The Claddagh Academy

Roomates

Kodiak

            Where were you? Asked me Karoo inside of my mind the moment I shifted by her side. Totem stood by my left, protecting my six while the rest of my brothers subtly surrounded me. I loved them all more than anything, but sometimes their protectiveness was smothering. They had always admired me, but since I’ve killed our father they had sincerely started to adore me like a god. Specially Totem and Karoo. At times it was impossible to be around them without feeling their collective gratitude for the murder I’ve committed. It just didn’t feel good. Their love and gratitude were a constant reminder of what I’ve become. A murderer. I always knew I would end killing my father one way or the other. Once I’ve done it, I experimented relief, followed by the strange epiphany that made me realize I’ve become exactly what I’ve always hated. A younger version of my father.

            This morning I’ve escaped the Unseelie castle to spend some time on my own. Whenever I had any free time I liked to spend it alone, deep in the forest where only monsters like me wandered in solitude. I’ve been sleeping when I first felt the evil consciousness of a rogue Banshee. Rogue creatures had the weakest minds. It was easy to crack them, like opening an egg in one single try. I invaded her mind and tasted her intentions. She was in Faerie to kill somebody. Someone who had wronged her somehow. She was gaining speed. Whoever that Banshee was planning to kill had to be close. I jumped from the tall branches where I’ve been sleeping and shifted in midair. Shifting was, after flying, the gift I enjoyed the must. I’ve achieved the art of Shifting when I was a little boy. It was a second nature to me, like flying or…becoming the beast. I pushed that thought away and shifted between the trees, following the flashes of images of a fight ahead of me. I stopped by the end of a deer trail and looked down, to the Banshee I was planning on killing. I took a good hold of her consciousness and all her evil deeds flashed right in front of my eyes. A consciousness was this flame that burned constantly inside everyone’s mind. Some consciousnesses were stronger than others. The Banshee in front of me barely had any. The more horrible a being was, the less consciousness it possessed. I took the small, orange flame in my right hand and extinguished it with only one finger. The Banshee fell, taking with her a girl with long auburn hair.

            My blood burn hot in my veins when I first saw her. I could only see the girl from afar, but that was all it took to know she was my soul mate. The bond tightened fiercely around my middle and sunk. I rushed to her side while the beast awakened from its long slumber inside of my mind. The beast tested my mind shields and roared, moving inside of my mind like a caged lion. We fought for control. Like always. I won once again, pushing the beast deep down my consciousness and building another set of shields around it to keep it contained. It wouldn’t hold for long, but it will do temporarily. I watched from the shadows the moment Cauldron appeared, threatening the girl on expelling her. I moved closer, until I could finally see all of her.

            She was… breathtaking. My soul mate was the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on. Tall, with dark auburn hair that fell thick and wavy by her small waist. She was wearing a hideous combination of baggy pants and some dude’s face plastered on the t-shirt on her chest, but she couldn’t trick anyone. Behind all those layers of clothes was a sinful body I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth in. And that face. Angelical. Small and perfectly chiseled in an oval shape, with porcelain white skin, full, red lips, a small nose and a pair of amethyst eyes that would be the death of me.

            “…you are expelled!” that’s all I heard coming from the stupid prick of Cauldron. The girl’s consciousness brightened. Hope. The girl was hopeful of being expelled. Curious I walked inside her mind. Fascinating. She owned two separated consciousness inside of one mind. By my right I could see the brightest white flame I’ve ever seen, which represented a strong will and even a strongest amount of magic. By my left was a safe box, carefully covered in chains and locks. Whatever that girl had hidden in there was powerful and unpredictable. I could feel it, threatening to explode at any time and control everything.

            “Really?” She asked with a singsong voice, feminine and melodic. My body shook with the need to go and claim her. She was my mate. MINE. I was about to claim her like my body and mind dictated when she looked up and those amethyst eyes fixed on me. I trembled, barely holding the beast and my instinct in check while she studied me curiously and then bonded herself to me. We were true soul mates. It was impossible not to feel the bond. She swayed to a side and I almost moved to help her, but one of her thoughts made me stop. I would probably kick him in his nuts if he tries to help me. Beautiful and wild. My mate was perfect. I started walking, uncappable of being far away from her any longer.

