The Mystical Adventures of Della Doyle Devereaux — Chapter 2

After Della was dropped off at her house by her best friend, Grace, she headed straight to her bedroom and wasted some time by writing in her journal about her day.

Dear Diary,

I know that I haven't written in you for a long time, but today something happened. I heard a voice today that wasn't my own. It was strange, and I was the only one who heard it. I'm going to figure out why it's in my head, right after the party. The big one-eight.

School was fine. It went by normally and fairly uneventful despite my mind not shutting up about the voice I heard earlier. I went out for a hot chocolate with Grace and carpooled with Kevin, Olivia, and Clark to school. But that voice I heard kept haunting me. I couldn't stop thinking about what it said, 'Come and find me, young one. Find out who you truly are.'

I have no idea what that means, but like I said I plan on figuring out what that all means after the party. I just hope that I won't be disappointed when I find out the answer to that.

Della closed her journal and set it down on her bedside table, laying the pen on the cover. She glanced at the clock and saw the time. It was nearly time for the party and she needed to get ready for it. A heavy sigh left her lips as she heaved herself from her bed and waltzed to her closet. Her fingers flicked through her hangers of clothes until she found a powder blue dress with spaghetti straps. Della took the hanger and tossed it onto her bed, followed by another that had a black ¾ length sleeve cardigan on it.

She changed into the clothes she had laid on her bed and tossed the ones that she'd been wearing previously into the dirty laundry hamper.

"Time for your birthday dinner, Della! Come down here!" Dana called out from downstairs as she put the last finishing touches with the party decorations and dinner.

"Coming!" Della responded, placing her hangers gingerly back in her closet. She walked from her room and down the stairs. What she found down there put a smile on her face.

Rainbow colored streamers were hung from the ceiling and there was a banner that said, 'Happy birthday Della', that was handwritten in blue and red marker. All of her friends were huddled around the coffee table while they set their presents down for her. They had smiles on their faces as they chatted about random topics before looked over to the stairs at their red-headed friend, their smiles never leaving their faces. They wished her a happy birthday in unison. Her parents followed suit after them as Della descended down the remainder of the stairs and walked over to them. She gave everyone hugs and thanked them for the birthday wishes and for coming to the party.

The festivities were a blast with a few party games mixed in with dinner and gift-giving. It took Della's mind off of the voice if only for a moment. Her friends left with full bellies and smiles on their faces after helping to clean up after the birthday party. Della walked upstairs to her room after saying her goodnights to her parents. As she placed her hand on the doorknob to her room, that voice rung in her head once again.

'Come young one, find out who you are.'

Della took her hand off and blinked a few times before setting her gaze down the hall. Her legs moved on their own towards the door at the end of the hall. She opened the door and walked through it, ascending up the creaky wooden stairs. Her palms glided along the sanded railing and the voice in her head only got stronger, repeating those words over and over until she set her eyes on a red oak box.

She spotted a key next to it and she picked it up, placing the key in the lock of the box. With a turn of the key, an old lock clanked open and she lifted the top to reveal a ring. This ring had a circular blue stone with a silver band that hooked around the stone in the middle.

Della's eyes were drawn to the beautiful ring and her hands moved on their own, picking it up. She felt a rush of energy surge through her fingers down her spine to her toes. Her breath hitched and she nearly dropped the ring.

'Go ahead and put it on. It is a gift.' The voice again.

Della's fingers shook, hearing the voice yet again. It sounded kind and familiar this time. She set the ring back in the oak box and closed the lid quickly. "I can't...Who are you? Why are you in my head?" She asked, her tone desperate for an answer. One that she had been wanting all day since she first heard this mysterious voice.

'I am your Grandmother. On your mother's side. Now put the ring on.'

"How can I trust you?"

'I'm your grandmother. Can't you feel it? The familiarity of my voice...I used to talk to you like this when your mother was pregnant with you.'

A warm feeling struck her when her mind remembered the voice and she looked down at her hands. They were no longer shaking and she walked over to the red oak box. She opened it up and stared at the ring inside. She closed her eyes for a moment, considering if she should take up the ring and trust the subconscious familial vibe she got from the voice.

When she opened her eyes again, she took the ring in her hand and slipped it on her right middle finger. The ring fit perfectly on her finger. She blinked a few times, nothing had seemed to happen until it was no longer the case. A powerful surge of energy coursed through her veins, awakening parts in her that she didn't know that she had. Della placed a hand against her mouth to stop herself from screaming. The stone in the ring glowed brilliantly, lighting up the room.

Images flashed in her mind of another world. One of magical creatures; werewolves, witches, and vampires. Images of an old woman with scarlet hair that matched hers, performing magic spells and teaching a class in a school that she didn't recognize. Images of her mother and father flashed in her mind of them in a wooden cottage. Her mother was pregnant with Della. The world seemed different from the one that she lived in.

Once the images subsided in her mind, a wealth of knowledge forced its way into her mind. Knowledge of magic, this world that appeared to her, and some of those who had lived in this realm. History of the Devereaux witches, the Faust vampires, and the Harwood werewolves among others. Those seemed to be the founding families of whatever this realm was or at the very least of the school where her grandmother had been teaching.

The stone's light dulled and Della collapsed to her knees. Her eyes were wide with the realization that she was a witch. Her magical abilities were locked away for her own good and she grew up in a world without magic.

It was several minutes before she stood and her lips uttered a spell as she opened her palm to the ceiling. A ball of light grew in her palm, lighting up the darkness in the attic. Della's eyes darted around as if looking for a portal to this other realm; the one with magic, werewolves, and vampires. The one she should've grown up in.

"...Etheria..." Della mumbled, closing her eyes as she focused on the images that were now burned into her mind from the visions. She held her open palm to the wall and repeated the name of the magical realm, over and over. A well of magical energy cultivated in her palm and she opened her eyes, jutting her palm towards the wall. The stream of green magical energy shot from her palm and hit the wall, a portal opening up.

Della felt a pull to the image that appeared inside the portal. It was of a cottage, the same one her parents had been in. It felt cozy and like another home. She took a few steps closer to the portal and her brows furrowed together. She swallowed the lump in her throat and she turned to the door into the hallway.

She was hesitant on leaving her parents behind to see what this other realm had to offer and leaving her friends behind. She wanted to run to her parents and ask them why they had kept this a secret from her all these years. But she felt the pull to this other realm, Etheria, like she needed to be there. Della gave her decision some thought and closed her eyes, running to where her heart was taking her.