Chapter 5: First Day at the School of Magic
Elizabeth came out of her room, dressed in the same outfit she wore every school day, as the other dozens of girls of all ages buzzing around the hallways of the magic school.
A chequered pinafore dress and a white shirt were the main pieces of her clothing. And of course a beautiful red cape, with short sleeves, with the habitual hood completed her outfit.
The boys also wore a chequered suit, and dark blue trousers, as well as a green hooded cape, wide-sleeved.
These were the students’ school uniforms at Elmbgidge School of Magic, one of the most famous schools of magic in the Kingdom, according to information panels which also shed light upon the establishment of this school of magic.
Dozens of corridors made up all kinds of halls, wider or narrower, along which you could wander round Elmbridge school of magic. Some broad, others narrow, the main ones and others, huge, because they weren’t just corridors connecting rooms, they made up a room.
Other tens were so narrow and hidden that you had to know very well how to reach them, especially since they were masked or guarded by various stone elves ... or lost in the usual setting of Elmbridge corridors.
Some guys in the school, even professors, stated at the top of their lungs that there were actually over a hundred secret hallways in Elmbridge school of magic, but only Knudlac knew exactly how many. There were some hidden even from him. The same people said that there were also corridors that led to the depths of the Earth, the height of the sky, or even to the depths of the Ancient Forest.
Some of the claims may be exaggerated, but given that from a small closet a bedroom popped up, as Elizabeth’s, then reality could’t be far from what most residents of Elmbridge Magic school said.
Unlike many of the other children who were still sleepy, Elizabeth was awake for more than an hour.
When the clock on the wall began to sing and try to wake her up in the most beautiful way possible, through songs that would tickle your eardrum like hundred-year-old Irish tunes, Elizabeth was already awake.
She had some books and a wand in her right hand.
Johnny who waited for her, when he saw her coming out, got close to her, glad to see her.
“Good morning, how did you sleep?”
“Pretty well,” the girl replied. “I just found these for me ready and these clothes on a hanger near my bed, as if someone was taking care of me. And I think I heard some noises last night ... I guess someone entered my room.”
Johnny didn't pay attention to what the girl told him. He looked at the books the girl held in her hand and told her, smiling:
“Yes ... I have a roommate too, so ...”
“It’s not a roommate. I live alone in that room. Someone was walking around the room at night. Someone who prepared my clothes and books ...”
“Elizabeth, open your eyes wide. Don't be sceptic. Here everything is a kind of magic. Of course, things that seem less natural happen ...”
The girl thought for a moment, then smiled.
“You are right. But I'll stay up late to see who's sitting in my room without my will.”
“We’d better see your books.”
Johnny checked the books in Elizabeth’s hand. In the pile of book prepared for the girl there were:
Encyclopedia of magical eras, from the beginning to the present day,
Find out what others have done ... and become a better wizard, by Mark Zitter
Geography of magical places and unknown fantastic areas,
Beaten tracks ... and uncommon roads, by Julia Simens
Beasts rarely seen ... or never met,
Seen in dream ... in dim mindset, by Hans von Kilberg
The magic of figures and numbers - what can be more enjoyable ...?
With mathematics you turn the unknown ... into known, by prof. Wiliam Cork
How to use a wand - Lessons for beginners,
Get busy and make it snappy by Margaret Speedwell
Forbidden ancient spells, unknown author
“These are exactly the books you must have. I also picked the same books. But I don't know the purpose of this book, Ance ... ancient spells. We do not have this subject in today's schedule. Actually, we do not have it I our timetable.”
“Maybe it belongs to an older student who lost it here.”
Johnny politely stopped a hasty student who appeared to be in the 6th or 7th grade and asked if he knew that mysterious book and if he ever had such a course.
The girl who seemed very conscientious, a very diligent student, looked at the book, but as she did not recognize it, she just left because she had nothing to say about it.
Johnny, after receiving the object back, took the volume and opened it. On the first page you can see some hand notes that said:
“This book cannot be used by ignorant, nor by those who do not master the use of magic.
It contains inscriptions translated from the language of those who were the founders of magic ... and maybe I misunderstood some lines... its use may cause big mistakes ... or even death."
Johnny eventually managed to read these lines, but none of them seemed to be marked by what was written on the front page. So the boy closed the book and handed it to the girl. Elizabeth, unaware of the purpose of this book, took it along with the others she had under her arm.
