(Zelda's P.O.V)

I was listening to two women talking about Professor Portman. I've seen them before, but I thought nothing of it.

"The Portmans have such a wonderful home. Have you seen their garden?" Said the young woman.

The older woman named Professor Luma giggled. "This must be your first time visiting the ancestral home of the Portmans. They have a conservatory out there as well."

"It is. Malakai isn't the type to invite people over, is he?" The young woman asked.

"No, he's not. It's good that Rowan and Irene are much more pleasant than that old coot." said the older woman.

"Old coot? I thought you had the hots for the old man?" She said with shock.

"I do. I haven't seen Lord Malakai all night. I wonder where that silver fox went, anyway?" The older woman said with a blush on her cheeks.

"We'll find him. Let's finish finding the bathroom; this place is like a damn maze." The young woman said.

I heard them walking away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Silver Fox??? I laughed to myself; Professor Luma has the hots for Professor Portman!?! Shawn will die when I tell him about this. I should find the poor man as I think he might be looking for me. He'll think about meeting me in the garden if he's smart.

I turned around and cast a spell. "Levos," The book came flying into my arms. This book will make good reading material while I wait for Shawn. I'm sure Mr. Portman won't mind.

I made my way to the gardens as the moon was shining in pale moonlight down on me. I could feel the Moon Goddess as the moon was strengthening my magic; the cool summer air felt refreshing. It brought back many childhood memories that I treasure deep inside my heart. Memories of playing outside with Shawn and doing spells with him and his grandfather, I placed my finger on my head, and a white line came out as I threw it into the air. I saw younger versions of myself and Shawn as we summoned lights. We even used magic to plant the first-ever natural Black Rose Bush. Ugh, where is Shawn anyway? I guess I can keep reading the maniac mystery man's journal until he shows up. I opened the book to the earliest page. As I turned the page, I got a paper cut with a drop of my blood on it.

FUCK, THAT HURTS. Oh crap, my blood is on it. A simple charm will fix that. I blew an on the paper, and my blood vanished from the page. Thank the goddess; I got rid of the blood with my quick wit And now, back to our regularly scheduled reading program.

I reread the pages right from the top.

October 31st, 2025

I wasn't expecting to write again today, but I became aware of something intriguing after returning from the Halloween Feast tonight. It all started when that dumbass, Jax, decided to sing Happy Birthday to me in the dining hall. Luckily, I got out of there in time before anyone could catch me. Which definitely would have gotten me stuck for the rest of the night. Unluckily, this all happened before dessert was served—the thing I would do for a double chocolate cheesecake right now. The silver lining is that I can read in peace and have my solitude for the rest of my night. I'd been waiting all day to dive into this book on ancient Egyptian magic that Corvin gifted me. He sent it directly from his parent's collection this morning. What better gift than the opportunity to take in a whole new wealth of knowledge? It became clear why this book was given to me once I reached a particularly fascinating chapter on magical bonds. According to this, one's magic can strengthen far beyond one's abilities when bonded to another supernatural being- A Soulmate. My original thought was that this was crazy, absurd, and untrue. However, I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss research on one of the oldest magical civilizations in the world.

On one hand, depending on another person to unlock my true abilities seems slightly insulting. I should be able to reach the apex of true potential on my own, shouldn't I? I've been doing just that for the past eighteen years, and so far, I have always accomplished whatever I wanted to do. On the other hand, there's even a rare threshold for breaking past everything that most people will never be allowed to achieve. That is something to consider. An alluring promise of power seemingly devised by destiny itself.

