The Alliance - I Declare War

Chapter Two

Kayla didn't want to open her eyes, but the sunlight glaring in from the Jigu sky was burning through her eyelids.  Sighing she pulled the covers over her head trying to ignore the morning sky.  Within seconds, a loud alarm started to blare from the other side of the room.  Flipping the covers back, she stepped over her slippers and went to the desk. “What is this,” she wondered as she picked up the blue flat crystal handheld.  Slowly she turned it over and read her name.  “Must be school issued,” she nodded.

Finishing her inspection of the device she placed her hand on the image of a glowing blue palm outline while letting out a very unladylike fart.  Kayla giggled expecting someone to say how nasty she was, but a quick guilty look around reminded her she was alone.

Oh yeah, they're not here with me, she thought sadly. They're at home listening to Dad talk about how to tell when grain was ready for harvest or listening to my step-mom sing folk songs as she made gaeran jim for breakfast. Kayla felt a little wave of loneliness as she thought about her family. Five years after her mom had died her dad remarried Jael Quin and Jael Quin had provided her and Kaelen two new siblings.

"It is now 09:00!” Kayla immediately recognized the jubilant voice of the Dorm Father’s, Tomas. "Breakfast foods are placed in the dining hall until 10:00, the room will close at 11:50.  All first-year students are required to report to the main stairway by 12:00; those that are late will be immediately dismissed."

Kayla hurried to her closet and looked at the five varying shades of blue jumpsuits. What no skin tight dresses? She thought wondering when her uniforms were hung up.  Shrugging she grabbed the cobalt blue jumpsuit with hanger, reached in the drawer pulling out the first pair of panties and bra she felt.

No need to unpack, she mused, when some creepy person is doing it for me.  Kayla walked into the bathroom; she decided she'd have a quick shower before hurrying to the dining room to eat.

♦♦♦♦

Lucas poked at the eggs on his plate; he hated eating in the dining room but Jacob loved sitting with the staff and students.  Once Jacob had told him it made them appear more amicable.  Lucas didn't like or trust people while Jacob loved to be fawned over.

Lucas moved to poking at the cold ham that was still left on his plate while looking down at his handheld.  His eyes went over the details of the first years they were going to be escorted.  None of the newbies that he and Jacob were initially going to guide piqued his interest. They were all from prominent families and on screen appeared ideal.  However, in this case, ideal and boring had a lot in common.

He glanced out the corner of his eyes toward Jacob to see he was watching the door for the Nah’Byian female, but she’d still not come in for breakfast yet.  Lucas was sure his friend wanted to see what he hadn’t told him last night.  Jacob's fingers curled in annoyance, and he released an aggravated sigh, he was about to give up on seeing her when the room went quiet.

Lucas didn't notice the silence initially until he realized Jacob tense lips had relaxed, and he was watching something. Lucas followed his friend’s gaze to see he was observing the girl that bumped into him.  Before Lucas could stop him, Jacob was up and walking toward the Nah’Byian who was staring unhappily at the measly offerings left.

♦♦♦♦

Kayla walked into the dining hall only to be greeted by silence and curious stares.  Loneliness washed over her but soon she was shrugging it off deciding to ignore the room full of people and go to the food station.  Her attitude wasn’t improved when she saw overcooked meat, soggy looking fruit and messed over muffins.  Frowning Kayla grabbed a bottle of juice and an apple.

Noting not to be late for breakfast again, Kayla started to walk toward the coffee and tea station when she felt a presence behind her.  Her finger brushed the pendant around her neck unconsciously because it felt like it was on fire. The person had a very high power level that was currently being suppressed, but her mother's gift made her aware of it.   Slowly she turned around weary of the reception she'd get.

Not sure who was about to greet her, Kayla glanced up to the guy standing at least 6'2 or 6'3 and came face to chest with another work of art.

"Wo--," she cut herself off before she finished the wow that was coming out of her now open mouth.  "Hi!"  squeaked Kayla high enough to burst eardrums.  Embarrassment washed over her as she wished she could die after that greeting.

The young man smiled showing white teeth. "Hello!  I'm Jacob, Jacob Kevin Lawson." his voice dripped with warm, sexy charm. 