“If the author doesn't trust what he wrote, then I say it's good for nothing. Come on, the class with Knudlac will start soon,” Johnny told her.
“You can help me for a while to get to the classrooms ... I really do not know how to get there ...”
“It's very easy, just do what I tell you.”
“Good.”
“Pick a classmate and follow him/her until you get where you need to go ...”
“Do you know where all the classrooms are?”
“Not at all.”
“And then…?”
“Then we follow him. He is a first-year classmate,” the boy pointed at a freckled guy with spiky hair.
The two went down three floors, following that boy, heading to the classroom.
“Can I ask you something?” Elizabeth looked at Johnny.
"Yes," he said, smiling.
“There, at the orphanage, Mr. Green ... I mean… Professor Knudlac there. He hit you very hard. Your lips and nose bled. You cried, but after a few moments, after we left the orphanage you smiled.”
“I didn’t cry,” the young man defended himself bravely. “I pretended,” he kept completing.
The boy was proud of him.
“I was very convincing, wasn’t I? That’s why Mr. Knudlac picked me.”
The girl didn't understand anything. Johnny looked at her with a smile as he saw that she could not get what he said.
“Let me tell you. Professor Knudlac introduced himself as Mr. Green to that orphanage director. That director, because he hated you so much, I don't know why, wanted the one who adopted you to make you suffer your whole life. And that is why Mr. Knudlac tried to convince him that he would hurt you as your adoptive father.”
“But how did you put up with such a blow without ...”
“Magic, dear ... Magic. I got the mysteries of this kind of magic that others want to master for a long time, Imperium. I can go through the biggest pain without crying, if I say this magic word. The tears were false.”
“Can I learn too ... to have this magic power?”
“As I said, many want to master this magic, but it is only my power.”
The girl sat wondering.
A 12-year-old boy, who heard Johnny's words, proudly got close to him and the girl. He wore the same kind of clothes as them, but he had a coat of arms representing his family. He was brown-haired and blue-eyed like the clear sky,
“Bragging again with your magic, Johnny? How can you cope with any danger with that damn magic that you got by mistake?”
Johnny looked at that boy with a frown. He bit his lips with anger because of that student.
Still, he didn't say anything, but kept going, along with Elizabeth. Eventually, they stop in the front of their class and all kids get in.
Miss Harmony waited for them in that class.
“Who’s that boy?” Elizabeth asked.
“Alexander Soimescu ... a jerk. Some say he is a distant relative of Dragoesti’s. And his grandparents were vampires all their life ... until they died of old age.”
"As far as I know, vampires do not die of old age," Elizabeth smiled, hearing the rubbish that Johnny kept selling.
“Whoever he is, you should stay away from him. He has the impression that if his family spent a fortune on the best magic professors, he is a master of magic now.”
And leaving Elizabeth in front of Miss Harmony, Johnny went to his desk angrily, at the back of the classroom.
Miss Harmony told the girl:
“Please sit there in the front row ... you have a lot to make up for.”
All the children sat at their recently manufactured and skilfully crafted wooden desks. Each of them had the emblem of Elmbridge School of Magic.
Elizabeth placed her books on the desk like the other children, then she began to listen carefully to Miss Harmony. No one managed better than her to explain to those children what magic is and make these kids love magic.
“First of all, I want to tell you that we are extremely pleased to have you among our students in Elmbridge School of Magic, one of the best magic schools in the country ... and in the world.”
After a short break when she smiled at those kids, she went on:
“Here at the school of magic, we will train all sorts of wizards. You will learn how to use magic and master it. Many of you will become magic architects, the greatest inventors of all time. They invented among many things, the vigil candle, patented by Henric Julien IV. Professor Brian Hazzelnuck, who paved the way for ... any place in this world where we want to get at once, leaving behind the …witch broom. Yes, he showed us the way to transmutation ... through portals. And we are very lucky because riding those brooms was not very comfortable and safe ... As others told me, because I did not have ... the chance to try something like this.”
Miss Harmony smiled at the children, continuing to talk as she looked at them:
“Or maybe some of you will become guardians. Who knows? You will join the group of fighters against black magic. And who punish wrongdoers. Or you will become potion makers who will create the strongest cures and the most powerful elixirs. Or you can become herb growers for potions, fantastic and non-fantastic caregivers ... it all depends on you. Depending on what you choose ...”