            My soul mate was feisty. Too feisty. But wasn’t that a challenge I would like to take? I realized right then than she wouldn’t be one of the hundreds of girls that threw themselves at me. As the Unseelie King I’ve had my fair share of women. Usually I’ve never had to do a thing to take them to bed. My soul mate though, she was unique. A rare gem. I invaded her memories, trying to gain a better idea of who she was. Her consciousness was unprotected, not a single shield had been built around her mind, which led me to think she probably have never used magic before, or had never encountered a mind reader like me, who could invade her mind. That would need to change drastically. My soul mate would need to become stronger if we meant to be together. Everyone was always trying to kill me and now they would try hurting her to get to me. I spied her past like an addict, hungry for more information about her. I soon learned her name, learned about the person she loved the most, who was her godfather. I learned about the siren inside of her and the fact she was terrified of not being able to control her someday. She wouldn’t need to care for that anymore. I already worshiped her siren side and would be pleased to help Blaise tame her. When I was done learning from her I moved one last step and smirked, enjoying already our little game. I wouldn’t claim her as my soul mate. Not yet. Blaise wouldn’t like it and I wasn’t planning on starting our immortal existence together by forcing her into a relationship. No. I would make her want me. Love me even. All I needed to do was being patient and patience was one of my rare virtues. Not to say the only one. The rest was only my vices and those I had plenty.

            ““You could try, but you will be too slow,” I told her and she blinked, her long, auburn hair floating in the wind. The beast inside of me smelt her, recognizing her scent as the one of his mate. Violets. She smelled like violets and the sea. I sneaked inside her mind again, listening to her thoughts like a greedy thief. I wanted all of her. From her thoughts to every single one of emotions. He has a mischievous little boy face, the kind that will always get him what he wants only because it is impossible to decline the thrill of looking at it…I was pleased she found me attractive, but to think I owned a little boy’s face insulted me. I was a warrior. I’ve killed enough monsters and spilled enough blood to make walls look like Jackson Pollock’s paintings, and she thought my face looked like one of a little boy? There was a pause in her line of thoughts and then her pupils dilated when she understood I’ve been reading her mind all along.

            “It took you longer than the average to realize I read minds. I guess that pretty face doesn’t come attached to a smart brain,” I clicked my tongue and stared at her, enjoying the way her full, big lips tensed in frustration. For f**k’s sake I wanted to kiss her. This game I was starting promised to come back and bite me in the arse, “Pity, you would have been a cliché breaker.”

            We fought back and forward and while we were at it I pick on all her little mannerism. The way she crossed her arms before stating a point. The bright, violet light that shined in her eyes when I did something she liked. The fierceness of her soul, the pureness of her intentions. The more I knew about her, the more I wanted her. I would never lie to her either. She was too weak right now. Too scared to face her Fae heritage and too frightened to tame the siren inside of her. She needed to be pushed, to be challenged and I would give her exactly that.

            “You need to toughen a little bit more if you want to survive in Faerie. All I can see when I look at you is a girl spiraling down without any control. You can’t control your siren half and you don’t even know how to claim your Fae blood. Wake up, little girl and open your eyes. If you are not in control, then I will control you.”

            I shifted then, leaving her in the woods. There was no danger around and she was tough enough to find her own way to the castle. My sister’s questioning eyes brought me back to the moment and to the little task I had for her. I stared into her golden eyes, making sure only Karoo was listening to my thoughts and send her an image of Blaise’s face. Karoo frowned, studying the face I was projecting in her mind before looking back to me. She is different than the rest. Isn’t she? From all my siblings Karoo had always been the brightest. She was an empath, courtesy of her mother’s witch heritage. She had only seen my own memory of Blaise’s face, but she had been able to feel our bond through the memory. I shielded my mind until a wall of reinforced onyx covered my consciousness and then stared down at my sister. I ignored her question and asked what I wanted from her. The girl needs help to adapt and get stronger. Pick her as your roommate and keep an eye on her. Please, for me.

