Chapter 3: The Scarlet Letter
1070 Words
Ophelia's POV
The dining hall was crowded. It was loud and busy and full of sights and smells. It was overwhelming to Ophelia. It had been years since she had eaten in a communal dining hall like this, and it would take an adjustment to get used to it again.
Lilac searched out a corner table, away from the bustle of the majority of the room.
"Does this work? I'm sorry, it's just that it's so loud over there," Lilac asked, gesturing to the long tables that made up the main body of the dining hall.
"No, this is perfect," Ophelia reassured. She was thankful she wasn't the only one a little overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the place.
She was still reeling from the fact she had been accepted to a school she never applied to. It seemed some women already knew so much about the place. From what Ophelia could gather, it appeared that the majority of the women here fell in between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-eight. Some showed off flashy abilities, like the blonde who had taunted Lilac. It seemed like they were all stunningly beautiful, in all shapes and sizes.
Ophelia had never felt more out of place. She'd never seen someone in person with extra abilities like that, much less had any herself. She wasn't exceptionally beautiful, and at twenty-five, fell in about the dead center of the age spread.
Lilac picked at her pasta, seeming to regret her choice.
"How do you know anything about this place?" Ophelia asked.
"What do you mean?" Lilac asked in return. She took a sip of her iced tea.
"You know, like you knew about the cottage, you know where everything is already, it seems like this isn't a surprise to you," Ophelia explained.
"Well, yeah, my parents met here. My dad is an alpha, and he met my mother at the masquerade ball. Obviously, they're not like mates or anything, but they seem happy. I can only hope for the same thing for myself. My mom used to bring me up here for events. I got to explore the grounds a lot. You've got to see the library," she responded.
"It's just, that, well I didn't know what this place was. I didn't apply or contact anyone. The first I'd ever heard of this place was when I got my letter," Ophelia started.
"Shh!" Lilac nearly leaped across the table to slap a hand across Ophelia's mouth. "Don't say that too loud."
Ophelia clamped her mouth shut, brows furrowing in confusion.
Lilac lowered her voice to a whisper.
"The other girls will lose their minds if they find out you're one of...them," she hissed.
"Lilac, really, I appreciate your help, but this simply doesn't make any sense."
Lilac rolled her eyes dramatically.
"It's just that, well, most of the girls here come from families with big names. Families with wealth and power. It makes sense, of course, the missing line of Lunas would reappear as strong, wealthy women. The problem is that every now and then, there's an anomaly. A blip on the radar. Someone from the regular everyday populace that catches the eye of the admissions department here. Those anomalies receive invitations, just like the rest of us. There's usually a few in each class, and they're almost always the most powerful shifters of their year."
Ophelia barked out a very unladylike laugh. "They've made a mistake."
"That's the thing, there are no mistakes. Some of the most well known people in our community are either anomalies or come from families started by an anomaly. It makes you a walking target. Some girls will do anything to befriend you to try and siphon off some of your power and influence. Some girls will do anything to make sure they come out stronger than you. I would make very, very sure that I didn't pass that information along to anyone else," Lilac warned.
Ophelia nodded. "Lucky for you, I'm great at being unnoticeable."
Lilac giggled and took a bite of her pasta.
"Did you get your schedule yet?" Ophelia asked, changing the subject. She tore off a deliciously flaky piece of her croissant and buttered it, popping it into her mouth.
"I thought you'd never ask," Lilac answered, pulling a folded piece of paper from her shirt pocket at the same moment Ophelia pulled out hers.
The women compared their classes, thankful they had at least their first and last class of the day together.
"How prepared do I need to be for self defense?" Ophelia asked, dreading it already.
"I mean, I've heard it's not too bad. There's been a shake up with some of the staff recently, so it'll be hard to predict until we get there." Lilac sipped more of her tea.
"Ugh, I'm going to intentionally break my ankle on day one. There's no way I can compete with some of these women," Ophelia groaned.
"You'd be surprised," Lilac reminded her. "Some of them aren't as fit as they look. Most extra power comes in the form of a little boost of shapeshifting ability. Some of these girls are just doing their best to hold onto their ideal form through shifting."
Ophelia frowned a little. That would be handy. She could already think of all the things she would do to give herself an ideal body.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, though. There's enough of us out of shape that they'll have to start conditioning us slowly."
Ophelia buttered another piece of croissant and chewed thoughtfully.
"Well, anymore hot tips? I'm kind of operating blind, here," she asked.
"You've been to high school. Now imagine if, at the end of the year, there's a big masked ball where the most eligible bachelors from around the country come to try and find a wife. Except, you know, everyone is of legal, marriageable age." Lilac took a bite of her garlic bread.
"Oh, okay, so no pressure or anything like that," Ophelia joked.
"Of course, none at all."
Ophelia wasn't particularly hungry, so her buttered croissant and two slices of some sort of smoked cheddar was enough food for now. However, as they passed the dessert table on their way out, she couldn't help but snag a chocolate croissant. As were the other treats she had tried, it was absolutely decadent.
Maybe she would survive this year after all.
- Writer
