It had been three days since Dexter and Caspian asked her to come with them to Cecil's party. Today was the day. Nerves ate her up. Cecil and herself never saw eye to eye but she was ready to make everyone see what she saw about him. She was sat in her room, on her desk, looking at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair with her blue and white brush. Despite everything that was going on, her mind wondered to the golden box. Just as she thought of it, the box appeared on the desk in front of her. She almost jumped when he appeared with a puff of smoke.

"What the hell?" she almost whispered as she eyed the box.

She didn't remember her mum or grandma telling her of the box teleporting when they thought of it. It was odd. She put her hand over the lip, tracing the engraving with her finger. That was when something unexpected happened. The box started to glow where she touched. She let go of the box and pulled her eyebrows together. Something was going on but she didn't know what.

A knock on her door startled her. "Come in," she yelled out.

Caspian walked in wearing a black button up shirt and his usual black jeans. "We're about to go in ten minutes sis. Meet me downstairs," he said then walked back out, closing the door gently behind him.

She sighed and stood up. As much as she would love to marvel over the golden box, she had other things to do. She had planned on keeping her hair down, letting it roll past her waist. A smile crept on her face as she looked at the beautiful navy dress that sparkled in the lighting as it hung on the invisible hanger just in front of her wardrobe. She quickly put it on and slipped on matching flat shoes then walked out of her room and down the floating stairs, meeting her brother in their living room.

"There's my beautiful sister," Caspian said once she entered the room. "Let's get going. Don't want to keep Dex waiting."

She nodded and followed him outside. They had got into his car and started to drive to the place Cecil's party would be. She was sure she'd hate being there with all the higher up people and the richer people looking down on them, shoving their designer clothes in their faces. The thought of the golden box then prodded her mind.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked after a little pause of silence.

"Hm?" Caspian hummed, keeping his eyes locked in front of him.

"So, um, you know that golden box that was passed on from generation to generation? The one our mum and grandma kept talking about? Do you ever remembering them mentioning being able to control where it appears?" she asked, chewing on her bottom lip a little.

Caspian blinked a few times. "Uh." He cleared his throat. "Well, sis, they have said that only the true divine ruler of the box will be able to summon the box to their location. Only the true divine can make the box glow. Why?"

She swallowed the hard lump in her throat. "Oh no reason. Just curious." Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it could break out of her ribcage any second.

Her brother raised his eyebrow. "Sis, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

She nodded. "Yes and I'd tell you if I had something to say."

Caspian only went silent in response. She wanted to tell him but she couldn't just yet. She didn't want him to freak out or go around telling everyone. White clouds surrounded the air, letting the sun barely peek behind them. The wind was gentle and not as strong as it had been the other day where it made driving almost impossible.

Her brother lowered the car until they were ground level and parked in one of the parking spots. Layla's eyes went wide. This place was huge and looked like it grew up towards the sky. The roof seemed to be dome shaped. Large windows that were spaced out equally invaded the entire space of the establishment with large red curtains drawn open. The entire thing seemed to be made for really rich people.

They got out the car and started walking to the building which was a lot larger when they stood right beside it. Sure enough, there was Dexter standing right beside the doors. He was wearing a white button up shirt with a matching suit jacket and tie. He had buttoned up one of the buttons on the jacket. An intricate design of leaves and flowers invaded the suit jacket and tie in a 3D print. A white handkerchief with gold stitching was poked out of the pocket. His trousers patched the blazer with white shoes that tied the suit together. Caspian on the other hand had worn the opposite to Dexter, sporting a dark purple button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a black vest with patching trousers and shoes.

"Hey, glad to see you two made it," Dexter said with a big smile on his face.

"It's good to be here," Caspian said, and fist bumped with Dexter.

"You certainly are dressed fancy, Dexter," Layla complimented as she felt underdressed being there.

Dexter had smiled at her then nodded towards the entrance. "Let's go."

The entry had a large, arched golden door that was opened by two men standing by the door.

"Stay by me Layla. It's gonna be really crowded," Dexter said, resting a hand on her upper back as they walked through the doors.

