The Claddagh Academy

The Very First Time I Broke the Rules at Claddagh

Blaise

            “…If a student doesn’t wash her teeth before sleeping a sensory alarm would alert the keykeeper, who will be forced to appear before the student and make sure she washes her teeth,” I put the dorm rules bible down and stared at Karoo at my side. She only sighed, resting the side of her face on her own copy of the dorm rules. We had seen our bedroom already. It was a small room with white walls full of shelves that were covered with our uniforms, shoes and every other article we would need at Claddagh. From our backpacks to our textbooks. After playing rock, paper, scissor shoot to see who would get the top floor of our bunkbed and me winning it, we decided to go down the dining hall and have dinner while we read the book that Mss. Lambert had entrusted us to learn by the end of the week. There was simply no human, neither magic possibility we would learn all those rules ever.

            “At least you know Claddagh cares for its student’s oral health, “said Karoo shrugging and I smirked, crossing my legs on the chair I was seated and returning my attention to the book. The dining hall was a huge room packed by little tables set for two to six students and some booths that had been apparently reserved for the upper years students. Nobody knew that for sure, but the upper class have spread the word and no one wanted the trouble of proving them wrong.  And couples. Ew. There were couples of students everywhere. The upper years were also in a hunt to attract freshmen students into their love trap. I’ve already threatened to kick a dozen butts of older boys who thought that only because they were older had the rights to get friendly with me. Not Karoo. Everyone seemed to avoid her, which she really didn’t care for. We had been so worried about trying to learn those damn dorm rules that we secluded ourselves to a corner and ignored the rest of the first day of school festivities.

            “Hear this: “In case of heavy rain, students are supposed to leave their wet shoes by the chimney of the common room to dry. In case of a violation, the culprit that violated this rule would have to clean everyone shoes for a week”, I put the book down and looked at Karoo, who was already smiling at my mischievous face, “How the hell will Mss. Lambert know who didn’t let your shoes by the chimney? She would track down the “culprit” with her hound dog gifts and burn the culprit’s shoes?”

            “My real question is, how is she going to test if we know all of this?” said Karoo, pointing at the book in my hands. “There are like…what? A thousand rules to memorize? It’s impossible for her to cover all this material in a test.”

            “Something tells me Mss. Lambert would find a way. I mean, she knows already if you wash your teeth at night or not, the woman is definitely a genius,” I said, and Karoo laughed under her breath. I smiled at her at the same time a tall boy stopped by our side and looked down at Karoo. The boy was handsome, tall and skinny, with a cinnamon colored skin and a pair of red eyes that seemed to be eternally burning. A Fire Fae. I’ve never seen one. Fire and Wind Fae were the definition of hermits. They practically never left their territory, preferring to live in seclusion. Water and Earth were more social, not to say too social. Water Fae have gained a certain reputation over the years for being too liberal, hence the reason some humans have given sensual traits to Water nymphs in a big confusion about races. I’ve met enough Water Fae to know this speculation was painfully true. Blood Fae were a big mystery. Not even I knew for certain what their powers entitled, but Amadeus mentioned once he had seen my father healing people with his blood power. I figured Blood Fae were healers, but after meeting princess Aella I had trouble imaging her getting her acrylic nails dirty while trying to save someone.

            The boy’s red eyes zeroed on Karoo and blinked once, glaring at her silently. Ok, that was just creepy. I looked back at Karoo and frowned. My new friend looked pale, her big golden eyes were glassy as if she was trying to hold her tears. Impulsively I stood, blocking the dude’s visual field and pushing him a step back. The boy let me, but his face turned aggressively at my hand on his shoulder and threateningly he looked back at me. Ok then, he didn’t like physical contact. I took my hand away, but the guy kept looking at me as if I’d offended him big time. People around us started looking in our direction with hopeful expressions, probably waiting for a good fight to end our first day of school with a lot of gossip.

            “You are making Karoo uncomfortable, please leave,” I told the Fire dude, adding the “please” for good measure. I didn’t care for a good fight, I was actually kind of bored after reading so many dumb rules and could use the distraction. The only problem was I already depleted my doses of good luck for the day and Cauldron would probably have my ass if I started a fight, right after he warned me of staying out of trouble.