Kayla’s breath caught, her eyes widened, and her tongue darted out to lick her lips.

“I think you’ve met my friend,” continued Jacob waving a hand toward one of the tables.  “I can see why he was so interested.  You’re definitely delectable, wish I would have seen you first,” he added in a whisper.

Kayla’s heart pounded so loud in her ears that she couldn’t hear what he was saying. “I'm sorry, what was that?”

Jacob glanced over at a table and smile again before he turned back to her. “Nothing.”

Kayla could feel the burn of people eyes on her and wanted to find a place to sit.  “It was a pleasure to meet you,” she began only to be cut off by Jacob pointing toward a table.  Kayla nodded and followed slowly behind him as he led the way.  Minutes later she couldn't believe she was sitting at the table with the guy she bumped into last night.  He looked even more gorgeous this morning with his blond hair styled in a way that made her want to run her fingers through it. 

Careful not to make a fool of herself she started eating her apple with a gusto she didn't feel.  The eyes were still watching her, and she could hear whispering that she knew aimed at her.   Kayla was glad there was no more silence, but she could tell by some of the dirty or envious glances thrown her way they weren't saying anything nice.

Trying not to be obvious Kayla drank her lukewarm coffee while glancing around the room.  In the opposite corner, one girl caught her attention; she was sitting by herself in a soft blue uniform with her fire blue blazer buttoned all the way up to her chin.  The girl looked sad, uncomfortable and lonely. Kayla wasn’t sure what to do on the one hand she hoped that if she introduced herself, the girl wouldn't be an ass. She was a bit wary because the girl might have friends that just weren't in this dorm.

Lucas followed Kayla's line of sight and then leaned in closer. “She’s the only first-year scholarship student and definitely one of the smartest.  I believe she scored the highest on the aptitude test of anyone enrolled this year.”

“Oh,” nodded Kayla turning to meet Lucas’s gaze.  “Do you know where she is from?” Kayla decided to take advantage of his willingness to share such information.

“She's from Mizu, a planet that’s more water than land.  The inhabitants of the planet are thought to be able to breathe under water.”

Kayla nodded and turned her attention back to the girl.  She was attractive if you could get past the dyed purple hair, pinkish/brown eye color and the fact that her beige skin looked like it had never seen the light of day. 

"And in case you forgot, I’m Lucas Jeremiah Sinclair," he stated while watching her.

Kayla choked on her tea when he spoke to her.  His voice felt like silk had been wrapped all over her body and she definitely liked it.  His friend’s voice was like honey, while his made her feel a certain tingle.  Not that she knew much about s*x but if she did his voice would surely be what hot wild s*x on the beach felt like.  Kayla thumped her chest but continued to cough as she tried to dislodge the muffin in her throat.

Luckily Jacob took the initiative and started to slap her on the back with just enough force that made her full breast bounce.  Kayla gasped in a breath before taking a large gulp of her warm coffee.  After what seemed like an eternity, she finally stopped coughing.

Using a napkin Kayla wiped her mouth before turning to stare into light brown eyes.  “Thank you, Second Year Lawson," whispered in appreciation.  Kayla looked down at the table, and a slight red tint appeared on her cheeks. "I'm First Year Makayla Aubree Ward, but you can call me Kayla if you like." She was too afraid to smile toward Jacob or Lucas because she had a horrible feeling that she'd have seeds from the muffin or coffee grounds in her teeth.

“You’re welcome,” smiled Jacob staring from Kayla’s friendly face to Lucas glowering one.  “If you’ll both excuse me I’ve got something to do fast.  Jacob didn’t wait for either to acknowledge that e was leaving before he strolled off with a jaunty wave.  As he walked away the silver pendants winked off his green blazer and Kayla wanted to know more about him.

“Wow,” gushed Kayla.  “Both of you are in the top ten of your class.”  Kayla turned to see Lucas staring at her with a weird look in his eyes.  “You two must be really smart,” added Kayla before finishing her food.

After getting rid of the plate and cup, Kayla glanced over to her handheld to see the time.  “I'm sorry Second Year St. Clair," she said quickly in a small voice.  "I don't want you to think I wasn't listening, but could you tell me your first name again?"

