Rell

"Hello, I'm Ivy. I heard you were new."

"I'm Rell," I said with my friendliest smile. Ha! See, all you had to do was wait and the friends came to you!

"So, where are you from Rell?" She had a strange smile, like a dragon smiling at its next meal. A few others from the group wandered over to us.

"I'm from the Great Lands of Antarctica."

One of the boy's next to us who had red hair, probably a witch's son, wrinkled his nose. "I didn't know anyone actually lived in Antarctica. Except for penguins."

I had no idea what penguins were. "Yes, penguins, vicious, bloodthirsty creatures. I slayed many."

There was a pause, and then the redhead and Ivy started to laugh. It was a strange sound, almost forced, but maybe that was just her? From across the room, Bastien's frown deepened.

She reached out, capturing a lock of my hair, and running her fingers down it. "Your hair is so pretty. Do you color it?"

Why on earth would someone color their hair? "No. It's always been like that."

"You know Rell," she said, "why don't you come have lunch with me and my friends? We eat under the big tree out behind the cafeteria in the empty field. It's the only one, you can't miss it."

I smiled back, a feeling of warmth spreading through my chest. Judging by the way the others listened to her every word, Ivy was likely the hub of all gossip in the school. And now she'd offered to be friends! If anyone knew about the Beast or the Rose, it would be her.

"I would love to," I said.

"Great, there's just one catch. Sort of like a test, to make sure you're cool enough to sit with us." There were titters behind her, from her friends, but I ignored them. I'd run a maze of dragon fire, swam beneath the dark lake through caves made of bone, and proved my worth as a Beast-Slayer; there was no test I couldn't beat. "Absolutely. Just tell me what I need to do."

"Oh, it's nothing really. Everyone does it. Really, it's a mark of belonging." Then she leaned forward, and whispered into my ear. I ignored the giggles behind her, focusing on the task that would gain my acceptance here.
I hesitated when she was done. "Really? That's what I have to do? And you're sure that's allowed?"

She grinned, "Of course it is Relly! I wouldn't steer my new friend wrong, would I?" She gave me that smile again, like she'd just eaten a poisoned apple— or maybe that was just her face?

"Right," I said, the smile coming back. "Well then you can count on me. But it might take me a few days— "

"Don't take too long," she said, cutting me off. "Or no one will want to be your friend." Wait, what? But before I could decide if she were joking, she winked at me, and with a swish of hair made her way back to her desk.

Bastien stared straight ahead throughout the entire exchange, his jaw clenched like he was about to explode. I decided to give him a break. I'd already made one friend after all, and discovered the task I needed to make more friends, so I settled into my chair, tuned out the chatter around me, and began to read A MidSummer's Night Dream.

The rest of the morning classes passed in a blur. Instead of being welcomed, as I'd expected, I was actively, almost aggressively, ignored. Whenever I turned to a student, asking a friendly question, they turned away, face down, acting as if they hadn't seen or heard me. I dismissed it as some sort of bizarre, albeit unsettling, welcoming ritual. In fact, the only people who did meet my eye were Bastien, who glared at me across the classroom, and Ivy, who gave me that smile and small wave everytime I met her eye, and then turned back to her friends giggling.

Maybe I couldn't be welcomed until I completed the task Ivy had set before me?

As the day passed a cold, sinking feeling worked its way through my chest. One I hadn't felt since before the day Lorcan had named me a Beast Slayer of the Dark Realm. As a Beast-Slayer, I'd found a place in the Realm, and with it respect and belonging. I knew my position, and, even if I dreamed of the Human Realm, I knew my place in the world.

I knew nothing here.

Still, I looked forward to the thought of lunch with Ivy and her friends. Perhaps every student underwent this same test before they were welcomed. No one would welcome a knight without a test of their skills, or a beast-slayer without evidence of their ability, I could only assume high school was the same.

So I kept my head high through my morning classes. I fixed a smile on my face when one of the teachers asked me what the capital of Wisconsin and I responded by asking what a Capital was. It seemed a fair question to me, but the teacher's face darkened and the other students only laughed. When the bell finally rang, and the students flooded into the hallways, I ignored the lonely feeling that came from walking between hundreds of others talking. Instead, I pasted a smile on and followed the flow of students to what I could only assume was a grand feast.

Instead, students gathered in three different lines, that fed into small rooms where ladies stood behind glass counters, serving up food onto trays. I followed the line to where students were handing a small piece of what looked like sturdy parchment to a bored looking lady. The front office lady had given me a similar thing, so I fished it out now.

"Card, please." Her voice was nasally and she held out her hand, and I passed over the card they'd given me in the front office. She swiped it across a strange, metal structure where it made a lovely "cheep!", like a tiny chicken was encased inside. The thought of chicken made my stomach pang.

"Sorry, you don't have any money on your card." She was already looking for the next person.

"It's my first day here. Perhaps I could trade something for food? Maybe some fresh game?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Very funny." Then she seemed to finally see me, looking me up and down and finally said. "How come I've never seen you before?"

I smiled and puffed out my chest. "It's my first day."

She gave a sort of sad smile, with something akin to pity. "Well, I'll let you go through today and charge it. But make sure you bring money tomorrow."

I nodded and strode past, making a mental note to bring money tomorrow, and to find out what money was and how to obtain it.

There was only one tree behind the high school, but I was surprised to see it was quite far away from the rest of the buildings, alone in a huge field. There were a few boys throwing a strangely shaped brown ball in the field, but so far neither Ivy or her friends had gathered there yet. But perhaps I was early.

I made my way out, feeling a sense of relief that finally I would find someone to talk to, and could learn more about the Blood Rose and any rumors surrounding it. I settled at the base of the tree, on a carpet of pine needles, to eat the food I'd gotten, something that the serving lady had called a "burrito surprise." Whatever the surprise was, it must have skipped my burrito, the insides somehow both greasy and dry. Even though my stomach ached with hunger, I set it aside, and then pulled out A Midsummer's Night Dream, and set to reading while I waited.

Half an hour, and four chapters later, I realized both that the book had an entirely inaccurate portrayal of fairies and their court, and that Ivy and her friends weren't coming.

I closed the book when the bell rang, watching the crowds of students talking and laughing, walking in groups and couples back into the building. As they did, again that deep aching pang twisted in my chest. This was what I'd dreamed of my whole life, and yet it was like these students were some bizarre race of Beasts I'd never encountered. I spoke seven different languages, but none of them seemed to help me here. Already today I'd heard the words "twerking" "Instagram" and "tweeting".

Clearly, high school wasn't the unicorn ride I'd expected it to be.

Still, I was Rell of the Dark Realm, and more recently, Rell of the Great Land of Antarctica. There was nothing, not slaying a dragon, not swimming to the bottom of the mer lake, not forcing a banshee and harpy to become unlikely friends, and now, not slaying a group of blood-thirsty penguins that I couldn't accomplish. Perhaps someday the minstrels would sing of my quest, and my greatest feat of all: befriending a single high schooler.

I steeled myself. There was only one thing I could do, unpleasant and dangerous as it seemed. One thing that would win me the acceptance and belonging into this strange group of creatures with their magic mirrors, tight-fitting pants and talk of the mysterious "Instagram" and "YouTube" and the dreaded "OMG".

I needed to complete Ivy's task.

And to do that, I would need to dig up my magic mirror phone.

Game on.

(Vote! Comment! Vomment!..... no wait, don't do that last one XD)