“As Johnny really sucks, I think he'll be a potion bottle cleaner ... or a caretaker of mystical and non-mystical beings ... And he will clean their manure,” Alexander laughed at his own joke.
Many children in the class also laughed, especially Alexander’s friends. Or rather, those who wanted to join this kid’s group and his attention, as he belonged to a renowned family.
“You’re wrong. I know a lot of stuff. For a year I read all kinds of books, unlike you.”
“Maybe you read, but you learn nothing. As for me, I've been studying magic for five years. I came to Elmbridge just because I needed ... papers to prove how good I am.”
“Please stop fighting. Alexander, first of all it is not nice to offend. Please, in my class speak only if I speak to you. And please never offend anyone again ...”
Miss Harmony stood up from her desk and got close to the boys.
“Did you hear about Merlin?”
“Of course I did ... I read a lot of books written by him. About magic, potions and more. Anyone heard about him,” Alexander the "wise" smiled.
“But did you know that at first, before he became one of the most well-known wizards, he was responsible for growing herbs and cleaning potions? This is how he became the most skilful wizard when it comes to potions and elixirs.”
Alexander stopped smiling.
“As for being a caregiver, it means more than you think, it means to have a lot of knowledge. To learn a lot ... In the world of sceptics, this means being a kind of vet. But in our magic world it means much more and it is much harder. You must know everything about mystical and non-mystical creatures. Absolutely everything. To know everything you need when an ice dragon’s scales melt, or when the gills of a sea eagle are clogged with algae.”
Alexander was as red as a beetroot ... He wanted to say something more, but his words couldn't leave his brain to his mouth, so the only thing he could say was ... silence. Miss Harmony made him feel ungrateful. That’s how he was at that moment, actually.
“So Johnny, I really want you to become a caretaker of mystical and non-mystical creatures. But even for that you have a lot to work.”
"Thank you, Miss Harmony," Johnny said with a big smile, feeling like a real winner.
“As I told you, depending on how diligent and hardworking you are and you will be ... your achievements will be the consequence of your work. You can be laborious, active students, to become Magic Architects, herb Growers or even potion Creators, Caretakers of mystical or non-mystical beings, or you will learn to be the best. Guardians and Fighters of magic.”
“Is Mr. Knudlac a Guardian?” asked Jasmine Thompson.
“Yes, dear. He is as well Magic Knight of the Empire in the Order of the Magic Knights, Magic Duke of Elmbridge in the Chamber of Magic Lords, Member of the Magic Consulate, Director of the Elmbridge School of Magic ... and many more.”
“Are you a herb Grower?”
"I am a potion maker," replied the professor with the same smile.
“I also want to be a potion maker. In no case grower ...”
“To be a grower requires as much study and commitment. If you do not know how to grow the howling cucumber, and you do not know when to change its layer of sand, to be similar to that at the bottom of the sea, which is salty and dry and wet at the same time, the cucumber will scream so loud that it will break any stone, including the walls of our school. Or, if you don't water the flying grass properly, at noon and in the evening, just as much as the dew in the morning used to water it, you risk affecting the flight system in the Pegasus horses that eat it, to never fly again. So...”
“I want to be a grower, so that bad things don't happen,” rushed the little girl.
“I hope you become a very good grower ...”
The woman smiled at the children.
“In fact, let's see what each one wants to become.”
At each desk, she asked each kid what they wanted to become. She listened to them calmly and gently and wished them luck. And of course she urged them to study hard and smart.
…
The children enter very quietly in the classroom. It was the first lesson with Mr. Knudlac for Elizabeth and for many others.
"Please sit down," Knudlac told the children. And open the magic book ... on page 4.
On each desk where two students were seated, a volume of How to use a wand - Lessons for beginners, Get busy and make it snappy by Paula Brown, appeared for each student.
“Today we talk about how to use the magic wand. The magic wand is ... the extension of a wizard's hand and it is normal to be the first thing we learn to use. Today if we have more time after reading, we practice defence against the attack of the opponent... How to disarm your wand attacker,” said the professor.
The boys were on top of the world. Bustle and noise among them, because it was clear they liked the subject they were to discuss at that course. What can be more fun for young people of their age than fighting with magic, to show which one is brighter.