Lucas eyes had widened in disbelief before he gave a shrug; "Lucas S-"

Cutting him off Kayla excitedly blurted out, "St. Claire?  Lucas St. Croix?"

Lucas started into her beautiful brown eyes covered by a veil of her thick black eyelashes.  He wondered if she wore mascara and swiftly pushed away the thought before he smiled and repeated, "Lucas Jeremiah Sinclair."

He watched silently as her understanding of who he became apparent.  Her brown eyes flickered around the room not wanting to meet his before she let her gaze drop to the hands she had folded in her lap.  What he hadn't seen was a woman that was looking to use him as a tool for their own gain.

Lucas stared puzzled he could almost feel her various emotions as they rushed through her; they shifted from confusion to fear before ending at guarded and distant.  He didn't like that she was mentally pulling herself away from him. Reaching over he grabbed her hand while smiling as he ducked his head forcing her to look at him again.

He could see she adamantly didn’t want to register that he was saying Sinclair and not St. Claire.  Her face had lost color when he said Sinclair, and he knew she was placing him.  He was obviously Ah'Tarian with the last name Sinclair that meant he was of the Dragonist clan and suggested that his family held the first seat on the high council.

"Evil," breathed Kayla to herself.   It took everything in her to tear her eyes from his and think about the other guy that approached her at the sideboard. 

Jacob Kevin Lawson, she thought trying to remember what her father and Elder Tobias had told her.  Finally, she remembered why that name sounded so familiar to her.  They’d informed her that the heirs to the first and second seats were in attendance at this campus and to steer clear of them.   Lawson, Sinclair, and Nobles were names synonymous with power.  Those three families were the driving force behind the Bloody Wars, and they were also responsible for the so-called 'peaceful' acquisitions of planets into the Alliance.

"Lucas Jeremiah Sinclair?" repeated Kayla in what she hoped was a calm voice.  When he didn’t respond, she glanced up from the table and was sucked into the vortex of his eyes. 

"Stop," whispered Kayla trying to break eye contact, she felt as if her head was going to explode as her mental barriers were broken and her memories sorted through.  It hurt dreadfully as he sifted through her memories and Kayla began to panic.  She tried to pry herself from his mental grip only to feel more pain.  Tears gathered in her eyes while the pressure in her head built into something unbearable.

♦♦♦♦

Jacob paused midsentence; he could feel something wasn't right as he was talking to the first year scholarship recipient from Mizu.  He looked over his shoulder and instantly zoomed in on what the issue was.  He surged to his feet with a honey smile.  "I'll be right back," he drawled before hurrying back to Lucas and Kayla.

Quickly Jacob leaned over and whispered in Lucas' ear while taking a firm grip on his shoulder.  "Lucas, stop" he whispered fiercely, "You're hurting her. Are you trying to kill her?  Why are you using so much force?  Stop!"

Jacob could hear Kayla’s soft whimpers and unshed tears shined in her eyes.  Small drops of blood were coming out of her nose; alerting him to the fact that Lucas was applying too much force.  With Jacob's firm grip on his arm, Lucas sent a strong mental command that he could pick up on.  She wouldn't remember what just happened and forget her fear of Ah'Tarians especially the ones whose last names were Sinclair and Lawson.

Jacob glanced around and was relieved they were too far away from the other occupants in the dining hall to have seen anything.  He glanced back over at the scholarship student to see she was staring at them with a look of curiosity but she, too, was quite a distance and couldn't have seen why Jacob had rushed back over to Lucas and Kayla.

♦♦♦♦

Kayla had a massive headache when she turned to glance back at her handheld.  A frown lit her face, it seemed like only a few minutes had passed since the last time she looked at it but it showed that she had less than 15 minutes to get to the meeting location for the orientation. 

Standing Kayla stared at Lucas, a vague memory or thought tugging at the back of her mind.  It was telling her to fear him, to steer clear; but frowning she didn't know why that thought would be there.  When she saw Jacob staring at her with a worried expression, she felt a brief chill and the feeling that she needed to get away and stay away from both of them surfaced again.  She tried to grab hold of the phantom thought but when she did a wave of nausea hit her.

"Your nose is bleeding a little," said a voice that was sugar personified.

