Page 13 of Lucent Academy 2: Trinity Awakens
I met a few students on my way. Mostly women wandering around in groups of three or four. Some of them were taking a last cup of warm tea to enjoy out in the garden at one of the benches. Others were just meandering about in long bathrobes, with hair up and faces scrubbed clean, whispering so as not to make a nuisance of themselves while other students and staff were trying to sleep. I smiled as these reminded me of chattering ghosts, but I was sure no ghosts had ever been so giggly.
By the time I reached the mail room at the other end of the castle, the hallways had emptied considerably. We were not required to be in our dorm rooms or in bed at a specific hour. Every single student attending the Academy was already above 18, so we were treated like adults. Most students went to bed early, as the days were busy and exhausting.
I opened the door and was taken aback by the quiet bustle, and by how much larger the mail room was than I had imagined. With its many fat, yellow wax candles in black sconces flickering against the walls, it turned the shadows of the people moving about into leaping giants.
I hadn't realized how active the Academy was, even at night and behind the scenes while the students were asleep.
At a large table made from dark wood, an elderly lady with tufts of salt-and-pepper hair that looked like fluffy storm clouds greeted me with a glare over her round glasses. Her name was Mrs. Winston, and she treated everyone, regardless of age, like rowdy children. I had seen her before, wandering the hallways during the day, telling people off for things like "running indoors" and "talking too loudly." She was quite intimidating. I went over nervously and took a seat across from her.
I handed her the letter and, when asked, provided her with the name of the town my parents lived in and their names.
I was about to feel like the world's biggest idiot when it dawned on me that I should have brought some money down from my room for the postage. Still, Mrs. Winston assured me that sending letters to students' families was a service the Academy provided free of charge.
"Within reason, of course." She glared at me as she spoke in a raspy voice. I was fascinated by the tiny, silver whiskers on her chin that glittered in the slightly creepy ambiance of night and candlelight. "Don't think you can write home twenty times a week just 'cause it's free, Miss Wood."
"Um, no. I... I won't." I looked down at my hands, feeling properly chastised. She had a way of making a person feel guilty even before they had committed a transgression.
"I suppose you want me to check if there's any mail for you from home?"
I blinked, surprised. It hadn't even occurred to me that my family would have already sent me a letter or a package. "Yes, please, if you wouldn't mind."
She sniffed and got up, leaving me sitting at her desk, wondering if I should stay or if she wanted me to follow. She used a cane that she gripped in one claw-like, liver spotted hand. It made clicking noises across the floor while she shuffled along. She disappeared around the corner into another section of the post office, where I suspected students weren't supposed to be.
While she was gone, I sat and fidgeted nervously, not wanting to get my hopes up, but now that she had mentioned the possibility, I really hoped there was something for me from home.
When she returned, she was carrying a parcel tucked under her arm that was covered with brown paper and tied with twine. As she handed it to me, I saw my name scrawled on the front in my mother's handwriting, and felt a lump in the back of my throat.
Mrs. Winston seemed to sense the homesickness suddenly enveloping me again, so she placed one of her gnarled hands over mine, the one clinging to the package. "There now," she said in a soothing voice that surprised me with its sudden kindness. "The first few months are the hardest for all the new students. I remember back when I was called to duty, much like you. I was just a wet-behind-the-ears pip when I left my family to come to the Academy. It's been so long since I came here, but I can remember how strange it all seemed. Don't worry, soon enough you'll settle in and this will seem like home, too."
I thanked her and left soon after. I wanted to sit somewhere quiet and open the package, to see what my family had sent me. I was staring down at the brown paper clutched in my hands as I let the door swing shut behind me.
Chapter 7: Three's Company
My feet moved of their own accord and carried me out into the gardens. I walked as if in a dream under the moonlit greenery between the trees and fountains, between rows of rose bushes and marble statues that gleamed eerily in the starlight.
I just wanted to get out of the castle, away from everyone. I found a bench under a tall elm tree. The branches hung low like sweeping curtains. When I sat there, I felt for the first time as if I was truly alone, away from prying eyes and the judgments of those walking the hallways, sleeping in beds behind its tall, protective walls.
Then I realized why that was. Without thinking about it, I had wandered into one of the sections Principal Lucius had marked for me on the map, one of the places where I could safely summon my mates without fear of a student observing me. One of the Mind Mages must have cast an invisible barrier around this section so that it repelled any student who wanted to enter. That's why it felt so safe.
Sitting with the package on my lap, my fingers found the string and untied it, tore through the brown paper. Something soft spilled out, and I pulled at the woolly garment. It was a shawl my mother had made for me. The wool was softer than anything I had ever owned and dyed a delicate purple. I hugged it tightly and imagined I was hugging my mother, that I could smell her, could feel the familiar warmth of her embrace. I draped the shawl over my shoulders and felt even more comforted.
The rest of the package contained a pouch of dried flower petals that retained the sweet scent of the wildflowers that grewnear our home. A short note revealed that Samuel and Simon had picked them for me themselves. There was also a picture, obviously drawn by Lily. It was the two of us playing underneath the sun and fluffy clouds. Simple, but very sweet, and I felt the love shining through every line. My father had added a tiny wooden carving of a deer. The carving was of a lovely light brown wood. I placed the other items in my pockets and sat on the bench, looking out over this private corner of the gardens. After weeks spent in the castle, I still haven't explored every inch of the castle or the grounds. This little section, with its quiet beauty and private tranquility, was a special find.
As the moon and starlight drew in around me, closer, and the breeze made the tree's branches sway gently in a soothing rhythm, I did not want to return to the dormitory just yet. I felt comfortable sitting under that tree.
I closed my eyes and imagined I was back in Hartwick, lying in my own bed, listening to the breeze outside my familiar window, smelling the night air as it carried the scent of my garden.
I knew what I had to do, what I had come out here to do, even if I hadn't consciously been planning to come here. I had been putting it off for too long, but I couldn't anymore, so with my eyes still closed, I dipped into my Mana pool. I scooped out of it, drank from it, basked in it until I felt myself fill with power. Then I used that power to send out my will, like a beacon, like a searching hand.
The moonlight filtering in through the branches above me turned crimson. I opened my eyes when a familiar voice, smooth and slick like oil, whispered my name. "Leah, my Lady Love. You have summoned me, and I have come."
I jumped to my feet and peered among the dense trees, but at first couldn't distinguish his shape among all the others.
From the dark shadows, an even darker shape moved and stepped forward, basking in the strange, crimson light. Pale and impossibly beautiful, the Vampire Monarch looked at me, and his gaze was like silk, softly clinging, possessively stroking. Before even touching me, Aldric made me feel as if I was already locked in his embrace.
My heart was hammering against my ribcage. Excitement? Fear? Perhaps it was the combination of all these things that suddenly rendered me speechless. I was spared the need to respond when sunlight burst through the branches, prompting me to lift my hand to shield my eyes from the sudden glare.
Aldric hissed a warning, but he was helpless to stop it. It was I who had summoned Caelan, my Fae Prince.
