The phoenix and the dragon prince

Chapter 2

Ilse

It's morning.

I roll on my side and squint my eyes against the few rays of sunshine that escapes the rooms heavy curtains.

“Good morning” Lena says in a high pitched voice.

“Aaaaargh, It's too early for this!” Grace snorts, as she pulls her blanket all the way over her head to block out any sunlight.

I look at Lena and we giggle a little, before I stand up and make my way to the bathroom where I take a long, warm shower.

Today is going to be interesting. Lena told us yesterday, that we would be divided into groups according to our element. I already know, that I belong with the battle-mages, as my element is fire. I mean, fire-elements can do other things that fighting as well, it all depends on one’s shifting animal and strength, but seeing as my shifting animal is a powerful, mythical creature, I 100 percent belonged with the warrior-group. I sigh, as I remember that I still hadn’t told the girls about my phoenix yet. What would their reaction be? I wouldn’t wanna risk losing them over that, so I would try to keep it to myself for now. I can tell that Antille is not happy with my decision about keeping her a secret for now, but I don’t care..

It is a little sad that neither of my roommates will be joining me at the battle-mage training, as Grace’s element is air, and Lena’s element is earth.

At least we will be together for the basic tutoring as it is mandatory for every first year student to attempt to this.

I finish my shower, and step out to dry my hair.

Today, I decided to let my golden curls hang loose around my shoulders (mostly because I couldn’t be bothered with some fancy hairstyle) and I put on my favorite, forest-green satin trousers with a matching shirt. The whole fit was a bit oversized, but I didn’t really care, as I am not here to find a boyfriend..

15 minutes later, the girls were ready to go and we made our way to the great hall for breakfast.

As we entered the great Hall, I was, once again, taken back by the beauty of this place.

In the middle of the room, a big, round table was set up, with all possible choices for breakfast, you could think of. The three of us quickly grabbed some plates and stuffed them with food. We then walked to a small table in the corner of the room, and sat down to eat.

“Wow, there really is a lot of us here..” Lena says, with her mouth full of food.

“I come from a small village, almost 200 miles from the capital of the kingdom with only around 50 citizens” she explains.

“Ohh, I see. I live in the capital, so I am used to being around a lot of people. Mainly old people though” I laugh, and Lena joins me. “Where are you from, Grace?”

“Would you care to guess?” She says with a mischievous smile on her face.

“I am from the Green Kingdom in the forests” ..she continues, without giving us the time to even guess.

“You are from a different kingdom?! Lena asks.

Her eyes are big and she is leaning forward, looking very fascinated.

I laugh a little.

She continues: “I didn't even know about other kingdoms..” and then she blushes as she looks down..

“Really??” I say, very much in shock. Kids in the capitol learned about other kingdoms and stuff like that before the age of 5!

She then nods her head and look up at Grace and I.. She seems embarrassed by her lack of knowledge, even though she tried to hide it with a little smile. Grace looks at me and nods. We silently agreed to teach Lena as much as we know, as soon as possible, so she wouldn’t feel dumb or left out!

…

As soon as we finished breakfast, we were told that all first year students were supposed to gather in the big garden behind the school, so we went right away.

We were the last 3 to arrive, which gained us an angry look from the strict lady, that I met the day before. Great, so she’s in charge of this..

“Hello new students” She started..

“Welcome to Landervous Academy! I am Lady Ally, and I will be your main contact the rest of the year. I expect you all to behave well and to work hard.”

I sigh. I have a feeling that no matter how well I behave or how hard I work, it won’t be enough to make her stay off my back.. Oh well.

After Lady Ally’s speech, we were told to make a line.

“Now, listen!” Lady Ally says, as she claps her hands to get everyone’s attention.

“One of our Elders will be joining us now, to assess your powers as well as your shifting animal..” The students started whispering in excitement, but I could feel myself becoming more tense..

“You all must wait for your turn, and when called upon, you must shift in front of our Elder, so that she can assess your element and power properly. She will then divide you into groups, and you can collect your personal calendar from me..”

I gasp. Oh s**t!! I had hoped, that I could keep my phoenix and powers a secret for a little bit longer, but I guess not.. I shiver, as I look at both Lena and Grace, who notices my change of mood quickly.

“What’s wrong hon?” Lena asks, while placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Nothing.. I just..” I sigh. “You will see..” I whisper through gritted teeth, before I force on a smile and look up at my two new friends.

“You sure?” Grace asks suspiciously.

And I just nod and smile at them again, what else can I do? I turn my back on them, and we wait in line in silence. I just hope that they will accept me, and not distance themselves as my previous friends did, when they found out about my rare phoenix..

Uh-oh, it’s my turn next. The boy in front of me just shifted into a beautiful, dark-brown wolf, and the elder assessed him to be one of the most powerful students this year.. Yikes, just wait until she meets Antille.. I could hear Antille giggling in my mind, as I got ready for my turn.

“Next up, Ilse Denwick!” Lady Ally says, as she looks at me with those strict eyes of hers.

I gulp. I guess this is it. I take a few steps forward, until I stand right in front of the elder. She nods at me, as a sign that I can begin my shifting.

I take a deep breath, and let the warmth of my phoenix run through my body. As I close my eyes, I can feel my body lifting from the ground, and the fire that surrounds me. I have shifted.

I hear several gasps coming from the group of students, and as I turn to look at them all, I see them all standing with a dropped jaw and big eyes.. I look over at my two friends, who also looks a bit shocked, before Grace slams her hand into Lena’s back and shout “That’s our girl, that’s our girl!”

Wait, what? Could it be, that they didn’t think of me as a freak? That they still wanted to be friends, even after..this? I couldn’t deal with all these thoughts right now, so instead I turned around in the air, and landed before the Elder, might just get it over with..

After a little while, the Elder nodded at me, and I shifted back to my human form. She looked me straight in the eyes and said:

“Dear.. I haven’t seen a Phoenix in forever, how magnificent”. Her eyes were sparkling.

“I sense your lack of confidence in your phoenix form, which is a shame. The phoenix is a gift from the Sun-Goddess herself, as it is one of the most powerful creatures in the world. In time, you will not only master the fire-element, but also water, earth and air. Mark my words, child! This is a blessing, not a curse, so treat it with respect and care!”