Princess of Ruin

Chapter 3 - The First Supper

Aria

Getting to the dining hall with Emery was one of the more interesting experiences I'd had in my life up to that point, which isn't exactly saying much. The journey started off with stairs. A lot of stairs. Four flights, to be exact. And during the ten minutes it took us to get down those four flights, I learned two things about the mysterious Emery.

         Firstly, I learned that the knee of her bad leg had something of a tendency to collapse, leading to quiet, oddly elaborate swearing that I honestly didn't understand most of, but based on her tone of voice, I assumed it was rather vulgar. Secondly, I learned that Emery was one of the most stubborn and prideful people I'd ever met.

         "Are you sure you don't wanna just stop at the next landing and use the elevator from there?" Mikela offered as we approached the third floor.

         "Quite certain. I'd rather not put my faith in technology, so will you kindly stop asking?" She took another step and almost fell as her leg buckled beneath her. "I swear, these concrete monstrosities are the incarnation of evil," she muttered under her breath, glaring up at the white ceiling with clenched teeth.

         Mikela burst out laughing as Emery righted herself, clinging to the hand railing, while I just stared blankly at the small, white-haired girl. "Have you never gone down stairs before?" Mikela teased.

         "Never. I have read stories about them, but never had I encountered them before today. There was one short novel I read once about a cat that resides beneath a flight of stairs...what was it called?"

         "You're really weird," I chuckled. Emery turned to me, blue eyes wide and offended, pale cheeks slightly pink, accentuating her freckles.

         "I do not appreciate this slander, I'll have you know."

    "It's a good thing we've reached the bottom floor, then," Mikela chuckled, pushing open the door that led to a plushly-decorated common room with couches and chairs scattered everywhere and massive screens mounted on the wall.

    "Oh, thank everything that is holy in this world."

    "Don't be doin' that yet," I said. "We still have to make it through the snow." I wrapped my puffy brown coat around me more tightly, grateful that my parents had given it to me for my birthday the moon before.

    "There's no sense in freezing to death just to save a few gold pieces," Mama told me when I tried to refuse the gift based on its price. And when Mikela pushed open the door, and the freezing wind brought a few flakes of snow inside, I sent a mental thank you to my mother.

    Emery breezed past me as I stood there, limping straight out into the darkened courtyard. "Are the two of you coming or not? I was under the impression that you were the ones who were most enthusiastic to get supper."

    "I just don't like the cold," I muttered, stepping out into the freezing air. My breath formed small clouds, and I could feel my cheeks and nose turning pink. If only I'd been given a hat and scarf to go with the coat.

    "I cannot quite say I understand what you are referring to. It is a tad chilly, yes, but certainly not frigid." Despite saying that, she adjusted the high neckline of her dress to cover her skin a bit more. I heard the door close behind me, and the warm light that had been spilling out onto the snow from the common room disappeared.

    "C'mon, Aria. Let's not wait around until we turn into popsicles," Mikela said, putting a gloved hand on my shoulder before she strode past me, heavy boots making indents in the snow. "Besides, weren't you saying earlier that you were about to die of starvation?" She turned to look back at me, and her brown eyes twinkled in the silver light coming from the moon.

    A clacking noise sounded from somewhere across the courtyard, and I shifted my eyes over to find Emery tapping the ground with her cane, brushing away stone to reveal the brick pathway. "At least my boots won't get wet," I grumbled grudgingly. Mama would probably kill me if I ruined another pair.

    "What is that building for?" Emery asked, pointing with her free right hand at a tall and long building made of bricks that stretched across the left side of the courtyard, in between the girls' dorms and the cafeteria in front of us.

    "Those are training halls two and three," Mikela replied. She swivelled and pointed at a small stone building behind us, saying, "That's the infirmary. If you want to go down into the town, that's where the main road is and where we sign off campus. We can go on weekends and on any days without classes. The headmaster's house is right in the middle of the courtyard, and the classrooms are across from the dorms."

