1Hello everyone!
A little backstory on this story. It was written incredibly fast. I wrote three of these small chapters in a week, despite working a full time job and having all of the life and family commitments that most of us have. This impacted the quality. Consider this a first, rough, draft. It is complete, and I think it is an easy and fun read, but it is not up to the standard I've set with my other writing, such as Break. I am in the process of rewriting this story and will begin posting it once I am ready to maintain a consistent writing schedule with it. The rewrite will have some key plot differences so if you've already read this, and were hoping for something better, I recommend moving on to that story as soon as I have it posted.
In the meantime, proceed with caution.
Thank you lovelies!
Alex Leigh
Alenia's POV - 5 Years Old
I smiled as I walked down the hallway with my mother, I got to start school today! I couldn't wait to learn everything and make new friends. Mommy said that school would be full of other kids like me! Kids with superpowers and kids that wouldn't be afraid of me.
Not that I cared that the kids at home were scared of me. Scardy cats. After class, I was going to tell them all about my new friends and they wouldn't bully me again. Maybe I'd learn how to not be so scary at school and then I'd have friends at home and at school!
"What's this, mommy?" I asked. Mommy must know where my first class is, or she wouldn't have walked me upstairs. Other kids were crying and I promised myself that I wouldn't be mean to them. The first day of school could be scary. I was scared of leaving mommy for the whole day too.
"This is your dorm room, sweetie," Mommy said. She opened the door and inside there was a bunk bed, a normal bed, a couch, and three closets. No one else was in there yet.
"Wow!" I said, running to jump on the bed. "The classes are so small."
"No, honey," Mommy said. I stopped jumping because she started crying. She sat down on the couch and put her face in her hands.
I wasn't a scardy cat but I got really worried whenever I saw mommy crying. "What's wrong?"
"Alenia, come over here," she said. I walked over to the couch and sat down, a bad feeling in my stomach. I looked up at her and put on my brave face. I was going to take down whoever was making mommy cry!
"Who did this? What's wrong?" I asked, ready to charge after the challenge. Just because I was going to school didn't mean I wasn't going to protect my mommy.
"Alenia, you know that you're a dragon and I'm human?" Mommy asked and I nodded. Daddy had been a dragon, but we didn't talk about daddy. Mommy never said it but I was pretty sure he was a bully. "Well dragon kids, and other magical kids, go to boarding school. You're going to live here until you graduate."
"What?" I asked, my voice squeaking. A full year away from mommy!? "But that's a year-"
"No- 'Lenia," She said. Tears were falling from her eyes now. "After all of school, after your graduate college."
"But that's..." I pulled out my hand and counted. One, two, three-
"-It's 18 years, Alenia," Mommy said. "But I can visit you and you can call me every day."
"I don't want to!" I protested. 18 years?! That was forever! "Mommy- just homeschool me like Helen's mommy does."
"Helen is a human, Alenia," Mommy said. "She doesn't have to go to boarding school."
"Well why do I have to go away but Helen can stay?" I pouted. "It's not fair."
Mommy pulled me into her arms and I noticed I had been crying. "Because they don't think humans can be dangerous."
"Helen is mean though! She pulls my hair and calls me a freak!" I cried. "And I promise I won't be scary anymore, I'll be extra nice!"
"Will all parents please make their exit of the school. Will all new students make their way to the auditorium."
Mommy listened to the man on the speakers and let go of me. She stood up and grabbed my hand, "I love you, Alenia, and no matter what happens that is always true!" She started pulling me downstairs but ended up picking me up. I cried all the way there. "Now make sure you do what the teachers say, okay? They're in charge and they can ground you if you disobey." She put me down outside of the double doors. "I have to go- so make some friends, okay?" She hugged me and whispered, "And you don't have to tell anyone I'm human. It can be our little secret."
I crossed my arms and stomped, "No, mommy!" I said. "I love you and I don't care if you're human!"
Mommy didn't say anything. She wiped her eyes and gently pushed me into the room. Before I could say anything a teacher at the front of the room said all mommys and daddies had to leave.
