The image above is of what I feel Chelsea would look like, except she wears glasses and is usually more conservative with the clothes she wears.

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Chelsea Matthews is a nineteen year old young woman. She naturally has wavy black hair that goes past her shoulder blades, but she tends to straighten it to call little attention to herself. She also has hazel eyes, but her black rimmed glasses hide her eyes, so nobody sees their real color unless they really look at her.

Her family consists of a typical unit of a mother, father, and younger sibling. Her home life is average, but happy. Both her parents are members of Swollen-Thorn Acacias, and her younger brother is starting Acacia Delbata. Also, her family name may be Matthews, but she has no relationship at all with Vincent Matthews, one of the Five Elite. In fact, this mishap of last names was the reason she accidentally ended up becoming friends with Dean, Mary, and Lori when they were young children.

Chelsea is a girl of average intelligence and has always put all her effort into remaining in the third level branches of all the sections of her education. She is happy being average. It makes her feel content. She is fine being a girl who nobody notices. The only people she needs are her friends and family anyway.

Her current branch is Crack Weeping Willow, the third branch of the advanced section of the Salix building of the Vachellia Nilotica section. Her work is nothing notorious. She blends in with the other average students, and she is fine with that.

"Oh, look at the news. Apparently, a wolf shifter tore apart a small shop because they were asked to leave."

"That's crazy! They're so aggressive. Oh, did you know they were closing up the fairy's coffee shop? I knew that place was suspicious."

"Ugh, I hope we can vote to ban monsters from Artemia."

Chelsea clenches her hand on the pole to support her balance in the public bus. She listens to a pair of older women talking loudly and annoyingly. She casts her gaze over to a pair of young girls who are heading to a different public school open to monsters. They don't say anything as they duck down into their seats, trying to use their hair to hide their pointy ears.

"Dean definitely would have gone off on those two... I wish I had that bravery of his to speak up for someone else." Chelsea misses her chance to say anything as the two women call for the bus to stop. They leave, and the two fae relax as they do. They do still feel wary from others who look to them as they notice their ears.

"Please don't say anything else. They're just a pair of teenage girls going to school." She mentally pleads as the bus driver calls out the mandatory stop to Acacia Academy. Chelsea adjusts her backpack properly from the front to the back and starts to shimmy towards the back exit door of the bus.

The bus stops, and she waits a bit before preparing to exit the bus. She waits in line with other students exiting the bus. She feels a tap to her shoulder and looks back at an old man. He smiles down at her.

"You're a student of Acacia Academy. You're all doing such fine work. Good luck out there. Keep back those bad monsters from our community." He says proudly. Chelsea is unsure of what to say. She can't help but try to look back at the two young girls from earlier. She can't see them beyond the crowd anymore.

"Um, thank you." Is all she can say before she steps out of the bus, making her way into the academy gates. She makes her way inside, trying to forget the situation from the bus.

Chelsea walks with her school bag over her shoulder, searching for her book while keeping an eye on where she walks. She pauses as she spots Diana, a loner who is being befriended by her only male friend, Dean. She has been introduced to herself and her two other friends, Mary and Lori. She will never admit it, but Diana has an intimidating presence that may explain why she is usually avoided.

She tenses up as Diana casts her gray eyes towards her. She gulps and awkwardly smiles at Diana. Diana returns the smile and then goes back to her phone, not making an attempt to approach Chelsea. She makes up her mind and approaches Diana, sitting next to her on the ledge of the four seasons fountain.

"Hey, Diana. So, did you think about what I said yesterday? About the Branching Exams?" Chelsea says to Diana as she turns to her and laughs awkwardly.

"Actually, I kind of forgot, but I don't think I want to change my branch. I'm fine staying as a DW." She tells her with a shrug of her shoulders. Chelsea becomes pensive and looks down at her bag on her lap.

"I see, too bad. Dean was looking forward to it. He may be able to make lots of friends, but he has very few close friends. He gets lonely easily, so that's kind of the reason why Mary is trying so hard to enter the Salix building. Sadly, she already has difficulties in her current branch, but thanks to Lori, she doesn't fail." Chelsea tells her honestly, and Diana looks over at her surprised.