            “Stay out of this,” said the Fire Fae, blinking at me while his nostrils flared in a warning sign. Damn, he was mad. Too bad. I sighed, looking at the marble ceiling and wondering why I’d asked before how my day could get any worse. Surely, nothing else could happen to me after this. I mean, what else could happen? It was already dark outside and our curfew was at nine. I had a narrow margin of time to get in trouble. Thankfully.

            Right about the time I asked myself what else could happen, I felt Kodiak shift inside the dining hall. I felt him at a cellular level, right at my back. My nose could smell him even if we were apart and his scent was frankly divine. Earthy and manly, like a storm right about to happen. I looked at him, knowing I would find him by my right. Kodiak looked down at me, smiling like the cat who stole the milk. His dimples made an appearance, stealing my breath away in the process. With an air of arrogance, he stepped by my side, still staring at me. Why was Kodiak looking at me like that? He should be looking ahead of him, to the other guy with an attitude problem in the room. The Fire Fae took a step back, alerting Kodiak of his presence. Kodiak blinked once, acknowledging the guy with a penetrant look of his golden eyes.

            “Did you get lost?” Asked Kodiak, c*****g his head to a side and inspecting the Fire Fae with an impassive expression. The Fire Fae took another step back. His face had lost some of his initial aggression, but the dude still exhaled enough confrontation to start a fight. Kodiak moved one arm up and the Fire Fae jumped to a side, looking genuinely scared. I felt as if I’d stepped inside a Twilight Zone episode, and that was saying a lot coming from a freak like me. Why was everybody so scared of Kodiak? I mean, he hadn’t even raised his voice or looked threatening. Kodiak lifted his eyebrows as confused as I was by the general tension and then scratched the back of his neck, looking at me through his peripherals. The Fire Fae only shook his head as in relief and then walked away, making me sigh. I couldn’t wait this day to be over. I turned around and looked back at Karoo, who was now resting her head on the dorm rule book. She looked back to normal, which was a relief, although I needed to ask her what the story with that Fire Fae was. There was definitely something going on between them.

            “Hey, are you alright?” I asked her, and Karoo nodded, giving me a small smile.

            “Yeah, I think that guy just got lost or something,” she said, and I nodded. I looked back at the Fire Fae retreating to the end of the hall and frowned. Why he looked so angry then? The guy had been ready to start a fight with us. The only reason he stopped himself was probably because Kodiak had appeared, and he grew scared. That could only mean he had a bone to pick with Karoo. Which didn’t make sense. Karoo certainly didn’t look like the kind of person who would make people angry at her. That’s spot was reserved to her older brother. I was soon distracted by the appearance of Kodiak’s twelve brothers. I’ve seen them from afar before, but now they had all appeared by the end of the dining hall, attracting all eyes on them. People moved apart to let them pass, girls fanned over them, groups gossiped. Twelve brothers, all the same age, all equally handsome and dangerous looking. Strange, but not unheard of. I’ve read about some High Fae who owned harems. Sometimes Fae expended their whole lives looking for their mates and never found them, which led them to keep looking and looking. As a result, harems had been created inside Faerie and were still a popular thing.

            I tried to find some generic trait that bonded all the brothers together, but apart from the twins that closed the group neither of them looked the same. The Doomhold boys were all different from each other. Physically and mentally. I spotted a tall brother with a shaved head that was as silent as a mummy in opposition to the bother at his side, who was bigger, broader, owned mesmerizing purple eyes and couldn’t keep smiling at the ladies. The only other two siblings that shared a similar trait were Kodiak and Karoo. Their golden eyes were unique and very similar, although Kodiak’s were almond shaped, and Karoo’s were more rounded. All the brothers surrounded Kodiak right away. They were joking with each other and making a lot of noise, which made me wonder how chaotic their nursery had been.

