"Sleepyhead, wake up."

Somebody was shaking me. I tried to escape. "Gerroff," I mumbled.

"Oh, come on." There was some shuffling, and suddenly bright, blinding sunlight was burning my eyes. I jerked up, waving my arms as if to ward off the brightness.

I vaguely wondered if Cora was actually an evil assassin hired to blind me... until I realized that the person that was shaking me sounded suspiciously like Ari.

"A-Ari?" I yawned, my voice catching on the last syllable.

"You sleep like a freaking log." A thump. "I had to shake you for a full five minutes in order for you to open your eyes."

I peeled my eyes open. Ariana was perched on the edge of my mattress, already dressed in her dark robes and sash. "We have a free day, sleepy, so let's enjoy it before our classes start tomorrow." She got off my bed, dark emerald eyes shining. "It's going to be a good day."

"You think?" I dragged my robes on over a white shirt and dark pants, yanking my sash around my waist. "What makes you so sure?"

Ari was humming absently. "Well, that Cora girl hasn't murdered us in our sleep, we have a nice breakfast waiting for us, and we're at the best school in the universe. Pretty sure those are good points, yes?"

"Sure, ma'am." I grinned. "Let's get some food to eat."

Indeed, three lefts and a right later - and an encounter with a faded tapestry hiding a secret door - we were standing in the candlelit hallway. A small table housed the teachers, and they were laughing and talking. Other kids were scattered around the tables.

We spotted Len sitting at a bench and made our way over to him. Cora, the maroon-haired girl, was there, too, but when she saw us she looked at the floor and left. I frowned at her departing back.

Len greeted us enthusiastically. "You'll have to get your schedules first, before you eat," he remarked, almost spitting his scrambled eggs across the table. "The teachers are handing them out, at the table."

I nodded, feeling a wave of nervousness at the thought of seeing Cyrus and the teachers.

"Come on," Ari said, a little bit of tension wiring her voice, matching my roiling feelings. "Let's get this over with." She grabbed my hand and marched up, her face the picture of determination.

I wished I could harness some for myself.

In no time at all, we were standing in front of Mistress Sage. She looked down at us, a smile creasing her face. "Well, if it isn't the girl who came in first," she remarked. "And my dear niece. What're your names?"

"Kia."

"Ariana."

"Hold out your hands." She turned around and strode to the table, where thin, waxy sheets were resting in a pile. She lifted two of them, their papery skins hovering on her hands. She let go, and they drifted down onto our palms.

When it touched mine, I felt an intense heat in my palm. Inhaling sharply, I peered at the paper. Shimmering silver veins of light were snaking across my sheet, forming... letters.

The heat dwindled away, leaving me clutching a - rather warm - paper etched with silver lines - that were fading into black. Peering at it, I could discern letters.

Water - Eight o'clock.

Air - Ten o'clock.

Lunch - Noon.

Earth- Two o'clock.

Fire - Four o'clock.

One-hour breaks are stationed between each lesson. Dinner's at six. Lights out at ten. Rules can be found in your dormitories.

"That's it." Mistress Sage said simply. "If you lose your schedule, simply remember that it is on the back of your hand. I look forward to seeing you two in class." She gave a faint smile and left.

"On the back of my hand?" I asked Ari. "What does that mean?"

She was staring at her palm. "She meant that it's literally on the back of our freaking hands." Ari grabbed my palm and turned it over. There, burned dark black, was my schedule.

"Oh," Was all I could say. "Nice tattoos."

"Ya think?" Ari shot me a grin. "If I had a choice, I'd choose something prettier and less... bland."

A smile twisted my lips. "D'you think it washes off?" I asked anxiously.

"Can't be that permanent, or else my parents would murder my aunt," Ari remarked, a faint line creasing her forehead. "Don't worry."

Not worrying, not worrying, not worrying....

Len was watching us come back to the table. "You got your schedules?"

"Yep," I replied, waving my hand in front of his face.

"Let me see." He turned my wrist over. I shivered as he tracked the letters imprinted on the skin with his finger. His dark green eyes shone. "We have Fire lessons together!"

"Um, great?" I asked, biting my lip. Len made me both nervous and excited  at the same time, for reasons I couldn't explain.

"Only if you want it to be," he joked. I laughed, despite myself. He never made anything serious.

Ari looked at my hand. "Oh!" Excitement spilled into her voice. "We have... uh... Water and Air together!" She smirked. "I don't have to be a loner for the first half of my day. Plus, my aunt can see that I'm actually making friends."

"Come on, let's eat, there are so many things I want to show you around the school," Len interrupted. "Also, the eggs get really cold if you don't start soon, and they taste absolutely disgusting cold, like rubber."

I started shoveling eggs, bread, and sausages into my mouth. Despite what Len had just said, it all tasted delicious to my famished stomach. "I never got this much to eat before," I remarked wistfully.

Something flitted across Len's eyes, but I waved it off. Probably just the light, I told myself. Still, the food had a different taste after that.

Suddenly, I spotted Kyra gliding up to our table. I sighed mentally. Here comes trouble, I thought. Ari's grip on her fork tightened, her knuckles showing white. But Kyra strutted past us, mouth curved in a vixen's smile, until she stopped at Len.

"Hello," she cooed. "What's your name, handsome?" My stomach turned sickeningly. I averted my eyes, focusing my anger at my plate of food.

"Len," Len answered, his eyes perplexed.

"Do you want to show me around the school, today, Len?" she asked smoothly. I lifted my  head and caught the triumphant wink she flashed at me.

I was standing before I knew it. "He's with us," I retorted. I felt Ari stand up behind me, her fingers clutching my shoulder reassuringly. "Right?"

Len looked caught, and for a second I was afraid that he would say that he would go with Kyra, before he looked up at me briefly, turned back to face Kyra, and said, "Yeah, sorry. Maybe another day, though?"

Kyra looked furious, and I felt a wave of vindictive pleasure, like a monster in my chest was purring. But then her features fell back into schooled indifference, and she replied, "Very well." She strode away, her raven hair swinging behind her.

Len was silent for a moment, and then he said, cheerfully, as if nothing had happened, "Shall we go?"

We went for the doors, but Ari caught my shoulder and whispered, "Be careful. Kia, she knows how to hurt you now, so please, for God's sake, don't trust anything she says."

I tried to put the morning encounter out of my mind, but Ari's warning rang in my ears for the rest of the day.

A/N:

Aha! Getting scarier now! Or not. Maybe you're used to this. Heck, sometimes I don't even know what I write on these notes. Agh, well.

Thank you all for getting Shining Silver to 200 views! I love you guys so much! Let's try to shoot for 300! :P

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Have a good day, my cookies! ~Sugar