dedicated to Gauri, 
whose work you all need to stop sleeping on. 

The group of students watch the professors and the school nurses take Amisha away. None of them move.

"How did you find her?" Day asks, turning around to look at Orion, who's brown hair looks tousled due to the excessive amount of times Orion had run his hands through it.

Orion looks away from the retreating group and turns to face Day, almost surprised that he is being spoken to.

"I was coming from the caladrium lounge, and then I heard this loud bang and a scream so I checked the courtyard and she was just lying there. I didn't know what to do, I gave her my blazer and then I came to get help."

Sierra looks at Orion calculatingly and Day nods. Sierra walks out into the courtyard, the rain instantly soaking her clothes. In that moment she doesn't care if her jeans are sticking to her legs, or if her sweater is itching her now that it is wet. Maybe later on she will look at her reflection in the mirror and be grateful that she had worn waterproof makeup, but right now she is too focused on what she had sensed.

Everyone's eyes shift to the redhead, and Day watches her carefully, only noticing her properly for the first time. Her red hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, which is now sticking to her neck. Every inch of her 5'4 body is just as tense as the air. And despite the low temperature, it feels stuffy and suffocating. Sierra surveys the area, her eyes roaming from pillar to pillar.

"I don't get it," Sierra mutters, her voice so soft and quiet that she doubts any of them actually heard her.

"Don't get what?" Minerva asks, her voice shaky and frightened, as if she is still recovering from what she had seen.

"What could've happened?" Sierra says, voicing her thoughts. "It doesn't make sense. Orion says he heard a loud bang, but.."

"Are you sure you heard a bang?" Zoe turns to look at Orion, her eyes soft and worried. Orion looks at everyone around him to find all eyes trained on him. He nods.

"How can that be? There's nothing here to even hurt her," Alec adds, walking out and joining Sierra.

"Maybe someone attacked her," Minerva suggests. All eyes turns to her, turning the thought over in their heads.

"That's a possibility," Noah agrees.

"Who could've run away so fast? Orion came as soon as he heard the bang," Alec interjects, shutting the idea down. Minerva glares at the Italian boy, it is only an idea after all.

"Who would want to hurt her in the first place?" Zoe asks, her eyebrows furrowed as she looks up at Day. Day doesn't answer her, he doesn't have an answer.

"Why couldn't you heal her?" Everyone turns to look at Noah, who keeps his eyes glued on Alec. Though no one had asked, everyone had been thinking that.

Alec stares at everyone and then shakes his head. "I don't know."

"It's okay, she's going to be fine," Zoe says, walking up to Alec and giving him a pat on the back that turns out to be more awkward than comforting.

"Maybe you weren't concentrating enough, or you were too panicked," Noah suggests, taking a step forward but remaining under the shelter.

Sierra shakes her head, and turns to look at Noah from under the rain. The droplets make her eyelashes heavy and she tries not to rub her eyes and end up ruining her makeup. "That wasn't it."

Alec shoots the girl a grateful look, a little pleased that at least someone isn't doubtful towards his magic.

It is only then does Day notice how calculating her eyes are. They are dancing over the courtyard, observing, examining and memorising. Day makes a mental note to be careful around her, she looks smart and a little too knowing.

"How can you be so sure?"

Alec turns around to look at Day, and the offended expression on his face goes unnoticed by Day who looks occupied with his eyes burning into Sierra's. She narrows her eyes in return, wondering if she should tell him.

"The gash was from black magic."

"How do you know?" Minerva questions challengingly.

Sierra's mind flows back to the last time she'd seen a gash like that. She fights the shudder that threatens to run down her spine. What felt like a minute later, Sierra turns around, facing her back towards everyone, without answering.

Luke strolls out, his hands in his pockets, doing a lazy spin and looking around at the courtyard. "You know what I think?"

"What?" Noah asks, stepping forward and joining the witches in the rain.

"I think something is up with this place."

Minerva looks at Luke calculatingly. She steps forward looking around, her fingers brushing across the pillars. She stops in front of the statue, and tilts her head eyeing it up. She asks, "What do you mean?"

"Don't ask me, I just know a few basic spells that Bane has taught me," Luke replies, shrugging.

"Something is off about this place." Day walks towards Minerva and surveys the statue. With his gloved hands, he touches the wet statue and then turns around to look at everyone. "Or maybe she was attacked."

