His Mystical Mate

Journey

The screeching sound of a carriage coming to a halt was heard when the coachman pulled the horses to come to a stop. It was not a passenger carriage, but a wagon used for transporting goods.

"Where to?" the coachman, a middle-aged man, asked in his weathered voice.

"Hattanguard" Saskia answered. She had been walking since dawn with shabby baggage on her shoulder that contained a few spare clothes, food, water and some gold coins. It was all the money she owned, some saved by her late mother for her and the rest given to her by Sister Reilly when she left.

Although she was initially reluctant to accept the money, she still managed to convince her to take it. After all, it was a three-week-long journey and the fare was considered expensive for people like her, and she still did not know whether she would have to pay to eat the food there or it would be free.

"Hope on, child," he said, and the next moment the horses neighed and resumed their journey on the uneven countryside road.

She could not afford to act shy or reject such a compelling offer. So she instantly hopped onto the cart in a swift move after thanking him.

"So why to Hattangard?" he asked, after a while, still holding onto the reins.

"I got selected into the Academy" she answered, her bare face and exposed skin feeling the cold wind as the sky turned orange.

The wagon came to an abrupt screeching stop.

"Please don't leave me here," she said, panicked when she saw the man was amazed, looking at her.

"No, my child, Sorry to scare you. Are you that child from Hogsmeade? I heard that a girl made it into The Academy of Hattangard. I did not know I would get to meet her as well." he said with an impressed laugh, as he pulled the reign again.

"Yes, I'm from Hogsmeade."

"The day isn't far away when there will be girls leading the nation" he said, with a proud laugh. "I am a farmer and, as you can see, I am on my way to CentralSpree to sell my cotton harvest. They pay a good price, you know," he conveyed.

"There's a rug in one of the barrels. You can use it to keep yourself warm," he offered.

"Thanks"

"Your parents must be so proud of you"

"Maybe" she muttered.

"I'm sure they are!" he said, occasionally whipping the horses to change the course of direction or speed.

"They passed away" she informed him.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." he apologized, sympathizing with her.

"It's alright,". Saskia understood that the kind man was continuously conversing with her to make her feel comfortable throughout the journey and get familiar with her. She took no offense at it.

As the duo rode farther away from the countryside, the roads gradually smoothened and plain terrain came into view.

Three weeks later

"No, I'm not taking any money from you."

"But.." Saskia spoke.

"No buts, you need it child, and consider this as a gift from Uncle. Take care." these were the words he dropped to her when he left her in front of the huge stairs that led to the entrance of the prestigious Academy of Hattangard.

This was where her life would change, for the better or the worse.

The three-week-long journey with little breaks had tired her fragile body. This whole time, numerous thoughts busied her mind, one of which was how it would be to arrive at the prestigious academy. And now that she was at the bottom of the stairs, she could not believe it was real.

She took out the required documents and began ascending the stairs. This was not something she had experienced in her village, everything felt so expanded there as if all her life she had been confined to just a tiny fragment of the vast world which was not wrong.

When she reached the top, she was stopped by a man, who she assumed was a guard.

"Excuse me, Miss, you can't go inside without permission." a man seemingly in his 30s said.

In response, she shoved him the paper she held which was handed to her by the village chief.

The man, who had initially not bothered to pay much attention to her and had only stopped her when he saw it was a ragged figure, was astounded to find her as one of the first-year human students.

"Saskia Anais Albrecht, human, 16 years". She heard the man recite her details to another that she had not noticed till then. The other, a younger man, ran off inside the giant gate as if to fetch something or someone.

The mentioning of the word 'human' rang bells in Saskia's mind and reminded her that she was now far, far away from her village, where the only werewolves that she ever came across were the few village guards assigned to her village after the rogue attack and the rogues themselves.

Soon the man came back with the fourth figure, a middle-aged woman.

She marched towards her in confident, unhurried steps, signifying her status.

When the man saw the woman approaching, he quickly bowed to her, which made Saskia do the same.

As she came to a stop in front of her, her eyes analyzed her from top to bottom, she did not give in to her thoughts. She took her hand towards the guard and, as if understanding her signal, the man quickly handed her the paper.

Her sharp eyes scanned the paper and then turned to look into her eyes.

" Saskia, you're gorgeous" the woman exclaimed. That was the least expected thing she anticipated to hear and to which her lips twitched.

The two men were, however, not surprised, as if they were familiar with her.

Saskia inherited her mother's ash-blonde hair, which was a striking feature. But that was not even the best part. She had forest-green eyes, long naturally curled lashes and a button nose. Her pale skin and delicate features along with her fragile stature made her look harmless.

But what she lacked, was liveliness, and anyone at first glance would find her depressing.

"Welcome to The Academy Of Hattangard," she welcomed her with a warm smile.

"I'm Amelie Lauris, assistant professor" she introduced.

"Thank you, Miss Lauris," she replied.

"Come, follow me," she said, and with that, she started walking towards the giant gate instead of the small side door of the guard office through which she had entered. The guards quickly opened the giant gate for them. The sheer size of which was larger than anything she had laid her eyes on.

As she followed Miss Lauris's lead, the concrete path that led to the campus came into her view. Flowers were uniformly grown and grouped in the same colours, the bushes were trimmed to perfection. The tall trees beside the huge walls shadowed some parts of the vast entrance and in the center stood a fountain where water sprinkled.

Saskia was in awe. She heard of fountains, but this was the first time she had seen them. As she came closer to it, she noticed an intricately designed wolf and that made her wonder if the guards and Miss Lauris were werewolves.

"You're right, Saskia" she heard her say. Instantly her eyes turned to her, and she felt a shiver run down her spine.