RAELORE Academy looked better than ever to Arwen Nerenas.

Arwen's entire summer had been full of political meetings and parties that made her head spin more than the couples on the dance floor. She likely wouldn't have attended any of these if it hadn't been for her parents constant urging. Since this was going to be her last year at Raelore, and they hoped for her to ascend the throne shortly after, they wanted to be confident in the fact that she would know how to handle her role as queen.

Raelore would be a welcome reprieve. When she was on the campus, she was not Princess Arwen Nerenas, the next heir to the fae throne, but rather another faceless student attempting to pull a higher grade out of her ass. Currently, the campus was looking rather bare, due to the fact that Arwen was the first student to return.

The other students weren't due to return for a few more days, but her parents had official business with the Headmistress and she had decided to hitch a ride with them.

While Arwen's parents followed the winding paths to the Education Hall, Arwen split off from them to take the path that led to the student dorms. The wind breezed over campus and the trees seemed to whisper in response. A smile curled along the edges of her lips, as she lifted at her head and peered up at the clear sky.

She'd missed the crisp air of the French countryside where Raelore Academy was located.

There was a thick set of woods that encircled the campus. The trees served as both a  protection and as a way to hide the school from sight. Arwen highly doubted that there were many humans stumbling anywhere nearby, but if there was, they'd be deterred by the woods. Even some of the younger students found the thicket of trees intimidating. For them, there was nothing to fear, though. The woods would never turn against them so long as they were a student at the academy.

A heavy pit formed in the bottom of Arwen's stomach as she realized once more that this would be her final year at Raelore.

She brushed away the prickly feeling of loss as she pushed open the door to her dorm room. It looked the same as it had in June when she had left to return home, although the air was stale and there was a fine coating of dust on most of the surfaces. She grinned as her eyes found the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling.

Two years prior, Arwen's best friend and roommate, Jaylin Belov had insisted that they put them up. Arwen easily could have found an enchantment that provided the same effect, but there was a certain simplicity in purchasing the human made magic and hanging them up together. It was a memory that she cherished, held close to her heart when the pressure on her chest threatened to concave her ribcage. Jaylin always seemed to be the breath of fresh air that Arwen was in constant need of.

Arwen couldn't allow herself to dwell for too long, else wise her parents would likely scold her for dallying. She'd never even heard the word dallying until a month prior and she was inclined to never hear it spoken to her again. She also hadn't been aware that pausing to sneeze was something that counted as dallying, but after a particular incident at a foreign emissary meeting she was sure to never forget.

She made it to the Education Hall in record time, despite how much she longed to drink in the campus. The Education Hall was as empty as she expected it to be; with no students to teach, she figured the staff was maintaining their freedom for as long as they could manage. She could hardly blame them, seeing as they deal with moody, magical adolescents for most of the year.

Making her way through the building was infinitely easier when there wasn't a crush of students filling the narrow space. She found that she didn't prefer it, though. The lack of people was chilling, especially with the way that the lights were dimmed and her every footstep echoed. She picked up the pace, intent on finding the headmistress and her parents if only to shake off the unease that had settled along her skin.

She turned the corner that would take her to the headmistress' office when the sound of voices drifted to her. She froze, her spine straightening and her enhanced hearing focusing on the words being spoken.

"The Spring Equinox will be the perfect time. There will be a celebration and the focus will be on the graduating class. Why should they notice anything amiss?"

Arwen's entire body jerked. Not only were the words themselves concerning, but also, the person speaking them.

Lord Emellan had seemingly made it his mission to make the last few months a living Hell for Arwen. He was, unfortunately, one of his father's most trusted advisors and had been working closely with her over the course of the summer. Her parents had entrusted him to tutor her on certain matters that they had decided she was still struggling with. Her schedule had been so full that they'd only had the chance to meet privately a few times, but each time, Arwen had been wracked with an uneasiness that she hadn't been able to explain.

There was a look in his eye when he would speak to her, as if he didn't see her as his future ruler but rather a commodity that he was appraising to see how useful it would be to him when she finally rose to power. She had been sure to avoid him as much as possible, especially after he had been sure to undermine her throughout an entire meeting. Her parents didn't seem to take issue with him, but Arwen knew that she would be dismissing him from court at her earliest convenience once she was on the throne.

There was not a single reason as to why Lord Emellan should be at Raelore Academy. There was a meeting to be had between the king and the queen with the headmistress, but it was so inconsequential that it wasn't even taking place at the Council Chamber in the fae palace. Whatever reason Emellan had found to be at Raelore, it couldn't be a particularly good one.