The rain grows heavier, and lightning crackles before thunder follows. The witches look up in sync, trying to figure out which question in their heads should they answer first.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

"So, you never told me what this Tournament is?" Luke drops his textbooks on Astrology and the History of Witches onto the table. The librarian shoots him an unimpressed look, and he shoots her a sheepish smile. Sierra shoots him a matching glare, and he looks at her, offended.

"Did you really have to drop your books like that?" Sierra asks, looking at the books sympathetically. Luke raises an eyebrow, surprised by her sympathy towards books.

"Uh, no? Sorry." Luke pulls a chair back and sits down. The chair scrapes against the ground, and the girl sitting on the table next to theirs, shoots him a sour look. He pokes his tongue out at her and she grabs her books and leaves, looking at him in disgust.

Sierra giggles into her hand, trying to suppress her laughter. Luke looks at her, in wonderment. Even though he has been following Sierra around since he has gotten here, he won't go as far as to saying that that she is fun. From what Luke has gathered, Sierra Kingsley is nice, caring, bossy and brilliant, and sometimes feisty. But she isn't what Luke would describe as someone with a great sense of humour. Until of course, she giggles at Luke's immaturity. Then Luke realises that maybe Sierra Kingsley is worth being around, and not just because she has taken him under her shelter.

"So you want to know about the Tournament?" Sierra prompts, looking at Luke with an emotion that he can't figure out. Luke nods slowly, and she puts her pen down and lets out a sigh before turning to Luke and giving him, her full attention. "Well, in 1988, Maria Costav, a Seer Witch had a vision. You know that statue in the courtyard?"

Luke thinks back to last night when they had found Amisha lying in a pool of her own blood.

"It's of her, I'm guessing?"

Sierra nods.

"Yeah well, in her vision she says, that she saw the rise of the Dark King."

"Who the fuck is the Dark King? And who calls himself that?" Luke asks, looking immensely disappointed in the choice of name. At the challenging look Sierra shoots him, Luke rushes to explain himself. "Like if you're gonna be evil, might as well name yourself something cool you know?"

"If it makes it better, his real name is Basileus Nox," Sierra adds, beginning to stack her books into a pile. "That literally translates to King Dark."

Both of Luke's eyebrows rise into his hairline, and he scoffs. "His parents are Seer witches I guess."

"Maybe. No one knows who his parents are," Sierra replies, with a simple shrug.

"How is that possible?"

"I'm just as clueless as you are." Sierra glances at the clock on the wall and realises that she has ten minutes before her free period is over and she has class. She really needs to get this over with. "But anyways, the Dark King is a witch who believed that witches had to be destroyed."

"What the fuck?" Luke asks, his eyes wide in bewilderment. "He's a witch too."

"Yeah well, he thought he was the only one deserving of magic, and that everyone was ruining it," she replies, adding an eye roll for extra measure. "I guess everyone got tired of his shit, and then some of the strongest witches gathered and sent him into the afterlife. He's still alive, they aren't strong enough to kill him but you can say that they're keeping him trapped.

"And Maria Costav saw the Dark King's rise. But she also saw six young witches protecting the witches against him. Which is why a tournament will be held this year. It is said that the 'heirs' will be coming to the academy this year," Sierra explains, making quote marks in the air with her fingers when she says the word heir. "The tournament will help choose six witches."

"What if we choose the wrong people?" Luke asks, his eyes hardening and focusing on his textbooks. When he had finally accepted being a witch, he did say that he was ready for adventure but defeating the Dark King, was not the kind of adventure he was looking for.

"Well," Sierra starts, her lips pressed tight and the look on her face makes Luke's insides twist. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

Before Luke can ask her another question that she can't answer, Sierra presses her lips tight and sends him a forced smile. There is nothing Sierra Kingsley hates more than not knowing. Sierra herself had expected to hate knowing things, especially since her parents had died at the expense of knowing, but surprisingly she has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. And now that she doesn't know, she is going to change that. With that, she saunters out leaving Luke to think about what he had just learnt.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Sierra rushes to her second class for the day: Divination. Though she isn't a fan of running, drastic times call for drastic measures. Once she nears the door, she slows down to a fast walk. She takes a moment to compose herself outside the door and then pushes it open. She had expected to be late but then notices only a few students are in the room and the professor isn't in sight.

With a mental fist pump, she finds herself a seat in the right hand side of the classroom. She smiles at her bench mate, who notices the chirpy smile on Sierra's face and shoots her a nasty glare. Taken aback by her rude behaviour, Sierra's face sobers up and she raises an eyebrow. She turns to face the front of the classroom, but makes sure to take a peek at her bench mate through the corner of her eyes.

