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    Movement occurring in the corner of my eye, has my head turning in that direction and as my eyes land on the pacing tense form, my mood sours even more. Of course it had to be Hunter. And... his friend... Marcus? Jerry notices as well and he physically shrinking back as Hunter's friend waves. Jerry shifts so that I block out the other guy with my body. What's this? Why is he so scared?

    Jerry just shakes his head as I look quizzically at him for an explanation. "Thank you all for coming." Although the tone is light, there is no mistaken the tightly reined in anger shimmering underneath the surface. The glare is moved from Hunter to his friend before the blazing eyes settle on me and Jerry.

    Great, now I need to deal with a pissed off Head Master as if my day isn't horrible enough. Holding his burning stare, I dare him to do something about it. Ignoring the insistent tugging at my arm, I am itching to do something, start something. Anything is better than just standing here doing nothing.

    "You have bigger things to worry about than my annoyance at the present situation Ainsley." I am not surprised that the Head Master to respond to my mood. I can smell the restlessness hang around me like a thick cloud of badly sprayed perfume.

    "Yeah, but is not my fault." I glance to the side to see Jerry's wide-eyed stare at talking back to the Head Master. "Nor Jerry's," I add and see Jerry slump with relief.

    "I didn't bring any of you here to play the blame game." The Head Master continues, yet there is an annoyance in his eyes as he looks at Hunter, who looks away ashamed it seems. "I told you not to do this." He addresses Hunter who snaps to attention. "I emphasized that I will speak to him first about this." Here he gives Hunter one of his signature probing stare.

    Hunter turns a little pink and I can't help but chuckle and find it cute. So this is what an embarrassed Hunter looks like. It's kinda cute. The Head Master glances my way, silently telling me I will get an earful too.

    "It seems that the rumours are true about everybody going insane when the Blood Call starts." Though it is said in general, I have a feeling that Hunter is being addressed. "Your fathers were quite the troublemakers when theirs started. And it seems that particular tradition continues in the both of you." His fingers go up to massage his temples. "It is already giving me a headache."

    "The worst is that you are still partly sealed." The Head Master mutters softly, yet to me, it sounds like he standing beside me.

    "What do you mean 'partly sealed?' I thought that everything would be fine when I came here?" I don't like the fact that I sound confused, but I can't grasp the fact that my abilities still are not fully developed.

    "That's what we thought too. But apparently, we didn't take into account how far your parents were willing to go to make sure you stay safe and fully transform you into a normal human without any of our abilities."

    Ignoring the questioning stares, I give the Head Master my full attention. "This only recently came to light when one of my personal trusted doctors did a blood test on you and took a skin sample. She ran some tests and concluded that both your mother and father sealed 90% of your abilities before they disappeared. I am not even sure that Elena knows about this."

    I can only gape at his words, "Then undo the bonds that still chain me!" I clench my hands into fists as I feel anger bubbling up from the core of my being.

    "The thing is, we can't. Would have done it in a heartbeat but we can't. My doctor found traces of your father's magic in your blood and your mother's in your skin sample. She assures me that whatever it was that they did, it is nearly worn off. It seems that the seal was never meant to be permanent."

    "Meaning what exactly?" My glare feels so hot that it could melt steel or skin off the bone if I wished it so.

    Do it.

    He deserves it for lying to us.

    The voice is seductive and I can feel something inside me rebel, but it is so weak that it disappears so quickly that I must have imagined it. I can see the steam starting coming off the Head Master but he doesn't budge an inch. He stares right back at me.

    "It means that your full power will come to you when you are ready to use it and bear the responsibilities that come with it." A touch on my shoulder sends an electric shock through my system that physically has me jolting on the spot.

    Hunter.

    A warm scent enters my nose and the seductive voice is blotted out and my attention shifts.

    When did he get so close?

    My mind is drowsy as his scent envelopes me, cocooning around me like a heated blanket. My once tense muscles relax, my eyes don't feel hot anymore and I am sure they returned to their normal hazel colour. His hand is gone just as quickly as it landed on my shoulder, my heart aches with the loss of it. Since there are more pressing issues than my heart ache, I put it to the back of my mind to examine later.

    Preferably alone and behind closed doors.

    Taking a deep breath; the tangy taste of fear lodges at the back of my throat. Without looking to the side, I know Jeremy has to be scared out of his mind of me by now.

    Awesome, I just lost my first and only friend in this place.