            Karoo nodded right away, the hint of a smile hanging from her lips. Does this girl have a name? I smirked at her curiosity and opened my mouth to answer my sister when Blaise arrived at the plaza. I turned around, looking at her like the rest of First year. Her feet barely touched the floor. She walked with a ballerina’s grace, all elegance and purpose. I looked away, not paying her any attention with my eyes, but keeping everyone’s consciousness in check. Every other male in attendance focused on her. I could see her through a thousand eyes, from a thousand of different perspectives and in all of them I found her beautiful. Blaise ignored all the attention, resting her body on a wall and looking solely at me. She only has eyes for you, but she thinks you are a pretentious prick. I can’t believe it. A girl that doesn’t fan herself after meeting you? Oh, I like her already. I smirked at my sister’s and turned to the terrace, where Cauldron have appeared to welcome us. I disliked Cauldron. The man was weak and arrogant, two traits that make him also a fool. Cauldron was power hungry and the only way he could be happy was to make his students as miserable as he was. I would need to check on him now, since he had threatened Blaise on keeping an eye on her. It was only courteous from me to extend the favor and keep an eye on a man that had threatened my mate.

My mind was miles away when Cauldron called the Blood Fae princess to stand, princess Aella. The hollow creature smiled at me the moment she was named and sent me an explicit picture to my mind of how she would like to get to know me better. I ignored her, checking Blaise’s consciousness once again. I was becoming addicted to spying on her mind, she had after all, one of the purest consciousness I’ve ever visited. The queen bee is a princess? What a shocker. A smile formed in my lips. Blaise’s consciousness might be pure, but her thoughts were as fierce as her personality. Cauldron finally called my brothers and as I’ve had predicted he saved me to the end. The pompous fucker was proud of having me as a student. If only he knew he would lose me the second he threatened Blaise again.

            “...the Unseelie King, Kodiak,” called Cauldron and everyone’s mind went blank in terror. They knew I had a dark power inside of me to kill them all with just a flicker of my mind. I wouldn’t kill them. Not unless they threatened my siblings or Blaise. Oh right, and also if they woke me up while I was sleeping. I was a horrible morning person and couldn’t answer for my acts if I was awakened too suddenly. While I was walking up the stairs my mind connected with Blaise’s. It was becoming natural to look for her consciousness every moment. Not him. That was all she thought about me being the Unseelie King? Others would have been terrified. She surely had listened to some stories about me. About me being the most powerful Fae ever. Or maybe about that time I killed my father over the summer. Or the fact I killed that Fire Fae prince that tried to trick Karoo into falling in love with him. I wasn’t a particular vengeful person, but I tended to kill for the people I cared for. The sooner Blaise accepted that little vice of mine, the sooner I could claim her as my soul mate.

                                                                         ~~~~*~~~~

Blaise

            You are a magnet for trouble Blaise and that’s why I’m alerting you. Stay away from the new Unseelie King. Well, wasn’t Amadeus always right on his predictions? Oh God, it was so hard to be me. I seriously had this problem of finding trouble whenever I went. And that’s what Kodiak was. TROUBLE. With capital letters. I’ve felt a weird bond with the Unseelie King. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I knew something had happened between us in the forest. I had first thought he had been my soul mate, but that couldn’t be. Soul mates tended to be together right after finding each other. Some Fae died without ever finding their soul mate. That was the reason why soul mates always stay close from the very beginning. You simply didn’t want to lose the love of your infinite life once you have found it. Male Fae also needed to claim their mate by-listen to this- biting their females. It was instinctual and the longer a male Fae stayed without claiming his mate the worse for him. I wasn’t sure what would happen to a male that didn’t claim his mate, but Amadeus had once mentioned it wasn’t good.  And Amadeus was always right on these things. Ergo, Kodiak couldn’t be my soul mate, since he hadn’t spontaneously combusted right in front of my eyes after not claiming me. I was probably just tired after traveling between realms and fighting a Banshee. Or maybe I was just hungry. Come to think about it I haven’t eaten a thing since the early morning and my sugar levels had been depleted by now. I needed to be constantly eating chocolate. I was serious, this was not a shallow excuse to eat my emotions compulsively. Whenever the siren fed she empowered my body, but after a while I needed to recharge. Usually my mind always got tired first, making me sleepy and cranky, then my body. The one substance that traveled faster to the brain was sugar. I’ve read that in some human magazine years ago and decided to give it a try. So, I tried eating some chocolate while I was between jobs. The effect was amazing. Even Amadeus recognized I was so much better to deal with after I’ve eaten my daily doses of chocolate.

