As our feet crunched it way against the cobble-stoned path, the sun has began it descent under the velvety dark of the night, painting the sky mixtures of a soft orange hue and pomegranate pink.

"What's your story? Where are you from?" Luka suddenly spoke.

The sound of his voice had radiated against the quiet whispers of nature, and the startling words made me looked at him in surprise.

The second his steel gray eyes made contact with my electric blue ones, they held a sense of curiosity to them, as if he was trying to figure out what kind of person I was. 

"Where I'm from?" I stammered. A hint of panic flashed through my veins as I struggled to find an answer. I obviously couldn't talk about the human world, so I decided to go with the next best choice: my Elucaen heritage.

"Well, my Mom is Almerian, but my Dad is Gallian, so I guess I'm half like you."

"Where were you raised?"

"Where do you think I was raised?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't give an indecisive answer.

"Gallia, right? Seeing how we first met there?"

"Yes," I lied.

It was a terrible lie, but I hope I wasn't a terrible liar. 

In the time that we've acquired through our walk towards the headmaster's office, I soon found out quite a few facts about my new companion. Luka revealed he had a sister that also went to this school, so of course I imagined her to be just as blessed in the gene pool. He talked about her for quite a while, so I assumed they had some sort of a special relationship. It wasn't a surprise when he revealed they rarely fought.

While he talked mindlessly, my ears listened intently yet my mind began to wander to the more important matter: breaking the curse. My birthday was in March, which meant there was barely eight months left until the curse claimed me as another of its dreadful victims. Eight months till Mortema presumably regained all her strength and power. And in the course of that eight months, I will be trained to channel my Elucae, a part of me that wasn't deem for exposure until a week ago.

A cough soon knocked me back to the realm of reality. "What were you daydreaming about? Your expression seemed...baffled," Luka said in an intrigued manner.

I quickly shook my head. "Nothing, nothing at all."

"Well, you should be glad I'm willing to share my life with you; most girls would kill to hear it, you know," he responded smugly.

"Do I seem like most girls to you?" I retorted.

"Honestly? You're quite the opposite."

"That's funny, because you sound exactly like most guys to me, so cut it with the cockiness."

"Well...this is it. If you just go straight from here, you should see a pair of double doors on the left," Luka informed, gesturing to the hallway on my right.

Despite his shameless flirting, I really wouldn't have gotten here without his help. "Thanks, I really appreciate it," I replied earnestly.

"Then I would appreciate it if you can give me another chance as well. You don't know the whole me."

"I'm not sure I want to find out," I admitted.

"In that case, you better look forward to it."

"To what?" I asked, suspicion evident in my tone.

He smiled as he started to walk in the opposite direction. "Because I'm going to prove you wrong."

"I highly doubt that," I muttered to myself. I came to this school with a sole purpose in mind, and I could not afford to be distracted; it was my life on the line.

As I legs dragged it way through the narrow hallway, I soon arrived at the doors that Luka spoke of. Without hesitation, I firmly knocked against the hard wood.

"Come in!" a muffled yet gruff voice called out from inside.

The door cracked opened and in the middle, amidst all the disoriented papers that laid in heaps by his feet, stood my headmaster.

He took a few strides in my direction, and as he held out a hand, introduced himself as "Headmaster Millengarf".

The headmaster was, by far, the most interesting person I've met in the Elucaen world. He was tall and a little stout, with hair that was tainted by streaks of silver. He had a gentle composure that was shown with each step he took, and brilliant green eyes hidden behind a pair of half-rimmed glasses that were pushed to the brink of his crooked nose.

"Welcome, Ms. Erin Mesineux. We've been expecting you. Please excuse this unsightly mess."

I shook his hand, smiling warmly. "Good afternoon, professor, it's nice to finally meet you. And just Erin, please."

"Please, Erin, have a seat," he said, waving at the plush crimson chairs with silver linings that surrounded the large desk. As I began to make my way towards the indicated spot while carefully avoiding the papers on the floor, my eyes started to divert around the circular room.

Headmaster Millengarf office was as massive as I imagined it to be, filled with captivating artifacts that were scattered throughout the room. On one side, lined towering bookcases that were each filled to the brim with leather-bound books. On the other side stood a pair of equally tall marble columns that reminded me of Greek architecture, intertwined with vines that seemed to extend for miles on end. There was a cupboard filled with floating bright-colored globes that stood between the two columns, while at the center of the room, was a desk made with the most delicate glass; as if it could be broken with just one piercing look.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" he asked, once he caught my fixed stare at the mysterious cupboard.