            “You don’t want to know. Not really,” told me Kodiak shaking his head and closing his golden eyes with a painful expression, as if he could still remember those horrible times. I groaned, only then reminding this dude could read minds and. I hated him even more because of it. In response Kodiak rolled his eyes and took a step closer, probably trying some intimidating skill and clearly failing. He smirked at my thoughts and invaded my personal space. Everybody in the cafeteria grew quiet again, making me wish for the hundredth time this day could be finally over. At that thought Kodiak raised his long dark eyebrows and clicked his tongue at me, “I’m sorry to disappoint siren. Normally I exceed on meeting women’s expectations, but this time it can’t be possible since we have a date with a dead body and shoveling instruments.”

            “Fae, I’m not in the mood to star in any of your necromantic fantasies. Ask me tomorrow again, between the hours of…” I looked at the front of my wrist as if I was inspecting an imaginary watch and looked back at him again, “… I don’t care and not even in your dreams. Is that time good enough for you?”

            His brothers all looked genuinely entertained by our conversation and I could swear Karoo was laughing her ass off, but that could be my imagination, since there was a certain king right in front of me who was blocking my view. Kodiak smiled, and those damned dimples appeared again. I could swear he only smiled because he knew I couldn’t look away from his face when he did so.

            “Siren, you can’t fight my charms forever. We are immortals after all and people have told me I tend to always get what I want. It could take me a hundred years, but I will make you admit at some point that you actually like me,” he battered his eyelashes at me and I was certain a girl behind me actually fainted and fell to the floor. Ok, the dude was handsome, and his hair was kind of hot, all spiky and wild, but his personality definitely needed some improving. I sighed and crossed my arms.

            “Is that a threat?” I asked him and Kodiak took another step in my direction. Now we were close. Dangerously close.

            “It’s a promise,” he said, returning to me the words I’ve told him early in the morning. Kodiak was tall, tall enough to tower over me by two heads and I was tall for a girl. I realized two things when I felt him right in front of me. We hadn’t touched yet and something told me I should keep it that way. Kodiak’s nearness was dangerous to my head. I couldn’t process any thoughts and the siren in me grew curious, like a snake deciding when to attack. Still, it would only make me look weak to step back, so I did the best thing that came to my mind whenever I felt cornered. I showed him my middle fingers inside of my head. Didn’t he like reading my mind? Well, I was all about flattering kings today. I even took special care to imagine two big hands flipping the bird at him and then projected that thought inside of his head. Kodiak lifted his eyebrows, staring down at me with a look that was as threatening as mischievous.

            “Just for that, you had won the right to dig,” he said at me, conjuring a big shovel from thin air and handling it to me. Had he mastered conjuring as well? God, I hated him. All Fae were natural conjurers, but sometimes it took Fae centuries to master the technique and Kodiak had learned how to conjure before hitting Transition.  I took the shovel with a groan and turned around, following Kodiak when he walked with a swagger around me.

            “Dig what Fae?” I asked him, and this time Kodiak genuinely seemed to enjoy turning around and smirking at me.

            “Well, of course, did you genuinely thought I would dispose the body of that Banshee alone?” He asked me, referring to Molly, the Banshee I fought in the morning. The same Banshee who had died mysteriously right in front of my eyes. I would ask professor Cicerone if he had been the one to kill it. If he hadn’t then something else have done it and it was still out there. Powerful enough to kill a being without inflicting physical wounds. I returned to the matter at hand and tightening my hold on the shovel I pointed a finger at Kodiak. By now people had already moved along, some students walking out of the dining hall to get to the dorms in time for the curfew.

            “You said you would dispose the body!” I exclaimed, and Kodiak c****d his head to a side like a curious cat.

                “I never said I would do it alone, did I? The Banshee attacked you, which makes you responsible if something else happens because the Banshee isn’t properly buried. Is shoveling or having a dirty conscious siren, you pick. Although I love a dirty conscious, it usually means that somebody, somewhere, was having a good time,” said Kodiak shrugging. I could gauge him right then just for the cool way in which he was smiling at me, and also, for tricking me with his words. Fae couldn’t lie, it was impossible for us to form a verbal lie. So, we had become experts in the art of evasion and trickery. That was why humans had been constantly warned to not make deals with a Fae, since we would always find a way to twist the meaning of our words to get what we wanted. This time Kodiak have won the game of tricking the other one, but from now on I would be always ready for his tricks.