            I palmed the pockets of my pants and smiled happily when I found my halt eaten Snickers bar. I was going to take my first bite, my mouth already salivating at the prospect of tasting the perfect amount of chocolate and caramel crunching with peanuts in my tongue, when Kodiak’s sister appeared right in front of me. Up close she was even more beautiful than what I’d initially thought. Her skin was golden like her brother’s, but while Kodiak was tall and lean, she was petite and thin, with a heart shaped face, a pair of circular golden eyes and a small, but feminine pair of lips. She eyed me curiously, leaning on her tip toes while she inspected me closely, with her hands crossed at her back. I gulped, wondering if she wanted to share my Snickers bar.

            “Chocolate?” I asked her, offering my half-eaten bar and the princess Karoo smiled brightly at me. When she smiled her whole face lightened. Exactly as her brother. I wondered if it was a family thing.

            “Sure,” she said, smiling a thousand-megawatts smile that made me smile in response. Two girls connecting over chocolate. We were a match made in heaven. I shared half of the chocolate with her and we both chewed it in pleasant silence. “I’m Karoo Doomhold by the way. You know, in case Cauldron’s pompous presentation didn’t make it clear enough. I swear that man likes to brag about everything. His students, his school…his outdated fashion style.”

            “Right? I bet he is trying to bring maroon back with a bang,” I said between bites and Karoo’s eyes brightened in mutual mischievousness. I liked her already. Any other High Fae would had probably asked me to address her with respect, as her high rank of royalty probably mandated. But not her. She presented herself only as Karoo. No Princess Karoo, not lady Karoo. Just Karoo. It was refreshing to meet people like her. Of course, I still had to ask her about that rumor I’ve heard of his brother killing his father. But I wasn’t one to believe in rumors. For now I would give them all a big chance to show me who they were. Then I needed to investigate if the rumors were true, because I was dying to know all about it. We finished our chocolate by the time Cauldron ordered First year to pass to the dorms. Karoo linked her arm to mine and guided me fast between the other students. I followed her in shock. Why would a princess wanted to be seen with me? She was a powerful figure head. I was a mutt. Other students looked at us curiously, but everyone was too excited to process anything. “I’m Blaise Darkholme.”

            “Cool beans,” she said at me while we navigated around the mass of First year students. I smirked at Karoo’s outdated human slang but decided not to correct her. There was just something funny about listening to a Fae imitate human slang.

            First year was divided into two groups by the entrance of the castle. Boys where guided to the far right by a professor under the name of Trunks, who was a tall High Fae with a mushroom haircut that was suspiciously purple. No High Fae owned hair with a color like that, which indicated Trunks was must probably a mutt like me. I followed the group with my eyes, while the boys walked up the slate stairs that led to the right wing of the castle. I caught a glimpse of Kodiak. He stood out from the rest, standing a head taller than any other student. Taller than Trunks too. Kodiak was closely surrounded by his brothers, who stood protectively around him like bodyguards. The strange thing was that everyone else seemed to avoid him. I couldn’t understand the double standard. I knew everyone admired the Unseelie King because of his powers, which led them to also fear him. I was the third impartial party. I recognized he was strong. I would give him that. I’ve never met a Fae who could shift and read minds like him. Which led me to hate him for being so freaking perfect. All I can see when I look at you is a girl spiraling down without any control. Man, his words still hurt me a mother, but I could see what he meant. I needed to step up my game if I wanted to become strong. And I wanted to become strong enough to beat him.

