Call of The Syren

Chapter 5—Sarafina

The woman standing in the doorway was probably one of the most beautiful women Nadia had ever seen. Her hair was pitch black, cascading down her back in sleek waves. Her skin was a flawless porcelain, with blood red lips and eyes so dark they seemed to almost absorb the light. She wore a stylish fur wrap over her floor-length dress, as if she was headed to the opera rather than her dorm room. As she swept into the room, her face split into a dazzling smile, revealing perfectly pointy, pearly while teeth.

“Ah, the roommates.” She purred in a low, sultry voice, shimmying out of her wrap and carefully placing it on one of the hooks. “I am Sarafina, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hi! I’m Gigi!” Gigi chirped excitedly, shooting to her feet and bouncing over to Sarafina to shake her hand. Nadia was slightly more cautious, alarm bells ringing in her head. This woman was clearly a vampire.

“Nadia,” she said, staying seated but holding out her hand.

“Alastair Tremaine, tour guide,” Alastair added, overly formal as usual.

“A pleasure, all,” said Sarafina, looking around the room. “Who will bring my things?” She asked, looking around as if expected a butler to appear from thing air.

Gigi and Nadia looked at one another, confused. Did she think this was a hotel or something?

“I would be happy to retrieve your things, if you would tell me their location, Miss. Sarafina,” Alastair interjected, and Nadia tried to keep herself from glaring. Seriously? Just because this girl looked like a supermodel, Alastair was acting like this? Where was this chivalry when she and Gigi were lugging suitcases up three flights of stairs?

Sarafina didn’t seem to notice, though, simply handing Alastair her car keys and sinking gracefully into an overstuffed chair.

Nadia rolled her eyes as Alastair immediately trotted out of the room, clearly overly eager to help.

It only took a few hours for Alastair to bring up all of Sarafina’s belongings. Nadia had almost felt bad for him—almost—but then three other guys had joined in to help “Miss. Sarafina,” and now Nadia couldn’t muster up any feeling except annoyance. She knew she wasn’t a model, like Gigi or Sarafina, but seriously? It was like these guys didn’t even see her.

Gigi seemed to sense the souring of Nadia’s mood, and sweetly suggested they finish exploring the campus while Sarafina settled in. Both girls seemed more than happy with this idea, and agreed quickly, Sarafina disappearing into her room and Gigi and Nadia heading down the stairs.

Nadia was surprised when Gigi lead her down a corridor she hadn’t seen before, out a back door, and into a small garden. This one was entirely full of lavender bushes, with huge hedges overflowing with blossoms, and giant piles of clover dotting the ground. The air smelt heavenly, instantly calming Nadia’s mood.

“Isn’t it peaceful out here?” Gigi asked, throwing herself down into a pile of clover growing along the path. She starting waving her arms and legs up and down like she was making a snow angel.

“Gigi?” Nadia asked, “What are you doing?”

“Just enjoying the nature!” Gigi chirped, giggling. “Want to try?”

Nadia rolled her eyes at Gigi, but sat down next to her, the cool clover pressing against her skin.

In the shade, it was significantly cooler, and the escape from the sun was a welcome relief. Nadia was always excited for summer and the break from school, but the hot weather was exhausting and drained all her energy.

Sighing, Nadia lay back into the clover, closing her eyes. She felt relaxed for the first time since she’d found out she was a supernatural creature. She felt something tickling her face, and opened an eye a crack to see Gigi sprinkling some sort of powder onto her.

“Um, Gigi?” Nadia asked.

Gigi just giggled again, and said, “Shhh! Relax!”

Nadia complied, closing her eyes again and allowing Gigi to do whatever weird thing she was up to. She meant to just tolerate it, but soon she realized she was waking up, and the sun was significantly lower than it had been.

“Huh, Gigi?” Nadia mumbled, rubbing her eyes groggily. Gigi was curled up next to her, also asleep in the clover. She looked incredibly doll-like while asleep, her dainty features relaxed, and her eyes closed. Nadia shook her arm gently.

“Gigi, wake up. I think we fell asleep,” Nadia whispered, looking around again. She didn’t see anyone else around. “Gigi!”

“Wha- huh?” Came a muffled reply, as Gigi buried her head under her arms, trying to go back to sleep.

“Nope, don’t do it!” Nadia giggled, tickling Gigi’s nose with a piece of clover she picked from the ground. Gigi’s face scrunched up adorably, before she let out a surprisingly loud sneeze for such a small girl.

At the sound, both girls started cracking up, falling back into the clover in a fit of laughter. Once they finally sobered up, Gigi explained, “I was just trying to help you relax, but I guess I made it too strong!”

“Made what too strong?” Nadia asked, confused how Gigi was responsible for her nap.

“Well…” Gigi started, clearly embarrassed, “I’m a potion maker. I’m going to be, actually, but I started learning some stuff on my own. I though it’d be easy, but…” she trailed off.

Nadia was even more confused. Wait, potions? It all came flooding back to her as her brain finally finished waking up. She was at a school for supernatural creatures. ‘Of course potions would be a thing,’ she thought, ‘haven’t you watched Harry Potter?’ Nadia looked back at Gigi, finally trying to figure out what kind of creature she was.

Gigi was small, made potions, looked human otherwise. Nadia couldn’t figure out what creature that could possibly be.

“Um, sorry, but what exactly are you?” Nadia tried to ask as politely as she could, sending Gigi into a fit of giggles again.

“Hehe! I’m a Fae, silly. One of the Fae-folk?

A fairy, pixie, whatever you want to call us.” She continued, sensing Nadia was still confused.

“But shouldn’t you have… wings?” Nadia asked tentatively, and Gigi giggled again.

“I do, silly! I just put them away!” Gigi explained, rising to her feet and turning her back to face Nadia.

Nadia gasped as two ethereal, silvery white wings erupted from Gigi’s back. They were shaped like butterfly wings, but shimmering and translucent. Gigi lifted them behind her, spreading them to their full length before quickly beating the air with them once, then twice, before rising off the ground. Gigi twirled as she rose into the sky, wings outstretched, before diving back to earth, swooping right past Nadia and gracefully landing on her feet.

“Ta-da!” Gigi exclaimed. Nadia just laughed, amazed at what she’d just seen. There was seriously a difference between learning about magic and seeing it in person.

“That’s amazing!” Nadia exclaimed in awe. Gigi just blushed, shaking her wings in a way that evidently retracted them and putting them away.

“I do love to fly,” Gigi confessed shyly, “but my brothers are much faster than me.”

“Still, that’s incredible! I wish I could fly!” Nadia added, still amazed by what she saw.

“What are you, then?” Gigi asked, and Nadia’s face immediately started to flush.

Here it was, the most embarrassing question in the world—what was she? Because honestly, she didn’t know that well herself.