The Fairy Isles

9. Suite mates and orientation

As soon as we finish with the information packet, we hear the front door open. Two Kingsguards walk in with two female fairies our age following behind them. One of the Kingsguards states that we are to be suite mates, and then him and the other Kingsguard leaves. Lucy and I introduce ourselves with our names and state that we both came from Azalea village on Primrose Isle. The taller of the two is the first to speak, "My name is Ivy, and I come from Clearfog village on Skye Isle." She has long, straight dark brown hair with sea green eyes and is a little taller than I am. The other girl is between my height and Lucy's with short, wavy light brown hair and hazel green eyes. She follows up with, "I'm Poppy, and I'm from Lockwood village on Sanatorini Isle." We tell Ivy and Poppy about the rooms and information packets, so they split off and go check that out while Lucy and I make dinner. The fridge and cabinets in the kitchen are fully stocked with essentials, so we make a simple chicken stir fry while the others get settled in.

We all sit together for dinner and chat about life back home. We seem to get along well and have figured out we have all the same classes. We agree to sit together, if possible, in class and at lunch. It's odd that we all get along so well but it's nice to feel like we will have a few friends since we are on a new Isle and don't know anyone who goes to this school. Poppy has an older brother named Aeden in Year two who attends, and Ivy doesn't know anyone else here. We began to settle down for the night, so we worked together on the dishes, and all said good night to each other. As I get ready for bed, I start to realize how grateful and lucky I am to be in this position. Everything has moved so fast with the situation, and I really haven't had much time to think about it. I'm getting excited for tomorrow and to start lessons the next day, so I finish getting ready for bed and head to sleep.

I woke up to my alarm and grabbed the clothes I set out last night. Our information packet said we are allowed to wear our own clothes for orientation day but we will be in uniform for all Academy classes so I use this as an opprotunity to show off my style and feel like myself. I decided to go with a shirt with an adorable fox on it and some long pants that flowed around my legs nicely. I brush my teeth and head into the main part of the suite to see everyone else already up and almost ready to head to breakfast before orientation. We agree to walk together and head out of the suite, making sure to grab our key cards to get back in later. Ivy grabbed a map and led us to the auditorium for Year One orientation. When we arrive, there are still a lot of open seats available, so we head to the center and choose our seats. We have a simple conversation between the four of us while we wait for everyone to arrive.

The room fills up fast, and before we know it, there is a woman striding along the stage to a podium in the center. As soon as she arrives at the podium, everyone silences, and all eyes turn to her. She smiles and greets the students, "Hello Year one students. I am headmaster Neridia, and I am excited to welcome all of you to Bryxton Academy, we are so happy to have you attending, and I hope you are happy to be here. This year is going to test all of you, and if you succeed, you will be stronger than you could imagine. If you make it through all four years, you will have so many opportunities open up for you. So use the most of your time here and be careful who you trust. This school will test you, and if we deem you unworthy of moving up, then you will go back home." She continues on with her speech and goes over everything in our packets. She explains who all the first year teachers are and what race they are. I'm surprised to find out that not every teacher is a fairy.

She continues on and explains that we are free to do as we please with time after classes and on the weekends as long as we aren't missing class or failing. In some cases, we could be kicked out entirely if we fail to attend class, which makes complete sense. She also explains that the top 12 students of each year will attend a dinner and ball at the castle with the Queen, King, and royal Court! What an exciting thought, I hope I have a chance for that to happen to me.

After that, she doesn't have much else to tell us and wishes us a merry day. We all file out of the auditorium and head to lunch. The lunch room is loud with all the talking and excitement, so we eat quickly and decide to wander the grounds to get acquainted with where everything is located. We find our classrooms so we are prepared for tomorrow and decide to head back to our suite and have a quiet dinner together. The evening is calm, and we all go to bed early, so we are well rested for our first day of lessons tomorrow.