I remembered what mommy taught me, "If you're scared just take a deeeeeep breath and let it out. Then do exactly what you're afraid of! Fear is just a sign you're on the right track."
I took a deep breath and walked to the front of the room, picking a seat in the middle. I couldn't miss anything. I had to be the best student ever and maybe I could graduate early. Maybe I could surprise mommy and show up really soon!
Alenia's POV Current - 18 Years Old
I woke up abruptly from what could more accurately be described as a memory than a dream. Despite the theme of my dream the day started bright and sunny, and chit chat in our dorm started in the wee hours of the morning. Rolling over to see from the top bunk I watched Margie and Christine get ready for the club fair. The event was designed to show students, the new and the old, the many different student-run clubs they could join. Some clubs, like the one Margie would be representing today, were exclusive to one type of being and representative of an actual guild in the outside world. Others were clubs within the school and the school alone.
Of course, I didn't know this from experience. I had actively avoided joining any clubs for years, and I was (no, really) the only one in older than grade 4 that could say that. So, for me, the club fair meant a day alone from the madness of classmates. Club fair day was the only day a year I really and truly enjoyed without fail, it was a self-defined holiday and I looked forward to it every year. The only day that I felt somewhat free.
"I think you should check out the clubs this year," Christine said, her yearly nag coming right on time. Margie laughed and I rolled my eyes. Despite her monotone attitude, I knew it was a big deal to my otherwise disinterested friend.
"I already have plans, c'mon, this is my holiday, don't ruin it for me," I complained, staying under the warmth of my covers. "My mom and I are gonna video later and the ceremonial sleep in is taking place now."
"You're never going to get her to join a club," Margie said. "Now c'mon, let's leave her to rest."
"Okay, fine," Christine said, heading out with Margie. "But at least stop by?"
"No way," I said, rolling over in bed just as they turned the light back off. I couldn't get back to sleep though and I groaned, ceremonial sleep in to be damned I was going to have to get up. I jumped out of bed and walked to turn the light on. Now to get dressed, my stomach was grumbling and the vending machines were calling my name. I just grabbed the first pair of jeans and t-shirt I found and laced up my shoes. Shoving a wad of cash and my student ID in my pocket I locked the door and made my way to the vending machines.
Of course, on that day, the holiest of days, Michael was standing by the vending machines, watching me as I walked closer with a less than lovely look. I didn't want to get into an argument, so I ignored him as I waited for him to pick his snack and be on his way. Something about Michael, my close friend and long time crush's roommate, was infuriating. We had never spent much time together but this year he'd shown up and his nagging never ceased.
"So are you going to join a club this year?" He asked, still not picking a snack. My stomach grumbled, staring at the strawberry pop tarts was killing me. If he wasn't getting food could he at least get out of the way so that I could?
I wanted food so bad, but I wasn't about to go to the cafeteria and risk talking to more people. This was my day alone. Maybe if I answered his stupid question he would pick a food and go away. "Nope, just like last year and the year before that."
"But you're a dragon," Michael emphasized as if I did not already know that. "You know that if you don't get control of your fire you're just going to hurt yourself."
"Wait- what?" I replied, unable to hide shock from my tone. I had heard a lot of reasons to join a club, none of them had ever been that I was going to hurt myself. His concern for my safety took me by surprise.
"You-" Michael groaned, sounding frustrated and angry. "You just don't get it, I know your mom is human, but you can't be dense enough to think it's safe to- I mean look at your shirt right now!"
I blushed fiercely, moving my hands from my hips, leaving burn marks on what I now realized was my only uniform shirt. It looked like I had burned it ironing on both sides, of course. "W-well-"
"And what if you hurt someone you care about?" He snapped, "I share a dorm with Wes, your boyfriend-"
"Not my-" I replied, "Well- maybe- fuck it what is any of this to you?"
"Nothing," He said quickly, his aggression retreating. "Just a concerned citizen, that's all."
"Just pick your damn snack, and stay out of my life, okay?" I snapped, what did he know anyway? Damn empaths, thinking they knew everything. I wasn't hungry anymore, and besides, he was ruining my holiday. I stormed off then, going towards my dorm and slamming the door. I stomped my way to the couch and sat down, not noticing that I'd set it on fire until the fire alarm started beeping. When I noticed the couch on fire I cursed. I grabbed the fire extinguisher to put it out just in time for my mother's video call.
