The Elixir

~Secrets

There are a great many things that Lysabel's mother doesn't approve of a young woman doing. Speaking out of turn? Disgraceful. Desiring to not spend a life of domesticity? Frowned upon.

But snooping around a castle?

Absolutely, utterly unthinkable. Which is why Lysabel paces outside her dorm, debating internally whether or not to include Xara in her findings. The sun has just gone to rest, and students all retreat to their rooms, hunkering down for yet another night. October is just around the corner, and like the other first years, Lysabel has slipped into a routine. Get up, get dressed, go to class, eat, go to more classes, study until you feel as though your eyeballs may very well fall from their sockets, and hit the bed, exhausted.

Jupus moans lightly, bumping his nose against her hip. Nudging her along. She smiles weakly at him, patting his thick brown fur before squaring her shoulders. Xara is a friend, perhaps the only student Lysabel truly trusts. Other than her sister, of course. Why should she refrain from telling her? What she did see with the door had been strange, and day by day, her curiosity has expanded. What is behind the door, and why do the professors feel the need to hide it from prying eyes?

She gathers her buttery blonde hair over her shoulder, eyeing the dried ends with a grimace. She ought to get it snipped at the barber's soon.

"What are you doing?"

Lysabel nearly jumps out of her skin from surprise. But it's only Xara, standing there with a confused look on her face. Her long black hair has been wound into a messy bun at the top of her head, but stray tendrils escape and frame her face prettily. Her reading glasses, big, black frames, perch on the bridge of her nose. There is a squawk from somewhere inside their room. Lysabel peeks inside, and finds Lenore roosting near the window, ruffling her feathers with a coo.

"Vieva's not back yet?"

Xara shakes her head, smiling. "That's why Lenore's inside." She leans against the doorway, smirking slightly. "Do you want to come in or do you intend to sleep on Jupus for the night?"

"Oh." She giggles nervously. "Right." Lysabel crouches and plops a kiss on her bear's face. "You go on, Jupus. I'll see you in the morning."

With a baleful groan, he lumbers off. Xara watches him go, bemused. "For a young bear, he acts as though he's ancient."

Lysabel slips inside, wringing her fingers tightly together. Lysabel's dorm is one of the few triplets in the first year house. Not that she's happy about it; Vieva isn't a very pleasant roommate. She's always harping on Xara and Lysabel to keep their part of the room clean and immaculate as hers. Once, when Lysabel had been unpacking, Vieva had come to her side, and sniffed about having poor clothes. Some remark that honestly, Lysabel doesn't even recall. But Xara, having overheard, had leaned over and whispered that her clothes are better than Vieva's soldier clothes.

That's when Lysabel had begun to consider Xara a true ally.

"What took you so long?" asks Xara, shutting the door behind them. Lenore purrs at Lysabel, and she pats the griffin's lush feathers.

"My professor had us stay after school because Byron Jamelson couldn't answer a question from the section yesterday."

"Ouch. Who's your professor?"

"Ingerton." Lysabel scowls.

"Ugh." Xara rolls her eyes. "I don't have him, but I heard he's the worst."

"He is. And I have to deal with him for the rest of the year."

"Is it true that he has hooves for feet?" fires Xara.