"Yes," I replied absentmindedly, "what exactly are those?"

He stood from his chair and made his way towards the intricate objects. He gingerly took out a globe and once he assumed his previous position, placed the object on the glass in front of me. Inside the globe contained a ball a fire, and within the flames, etched a name I was not familiar with.

As his wrinkled fingers grazed the delicate glass of the globe, he explained, "The cupboard that caught your utmost interest, is filled with globes that contain memoirs of Clarines previous headmasters and headmistresses. Each globe has one of the four elements that were unique to that person, in which it shall hold their name."

"So that's what it is..." I trailed off, "What element are you, sir?"

"I am a terra Elucaen, so my area of expertise lies with nature Elucae."

He glanced at the clock, and furrowed his brows. "My, time has passed quickly, but I do not wish to keep you from meeting your peers. Since you're the last student to arrive, and also the only new student in your year, it is imperative that you listen carefully while I give some crucial information, Ms. Mesineux."

"Yes, I understand."

After placing the globe back in its original place, he began to speak. "Here is your schedule for the upcoming school year," he said as he handed me a blue sheet of paper, "did you already bought the required uniform that was stated on the supply list?"

"Yes, but I heard there are more to it."

He nodded. "The tie--which corresponds with your element's color--is already with your things in the dormitory. The second you stepped foot in the school, your uniform has been magically altered so don't think too much about that."

"But sir, my parents told me that Clarines follow some sort of house system. Can you tell me what house I am in?"

He let out a mirthful laugh. "Quite the curious one, aren't you?"

"Well, is it true that two of the houses are rivals?"

"That's up for you to decide for yourself," he responded, his eyes held just a hint of a smile.

He continued, "First off, lets talk about your schedule. Most of your classes are going to be with students that are not just in your year, but those that yield the same element as you. For instance, since you are an aqua Elucaen, your classes shall be with the other aqua Elucaens as well."

I sighed in relief.

"However, your situation is slightly different from others. Since this is your first time learning how to utilize water Elucae, you will be behind others who had acquired many skills due to their exposure since their first year at Clarines. Thus, you must take extra lessons outside of classes in order to catch up."

He leaned closer and stared at me intently. "I am well aware of your situation, and the direness that surrounds it. No matter what, we will help you be in the best shape the next eight months, you can have my word for it."

"Does anyone else know about...that?"

He shook his head. "No, and you have my utmost discretion regarding the matter."

"Thank you, headmaster. But will I really be able to catch up three years worth of lessons?"

"With enough determination and hard work, it is a definitely achievable feat. How little you learn, or how much you learn in these eight months, depends completely on the amount of work you put in. I see great potential in you, my child, and I believe it's just a matter of time until you realize that yourself."

I smiled. It was reassuring thought.

The subject soon transitioned to dormitories, but unlike classes, dorms weren't necessarily just with students that shared a common element, but rather put more of an emphasis on a mix as a mean of being introduced to other elements as well. Each student is also required to share a bathroom with two to four other students, typically their dorm mates.

I was surprised because I had assumed a dorm would be shared with just one other student, at most two. I wasn't used to being expose to large crowds of people, especially when the companionship of only a few tainted my life the past seventeen years. To say I was anxious about meeting my house and dorm mates was an understatement.

Like most-if not all- of the Elucaen preparatory schools in the nation, Clarines functioned on a house system that dated back centuries ago. The system essentially comprised of three prominent houses, each containing an equal mixture of students that yield one of the four classical elements. Everyone was automatically sorted into one of the three houses when they stepped foot through the gate, yet I couldn't help but wonder what house I was destined to be in, and if I was meant to be in it at all.

"Now, Ms. Mesineux, we must move on to the more pressing matter: your lineage and the dreaded curse. We--your family and I-- are a firm believer that you could break the curse and spare your future female descendants the same fate. It is rumored that only the cursed has the power strong enough to vanquish her forever, since they are each born with a special ability."

"Does that mean the previous cursed Mesineux girls had some sort of special power?"

"Yes, we have reason to believe so."

"Then why didn't they seek Mortema out and kill her themselves? She does resurrect each time a Mesineux girl is close to her 18th birthday, right?"

He shook his head solemnly. "Yes, you are correct in regards to her resurrection, but the problem wasn't that they didn't seek her out. It was because they couldn't."

"How so?"

