Chapter 14 CHAPTER 14
He told you?”
“The King is probably going to send a representative to come check your heritage, so he needed to alert everyone. We don't get visitors down here often.”
“And people can't leave as easily either I guess?”
“Leave? You want to go back there?” She asked, looking at me like I had two heads.
“No I'm not,” I quickly recovered, “I'm just curious about how things work over here.”
“Oh,” she relaxed, “If you have a good reason, the Principal might consider and give you a pass. But otherwise, we get two breaks a year. It's why we're allowed to stay with our families until we turn twenty-two. Because if you get selected, you are now a property of the realm.”
“Um… I..”
“You will understand everything soon,” she giggled softly, “here are the clothes you'll wear until we can get you more suitable ones. They're clean, don't worry,” she added as I held them awkwardly.
I nodded, my anxiety crawling back and I took the clothes and went into the bathroom to change.
It was a burgundy coloured of leggings and a fitted top with a zipper in the middle. The material was strong, yet expandable.
I took off my wet clothes and put them on, grateful for the dry feel of them.
It sucked me in, automatically taking the shape of my body
If it could do this, why then did she think I needed a tailor to get my accurate measurements?
I walked out to meet her, and I took the flat shoes she handed to me.
That's when I realized that my once ruined feet were clean.
Healed.
I must have resembled a mad woman, hunched over and staring at my own feet like it was a scarecrow but this place was doing things to me that I couldn't just… understand.
“Don't worry girl,” Erin said cheerily from behind me, “you'll get used to everything soon.”
“Has this happened to someone you know before?”
I asked as I put on the shoes, wiggling my toes in the soft insides of them.
“None that I'm aware of but I'm not much of a reader. You can go make your own research, everything you need is there.”
“Thank you for your kindness,” I told her, she didn't have to be but she was here, telling me things that although I didn't understand, were better than the principal who had dropped a shocker and disappeared.
“It's fine, you need it. Although, you should avoid Isle Nine when you do go.”
I frowned.
“Are there monsters in the library?”
She laughed, standing up and I did the same.
“You could say that. Come on, the Principal is ready for you and I would hate for us to be late for training.”
I nodded, swallowing my questions as I followed her out of the room that I hoped I would be allowed to keep.
I walked up the steps and without the pain digging through my feet, I realized how warm it was, everything here radiated magic.
Like it was pulsing through every being.
Maybe that's why I'm feeling this way, developing weird abilities that I have never experienced before.
If I were on earth, my feet would have gotten infected and I’d be bedridden for days.
Deep down, I was hoping to have been sick for as long as possible so I would just run away when I was ready.
Oh well, maybe I could learn one or two things about my abilities, if I could use it, then Baldwin will be the one running from me.
Maybe the universe was tired of punishing me, I was a child after all and I had no idea how it had happened.
I watched as she pushed the door open after we'd been allowed entrance and that's when I got out of my own head enough to look at Erin.
Her hair would have been boring if it weren't attached to such a pretty woman, long cascading behind her back. I could see how much she'd been training on her, muscles not as impressed with the ones on the dragon kin we were here to see, but compared to me, she might as well be an Amazon warrior.
She was about my height, I was an inch or two taller and her blue eyes made her oval face more beautiful than it already was.
Her kindness tied up everything to perfection and I knew I would miss her when I leave here, even though we'd just met a few minutes ago.
“Good day Principal Draco,” she greeted him, bowing her head slightly.
‘Oh, that was something everyone did?’ I wondered, watching the weird exchange.
My eyes finally trailed over to him, I couldn't hold off for longer.
He was out of the black tunic he was in yesterday, and now, he was in the same type of get-up the two of us had on, a tight top that embraced his chest and he zipped down to give a slight peek of what's behind those lucky clothes.
Is it possible to be jealous of clothes?
I was in a dilemma and yet, I couldn't focus properly.
I pinched myself, they were having a conversation about me and I wasn't paying attention.
“She'll begin promptly, there's no time to waste,” he announced, eyes going back to his table.
“Begin what?” I blurted, heart palpitating.
“Training,” he stated, looking at me like I was the one being weird.
Okay, maybe a little bit but…
“What am I training for? I work out twice a week already, there's no need to rush back in since I'm still recovering.”
Erin laughed, her eyes misty from how ridiculous whatever I'd said was.
It definitely couldn't be me talking about the gym routine I had, what's so funny about that?
“You're going to be working twice as hard as everyone else because you came in in the middle of the year,”
“Can't I –”
I shut myself up as he gave me a warning look.
Don't interrupt him, noted.
“You will have normal training with everyone else during the day and special ones at whatever time your tutors' dim fit. Make sure you comply, no complaints will be tolerated. Erin, get her situated in your room and when she shows an affinity for any particular house, let me know.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Can I ask something?” I spoke up before he went back to his work.
“What is it?”
He seemed completely done with my disturbance.
“Since I'm already late for everything, can't I wait for the rest of the year and then join next year's set?”
He dropped his pen and took up that same posture, hands across his chest, and levelling me with a stern look.
“And how old are you?”
“25.”
“You're three years late Miss Ferguson,” he grunted, “and except you have another way of contributing your quota to the realm, the freebies end at 22. So you can choose between enjoying the free food, lodging, and hot water while preparing your mind to merge with a dragon, or you can be sent to the capital. I hear a few officials need new servants, what do you prefer?”
I opened my lips, shut, and turned to Erin.
“Let's go.”