    I shot a glance at the imposing wooden house placed strategically in the center of the wide open courtyard, a reminder to students that we were always being watched, and wrapped my arms more tightly around myself. I was very grateful when Emery pushed open the door with her free hand, sending light and heat spilling out from the large, castle-like building that held the dining and main training halls. "Thanks," I muttered as I pulled my coat off and slung it over one arm.

    "This is a rather elegant establishment," Emery mused, blue eyes scanning the red-carpeted floors, sconces attached to the walls, and chandeliers hanging from curved ceilings. "'Tis far more impressionable than the other buildings I have seen today." She nodded to a sizeable dent in one of the stone walls, left behind by a student from generations ago. "There is a spectacular amount of character."

    "You should see the library," Mikela snorted, striding down the carpet. "A few years ago during the Trials, a student got startled and blasted a hole in the side of the historical section. They tried to board it up and hide the mess with tastefully-placed tapestries, but no one goes there from the First moon to the Fourth. Too drafty."

    "Fascinating." The sound of many voices drifted into the hallway as we approached an open double doorway that led to the dining hall. I stepped through first, relishing in the bright lights and wonderful smells that made my starving mouth water.

    "Welcome to the dining hall, where the friendliest chefs you'll ever meet make the most subpar food you'll ever put in your mouth," Mikela said, introducing the large, brightly-lit room with a flourish of her hand.

    "That's not very nice of you," I pouted. "I think the food is really good."

    "Yeah, that's because you'll eat just about anything. I've seen her drink spoiled milk before and not bat an eyelash," Mikela said to Emery, whose lips twitched slightly as she glanced around.

    "That wasn't here," I protested.

    "I believe your friend was merely providing an example of your idiocy," Emery said gently before striding towards the buffet, leaving us behind.

    "I like her," Mikela chuckled, walking more slowly into the room with me. "She's harboring a mass of sarcasm and poorly-checked irritation inside that tiny little body of hers."

    "I thought she was just grumpy."

    "That's kinda what I was saying, but ok."

    "Mikela, darling, where have you been? I've been looking for you all over!" a voice said from behind us as we grabbed plates from the beginning of the buffet line.

    "What do you want, Flynn?" Mikela asked without turning around.

    My sibling pulled up next to us so that we could fix them with a proper stare. "What in the world makes you think I want anything? I'm injured, my dear friend. And have I mentioned how beautiful you look today" They put their hand against their slender chest in mock offense, brown eyes wide.

    "You only go for flattery when there's something you want that you're fairly certain I won't give to you. So spit it out, or I'm just going to keep on walking and pretend you're not there."

    "Well, ah, see, the thing is-" Flynn fidgeted uncomfortably, eyes darting around the dining hall. Luckily, we were late to dinner, so there weren't too many annoyed students in line behind us.

    "Ohhhhh, you want help with Lily, don't you?" Milkela drawled, spooning mashed potatoes onto her plate. I giggled, grabbing a grilled cheese sandwich as I listened to the conversation.

    "...maybe."

    "Absolutely not. I'm not going to hide you from your commitments, Flynn. Either get your s**t together and go on a date with the girl, or break up with her. Lily's a nice person, and you can't keep putting her off like this."

    "I know, I know," Flynn muttered, head drooping as they miserably grabbed a bright green apple. "But-"

    "No buts. We're going to go sit down now. Talk to your girlfriend."

    "You suck," Flynn muttered, tucking a shoulder-length strand of brown hair behind their ear.

    "See you later, darling Flynn."

"I wish they would just stop dating people to give themself an excuse not to ask you out," I muttered.

"Yeah, it's getting kinda exhausting." Mikela and I laughed as we walked off, searching for Emery's snowy hair in the sea of students.

    "Are you searching for me?" she asked from directly behind me. I jumped, almost dropping my plate as I whirled around to face her.

    "Please don't do that," I wheezed, hand pressed against my chest in shock. Emery was doing her best to remain composed, though I could see the ghost of a smile gracing her lips. My gaze travelled to the plate balanced haphazardly in her right hand and the cane clutched in her left, and I briefly wondered whether or not I should help her but quickly decided against it.

