1Alenia Paetzold - Seventeen Years Old
In my 12 years 'enrolled' in school I had never really liked my dorm room. The walls were painted cement blocks, the beds were on squeaky metal frames, and the carpet was just rough plastic tiling on cement floors- scratchy and hard. I had also never really liked the classes. They were boring or, in the case of magical education, downright insulting. Not to mention that the human teachers seemed to abhor us, which of course begged the question- why did they take the job in the first place?
The one thing I did like was my friends. There was a camaraderie amongst the students and I could say with absolute certainty that my roommates were my sisters, regardless of who their parents were. On that day, however, they abandoned me.
"Abandoned you?" Christine asked, her voice characteristically dry and sarcastic. Despite the reputation of succubi in generations past, Christine was the opposite of a giggling bimbo. She was the smartest person I knew, even if her grades just barely allowed her to continue on semester to semester, and also the most sarcastic. Instead of evil seductresses, succubi could use the life force magic that came from sexual energy to attack their enemies, they were excellent wordsmiths, and known for their quick wit. In fact, because of the increased intimacy that came with feeding on life magic, succubi were some of the most conservative when it came to romantic relationships.
"Then come with us," Margie said. "I'm sure they would still welcome you into a club."
"No," I said, turning to actually face her but still refusing to get out of bed. Margie and Christine had places to be, I did not. "Why don't you two stay here?"
"You know we can't do that," Margie said. "We both have clubs to represent."
"Alenia's protest is silent but poginent," Christine said. "Or so she believes."
Margie frowned dramatically. "Well," She said, her mood immediately brightening. "At least I'll still be able to say I'm friends with the infamous Alenia Paetzold- the dragon shrouded in mystery. Is that why you don't want to go? Do you think Wes' gonna like you more because of the mystery?"
I snorted. That wasn't my reputation, people were more likely to call me domestic dragon, or domestic trash, than to whisper about my 'mystery'. There was no awe, unless you counted awe that someone could be so 'ignorant'. Not to mention that Wes, as much as I wanted him to, didn't have any feelings for me regardless of my reputation. When I glanced at Christine she gave me a look that made it clear she agreed. I was the domestic dragon, half human half dragon weirdo who still set things on fire at random. Who were we to correct Margie though? She was always off in her own little world and we tended to let her be. Might as well leave her happy and oblivious.
"We should get you a shirt- Anarchy, ask me how!" Christine said, sounding completely serious.
I rolled my eyes, and climbed out of bed. "If you guys are going to keep me up anyway then I'm going to get breakfast."
"Just come with us," Margie said. "I'm almost done with my makeup."
"To the cafeteria? Today?" I scoffed, "Not a chance in hell, I'm going to the vending machine and then hiding out in the dorm eating junk food."
It was this way every year, since the first day. Students and teachers tried to convince me to go to club day and join a club. It wasn't anarchy, or a protest, like Christine thought. I just... didn't want to. I never did. Clubs were for people with magic and, at my core, I felt more human than anything else. Joining a club like the dragon club or Lore, which prided itself on its connection to the magical guild outside of school walls, felt like a betrayal to that. So I was the only student in school that hadn't joined one, which only served to make me more of an outsider than having a human mom did.
Suddenly I wasn't in such a good mood.
I left the room without saying anything, leaving Christine and Margie to their plans, and headed straight towards the vending machine. I pretended not to hear their final attempt at getting me to just "stop by". Even though they wanted me to join a club, to embrace the dragon within or whatever, it just wasn't that simple. Burn down a dozen or so couches, tables, and other various furniture pieces (along with one particularly flammable stairwell) and people get really demanding.
"Oh, hi," I said. I wasn't the only person who had run to the vending machine instead of the cafeteria, Michael was there. Michael didn't like me very much. He'd been the first person to talk to me when I enrolled, though, so I tried to be forgiving. Plus he was Wes' friend, and Wes would never date me if I couldn't get along. He took his friends very seriously, that loyalty was one of his most attractive traits. "Picking up a snack?"