"She had followers everywhere. Granted, it was a minority, but they were ruthless in their power; some of the best Elucaens in the world. They believed she should be the true ruler of the Elucaen world, and so made preparations to make sure that dream will be a reality. Any attempts to find her was an impossible task; perhaps even suicidal. She was weak, but her followers were far from that."

I gulped. "Except...this time, her strength is drastically increasing," I guessed.

He nodded, affirming my prediction. "Since you're the only one that can banish her forever, her followers will try to seek you out and prevent you from acquiring the power that you need. That is why you must, under no circumstances, leave the school grounds."

"I don't understand; why isn't the government doing anything?"

"Well, they are, but just not as much as we hoped. You see, there isn't actually concrete evidence regarding her return except for the mark and your nightmares, so as for now, there isn't much they could do."

Noticing my melancholic disposition, he said, "Don't worry about this, Ms. Mexineux. For the time-being, channeling your portentia is of the utmost importance."

I smiled, my spirits slightly lifted. He was right, there was no point moping about it; the end had yet to come.

"Thank you."

"Do you have any more questions?"

"Well...there is one thing that has been stuck in my mind. How exactly does Elucae work?"

My parents had refused to enlighten me with the knowledge, claiming that they had 'forgotten.' I thought it was a difficult concept, but as it turned out, it was more of a difficult process.

Elucaens generally utilized Elucae through the palms of their hands, but in order to utilize Elucae in the first place, one must learn how to control their portentia, the basis to all spells. After they channeled their portentia to the perfect amount that is required for a certain spell, all that was left is the incantation designated for it.

"Can you give me any advice on the matter?"

The headmaster stroked his beard thoughtfully. "First and foremost, practice is key. My advice to you is to just keep on practicing until it naturally comes to you."

"Ah yes, before I forgot, house competitions. They are hosted annually in the winter and in the spring. Everyone is, essentially, tested on their Elucae throughout the competition, but in other words, these so-called competition serves as an examination on a student's ability."

I grimaced at the thought.

Before I could respond, three uniform knocks was heard outside the mahogany doors. "Come in!" Headmaster Millengarf boomed.

He turned to me and smiled over his half-rimmed glasses. "I believe that is your roommate."

As the double doors swung open, I couldn't help but stifled a laugh. She was the strangest-looking girl I have ever seen my entire life. Well, it wasn't like she herself was funny-looking or anything, it was just that her fashion statement was rather interesting, I must say.

"Erin, this is one of your roommates and classmate, Veralyn. Ms. Saxon, would you like to introduce yourself to our new student here?" Headmaster Millengarf chimed.

The girl then pierced my skin with her intense emerald orbs, but after a few moments, broke into a smile. "Hi there, I'm Veralyn. Nice to meet you, Erin."

I tried smiling back, though I'm pretty sure I looked like a constipated elf. "Oh hey. I'm Erin Mesineux. I think we're going to be roommates."

"I mean, of course we're going to be roommates. I just meant I'm happy that we're roommates and..."I started trailing off, not sure where I was going with this. Good job, Erin. First day in England and you already announced to the world you're an idiot.

To my surprise, Veralyn gave out a strange laugh-well, more like cackle- and slapped her knees. "Blimey, you're quite funny, Erin. I think we're going to be great friends!"

"Um....thanks I guess?" I said awkwardly.

Headmaster Millengarf butted in. "Well, now that you guys have introduced yourselves, off you go. No, seriously, I need to finish my orange juice before it gets cold. Bald people needs Vitamin C too, you know."

Before I could respond, Veralyn grabbed by hand and dragged me to the door. "Thank you so much sir, for everything! I'll come visit soon!" I yelled earnestly.

"You're welcome, dear! If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask and try not to get into any trouble!" he responded faintly as the double doors shut in our faces.

Oh no, I'm now officially alone with the weird girl. I slowly turned sideways and let out a yelp at her sudden wide smile, a few inches away from my face.. "Oh god, you scared me."

"Oh sorry, I'm just so excited to have a new roommate! You'll see, but pretty much all the girls in our room are really busy during the school year, so they barely have time to talk to me...well, except for Lily but I'm pretty sure she enjoys spending time with cats more than the rest of us. That's why I'm really glad that you'll be joining us soon," she explained enthusiastically.

"Wait, we get to have pets here?" I asked incredulously.

She turned her head left and right before leaning closer. "Oh dear god, no. Pets are actually forbidden but Lily snuck her cat in. Either the school knew but is too lazy to anything about it or she's just that good at being sneaky."

"Don't worry, Erin, I used to do that with my albino fish too, so I can't really judge you," she said with a wink.

