“Shut the door behind you, Miss Vicario.”

The woman spoke sternly, with an air of authority befitting the medals pinned to her black vest, and the golden stag crest sewn into the black peaked cap she kept perched atop her head. It was authority so thick you could taste it, Esmeralda had thought to herself once; the way it smothered you never went away.

“Yes, Madame Giroud.”

The young woman stopped and closed the door to Silvia’s office, shutting it off from the academy’s halls. As she did so Silvia stood and cupped a firm hand around her face, pinning the young woman against the ornate mahogany wall behind her. Her heart leaped into her throat as the soft fabric of Silvia’s shirt, buttoned tight at the wrists, tickled her cheeks, and as its aroma filled her nostrils. Silvia’s eyes, the same colour as the stag on her cap, glittered hungrily, and her dark hair, flecked with gray, tumbled over the girl in curtains like the night sky.

Esmeralda averted her gaze. “V-Vi, we shouldn’t anymore. Not here.”

Silvia let out a low, bemused laugh. “I’m sorry, pet. It’s a special day. I couldn’t help myself.” As she pulled away from the wall Esmeralda locked eyes with her again, inquisitive.

“Special? Um - What d’you mean?”

Silvia took Esmeralda’s hand tenderly in her own and kissed it. The young woman blushed.

“I’m ready to formally make you my apprentice, Esmeralda. I’m ready to show you what I’ve really been working on.”

Esmeralda’s spirit soared; she nearly leaped from the wall in excitement. “I’m ready, Vi. You can show me.”

Silvia grinned, her eyes narrowing. “Without further delay.” And in the blink of an eye she had conjured a silver light between her fingers, impossibly bright yet painless to perceive, like its very colour were an optical illusion. Esmeralda had never seen anything like it.

Silvia chained it between her hands, its unnatural bloom glinting off the medals pinned to her breast. It writhed through the air in jerks as it moved. A wicked smile spread across her face, cast in stark shadow by the scalding light she now played with.

Esmeralda stood transfixed, eyes floating dreamily between the light and her teacher. Her cheeks flushed.

“This is it, pet. I can finally show it to you.”

Esmeralda’s heart thundered. She felt a dark excitement brewing inside of her, the kind she felt whenever Silvia paid her special attention. The muscles in her arms twitched. She swallowed, trying to stifle the fear rising within her.

Silvia’s eyes shined at Esmeralda. “Come closer, pet. I‘m going to show you the kind of strength we can wield together - and you’re going to show me much more than that.”

Esmeralda stood perfectly still as Silvia once more took her face by the hand, this time locking her in a slow, sensitive kiss; and then in one savage motion Silvia plunged an arm bathed in dazzling white light straight into Esmeralda’s chest, swallowing her whole.

It was profound; a hand thrusting inside of her, deeper and deeper, terrifying in its unceasing, unstoppable advance. It reached up inside of her and filled her body with icy light, blinding each of her senses, consuming her. The hand reached up and wrapped around her soul and took it from her, took her, made her its plaything, frozen and powerless to resist the awful chill consuming her. She felt herself writhing, but couldn’t move. She felt herself screaming, but couldn’t make sound. Silvia went further and further, into dark parts of herself she had no idea existed -

Esmeralda awoke in a clammy sweat, breathing hard. Astrid’s arm was draped across her body; slowly, as physical feeling returned, it felt leaden across Esmeralda’s chest. The room was mostly dark, save for a faint white glow. She sat up, slowly, eyes tracing the room and settling on the bay window, where the gentle rays of the moon and stars bathed the room in soft silver light.

Esmeralda rubbed her face. Her breathing calmed; she tried desperately to shove the dream out of her mind as she laid back down, focusing on Astrid’s touch for comfort. For a long time she lay there, enveloped in silence, until the familiar warmth of Astrid’s hand in her own allowed her to fall back asleep; all while grim fear nestled deep within her heart.