Kayla turned to see a young woman that was a little taller than her 5'5 height with bright dyed neon purple hair holding out an intricate white and teal handkerchief.  Kayla took the linen with a thankful smile.   "I'll clean this and return it to you." 

“Thank you,” whispered the girl leaning toward Kayla.  “Also, you have some red seeds in your teeth,” continued the girl softly.

Kayla's eyes widened, but she didn’t drop her smile; she turned away from Lucas and Jacob, so they hadn’t seen.

"First-year orientation starts soon do you want to go to the restroom first,” asked the girl pointing toward a grouping of doors.

Kayla stood up too quickly and felt a wave of dizziness.   "Sure.  I need to take something for this headache."

“Let’s go! By the way, I’m Ebony!  Ebony Dayana Talisman of Mizu.”

“Nice to meet you I’m Makayla Aubree Ward of Nah’Bye.”  Kayla paused waiting to see if the girl would make any snide comments before she continued, “But you can call me Kayla if you like.” With that said both ladies started to walk away until they heard Jacob's silken voice,

"The bathroom is the other way."

Both women stopped and turned in the opposite direction toward the restroom.

♦♦♦♦

Jacob stared as Kayla and Ebony walked into the alcove that led to the women’s dorm bathroom before turning back to Lucas.  He was wondering if he should even ask what Lucas was doing in the open for everyone to see.

"Before you say anything I want you to know,” began Lucas, “I know you're mad, Jacob."

Jacob couldn't believe Lucas spoke first.   Lucas has never admitted to wrongdoing even if he was caught red handed.  Jacob remembered clearly they were 12 and Lucas pulled a prank that broke Saia's arm. Sighing Jacob swept his hand through his straight black hair.  "What were you thinking?" Waving his hand Jacob cut off any reply Lucas could give, "Never mind... Just tell everything you did. "

Lucas said to him as quickly as he could what happen.  Jacob listened trying not to smile as Lucas stated that Kayla didn't care for Ah'Taria, Ah'Tarians or the Alliance.  Lucas gaze moved to the alcove, “I told her to forget her preconceived conceptions of the Alliance and the Ah'Tarians. I also told her to forget what I’d just did."

"And here I was sure you would've added ‘Have s*x with me.’ somewhere into the commands." said Jacob sarcastically.

Lucas smirked, "I should have added that but it slipped my mind."

Jacob nodded, impressed that even though they didn't use that power often, Lucas was able to filter through Kayla’s mind quickly and efficiently.   He was concerned that he didn't pick up on Lucas using it initially, but his mom had told him soon they would be able to use it without either knowing. 

Jacob glanced toward the gathering crowd outside the cafeteria,  "Did you pick our new team?”

Lucas looked down at his handheld with a grimace. “No, I didn’t pick anyone.”

“Well get on with it!”

“Alright,” sighed Lucas.

Jacob watched while his friend selected Makayla Ward, Ebony Talisman and four other names from less prominent families. Lucas looked at Jacob’s narrowed eyes and shrugged, “You could have done it yourself.”

Ebony stared into the mirror fiddling with the buttons securing the tight neck of her blazer.  The sound of the toilet flushing echoed through the room as Kayla exited on of the bathroom stalls.

"You don't have to button it all the way up,” stated Kayla.  “No one else seems to," she added as she started to wash her hands.

Ebony gazed at her reflection in the mirror thoughtfully before copying Kayla and releasing the top three buttons.  “This is better,” stated Ebony smoothing out her uniform.  "I'm a little nervous and just can't seem to calm down," mumbled Ebony fiddling with one of the last remaining buttons.

Kayla gave a toothy grin, "So am I."   She looked in the mirror and saw bright red seeds in her teeth, "Oh goddess!" She reached inside another hidden pocket and pulled out a toothbrush and a small tube of peppermint paste.  Kayla paused winking at her flection before she started scrubbing her teeth.

"You seem prepared,” giggled Ebony before picking back up her handheld and heading for the exit.  "Hurry up or you’re gonna be late for orientation."

Kayla checked her teeth after a few more brisk scrubs before making a dash for the table where she sat. Lucas and Jacob were gone, so she grabbed her handheld and toward the cafeteria’s exit.  Her black ankle boots barely were out the door before all the doors slammed closed announcing noon.