I sighed in relief. "Glad to know I'm not the only weird one here. By the way, why do you wear so many rings?" I asked curiously, seeing as how it was the first thing that I noticed about her.

"Oh, this?" she asked as she pointed to her gazillion rings, "I honestly don't know actually, I've been wearing them since sixth grade so I guess I'm just used to it."

"Interesting," I said before something blue caught my eye, "Wait, what are those little emblems that are embedded on your rings?"

She held up one hand. "These are just circular blue orbs, to signify that I'm an aqua Elucaen. I know, it's weird, but my parents had wanted me to ever since they found out about my ring obsession."

As strange as it sounded, it was the most beautiful rings that I have ever laid my eyes on. The silvery complexion of the band perfectly complimented the royal blue symbol, which was perfectly fitted on her fingers too. Man, I want a ring like that.

After a few minutes, she finally coughed, breaking me out of my trance. "Anyways...do you want a tour of the school? I want to show you around so you can get accustomed to where everything is; that way, you can get ready when the semester starts in three days," she offered, while tying up her thick flaming red hair into a ponytail.

"Sure, that would be great," I smiled kindly before pointing to the trunk by my feet, "Can we drop this off at our room first though? Carrying all this luggage around is seriously making me the next hunchback of notre dame."

"Awesome! Yeah, we can totally do that. Besides, since it's only five in the evening, I think all the girls are just lounging in the room, so it'll give us the perfect opportunity for introductions. Come on, let's go," she said before grabbing one of my bags and started walking ahead.

"Damn, this small girl got some strength," I muttered to myself before running up to catch up with her, "and a fast walker too."

As we neared one of the three dormitories that are designated for our specific grade, I realized that the school was actually quite easy to navigate about; apparently, Luka was just a terrible guide. Not that I was complaining or anything.

At long last, we finally reached the entrance to the gargantuan senior dorms. It actually took only five minutes, though it felt a lot longer since we mostly walked in silence; her, humming softly to a classic tune, and me, desperately trying to figure out my life: my messy, confusing, life.

Veralyn then turned towards me and a genuine smile formed on her lips. "Welcome to Clarines High, Erin."

--

As we walked inside the birched gargantuan doors, the first thing I observed was the congestion of the common room. Elucaens of all ethnicities permeated the circular precinct, making it immensely difficult to single out even a person. The intriguing thing was the fact that everyone was wearing a silvery circlet, integrated with a singular stone medial to the band.

A few curious eyes glanced towards us upon our arrival, but I turned my head slightly to get rid of any unwanted attention.

"Woah...this place is really elegant," I mumbled in wonder, "though I'm curious, what are those metal bands that they're wearing across their foreheads?"

"Ah, you mean the circlets? It's part of the uniform; when we're in school, it's a requirement to wear these in order to differentiate what type of Elucaen a student is."

I quickly glanced at her forehead. "So how come you're not wearing yours?"

"Oh, I accidentally left mine upstairs. Yours is up in our room too, by the way."

"Thanks for telling me," I said before noticing our surroundings, "So just to clarify, how many people are situated in each dorm again? I heard there are three for each grade level, right?"

"Correct. Since our grade has alot of students, things tend to get a little bit stuffy, I guess you can say. And if I recall correctly, I think there are about forty-fifty people in each individual dorm...? I'm not sure though, my memory is pretty bad," she admitted shyly.

Fifty people? I bet parties were pretty lit around here.

"It's fine. But between you and me, the secret to having an amazing memory are bell peppers," I joked, giving her a wink.

"Bell peppers, really? I love those, thanks for the tip! My mum used to frequently let me munch on them, actually, back home in Manchester."

Like I said, the girl was a bit peculiar in the head.

"...yeah, totally wasn't kidding or anything. Oh Veralyn, I got another question."

"Shoot."

"I may sound dumb for asking this, but how exactly are all these people going to fit in this dorm? Don't get me wrong, this place is pretty massive but fifty is a lot so...." I asked hesitantly.

She snorted. "Oh sweetie, you don't even know. The dorms are actually enchanted, so the interior is a great deal bigger than what it seems on the outside, I promise. Besides, there are only like twelve rooms in total since each room consists of four or five people rooming together," she explained.

"That's pretty cool, but is it usually this crowded at this time? Or is this like a "once in a while" kind of thing?

She nodded. "Yeah, it's usually crowded around this time, especially since the school just established a new policy this year regarding the curfew."

I cocked my head, a bit confused. "Curfew? I thought boarding schools doesn't have curfews, well at least from the books I read anyways."