               “Fine, explain to me how we are supposed to go out if the curfew is in fifteen minutes?” I asked him, and this time Kodiak smiled, his sly lips curling in a Cheshire smile.

            “Don’t fret little siren. Were there’s a will, there’s a way,” he said and turned around, walking as if he owned the entire world. Theoretically speaking he did own the territory where Claddagh had been built, so that gave him the right to do whatever he damned pleased, but I didn’t. I turned around, ignoring the curious glances from the twelve brothers at my back and focusing my eyes on Karoo. I gave her a WTF look, pointing at the shovel in my hand and Karoo shrugged, pushing her palms up in a giving up gesture.

            “Knowing Kodiak, he already made sure you wouldn’t get in trouble for spending a couple more minutes out after curfew. I guess shoveling it is,” she gave me a sympathetic smile and I groaned, turning around and dragging the shovel over the floor. The metal scratching the marble floors made an excruciating noise that followed me all the way out, to the central plaza. I found Kodiak seated on top of the portcullis, like a cat who had lost his way. His golden eyes reflected the light coming from the torches around us and in that moment, seeing him smile at me from the shadows, I couldn’t help but to think he was the most handsome boy I’ve ever seen. And I was going to bury a dead body with him. Fantastic.

                                                        ~~~~*~~~~

Kodiak

              Just for the kick I turned around and looked down at the pretty little thing at my side. Blaise had pushed her hair up, in that messy way some girls styled their hair when they looked busy or about to commit a murder. I still couldn’t tell which was the case with Blaise. Dirt covered her small face and sweat had started to drip from the back of her neck. I’ve never seen a girl as hot as her. She noticed me staring at her. I’ve been trying to not look at Blaise for too long, but it was impossible not to. Her big, violet eyes focused on me and burned with contained hatred. There was just something alluring about making her mad at me.

            “Stop glaring and start working. I’m doing all the shoveling!” she screamed at me like a damned Banshee. I couldn’t remember any other single person who had ever dared to scream at me. Hmm. I thought I would find the action infuriating, but screams coming from Blaise only made me want to make her scream even more at me. I wanted all her feistiness. All of it. She digged more dirt with her shovel and pushed it away, to the raising mountain of dirt at our back. I held my smile, while I pushed with my magic the dirt away so it looked less. I wanted more time with her and I was a well-known manipulator. I wasn’t lying when I told her I always got what I wanted, and right now I just wanted to have her close to me as long as I could. I digged my shovel in the dirt and pushed the dirt away. Slowly, to lengthen every second into an hour.

               “How come the more I know you, the more I dislike you? It usually doesn’t work that way, you know?” She asked me, pushing dirt to a side and then narrowing her eyes at the smaller mountain of dirt. Blaise scratched her head in confusion, probably trying to understand why it looked as if we had only started digging, and then returned her attention back to me. I lifted my eyebrows at her, feigning complete innocence and Blaise frowned, before returning to her previous line of thought, “Usually, whenever people have a wrong first impression from another person they give them a chance to change that wrongful first feeling. Guess what? You haven’t changed my first impression of you.”

           “I’m not trying to change your first impression of me,” I told her and I meant it. I took a step to her, enjoying the way her eyes followed me and how her swan’s neck extended to look up, “You thought, and I quote…” I cleared my throat trying to get a high pitch like Blaise’s girly voice, “… He has a mischievous little boy face, the kind that would always get him what he wants…”

            Blaise acted fast, lifting the shovel over her head and swinging it as a bat. For a second I contemplated the idea of letting her hit me and then nurse me back to health, but something told me Blaise wasn’t the kind of girl that would pamper anyone. I shifted, dodging her attack and seating myself on top of the hole we have digged. The hole was already big enough to place two bodies in it, but I wasn’t the one telling her. I let my legs hang from above while I studied her, looking around, trying to spot me somewhere. As I’ve already grown used to, I felt the addicting call of her consciousness. I spied on her mind all the time now, enjoying the way she constantly joked with herself about everything. I also enjoyed the way she kept thinking about me. Even those flashes of her imagination in which she kept trying to picture me without a shirt. So far she had missed the mark with my abs. I owned an eight pack, not a six pack, but she would probably hate me if I corrected her.