36 first year students were standing in the middle of the foyer, 8 second years and five teachers/advisers.  The groups would be divided into six first-year students, two second year students, and one teacher.

A lady with lovely onyx skin, deep blue hair, and a willowy frame with full B/C cup breasts under a pink bodice walked down the stairs 12:00 immediately attracting the attention of the male students. 

"Good day!  My name is Madame Averill Hodgkin,” she said in a voice that sounded harsh and grating. “There’s no reason for you to remember my name as this will probably be the last time you see me.”   The woman quickly finished walking down the stairs without another word and marched out of the building.

Soon all the instructions and their assistances were introduced and the hall erupted into giddy conversation  One of the instructions and mentors was Anthony Lawson and everyone was amazed at his greeting Being blood-related to the Sinclair or the Lawson families could open every door for you even if you didn’t directly know the second chair and her family personally.

Kayla saw Jacob smile out the corner of her eye and something in his light brown eyes told her what Anthony had said wasn’t true.  But she didn’t plan him for lying about his relationship.  Plus she could be misreading the situation; the Lawson name would be passed down through marriage, so a man marrying a Lawson would take her name 99% of the time.  None would willingly want to give up the prestige of the name unless they were marrying a Sinclair or maybe a Nobles.

In the history of both, their families they only had one defector. He was the son of Artemis Lawson and Macy Sinclair. Kevin gave up his name to be with some unknown woman over 100 years ago.  Kayla stared curiously at the man’s namesake for several seconds before she shook her head.  The throbbing had returned in force as she’d thought about Kevin Jacob Sinclair the disowned heir to the first and second seats and by now dead.

The introductions continued in a blur with the second years saying their name, homeworld, academic and power level ranking.  Once this was over the first years spoke their names and home world.   The introductions ended after a little over an hour had passed.  The first years talked amongst each other as they waited for the next part of the orientation.

Kayla moved away from the loud conversations while rubbing her temple; she decided she’d try to massage the pain away.  Soon Anthony moved back to the stairs his eyes glued to his handheld.   Kayla could only assume he was reading the names of his two second-year assistants, and he wasn't surprised to see their names as no one wanted the task of having to discipline either of these two young men.

Clearing his throat, Anthony gained everyone's attention.  Slowly he spoke in a voice that should never leave the bedroom, "Lucas Sinclair and Jacob Lawson please name the six students you are escorting and bring them to the side exit."  Pressing a few buttons on his handheld he finished, ”I have beamed you both the itinerary for the tour and when we are expected to show up for the trials."

Looking down at his handheld Lucas read off the six names; "Alexander Ruffin, Quaid Moore, Jorge Epping, Gloria Dean, Makayla Ward and Ebony Talisman you’re with us."  Lucas could feel the other students and staffs brains come to crashing halt when he finished speaking. The students selected were from no name families that were all excellent candidates for the school but had no political or monetary worth.

Lucas stood grinning as the people he stared at him in awe. All of them were thunderstruck except for Kayla who looked more puzzled; even Ebony was speechless by the favor the gods bestowed on her. 

Ebony paired up next to Kayla excitedly, "Oh by the moons that shine high, we are going to be the talk of the solar system because of this!"  Kayla saw Ebony was so excited she could hardly stand still.  “First heir apparent Jacob Lawson spoke to me and now this,” she squealed almost jumping in place.

Kayla couldn't repress the smile that crept up her face as she watched Ebony almost dancing with giddiness. She realized all the people in their group were excited.  Their hushed whispers to each other were full of thank you’s to the gods.  She was the only one that seemed to have trepidation and whenever Kayla tried to grasp why she’d feel a wave of nausea and a slight thumping near the back of her head.  She lightly touched where the pain would center and looked down at the floor as she waited for the waves to leave.

♦♦♦♦

Jacob stood proudly next to Lucas wondering how long it would take before their parents found out they’d done charity work.  Lucas parents had just forgiven him about five weeks ago for breaking Orchid’s traitorous jaw last year.  During their two-week break, they’d traveled to Dayum, a planet that was still poverty stricken from the Bloody Wars.  They’d found out fast Dayum was a beacon to those that wanted to benefit from the poor desperate masses that lived there.  Because of his and Lucas’s quick thinking, Dayum was now a part of the Alliance, and the dirty politicians, kingpins, drug lords and corrupted officials that kept the planet in chaos had gone.........missing.  There was no use looking for them because he and Lucas didn't leave much of them to be found.

