Fire Rises

Far, Far Away Academy

We landed in the foyer of the boarding school. I hadn’t been to this place before, but Archer had shown me the blueprints so I knew what to expect. This far exceeded what I had pictured, though. It was massive, beautiful, but a little gaudy even for my taste. The walls and floors were all grey stone, blue tapestries with the royal family’s seal hung everywhere, a grand double staircase was the focal point of this room, and the smell of something sweet was wafting in from somewhere nearby.

“Welcome, to FFAA, children! We are so excited to have you all here!” Archer was definitely turning up his charm, no doubt in attempts to make the newcomers at ease. “Please, everyone, follow me this way to the assembly room. The headmistress and master will meet us there to talk to you all about what to expect during your time here.”

I elbowed Archer in the ribs and reminded him Ari needed medical attention immediately. He nodded his head in agreement. “You are in luck, Ari! You are in just the right place to receive the best care imaginable!”

“Uh, okay no rush.” She offered him a weak smile through her blood stained lips. Her body was drained of color and her eyes were sunken into deep purple bruises. She looked like she was grasping at the last strands of her life cord. 

“So those stairs, right there- yes those ones. Go up to the first landing, take a left, then enter the second door on your right. You may want to knock first, but I’m sure he will know that you are coming!” Ari appeared to want to question the mystery man Archer was sending her off to, but didn’t have the energy.

“Maybe I should go with her?” Ari’s already pale face paled further. 

“No, no I’ve got it!” She backed away towards the staircase, making sure I didn’t follow. The slight comfort that she had found in my presence in the Dark Place was clearly short lived. We watched her until she had fully disappeared up the stairs.

“What on earth did you do to that girl?” Archer chuckled. 

“Nothing, really. I’m just me and that’s enough.” I shrugged. It was the truth. I had never done anything directly horrible to Ari, but my reputation precedes me amongst those in the Dark Place. I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to be alone with me.

Archer leaned down and kissed my temple. “I love ‘just you’ and you’re more than enough.” 

A chorus of “ewwwww” rang out from the kids that were gathered awaiting their tour.

Ew, indeed, kiddos.

Archer chuckled at their reaction before clapping his hands together excitedly. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road!”

He led the way through massive wooden doors positioned perfectly between the double staircase. The assembly room was somewhat reminiscent of the formal dining room at the castle, though slightly smaller. There were twelve fireplaces in this room, six lining either wall. A stage stood at the far end of the space with an impressive organ positioned at the back.

In front of the organ, stood a short, tan woman with a lovely face. She looked so… nice. There was something different about the nice that she exuded, though. So far, everyone else made me feel out of place with their niceness. The way this woman’s smile drew me in didn’t make me feel uncomfortable or inadequate. The aura surrounding her made me feel like I was already enough while simultaneously inspiring me to be better. 

“Welcome children! Please, please, come gather around!” She gestured to the row of benches that had been positioned in front of the stage. The kids looked at the woman in front of them and seemed to have the same impression as me. They took their seats, careful to maintain a safe distance from one another. This woman may have already warmed their hearts at least a little, but their constant state of being on the defensive against each other would be hard to overcome. I took a seat at the far end of one bench and Archer stood beside me, opting to avoid sitting down completely. 

“Children, I am Mrs. Amari. I am the headmistress here.” She took a seat on the edge of the stage so that she was level with the children instead of looking down on them. “I cannot tell you how proud I am of all of you. You have done a brave thing today. This journey that you have just started may still seem a little scary now, but I want you all to know, that no matter what, I am here for you. I am new to Far, Far, Away, too. I came here just to teach at this school so I know what it is like to have to adjust to not just a new place, but this new place. I promise you, my door is open anytime of the day for any issue, big or small.” She meant it, too. “I will show you around shortly, but before I do, I want to tell you a few things. First, you are all worthy of being here. Don’t ever, ever doubt that. Second, this is your home. Everyone deserves to be comfortable in their home. If at any point something doesn’t feel like home about this place, please let me know and I will do my best to find a solution. Third, there will be other children here from the kingdom. Next Monday classes will begin, so the children will be arriving on Saturday and Sunday to move in. This school is brand new to everyone. We are having you all move in a few days early, since this whole world is new to you. I thought it would be easier if you had a chance to settle in before the commotion starts.” She giggled a little to herself, likely imagining the halls filled with the madness that is children. “They may need your help when they arrive. If you see anyone who seems lost, please help them. They are trying to make this place as much of a home as you are.”