"Arwen!"

Arwen startled, pulling herself from her musings about Lord Emellan, and found that her mother was standing at the end of the hall. Queen Reyanna's eyebrows were knit together and her lips were twisted in a small frown. There was both impatience and exasperation written in her mother's stance, but Arwen found the entire response so mother-like that she could hardly contain her giggle.

"My apologies, mother," she said, closing the distance between them quickly, "I thought that I heard someone."

"Silly child," Reyanna sighed, but there was affection in her voice and especially in the way that she reached up to smooth Arwen's silvery-white hair away from her face. "Come. If we don't finish the meeting soon, we won't be able to eat dinner together before your father and I leave."

Arwen nodded, the face of a dutiful daughter sliding into place easily. She risked a glance over her shoulder, only to find Lord Emellan at the other end of the hallway, staring at her.

*

The next morning, Arwen was woken by the door to her room slamming open and a heavy weight dropping onto her. She let out a small, displeased grunt, but wound her arms around the slim body that had slotted itself against hers. Had it not been for the familiar earthy scent that enveloped her, Arwen probably would have already reached for the knife beneath her pillow. She considered reaching for it, anyways, if only to keep Jaylin from waking her in such a horrific manner ever again.

The two of them laid there for several long drawn out moments, their limbs tangled and hearts in time with one another's. It was Jaylin who untangled herself first, sitting up on her knees to grin down at her best friend. She looked the same as ever; her inky locks were perhaps a bit shorter, cut to fall just above her chin, and her icy blue eyes brighter, but she was essentially the same.

Arwen had missed her so much.

"Thank you," Arwen whispered, reaching up to tuck a few errant strands of hair behind her best friend's ear, "For coming back early. Thank you."

Jaylin rolled her eyes, reaching up to catch Arwen's hand and hold it between her own two hands. "You don't have to thank me for that, Wennie. It's only two days earlier than planned and I couldn't really stand the idea of you staying here all alone."

Arwen could have smiled and thanked her again, but instead, she chose to lighten the mood. "And there's the fact that you probably missed the woods as well, right?"

Jaylin let out a laugh, bright and airy, as brilliant as her eyes and her personality. She didn't deny Arwen's statement, merely stood and stretched hard enough that Arwen could hear the creak of bones. She crawled into the bed on the opposite side of the room, pulling the blankets over her head.

"Sweet dreams, Jay," Arwen whispered across the room. Jaylin hummed in response and Arwen drifted back to sleep, warmed by the knowledge that she was not alone.

A few hours later, around noon, Arwen dragged herself out of bed and decided to make the trek to the Dining Hall. Her dorm happened to be the one that was the furthest from all the other buildings on campus; this left her with a bit of a walk to make it to the Dining Hall, but she didn't mind much. The sun was crawling to the highest point in the sky, illuminating the entirety of the campus. Most of the buildings favored gothic architecture, something that Arwen had fallen in love with from the moment she had first laid eyes on it.

There was even a large arch at every cardinal point of the campus. The Northern gate was considered the official entrance to the campus, with wrought-iron gates built into the arch. The gates were rarely ever locked, for the simple reason that most of the students knew how to defend themselves, as well as the fact that there were watch towers at every corner of the campus. There hadn't been an attack on Raelore since the First Rise of the Given but the towers had been built after the incident as a precautionary measure.

Between the Northern gate and the library stood Arwen's favorite place on campus. The fountain was both beautiful and massive. Standing at the center of the fountain, a stunning rendering of the Mother Goddess watched over the Northern gate. The water flowed from her cupped hands into the pool around her feet. There were a few benches that circled the fountain but Arwen preferred to sit on the wide edge of the fountain itself. Sometimes, after a rather brutal phone call with her parents or after a long study night at the library, she would come to sit on the edge of the fountain and speak to the Mother Goddess.

As she drew closer to the Dining Hall, she paused to admire the fountain. She was surprised to find a figure sitting at the fountain.

She was even more surprised to find that the figure was none other than Mars Maegard. Being the bastard son of a demon prince and faerie servant, his life had never been particularly easy. Arwen could recall when he was younger and his mother was still alive, how he had run through the fae court with an easy grin and laughter like tinkling bells. She hadn't seen him in the fae court again after his mother had died. They'd been on friendly terms when he had lived in her kingdom, but ever since the incident that had cost Isolde Maegard her head, the two of them could hardly stand to be in the same room with one another.

