Lena

I awaken quite early the next morning, almost too early for my liking. I lie awake in my bed for a moment, wondering what today will be like. Will any of my newfound friends be in my classes? What will the teachers be like? Or the other students, for that matter?

Brushing my hair from my face, I groggily sit up and check my watch before rising and dressing quietly in my uniform. Just as I'm putting on my boots, I notice Artemis begin to stir as she opens her eyes and glances over at me. "Hello, there, Sleeping Beauty," I joke with an amused smile as I'm running a brush through my hair.

Artemis laughs sleepily. "Morning to you too, Lena." As she gets up and begins making her bed, someone knocks lightly on our door. I open it to see Evelyn.

"Hey, Lena," she says brightly, flashing a friendly smile. "Can I come in?"

"Artemis?" I check with her, earning a nod. "Yeah, sure. come on in. Your hair looks nice, by the way."

Evelyn's hair is in a messy bun, with a few loose strands framing her face. In addition to her uniform, she's wearing a black choker necklace with a small seashell charm hanging from it. In her hand is a small blue bag with what appears to be makeup inside. "Thank you. I was wondering if I could do your makeup?"

"Sure," I say. "Artemis just has to finish getting ready first."

"Of course." Evelyn turns to face the wall so that Artemis can change into her uniform, with me assisting once again with her bodice. Evelyn begins to root through her makeup bag while she waits. "So, Artemis, I'll do yours first. What are your two favourite colours?"

"Black and purple," answers Artemis. "Okay, ready."

"And you like really thick eye makeup, am I right?" asks Evelyn. Artemis nods. "Alright, here we go." Evelyn, it seems, is very skilled at doing makeup. She has the experience and skill of an artist. I have to admire her for that. She finishes Artemis's makeup and Artemis turns to face me. "What do you think?"

"Uh..." I'm at a loss for words. Artemis's eyes are outlined with black winged eyeliner and her eyelids have purple eyeshadow on them, shifting into a lighter amount at the top of her eyelid. The blending between the two shades is utterly flawless. Finally, her lips are painted onyx black, and I swear I can see a faint shimmer to them. "May I just say 'amazing'?"

"Why thank you, ma'am," Evelyn laughs. "Your turn."

"Okay." I sit in the chair Artemis had been in, and Artemis proceeds to look at her reflection in the mirror, admiring Evelyn's work. "My favourite colour is red, by the way."

Evelyn does my makeup in the space of fifteen minutes and hands me a small mirror so I can see what she's done. I smile at the result. Black eyeliner, yet only a light amount near the corners, and red eyeshadow as well as a deep, matte bloodred lipstick. "I love it, Evelyn, thank you!"

"Anytime. We should head down to the cafeteria. We're normally supposed to eat there, after all."

"Fair enough." the three of us walk down to the cafeteria, where most of the students are already eating breakfast. Kaiden and Tyler are sitting at a table with Dawson. Kaiden looks quite tired and is barely making conversation, the former of which - in my opinion - is unusual for a vampire. Evelyn and Artemis sit beside Dawson while I sit in between Kaiden and Tyler.

"Took you guys long enough to get here," Tyler jokes, playfully poking Evelyn in the shoulder. Evelyn pokes him back, chuckling. "And I thought this one--" He points at Kaiden, "--took forever. You three take the cake."

"Oh, shut it, you," I joke.

"They're getting mad, Tyler," jokes Dawson. "Better leave 'em alone."

"Since when do you not take his side?" Kaiden asks groggily. "I've only lived in the same dorm as you for a day and I already know you stick to him like glue!"

"Yeah, Dawson," Tyler agrees, pretending to glare at the blue-haired boy. "You're supposed to have my back, dude."

"Men," teases Evelyn.

"Women," counters Tyler.

"You guys are weird," jokes Kaiden.

"You're weird," Tyler jokes back, trying not to laugh.

"Fine, if I'm weird, then what's he?" Kaiden points at Dawson.

"He's funny-looking."

"Why? Is it my hair?" Dawson cuts in.

"Maybe, maybe not."

After all of us are through eating, we head down to our homeroom and take a seat. This is a magic-specific class taught, I've heard, by a werecat. From my understanding, werecats are similar to werewolves, but they instead take the form of a large cat, and their transformations aren't limited to the time of the full moon. I notice Faeryn is in this class with us, but she's seated way at the back.