The Asian girl brushes back her black hair, and stares at the front with a bored look. The door near the front of the classroom opens, and in walks Professor Raven. Her entire outfit is too bright and colourful for Sierra's liking, and by the look of disgust on her bench mate's face, she agrees. The bright yellow pencil skirt does not go with the purple and white polka dotted blouse.

Two lessons with the professor, and Sierra is still not used to, to Medea Raven's 'unique' fashion sense. After a roll call that tells Sierra her bench mate's name - Karina Lee - the class starts.

"The past two days we've focused on our powers and what being a Controller witch means. Today, we'll be moving on to viewing memories. If someone is able to successfully block the intruder, they will not have to complete today's assignment, which will be a two thousand word essay on subsitising which is stopping someone from entering your mind," the Professor explains, facing her students as a marker hastily prints words by itself on the whiteboard behind the older witch.

"Now, can I have a volunteer?" Professor Raven asks, and several students look away avoiding eye contact. As much as Sierra likes being the best, she really doesn't appreciate anyone viewing her memories or prodding into her mind.

"Ah yes, Miss Harris, how about you?" the Divination professor says, pointing to the blonde girl sitting in front. Sierra feels bad for her dorm mate, as she stands up and walks to the front with a terrified look on her face.

"There's nothing to be terrified of, Miss Harris." The professor turns her attention back to her class and her eyes bounce from one student to another. "You," Professor Raven says pointing towards Sierra. "Miss Kingsley, please step forward."

With surprised eyes, Sierra reluctantly gets up and walks towards the Professor who then instructs for Sierra to sit down on the chair that stands in front of the eyes of interested witches. Sierra brushes the chair with her hands and sits down.

"Now, Miss Harris, I want you to try and enter Sierra's mind. The incantation is animus immenium." Professor Raven turns to face Sierra and instructs, "Miss Kingsley, your job is to stop Miss Harris from invading into your mind. She will not be viewing your memories, she will only be entering, and you must stop her. You have to put up a wall. Do you know the incantation you need to be using?"

Sierra nods. "Prohibere Protaepus."

"Marvelus! Miss Harris, what would be the movement of your hands since you want to enter Sierra's mind?" Devina Harris nods, and raises her right hand in midair. Her fisted hand opens and then pushes. The Luxine witch looks at her Professor and after class tutor seeking approval and the elder witch smiles in satisfaction.

"Great, Miss Kingsley? Do you now the movement you have to do?"

Sierra looks up at her professor, her lips pressed tight and her eyebrows furrowed together. "Sorry, I wasn't aware that there is a movement for the incantation."

Professor Raven smiles down at her student and nods in approval before saying, "Correct, your sole focus is blocking her out. Without a movement for the hand, it makes it harder for witches to block an intruder." The professor turns to face the rest of her class.

"I've been teaching at this academy for thirty years, and only one student has been able to block someone out of their mind."

A hand pops up into the air, and the professor nods at the boy with glasses. "Who is that, professor?"

"Your principal, of course," Professor Raven replies with a smirk.

"You taught Principal Cashore?" another student interjects from the back of the classroom.

The Divination professor nods. "She's quite young, your principal. I taught her about fifteen years ago." She claps her hands together and says, "But now, don't distract me from the task at hand."

With that, the Professor steps back and turns around to face the two young witches near her. "You know what to do, hopefully. Begin."

Devina Harris hesitates, before raising her fisted hand, opening and pushing. "Animus immenium."

Sierra's firmer voice overshadows Devina's as she chants, "Prohibere protaepus, prohibere protaepus."

"Animus imm-."

"Prohibere protaepus."

They chant together, and Sierra feels her wall building up. She smiles, pleased with herself. But her smile falters, when she feels someone trying to break her wall down. Sierra closes her eyelids shut, and chants harder, her voice louder and stronger. Then follows a whoosh sound, a gasp and Professor Raven's voice.

"Retardo!" The professor takes a deep breath before shouting out another incantation, "Desino!"

Devina Harris hovers in the air, a few feet away from Sierra until she is slowly lowered to the ground. Sierra looks around and notices the wide eyes watching her with caution and fear. Professor Raven takes one last look at Devina Harris, searching for injuries and when she is satisfied she trains her wary eyes on Sierra Kingsley.

"Class dismissed." 

What do you guys think? How do you feel about Sierra right now? 
Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments xx