Hale Academy: University of Sui Generis (Vol. I)

Chapter 7 (b): Lucky Number 13 (...Contd.)

Peter James Haynes had barely stepped into the house when a shrill woman with a voice that bats would envy shrieked in a language he guessed was Hindi, the spell had been fluctuating ever since the moment their feet touched the ground, a clear indication illustrating that the translation spell was being jammed. He should have guessed when he couldn't understand her conversation with the FC rider.

"Aa gayi Kanjari! Kaha gayi thi tu, aur yeh kaun hai? Ek Firang, vah bai tu to kuch zyada—"

"Oh shut up!" Jasmine started, "First of all Manisha I don't answer to you, so quit your shrieking!" she said starting in English and then continuing in her own language flawlessly. "Ek toh vaise I've had one hell of a day, uppar se tu shuru ho jati ho! Papa", she addressed someone, "Main Hale Academy vich select go gayi. Kaafi had tak privileged institute hai, aur tuhanu dasan aayi haan", she yelled equally loud.

Peter eyed her startled but didn't interrupt.

A tall young brunette turban-wearing man stood up, his hands rested on the shoulders of a petite black haired white woman in a sari, her startling eyes—one brown, one green-eyed the developing situation attentively. Her posture gave off an air of manners drilled into perfection; she sat daintily with both hands in her lap, as her partner addressed Jasmine curtly;

"Hale Academy? I haven't heard of this school", he gruffed.

Jasmine rolled her eyes, "Because you're such a savant of schools across the globe", she quipped, "Just because your name is 'Fateh' doesn't mean you're a winner or a conqueror, let's not go poking holes in people's lives, you won't like what dirt I found in yours", she warned cruelly.

And that was enough, what sparked after that was a cacophony of indignant retaliation and Jasmine arguing her case, defending it righteously, getting angrier after every passing second.

Given that he only spoke English, he understood the gist of the entire argument going by what Jasmine said;

"Don't put me in the same bracket as you?"

"…"

"At least I don't need a man to live my life!"

"…"

Peter paused trying to figure out what the second sister-in-law stated when she continued with a;

"Jahan se main dekh rahin hu, tere kol vi ta mard hai!"

And giving up as Jasmine answered;

"You couldn't add two plus two without a calculator!"

And that ticked off another brother;

"Apni aukad mein rahe na behna!"

They may as well have been speaking gibberish, Peter turned to Jasmine who sassed back equally angry;

"Oh since you're the oldest I should just bend down and bow before you, your lordship", she hissed angrily.

And the sister-in-law again;

// Manisha was it? Who cares… for all that she's retaliating, the words hold no power over me… //

"Apne bhai se tameez se baat kar!"

And had one heck of an impact on Jasmine who screeched;

"Oh but I have to just let you control how I move and talk, well excuse me Manisha but I am not your puppet you can't blame me for everything. The truth will always come out!"

That sparked a reaction;

"Don't you dare!" she hissed at one of the other women who'd raised her hand to strike her. "I was accepted and I am going!" she hissed, "No power on this earth can stop me!" she growled.

"…"

Now apparently an older gentleman rebuked her.

"I neither am nor have ever been your daughter, I'm just a doll you dress up when the people you want to impress comes along!"

So apparently he was her father…

And after that, the screaming and yelling reminded him of old mornings with his Irish family and his Greek sister-in-law's family. The riot act would be considered quieter by comparison.

When the father raised his hand against Jasmine, Peter moved before he thought it through and pushed Jasmine behind him.

**GGRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARR!!!**

As his menacingly low and feral, surprisingly sinister growling howl of his Ascendant gift resounded throughout the house, all movement ceased. Several servants that had hidden behind doorways and the cane barriers and room dividers, paused in their entirety shocked as his howl shook the very foundation of their house.

When his growl tapered off he turned to Jasmine who clearly had been prepared, she removed her hands from her ears and swallowed;

"Go pack, meet me down here in thirty minutes", he ordered quietly, voice raspy.

Jasmine paused opened her mouth and then closed it as she then nodded, edging past her family and up the stairs.

Peter swallowed, "I think it's high time I introduce myself. Now given you could understand what she was saying, I would prefer your answers in English", he stated calmly.

