Chapter 6
1182 Words
6
“The third floor?” The tendrils wrapped around Aellyn’s pointy ears perked up. “I’ve never been to the third floor. What are we going to do there?”
“You’ll see,” I replied, not wanting to give anything away in a hall where others might be listening. I couldn’t imagine any Valkyrie students would betray us, but I wasn’t going to take that risk.
With Aellyn following in my step, we climbed the stone stairs to Flavia’s floor. A passing third-year glared at us, but didn’t dare say anything. My affiliation with the Heir of the East was quite known throughout the dormitory by now.
I halted in front of Flavia’s door and knocked firmly.
“Come in!” a voice called.
Good. I twisted the metal knob and stepped into the room, inviting Aellyn as I went.
“Flavia, this is Aellyn,” I introduced, gesturing to the Wood Elf.
“Hello!” My classmate waved excitedly.
The blonde rose from the head of the table and gestured to the empty chairs. “Welcome. Sit.”
Oh boy. The difference in energy was palpable and I could already predict how that would sow the same problems Aellyn had been having from day one. She was just too excited and bouncy for us.
Still, that was something we’d have to look past. We needed her help if we were going to break the shade lock.
I took place on my side of the table, with Aellyn taking the seat across. She folded her hands and shot a beaming smile across. “I’ve never been in a third-year’s room. Are they all like this?”
“No, just mine,” Flavia replied shortly. “You’re a Wood Elf, right?”
“Ummm…” She looked a bit taken aback and sought reassurance with me, before replying. “Yes?”
“Great. What do you know about shade locks?”
My classmate pushed some of her vibrant pink hair behind her ear. “Shade locks? Why are you asking about those?”
“We need breaking into one and we need an expert.”
“An expert?” Aellyn chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“They went out of style so long ago.”
“So?”
“Well, because it’s really simple to bypass them. Children can do it. That’s why they stopped using them. It wasn’t very safe.”
Flavia perked up. “That’s great news. So, you can teach one of us how to do it—”
“Hold up. That’s not how shade locks work. Only a Wood Elf has the magic to manipulate the lock and open them. I can’t teach you.“
“That’s a problem.” With a sigh, Flavia tapped her chin. “We’ll have to figure out a different way.”
“Or… I could open it?” Aellyn suggested with a raised hand.
“That’s a good idea,” I said.
Flavia crossed her arms. “Out of the question.”
“But—”
“You two may leave,” She cut me off.
“Flavia. A word.”
She sighed. “Fine.”
We stepped away from the table, making sure we were out of earshot. “She’s cool. Let her do it. What other choices do we have?” I argued.
“I don’t know her.”
“I do. She was my friend when nobody else wanted to. Not even you.”
Something flashed through Flavia’s eyes and to my surprise, she nodded. “Fine. But she’s on a strictly need-to-know basis. Don’t share what we discuss, don’t share our plans, don’t tell her anything. Understood?”
I nodded. “Understood.”
“Fine.” With a fake smile, she returned to the table. “Alright then. You’re in.”
“Yay!” Aellyn clapped her hands. “So… In what?”
“The what isn’t important right now.”
“We’re trying to break out some of our dusk wolves,” I supplied.
“Oh!” Aellyn’s smile grew even wider. “Why didn’t you say so! I’ll do anything for my wolf!”
“Right… You’ll be the one opening the shade lock. When the rest of the plan is put into action, Ylva will come get you. That’s all.”
I rose from the table and nodded happily. “Great. Everyone’s happy, so I’m happy.”
“Good work,” Flavia commented. “I’ll send for you if I need you.”
“Right.” I gestured to Aellyn. “That’s our cue to go.”
“Okay!” She passed me to the door, her eyes shimmering. “Hey, want to do some homework together now?”
“I…” I’d rather go back to my room and spend time with Ryoko, but I really owed my classmate some time. “Sure.”
“Great!” Aellyn’s green tendrils perked up. “We can go to one of the study rooms.”
“Good idea.”
We made our way back to the main building, where a bunch of the vacant rooms on the third floor had been turned into controlled study rooms.
A Raven stopped us at the entrance and held out his clipboard. “Names?”
“Ylva Helgudóttir,” I said.
A cloud of pink hair bounced next to me. “And Aellyn Verwoud.”
The guard scribbled our names down and nodded. “Very well. Bag check.”
I tried not to roll my eyes as I held open my bag. The Midnight Ravens sure were paranoid about students bringing in weapons or whatever they kept looking for.
“Alright, all clear. Proceed,” the Raven said, stepping aside to let us in.
It seemed ridiculous that we needed to sign in just to access a communal study group, but at this point, it was futile to wonder about all the new rules and their reasons. It was easier to just go along.
“Let’s find a nice table, eh?” Aellyn suggested, already on the tips of her toes to check out where there were empty seats. “Oh, over there!”
I followed her gaze and caught a familiar figure near the window that had her eyes pinned on me. The blonde shot me a get-over-here look, the scowl that was hard to ignore.
“Just a moment,” I said to Aellyn. “I’ll be right back. I’ve got to see what Astrid needs this time.”
“Okay, I’ll save you a seat!”
“Great.” I left the Wood Elf at one of the study tables and crossed towards my other classmate.
“Hello, Ylva,” Astrid grinned.
“What do you want?”
“Just heard from Flavia that she agreed to help us.”
I followed her gaze to the pink Wood Elf and nodded. “Yes, she did.”
“I knew we’d convince her. I hate to say it, but we make a good team,” Astrid boasted.
“What? I convinced her. You didn’t help at all. You weren’t even nice to her.”
“Exactly. I pissed her off so you could swoop in with your annoying goody-two-shoes talk. Good cop, bad cop, you know.”
“What? That makes no sense.”
Astrid shrugged. “Whatever. It’s not like I chose to be on the same team as you.”
“You’re impossible.” I rolled my eyes and gestured to the place where I left Aellyn. “I’m going back to study. Don’t bother me. I don’t want more disciplinary sessions.”
“Run along then,” Astrid taunted.
“I’m not running along. I’m leaving because I want to leave.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so.” Before she could make another clever retort, I turned around and stomped back to the Wood Elf. With a huff, I sat down on the seat she saved and rummaged through my bag for the latest homework we’d got.
“Everything alright?” Aellyn asked, the concern laced in her voice.
“Yes, it’s fine. Astrid was just being annoying, like always.”
“I don’t understand why you hang out with her.” She sharpened her pencil and blew the graphite dust away. “She’s a bitch.”
“That’s true,” I replied, shooting one last glare across the room at the irritating blonde. Just from looking at her, I got annoyed. She’d been my rival for years and she was a real pain in the ass. But… “Despite everything, she’s a friend.”
- Writer