            “All the ladies come with me,” said a woman in front of us with a high-pitched voice that made me flinch. The woman looked uncannily stiff. Her old skin seemed waxy to me, which paired with her stiffness made her look like one of the wax figures I’ve seen at Madame Tussauds wax museum. Her white hair was braided in a crown on top of her head, giving her a queenly appearance. When she looked down at us her black eyes shined in threatening furor, “I’m Mss. Lambert, the keykeeper of the girl’s dorm at Claddagh Academy. There isn’t a single thing that happens in the lady’s dorm that I don’t know. This is a list of the dorm’s rules. Memorize it before the end of the week if you don’t want to get in trouble with me and I assure you, ladies…you don’t want to get in trouble with me.”

            Oh s**t. I believed this lady. The moment she said, “dorm’s rules” a heavy book appeared in every girl’s hands surrounding Mss. Lambert. Including me. I gave the brick, sized book in my hands a dubious glance and shared a nervous look with Karoo. There was no way we could memorize all those rules by the end of the week. It was impossible and after checking the pages I noticed it didn’t have enough pictures to capture my attention for long. This was beyond ridiculous. It was only the first day of school and we already had homework. Nobody dared to speak while we followed Mss. Lambert up the stairs and to the third floor. Our group passed a large hall of paintings that looked frankly haunted to me and then another set of more narrowed stairs that forced us to walk in pairs. The natural light illuminated us, it shined from the large crystal wall at our right. A huge stained-glass mosaic decorated the wall. Glass of every color formed the image of a mythical beast I’ve never seen but heard of. A blue scaled dragon with indigo wings that turned the descending sunrays from above into a prism of colors. Breathtaking. I fell in love with the art, following with my eyes the curves of the beast’s black talons and the scarlet flames that exploded from the monster’s mouth.

            We all walked to the end of the stairs and stopped abruptly behind Mss. Lambert. Ahead of us was a gray wall as plain as any other gray wall surrounding us. Karoo lifted her large eyebrows at me and I shrugged in honest confusion. Had Mss. Lambert lost herself inside the castle and led us to a dead end? Somehow it wouldn’t surprise me. This place was a maze. The only way I could guide myself inside this castle was by my sense of smell and that was only because I was half siren. Mss. Lambert looked around us, as if she was afraid somebody could be spying and then knocked at the wall…because that made total sense. To my surprise the wall slid to a side, just like any slide door in the human realm. A large elevator room with mirror walls and checkered floors appeared in front of us. An English Victorian lamp hanged from the elevator’s roof, illuminating the walls with a powerful but still intimate yellow light.

            “Come on girls, we are late,” chastised Mss. Lambert and we all followed her inside of the elevator. When the last girl got inside, gaining a reproachful look from Mss. Lambert because of her slowness, she nodded to a brownie that had been flying around a control panel in the wall. The brownie, a thin creature of long limbs that resembled a thick insect, nodded back and pushed a red button on the wall, the elevator started moving painfully slow to an upper floor, “All you need to do to get in, is to knock at the last wall in this set of stairs and Ignatia will let you pass inside the elevator. Well, only if you are a girl and a Claddagh student, that’s it. Boys are not allowed inside the girl’s room, as you might have already inferred before reading the dorm’s rules. There’s a charm that repels males of any age or race on that wall. Boys can’t shift inside the girl’s dorm, they can’t fly inside of the dorm and obviously can’t break down the charms that protect this place. You might ask any question you have at the end of your rooming placement.”

            The elevator stopped and a bell ringed once before the doors opened and we entered a large room with pink wallpapers. The common room was designed as a lounge space, with three large, comfy looking sofas covered in pillows. A large chimney by the middle of the room guided to two sets of stairs where I could see several mahogany doors. I studied the common room deciding right away I despised the pastel pink of the walls and the whole girlish décor. This wasn’t the place where I would spend my free time. I would find some place to hide by the forest, out in the open, without any walls that could give me a serious case of social anxiety.

            “All the princesses please step to a side,” asked Mss. Lambert and Aella used the opportunity to smirk and look at me as if I was gum under her kitty heels. She tossed her strawberry blonde hair to a side and walked away from the rest of us as if we could infect her with rabies. Two other princesses followed her, looking humbler than Aella. I looked to a side and bumped my shoulder against’ Karoo’s.