She clasped her hands together and floated to her feet. “Ah! My husband is here! Wonderful!” A dashing man, no older than 35, stepped from the side of the stage with a very healthy looking Ari beside him. His tan features were highlighted by his silver hair, which was neatly tied braid that disappeared behind his neck. He patted the top of Ari’s head before she skipped to the edge of the stage. Amari continued speaking, “Children, this is Mr. Genie. He is my co-headmaster as well as a professor here. He will be teaching ethics, interpersonal communication, and world studies.”

Ari hopped off the stage as Genie addressed the room. 

“Hello, my young scholars! What a gift it is to have you all in our realm and our wonderful new school.” The man’s voice was much too big for his body. The walls shook as he made his greeting, but the words wrapped around me like warm honey. As he spoke, understanding flushed over me. This man’s name is Genie because he is a Genie. I’d heard so much about these all-powerful beings. There were only a handful in existence, all residing within the mortal realm, but not one of them mortal by any definition. They were on par with Gods, but for reasons beyond my comprehension, continued to live amongst ordinary and less powerful beings.

I suddenly felt movement on my left and realized that Ari had taken a seat directly next to me. I looked over to her, intending to give her a reassuring smile, but when she met my eyes she quickly pushed down the bench, landing a few feet away from me. 

I guess that’s fair, I hadn’t given her much reason to not fear me. 

Genie continued explaining what life would be like at FFAA to the children. I wanted to listen to everything this man had to say, but Archer tapped my shoulder and pointed to the door signaling our time here was up. I looked to Ari to get her attention. She was still apprehensive of me so I didn’t want to touch her. Archer seemed to realize the issue and reached for her arm in my place. He gave her one of his heartbreakingly charming smiles. The look on her face made me second guess delegating that task. 

She did her best to regain composure, but the shaking in her legs as she stood gave her away. We all made our way back to the entryway. 

Archer turned to us both once we arrived and addressed Ari directly, “I know we kind of sprang this on you, but I hope you are happy with this decision.” She only nodded slowly, probably reeling at the fact that he was speaking to her. “So, I want to give you a quick rundown of what to expect. You will ultimately be living and working here, helping to integrate the newcomers into this world. Before you can do that, though, we need you to get to know what life is like beyond the Dark Place. Unfortunately, my castle is a little full at the moment,” Lies, “But, the king and queen of a nearby kingdom are welcoming you into their home. They are very close friends of my parents and their daughter is about your age so I think it should be a good environment to get acclimated.” 

It was apparent from Ari’s face that this was information overload. Archer noticed too and gave her a charming smile, no doubt to try and calm her. This only made her shrink back a little further.

My eyes glowed brightly in the dim lighting and I snapped at him, “Don’t do that to her!”

Typical Archer misread the situation, “Jealous, are we my queen? You want all my charm to yourself?” He playfully grabbed at my waist but I jumped away from him and in front of Ari, throwing a protective arm out as I moved. I had vouched for this place. I had told everyone that this place was good and safe. I wasn’t going to allow them to experience any more evil- no matter how seemingly harmless- now that they were out of the Dark Place. 

Smoke was leaking from my nostrils again as I answered, “It’s not you I’m worried about here. You will not manipulate her. We’ve had enough of that our whole lives and I won’t let that start again here.”

The prince looked hurt by my words, but hurt quickly turned into something else. Respect, maybe? No, that wasn’t quite it. I didn’t have a word for this, but I could tell he was happy with what was happening. Whatever his reaction was, it made me angrier. My body began to shake and the smoke grew warmer in my throat.

My voice came out different when I spoke again. It was deeper, more animalistic, “Do not play games with us, Archer. Arabella and Kian won’t be returning to their kingdom until after our wedding anyway and you know it. There is no need to send her away just yet.” 

Archer’s expression twisted into something I didn’t want to see on his face. I quickly softened my stance and tone, though my eyes were still glowing and fire was burning in my throat, “If all the children are welcome to our wedding, I don’t see why she can’t come as well.”

His features relaxed a tad with mine, though the twisting was still there. His answer was curt, “Of course she is welcome to our wedding, there is simply no room in our castle.” 

Bullshit. I was still willing to give nice another try. “She can stay in my room.”

The prince’s face lit up, all signs of anger gone. “What a great idea! You can move to my room and she can take yours.”

I felt every ounce of patience leave my body, and fire, actual small licks of fire, made their way past my lips as I answered, “In. Your. Dreams.” The prince’s face contorted with anger again but both of our attention was torn away from our argument when a loud thud sounded behind me.

Ari had fainted.