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Chapter 6

The morning before her classes were supposed to begin, Viola woke up to find a small bundle of flowers resting on her night stand. She woke up rubbing her eyes, staring at the red, pink, and blue flowers.

“Where did these come from?” she asked, running a hand through her sleep tousled red mane.

Daniella looked up from her work at her desk but only for a moment before going back to jotting down some notes, “Not sure. They were there when I got up. I imagine a fairy is welcoming the new witch though.”

“They do this a lot?” She asked as she plucked up the pink bud from where it rested and held it to her nose, inhaling the sweet floral scent.

The vampire smiled more to herself than anything else, “Sometimes, if they take a liking to someone. A lot of the times they prank people. If they really like you, you’ll probably find candy or something in your bag, just don’t make them angry.”

“What will they do if they’re angry?” she asked as she pushed herself up from the bed, padding over to her roommate.

Dani’s brown eyes turned up to her from her work again, she looked tired and drained. Viola wondered if she needed something to eat, blood or whatever else it was that vampires consumed. “It all depends on how angry they are. I’ve seen some people end up with honey in their hair when they wake up, and I’ve seen one boy pull his hand out of his bag with a salamander attached at the end. He got a pretty bad burn from that one.” She shook her head, “Just be glad they like you.”

Viola was definitely glad for that, “Will do.” She pulled the doors to her wardrobe open and scanned the items that had been chosen for her. Oddly, everything seemed her taste and what she enjoyed wearing, denim pants, sweaters, a skirt here and there but the odd part was that every sweater or top or jacket had a strange symbol embroidered into it. The symbol was silver, almost fluid in movement as strands wrapped around each other and themselves intricately, all of them coming together in the middle to form a beautifully entangled diamond.

She gently ran her fingers over the symbol of the sweater she’d chosen to wear, “So what does this mean anyway? Earlier I saw some people with different symbols too.”

“Yours means that you’re an unknown. That just means that we don’t know where your skill level is yet because you came into your powers late,” Dani said with a yawn.

Karma picked her head up from where she was curled on the bed You’re a wild card. No one knows what to expect from you.

That made sense. It was essentially what Headmaster Calarook had told her, “Does that mean people are going to avoid me?”

Dani shrugged with a smile, “Possibly, depends on how out of control your magic is.”

She thought back to the first time she used her magic without even realized it, “Then they’ll be avoiding me, definitely.”

“What is your magic, anyway?” Dani asked curiously, as she pushed herself up from the desk and combed her hair in her vanity.

Karma stretched on the bed and yawned, Her magic is lightning, or electricity. Very wild and uncontrollable.

Dani’s eyes widened, “Do I need to worry about you turning me into kindling?” She held a serious expression for a moment before she broke into a grin, “I’m kidding, I can handle myself. I’m a pureblood after all. Now finish getting ready so we can go down for breakfast. Let’s go to the cafeteria this morning.”

Viola frowned but agreed and quickly finished getting ready for her first day of classes at Naessaria.

Once Dani was satisfied with making sure Viola had everything she may need for her classes, had her class schedule, and the list of locations for each class she didn’t share with Dani, the vampire girl ushered her out the dorm room and down the spiraling hall, out of the tower.

The school had provided Viola with a new backpack that Karma found delightful. Dani had explained it as a spatial illusion, meaning that the inside of the bag held more than the outside appeared to. There was also another pocket for familiars, this way witches could be prepared for all their classes without having to lug around tons of items plus books and keep their familiars with them.

As they walked through the doors into the cafeteria, Karma popped her head out of the bag and looked around, resting her chin on Viola’s shoulder. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air, It smells really good in here!

It did smell really good, but she was struck by the grandeur of the cafetiera more than by the smell. Magnificent chandeliers hung from the ceiling with intricate metal work winding in on itself, what must be hundreds if not thousands of flickering candles lighting the room, even still, lanterns were set sporadically at the long rows of tables, amongst plate upon plate of every food imaginable. A platter flew over head, causing her to duck to avoid it as it curved and landed gracefully at a table full of snickering students.

It seemed as if there were food from all over the world, for every different race that was currently collected in the large dining hall. It was hard to believe how one school could keep up with so many different food preferences and needs.

Dani glanced around the room until she found a couple of empty seats. She grabbed Viola’s arm and dragged her to the table quickly, “Come on, before we lose our spots.”

“Are they your friends?” Viola asked curiously as she was forced into one of the empty chairs.

Dani shrugged as she took her own seat beside her, “Not really but they’re not that bad, I have some classes with them so you should be comfortable with them.”