“Quiet! just read what I asked,” Mr. Knudlac frowned for just a moment, but enough to turn those little barbarians into little angels.
Everyone began to read as if they were soldiers in the army. The children began to read from the magic book, surprised at what they learned and repeated, in their mind or aloud, various words. A little girl, who seemed not to know the mysteries of magic as well as the others, like Elizabeth, however, managed to throw a colleague's wand from one of the desk to Knudlac’s table, using the knowledge in the book.
The girl was embarrassed, especially because some of the kids who had private lessons with famous professors, to avoid making fool of themselves at the school of magic, like Alexander, started laughing loud at her.
Yet, only at a simple glance of Knudlac’s they calmed down.
The children continued reading the book. Still, some of the kids who laughed at that little girl were not interested in that information because they already knew it.
For example, Alexander was familiar with the use of the magic wand at the age of 5. His parents came from one of the richest families of wizards. They did their best to make sure their son would become an elite student. It was a tradition in Soimesti family to be winners, to be the best. It was a tradition of theirs too, not to consider the means or the path chosen to get there, the results were important… to be the best. Anyway, that does not mean he did not look forward to using his wand from his father at that lesson.
After a couple of minutes, Mr. Knudlac approached Elizabeth, for she saw the little girl was like a kitten fallen in the middle of a river. She couldn't understand the words in the book.
“My dear, what happened, why don't you read?” he asked in a soft voice.
The girl looked at Mr. Knudlac a little scared and said in a quiet voice, a little fearful:
“I don't know how to read too well. I mess up the letters between them ...”
The kids laughed even louder than at the wand moment. They were about to say she had nothing to do in the school of magic. First to attend a sceptics’ school and then return to the famous Elmbridge School of Magic.
"She embarrasses Professor Knudlac," Alexander whispered to his friends. “She is a relative of his, I got. If I did this to my father, he would certainly disown me.”
Again only a swift gaze of Professor Knudlac’s managed to calm them instantly.
The professor smiled, looking at Elizabeth.
“Keep calm, dear. You are certainly not the only child here who does not know how to read correctly.”
Mr Knudlac looked at the class and asked:
“Is there anyone else in the class messing letters from time to time?”, Mr. Knudlac asked. “You don't have to be ashamed,” he told them. “It was very difficult for me too with the letters when I was your age. Needless to speak about numbers.”
Two red-haired boys and a fair-haired girl, close to Elizabeth's age, also admitted it was harder for them to read and understand precisely the lines in the magic book.
“Come to the first rows, please. I will explain to you how things are.”
The kids in the first desks let the other four sit in their places as if trained to do exactly what Knudlac wanted.
After they all sat at the desks as they were asked, Mr. Knudlac spoke to the students:
“The rest of you, keep reading, and you four, listen to me ...”
Mr. Knudlac sat in front of the two desks where the four children sat. He looked at them with a smile, then turned his gaze to Elizabeth's eyes:
“Today, because I set out to teach you some spells, I will help you to read better. But then, please practice reading and writing as much as possible. Because ... writing and reading means knowledge. If we know how to write and read, we can learn anything ...”
The kids didn't understand much. How to read if they can't read properly?
Eaden Knudlac took some stuff from a shabby closet. There were some cute bonnets for the girls and caps in checkers for the boys. After the children placed them on their heads, the professor raised wand and said a few words:
“Lectio autem scientiam!”
Some little stars fell over the pages of the four children’s books.
“My dear, remember ... there are no magic objects in this world like these caps or bonnets, or knowledge pill ... or magic mirrors. Nor can magic replace knowledge and thirst for knowledge. For that there is ...” and Mr. Knudlac touched his head with his forefinger.
“Now read,” he ordered the children smiling as gentle as ever.
Mr. Knudlac went to his desk and sat down, leaving the four children puzzled.
They were confused, but only until they followed Elizabeth’s lead ... until they looked down at the pages of the book and began to understand the letters.
When the girl looked in the magic book, everything seemed much clearer than the water of the cleanest spring. When she touched a word with her finger, trying to read it, that word turned into a wonderful and clear picture of what it meant.
