The clock ticked away on the wall, a repetitive, obsessive, even hypnotic tick.

I wanted to throw it out of the window.

What was the point in having a loud, annoying clock in the middle of an exam or test if it was going to be extremely distracting? Not to mention irritating. I get that the people needed to monitor the times, but was a clock the size of a reindeer and ticked as loudly as Papa snored entirely necessary? It was seriously distracting. If the examiner had a phone or a laptop, the clock wasn't necessary. Just use the non-ticking, less annoying item, it would make my life a whole lot easier. It was bad enough that I had to do an hour and a half of Maths, adding the clock to that only managed to make the situation worse.

Truthfully, I don't think the clock affected my ability to actually do Maths. I still sucked. Even with the after school sessions with Niska and Joel, who were both weirdly good at Maths, none of it managed to stick in my head any longer than three seconds. It would take a miracle or something bigger for me to pass that test. Magic was the only thing that could save me, but Granny had outright forbidden me from doing the slightest bit of Magic. When I had mentioned the test and how unlikely it was for me to pass, Granny had put a halt on any Magic in any way, shape or form. A way for me to learn how to do things the normal way, the non-magic way. Well, non-magic sucked. It was the definite downside of being out of the North Pole.

Still, even with Magic, the chance of me passing the test was a pretty impossible task, I didn't even think Magic could save me. The questions looked as though they had been written in a completely foreign language, which I suppose was probably true. It was all a combination of symbols, numbers and the odd letter thrown in there, just to mess with my head even more. How anyone could make sense of it was a mystery, one I doubted I would ever be able to solve.

"You have ten minutes to go, Kenzie," Miss Meminger, the Maths tutor who was observing the test, said. She was far nicer than Mrs Reynolds, and I knew it was unlikely she would have flung a test on me so suddenly. Yes, I consider a week, sudden. I had never had to learn anything other than counting, all of the shapes and stuff was not going to come easily in a week.

Ten minutes. I had ten minutes to get through a quarter of the paper. There was no way in a snow globe I was going to finish the paper in ten minutes. By that point, I was more than certain I was not going to pass that test. A miracle was not going to save me.

Despite not know what I was writing, nor whether it made sense to anyone, not even myself, I began writing. Just some random numbers here and there, praying to the Maths God that there was some logic in there somewhere, though it was questionable. Within five minutes, I had finished the remainder of the paper. The nonsensical, insane, damn right stupid Maths paper I had been forced to partake in that Monday morning. Yeah, that's right, the Wicked Witch of the West had given me a Maths test that would decide my fate, on a Monday. The humanity! Deep down, I hoped I would be able to prove whatever thought she had of me wrong, but that didn't seem particularly likely as I shut the paper and cried on the inside.

As the minutes ticked down, the repetitive ticking of the clock became soothing, as though it was lulling me to sleep slowly, but my mind wouldn't rest. It was swirling with numbers and letters and Maths in general, filling my head, but none of it making any sense, or at least less sense that did several seconds prior. My mind was often known to be out of control, like a hurricane juggling memories and emotions, everything swirling into dust. But this was different. It wasn't just memories or even the Maths I had spent a week trying to learn. It was something else entirely.

"Just two minutes to go, Kenzie. I suggest you double check your answers, just to make sure there is nothing else you can do," Miss Meminger said, briefly glancing at the clock behind her. I could do nothing but nod and open the paper, absent mindlessly flicking through the pages, none of it making any more sense than the last time.

As I reached the last page of the Maths paper, a blinding white flash crossed my vision, blurring the words on the page. I blinked several times, trying to return my vision to normal, but it did nothing. The light just didn't budge. It was as if I had been returned home, the blanket of white that reached as far as the eye could see. Only this wasn't snow, it was pure, white light. And it wasn't going away.

"Do you have a way for me to leave this cage, or not?" an unfamiliar voice boomed, piercing through the white noise that filled my ears. My ears rang out from the volume as I tried to clear the light from my vision, but it didn't budge.

"I'm sorry, sir. Things are proving to be far more complex than we originally thought. We are working on it, though, I can assure you," a secondary voice said. This voice was higher, squeaky as though it had come from someone who had swallowed a load of helium.

"Well, work faster! I cannot spend another decade in this blasted cage!" the first voice roared, sending a shockwave down my spine. I didn't know who was talking, nor what they were talking about, but it was obvious they were frustrated. To be honest, I would as well if I was trapped in a cage (whatever that meant).

"O-of course, Sir. We have been working to find a way to unlock the cage from the outside, but there is a possibility you can unlock the voice from the inside," the squeaky voice said.

"And how am I supposed to unlock this cage? I don't have my magic! You should know this!" A large thump sounded through my skull, as though the person speaking had punched something, or rattled a bar.

"The older child, Sir, she is no longer at home. She's more vulnerable to forgetting, meaning we can syphon her magic and-"

"And give it to me. Excellent idea!" the voice interrupted a tone of excitement evident. This person was clearly happy about syphoning someone, the only problem was, I had no idea what he meant and who he was talking about. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Thank you, sir, if all goes to plan, we should have enough to break you out by December."

"December? You mean to tell me, you have a way to get me out of this cage, but it's not going to happen for another two months?! What are you doing standing around for? Get to it!"

"Y-yes sir o-of course sir," The squeaky voice stuttered, fear more prominent than anything else.

"Soon I'll be able to get revenge on those who have wrong me. Soon."

Almost immediately after the last letter had been spoken, the white noise that filled my ears left and the white light that obstructed my vision passed, leaving no trace that it had ever been there in the first place. It's safe to say that I was freaked. Heaving two completely different voices in your head whilst simultaneously being blinded by a white light was a terrifying experience. Particularly if you didn't know who was talking nor what they were talking about. Whatever it was, it was not good and it was something I needed to explore further. 

~~~

A/N - I know, I know, this is a stupidly short chapter and I apologise for that! However, it's a tab more dramatic than previous chapters!

Interesting twist there with the unknown voices... Who could they be talking about? What could they be talking about? 

Comment your thoughts below and don't forget to vote so I know you enjoyed as well as adding this book to your reading list so you never miss an update!

Also, if you're enjoying Last Christmas, let me know! Send me a message or post on my wall! I don't bite, much :D

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to cblarwill who has an AMAZING Teen Fic on their account called 'Everything Has Changed' it is one of the most adorable books I have ever read so please check it out!

First Published - April 7th, 2017