Karma hauled herself out of the pack and over Viola’s shoulder, landing comfortably in Viola’s lap as two plates hovered above them, landing neatly in front of witch and familiar. A larger plate held scrambled eggs, bacon, and french toast. It was one of Viola’s favorite breakfast dishes. The smaller plate had a chicken leg with an sunny side up egg, apple slices and a few berries.

Karma stood in Viola’s lap and placed her front legs on the table, quickly biting into the chicken leg excitedly. It’s so good!

Viola watched her familiar in surprise and fascination, “I’m glad you like it.” She turned to Dani as a glass of thick red liquid settled in front of her, “How does it do that?”

Dani laughed, “The seats magically recognize whoever sits and send a message to the kitchen staff. Then they send the food out the student based on the time of day and whatever information they were given about the student’s race, nationality, and taste.”

“So they can tell that I like this just by recognizing me? I didn’t know they had anything about me since I just came here,” she said as she went to cut her pancakes.

“Your brother probably told them or they just based it off of you being his sister.”

“What about Karma then?” she asked as she watched the fox finish off the meat.

Dani shrugged, “I think for familiars it’s based on the species. Like they know what foxes eat.”

Suddenly she glanced up at the others around them at the table only to see them watching her. Viola felt her cheeks flush as she gave them a sheepish smile.

The boy across from her grinned, extending a hand to her, “You’re new here. My name is Bion. You’re a witch, right? I’m a cambion.” He looked normal enough with his dark hair and olive complexion, except that dark horns stuck out the top of his head, curling in slightly, his eyes were the orange she’d only seen from a flame.

She eyed him for a moment before reaching across the table to gently take his hand as Karma sniffed in his direction, “I have no idea what a cambion is but it’s nice to meet you Bion, I’m Viola and this is my familiar, Karma.”

Dani looked between Bion and Viola, “Cambion means he’s half demon.”

Bion nodded, “That’s right, I take it you’re Dani’s new roommate?” he asked as he picked up a roll from his plate.

Viola looked between the two of them, “You two know each other?”

Dani nodded, “Yeah, we have the same classes together from time to time.”

The boy Viola sat beside leaned over her left shoulder, sneering at Dani. The close proximity caused Viola to lean away from him and Karma to turn on him and growl, “You better be careful around that vampire, little witch.”

Dani glared at him, “Leave her out of it, Gideon.”

Viola scowled at him and shoved his shoulder so he wasn’t leaning toward her so much, “I don’t know what you’re talking about but I can handle myself, thank you very much.”

Gideon was a mass of muscle, a big hulking figure. He reminded Viola of a bear with black hair and eyes. He let out a laugh, “As if a little newbie unknown could stand a chance against anyone here!”

Viola felt her cheeks flush with her temper. The hair along her arms stood on end painfully. She didn’t even understand why his taunting upset her so much. She was new to all this and she hadn’t even wanted to come to this school to begin with.

“Don’t sell the witch short, Gideon. She is a Silva after all,” a new voice stated from behind her.

Both Gideon and Viola spun around to face the newcomer. A girl stood behind her, her arms crossed across her chest, her forearms covered in silvery scales and her long silver hair and startling pale blue eyes stood out in contrast against her dark complexion. She smiled at Viola before moving to rest her hands on her hips, staring down her nose at Gideon. “Don’t you ever get tired of causing trouble for yourself? You know better than to pick a fight with a witch with unknown abilities. She could zap you into next year for all you know.”

She turned to Viola again, “I’m Nymira. I’ll be seeing you around.” Nymira turned to Gideon again, “Come on, we need to meet up with Victor before classes start.”

He nodded, pushing himself up from his seat before turning to face Viola again, “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t get too close to that leech Daniella.”

Karma growled at him again, standing protectively between him and Viola. Gideon glanced between fox and witch before turning to stalk off out of the cafeteria on Nymira’s heels.

Viola turned to look at Dani, worried about her, “He’s a jerk, I thought you said these people weren’t bad?”

Dani sighed, tucking a lock of dark hair behind her ear, “They’re not, aside from Gideon. But he’s not wrong. I wouldn’t hold it against you if you wanted to avoid me.”

Bion sighed across the table from the two girls, “Dani, you can’t let what he says get to you. Really, it’s not that big a deal. Try not to think about it too much.” He pushed himself from the table eyeing his hands, “Anyway, I gotta go too, see you around, hopefully we’ll have some classes together, Viola.”

Dani watched him walk away before she sighed and turned to down the rest of her crimson liquid before she forced her gaze to meet Viola’s, “I should probably get going too, I forgot that I have to meet one of my teachers before classes start for the day.” She forced a smile before she stood up again, “Remember, your next class is on the third floor west wing. I showed it to you yesterday, if you can’t find it, just ask around.”