The paragraph in the magic book "The wand must be held in the right hand, rotate it in spiral motion, restraining the trajectory and the word Fortioris is pronounced, when you want to get someone’s wand ...", it was represented to Elizabeth by a small image with a girl holding wand in right hand, rotating it in inward spirals. She heard the word Fortioris and then an image popped up with Alexander as he was smashed over face with this magic as his wand dropped off his hand.
The girl and the other three laughed loud, making Professor Knudlac smile.
One of the guys, Fillip Whitehouse, managed to do the magic right. All four were merry and happy they could understand so clearly the words in the book. Professor Knudlac’s magic helped them "read" so easily, in such a pleasant way.
“Have you seen how interesting and enjoyable it is to ... know? That is why we must try to learn as best as we can. To use in life everything we get through education ...”
He got up from his desk with a smile and got close to Elizabeth.
“Get up and show us how you're doing.”
The girl obeyed and stood up. She did it in a timid manner, like a child who was punished rather than one who had the chance to confront Mr. Knudlac.
Alexander certainly wanted to be elected, so he had the honour of fighting with the great Knudlac, to show the professor how much he knows about magic, especially about disarming and attacking an opponent.
“I want you to use what you learned with me. Use magic against me.”
The girl looked at the professor, then in the classroom.
“But ...”
“Keep calm. This magic is not very dangerous. The strongest Fortioris magic can be likened to a palm strike. Or with a fist, if the attacker is very good. And this ... over time, after much exercise. It is more training magic to familiarize yourself with the use of the magic wand. So please, hit me ...”
The girl stood up, feeling her feet walk against her, almost falling as if controlled by someone else. However, she got ready for the confrontation adjusting position just as seen in the pictures.
“However, please never use it to hit someone’s face. Because ... a slap in the face can hurt,” the professor smiled again. “Even me.”
Elizabeth picked up a wand from the desk, at the professor's suggestion, rotated her hand 3 times and said Fortioris.
There are a few sparks after which ... nothing happened.
Again some boys laughed.
“Alexander, please come in front of the class,” asked Professor Knudlac.
The boy got to the professor, proudly. He looked at the kids he left behind, as if he told them he was not chosen at random - the boy who would become, in his opinion, the best student of the school of magic.
Arrogantly, he took out of a leather sheath, a wand so beautifully carved that it seemed to be a jewel, a very important family heirloom, and then he got close to the professor.
“Please explain to us what Elizabeth did wrong.”
Alexander took an elegant position as a swordsman and began to speak:
“The spins she had to do with the wand had to be inward and stop at one point.”
The boy performed the necessary movements like a skilled swordsman, with the elegance of a dancer, and then he said:
“Fortioris ...”
At that moment, a magic flame was seen from his wand, which stopped exactly in Knudlac's wand.
“Good shot,” exclaimed the professor.
Prince Soimesti thanked the professor with a smile and slightly bowed his head in appreciation. He was proud he had a chance to show what he could, but he was also very ... polite. Or at least this is what he tried to show and he succeeded this time.
“Elizabeth, your turn now,” the professor asked again.
The girl made the same movements calling out:
“Fortioris!”
A flame similar to Alexander's also came out of her wand, and a light breeze moved Professor Knudlac’s cape.
The children, including Alexander of course, laughed at the girl's performance.
Elizabeth laughed too. But with joy. She was happy to see she had magic powers. She was happy as any of us would be if we could do a magic trick, even small, spinning a stick and saying a single word. Perhaps she was even prouder than Alexander of what she achieved, except that unlike him, she did not show pride or arrogance.
“The magic is in us. In us all ... But to become a powerful wizard, you need...”
“Knowledge,” added the girl.
“Exactly, dear ... and a lot of work. And in order to achieve important things, as I said, we must first know the mysteries of reading and writing. And because you still need help, I'll give you someone to help you. I will entrust you all four to some young professors, because the spell I cast on you will soon disappear.”
“Ohh ...” the four sighed in one voice.
“Yes, I told you again and again. Magic cannot help you learn how to write, read, and calculate. Instead, if you know them, they can help you learn the Magic. Cast spells, make potions, decipher old magic. Magic can help you become better, only if you know more about the world we live in and about magic. It all depends on you ...”
He looked in the classroom and told the children in the first row:
“Philip Whitehouse, Mike Longsley will help you to learn reading. Flavia Delgado, Brigitte Taylor will help you, and Samuel Harrison will be helped by Igor Krasnensko. As for Elizabeth Edwards ... Alexander Soimesti will help her.