    "My sincerest condolences to your heart. Now where shall we seat ourselves?"

    "Is over there ok?" Mikela suggested, pointing at an empty table in a back corner.

    "Marvelous," Emery said quietly, though I noticed an almost grimace on her face as she limped off, still balancing her plate precariously. As I watched, it tilted and almost tipped her food onto the floor, and the girl had to tuck her cane under her arm to right it.

    "Should we help her?" I muttered to Mikela.

    "It's probably best not to, based on how she reacted to the mention of an elevator earlier."

    "Good point." We walked over to the table and sat down across from Emery, Flynn following a moment later.

    "Did you talk to Lily yet?" Mikela asked cooly.

    "No?"

    "Then you can't sit here."

    "I just wanted to introduce myself to your new friend here," Flynn said with their signature grin. "Hello, darling. I'm Flynn, Aria's twin. What's your name?"

    Emery raised a snowy eyebrow, glancing between me and my twin. "The resemblance is most certainly there," she quipped, stabbing a stringbean on her fork.

    "Flynn, meet Emery, our new roommate, " I introduced before taking a big bite out of my sandwich. Flynn straightened out their grey button-up shirt and winked at Emery.

    "Break up with your girlfriend first," Mikela snapped, pulling them back by the collar. "Sorry about that, Emery. The whole family's insane."

    "Quite alright," the girl responded with an amused grin as she picked up her glass of water in a gloved hand.

    "Hey, guys!" a boy said, sitting down next to Emery. His dark grey eyes flicked over to Emery and then widened a fraction. She glanced over at him and immediately stiffened, eyes narrowing. I didn't miss the way she angled her body away from his as though trying to get away from him.

    "Wassup, Thatcher my man?" Flynn said cheerfully, reaching out his tanned hand for a fistbump. Thatcher didn't respond, instead glaring down at Emery as she glared back up at him.

    "You," he said through gritted teeth. His dark cheeks colored, and I felt a gentle breeze pick up out of nowhere and ruffle my hair.

    "You," Emery said in a much calmer but somehow scarier tone.

    "What in the world is going on here?" I whispered to Mikela.

    "I have no idea, but it definitely can't be anything good. Thatcher! How's it going with you today?"

    He seemed to snap out of his trance and glanced over at Mikela, running a hand through his close-cut black curls. The breeze fell, and I let out a little sigh of relief. My friend could get rather scary when he was worked up.

    "I'm doing spectacularly," he said. "Is it just me, or is it kinda cold in here?" He shivered as though to accentuate his point, and Mikela shot a glance at his heavy pullover sweater and raised a dark eyebrow.

    "No, I really think that's just you, Thatch," she replied. "I'd suggest scooting a little bit to your left. See if that helps any, yeah?" He glared at Emery and shifted away from her as she did the same.

    "I think I'll be going now," Emery said sharply, pushing herself up and snatching her cane. "Where shall I dispose of this platter?"

    "Over there," I said, gesturing at a corner crowded with several students. "Food scraps go in the garbage can, and plates go on the stack. Will you be able to find your way back to the dorm on your own?"

    "I suspect I'll be quite alright." And with that, she was gone, limping off into the thinning crowd of students.

    "I can't believe such a tiny person consumed that much food," I muttered.

    "Add it to the list of mysteries," Mikela said in an odd tone.

"And don't forget the whole bit where Thatch, the gentlest person I've ever met, absolutely hates someone after a single day of knowing her," Flynn put in.

    "Was it that obvious?" Thatcher asked, dipping his head bashfully.

    "A blind and deaf person would have been able to pick up on the tension between you two."

    "Oh. She's just a very odd person, and we clashed a bit during chemistry earlier."

    "Please tell me you see the irony in what you just said," Flynn groaned.

    "What do you mean?" I asked, tipping my head to one side. "I don't get it."

    "You'll get it one day. Maybe."

    "You are terrible friends."

    "You know you love us," Thatcher said sweetly.

    "I guess I do. Even if you all suck."