"Hi, mom, sorry, uh, something came up right as you called, but I'm here now," I said, taking my laptop with me to sit on the burned couch.
"Did you burn the couch again?" My mother asked knowingly, a warm smile on her face. "Sweetie..."
"Yeah, I know, I don't need the riot act from you too," I groaned.
"From me too?" My mother asked, confused. "I thought you said everyone gave up on you?"
"It's club day," I clarified, and recognition showed on her face. "So I've got Margie and Christine, and this stupid idiot at the vending machines and the thing is what does he even know? Damn empaths, I mean if I were going to hurt myself, I would have done it by now, and you know, I am flame resistant, and he just- he's been stalking me, you know?"
He had been, kind of. As the two who always finished testing first in Ms. Crewel's class we walked to the library together often.
"Wes?" My mother asked, amused and confused. "I thought he was a genie?"
"This isn't about Wes, it's about some idiot that's been bugging me." I replied, "And Wes is a djinn, not a genie. This other guy, he's an empath, if anyone needs to control their abilities it's him."
"And he was worried you would hurt yourself?" She replied, "I like this man, when do I get to meet him?"
"You don't- mom I'm not dating him, you're not going to meet him at visiting day next month." I exclaimed, "And he's not worried, he's just a jackass. He's just trying to force me into a club."
"He sounds really sweet," My mother said, giving me a knowing look.
"Oh my god," I said, "I'm gonna go."
"Okay, I love you, baby," My mom said smiling warmly.
"Love you too, mom," I said, closing my laptop. That's what was cool about my mom, she didn't care that she was human and I was a dragon, she did everything to embrace me and my culture outside of the human world.
Of course, she still did stupid mom things, like try and set me up with some boy she knew nothing about. Of course, he was right- no, no, that was stupid. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to check it out...
Before I knew it I was heading out the door of our dorm to the cafeteria where all of the clubs were. Just to look, I wasn't going to join any. Probably. Most people didn't notice me, it was a large crowd, but when I got there-there were a few odd stares.
"Alenia!" Wes asked, amazed to see me. "What are you doing here?"
"What? I mean, Wes, it's a club fair, why do you think I would be here?" I asked, amused by his confusion and slightly embarrassed. Why was I here? Because some idiot told me to? So what if that was my reason, why did it matter? It wasn't my fault that in 13 years of schooling, no one had used the reasoning that I might hurt myself and those I love. It wasn't my fault that they didn't seem very concerned with me, rather the structure of their prison designed society, in all of this time.
"But- you don't join clubs," He said.
"Yeah well, someone- I changed my mind," I said, blushing now. Admitting to anyone that Michael had gotten to me wasn't going to happen. "Look, I'd better go to the dragon clubs and see you know, what the deal is."
"Uhu, who convinced you?" Wes asked, "Because I've been trying for years."
I rolled my eyes, "Bye Wes."
Okay, now to find a club. There was a single dragon club and then the non-species specific guilds. There weren't a lot of dragons in the school, and though we knew about each other, dragons didn't clump together. So the dragon club was really, really small and uninviting.
After getting flyers from the club I got to a guild booth, and, of course, Michael was there. How had I not remembered that he was a part of Lore? I tried to turn around but it was too late, I had already been noticed.
"Alenia!" Oh, boy, was I getting sick of my own name. "Alenia, oh my god, this is so exciting!" Katie Cole squeaked, very excited. Katie was a pixie fae, a small excitable woman. She was actually a year 16 student, but when looking at the 4' 8" girl with strawberry blonde hair in a ponytail you wouldn't guess it. Still, it would be stupid to underestimate her. Lore was the strongest guild, and getting in was a rigorous process. Katie ran the school chapter of the guild, so no matter how much she squeaked I wasn't about to ignore her for fear of being killed. "I've been trying to get you to join for years, what changed your mind?"
"Oh, I'm not-" I said, avoiding Michael's gaze even as I spoke to her. Of course, Katie caught on.