“Professor ...,” Alexander tried to protest, because he had far better things to do than help one like Elizabeth read. But when he saw Mr. Knudlac's gaze he stopped.
“Are we clear, dear?” the professor asked.
“Yes,” the young learners answered together with their guides.
“I'm glad to hear that. Now we go on reading about the history of magic and its significance.”
The professor sat back in his chair.
The children sighed. The lines to read seemed boring to many of them, especially those who belonged to families like Alexander's, and already knew this subject.
For Miss Edwards and the other three children, it was perfect. Because again… those images appeared. Plenty of pictures that explained the text with such nice magic images, which otherwise could not be read at that time. Surely everyone will know the mysteries of reading properly, but for now some of them were delighted with the images.
…
“Come on my dear, it's time to show you how you can relax after a hard day at school.”
Professor Harmony took Elizabeth by the hand, and they both disappeared, as if swallowed by the earth.
Elizabeth ended up on the backseat of a classic car, as red as fire with white interior, running smoothly on an unpaved road. It had no driver.
“Look out the window,” said Miss Harmony, smiling. “Do not be afraid there is no driver in this car, because it knows exactly where to go. Enjoy the wonders that this savannah hides ...”
Seeing Mrs. Harmony's calm and warm smile, Elizabeth looked out the window of the car. She did not understand where they were, because no one ever told her about a savannah, or show it to her, as it happened now.
“What you see now is a group of lions. That's how they live, in groups ...”
The girl saw some beautiful animals that looked dangerous.
“They seem huge and fierce.”
“These kittens ... I'm curious what you say when you see a fire dragon. If they are fierce, then how will the dragon be?”
The professor smiled. The girl smiled too, because she felt safe with Miss Harmony.
They looked for some moments at some lion cubs playing, fur balls, swirling and running around their feline parents.
“Look ... Those with long necks in the distance are giraffes, those with one horn, are rhinos and those running in the herd are antelopes. And the zebras are the striped ones.
Needless to say, it was a splendour even for those who saw at least at the zoo such beautiful animals, let alone for a child who never had the chance to see more than mice or rats, very rarely cats or dogs. And now, she saw them in all their glory, lazing in their environment, as the lions did, or running free, as the antelopes did.
“You can also see them in the Sanctuary of non-fantasy creatures. I thought you would be more pleased to see them in their world. Wait to see when you enter the Sanctuary of Fantastic Creatures ... and you see a real fire dragon. Or a flying pattern of his floating high in the sky.”
The girl smiled, nodded, but couldn't find her words so she didn't say anything.
“Get ready. I have another surprise for you.”
And the two girls got out of that beautiful and welcoming car and popped up elsewhere ... on a ship.
Properly dressed, considering the place where they were, because on the deck of the ship one could see everywhere icicles, the girls were amazed to see the sky so ... lit up.
“Boreal aurora, dear. It is a phenomenon that occurs when solar wind hit the Earth's magnetic field. Only at night can you see such lights in the sky ... Usually, they emit the colour green or red, but look, there are other colours now ...”
The splendour of the lights was divine. Even a bright mind could hardly understand how such a show could be so easily created on the starry sky.
For a few moments, even Miss Harmony was speechless.
“I am amazed too, even though I admired this light shower during so many nights. It looks like sunbeams carried by the wind. It's wonderful ... but wouldn't you like to come back?”
The girl who felt cold and shivered, signalled to her that she wanted to leave, even if she was amazed at that splendid light show in the sky.
So the professor took Elizabeth in his arms and they disappeared again ...
The two appeared on the bank of a large stretch of water, on a pontoon. And what you could see from that pontoon would leave anyone speechless.
Several dolphins swam near that dock, jumping and playing with each other.
“We are in the place not far from the Recreation Sanctuary. You can go there if you want. Daznache is a guardian there. Of course he is a stone elf ... which is sometimes so grumpy that he closes the Citadel gates, and the students have to look for another way of recreation.”
“But ... I can't get here without going to Daznache, as I did today?”
Miss Harmony laughed.
“Unfortunately not, dear. The way we came here today is ... an advantage of being a professor at Elmbridge School. It is against the rules for a child to enter here without Daznache’s will, the guardian of the Recreation Sanctuary.”