He stood in front of the vending machine, blocking my way, glaring at it. Actually, in retrospect, the glare was more than likely meant for me. In the blurry reflection on the vending machine glass his icy blue eyes were cold and fierce.
"If you're not can you move?" I asked, trying my best to calm my irritation and act reasonably. Why Wes was such close friends with Michael I didn't understand. Maybe it was survival instinct? They shared a dorm and sleeping beside people you couldn't stand would be less than pleasant. "I'm trying to avoid the cafeteria today."
Michael let out a sarcastic laugh that Christine would be proud of. "So you're avoiding clubs? Again?"
"Yeah," I said, surprised by the anger in his tone. "Why do you care?"
"Because you can't just pretend to be human-"
"-I'm not pretending," I snapped. "I am human, 50% anyway."
"No, you're not," Michael's tone was so sure it made me want to smack him. "Your mom is human and if you honestly believe you're not adopted then you're stupider than you act."
"Stupider than I act?" I questioned. My offense was obvious in my tone. Michael didn't like me, sure, but he tolerated me. He'd never attacked me like this, completely out of the blue. He laughed rudely on occasion, made snarky comments, but he didn't attack me without prompting. "What crawled up your ass this morning?"
"Yes, stupider than you act, because anyone who likes Wes is an idiot." Michael said, plain as day, as if they weren't supposed to be friends.
"I don't- I'm not- Wes is just a friend!" I could feel a blush rising on my cheeks. How did he know that? Why did he even care? Where did that come from? Michael rolled his eyes, still standing in front of the vending machine. A small part of me, attached to my hungry stomach, was irritated that he was stopping me from getting breakfast more than anything else. What was his problem today? I put my hands on my hips, "And aren't you supposed to be Wes' friend?"
"I am," Michael said, offering no further explanation. As if insulting him like he had wasn't the opposite of being his friend. "And your denial is impressive. Do you actually believe you're a half human who doesn't have a crush on Wes?"
"What is your problem?" I asked, angry. Fire burst out of my mouth in a wisp, as always it had a mind of its own. "Honestly, I just want to buy a pastry and you're picking a fight! I know you don't like me, but could you keep your mouth shut about it?"
"My problem is that you act like a human and refuse to join any clubs, even though I know for a fact you have a Lore invitation that anyone else would die to have. So every day you get worse and can't control yourself!" He yelled, sending a burst of rage at me. For an empath that wasn't out of the ordinary, but for Michael... I didn't know him well but he'd never lost control of his emotions before. It was one of those weird things everyone knew. I was domestic, Tom was weirdly good with computers, Draco didn't like any one pointing out the irony of his name, and Wes was an empath who didn't lose control. "One day you're going to hurt yourself! Have some damn self preservation!"
He seemed to realize that he'd lost control and stormed off, leaving me standing by the vending machine completely confused. I'd hurt myself? What? No- I was fireproof, that wasn't... And what did he care about anyway- if I did hurt myself! That was my right!
Plus, what did he think- that some adoption agency let my mother adopt a dragon? That she willingly adopted one knowing that a) she and her home were flammable, and b) the United Human Alliance government would take me away when I was five? It made no sense. Some man skipping town after impregnating her, leaving her without any warning that the child inside was a dragon, was tragic but at least possible.
I stormed back to my dorm without getting any food, muttering to myself about stupid empaths, thinking they knew everything. Christine and Margie were already gone, leaving me to sit and mutter alone.
A ringing sound from my laptop brought me out of my muttering with a jump, reminding me that my mother was calling me that morning. I did my best to put on a happy face before I answered but she wasn't fooled.
"Alenia, what's wrong?" She asked, obviously concerned. "You didn't have a doctor's appointment this morning, did you?"
