Ash stared at her groggy reflection in the mirror, unable to move. Her black hair was in a tangled mess, and could barely open her eyes. She hadn't got a wink of sleep last night.

She groaned. She didn't have to go to school. She didn't need to! She was a Descendant and being sent to school. It was outrageous! Preposterous! Something like this should be illegal and insufferable!

She should've known better when her mother forced her to take the Supremacy Exams, a test that determines your level of intelligence.

While taking the exam, it shocked Ash to see that the exam people would spend their entire lives preparing for was so easy. So she happily solved the paper without considering the consequences.

She passed with such a high score, that, despite being only five years old, she was accepted to a prestigious high school in Firebend.

Turning the sink, she splashed her face with water, groaning again. High School where disgusting, moody teens went, doing their best to hide their smell by applying excessive perfume. At least the girls tried. Boys didn't even bother.

She would have to suffer even more because of being a Descendant and a decade younger than everyone else! She argued with her mother against it countless times, but the Examiner personally met up with the family and convinced her mother that it would be unfortunate if they would leave a blessed child like Ash uneducated. But she didn't need to go!

Her mother hadn't gone to school, neither had her grandmother, and they were doing just fine. Ash had pointed all this out to her mother, but she insisted Ash try to make friends. That made little sense. As far as she knew, her mother didn't have any friends either, so why should she?

She flinched. How long had she been standing, looking at her reflection? Sighing, she went to her large, messy bedroom, her eyes travelling straight to the clock right above her bed.

She gasped. Only five minutes until school starts. She dashed towards her closet and hastily looked for clothes to wear.

"You don't need to do that. I've already got your dress here," said her mother from behind her.

Ash turned, her lips forming a smile, which quickly turned to a frown when she saw what her mother was holding. It was a cute, white dress, sparkling as if dipped in a bucket full of glitter. She took a step back in horror.

"I'm not wearing that!" Ash shouted in protest, "I'm going to a school, not a wedding!".

"Have you forgotten what type of school you're going to? This dress is nothing."

Celeste waved her hand and suddenly Ash was wearing the dress that was in her mother's arms seconds ago. She had even brushed Ash's unkept hair so that it was now smooth and silky, framing nicely around her dress.

Ash groaned. She hated wearing dresses; they made her feel itchy and uncomfortable. 

"Why do I even have to go to school?" Ash whined, stomping, "I mean since we're Descendants, aren't we already born with basic knowledge of the world? What can school teach me what I don't already know?"

Celeste looked at the floor.

"I know, darling. The drawback of being a Descendant is just that, we never experience childhood. You are born with the weight of responsibility on your shoulders. Maybe immature, unable to use and understand your knowledge because of the lack of experience, but still. I just... don't want you to isolate yourself like your ancestors did. I want you to make friends and be happy."

Ash looked at her mother anxiously. How can I make friends with people when I'm constantly afraid I'll just be used in the end? She thought, but the vulnerability in her mother's voice prevented her from speaking this thought. She sighed.

"Look," Celeste broke the silence. "You're already late, so I'll teleport you to school. I know you've never been through teleportation, but I think you'll manage. Just remember, don't struggle. Good luck!"

Ash quickly grabbed her bag as Celeste flicked her wrist, snapping her fingers. Within the blink of an eye, her surroundings faded, and she was floating in a dark void. Fear crippled her heart, and it felt like she was falling when she wasn't. She couldn't move. She struggled, but she couldn't move a finger.

"Don't struggle." said a voice in her head.

Trusting her mother, she swallowed the fear and stopped struggling. As if someone was behind her, it pushed her forward until she came face to face with a picture of a school.

With one last deep breath, she was pushed into the picture and that same school materialized in front of her.

The school she would now go to for the rest of the year was huge and ominous looking, rather than a school, it looked like a grand castle made of white marble. The white gates leading to it had the words written elegantly in gold letters;

'Evermonde High School'

A man at the gates was checking the names of new students from his list. After verifying the fact that they were indeed students at the school, he let them enter.

Ash walked up to him and told the man her name. Without checking the list, he nodded and let her enter.

A garden with flowers of different kinds and colours welcomed her, a white brick pathway down the centre, leading to the large doors of the school. She saw teenage girls gossiping by the fountain with dresses even fancier than Ash's.

She felt like throwing up. She didn't want this. The smell of rich perfume mixed with the potent scent of flowers. Her eyes watered, and she stumbled, pinching her nose. She felt nauseous at the air of royalty and power the school had. But even before she could get used to it, teenage girls and boys crowded around her.

Ash wanted to run away, but the enormous crowd squashed her tiny frame.

Why am I so short?! she thought angrily, wishing so badly to leave this wretched place. She could feel something in her stomach rising —

Luckily, a teacher arrived just before Ash would lose her dignity. The teacher pushed the crowd away, hastily apologizing to Ash as she went.

Another adult stepped towards her. She was wearing a navy dress and her brown hair was tied elegantly into a bun.