Jacob was suddenly brought out of his musings when he saw Lucas trying to discreetly watch Kayla. Lucas frowned before turning to him and whispering, “I remember that last mental barrier I told you about? It felt stronger than it should have been. I’m wondering if I did some kind of damage.” 

Jacob released a sigh of annoyance as he thought to himself, Never fails!  I have to fix this before she gets worse and goes to the medic center about the pain.  With that thought, he walked towards Kayla and Ebony. As he did he, it occurred to him that Ebony would look a lot better if she put some weight on those bones, got some sun, removed the scary contacts and took that ghastly purple dye out of her hair.  He knew she had lovely eyes and what would be considered an attractive face once it filled out a little.

In his mind it was settled; first, he would see if Lucas had done any damage to Kayla and then press into Ebony's mind to eat some food and to remove that ugly dye...Okay, it was three things, but he didn't care.

Jacob knew the exact moment Kayla realized he was approaching; she’d slowly raised her head before sending a quick glance over his shoulder.  It took everything in him not to laugh at the small pout she gave when she saw Lucas talking to the other four first years that formed her group.

“Should we be over there,” asked Kayla using her index finger to point. 

Jacob gave a noncommittal shrug.  “Trust me when I say we’re both telling you the same thing,” purred Jacob with a honey smile.

Within seconds, he locked eyes with and pushed his will onto her. Her expression grew confused for a second as the push was received, and then her eyes darted around before, she smiled at him inquisitively.

Jacob wondered for a second if the pushed worked, he tilted his head to stare at her before he drawled, "We want you to have fun.  In the end, you guys get to have a friendly sparring match with the other first years. The rest of the students and staff will be watching."

Ebony nodded her understanding before hurriedly skipping over towards where Lucas, Anthony, and the rest were standing.

♦♦♦♦

Kayla heard what Jacob said to Ebony and wondered what else he could have to say to her.  She noticed his intense stare down with Ebony and had wanted to laugh.  “Jacob -,” began Kayla meeting his gaze only to be sucked into a pair of endless light yellowish brown, fawn colored, eyes.

Unlike before where it felt like she was being ripped apart and analyzed, this time, it felt as if a warmth was surrounding her, cradling her, and embrace like that of a parent.  Kayla's small headache and nauseous feeling slowly passed until there was nothing left.  The nagging feeling like something was wrong or off was replaced by a cautiously skeptical of all things new and unknown.

Slowly the feeling left leaving a warm afterglow, and she was blinking as if she'd just woken up.  Kayla smiled waiting for what he wanted to say, but soon Jacob was leading her to the group.  She felt horrible because she hadn't listened to a word he said when he was talking to her.  She hoped she’d been polite, nodding and making the little humming sounds that told she was listening.

My nose started to bleed again; she thought absentmindedly taking the borrowed handkerchief out the inside blazer pocket and wiping gently at her nose.  Leave it to me to start getting nose bleeds again, thought Kayla remembering when she was younger how her nose bled whenever she was over excited.  In no time, she and Jacob had joined the group and finished listening as Lucas went over the intricate details of what they were going to be doing.

♦♦♦♦

Anthony didn't miss when Jacob had stood silent looking down at Kayla for the better part of six minutes.  He decided he’d bring it up when Jacob, Lucas and he were alone.  He also noticed that even though Lucas was talking to the other five first-year students, his eyes never left the Nah’Byian female or Jacob as they stood there for all appearances having a battle of wills.

Anthony's lips curled upward as he looked Kayla Ward up and down; from the look on her face, Jacob had definitely won.   He watched Kayla join her friend and start to speak; when she thought no one was looking she’d send little glances toward Lucas.  What he found interesting was that Lucas would do the same.

His eyes narrowed when he saw her remove a small, white and teal linen from her jacket and wipe at her nose.  From his vantage point, her nose was bleeding. 