Ah, doctors appointment. A monthly torture in which they ensured we were 'developing properly' and checked that we weren't sick. It felt more like an excuse for them to poke and prod all of the students. No one liked it, but it was mandatory. So they took our blood, checked our reflexes with more force than necessary, and generally treated us with the care you would expect from someone who considered your life less valuable and more dangerous than that of a pit bull.
"No, just some jerk by the vending machines," I said while I adjusted the laptop camera so it could see me on the blanket covered (to hide the burn spots) couch. "It's Michael, Wes' friend that doesn't like me-" My mom nodded, indicating she knew who I was talking about, and I continued. "-Just going off about me not joining a club. How I'm not a human! As if you being my mom means nothing!"
My mom got the look on her face that she always did when her humanity came up. "Well, Alenia, you know you're not human."
"I'm 50% human," I said. "I'm mostly just a human with a fire problem." My mom laughed and I continued. "Anyway, and he was saying I'm going to hurt myself- like I'm not fireproof. I would have hurt myself by now if it was going to happen."
"He was worried you would hurt yourself?" She replied, "I like this young man, when do I get to meet him?"
"I- what- no, mom, you don't get to meet him," I said. "He's a jerk, really, you don't want to."
"Oh, yes I do," She replied. "Anyone who is concerned for your safety is someone I want to meet."
"He's not worried for me, he's just a jackass," I said. "Yes, I know, language. Anyway, he's not even nice to his friends. He was going off about how it's stupid to like Wes- and Wes is supposed to be his friend."
"And he's still warning you away? And concerned you're going to hurt yourself?" My mom asked, smiling. "He sounds sweet."
"Wow, okay, no- he's not sweet," I insisted.
My mom gave me a knowing look, "Okay, sweetie."
"Mom-" I groaned, "You know what, I'm gonna go, I'll talk to you later."
"Bye, I love you," She said, not bothered in the slightest that I was cutting our video chat short.
"I love you too," And I did, because even though I was storming off she was still being amazing. My mom was like that, anything I could throw at her, anything the world could throw at her, she handled with a smile. There was no one on earth as strong as her.
Not that she was perfect, she still did stupid mom things. Like agreeing with a boy she never met and trying to set me up with him. Not that he was completely wrong. Well, no, of course he was completely wrong! I was letting my mom get to me.
Before I knew it I was walking towards the cafeteria, doing my best to ignore stares from other students (I did have a reputation, just not a good one) and the sad kinder kids being led by a teacher beside me. My first day wasn't so long ago, 12 years. At least, as a year 13 or college freshman, I didn't have to welcome them to the school. Wes and I had been chosen last year to lie and say life in school was great and leaving your family and home totally didn't suck. That had been my second worse day here, and the third had been every day that a kinder kid came to my door in tears. We told them they could come to us, but when they did there was nothing we could do. We had nothing to provide and no way to change their reality. All we had that the kinder students didn't was an absolute certainty that things wouldn't get better.
"Alenia?" Wes' surprised voice brought me out of my morose thoughts. "What're you doing here?"
"What? I mean, Wes, it's a club fair, why do you think I would be here?" I asked, slightly embarrassed and trying to pass it off as amused. 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. 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, mouth slightly agape.
"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 club booths and see, you know, what the deal is."
"Uhu... Who convinced you?" Wes asked, "Because I've been trying for years."
"No one, it doesn't matter," I said, avoiding his gaze. Why didn't I want to tell him about Michael? No idea, but I just couldn't. I'd been standing still for too long, more people were starting to notice me. "Look, I'm going to go."
"Yeah, of course," Wes said, a weird look on his face. I tried my best to ignore it, lock it away until later where I could drive Margie and Christine up a wall with repeated questions of what did it mean?!