            “Yoo-hoo,” I called for her, waving my fingers until Blaise turned around, finding me with her eyes and groaning.

            “Has anyone ever told you how infuriating you are?” she asked me, digging some more. I should have let her know she didn’t need to keep shoveling, didn’t I? But then again, her ass looked so good while she squatted like that. I couldn’t bring myself to break that perfect image. “Wait until I manage to block you from my mind. Or even better, wait until I learn how to break into your mind. You will finally understand how exasperating is having someone inside your mind, stealing your thoughts and your privacy.”

        “Siren, you will always be welcome inside my mind. Who knows? You might like how you look in my fantasies,” I winked at her and Blaise snarled at me, throwing dirt in my direction with her shovel. I shifted again, dodging her last attack. This time I reappeared by the dead Banshee resting under the trees. I picked the body and shifted inside the hole. Blaise jumped to a side, letting me place the Banshee in a resting position. I studied the monster’s gauged eyes and the way her face would forever stay in pain. She hadn’t died in pain. The only one good thing about killing consciousness as I did was that death wasn’t painful, it was more like a last surprise. Just a little bit more unwanted and unexpected, a deathly surprise.

        “I wonder what could have killed it,” murmured Blaise at my side and I felt myself tense. She didn’t want to know, not really. If she only knew the kind of monster she was standing close to…Blaise kneeled, taking the dead Banshee’s head between her hands and sniffing the air. I felt the siren in her raising to some sort of consciousness. The siren wasn’t fully awake, more like in a trance but somehow linked to Blaise’s consciousness. Blaise was using the siren’s senses without unplugging her own consciousness. I smiled proudly. My mate was still weak, but she would be the strongest female Fae this realm had ever seen. “She smells weird, like ashes and sulfur.”

        “Maybe you are smelling whatever circle of Hell she is staying the night in,” I told her, shrugging when Blaise looked up at me.

            “Do you ever take anything seriously?” she asked me, and I smiled. She didn’t need to know that contrary to what she believed, I took everything too damn seriously. If I made one simple mistake, if I let anyone too close, if I lost control for only one f*****g second, then the whole world could end like a big, ugly nightmare. Instead of speaking my mind I kneeled at her side and ignored her question, as if it was too inconsequential to call for my attention.

            “Are you planning on playing Buffy the vampire slayer all night? You look hot in character, don’t get me wrong, but I need my beauty sleep and its already midnight,” I said, purposely ignoring her eyes. Blaise had the most beautiful pair of eyes I’ve seen. They brightened from time to time with a mythical light that seemed to call me from afar. I could get lost on those eyes, especially when they seem to look right into me. She made a face of disgust and looked down at the Banshee one last time. I looked down as well, staring at my latest kill. I honestly couldn’t remember which number she was. I’ve lost count of how many consciousnesses I’ve killed long time ago.

            “Fine, let’s go,” murmured Blaise. We stood at the same time a light rain started to fall. I shifted out of the hole and offered Blaise a hand. She looked scared for a second, as if she wasn’t sure what to do. For a moment I contemplated the idea of kissing her and forget all about my plans to seduce my mate. Then I saw her, I really saw her. She was scared alright, but not of me. She was scared of the bond that joined us. As I’ve thought, she was probably as aware of our bond as I was, but she was more lenient to resist it than embracing it like me. Blaise bit her lips nervously, forcing me to count to a one hundred inside of my head to not steal a kiss from that mouth right there and then.