The room is filled with excited chatter right up until the teacher walks in. She looks like she'd be a tad strict, to be honest, with her piercing silver eyes and almost wild-looking black hair. "Good morning," she says in a British accent. "I'm Mrs. Hill and I welcome you all to your first lesson with me. In this class there will be four units, the first of which will cover the history of our school. Anything not included within this unit can be found in the book 'The History of Cybele academy' which can be checked out of the library.

"The second unit will be on different supernatural creatures and their abilities. This will benefit you in any future duels, as you will know more about your opponents, their various abilities and how to anticipate their attacks. Third unit will teach you how to control your powers and will involve a slightly more hands-on approach as you will practice using them and gain a full understanding of how they work. The fourth and final unit...well, it will be explained when the time comes."

"But why not explain it now?" asks Sadie.

"All will become clear in time, dear," says Mrs. Hill. She waves her hand and several books float around the room, landing on our desks. "This is the textbook for unit one. Please open it to the first chapter."

After we do as instructed, Mrs. Hill has us read through the chapter, which explains that Cybele Academy was created not long after World War II. During the class discussion that follows, she reveals that she herself had attended the school as a child.

"Wait, how old are you?" asks Sadie True, who is sitting not too far from me. I refrain from pointing out how that doesn't seem like an appropriate thing to ask a teacher.

"If you must know," says Mrs. Hill, "I'm 32."

"I honestly thought you were younger," Sadie admits.

"Well, thank you," says Mrs. Hill. After a bit more discussion, Mrs. Hill hands out a sheet of questions to each of us.

"These questions are to be handed in by the end of class today," she instructs. "You have about twenty-five minutes left to work on them." She returns to her desk to work on some things while we fill out our question sheets. The sheet is largely just a quiz on the things the chapter covered, Mrs. Hill's way of making sure we're retaining it all and not just dozing off. I manage to fill mine out no problem, having hung on to every word of the lesson with ever-increasing interest, and it only takes me about ten minutes before I'm ready to hand it in.

"Thank you very much, Lena," says Mrs. Hill when I reach her desk. She places the sheet on her desk to mark later while I return to my seat and place my head on my desk. As I do, however, a small, shiny object on the ground catches my eye. I pick it up and see that it's a silver ring with a beautiful purple gemstone in the center. Examining the inside of the band more closely, I also find that there's a beautifully written inscription in Italian, which says, A mali estremi, estremi rimedi.

I continue to admire the ring's beauty, turning it over in my fingers, when suddenly I shudder as a vision flashes before my eyes. In this vision, a teenage girl seems to be lifting her hand to perform some type of magic, a flash of light can be seen nearby, and then the girl smiles in a victorious manner. When everything is back to normal and I've blinked a few times, I can't help but breathe somewhat heavily. It feels like someone has just knocked the wind out of me.

"Lena?" asks Evelyn. "Are you okay?" She sounds concerned, but I almost can't bring myself to reply. I don't understand what that vision was, or if it was a premonition...

"What was that...?" I whisper, the ring still enclosed in my hand. A moment later, I'm completely normal again, and I look up to meet the concerned mermaid's gaze. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."

As I rise and exit the room on my way to our next class, I tuck the ring discreetly into the inside pocket of my jacket. Our math teacher, Mr. Rego, is sitting at his desk when I enter his classroom. The only ones in this class that I know at this point are Kaiden, Evelyn, Artemis and Faeryn. Everyone else has a different teacher so other than the four of them, I'm in a classroom filled with complete strangers.

"Good morning, class," says Mr. Rego. He proceeds to introduce himself, revealing he's one of the few non-magical, human teachers at the school. After that he doesn't hesitate to start the lesson, handing out our textbooks and instructing us to begin working on some exponent questions. Math is a subject that I find I do rather well in, though I also find certain types to be duller than others. It's difficult for me to give it my full concentration today, however, because my mind continues to dwell on the Italian inscription on the inside of the ring I found. Those words...what on Earth could they translate to?

I make a mental note to do an Internet search on it.

In spite of my distraction, I manage to complete my work just as the bell rings and hand it in to Mr. Rego before joining everyone else in heading to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Lena, you seem kind of off," Artemis notes as we approach our usual table, "Is everything okay?"