Since the last thing Arwen wanted was for Mars to catch sight of her and accuse her of stalking him, she hastily entered the Dining Hall, leaving the demon bastard to brood all he wanted.

*

If there was one part of returning to Raelore that Adrian would not miss once graduated, it would have to be wrangling her younger siblings. It always seemed to be something of a spectacle to get all of them packed, out of the house, and into the car that would return them to campus. Of course Adrian's cousin would be little to no help. Vix had tried during Lydia's first year at Raelore and had earned a black eye for her troubles. She'd made no attempts after that and Adrian couldn't really say that she blamed her.

"At least no one was injured this time," Vix so helpfully pointed out as the car pulled up on the open gates to Raelore Academy, "Honestly, Adri, I would count that as a win."

Adrian sighed and tore her gaze away from the window to settle a glare on her cousin. Victoria Montano hardly seemed bothered from where she was sprawled out across two seats, long legs thrown over Ruven's lap. Adrian's little brother hardly seemed bothered by Vix's normal languid attitude, but Adrian narrowed her eyes at the two offending limbs.

"You look like you swallowed a lemon." Coralie jabbed a finger at Adrian's face, nose wrinkled in disapproval. "I think Mom would say that's rather unbecoming of you."

"Oh really? Well, I think it was rather unbecoming of you to yell at Lydia until your face turned red this morning," Adrian shot back, swatting her little sister's hand away.

"She ruined my favorite shirt!" Coralie argued, her mouth popping open into an offended O.

"Did not."

Coralie was opening her mouth, prepared to give Lydia a verbal lashing that would likely lead to hexes or wailing sobs. Adrian really didn't think either was desirable in such an enclosed space.

"Do you two really want to play the silent game again?" Adrian hissed out, eyes darting between her two sisters. Their mouths snapped close rather quickly at the threat.

Adrian's version of the silent game was a whole lot less fun than the children's game; her version included a spell that rendered her siblings unable to speak for a predetermined set of time.

Vix snickered from her spot across the car.

Adrian thought that she would trade anything in that moment to not be the oldest. Being the oldest came with many responsibilities and not nearly enough privileges in her humble opinion. Vix was the same age as her, but several months younger than her and fathered by Ambrose's younger brother. She held less hold over the family than Adrian did.

In truth, her siblings weren't much younger than her, either. Coralie was a year younger, Ruven a year younger than her, and Lydia a year younger than him. When she was a child, Adrian had learned from her auntie, Vix's mother, that it wasn't healthy for a woman to have so many children back to back. Adrian had asked her aunt why Odessa had done so then and her aunt had gotten a tight look over her face before admitting that Ambrose had asked her to. It wasn't until many years later that Adrian learned that her father hadn't truly wanted children, but rather heirs to a legacy.

As much as she had loved her father, she had momentarily hated him. She had watched as her mother pushed her body to its mortal limits, pushing out heirs to a meaningless family legacy. A legacy that Ambrose had thrown away the moment he had joined the Given.

Adrian loved her siblings dearly, but sometimes, she felt as if she had to love them enough for both of her parents. She knew Ambrose and Odessa loved them in the only ways they knew how, but it wasn't enough.

Despite all the responsibilities, Adrian would not trade the privilege of raising her siblings for anything in the world.

"Miyuki!" Lydia called out excitedly, breaking Adrian from her reverie. The fourteen year old had her nose pressed against the glass of the window, beaming at the figure that was standing at the entrance.

A smile of her own came over Adrian's face. She should have known that her best friend would have been waiting for them. The Montano's poured out of the car in a tangle of limbs, more than excited to greet Miyuki. Adrian managed to shoulder her way through Coralie and Lydia in order to throw her arms around Miyuki first.

"Well, hello to you too," Miyuki muttered, squeezing Adrian back tightly.

Adrian managed to hold on for a moment longer before her siblings were tearing her away to crush Miyuki in a group hug. She would have been worried if it had not been for the fact that she could hear Miyuki's laughter emerging from beyond the wall of her siblings.

"Sometimes I think they love Yuki more than us," Vix said, shaking her head at the others with a small smile.

Misaki Miyuki had become a rather permanent fixture in their lives once Adrian had befriended her in their second year. Adrian had noticed that Miyuki was eating lunch alone, apparently due to a falling out with her friends, and had sat at her table. At first, they had eaten in silence together, but then they had slowly started to open up to each other. At the end of the year, they applied to be roommates and ever since, they had been inseparable. Miyuki was sympathetic to Adrian's family struggles and Adrian was just as sympathetic to the pressures that Miyuki was subject to.