            “I don’t have all night, siren,” she rolled her eyes and accepted my hand, while I pushed her up easily. It was instantaneous. We touched and our skin brightened in an outline of pure light. Blaise stared at me with a look of surprise. If we wanted any other prove that we were soul mates there it was. Soul mates brightened the most when they touched their mates after a long time without seeing each other. I hold her hand tight, feeling her gentle fingertips studying my own hand. Her soft skin enticed me more than any other touch I’ve ever received. She had been made only for me, clicking right in place, like a piece of a puzzle I’ve lost along the way. Blaise looked up, from our intertwined hands to my eyes and back again. I could feel her heart, beating hard, then harder, as if it was trying to synchronize to my own unbridled heartbeat. It was a race of blood and magic, enclosing us in our own world. Blaise placed a hand over her heart, trying to calm it, but she simply couldn’t stop what had already happened when we had seen each other for the very first time. We were starting to become one. Soul mates shared each other’s powers, their thoughts and their same heartbeats. Synchronizing the heartbeats of soul mates was the way nature had dictated our hearts to do. It was the way mates could know when their loved one were in danger. I, for once, was thankful of it. Keeping Blaise safe had become my number one priority. Nothing else could surpass this bond between us. Not my siblings, not my kingdom, not the monster inside of me.

            “What is happening?” She asked me in a whisper, looking up and into my eyes. Her heartbeat increased its speed another notch and then both hearts beat like one. I could tell she wasn’t used to feel a stronger heartbeat leading her own heart. It was probably the opposite of the strangeness I felt in knowing there was a smaller heart linked to mine, slowing my bloodstream softly, soothing the eternal rage burning inside of me.

            “I think you know,” I told her, moving closer. Blaise blushed, staring at me as if I had all the answers she sought. And maybe I did. In that moment I would have given her whatever she asked. I wanted to feel her, touch her, kiss her. There was a raging need cursing through my veins since I’ve seen her this morning and I couldn’t hold it. I wanted her. I needed her. I had to bite her, claim her forever and…

            “We should probably start covering the body,” said Blaise, taking a step back. No. She is ours. Don’t let her go. I clenched my jaw and fisted my hands. From all the moments when the beast could have come out to state its dominance, this, wasn’t the most indicated one. I shoved the beast to the last corner of my mind and held it there, creating a black wall around it and then reinforcing it with locks. The beast roared, hysterically, over and over, louder and louder. Blaise blinked as in confusion, probably trying to understand what was happening. One moment we were touching and the next one I was fisting my hands and looking all serious. Still clenching my jaw, I used my magic to push all the dirt inside the hole we digged. Rain and time would even up the fresh dirt, but for now our job was done.

            “You could have digged the damn hole with magic!” Screamed Blaise, realizing for the very first time I could have saved us two hours of digging and shoveling dirt. Her violet eyes found mines and her anger seemed to combust when I winked at her and shifted, reappearing by her side. Her smell of violets and sea water enticed me, inviting me in, seducing me. Maybe it was the siren in her that called me, maybe it was our bond, attracting me like a shadow to the light.

            “What would have been the fun in that?” I asked her, staring at her from above. Blaise extended her neck up and squinted at me.

            “Tell me the truth, you have this secret agenda to drive me crazy before the end of the year, don’t you?” She asked me in return and at that I couldn’t help but to laugh. Unbelievable. I could count the times I’ve laughed through my life with one hand, but since Blaise arrived I’d already laughed twice in the same day. I smirked and motioned for her to follow me, Cauldron and Mss. Lambert knew I would be taking Blaise with me to dispatch the Banshee, which wouldn’t get her in trouble, but she needed to rest. I could see her already dragging her feet on our way back. I considered offering to carry her, but she would probably offer my ass back if I ever tried to treat her like a helpless girl.

            We walked in silence on our way back. Blaise moved closer and closer, probably her unconscious way to stay near my body heat. I silently moved to her, until our arm touched, and she rested her weight on me. Once again, our skins brightened, and our linked heartbeats drummed in perfect harmony. By the time we walked into the castle I was already looking for a thousand of damn excuses to keep her with me, but I knew it couldn’t be. Blaise was tired, and I would need to wait until the next morning to see her. Cursing under my breath I left her by the stairs that led to the girl’s dorm and then watched her from the shadows until she disappeared by the third floor.