"Wow, I never would have pegged Dean as someone to get lonely." Diana says, surprised. Chelsea smiles in understanding and nods her head.

"Yeah, it is pretty hard to believe. But it's not for me because we've known each other since we were kids. He's an only child, and he was also rather sickly, so he kept indoors at all times. His only company was the servants of his house and the tutors who were teaching him to become a government official. Of course, once we met each other, he wanted to broaden his world. His mindset affected his illness, so as soon as he made us three as friends, his health turned for the better. It took him a while, but he finally got to attend Acacia Academy. I'm happy for him." Chelsea says with a warm smile. Diana looks ahead at an empty bench and can't help but smile a bit.

"Now, that sounds more like him. So, I guess that's why he is trying so hard to befriend me." Diana says with a small blush. She recalls the embarrassing moment where she ran off on Dean after he had hugged her gently outside of Welker Foods.

"That's right. He doesn't want to see someone else feel lonely like he was. Although. . . no, never mind. Anyway, you should give us a chance. We'd like to be your friends too." Chelsea tells Diana. The blackette smiles softly as she takes Chelsea's outstretched hand and takes it.

"Sure thing." Diana says, and Chelsea watches her take on a surprised and confused look. She pulls her hand back and stands up.

"I'll see you later, Chelsea. I'd better head over towards DW. Say hi to the others for me!" Diana says with a smile before jogging off. Chelsea adjusts her glasses and watches Diana run away.

"You're always escaping. I wonder what you're running from, Diana." Chelsea mentally questions herself and stands up, walking over towards the CW building towards her physical education lab.

Diana opens the door to the building, slightly out of breath. She is slightly startled to see Nichole coming out of the same door. She smiles kindly at Diana. Diana returns the smile and steps back with the door to hold it open for her.

"Good day." They both say to each other. Nichole looks a moment longer at Diana before going on her way. Diana lets out a breath as the older woman leaves.

"I wonder what one of the Five Elite is doing in here? I mean, do they even normally come to the lower branches just because?" Diana shrugs, forgetting about that soon after as she enters the building to get away from the people that want to make her falter in her resolve to leave Artemia forever.

~0~

"Chelseeeeeea!" The blackette stays in place as Lori jumps on her and hugs her. Chelsea pets her head and then looks over at Mary, who looks in a worse mood than she usually is.

"Mary is so grumpy today, and it looks like Dean is still in class, but he said he'd meet us for dinner in the Vachellia Nilotica dining hall." Lori says to her. Chelsea looks over at her serious friend. Mary looks at her for a moment before casting her hazel eyes to the side.

"See? She's jealous of Diana because Dean likes her." Lori adds on, and Mary glares over at the red head who hides behind Chelsea.

"Mary, it can't be helped. Dean will never notice your feelings if you don't speak up. Although, I fear it may already be too late." Chelsea says to the auburn haired girl. Mary clenches her hands and walks past her friends and just walks around, ignoring those who try to start conversations with her.

"I think we made her angry." Lori says to Chelsea, who nods her head.

"Although, we didn't tell her anything wrong. We told her the truth since Dean is so dense and doesn't realize when someone likes him. I mean, he never realized you had a crush on him when we were kids." Chelsea says with a soft laugh. Lori grins and nods her head.

"Yeah, but I moved on pretty quickly, and now my heart belongs to Crowley! I hope I can be taught by him someday, and then we fall in love, get married, and have lots of cute babies!" Lori says dreamily. Chelsea chuckles and then straightens out.

"Lori, straighten out and salute the man of your dreams. He's coming this way!" Chelsea whispers to Lori. She gasps and turns to see the brunette making his way towards their general direction. They straighten out and put their right hands over their hearts.

"Good afternoon, Professor Crowley." They both say to him. He casts a side glance over at them and smiles.

"No need to be so formal, ladies. we are the same age after all. Take care." He says and winks at Lori. Her face begins to match her hair, and they watch Crowley walk away towards the same direction that Mary had taken.

"Kyah, he winked at me!" Lori cheers as she puts her hands to her flushed cheeks. Chelsea watches him still and frowns a bit.

"I wonder what he's doing out here. I mean, there should be a class in his section right now." Chelsea says mostly to herself since Lori is still freaking out about being so close to him.