Seemingly the oldest of the brothers hummed;

"My name is Karan Singh, I will speak for my family", he introduced himself. He was tall and muscular, his arms seemed to be made with the solid intent to bench press another human being. Turbaned and fair skin with a black beard, with brown eyes that gazed narrowly at Peter, he was dressed in a business suit, wrinkled, clearly indicated having worn it for the entire day; the sleeves were rolled up, showing strong forearms sprinkled with dark hair.

"Excellent my name is Peter James Haynes", he said, "Headmaster of Hale Academy and mentor to the Ascendant Seven", he stated bowing once, low enough he offered respect, but clearly keeping everyone in his sight, "Your sister, your daughter", he informed Karan and then her parents, "Is the Second Ascendant that has been chosen, I'm sure you've heard about Ascendants?" he inquired politely.

Half the occupants in the room nodded, the others watched them curiously, one of the women who walked around Manisha, every few seconds hummed;

"And you believe she is one, an Ascendant?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, miss?" he paused.

"Mrs. Amisha Singh, I am Karan's wife", she answered simply.

"Mrs. Amisha Singh", he corrected, "She is a Ascendant, grammar would prefer to use the word 'an' 'Ascendant' to describe her, but the Ascendant creed is a gift, passed down to seven chosen warriors and each one is a unique bond. Of the seven, she was the second chosen warrior"; he announced and then proceeded to explain in brief what a Ascendant is and why she was chosen.

Thirty minutes after many, many, many repetitive questions he hummed;

"For the next three years, she will be a boarder at Hale Academy, she will receive a full scholarship to study whatever she wishes", he informed them, "On Holidays, and or specific family functions, she may return home, provided the days upon which these family meetings are set, everything of her school work and Ascendant work is completed", he stated sharply.

"The food, boarding, and uniform is provided by Hale Academy. Students that are not Ascendants will wear casual clothes—civies", he nicknamed, "Unfortunately or fortunately depends on who you ask; as Ascendant she will be wearing a uniform. The girl's uniform is black pants, something she can move in comfortably, a black t-shirt, and a jacket of her color choice. Usually, most number two's have chosen blue", he informed recalling Maya's choice and Fiona's choice before her. "Her shoes will be military-grade combat boots, she'll be able to run in them, and no injury to her feet thanks to the medical magic stitched into the leather", he listed, "Because the uniform automatically causes her to stand out, she will be acknowledged as a Prefect at the Academy for one year", he informed them.

Karan hummed approvingly, "In short she's been given quite an admirable position", he stated.

"Quite", he answered. "And whether she blooms or is dragged down, will be entirely dependent on you. Now, as she is my ward, we will be leaving, please do not create another chaotic scene, and bid her adieu politely, lovingly", he suggested and looked up to see his temporary charge.

Jasmine had changed her clothes; she was now dressed in a stunning long skirt that fell to the floor, in layers seemingly. She wore a white crop top and a long black sweater, similar to the one she'd used as a shoe pouch, earlier.

As she descended the stairs, she lifted her skirt a little higher to reveal black tennis shoes.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked quietly.

"Yes", she answered dragging a single suitcase with her.

"Is that everything?" he asked confused.

"It's a Level One ETC (Enchanted Travel Companion)", she answered simply.

Peter nodded, "Ah", he stated.

ETCs were baggage enhancements spells placed on certain travel items, such as duffle bags, suitcases, travel bags, luggage trolley bags, and Rucksacks. They held spaces, magically activated with keywords. Pockets of space were opened in the lining of the bag to hold more items. There usually existed three Levels.

Level one; were bags that would hold clothes, personal items, toiletries, and anything a student or a businessman would need in case they were moving to a college or out of their homes for a period of time. Often used in suitcases and duffle-bags.

Level two; were bags designed for families who were moving houses or cities, they were spelled to hold everything and were often Anti-gravity based bags, to offer ease of comfort to families leaving their homes and to find other homes. The size of the bags could be shrunk to the size of backpacks, and carried by children as well. They were similar to level ones and were only used for storage.

Level three; were bags designed in case someone needed to live out of their luggage, literally, they carried in-house apartment space, spelled with plumbing, and hosting electrical charms for appliances. They were often carried in people's pockets, as they were designed to shrink down to the size of a plastic toy bag or sizes the user required. Though the development and sale of these were and still are rare. The multi-dimensional pockets were also used in place of camping and or when Raiders for Dungeon Hunting were commissioned for long tours. Because they're incredibly expensive and the magical science behind it was complicated most people preferred the Leveo One and Level Two ETCs rather than the third precariously designed Level Three's.