Miyuki had been born to two extremely powerful and high status kitsune. Her parents hadn't been particularly happy about her attending Raelore Academy, both of them believing that she would gain much more experience in the real world at their sides. Miyuki wasn't dim, though, and aware that if she weren't at Raelore, she would be kept on a short leash as she followed her parents across the globe. As much as the academy was a haven for Adrian, it was the same for Miyuki, who felt as if she could be herself when on campus.

Once Adrian's younger siblings had pulled away from Miyuki, the kitsune reached out, grabbing her friend by the arm and steering them away from the others. Adrian didn't resist, simply gesturing to Vix to watch over the others.

"Did you visit your father?" Miyuki inquired in Japanese, her voice low.

Adrian had learnt Japanese from Miyuki a few years prior and it was often how they communicated when they didn't want any of the others listening in. Even though they were a few feet away from the others, and the Montano siblings were squabbling in raised voices, Miyuki clearly thought it was best that they were not heard. Adrian was inclined to agree; she was already labeled a traitor's daughter, she didn't want to know what the student body would think of her if they found out she had gone to visit her treasonous father.

"Yes," Adrian answered, also in Japanese, "and I need to speak to you about it. Soon."

Miyuki nodded once, her eyes darkening as she dropped her grip on Adrian's arm and took a step back. She didn't press for any more information, but she did reach up to wrap her fingers around the gem that hung round her neck. Adrian was familiar with the gesture and offered a warm smile, in hopes of it being reassuring. Miyuki didn't smile back, but her hand dropped back down to her side and she allowed Ruven to call her over.

Adrian let out a long breath, watching as Coralie argued with Vix over something and Ruven relayed a story to Miyuki, wild hand gestures included. Lydia stood aside, staring into the woods, her face strangely blank, as if she was hearing or seeing something that the others couldn't. A chill went down Adrian's spine and she rushed over to her youngest sister's side, placing a hand at the small of her back.

"Ma biche," Adrian muttered, "Are you okay?"

Lydia seemed to shake herself out of whatever stupor she was in and smiled up at her older sister. "I'm fine, sorry. I think I'm just tired."

Adrian hummed in agreement, gently leading her sister towards the gates. "Let's get you a warm meal and some tea, yes?"

The interior of the Dining Hall was the same as ever. Although much of the school was powered by magic, there was a low buzz emitted through the fluorescents, the buttery yellow spreading along the stone floors. A smile flickered along Adrian's mouth, comforted by how average it was. There was not a single special attribute of the Dining Hall; it was simply a vast space, cluttered with mismatched tables and flickering sconces lining the walls. Out of all the buildings across campus, the Dining Hall seemed the most timeless, caught between several decades and generations of magical teenagers.

There was a small scattering of students throughout the hall, clustered around tables with their food and friends, and several of them turned to stare openly.

Adrian's jaw set.

She had been dealing with this since the news of her father's treason had been released, but in the months that had ensued, it hadn't gotten any easier. Miyuki, Adrian, and Vix shuffled in front of the younger Montano's, shielding them from the piercing gazes as much as they could manage. Coralie let out a huff that was a bit too close to a growl for Adrian's liking and Vix bared her teeth in warning, fists clenched at her sides.

"Don't," Adrian ordered, her voice gentle but firm.

Vix immediately relaxed, shoulder bumping against her cousin's, and despite the fact that Adrian had all but ordered them to stand down, Miyuki's eyes seemed to illuminate an eerie golden-orange. Adrian's fingers slid around her best friend's wrist, squeezing a silent demand. They were not an army, they were only a band of teenagers trying to navigate the warzone of life, but Adrian had become their unofficial leader, and they followed her as if she was their general. Adrian wasn't certain she deserved that unwavering trust, but she appreciated it, especially as Miyuki blinked and her eyes went back to their normal warm brown.

With her free hand, Miyuki's fingers found the gem that rested in the hollow of her neck once more.

"Vix," Adrian said, turning to face her cousin, "Take the kids to the courtyard. It's so lovely out today. Let's sit by the fountain and eat."

Coralie let out a small, indignant squeak at being referred to as a kid, but Adrian had little patience left when it came to her younger siblings. She ran a doting hand over Ruven's unruly hair, flashing a small smile at her most obedient sibling. He smiled back at her, adoring and lovely in the way the women of the family had never been given the chance to become.

"Be good for Vix, mon lapin."

"I always am," Ruven promised and Adrian smiled. He always was.

