large orb hit her full on, sending her flying backwards.

"Elle! Are you okay?" William rushed forward, immediately in worry mode.

She sat up slowly, catching her breath. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Holding his hand out, William helped her to her feet.

"That's enough training for today. Let's get going home."

Elle grabbed her back pack and then they made their way back to the school where William's car sat parked and waiting for them.

* * *

Delicious aromas drifted up to Elle's room as she was getting ready for dinner.

"Mom really went out for grandma tonight." Elle thought aloud. That night her grandmother, Juliette Lennix, was coming over for dinner and her mother had been working hard all day preparing food.

Having just gotten out of the shower, Elle walked over to her closet, picking out an outfit.

Since her grandmother was coming, she wanted to wear something nice. She pulled a blue silk skirt, white long sleeve shirt, blue buttoned vest, and her white wedged high heels out of the closet, tossing them onto her bed.

A few minutes later, Elle was standing in front of the full length mirror in room, taking in her appearance.

With the outfit she chose, she felt she looked just like the witch she was. Especially with the makeup she wore. The black eyeliner she applied made her electric blue eyes pop and look mystical, her long golden hair pulled up and braided into a ponytail, hanging down the side of her head. Also, the glitter powder she had applied to her fair complexion highlighted her cheek bones and natural beauty.

"You look like a lot like my sister." A voice said from the doorway.

Elle spun around to see her mother, Savannah, leaning against the door frame.

"I do?" She tugged on the edges of the vest, smiling at her reflection in the long mirror she stood in front of.

Her mother nodded, a sad expression on her face.

"Mom, why doesn't Aunt Julianna ever visit?" Elle asked boldly.

Her mother never spoke about her fraternal twin and any time she was brought up, it just upset her.

Savannah cleared her throat, regaining her composure as the doorbell downstairs rang, relief apparent on her face.

"Well, Grandma Julie is here." Her mother walked out of the room and went to answer the door, Elle's question never being answered.

* * *

Elle's stomach growled as she sat down at the dinning room table. Almost immediately, she heard her name called and was beckoned into the kitchen.

"Elle, my dear, come give your grandma a hug." Her grandmother stood five feet tall, with gray hair worn up into a bun, and with wire rimmed glasses worn over her light blue eyes. On her body, she wore a lavender dress and on her fragile arms, she wore golden bracelets that jingled when she moved.

As Elle hugged her, she could smell the cinnamon spice perfume Julie wore.

"It's good to see you, Grandma Julie."

"My, my. You look so grown up, Elle."

"Well, I will be eighteen next Monday, Grandma."

"That's right. That's why I came tonight." Julie muttered, a slight frown on her face.

"Wait. What? What has my birthday have to do with you coming tonight?" Elle asked curiously.

"Your parents haven't told you yet? On your eighteenth birthday-"

"Mother! Not until after dinner." Savannah warned, overhearing the conversation as she passed by them.

"Fine, fine." Julie remarked, walking into the dining room and leaving the mother and daughter in the kitchen.

"Mom? What's Grandma talking about?"

"Let's just go eat." Savannah appeared very on edge and not at all her normal self.

"But, mom!" Elle followed her back into the dining room, but her mother was already sitting down at the table where the rest of the family was gathered.

Moments later, everyone was eating and talking.

"So how is your Freshman Year at M.U.N.E., William?" Julie inquired, taking a drink out of her clear glass. In it there appeared to be some kind of turquoise brew that had steam blowing off the top.

"Oh, it's actually going really well. The professors there are very talented and have taught me a lot about magic and the history of it."

"And how about you, Elle? How is Greenwich High? Have they taught you how to make any potions yet?"

"Well, yes. I've learned quite a few potions. And I've learned a lot about the history of magic. Did you know there's a potion for immobilizing vampires?"

At the mention of vampires, a silence seemed to fall over the table.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Elle looked from person to person, trying to figure out what the problem was.

"No, honey. It's just. . ." Her father, Samuel, spoke for the first time in the conversation.

"Your grandfather, Nathaniel, was murdered by a vampire. . ." Her grandmother frowned sullenly, seeming to remember something from the past.

"He was?" Elle whispered. She heard about vampires in school and how they murdered their victims, but she never knew one of her own family had suffered that fate.

"Yes. . . The vampire drained him dry."

"Oh my. That's horrible!" Elle couldn't even imagine dying in such a way.

"Yes. . . Nathaniel's in a better place now." Julie sighed and then went back to drinking her brew.

Everyone continued eating their meal, exchanging polite conversation here and there. By the time desert came around, a certain tension hung in the air.

"Ooh! Strawberry ice cream!" At first, Elle was excited about it, but seconds later, her mood changed. The only time they had ice cream was when her parents had bad news. "Grandma coming tonight wasn't just a coincidence was it?"

"No, dear. It wasn't." Julie said sadly. "Your eighteenth birthday is coming up."

"Yes. It's next Monday. But what has that got to do with anything?"

"On a witch's eighteenth birthday, her powers mature and start to advance to their true potential." Her mother budded in.

"Now, up until ten years ago, this wasn't a problem for us, but recently, many witches have come up missing the day they turned eighteen. No one really knows why, but they do know vampires are the ones taking the witches. Sixteen witches have already been taken by vampires." Julie explained

"What do vampires want with witches?" Elle sat up straighter in her seat, wanting to know more.

"To make a new breed of vampire. A half magical/half vampiric race." Her father answered with disgust. "It's unnatural and against the rules."

"But what has this got to do with me? If it's a matter of me being safe, I'll stay home on my birthday."

"It's not that simple, sweetheart. That's why. . ." Her mother paused, choosing her words carefully. "We're leaving New England."

"Leaving?!"

"Yes. We're moving to Florida, where no vampires can take you from us." Samuel added in a strained voice.

"We can't just up and move! I have school! William just started college. We can't just leave our schools! Grandma, you don't agree with this, do you?" Elle stood from her seat and slammed her hands against the table.

"It's for your own safety, Ariella. I agree with your parent's decision on this."

"We're sorry, Ariella, but we're moving. We can't risk you getting taken." Her father said in a note of finality.

"I can't believe this is happening. . ." Elle mumbled, sinking into her chair and allowing her mind to race wildly.

A/N: Well, there it is, Chapter 1 of Elle's story. What do you all think? I'd love to hear your feedback on the book and what I can do to improve or just hear which parts you guys liked. Please vote, comment, and enjoy :)