“Should I get that we both violated a school rule?”
This question puzzled Miss Harmony.
“Well, I don't think so. Or…?”
After a few moments of thought, the professor continued, but not too convinced:
“No, you didn't break any rules. Neither did I. I brought you to show you what you can do after school. It's like a presentation of the school ... and I was asked to show you the school.
Elizabeth smiled like the rising sun. Miss Harmony did the same, she took the girl by the hand again, and the two disappeared into a huge room, the hall of a grand palace.
“This Citadel is as imposing as the others, as you can see. As all Elmbridge School Centres, all other Sanctuaries. From here you can get anywhere you want. To climb the peaks of the high mountains between India and China, to swim in the waters of the coral reefs of the Hiyndonesia islands, or to ride the winged mustangs from the distant prairies of the Lost Continent. You will see some fantastic creatures there, as wonderful as those in Antarctika. But all this in time, when you grow older.”
“In Antarctica, no animals live. There is no way to ...”
“My dear, you behave like a sceptic. Listen to her, there are no animals in Antarctika...”
Miss Harmony laughed so loud that hearing the words about Antarctika, that she seemed crazy.
Elizabeth said nothing more, she just smiled.
“There are so many places I have to visit. I will definitely go everywhere ...”
In a moment the guardian of that Sanctuary, Mr. Daznache, popped up.
“Hello. Do you know if Jack was here?”
"Yes, as usual," the stone elf answered sharply.
“Thanks.”
Harmony grabbed Elizabeth by the hand and the two arrived at the "usual place."
“I like it so much here ...”
The girl understood why, as soon as she gazed, surprised at the summer outfit with which Harmony's magic had dressed both of them.
The sea was crystal clear as the sky. The sky seemed overflowing it, so transparent it was. The girl saw fishes of all kinds swimming beside her and Miss Harmony. Because the professor took her exactly in the mirror of that stretch of water, not so deep and so pleasant to the touch. A simple girl who until recently hadn’t come out of that orphanage where she lived her first part of life, now enjoyed a view that could leave anyone speechless.
Even if they were far enough from the shore, the bottom of this lagoon they were in was smooth and a little deep, so far.
The girl looked behind her and saw a man approaching them.
“Look at him. The greatest wizard at Elmbridge School ...”
Elizabeth looked doubtfully at Miss Harmony.
“Really? I thought Mr. Knudlac was ...”
Miss Harmony sighed softly and smiled.
“For me he is the greatest wizard. And he spilled his magic on me ... only on me.”
“What did he do to you?” asked the girl puzzled and scared.
“He stole my mind ... heart ... and many other things,” Miss Harmony smiled.
But seeing the girl was not completely clear:
“You understand it later, over many years. Now let's get to know him.”
And the girls headed for the man.
“Hello,” greeted the young man when he reached the girls.
“Elizabeth ... Jack Hughes. Jack, she's Elizabeth Edwards,” Miss Harmony introduced them to each other.
The two shook hands.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you too.”
After a short break, the young man took a little courage.
“Miss Elizabeth, can I kidnap you and Miss Harmony for a picnic on the lagoon? I prepared it there on that turquoise sand, in the shade of those palm trees.”
“Of course ... I was really hungry,” the girl smiled and reached out her hand to Jack.
Miss Harmony also reached out to Jack's hand and the three of them headed for that shore with turquoise sand.
“Any friend of Miss Harmony’s is my friend too. I don't care you stole those things from her,” Elizabeth said. “Just give them back to her.”
“What ... what did I do?” the man wondered, looking at Miss Harmony, asking for explanations, but apologized for any mistake he might make.
“Heart, mind ... and many more. But I know you give them back when she asks them from you ...”
The woman and the man looked at each other, then at the girl and they smiled.
They get to the place in question, and Jack, of course, began to serve the girls with the goodies he had in the basket he carried there.
And so Elizabeth took part in her first picnic. Not anywhere. Even in paradise. Because, I don't know how else that place could be called, so wonderful and welcoming it was.
A girl who until recently had been just an orphan, now enjoyed being with those who were like a family. A girl who until now had only visited the roof of the orphanage from time to time, one day she was in the savannahs of Africa, in the frozen waters of Antarctika, and now she was in ... the Paradise of Tropical Islands.