CHAPTER FOUR
858 Words
CHAPTER FOUR
The First Lesson
The corridor seemed endless.
Sunlight filtered through the towering stained-glass windows, scattering crimson and sapphire patterns across the polished stone floor. Students flowed through the halls with quiet purpose, their black uniforms creating a sea of dark fabric broken only by silver crests and neatly carried books.
Luna walked beside Rowan, still stealing glances over her shoulder.
The image of the figure in the tower refused to leave her mind.
"You've looked back six times."
She blinked.
"...You counted?"
"I count everything."
Rowan adjusted the books in his arms.
"It helps here."
"What does?"
"Paying attention."
His answer was so matter-of-fact that Luna couldn't tell if he was joking.
"I still think you should tell me who that was."
"I know."
"And?"
"And I still think I shouldn't."
Luna sighed dramatically.
"You know, you're terrible at making people feel better."
A small smile tugged at the corner of Rowan's mouth.
"I've been told."
They turned another corner.
The atmosphere changed almost instantly.
The cheerful murmur of students faded, replaced by a quieter, more disciplined silence.
A pair of older students standing outside a classroom stopped talking as Luna approached.
One of them looked directly at her.
Not with curiosity.
With pity.
The other quickly nudged his friend, and both looked away.
Luna felt that familiar knot tighten in her stomach.
"They're doing it again."
Rowan didn't ask what she meant.
He already knew.
"Don't let it get to you."
"Easy for you to say."
"It isn't."
She looked at him.
"What?"
He hesitated.
For a moment, she thought he might finally explain.
Instead, he simply said,
"Trust me."
It wasn't enough.
But something in his expression told her he wished it could be.
They reached a pair of enormous wooden doors carved with twisting branches and crescent moons.
Above them, elegant silver letters read:
EAST LECTURE HALL
Students entered without speaking.
No one pushed.
No one hurried.
It felt less like entering a classroom...
And more like entering a courtroom.
Inside, the room was breathtaking.
Rows of polished wooden desks curved in a wide semicircle around a sunken teaching floor.
Ancient chandeliers floated high above, suspended by chains so thin they looked impossible.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the mist-covered cliffs beyond the academy walls.
Luna found herself staring.
"This is a classroom?"
Rowan followed her gaze.
"You should see the library."
Before she could reply, every conversation in the hall stopped.
A man entered through a side door.
He wasn't old.
Perhaps early forties.
Tall.
Impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit with silver cufflinks.
There was nothing particularly intimidating about his appearance.
Yet the moment he stepped into the room...
Every student stood.
Without being told.
Without hesitation.
Professor Vale surveyed the room with calm grey eyes.
"Good morning."
His voice wasn't loud.
It didn't need to be.
"You may sit."
One hundred chairs moved in perfect unison.
Luna hurried to follow everyone else's lead.
Professor Vale placed a single leather notebook on the desk.
"I dislike introductions."
A few students exchanged nervous glances.
"They encourage assumptions."
He folded his hands behind his back.
"So instead..."
"We'll begin with observation."
His eyes drifted across the room until they settled on Luna.
"The new student."
Every head turned toward her.
Luna straightened instinctively.
"Stand."
She obeyed.
Professor Vale walked slowly toward her desk.
"What color are my eyes?"
The question caught her completely off guard.
She looked at him.
Grey.
No...
There were flecks of blue.
Almost silver.
"They're... grey."
Professor Vale smiled faintly.
"Incorrect."
A ripple of confusion spread through the class.
He looked around the room.
"What color are my eyes?"
"Grey," several students answered together.
"They were."
His smile disappeared.
"They aren't now."
No one spoke.
Luna frowned.
She looked again.
For the briefest instant...
She could have sworn they were amber.
Then they were grey once more.
Her pulse quickened.
Professor Vale returned to the front of the room.
"The first lesson."
He picked up a piece of white chalk.
"Your eyes."
He wrote a single sentence across the board.
Never trust what wants to be seen.
The chalk snapped in his hand.
Not from force.
As if something had broken it.
He stared at the two pieces for a heartbeat before placing them quietly on the desk.
"No textbook will teach you that."
The room remained silent.
Then, without warning, a sharp knock echoed from the lecture hall doors.
Three slow knocks.
Every student froze.
Not one of them looked toward the entrance.
Not even Professor Vale.
The knocking came again.
Three times.
Steady.
Patient.
Professor Vale's expression hardened for the first time.
He closed the notebook.
"Our lesson ends here."
No one moved.
No one packed their books.
No one dared ask why.
Professor Vale looked toward the closed doors.
His next words were barely above a whisper.
"...He's early."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Luna glanced at Rowan.
His face had turned completely white.
Outside...
Footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Slow.
Measured.
Unhurried.
Each step drew closer.
No one breathed.
The footsteps stopped outside the lecture hall.
Then...
The door handle slowly began to turn.
- Writer