An old wizard once said that having a true soulmate is one of the rarest blessings one can be bestowed. Every individual's magic is so unique that the odds of being born in the same lifetime is one in a million. If one is lucky enough to be created during the same lifetime as your mate, how likely you are to find one another will be a separate issue. Fate is one cruel daughter of a bitch. No wonder other people across the ages have never experienced this phenomenon. I'm confident that I have never seen a magically bonded pair. There is a rarer form of the mate bond, and that bond is known as the Marked. Those marked by the first words spoken to each other are said to be destined for the most extraordinary partnership. The eldest of the mated couple would have their mate's words appear on their eighteenth birthday, while the younger ones would appear at the dawning of their adolescence. Well, it's safe to say that my interest in this matter has taken a sudden turn, and today is my 18th birthday. I woke up this morning to find mysterious writing on myself that was not there the day before, two seemingly harmless words. In the shade lighter than my skin, neatly written, and spanning the width of my inner left forearm, right along the bend, it would appear that I have a soulmate out there. Fate has gifted me with the possibility to be even more powerful. I need to find and meet my key to unlocking this power. The real question is, when will we meet? Will we ever meet face to face? History says it's not guaranteed, but something tells me we will meet someday.

I can't wait to meet you. I wonder what you are like; I must wait and see.

I closed the book after reading the entry. A soulmate mark? It felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me at the mention of that. My mind began racing a mile a minute as I stared at the sky. I focused on the moon, doing what I could to control my breathing and anchor myself so I didn't have a full-blown panic attack. But it was too late, as an overbearing sense of dread was already slowly seeping in and threatening to take me over. Fear gripped my heart with the sinking realization of just how intimately familiar I was with the handwriting on the pages of the journal. If I closed my eyes, I could see the words.

What are you looking for?

My very curious mark unexpectedly appeared several years ago. I could so clearly imagine that elegant script it was written in, dancing down the skin of my ribcage and just past my waist. Maybe it's not their handwriting, though. I could be imagining things, as I am known to have a very active imagination. But I'm dragged out of my thoughts. I heard Shawn yelling.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Shawn yelled as I fell to the grass. "Oh crap! I'm so sorry, Zelda! I didn't mean to scare you." Shawn helped me off the ground. "Are you okay? Why do you look like you are going through an existential crisis right now?"

Because I am going through an existential crisis right now. "Alright, look, this is going to sound a little insane, so promise not to laugh," I said as Shawn nodded. "So, I found this weird book in the study, and it seems more like a journal. I'm not exactly sure what it is. The deranged rantings of a madman, maybe? An early draft of a manifesto or something like that? Perhaps it's an incredibly convoluted work disguised as a journal."

"Zelda, you're babbling again. Get to the point!" Shawn said with annoyance in his voice.

"The point is that I recognize the handwriting in this journal. It might be the same handwriting that's on me." I said.

"Oh, OHHHH!!!" Shawn's mouth dropped in realization.

"Yeah, I'm freaking out right now, Shawn. I don't want some predetermined match to be set for me." I said, almost about to cry. " I always thought my mark would amount to nothing."

"I know you don't, Zelda. Maybe the handwriting doesn't match, though. You could be working yourself up over nothing. Let me see the book." I gave Shawn the book, and he began to read it. "By the Goddess, you weren't kidding when you said 'deranged rantings.' I mean, what the fuck?" Shawn laughed.

"Not making me feel better, Shawn," I grunted.

"Zelda, this book belongs to The Nightingale!" Shawn said.

My eyes widened when he said those words. "Wait, WHAT?!"

"Look at the initials here on the spine of this book. O.E.N. That's Oliver Eterna Nightingale." Shawn said. "I highly doubt fate would find you appropriately matched with one of the darkest wizards in history. His magic would put Lord Voldemort to shame, and he's a fictional character. Zelda, you are kind and gentle, not to mention sharp as hell and way too brilliant to ever fall for anyone's bullshit." Shawn smiled. "Especially not some maniacs, even if, in the unlikely case, Oliver was your soulmate, he is dead. So try to stop doing that thing when you worry too much, please?"

I placed the book on the bench, walked up to Shawn, and hugged him. "Thank you, Shawn. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that." I kissed his cheek and smiled.

"Yeah, of course." he shuddered and blushed. I swear his face turned red like a tomato. "I will always be here for you, Zelda. You're my best friend."

"You're my best friend too, Shawn," I said.

"Damn straight." Shawn held me tighter. "And as your best friend, you should know I would never let some weirdo just take you away." I laughed as I ended our hug. "I'd have to vet them first, ensure they're the good kind of weird, and then they can have you."