“Bu- wait! Dani!” she called after her but the vampire girl had already started heading away without turning to look back at her. Viola turned to Karma, “We’re going to get lost, aren’t we?”

We could find your brother maybe, she suggested watching Dani run off, I might remember where the classroom was, there are a few on that side of the school. I can at least get us in that general area.

“I don’t remember you paying that much attention to the tour, Karma.” She picked up a piece of bacon off her plate and offered it to the fox.

I always pay attention to my surroundings, unlike a certain witch we both know, She teased, snatching the bacon from Viola’s fingers contently.

Viola frowned at her, narrowing her eyes, “Hey, that attitude is not necessary, you know.”

She glanced around the room curiously, wondering if there were any familiar faces around at all but all she could see were strangers, not a single face she recognized, not even her brother was in the room. Sighing to herself, busied herself with finishing her breakfast. Things might just get weirder from here on but at least she’d make sure she wasn’t starving halfway through her first day.

~~~

He’d been lying on a tree branch on the edge of the forest when he heard them approaching. Last time the vampire had approached him alone, this time he brought the rest of his team.

Castien jumped down from his branch, brushing dust and leaves from his clothes as he turned to face the group heading his way, “Was the plan to try to intimidate me into joining your team?”

Victor grinned at him, flashing the fangs with a shrug, “If that’s what it takes, then so be it.” Victor was a blonde vampire, tall and almost athletic in appearance. His blue eyes watching Castien closely, looking for any sign that he might cause trouble.

“How do you even know you’ll be selected for the Intrepide?” he asked, crossing his arms. “And why do you want me on your team so badly anyway? There are plenty of other more talented elves and lots of other stronger people at that, too. There’s no rule that says you have to have an elf, you know.”

“You’ve got the best mind for strategy in the whole school, you’re able to help us gain an advantage on the field,” Victor declared.

Castien glanced over the vampire’s shoulders at the other three, Nymira the siren, Bion the cambion, and Gideon the bear. All three were pretty renown in Naessaria and in the advanced class but Castien was sure that none of them knew how to win against an opponent with an ability for their weaknesses.

He sighed, “This isn’t my kind of thing though. I’m not interested in competing. Besides, you’re better off getting someone who can step in where you’re all weak.”

Nymira sighed and turned to Victor, “I told you we should have asked that new witch girl.” She tossed her silver hair over her shoulder, glaring daggers at Castien.

Victor shook his head, “We don’t know enough about her and she definitely doesn’t know enough about this world. She’d be a risk now no matter how much power she may have.”

“Is there really any point in setting up teams now? You have a month before you have to sign up for Intrepide and then another two months to train. The school officials will have to approve your team choices also, Victor,” Castien explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m not worried about that. I know my team will be approved and I see nothing wrong with preparing in advance.”

“You don’t even know what the competitions will be yet, how much preparation do you think you can do?” the elven male mumbled, glancing up at the sky. It wasn’t long before they had to be in class.

Victor’s eyes narrowed on him, before he knew it, Castien’s knees began bending, pushing him to the ground against his will. He struggled against it, turning to look up at Victor with a scowl. “All I need is for you to agree to join the team for the Intrepide. I don’t need you to ask stupid questions about things I already know the answers to.”

Castien’s gray eyes glared up into Victors, “If you think this is the way to win me over, you’ve got another thing coming. I have no interest in working with someone willing to threaten me for my help. Go find someone else.” He forced himself to stand, ignoring the pain that shot through his limbs, through his veins when he fought Victor’s hold on him.

The tension released suddenly. Victor snarled at him, flashing the sharp fangs his way before he spun on the balls of his feet and turned to walk away. Gideon followed suit. Nymira hesitated for a moment, looking between Victor and Castien before she chose to follow after her leader.

Bion waited back, until Victor was out of ear shot, “Sorry about him, Cast… If you decide you’re interested in the games, you should ask Daniella and her new roommate about it. I think with a little training, those two would make a formidable pair.”

Castien nodded his appreciation for the offer but declined, “Thanks, Bion but I’m not interested in Intrepide. Maybe you’d do good to switch teams though. You’d make a skilled team leader if it was something you were interested in. You don’t have to take orders from Victor, you know.”

Bion shrugged. “Maybe but it’s easier not to cross him,” he mumbled, turning to catch up to the others, running after them and meeting them in moments.

Castien sighed once again, watching them head toward the school before he heard the chiming in the distance, signaling a warning to all students to make their way to their classes. He quickly gathered up his things and ran toward the East tower of the castle school, even at a dead run he’d never make it there on time thanks to Victor and his group but at least he could make it to his next class.