She looked at me humorously, with a smile etched on her face. "Oh Erin, what are we going to do with you? Like you said, they're just books. And with all due respect, this is not like the "typical boarding school" now is it?"

Good point. "True...so what's the curfew? Let me guess, 11pm? 10pm?"

"Ha, I wish. You're way off, girl. Starting now, we're not allowed to leave school grounds from 5pm till dinnertime, then after dinner, you can hang a bit but everyone has to be back in their respective dorms by 8:30pm. This rule only applies to week days but still sucks all the same."

"What? Did you just say an 8:30 curfew? That's so early!" I shouted, perhaps a bit too loud for my liking.

Well, if I didn't want to draw attention to myself before, I think I just failed. The chatter in the room suddenly died down and forty pairs of eyes landed on us, some even struggling to stifle their laughter.

I quickly turned to Veralyn and pleaded her to save me using my eyes, praying that she would get the signal. Unfortunately, it seemed like my "eye language" game was a bit too weak since instead of helping me draw the attention away from myself, she did the complete opposite.

"Hey guys!" she exclaimed happily, "this is the newest member of our dorm, Erin Mesineux!"

She nudged me slightly. "Introduce yourself."

I nudged back. "No! What am I supposed to say?"

"Anything...oh lord this is so awkward."

By then, the room was so quiet, even a pin drop can be heard throughout the vicinity. I waved nervously. "Hi, I'm Erin. It's nice to meet you all!" I introduced enthusiastically, hoping they would think I'm strange enough to avert their eyes.

To my surprise, there was a tumultuous round of applause; numerous "hellos" and even quite a few of "welcomes" were emitted all around us. Wow, these people are really friendly.

Finally, everyone started returning to the previous conversations, as if nothing had happened. I sighed in relief. "Wow, that was intense. Why did yo-" I started before a shadow next to me made me pause mid-sentence.

I turned and my eyes met a pair of hazel orbs. Gorgeous hazel orbs. "Hey Mark!" Veralyn greeted.

The person gave us a friendly smile. "Hey Vera," he said before turning to me, "Hi, I'm Mark. Mark Fischer. I'm the head of the Imperia dorm-well our dorm if you didn't know- so I just wanted to come over to say welcome."

I shook his hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

He continued. "If you haven't yet heard, we're actually the best dorm here, so you have chosen wisely," pausing to give me a toothy grin, "but unfortunately, as amazing as we are, we still have to abide to those dreadful rules. And so, I've been asked to warn you to never EVER step foot into the forest west of the school; I don't know what happened, but I suspect that's the primary reason why they modified the curfew," he warned, softly whispering the last part.

Veralyn then leaned in closer to join the conversation. "Yeah, I heard that too. Apparently something dangerous lurks around those parts, so if you don't watch out..." she said with a wide, devilish grin.

I smacked her playfully. "Oh my god, you're actually going to give me nightmares."

Mark laughed at our exchange. "Well ladies, that's it for tonight. Erin, if you need anything, feel free to ask. Good night," he waved, before walking in the direction that he came in.

Veralyn clapped her hands together. "Well then, should we go meet our roommates? Let's go!"

We then headed up the beautifully-designed ivory staircase, before making a left towards the girls' rooms.

As we passed through the vast hallway, I noticed there was some sort of pad embedded on each door. "Hey, what are those silvery rectangular things on each door?"

She turned to what I was pointing at and snickered. "Oh, you mean those hand pads? It's purpose is to prevent any "hanky panky" actions going on between the males and females of each dorm. Basically, each pad is designed to only recognize the handprints of each resident of each room, so guys can't go into girls' rooms and vice versa. For example, for our room, only you, me, and our roommates can gain access to it; no one else can."

"But like, can't the girls just open the doors for the guys or something?"

She looked at me thoughtfully. "That's a pretty good point. But like, no one dares to since one of the girls here, Addie, is a huge tattletale. Mark may seem pretty chill to you now, but once he's mad, all hell breaks loose."

I gulped. He did seem intimidating at first, even if his eyes were attractive.

Finally, we reached our destination, and my palms sweated with nervousness. Thank the heavens Veralyn is a friendly person, but what about these girls? What if they don't like me?

My new friend then placed her hand gently on my shoulder, and as if she could read my thoughts, offered some words of comfort. "Don't worry, Erin. I'm sure they'll like you. Ready?"

I sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Once the hand pad verified our palms, she opened the door and walked in. Upon our entrance, one of the three girls turned around and my eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my god."