*

When the sky had become a purplish bruise spreading over the horizon, twilight descending upon the campus, Adrian finally managed to sit down with Miyuki and Vix in her dorm. It had taken the entirety of the afternoon to get her siblings settled in, the three of them demanding her attention, and she had allowed it, grateful for the distraction. For the past week she had been so caught up in her own worry, nausea and magic roiling uneasily inside of her, working through what she could do to stop her father.

"I take it," Miyuki said droly, "that your visit with Ambrose did not go well."

Miyuki was seated rather primly on her bed, katana and shurikens laid out on her lap and across the mattress. Once they had settled in, she had begun to methodically and carefully clean them, with the attentiveness and intimacy of a lover.

Vix sprawled out on the floor, dark curls spilling behind her and long limbs spread as far as she could manage. Her eyes were closed, but her limbs were much too tense for her to be napping. She looked as languid as a cat napping in the sun, but Adrian was fully aware that every muscle beneath her smooth skin was coiled tight, prepared for an attack that wasn't coming. Adrian resented her father even more in that moment, for making her lovely and wild cousin fear so much that she could not find peace even in her safest space.

"He's mad," Adrian admitted quietly, dropping her head against the wall that her bed was pushed against.

"Well, obviously," Vix drawled in her dry British accent, rolling on her side to peer at her cousin through lidded eyes, "He must have lost his bloody mind. No one in their right mind would betray their people, their family, their purpose for some deranged ideal that they are better than everyone else."

Miyuki let out a small scoff, clearly disagreeing with Vix, but keeping her opinion to herself. Where Vix was the crushing wave that drowned others beneath her oppressive personality, Miyuki was the fire that threaded through her veins, always burning but not always destructive. Adrian had always been the rock, the one that Vix crashed against but had never broken, the one that Miyuki had singed repeatedly but never burned to ashes.

"He truly believes that he was doing it for us," Adrian spat out, disgusted by the words that left her mouth. Her hands curled into fists, nails slicing in the soft flesh of her palm, grounding herself in the moment and the steadiness of her family. There was a humming in her bones, alluring, begging to be unleashed upon a world who had never asked for such a thing.

Vix eyed her wearily and Miyuki's eyes had always been drawn to her, fingers sneaking towards one of the shuriken that she had discarded.

"Has it been getting worse?" Vix asked lightly, but her eyes were dark and she was much more alert than she had been moments before.

Adrian immediately shook her hands, fists unraveling in her lap. "No. Well... no worse than usual, at least. I was just..."

"Angry," Miyuki supplied, understanding edging her words. She had released her shuriken and returned to cleaning the blade of her katana. "You were angry. As you have every right to be. What Ambrose has done to you..."

"Is not important," Adrian cut her off immediately, spine straightening and chin lifting, "I am the Montano heir. He only did what he had to do when it came to me. However, I am less concerned with what he has done and much more interested in what he intends to do."

Vix seemed weary as she finally sat up. "Is he planning something?"

"Yes," Adrian said, "I'm just not sure what he's planning."

She recounted her visit to Hellmouth to them and they listened intently, becoming more concerned the further into the story Adrian got. By the time Adrian had finished, Miyuki had rested her katana beside her, eyebrows furrowed and fingers twitching, as if she was attempting to solve something that was right in front of her. Vix seemed less aghast, rather more irate. Her eyes were dark once more and she was running her tongue over her teeth. Adrian wondered if she was considering what hexes she might be able to use against her uncle.

"So, he thinks that he will be able to take Raelore," Miyuki surmised, something rather tranquil in the way she spoke, "and that he will manage to do so on or by the Spring Equinox."

Vix barked out a laugh, sharp and explosive as her personality. "Oh, Uncle Ambrose really has lost his damn mind."

"But what if he hasn't?" Miyuki countered, tilting her head slightly. "What if he was warning Adrian because as much as he is a traitor, he still favors his heir? He still wants the Montano legacy to live on and he sees Adrian as a way to do so. What if the Given truly meant to lay siege upon Raelore?"

Vix blinked, not entirely convinced, but there was tightening to her mouth that indicated she was considering the possibilities. The way she snapped her crystal bracelet against her wrist meant that she was finally feeling uneasy, that there seemed to be some sort of truth revealed to her from Miyuki's words.

"If they mean to lay siege to Raelore," Adrian spoke lowly, dangerously, "then we will make them regret it."

*

Introduced more characters!!! Lemme know who is your favorite so far. The map up above is one of the Raelore campus. Please let me know what you think. This stories and these characters are so precious to me and it makes me so happy to share it with you.

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