"All advanced classes were canceled by the second hour since the elite were summoned to an emergency meeting." Lori and Chelsea yelp as they hear Dean. They turn abruptly to face the blond who has a serious expression.

"Emergency meeting? Does it have to do with the impending war?" Chelsea questions Dean, who crosses his arms over his chest and shrugs.

"It's hard to tell what the situation is, but it definitely has to do with the war. I think the Three Generals are moving a lot sooner than the military had hoped for. Damn, I was hoping to get better access to training and protecting this country." Dean says, and Chelsea stares at him and thinks about Diana.

"You two are really alike. You both run from something to fill the voids in your heart. I wonder when you will realize that and stop to face it?" She thinks to herself, thinking of her two friends. Chelsea smiles and puts a hand to Dean's shoulder.

"Dean, calm down. Don't rush yourself. The education you were given in your home isn't enough. You need to experience camaraderie. War is never fought alone after all, so remember that." Chelsea tells him, and his mismatching eyes widen a bit in surprise.

"She's right, Dean! We're not just friends. We're comrades who all wish to fight and protect humanity. We won't disappear and let the monsters tear this world apart." Lori says to him with a bright smile. Dean looks between his two friends and then smiles happily.

"You're right, I shouldn't be impatient. I can't be of use to our home if I don't learn all I can to protect it. I'm behind everyone else, but I'll run to catch up. I'll become closer to my classmates to also work together with them!" Dean says with a determined look, filling his eyes. Chelsea's eyes widen a bit as she looks at her friend.

"No, you're not just running away. . . you're also running towards your individual goals to face what you're running from." She thinks to herself and then smiles at her friend and nods her head in agreement.

"Well, we have an hour to kill. Let's go find Diana's classroom in the DW building and wait for her! I mean, now we can hang out!" Dean says with a grin and then looks around.

"Hold on, where's Mary?" Dean questions as he realizes only his two friends are present. Lori and Chelsea exchange a glance and then look back at Dean.

"She's not in a very good mood today, so she's walking to cool off." Lori tells him, and he frowns a bit in concern for his friend.

"You know she doesn't like to be bothered when she's upset. Let's head over to the DW building. It'll take us five minutes to get there from here." Chelsea tells him. Dean nods his head and follows his friends towards the Dwarf Weeping Willow building. Once inside, they peek into each lab in search of the blackette.

"Do you think she's a front seat person or a back seat? Middle?" Lori questions in a whispers as she tries to jump to see past her taller friends. They move aside, and Lori presses her nose against the tempered glass.

"Don't know, but it's hard to find her since there are lots of students with dark hair. You're easier to spot because red hair is so rare." Dean says, making Lori pout. He grins and pets down her messy hair. She gasps and then backs away with a grin.

"I see, Diana! She's getting supplies for herself and her lab partner." Lori says with a giggle. Dean looks in and sees the blackette looking over a list and grabbing chemicals, putting them on a tray, and then walking back towards the very front of the lab.

"No way, she has a guy partner! Why?!" Dean says quietly, but his voice is filled with despair. Chelsea and even Lori arch their eyebrow at their odd friend. They look at each other and then smile, shaking their heads. They pull him back as the door opens, and they gulp and put their right hands over their hearts.

"Good afternoon, professor!" They say nervously as Professor Rhodes looks at them, putting her hands into the pockets of her lab coat.

"What are you three doing here? Do you have class?" She questions them. They shake their heads and bow their heads in apology.

"No, we're already finished. We were just seeing if our friend was too so we could hang out together." Dean says to her in an apologetic tone. Professor Rhodes stares at the trio and then looks at her watch.

"Well, we still have half an hour left, so try not to disturb my class. You may wait out in the hall quietly." She says to them. They nod their heads and walk to the wall across from he door and sit on the tile floor to wait for Diana to finish her lab.

"I can't believe she has a guy lab partner! Ah, maybe I should lower my work and become a member of DW!" Dean panics and his friends shake their heads.

"Easy, Dean. Let's not do that. Remember, she still has six more days to decide if she wants to register to the Branching Exams. Right now, she doesn't want to, but I'm sure with a little more thought she'll agree. Just don't get your hopes up and expect her to test out into the Salix Building." Chelsea tells her blond friend who sighs and runs his fingers through his hair.