I looked around the crowded cafeteria, tables mostly removed and those that remained set up to serve as booths for clubs. There was the dragon club, of course. The booth was up mostly out of obligation, dragons weren't common in the UHA. The war that had been formed by the UHA had been mostly led by dragons, and most of them had left the land that the UHA claimed when the war ended. The only ones who had stayed behind were those who weren't welcome in the freed land. I would be surprised if there were any dragons in the newest class, having two of us the year I joined was unheard of. Most years don't have any.
I noticed Draco standing at the booth and immediately turned away. Especially when it came to dragons, it was a small world, and that was a dragon I wanted to avoid as much as possible.
So no dragon club, that left the non-species dependent clubs. There was a club dedicated to meditation, which didn't appeal to me. Sitting down, doing nothing, what was the point? There was a club dedicated to spiritual study, the one Margie led, but even though everyone was welcome to join it, it was all celestial gatekeepers. It wouldn't do me any good. There was, of course, Lore. Michael was right, I did have a standing invitation to the highly selective club, but when I looked at the booth I noticed him standing there and immediately shut down the idea of joining. I turned in the opposite direction, hoping I hadn't been noticed, but it was too late.
"Alenia!" The perpetually light and cheery voice of Katie Cole, a college senior or year 16 student, called out to me. She was smiling brightly, staring at me with water-blue eyes that were always just a little bit too enthusiastic. Years ago, when I was in kinder and she was a third year, she'd taken a special interest in me. She was a lot like the older sister I never wanted. "Alenia, oh my god, this is so exciting! I've been trying to get you to join for years, what changed your mind?"
"Oh, uh," My eyes flicked towards Michael, whose face was back to its usual annoyingly guarded appearance, but I didn't say anything, not wanting her to know. Why was I so embarrassed about that? Why did it feel private? Those were questions for another time, in the moment I needed to focus on keeping it a secret from the general public. "I mean, I'm not here to jo-"
"-Mike convinced you?" Katie noticed the way I glanced at him before I thought to hide it. She seemed overwhelmed with energy, bouncing on her heels. Not that this was new, I couldn't remember a single time she wasn't filled with boundless energy "Oh that is so romantic!"
"-Katie!" Michael protested, groaning, but she didn't seem to hear him.
"He's the one who identified you as a candidate all of those years ago, you know." Katie said, smiling wistfully.
"-Katie! Are you trying to get me burned?" Michael groaned again and hid his face in his hands. So that was how they'd identified me, I remembered laughing in the face of the older girl that had come to recruit me. She'd expected me to be flattered, very few people were invited to join Lore. They were notoriously picky and most people asked just for the chance to interview. When I'd 'rudely' rejected her, it hadn't gone over well.
"But, wait, that was, like, 5th year," I said, frowning. "Michael how were you already a part of Lore by then?"
Michael frowned but Katie kept talking, as if neither of us were upset and she wasn't aware of the obvious tension all but radiating, though not literally this time, from Michael.
"Oh yes, his mother and father were still students when they had him, so he has had a lot more training than most of us. He joined Lore in his 3rd year." Katie explained.
"But," I found myself asking despite the fact that I had no right to know. "What about the required contraceptives?" As a part of our mandatory medical treatment they ensured that they didn't have a bunch of pregnant students. Contraceptives were a lot more effective than trying to stop a bunch of teenagers and early 20-somethings from having sex when they were locked in a big school together.
"Oh, those don't work on empaths," Katie answered. "And since both of his parents are empaths..."
I glanced over at Michael. So he'd always been here. I was surprised to feel bad for someone that bothered me as much as he did. I couldn't imagine not having any memories outside of these bland, white walls. No wonder he'd offered up so much advice when we first met.
"I don't need your pity," Michael snapped.
"It's not pity, it's empathy, and you know what, I'm not surprised at all you don't recognise that emotion." I snapped back, crossing my arms.
Katie, finally, noticed the tension. She cleared her throat awkwardly, "Uh, well, our last dragon just graduated, but we can definitely set up teletraining."