"Don't worry, Artemis, everything's fine," I assure her, "There's just something I need to take care of later." I decide a change of subject is in order as I recall something I've been wondering since this morning. "Okay, I have to know - since Mrs. Hill is a werecat, how does she have the power to make our books float over to us?"

"All teachers, upon being hired, get a set of powers to assist them in their teaching," explains Dawson. "Werecats don't usually have that ability by default."

"Ah, okay. makes sense."

The moment lunch concludes, I race up to the library and boot up one of its many computers. A simple Google search reveals that A mali estremi, estremi rimedi translates to desperate times call for desperate measures. But why would someone engrave it on the inside of a ring?

As I'm pondering what the ring might be used for – suspecting it may contain magical properties - I begin to get an odd feeling indicating someone's eyes are on me. Sure enough, when I turn, I spot Faeryn standing near a bookshelf. Her face remains expressionless even as she realizes I've noticed her, and instead of avoiding my eyes out of embarrassment as someone else might, she shamelessly makes her way over to me and peers down at my screen. I haven't bothered to close the browser, so the translation I found is still in plain sight. "I see I'm not the only one with a third-period spare. Doing research for a project?"

"Er...yes," I respond uncertainly. "Why?"

"You know...I know of someone who owns a ring with that very sentence engraved on the inside."

"Do you?" I'm thinking it's best to play ignorant for the moment. Normally I can read people with ease, but Faeryn seems to be making that impossible on purpose. Because of that, I'm not convinced I should trust her. She doesn't seem evil, necessarily, but with how weird she's acting I really don't want to risk it.

"Yes. It would be quite interesting if the ring happened to fall into a student's possession," Faeryn continues. "Considering it belongs to a very powerful witch."

"I'm sure it would be." Instinctively, I reach into my pocket to ensure the ring is hidden from view. "It must hold a great amount of power."

"Yes, I imagine it does," says Faeryn, her tone increasingly knowing. Then she does something unexpected. She smiles. "I expect we'll see each other again soon."

With that, she walks off and leaves me with the understanding that she knows – or at the very least, suspects – that the ring is in my possession now. 

What does that mean for me?

Kaiden

Midnight brings a visitor to the boys' dorm tonight.

I see him in the shadows as I lounge peacefully on one of the couches in the darkened common area, reading quietly while most of the others sleep. His eyes glow like embers in the dark, therefore they're the first thing I notice. "Hello, Kaiden," he greets me politely, keeping his voice low so as not to wake anyone, "I trust you're settling in nicely."

"Mr. Darkblood?" I recognize his voice at once. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come here tonight so that we may begin our first lesson," he informs me, "You see, a vampire's powers are strongest during the night hours so it's the perfect time for you to learn how to control and wield yours. Follow me."

So, without question, I do. He leads me from the dorm and all the way into the main building, where his classroom is located. "During the day I teach potions," he explains as we walk, "though that's normally reserved for those in their second year. You and your friends will likely be seeing more of me once you're in yours."

We reach the wooden door to his classroom, which he holds open for me. Stepping inside, I can see the usual furniture and potion-making essentials have been pushed aside or stored away to create space for my lesson. The walls are mostly empty of decorations, save for the occasional oil painting, and the room - like so many others here - is lit by torches. It reminds me a little too much of that prison I was locked in for so long, with everything put away like this, but I refrain from saying so. 

Mr. Darkblood moves to the center of the room. "Now, then," he begins, "To start with, your former warden, let's call him, tells me you have killed hundreds of people throughout your lifetime, and that several of them were hypnotized unintentionally. Is that correct?"

"Yes," I regretfully confirm.

"The bloodlust is the first thing that must be addressed, of course. If you cannot control your thirst for blood, you cannot hope to control your powers. How have you been managing with the amulet I provided you with?"

"The amulet is a major help," I answer, "I haven't lost control since I've had it. But I'm guessing you're going to try to...I don't know, 'wean me off it' is the best way I can think to put it."

He laughs. "However odd that wording may be, you're not wrong. I do want to get you to a place where you no longer have to rely on it."

"Hang on - aren't there substitutes for blood out there?" I ask, "Or even just ways to get blood without hurting anyone?"

Mr. Darkblood nods. "Yes to both. They serve several of them in the cafeteria here, as a matter of fact. It concerns me somewhat they you haven't noticed them there."