"Hey, stop looking sad! We're used to seeing you smile, Dean!" Lori scolds him and pulls his lips into a smile. He chuckles a bit and then sits back. He becomes pensive, recalling the way Diana had burst into tears after he had held her. When he looked into her eyes, she appeared to be frightened and completely taken aback by a gentle touch.

"Dean, are you listening?" The blond jumps surprised and looks over at Chelsea.

"Sorry, I got lost in my own thoughts." He says with an apologetic smile.

"Is it about whatever you talked about with Diana once we all parted ways?" Lori questions Dean, who nods his head and looks ahead to the wooden door. They all become pensive and stare ahead, wondering about their personal issues, their friends, and even about the impending war between humans and monsters.

"War... it really is coming. This is getting more real by the day..." Chelsea thinks as she focuses on the tiles under her. A shudder passes through her chest at the idea of what that means. Even her own parents and sibling may be drafted into the war.

"Yeah, I gotta get stronger... I have to harness magic well and the weaknesses of those monsters. The Three Generals... the reason we are all being rushed to become soldiers." Dean clenches his hands on his lap.

Lori sways a bit from side to side as her thoughts scatter all over the place. She hums in her head to drown out the thoughts instead.

The trio blinks out of their thoughts as soon as the door opens. They stand up, dust off their bottoms, and watch students exit either alone or in small groups of friends, talking about their own things. They look around past the crowd until they see Diana coming out with her head down as she looks through her phone to pick a song.

"Diiiiiiana!" Lori says happily and startles the blackette with a hug. She removes her earbuds and looks up at Dean and Chelsea. She quickly diverts her gaze from Dean's and looks down at Lori instead.

"What are you three doing here?" Diana questions the group of friends who smile at her.

"We were waiting for you. My class got canceled an hour early, so I met up with Chelsea and Lori, and we came here. We were hoping you'd want to hang out with us." Dean tells her. Diana momentarily meets his eyes and shakes her head.

"I can't, I have to get to my combat training class. I-"

"Diana, I'm glad you're still here!" The group turns back to face Professor Rhodes. Diana looks at her confused as she holds out a schedule to her.

"It seems Headmaster Acacia had a change made to your schedule, and your combat class will be changed from the DW branch to the Salix building." She says to her with a gentle smile. Diana's eyes widen, and she takes the schedule.

"But why?! My combat skills are below average!" Diana says in shock. A flash of seeing Nichole earlier suddenly makes sense to her now.

"Whoa! We have a class together?!" Diana looks back at Dean, who smiles and is looking at Diana's schedule in her hand. She puts the schedule down and looks at Professor Rhodes.

"Well, it seems that the Headmaster doesn't think so. If you disprove him otherwise, then you can be sent back to DW. Although, the trained eyes will be able to tell if you're not giving it your all. So please don't half ass it." Professor Rhodes says to Diana, who crumpled the schedule as she stares horrified ahead of herself.

"Damn, this training. . . they're trying to get me into Flat-Topped Acacia faction. I can't believe that man." Diana thinks angrily. She walks away from the group and exits the building and sits at the bottom step, putting her hands to her head. She looks down at the cracks of the concrete and shakes her head in disbelief.

"No way, I definitely have to escape Artemia now or never. It's time to go explore the exit gates of Artemia, keep track of the shifts of the guards and everything." Diana thinks to herself. She jumps as she hears footsteps and looks back to see Dean, Lori, and Chelsea coming down.

"Diana, what's wrong? Why is it so bad being changed? We want to help you, but we can't if you don't tell us anything." Lori says as she sits next to Diana. She glares ahead and looks at the crumpled schedule in her hand.

"I appreciate the concern, but nobody can help me with this. Sorry, guys." Diana says sadly. She jumps as Dean stands in her line of sight and looks at her with a sad gaze. Diana wants to look away from his gaze, but she instantly remembers what had happened the previous night between them.

"Diana, let's go to class, okay?" Dean says with a kind smile as he puts his hand out for the blackette and smiles. Diana stares at his hand wide-eyed and then feels Lori put her arm around her.