"Oh my god, did he convince you?" She was literally jumping up and down with excitement. "It's not surprising, he's the one who identified you as a candidate all of those years ago-"
"Katie," Michael said, interjecting now. "Are you trying to get me burned?"
I watched, mildly bemused. So that's how they'd picked me. I remembered laughing in the face of the poor girl who had been sent to invite me.
"Oh, yeah," Katie said, clearing her throat. "Anyway, our last dragon just graduated, but we can have one of our full members come and train you."
Shit, really? Now that I thought of it, she was right. There were only five us in the school now, I was one and the rest made up the dragon club. This was turning into a real hassle, I had no idea how many dragons there were in the world and this was just another reminder that I was pretty alone.
"So here is our pamphlet," She said. "As you know, Lore is the strongest guild and we are international. Also, once you start year 13, you can guarantee any classes you want if you've got Lore on your application. You'd need a sponsor, but I can totally do that. If you can put your name in a time slot for an interview, I'll do my best to get you a dragon to interview you."
I nodded, here it was, me, signing up for an interview. Why was I nervous? This was stupid. I signed up for an interview the upcoming Wednesday. Worst case scenario I got out of history. Or, actually, worst case they actually accepted me.
"Fantastic, well, come by the guild room tonight after dinner and I can help you prepare for your interview, I'll try and see who they'll have interviewing you before then." She said, grinning ear to ear. "Ohh, this is so exciting, Alenia, joining a guild. The prophesized-"
Michael was giving Katie a pretty stern look and her mouth formed a shocked O.
"Prophesized?" I asked. I had never heard of that.
"It's nothing," Michael said, cutting off Katie. "Don't worry about it."
I could feel myself dropping it and glared at Michael, he was obviously using his empathic abilities. I no longer felt a burning need to pursue the information, but I was pissed at him.
"Fine," I snapped, storming off.
"So what is the prophecy?" I walked into the guild hall office where Katie was without introduction. Michael's empathic magic had slowly worn off, and now I was burning with a desire to know. "I need to know."
"Look," Katie said, chipper and serious at the same time. How did she do that? "I can't tell you, I got a little excited and started saying things, you have to be a ranking Lore member to know. I wouldn't even know if it didn't concern you." She sighed, "Look, I know you haven't wanted to join a guild in the past, and this debacle isn't going to make you want to join, but I really think Lore is a place you can fit in."
"Because of course, I cannot fit in now," I muttered darkly. "Just because my mom is human. Newsflash, I've been here since I was 5 just like all of you."
"That's not it," Katie chirped. "Lore is more than fitting in, it is family."
"I already have a family, and friends," I replied.
"Alenia," Katie said. Her voice warming and I knew she'd expected this. "We're getting off on the wrong foot. Let's just get into-"
"Tell me about the prophecy," I snapped, interrupting her. "I deserve to know, damn it."
"Or what?" Katie called me out, "Look, I can't tell you, and you're not going to force it out of me."
I glared, angry because she was right. I had almost no training, just years of me messing around. Katie, on the other hand, had years of experience and training from the fiercest guild I knew of.
"Fine," I said, "At least now I have a damn reason to join. Since you know because it concerns me if I join will I know?"
Katie nodded, brightening instantly, "Of course, that's why he kno- okay so to prepare for the interview. I got a dragon for the job part so afterward you can drill him on anything you want to know." She pulled out a small book, "This is on interview procedures, you can borrow it."
"So what's the interview going to be on anyway?" I asked, choosing to not bother her about whatever she had been about to say. "Because I'm not prepared to kiss ass."
"Have you met one of even half of our members?" Katie laughed, "They're not the most diplomatic of people. Your whole, badass exterior is par for the course. No, they're just going to try and judge how strong you are and how loyal you are. See if your personality fits in with that of the guild."
I nodded, "And what all goes into being a member?" I asked, "What would my obligations be?"