                                                            ~~~~*~~~~  

Blaise

        What the hell had happened in the forest? The more I tried to understand what had happened the less I wanted to admit that everything seemed to point out at the same idea. But it couldn’t be. I’ve been wrong this morning in believing that Kodiak was my soul mate. He just…couldn’t be the one. He was powerful, uncontrollable and there was that little detail about the fact he was the undisputed king of the Unseelie. Only the strongest Fae of every court could take the crown from the last king in existence. Which meant that Kodiak was the strongest Fae of the Unseelie and considering the Unseelie court was famous for its monsters…well, it was safe to think that Kodiak was the meanest badass I’ve crossed paths with. I couldn’t be his soul mate. He was like, a thousand light years above my league. Just for good measure I needed to stop touching him. It wasn’t safe to do it and strange things happened whenever we were too close. For now, I needed to focus on passing this year without getting in trouble and that along would be a challenge taking into consideration my bad luck.

            Yawning I knocked at the wall by the end of the third floor and right away the wall slid to a side. Ignatia, the brownie that controlled the elevator, saw me and motioned for me to get inside the elegant box. I smiled at her and dragged my feet into the elevator. Man, I was tired. Just this morning I’ve been traveling on a train with Amadeus, trying to change his mind from leaving me at Claddagh Academy and now here I was. Happy to stay the night in. In just a couple of hours I’ve met a boy that could or could not be my soul mate, I’ve befriended the sister of the aforementioned possible soul mate, buried a Banshee and survived the judgmental glances of Mss. Lambert.

            The elevator’s bell signaled we had arrived at the girl’s dorm and silently I waved my hand at Ignatia and made my way inside the main chamber. I was already on my way to the room I shared with Karoo when I stopped and remembered that stupid rule from the book Mss. Lambert had given us. It had been raining outside and my shoes were wet. “In case of heavy rain, students are supposed to leave their wet shoes by the chimney of the common room to dry. In case of a violation, the culprit that violated this rule would have to clean everyone shoes for a week”. Groaning I walked to the chimney, which was still on, and let my shoes near the fire. I was so tired that I thought about dragging my body to my room, but somehow, I managed to walk all the way back and climb our bunk bed until I fell on my own mattress. I swear I was already asleep by the time my head touched the pillow.

                                                            ~~~~*~~~~

Blaise

            I felt as if I’d just fallen asleep by the time the voice of Mss. Lambert resonated over the entire dorm, waking us up for our first day of classes. I groaned and covered my head with the fluffy comforter, trying to null the annoying voice of Mss. Lambert, which seemed to raise into a higher pitch the longer I stood in bed. Karoo groaned somewhere under me and cursing under our breath we jumped from the bed and started getting ready.

            “Good morning girls, you are expected at Mr. Delacroix classroom on the first floor for your Introduction to Conjuring class. The class starts at eight in the morning sharp. Don’t be late or you will be punished! Breakfast it’s served at seven thirty in the dining hall…Good morning girls…” and Mss. Lambert voice kept going on and on to the point I thought I would be getting crazy. Karoo and I took turns using our private bathroom and after a series of growls, groans and murdering silence we both came to the conclusion neither of us was a morning person. Finally we were ready, dressed in our white shirts, green army jackets and matching checkered skirts uniforms. The school also provided us with knee high socks that were as black as Mss. Lambert’s heart and dark brown booties.

            Karoo and I exited our room and walked down the main chamber, where every other girl from First year was waiting excitedly for some friend, or chatting happily with each other by the elevators doors. I wish I could have joined the general excitement of our first day of class, but I first needed to eat and become rational. Karoo at my side looked as ready to start this day as I did and I thanked the skies I haven’t ended with a roommate like one of those overexcited girly girls with too much morning energy.  Karoo and I were on our way to the elevator when Mss. Lambert shifted in front of us. I held a shiver at her presence. The woman looked diabolical this morning. With her white hair firmly pressed in a perfect bun, dressed in a gray long dress and staring at me with an air of impending doom. I braced myself to another judgmental comment, but like always it involved Mss. Lambert, I wasn’t ready for what happened next.