“Shall we,” inquired Anthony waving toward a side entrance.  Everyone hustled out, and they begin to walk through what looked like an English rose garden from one of the old manuscripts from Nah’Bye.  As an ambassador, he’d seen a few and the pictures had shown roses of all colors with gentle streams and white seats lining the paths.  He allowed the students to stop for a moment to appreciate the flowers that were not common on most of the planets in the system. He hid his look of amusement when he saw Ebony and Kayla stop to smell the fragrance of the white roses.

"This garden is a shortcut to the science and mathematics building," informed Anthony as they walked into a building made of big gray stones that resembled a castle with turrets.  "This building has four floors; the first two floors are for computer science and engineering.  The third floor is dedicated to math and the fourth floor to science” He didn't go up to any of the floors just walked through one entry and exited out another.

Soon they begin to walk on a faux cobblestone path there they passed by various trees, flowers, and bushes.   During the fifteen minute walk, they saw a variety of different bird species some common to the group and others they'd never seen before. 

"This is the fine arts building.  You will find the room numbers for your classes on your schedule.  This building houses the classes that teach foreign languages, diplomatic speaking and of course painting and other stuff like that."  Anthony gave a shrug when Lucas gave him a strange look; he no idea what people learned in this building aside from how to finger paint.  He could hear one of the boys saying that he did that when he was a first year in primary school.

Five minutes later and they were exiting the fine arts building and walking off the faux cobblestone path onto a dirt one.  Jacob and Lucas seemed to be enjoying themselves as they walked, you'd never know from the way they were acting that they had just stood for over an hour and now had been strolling the campus for over an hour.  A quick glance told Anthony that the first years were starting to feel muscle cramps and soreness as they walked up an incline to their next destination.

"Can we please stop for a break," asked Quaid Moore.  “We don’t know what the games are tonight, and if we keep going at this pace, there’s no way we’ll be ready for a sparring match.”

Anthony sighed as he turned and looked at the bunch of out of shape, rejects that he couldn't believe made up his group.  He glanced at Lucas and Jacob, who hadn't even started to sweat, and looked back at the first years that looked like they were five seconds away from passing out. 

Alexander Ruffin was wheezing and needed his inhaler from inside his blazer. Quaid Moore was rubbing the back of his leg as if he had a muscle cramp; Jorge Epping was looking around winded but with the determined look of a man that would keep going, Gloria Dean was staring at her fingernails frowning at a chipped nail.  Kayla Ward and Ebony Talisman were skipping around each other playing a childhood hand game that most people knew, and he had to hold back a smile.  It looks like the women of this group have all the stamina, thought Anthony 

After checking his handheld, Anthony finally drawled, "Let's take a break.  This will give you guys a chance to explore this area a little."  Before everyone started to sit down, he continued, "The humanities building is at the top of this incline.  The freshmen teachers and I placed a few amulets out since we thought it would be fun. If you find them, you can use them during the sparring match."

Anthony had heard a few rumblings from the men of the group before they all started to walk off. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea that we are separating from the first years on this incline.”

“They’ll be okay. They have to deal with it sooner or later,” Anthony replied to Jacob.

“We’ve seen firsthand that this little incline is dangerous. Even Lucas and I have fallen and broken a few bones.”  Looking at his cousin Jacob started off in the direction of the girls.

"They can do it by themselves, Jacob;” came Anthony’s patient response as he pulled him back.  “You know this is part of the trials.  Sit down and watch."  With this said a chair shrouded in mist appeared for Anthony to sit down on.  Reclining in the dense fog, Anthony crossed his legs at the ankle before pressing a few buttons on his handheld.  He sent a warning glance to both Lucas and Jacob before turning his attention a message that was on his device: 

The 78 students from the Tianlong and Shishi dorms will be facing what we fondly call 'The Trials of Despair.' As you know the trials began well before the sparring matches we will be using the campus tour to help eliminate students. Those who fail to make it to the humanities building in time are removed without bias.  These trials remove those that are weak-minded, and those students were sent to other school that doesn’t hold students to as of high standards.

Anthony raised his hand sending his device away before leaning his head and closing his eyes.  Depending on the whims of the high council they'd let some that were not privileged in so no one could say the school only favored the politically powerful or wealthy.  Because of the rigors of the trials, even the wealthy could and would be dismissed to a lower level school.

“Let’s see what they are made of,” mumbled Anthony before closing his eyes for a nap.