    We are dismissed curtly once I get scholded thoroughly and as I thought Jerry leaves the room as if the Hounds of Hell are chasing him. Following him on a more sedate pace, I wonder if I need to transfer my stuff to a solitary dorm or if there is a way to commute to school.

    "What took you so long?" Are the first words Jerry spoke to me as I enter our shared room. "I have been waiting ages for you to return so we can discuss what the hell just happened in there."

    So he is not afraid of me?

    Taking what I hope to be an invitation to enter the room, I gingerly step inside, leaving the door open just a crack, in case I need to get out quick. Jerry doesn't move until I am seated on the edge of my bed, then only to close the door and lock it.

    "So tell me." He makes a vague handgesture that I have come to recognise is something he does when he is feeling pressured or very angsty. That and the slight tremor in his voice tells me he is working hard not to fear me and to listen to my side of the story before coming to a conclusion.

    Hopefully.

     "I got angry at the fact that my powers are still partly sealed. I thought and was told that during my first medical examination that any seal my parents may have left on me were either all broken or disappeared over time."  My hand clench into fist at just remembering the heavy crush I felt when being told that this was not the case. "I know that my parents being who they were had all kinds of reasons to seal my powers in order to keep me safe. I get that." I slowly unclench my fist, "Truly I do."

    I sigh as I wiggle my fingers around trying to get the blood to flow normally. "What I don't get is that it took them so long to figure it out that I am still partly sealed." I flop back on to the matrass. "I mean they must have noticed something with my first blood test right?" I look at Jerry for support and he nods his head. "Then why didn't they?"

    "My guess is that they might have wanted to be sure that this was the case?" Jerry hesitantly said, sounding unsure. "I mean there is no real need to keep it all a secret right? I mean you will find out sooner or later anyway." I just shrug, feeling unsettled and unsure myself.

    Unless my parents are alive and they want to use me as a bloodhound to find them.

    The thought is even more unsettling and unwelcome than the fact that my body needs Hunter to survive. Now I cant help but hope that they are alive and that I might actually see or meet them one fine day.

    Don't be ridiculous, there is no way they can still be alive after all this time and that horrible fire that destroyed the castle. I mean there must be people that would have heard or seen them.

    Still, my heart won't stop thumping loudly in my chest, mind and heart now racing with the minuscule posibility of finding my parents. Talking to my parents.

    "You shouldn't get your hopes up." Jerry says quietly, probably seeing all these things on my face. He looks down at his lap, not meeting my angry gaze. "I know you don't want to hear it but it had to be said." He peeks at me from under his lashes, making sure I don't set his head on fire.

    "I know." I sigh before forcefully letting go of all my conflicting emotions that cloud my thoughts. "I know, but I can't help but hope that I can find them and speak to them."

    Jerry is quiet as he looks at me, the silence is not uncomfortable and I appriciate the sincerity and honesty that roll off him in waves that everything will be fine. We will figure this out and react accordingly. Both of us hang out in the library regulary looking up the Council from my parent's time and their rumoured enemies.

    "This is not helping." I sigh as I drop another heavy tombe with my parents history, which is frustratingly vague on the time of them disappearing from the face of the earth. "Why is everything about them so vague or obscure? It is almost like they never existed or weren't important enough to be mentioned."

    "That is because they weren't important enough." My eyebrow twitches at the nasal sounding voice coming from behind me. The look om Jerry's face tells me I am right in my assumption of who is behind me. Sneering like all of them seem to do as soon as someone who isn't like them enters their line of sight.

    "If it isn't the little princess' favourite little dweeb." I smile as I turn to face the guy, keeping my eyes squinted in case my eyes overheat and I set him accidently on fire. "What brings you this close to me Fabiano? Is she using you now a days as a messengerboy? Quite the degration."

    There are angry red splotches on his cheek, jaw clenched tight and veins in his balled hands, veins straining. I know I hit a sensitive nerve as of the beginning of the year he was in the little princess' close circle and for whatever reason he was cast out after a few months and running errands instead.

    "Well? Get on with it, we don't have all day." I turn around back to face the book lying open on the table I am sitting at since Fabiano lost his voice as he stays silent. A tingling in my gut has my muscles tensing, I see Jerry looking at me, brow arched, I shrug in silent answer to his question.

    There is a soft bell like sound that has my head whiping around and I feel my eyes widening as there is a blur obscuring Fabiano's face for a few minutes before returning to normal. I watch him leave in a huff, before slowly turning back.

    What the hell was that?!