ETC, were often called Etcetera Baggage, purely coincidental that the abbreviation was used for a word that meant more of the same.

Peter hummed, "You have ten minutes to say your goodbyes", he said walking to her and standing next to her luggage. "Go on", he gently ushered her to a woman who was smiling proudly despite her weeping.

Jasmine nodded and walked to her parents, ignoring the rest of her family, she embraced her mother and murmured something to her that he chose not to pay attention to, and he wouldn't have understood either way. She then turned to her father and bowed to touch her father's feet, only to be stopped and pulled into an embrace, hard enough he winced on her behalf, the older man, whispered quietly and she nodded in intervals, listening carefully.

Her parents were similar in certain ways, the older man was dressed in a black long shirt that went down to his thighs, he wore a grey sleeveless buttoned sweater, and loose white pants, made of cotton. His shoes were simple bamboo slippers. Long white beard and brown eyes that seemed to soften as he talked to his daughter, when the argument had begun, he'd barely raised his voice until Jasmine argued about being raised a doll.

Her mother was dressed in a sari-like dress, he guessed, though he wasn't familiar with fashion choices in India. The other women wore something loose and layered trousers-like and long shirts, which were heavily embroidered with gold and sequins and other things he wondered how one could sit comfortably decked to the ninths like that, with bangles and heavy jewelry that looked like metal strangulation-items, and lockets adorning their head resting idly on the forehead—he'd have to ask Jasmine later what they were all called.

Jasmine's mother, a stunning brunette with crisp blue-green eyes, wore a similar set of fashion accessories, except for the forehead thing, and instead of an entire sleeve of bangles, just three, one gold two red on each wrist. She wore a single round ring on her index finger on her right hand and one on her left ring finger, which was a simple gold band. The sari though was a gold lace number that frankly scared the ever-loving heck out of him, and he wasn't even the person wearing it.

//How she manages that is a mystery…//

Jasmine hugged her brothers, scowled at her sisters-in-law, laughed at something a young pale woman with crisp blonde hair said, and was passed down the procession of more men, and finally reaching him.

"Ready to go?" he asked quietly.

Jasmine nodded, she was holding another duffle-bag that one of her brother's had handed to her and she stood beside him, she removed the envelope from her pocket, he put one hand on her shoulder, the other on her bag handle, "At least it's not a flying carpet", she teasead cheekily.

"Ugh!" he groaned, "Don't remind me"; he hissed grimacing at the mere idea.

Jasmine snorted and in a clear voice, stated;

"Return: Hale Academy!"

Peter's last thought as he watched the lights appear and surround them, were it probably couldn't have happened to a better person, Jasmine being chosen as a Ascendant;

// Youngest Child Syndrome… definitely knows how a large family of unique individuals would function. //

xXxXx

(End of Chapter seven)

Author's Note:

Translations:

Namaste Bhaiya, Gulmohar Park, shukriya >> Hindi >> Hello (a Greeting in general) Brother, Gulmohar Park, Thank you.

Aa gayi Kanjari! Kaha gayi thi tu, aur yeh kaun hai? Ek Firang, vah bai tu to kuch zyada— >> (ad verbatim) >> Hindi >>

Oh there you are, you b***h (kanjari is p********e at its literal translation, here its applied as b***h)! where did you go, and who the hell is this? A foreigner huh, well aren't you a little too much-

Papa, main Hale Academy vich select go gayi. Kaafi had tak privileged institute hai, aur tuhanu dasan aayi haan >> Punjabi >> Papa, I've been selected into Hale Academy, its, quite a privileged school, I came to inform you.

Jahan se main dekh rahin hu, tere pass bhi to mard hai! >> Hindi >> From where I'm standing I can see there's a man behind you too.. ( A jab, her sister-in-law suggests, Jasmine also has a guy to stand by her)

Apni aukad mein rahe na behna! >> Hindi >> Have respect and keep your attitude in check, sister.

Apne bhai se tameez se baat kar! >> Hindi >> Speak politely to your brother! (Essentially Jasmine is being warned to mind her language and tone)

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