        “Mss. Darkholme, as in this moment you are starting your first punishment at Claddagh Academy for breaking the dorm’s rules,” she said, her black, demoniacal eyes shining in mirth. Karoo and I shared a surprised look. I’d just woke up and done nothing, how could I possibly break a rule if I’d just wake up? I knew I’d always been one of those gifted girls that always managed to break the mold, but this was too much, even for me. I opened my mouth to ask what the hell I’ve done to be punished, but Mss. Lambert beat me to it, raising a finger at me and stopping me in my place, “Rule three hundred and four of the dorm’s rule: “If a student doesn’t make her own bed she would be forced to make every other girl’s bed for three days under the keykeeper supervision.”

        I felt my mouth hit the floor. She couldn’t be serious! It was my bed and I should be the one who decided if I wanted to make it or not! I hated making my bed. It was pointless either way because you always ended messing a job in which you had expended precious minutes you could have used eating pancakes or sipping American coffee. The siren inside of me tensed, ready to wake up and strike down Mss. Lambert, but Karoo intervened, placing a hand on my shoulder and soothing the rage consuming me.

        “This is unfair. You just gave us the rules book to study it and we had no time to read all over it,” I said to her and Mss. Lambert hold her hands tightly in front of her body, giving me a look that said she didn’t care for my excuses.

        “Then explain to me why every other girl was able to do their bed, except for you, Mss. Darkholme,” she said to me with an air of sarcastic rhetoric.

        “How do you expect me to know all the rules in only two days?” I asked her back, feeling the rage taking hold of my body. Karoo pushed me to a side, raising her hands in a placating gesture to Mss. Lambert.

        “Mss. Lambert, I’m sure Blaise is very sorry about…” started saying Karoo as a referee between me and the keykeeper. Good thing she was able to intervene because right in that moment I was too angry to even speak. Mss. Lambert hold a finger up, quieting Karoo and taking a step in my direction, until we were face to face. I was feeling this growing need to take Mss. Lambert’s accusingly finger and pock one of her eyes with it. That was the aggressive state of mind in which I was starting to get.

        “Doesn’t Mss. Darkholme has a tongue? She is perfectly able to speak Mss. Doomhold, don’t you think?” Oh, the nerve of this woman. I started trembling, holding on tight the racing rage that consumed my veins. I was dangerously close to physically hurt the witch in front of me. Who cared if I was expelled from Claddagh? The satisfaction of punching Mss. Lambert on the face was starting to give me a tunnel vision. I took a step dangerously close to Mss. Lambert, tightening my fist in a strong hold and loosening my right shoulder. The secret of a good punch was on focusing all your strength on your fist and then tighten your abdomen, all your aggression would focus on your stomach and the rest of your body would be free to do as you pleased. Karoo pulled me to her side then and I stared at her in irritation. Mss. Lambert deserved to be put in place! Karoo knew she was just looking for a reason to        punish me!

            Karoo shook her head at me and her golden eyes begged me to not do anything I would regret later. That was the thing, I knew for sure I would never regret punching Mss. Lambert’s face in. But then I thought about Kodiak. Not about him, but about how powerful he was and how I wanted to become as strong as him. If I wanted to be his equal I needed help, urgent help. I needed to be able to use my magic, to shift, to conjure and to control the siren that threatened to control me if I didn’t do something to hold her back. If I wanted to become stronger I needed to stay in Claddagh and study. That was the only way. I sighed, taking a step back and ignoring everyone’s attention on me. Mss. Lambert smiled in triumph, knowing very well that no matter how I would play my cards, she would always win. She took me by my arm and pull me to a side, separating me from Karoo. My friend took a step closer, as if she wanted to intervene again but I softly shook my head at Karoo. It was for the best if we didn’t push Mss. Lambert’s patience. At least not now.

        “C’mon, you have twenty- five beds to make, young lady, and only one hour to be on time for your first class,” she said while she kept walking, dragging me after her. We passed Aella on our way to the rooms and she gave me a crooked smile, probably understanding by the way Mss. Lambert had her talons on me, that I’d managed to get in trouble…again. I let my head bend over my neck and praying for patience I followed Mss. Lambert inside the first bedroom where I would be working in.