            “Dude, I think you are supposed to go with them,” I told her, and Karoo frowned, staring at me as if I’d grown two heads. Mss. Lambert cleared her throat, making us look up at her black, dark eyes. There were so dark that I couldn’t distinguish her pupils from her irises.

            “Any day now princess Karoo,” said Mss. Lambert with a tight smile that was more of a threat than a social pleasantry. The woman needed some serious doses of patience. Forcing her smile so hard was probably going to give her an apoplexy if she didn’t relax her cheeks in the next five seconds. Karoo smiled at her and with total abandon scratched the back of her neck, just as I’ve seen her brother doing. It was probably a family trait too.

            “I’m sorry Mss. Lambert, but I prefer to be paired with Blaise. We had just met, but I know we will become fast friends,” said Karoo smiling at Mss. Lambert. By my peripherals I saw Aella roll her green eyes at us and crossed her arms in mortification. She wasn’t the only one. Mss. Lambert exuded this air of irritation that was soon starting to become a palpable thing. She pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a very menacing step in our direction. Instinctively Karoo and I took a step back. I killed trolls three times my size and I was woman enough to recognize we were the underdogs in this situation. If Mss. Lambert wanted our asses she would have them served in a silver platter.

            “Does your brother know you want to be paired with…her?” Mss. Lambert black eyes looked at me and found me lacking. Aella smirked in the back, her obnoxiously pretty face set in a victorious grin. I felt the siren inside of me startle, as if she wanted to wake up and teach everyone in attendance a lesson. Specially Mss. Lambert. First for being a b***h and second for staring at me with so much hatred. I was tented to let the siren go out and have some fun with Aella’s long hair. I bet the siren could find a good way to style it into a mohawk. Without scissors, because they were so overrated. Karoo softly touched my arm and gave me a cautious look, it seemed to say don’t do anything crazy. Certainly, she couldn’t be telling me this because she had read my mind. Right? She couldn’t be a mind reader like her bother, it was simply not fair. I mean, c’mon, Darwinism didn’t work like that. Karoo nodded imperceptibly, confirming my thoughts. Yep, she was a mind reader too. I honestly envied her now, and not only because she could rock a pixie cut and I couldn’t. Karoo smiled at me, probably reading my thoughts once again, before turning to Mss. Lambert.

            “I have thirteen brothers, Mss. Lambert, all of them of the same age and attending Claddagh. Which one of them are you referring to?” Asked Karoo, looking sneaky as hell. Smooth operator, I said to her in my mind and Karoo subtly waved a hand at me in a universal gesture of flattery.

            “Well, the Unseelie King, of course. He will probably be against the likes of you sharing a bedroom with Mss. Darkholme. No offense Mss. Darkholme, but your heritage is well known to have some trouble controlling your bad temper,” said Mss. Lambert and at that Aella and her minion princesses stared at me in growing interest.

            “And what heritage would that be? We are not in danger of sharing housing with Darkholme, right?” Asked Aella and everyone stared at me with a mix of nervousness and open hostility. Great, now everyone was afraid that leprechaun’s blood run in my veins. This day couldn’t go any worse. Karoo stepped in front of me, putting her hands at her hips and staring everyone down. Including Mss. Lambert. My new-found friend was a baller.

            “Blaise’s heritage doesn’t represent a threat to anyone and you can rest assured, Mss. Lambert, that my big brother doesn’t mind people’s heritage like some other High Fae who can’t look further ahead from their noses. Now, would you be so kind to show me and my new roommate our bedroom?” Asked Karoo, looking sweet like Dixie Crystal sugar. I couldn’t stop smiling while Karoo linked her arm with me and nodded at Mss. Lambert to show us where we would be sleeping.

            Mss. Lambert guided first the other princesses to their allocations, which were separated from the rest by a white set of stairs, and then she come for us with an air of tiredness. I knew Mss. Lambert was purposely trying to establish some sort of classism between royal Fae and the rest like me, but I couldn’t care less. I’ve made a good friend during my first day of school and now we will be roommates for the entire year. Nobody except Amadeus had stepped out for me during my life, which made me feel kind of indebted to Karoo. The way I see it I could repay her by not painting the walls of our rooms in black and not putting loud music the night before an exam. I would try to be a good roommate and even a better friend.