"Smooth," Michael said sarcastically, still holding his face in his hand.
The topic change wasn't subtle, but it was information I needed to know. I hadn't realized that Lore didn't have any dragons. With the whole point being that I needed to learn, joining a club without a dragon to train me seemed counter intuitive. Of course, running through the dragons that were still in school, teletraining could work. It was a good alternative to letting someone I was stuck in the school with every day know exactly how incompetent I was.
"So here is our pamphlet," Katie continued, ignoring Michael's exasperation. "As you know, Lore is the largest guild in the UHA. You'll need a sponsor for your application, 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, signing up for an interview. Why was I nervous? This was stupid. I signed up for an interview this upcoming Wednesday. Worst case scenario I got out of history class. Or, actually, the 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 get a dragon to interview you." She said, grinning ear to ear. "Ohh, this is so exciting, Alenia, joining a guild. The prophesized-"
Michael gave 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 Katie off before she could say anything more. "Don't worry about it."
I could feel myself dropping it and glared at Michael, he was obviously using his empathic abilities to make me uninterested. I no longer felt a burning need to pursue the information, but I was pissed at him.
"Fine," I snapped, storming off and out of the cafeteria.
"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 curiosity. "I need to know."
"Look," Katie said, looking up from her laptop. She was 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 I shouldn't, you have to be a ranking Lore member to know. I wouldn't even know if it didn't concern members at this school." She sighed, "I know you haven't wanted to join a guild in the past, and this debacle isn't going to make you suddenly change your mind, 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. You know, 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 was warming up 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, her eyebrows up. "Look, I won'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 trying to stop setting everything on fire. Katie, on the other hand, had years of experience and training from the fiercest guild I knew of.
"Fine," I snapped, "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. She wasn't going to tell me, even if I called her out for her slip up. "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 anti-establishment 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, deciding not to comment on "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, like me, then responsibilities come with those roles." Katie said, "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. Any freelance work you take is supposed to go through the guild, it protects you and the guild. 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 teletrainers, their contact information is posted. 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 school library."
I nodded, thinking everything over. I couldn't believe I was really going through with this. Joining Lore. Out of anything I could have joined, Lore was probably the most taxing and serious. (Though they did have the least amount of mandatory activities.) Of course, my mother would be ecstatic that I'd gotten, essentially, 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 having a plan for the notoriously rough return to normal civilian life outside of school was great.
"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, and a lot of empty space to fill.
"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 wouldn'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 or his empathic abilities?"
"A little bit of both," Katie replied, thinking before she spoke. I'm sure she was worried about telling me something I couldn't know, but she obviously wanted to tell me. It seemed that she had been talking about Michael before, he was also involved in the prophecy, which was better than knowing nothing. I was happy I'd guessed right. "Him being the one to identify you helped determine some of the more vague parts of the prophecy. He's been trained a lot longer than us, yes, but he's also the son of two empaths, which isn't common. His natural skills are especially enhanced."
"Okay," I said. "Well, I'm gonna go..."
I trailed off, uncomfortable. She'd taken an interest in me long ago but our friendship, if you could call it that, was mostly one way. She smiled warmly at me, pretending not to notice the discomfort I felt (or sincerely not noticing, it was hard to tell), and waved me off.
The walk back to my dorm was fairly quick and, when I got there, Christine and Margie were nowhere to be found. They were probably at dinner, having stayed late to help clean up club day, but they'd left a note for me.
Wes wants to see you, doesn't care how late. He's asked for you to meet him in his dorm.
Xoxo -Margie
My stomach filled with butterflies and I quickly turned to my closet to find new clothes. At least a new shirt, I hadn't put any thought into my clothes this morning. I hadn't realized Wes wanted to see me. I took off my uniform shirt and grabbed a white sleeveless top. This was probably the only girly shirt I owned, which hopefully wouldn't come off as too desperate. After checking that it didn't have any stains or burn marks 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