Young Writers Society

"You alright, darling?" This question was directed at Danni, who was creeping upstairs with her arms full of various bits and bobs and a guilty expression on her face. 

"Fine, Mum," Danni nodded and forced a fake smile. "I'm just going to my room for a bit. Er - homework." 

Katie nodded and returned to peeling potatoes. Sometimes she wondered what her daughter was really doing.

Danni charged up the stairs as if somebody was after her and dashed into her bedroom, locking the door behind her. OK. Now for the hard part. 

She slipped the spell book out from her secret box of treasures and opened it to the right page: SUMMON A COMPANION FROM THE ETHER. 

She took a deep breath. This was it. The true test of her witchcraft. She'd done small things before, like creating tuna sandwiches and turning Isaac's teddy bear invisible, but this would be on a phenomenal scale. 

She pulled out the jar of powdered unicorn horn and added it to the mixture she had prepared the night before. A swirling gold sea, it resembled more a living creature than a liquid. As she tipped in the unicorn horn, it turned a deep black. Danni squinted at the page. The writing was smudged, but she was sure it read 'pondweed gathered at midnight.' She scrabbled in her box for some and found a small jar containing the desired object, which she poured in. Time for the last ingredient: a crow's feather. 

Danni's hands were shaking as she lifted the crow's feather from its case. She hoped the companion she summoned would be nice. Share the same interests as her. Like Marvel films. Get on with Caroline and Alex. 

Alex...

What if Alex decided he preferred the companion to Danni? What if he dumped her for her creation? 

It was too late now to have second thoughts. She couldn't turn back now. She'd just have to face the consequences of her actions. With a thumping heart, she dropped in the feather. 

The mixture reacted instantly. Danni sprang backwards as it began to glow brighter and brighter, until she had to look away for the glare. 

When she opened her eyes, a girl was standing in the bowl. She was about Danni's age, with long red curls, cold green eyes and a chiselled face wearing a shocked expression. She wore a red-and-white checked dress, black tights and boots. 

"Who are you?" she snarled, stepping out of the bowl and advancing towards Danni. "Where am I?" She didn't seem afraid, as many people would have been in her situation.

Danni held up her hands. "Whoa, calm down! My name's Daniella. Call me Danni. I kinda summoned you from the ether." 

The girl stared at her. "You must be a very powerful witch if you can pull off one of those spells without dying painfully. I suppose this isn't Iranika?" 

"No. London."

"London?" The girl turned away from Danni and began to pace up and down the room. "Mother of the gods, why me? This could not get any worse!"

"Listen, you're here now." Danni grabbed her arm. "I'll think of a story to tell my parents. But there's no going back now. I'm sorry. But you must have not been very happy in Eronia if you were chosen for the summoning. "

"Eralia."

"Sorry, Eralia. Come on, let's go. There's some people I want you to meet. What's your name." 

The girl was silent for a second. When she spoke, her eyes gleamed evilly. "My name is Marcia Nightvale," she said simply. "And I think I shall enjoy myself here." 

-You will discover how I became a witch as the story progresses. BTW all of this actually happened to me. Honest. Nah it didn't really :p.  I wrote this very quickly, so please feel free to be as harsh as you like!