The Songs Of The Flames (The Curse Of The Thirteenth Series)

Chapter 12

 Snow fell overnight, blanketing the chilly ground with a sheet of white. Frost crusted the outer side of the window panes when Priscilla awoke. She slipped out of the warm sanctuary of her blanketed bed, instantly feeling the cold of the wooden floorboards under her feet. Fat snowflakes drifted lazily to the ground outside.

"Good morning," Juniper said as she stretched in her bed. Her short bob stuck up in a mess. Priscilla grumbled back a reply. She still thought about the previous night. Sinclair had upset her badly. She did not understand why it set her off so much, but it did. From the window in their bedroom, Priscilla watched a black car coming down the long twisted road to the academy. She walked to the window, curious. The car pulled up to the front of the castle, leaving tracks in the otherwise untouched snow. Priscilla watched a well dressed man step out of the front of the vehicle, and open the back door. Two red headed figures exited the back of the car, and marched up the steps to the academy.

"So that rumor is true then, the Lynch twins don't stay at the academy." Priscilla remarked to Trisha who had walked over to the window beside her to see what she was looking at.

"Of course, why would they ever sleep under a roof with common people." Trisha giggled at her own joke. Priscilla smiled, and followed her out of the dorm room, but not before glancing one more time outside to see the car completely disappeared.

Priscilla caught the eyes of Benson in the grand hall when they entered. He said something to his friend Anders who sat at the table beside him, and began towards her. Priscilla nervously smiled towards Benson. "Good morning, you look really nice today." He sheepishly said to her. His lips curled up in a cheesy smile, and he scratched his head. His messy blond hair was curled over his eyebrows this morning.

"Oh- thank you." She blushed, looking down. She heard giggling to her left, and turned. Camellia and her friend Judith Laflogg both had their hands clamped over their mouths, laughing at Priscilla. Priscilla looked down at herself wondering what they could be laughing at.

"Why do you even bother with the half blood, Benson?" Camellia asked, giving Benson a flirty look. She pushed herself between Benson and Priscilla, bumping Priscilla backwards. Priscilla took a few tentative steps, unsure if she should leave or not. The red headed girl pushed her long hair over her shoulder with one flick her her wrist, and cocked her hips.

"Half blood?" Benson asked confused. He glanced around Camellia to look at Priscilla. Camellia turned her head to give her a glare. The girl's red eyebrows arched. Priscilla felt a shutter course down her smile as the serpent eyes landed on her.

"She hasn't told you? She must be embarrassed, Benny." She purred the nickname. She placed her hand on Benson's chest, still trying to deliberately block Priscilla from view. Priscilla pursed her lips in frustration. 

"I'll just catch you later, Priscilla." He stiffly said over Camellia's shoulder. Camellia twisted her head over her shoulder towards Priscilla. He turned on his heels, almost seeming scared of the Lynch girl. Camellia turned her snake eyes upon Priscilla once Benson left. Cosmos, the other half of the duo, seemed to appear beside her. Priscilla noticed his hair was just as long as his sister's. They looked almost identical, except Cosmos wore sideburns.

"You Halflings should know where you belong." Camellia spit at her. A wind tussled Priscilla's hair suddenly, like a mini tornado. Air refused to evacuate her lungs, and she felt herself gasping small breaths. She looked to Judith who still sat at their table. Judith was slightly on the pudgy end with black curly hair that she usually wore in a bun. Judith smiled at Camellia, encouraging her on. A dark glint flashed in the girl's eyes.

"We're just friends, Camellia." Priscilla said, catching her breath suddenly. She wheezed slightly as she talked, still gasping for breath.

"No you're not. He's of good blood status. It would be a shame if he tainted it with your wantonness." Camellia sneered at her. Priscilla was unsure what that meant, but she didn't believe it was a complement. Something told her Camellia was not very good at making complements.