As soon as this woman came to her line of sight, Ash recoiled in disgust but tried her best to conceal it. She could tell this woman was a vampire, though not a full one, seeing that she was under broad daylight. She glanced at the name-tag, which read;

'Madam Rohesia - Headmistress'

At first, this woman had a stern, solemn expression on her face, which magically turned into a smile, and yet her eyes... Ash could tell that this smile wasn't genuine. It was obvious. It was... greedy.

Who thought it was a good idea to have a vampire as a Headmistress of a school?!

"Ah! You must be ze young Ash Knight!" she exclaimed (in a strange accent, perhaps it was because she cut off her fangs), "I am very sorry for ze disturbance my students have caused you. They shall surely be... punished."

She put a certain emphasis on the last word, and her expression darkened, which sent a chill down Ash's spine.

"There's no need!" Ash said hastily, this woman is dangerous, I don't want to know what type of punishment she'd give them, "They didn't cause any disturbance —"

"Oh my! You are too kind, Ash Knight!" she laughed. Ash winced at how fake it sounded, "We are so lucky for having you attending our prestigious school! Shall I show you around, young lady?"

She extended her arm towards her and...  smiled.

"That's so sweet of you, Headmistress," said Ash, doing her best to sound calm and innocent, "but I'd much rather explore this wonderful school myself and — make some friends!"

Why is this woman being so blatantly obvious? She's out for my blood!

The Headmistress looked disappointed but bowed and fortunately left Ash alone.

Ash took a deep breath she didn't know she was holding and gave herself a mental note to stay away from that vampire. After all, her blood is supposed to be tasty, right?

Ash shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking those thoughts. She could feel the eyes of the Headmistress on the back of her head but didn't turn to look. She needed to go make friends like she said before.

She clenched her fists. Friends? In this place? The people that crowded around her didn't actually want to be friends, they wanted something from her. Fame, power, recognition... that was all they wanted. After all, who would want to be friends with a five-year-old?

She looked around, feeling the glances of both students and teachers alike. She didn't like the way they looked at her. But what could she do? She had to talk to someone —

Ash saw a girl sitting alone under the shade of a tree. She was immersed in the book she was reading, the only one not paying attention to her. Something about this girl attracted Ash, almost like a sense of kinship — then Ash realized she was walking towards her and halted.

 Why... am I walking towards her?

She peered at her intently. What was it about this girl that magnetized her? She analyzed her. The girl was pretty, with purple hair and eyes, but that was all she knew about her. She had never met her before.

Then what is this feeling?

She stopped. She was walking towards her unknowingly again. What was wrong with her? As she was dwelling upon this, a group of three girls stepped in front of her.

"Are you walking towards her?" a girl said, pointing at Violet as if she was pointing at a street dog.

"...Yes," Ash replied coldly. "Why? Should I not?"

"No one talks to her. She's a curse."

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"She is a fairy, but she lost all her powers. If you're around her, you might lose your powers too," the other girl explained. "That's why everyone avoids her. She's no better than those filthy humans."

"You should hang out with us!" said another girl with a smile.

"... Are you worried I might lose my powers if I hang around her?" Ash asked. "My powers? Really?"

They looked at her stunned, at a loss for words.

"How stupid," she snickered, "I thought this was a prestigious school, but I guess ignorant people exist everywhere, no matter what you do. I'll talk with whoever I want, so thanks for your needless concern."

Walking past them, she approached the girl. She needed to talk to her. She understood how the girl felt. The girl who wanted friends but couldn't get any. The feeling of familiarity grew stronger with each step towards her.

"Hi!" Ash smiled, making the girl jump in surprise, dropping her book.

"H-hi! Nice to meet you," the girl replied politely. "Are you lost? Do you need to find your older sibling or — ?"

"Well, I'm Ash Knight," she interrupted awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck.

The girl's face dawned in realization. 

"Oh," she turned her head away, embarrassed. "M-my name is Violet. You've probably heard, but, I'm a curse. It'd be best if you'd avoid me as much as possible."

Ash laughed, startling Violet.

"Why are you worried? Losing powers isn't contagious, so I won't lose any powers even if I'm with you the whole day. It's these people who are idiots. There is no such thing as a curse in which you can completely lose your powers. Even if you were cursed, me being around you might cure it. I possess Divine Magic after all, even if I haven't awakened it yet." 

Ash herself was surprised at how much she was speaking, but she just felt comfortable with Violet, a feeling Ash never had with other than her family.

"B-but — ! People will hate you!" Violet shouted frantically. "Someone like you shouldn't be hanging out with someone like me!"

"I don't care," Ash replied calmly. "In fact, I want them to hate me."

She turned to her and held her hand.

"I want to be your friend," Ash beamed, feeling truly sincere in her words.

Ash had always wanted friends, but she would rather live alone than live with the anxiety of constantly thinking the person only wanted to use you all along. She shunned herself, thinking that it was going to be all right and her family was all she needed, but at that moment she now felt a new feeling. A feeling that overcame all that fear. It didn't matter, even if Violet would use her in the end.

Because, she believed, with all her heart, that Violet wouldn't use her.