"We're with you until you're ready to ask for our help!" She says to Diana, who feels the urge to cry, rise up again. She squeezes her eyes shut, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. She reaches for his hand and lets him pull her up.

"We're definitely breaking through to her. I hope we can help her with whatever is bothering her." Chelsea says with a small smile. She goes down the steps and watches her friends go.

"I believe my ordinary life is about to change. I was fine with average, but maybe this change isn't so bad either." Her index finger pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she suddenly feels at ease.

Lori looks over at Chelsea, seeing her warm smile directed at Diana and Dean as they walk away together. She tilts her head and then smiles up at her.

"Chelsea, don't be late for your upcoming magic classes now." Lori reminds her taller friend. Chelsea gasps and looks at her watch before running off.

"Bye, Lori! I'll see you later!" She waves back at Lori. Lori giggles and waves both her hands at her.

~0~

"Alright, that is all for today. Remember, in the upcoming week, there will be registrations for the Branching Exams, so don't forget that. Clean up your stations, and then you're free to go." Chelsea stands up and collects her spell and herb textbook to put into her bag. Her supplies had been cleaned up while she finished her earlier magic experiments.

She heads out first, stepping out of the Crack Weeping Willow building. She moves out of the way and leans against the brick railing of the high steps of the building. It felt like a long class today, and now she takes a breather to bask in the nature surrounding the building. The magic being performed in this building has caused the building to be a perfect mix of nature and concrete and brick.

Chelsea finally looks to her phone to check on her texts. She lets her friends and family know that she is going to head home after her long day. She was going to head back to the bus, which also caused her a bit of dread after she began to recall what happened this morning.

She makes the trek over to the bus stop in front of the academy. Other students also line up to wait. There are fewer than there were in the morning. Her phone buzzes to signal responses to her texts. Her lips pull into a smile as she reads them to herself.

The crowd gets closer to each other as the bus finally stops to pick up the students. Chelsea once again takes a deep breath and then walks into the bus. She is able to get a seat this time and sits down. Once again, she sees the older women from this morning, gossiping about their day and about whoever they can't stand.

Once more, the bus moves on to its next stops. She looks up at the schedule, noticing that it is going to pass one of the public schools for the monster teenagers. Chelsea looks out through the windshield, noticing that the two girls from earlier seem to be the only ones brave enough to come on the bus. Especially with the way humans blatantly talk about any other species.

"Oh dear, hold your iron close. Here they come."

"Don't they have wings? Just fly away and don't invade this space."

Chelsea holds in her shudder as the women start to purposely speak louder as the two girls step in. They stick close to each other, being forced to stand near the cruel speaking women.

"Yes, yes agreed! I mean, at least we're getting rid of that scary cafe with the fairy owners and employees. They won't trick us into eating their food and snatching us up as their play things."

Taking a deep breath does not work anymore in this case. Chelsea is outraged by the two women, making the two young girls uncomfortable. They continue to remain silent. Chelsea feels her phone go off, seeing Dean's name pop up.

"So scary, how are they allowed to even run a place that sells coffee and food? That is so dangerous to -"

"You two could not be more wrong! Eating the food of the fae doesn't do anything. That is just a myth created by someone from thousands of years ago before we actually learned their real lore and science!" Chelsea speaks up before she can stop herself. The women look at Chelsea flabbergasted. Like they never expected anyone to talk back.

"Excuse me? How would you -"

"I'm a student of Acacia Academy, I think I am more than qualified to speak up about the correct lore of the monsters." Chelsea reaches back for the bell to announce her stop, and she stands up after that. "So, kindly refrain from spreading incorrect information of the fae. Have a good evening!"

The two women stare with jaws dropped as she begins to walk off the bus. Chelsea's hands shake, and she jumps a bit as she feels a graze on it. She turns to look at the two fairy girls who smile at her and mouth a thank you to her. It begins to ease her nerves, and she returns the smile, nodding in acknowledgment before she steps off the bus.

As the bus leaves, Chelsea stands there. She lets out a shaky breath and puts a hand to her pounding heart. "I did it. I stood up for someone... just like Dean would." Her lips pull into a smile before she walks towards her house, a slight skip to her step to show her pride in herself.