I playfully scoffed. "Gee, you know how to make a girl feel protected."

"Be honest with me, Zelda. Most guys would probably need protection from you more than the other way around." Shawn said as I giggled.

I winked. "You're not wrong there. You know, I feel so much better now."

"Perfect, now let's commence viewing tonight's Blood Moon," Shawn said.

Shawn and I lay side by side and watched the moon begin to eclipse. A comfortable silence hung in the air around us. I felt calm and safe. Nothing more could only blissfully exist between best friends who need nothing more than others' company to be at ease. "Hey, Shawn?"

"Yeah, Zelda?" Shawn turned his head to face me.

"Are you positive that was The Nightingale's journal?" I asked him.

"I swear to the Moon Goddess that was his journal, no doubt about it. My father mentioned one of his works had made its way into our collection. I had no idea it was his journal, though. He attended Elysium like us, you know? I heard no other Witch or Wizard had gotten a better score than he did on the MPAT. That'll change after this year, though. We will beat him. Don't worry about you having a soulmate mark. Just because he had the mark of a soulmate does not mean you're anything like him. Oliver was also a Heretic, but we don't go around assuming all vampires and dhampirs in the world are evil because of him." Shawn said.

"I guess you're right, I overthink, and I have to look at the facts. The Dark War started because he was a power-hungry sociopath. That's all it was," I said. I do overthink things sometimes, and Shawn isn't wrong there. Why can't I shake this weird feeling since reading that journal? How could someone who believes in fighting for noble causes like equality and freedom start a war that almost exposed the magical world to Humanity? So many innocent people were brutally killed during the war.

"Hey, look. The Blood Moon is almost complete. It's beautiful, and I wonder what the Moon Goddess is doing during this," Shawn said.

The Moon Goddess is a mystery to everyone, but she is why magic exists. I hope she is not weakened during the Blood Moon and is watching over us with our ancestors.

But I have to agree with Shawn; the moon was beautiful. We lay in peaceful silence. The only hint of sound came from the rhythmic chirp of the crickets and the soft breeze drifting past. I watched as the eclipse edged to completion. Not a sliver of white was left on the moon, and all that was left were the richest reds I'd ever seen in the night sky. My breath hitched as an exhilarating tingle ran down my spine. Pure magic was traveling through my body.

"Whoa! Did you feel that, Shawn? Shawn??" I was still looking at the moon, but I didn't get an answer from him. I called for Shawn again. I turned my head only to see that Shawn wasn't beside me. "What the fuck??? Shawn?! SHAWN??!!"

----------------------------------------------

(Hours Before the Blood Moon)

(The Mikaelson Manor)

I finished putting on my makeup when my mother entered my room. "Zelda, honey, are you ready to head to Portman Manor?"

"Yep, I'm all ready to go." I smiled.

"You must be excited to see Shawn again." my mother said.

"Yeah, I'm excited to give him hell for ignoring me all summer." I hissed.

My mother laughed. "They were traveling overseas, Zelda. I swear you two are so co-dependent. Glued to the hips since you were toddlers. When will you knock out the big elephant in the room and finally get together?"

"Mom, what are you talking about?" I asked her.

"Your father and I have seen how you look at him, honey. It would be best if you stopped allowing your mark to keep you from getting what you want." My mother said with sadness in her voice.

I scoffed. "Mom, I'm not letting anything stop me from getting what I want, and besides, I don't think it's unreasonable to be cautious about dating. Sure, I have a 'soulmate' who could pop up at any moment, or they might never appear. Either way, I'm not interested in getting into a relationship right now." I said, trying to explain.

"If you say so, Zelda. My only wish is to see you happy." My mother cried.

"And I respect that, mom. But I don't need a guy to be happy. When the time comes, I'll be with who I'm meant to be with," I said. "Until it does come, you don't have to worry about me."

"How did I get so lucky? My daughter has grown into a strong and independent young woman. I love you so much, Zelda; never forget that." my mother started to bawl her eyes out.

"I won't forget, mom. I love you too," I kissed her cheek.