"Well, being a part of a guild is more of what we can do for each other. Obviously, if you gained rank in the club then responsibilities come with those roles." Katie said, "Any freelance work you take is supposed to go through the guild, it protects you and the guild. Out in the real world, the guild has living quarters at a cheaper cost than most housing, and you can get benefits like health insurance at a cheaper price. Of course, you're not guaranteed a spot in the guild just for being a member during school. You are, however, guaranteed an opportunity to apply. School members show a 37% chance of getting in, non-school members an 8%.
"Member or not, students are not allowed to leave school grounds. For training purposes many of the fully fledged members have signed up as trainers, their contact information is posted and they will come to you. There aren't any dragons signed up, but you may be able to convince your interviewer. If you can't convince him to train you, and I'm going to warn you that the dragon culture is not one of kittens and hugs, then we still have a wide array of training materials outside of the schools."
I nodded, thinking everything over. I couldn't believe I was really going through with this. Joining not a club, but a guild, and Lore at that. Out of anything I could have joined, Lore was probably the most taxing and serious. Of course, my mother would be ecstatic that I'd gotten a job interview lined up. Being a member of Lore meant you had access to their freelance jobs, and as Katie had mentioned, there were paying roles in the guild. As an accountant who lived on stability, I couldn't imagine she'd be too thrilled to hear me getting a short-term contract work, but a job was a job.
"Here is an application form to fill out," Katie handed me a stapled document, 5 pages? Why? "Your interview is midday Wednesday, so the application needs to be done by midday Tuesday. Along with this, as your sponsor, I will submit a glowing recommendation. Your interviewer will also get a copy of your permanent record and health record."
"What could he possibly need with my health record?" I asked, looking up from the application that I had been skimming. Five pages of questions, some boring and some remarkably intense. It occurred to me now that if I hadn't skipped out on Friday that my permanent record would show perfect attendance, damn.
"It's procedure," Katie shrugged, causing me to roll my eyes. That reasoning was about as good as 'just because', but it was entirely possible that there was something else she couldn't tell me so I decided to drop it. "Now, I think this is all you need. Do you have any questions?"
"How did he identify me as a potential candidate?" I asked, wondering how Michael had known when we were just kids. "Is it something to do with the prophecy."
"Yes and no," Katie replied, thinking before she spoke. I'm sure she was worried about telling me something I couldn't know. It seemed that she had been talking about Michael before, which was better than knowing nothing. "Him identifying you helped determine some of the more vague parts of the prophecy. He's an empath, and since his mother had him while in year 13 so he's lived on campus his whole life. Because of that, he's been trained a lot longer, so his natural skills were enhanced. He was accepted as a member when he started school, and when you two were six he told us he could see your potential and that you should be a candidate just like him."
At six? This guy was insane, or brilliant, or both. "Wait, how did his mother get pregnant with him? There are mandatory contraceptives."
"For everyone but empaths," Katie clarified. "Empaths hormones are very temperamental, and their reproductive system is very complicated so with the exception of condoms there isn't much that can be done. It's not usually a problem because empaths rarely 'get with' each other. Unfortunately, his mother got with a trainer from outside of the school. His father and mother lived happily ever after, it just means that this school has been his home a little longer than the rest of us."
I nodded, feeling uncomfortable. I felt like I knew too much about him, and guilt filled my bones. Snooping in his life, why did I have to be so damn nosey?
"Well fantastic," Katie said, standing up from her desk. "I am going to head off to sleep, I will see you later."
I nodded and got up with her, heading back to my dorm where my friends were already fast asleep. Before getting to my bed I noticed a note on the mirror.
Wes wants to see you, doesn't care how late. He's asked for you to meet him in his dorm.
Xoxo -Christine
My stomach filled with butterflies and I quickly turned to my closet to find new clothes. At least a new shirt, I had never changed out of my burned one. I took off my now ruined uniform shirt and grabbed a white sleeveless top. Damn, I would need to change my bra to wear that. I changed my bra real quick and looked in the mirror. This was probably the only girly shirt I owned, which hopefully wouldn't come off as too desperate. After checking that I took my hair down and brushed it, the long blonde locks still slightly damp from my afternoon shower. As I had learned many years ago, using my fire would only make my hair a frizzy mess, so I left it damp and headed out of the dorm.
Heading to Wes', don't wait up.
-Alenia