Dan'enda Struggle

Chapter Eight: Classes

A couple of days later, the other students got over the initial shock of what had occurred with my sister. Though there was still talk about it, and people were questioning why a dan'enda would attack the school, the beginning of classes seemed to ease some of the commotion. Classes were mixed, basically to learn about the other races. During the first class, we were put in smaller groups to introduce ourselves. Daerae was in my class and group along with another elf named Rin Blackthorn. Daerae told me he had a sister who came to school with him but she ended up in a different class. I got to meet her at dinner that night. The two fairies in my group were Gilnae Tahl'nyn and Alam Pynin, both seemed a bit arrogant and liked to be near each other. Throughout the first day, I noticed them in some contact with each other. They barely interacted with the other fairies in the class.

Then there were Nazula and Nyx, twin nymphs, though I only found out later when I showed them my abilities on a couple of plants in the classroom the next day. I also found out that Nyx is one of the few males in his hometown and that males are very rare among nymphs, and they are known as nephilim. After the war, it was not uncommon for the nymphs to mate with the other races, mainly elves and humans, to keep their numbers from dwindling too quickly. Before the war, many of them belonged to harems as a means to continue bloodlines, as only a few males were born each generation.

There was one dan'enda in the class other than Sevrin. Neither were placed in my group, but I could feel Sevrin watching me. I could tell it was hard for him to pretend he wasn't my guard, especially since we had chosen to ask our Sparks to stay in the dorms. We tried to stay a little distant during the first day, but during the second day, when I was talking to the twins, I knew he was starting to lose the battle to not shield me.

The twins and I were sitting at a table near a window with some potted vines while the other members of our group were discussing arcane magic. Right after learning about their home, I asked the twins, "How did your people determine their mates outside of themselves? If the races were still struggling to cooperate, how did they move past that tension?"

Nazula was the one to answer, "Some in the newer generations don't, but most of us from older families have the ability to sense the intentions of others, though it varies on our bloodline and sometimes it'll be in varying degrees. Some may be able to sense someone's actual intentions, while others may only get glimpses of emotions leading to actions. Sort of like knowing if someone is actually intending to shoot a bow, versus knowing the moment their emotions take over."

Nyx added, "Some of us can see auras, telling them the nature of someone." He then looked to his sister and nodded, glancing around quickly. His gaze paused on the two fairies before he looked back to us.

Nazula then whispered to me, "I can tell you are a good person, Nydia. I can also see that you're troubled by some things, I'm assuming about what happened at the fields. Your aura has some very bright waves, like there is something old about your energy." They could see auras, I realized.

I wet my lips nervously as I caught Sevrin's gaze. He had noticed Nazula whispering. I saw the tension in his eyes as he debated letting me handle myself. I quickly smiled and nodded slightly to him before I looked back at the twins I had befriended. "You're not wrong, though I don't fully understand myself. How much do you know of the deities?"

Before they could answer, there was a loud laugh. The three of us looked to find Alam being incredibly rude and sneering at Daerae. "Even from an elf, I would expect you to be more than this," he flashed his hand towards Daerae and the book in front of him, "Poor excuse of a mage."

I stood leaned back in my chair to stare down at the male. "Magic isn't everything, Alam. And I think anyone willing to learn is better than being ignorant. I would have thought that you'd know that, since fairies started the peace talks."

Alam turned to me with a hint of disgust before his face relaxed. "I suppose you'd know something about that, since dragons have been pulling away and each generation of your kind gets weaker and weaker."

"Don't insult my people. We work hard to get to where we're at. The dragons don't need to bond with us, they choose to."

"You need the dragons. You're making them weak. No wonder your sister left."

"Excuse me?" My voice rose. I was getting angry. "You don't know anything." Sevrin looked at me, but I didn't acknowledge his stare.

Alam got up from his seat, and I rose from mine as well. He came close to me. "I know that your sister was tired of living in your shadow and left to go somewhere else, somewhere she could grow and become more powerful than you'll ever be, Princess." He spat out the last word like an insult.

My anger was rising. That was dangerous. What more did he know about Syrena? The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I wanted to know where she was. I wanted to know how she was doing. I wanted to find out everything I could to bring her home. He smirked.

I felt a hand on my arm. Nazula. "Nydia, your eyes are glowing."

I barely heard her before another person spoke, Sevrin, who had pushed himself between Alam and me. "Nydia, let's go before something happens. You're stressed out. This guy is just trying to be a prick. He wants you to fight him. Rose trained you better than that." He made a good point, but I couldn't shake my anger.

Nyx pushed Alam away. "Go fall on s**t where you belong."

Alam straightened his vest and smirked. "What's wrong, Nydia? Afraid to get hurt? Just going to let this dog get between us?"

My head snapped to him, power was humming in my veins, stronger than I had known it. Whatever Sevrin saw, he was worried as he turned around and punched the fairy. Alam went down and Sevrin tried to pull me away. I felt another hand trying to pull me along. Nazula had my hand and Nyx was over Alam, keeping him from getting up. Then there was a soft lullaby echoing in my head, calming me, chasing away the static hum of anger. "He deserves a lesson in manners," I managed to mutter.

"I know," Nazula said. "Please," the sound of her voice filled my mind, "Let's go."

I looked at Sevrin again. He was watching me. So was everyone else in the room. I nodded, and we left the room with the twins.

In the hallway, the professor was returning with a few books in tow. He was an older elf, tall and lanky, with thin hair tied back at his neck. Seeing the looks on our faces, he squinted his eyes and questioned, "What is going on?"

Nyx spoke, any evidence of what happened clear from his expression. "Nydia here isn't feeling well. We're escorting her to her room so she may rest."

"Perhaps you should be taking her to the nurse instead? Looks to me like young delinquents are trying to skip out on their education. Nydia, this doesn't look good on the headmistress allowing you to attend."

Nazula responded, "Sir, it's not a medical affliction. There are some situations where one needs to know when to take a break."

The professor smirked, "Maybe you shouldn't be here if you need breaks this early on." He paused, studying our faces. "Very well. I expect to see you in the next class with much more enthusiasm. Go."

The twins didn't hesitate to pull me along. I could feel Sevrin following close behind. It didn't matter if the twins had technically lied, the old elf would undoubtedly learn what happened. The headmistress would learn. She was already unhappy with what had transpired, but what had come over me could ruin everything. And our mission here would be at risk.

Down a couple of halls, I stopped walking. Nazula's grip on my hand pulled her to a stop as she turned to face me. She squeezed my hand. I looked at her, unable to comprehend what had occurred. "Why was he trying to fight me? Why was I about to use my powers in a way I've never even thought I should?"

She clasped both my hands in hers. "He's threatened by you. We don't trust him. His aura is shaded, like he's hiding behind false formalities. On top of that, he's rude and disrespectful to all but the other fairies. Pay him no mind. He will not succeed."

Sevrin came to my side. "If he tries it again, I have a duty to protect you. He will not get close to you again." He looked down the hall in the direction we were headed. "We should let Rose know what happened."

I nodded. "She also has a duty to me, but remember the deal was that I learn to protect myself as well."

"Then let's go find her and you can prove to me how much of a warrior you are." He smiled one of his sly smiles that made it impossible for me not to smile back.