There was a small hall with white walls and a few small golden tables along them with an array of little statues. A black door with a flower design sat opposite them on the other end of the hallway. She could already tell that Cecil was not going to be happy to see her there. She could taste it.

"My mums already here," Dexter said as they walked up the hallway.

Dexter grabbed the white handles of the door and pushed them open. At that point Layla wished she didn't come. She was a bundle of nerves. The ballroom was huge and spanned as far as the eye could see. Floating chandeliers hung near the ceiling illuminating the room in warm whites. The walls were painted in black and gold arches all around. The flooring was made of dark wood that looked almost black but wasn't. Dexter was right when he said it was crowded. There were hundreds of people by the seems of it, all chatting away, often laughing in their annoying ways making her fight an eye roll.

She stayed by Dexters side, looking around. Most of the men wore suits or vests but nothing as carefully detailed as what Dexter had worn. She could easily get lost if she stayed away from her brother and Dexter.

They didn't get too far in the room before a man wearing a maroon suit and top hat walked up to them. "Hello, kids. It's so wonderful for you to join us on this wonderful occasion."

"Mr Anderson, we are so grateful to me here on this joyous occasion in celebration of your son's birthday. We hope you have many more years of joy," Dexter said confidently, his shoulders were back, his posture was almost perfect.

She wished Cecil joy alright. Joy all the way down to the deepest pits of hell where he deserved to rot in. She could only fake a smile in front of everyone and pretend to enjoy talking like she had a stick up her rear end.

Cecil's father then turned to her and smiled. "Ah. You must be Layla. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, young lady."

Layla stood up straight and smiled wider. Her face was burning. "Good evening, sir. It is so lovely to finally meet you and be in your presence on such a wonderful occasion," she forced out. She would never talk like this if she didn't have to.

Out of nowhere Cecil was right next to his dad, his eyes were on her, and he seemed to be breathing heavily. "You bitch! What the hell are you doing here? Leave while you still have your legs!" he said a little too loudly as that had make everyone nearby stop talking including the head mistress, Dexters mother, and stare.

"I was invi–" she started before Dexter cut her off as he was now standing in front of her.

"Cecil LaCroft Anderson, you dare speak such way to a young girl? She is with me. If you used your brain a little, you would think to speak to me first before berating her," Dexter said out loud, his shoulders were back in confidence.

"Stay out of it, punk or you will be next. I'll have your throat," Cecil said out loud.

Dexter took a step in front of Layla. "You dare threaten a senior whom holds a lot more power than you do, child?" He held out his index finger pointing to the ground. A lightning bolt shot out of the air, landing right next to Cecil's foot.

"Cecil, you need to leave," his father said before he turned back to Dexter and Layla. "I am so very sorry about his outburst."

Cecil took a step forward. She didn't want to be afraid but with the way he had been acting, it terrified her what he might do to her. She was playing with her cross necklace and somehow, a movement of her finger sent tall shards of ice drop down around Cecil just as he raised his fist.

"Let me go, bitch," Cecil seethed.

Before anyone could utter another word, the sound of heels on the floor sounded then a female's voice sounded from beside Layla. "Mr Anderson and Cecil LaCroft Anderson, you are hereby banished from Vanrose, Academy of Magic. Mr Anderson, we no longer require your funding, and we will not tolerate such abuse from our own students."

"You can't do this! Don't you know who I am!" Cecil yelled out in a fit.

His father grabbed his arm and yanked him. "Enough! Enough boy! That is enough!"

"Layla and Caspian Arclight, I would like you two to clean up your schedule for this Runesglow at four in the afternoon with your parents. I'd like to discuss a potential new partnership with the Arclight household."

Layla's mouth hung open as she stared at Dexters mother, the head mistress of the school. Dexter was a splitting image of his mother, from his skin colour to his looks, they looked very alike. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever come across. She had worn a dark pink dress that was adorned in diamonds all across the chest and stomach area. It was tight fitting from her waist up but lose fitting from the bottom half, a split was down the dress from just above her knee.

"Yes ma'am," Caspian said, breaking the silence.