"Well, I'll be sure to look for them from now on. So, what exactly am I doing tonight?" I ask.

He doesn't respond right away. Instead, he mutters some sort of incantation, and a bright, white light appears and practically blinds me for a moment. Once my eyes adjust, I can see it changing into the shape of a person. Then, slowly, it continues to transform until at last, a fair-skinned girl with shoulder-length, deep brown hair stands before me. "Think of this as a magical simulation of sorts," Mr. Darkblood explains, "Standing in front of you is an imitation of a human girl."

He's right. Now that the transformation is complete, I can hear a strong heartbeat, sense the blood flowing through her veins as if she were a true human. "Hello, Kaiden," she greets me in an angelic-sounding voice, clear as a bell. "I'm here to help you."

"Do you - do you have a name?" I ask hesitantly. 

The girl shakes her head and smiles. "I'm not a real human, so I have no need for a name. But you may give me one, if you choose."

"I'm here to help you."

"Okay, then...how about Misty?"

"Excellent choice," commends Mr. Darkblood. "Here's how things will go. Our lessons will take place in this room, once a week at midnight. She will return for each one as you will be practicing your abilities and such on her. I know it may seem strange, but it's really the best way for you to improve without anyone getting hurt. Now, then - I will ask you to remove your amulet for now, and we will begin."

Lena

The next day in our period one class, Mrs. Hill gives us each a blank, leather-bound book with a pentagram on the cover. As I open it curiously and flip through the blank pages within, Mrs. Hill gives her instructions. "I want each of you to begin writing a Book of Shadows--or grimoire, if you'd prefer to call it that--of your own. This is a book where you can record any magical workings, spells, rituals, information on magic itself, things along those lines."

"Isn't that usually something only witches have?" asks a confused Tyler.

"Well, yes, but all of you have the ability to cast spells, do you not?" Mrs. Hill reminds him.

"Well...yeah."

"You can begin by making a title page if you wish, and afterwards I'm going to begin today's lesson. You have fifteen minutes."

For my title page, I write the words 'Book of Shadows' in gothic lettering, adding intricate blue and green wisp designs in the background. I also sketch a symbol representing each of the four elements, one in each corner of the page, and write my name in cursive along the bottom. This takes up pretty much the entire fifteen minutes given, and I'm quite satisfied with my work by the end of it.

Mrs. Hill walks over to me and looks over my shoulder to see what I've accomplished, and she seems impressed too. "Good work, Lena. Very nice." I smile and thank her politely. Mrs. Hill then tells us all that time's up and begins today's actual lesson. Throughout the class, however, I can't help but notice that Faeryn is watching me from her desk at the back of the room, analyzing my every move. She seems to act like that with me more than with anyone else and I'm worried that it has to do with the ring. But no matter what it's about, I wish she wouldn't stare at me so fixedly. It's unnerving.

I'm jolted out of my thoughts by Mrs. Hill tapping my shoulder gently. "Lena? Time for your next class."

"Thank you," I reply, and collect my bag as I exit the nearly deserted classroom as quickly as possible.

)O(

I'm too lost in the book I'm reading to notice Faeryn approaching me in the gardens later that evening. It's not until she calls my name that I even begin to register her presence. "Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" I ask her. Part of me doesn't really want to talk to anyone - least of all Faeryn - but the other part is grateful for the company.

"I wanted to apologize," says Faeryn, "I realize I'm coming off kind of...I don't know..."

"Threatening?" I supply.

"Not exactly the word I would have used, but sure," Faeryn agrees, "I noticed when I was watching you this morning it made you uncomfortable. I want to apologize for that, too."

"I was planning to bring that up myself," I told her, "So thank you."

Faeryn surprises me by giving a soft smile. "You're welcome."

I study her for a moment, realizing she's no longer closing herself off from me like she was before. Even if the change is rather abrupt, I'll take it. "You know, I don't know if 'threatening' really fits you either," I playfully admit.

"No?" Faeryn's smile goes from gentle to flirtatious. "How would you describe me, then?"

"Someone who can be both fiery and icy at the same time," I answer, "but ultimately, has a good heart. Someone I would love to get to know better."

Faeryn's smile widens a little. "You truly mean that?"

"Of course I do."

"Good. Because I want to get to know you, too."