Legacy's Prince

Chapter Twenty Three: School Days

"Coywolves!"

"Oi, coywolves!"

"Awooh!"

The cheers follow me, Seana, Axellia, and Dezden as we make our way from geography class to alchemy class. Apparently, Mariona's spur-of-the-moment mascot for our little team has stuck. I'm still having a hard time determining if the people calling out to us are cheering us on, or mocking us. We really haven't much time to dwell on it, though. Even as several classmates stop in their journey to clap for us. One fairy boy even flies above the rest of the crowd to express how he thinks "we're a wicked team!" The mystery of whether he means that as a compliment or insult will have to wait, though. Class awaits, and we do not want to be late.

Gasping for air, I pull the door to alchemy class open and hold it for my friends. I breathe a sigh of relief as I realize we've arrived just in time. We quickly slide our ways into our seat near the back of the room and begin settling in; pulling out notebooks, pencils, ink-wells, and quills.

"Good morning class!" Professor Cicero calls as he waddles to the podium at the center of the room.

"Good morning, Professor," we all call back in return.

In his rush to prepare, Dezden nearly knocks an inkwell over. Axellia catches it just in time and scowls at him.

"Watch it! You nearly spilled this on my dress!"

"Sorry!" Dezden replies as he bashfully takes it from her. 

"Last week, if you'll recall," Professor Cicero begins as I find a fresh sheet in my notebook. "We discussed the different kinds of metal that can conduct magic, and which are best suited for which magic type. Yes?"

I nod as everyone around me answers "yes."

"Now, metals can be great for conducting magic. But gemstones..." Professor Cicero pulls out a chain with several large charms hanging from it. "...gemstones can hold and contain magic."

Everyone oohs and ahs as the buzz of scratching quills fills the room.

"This one," Professor Cicero holds up a fluorescent blue, purple, and gray globe of a charm. "This is probably the most common magical container that we use. Moonstone. Can anyone guess which magic moonstone works well with?"

"Unicorn?" Someone guesses.

"Correct!" Professor Cicero answers. "When imbued with the unicorn's magic, a moonstone can become a powerful healing amulet, capable of fighting off minor illness, diminishing pain, and healing minor injuries. Of course, it can never replace an actual unicorn or holder, but it can head off illnesses or injuries that could otherwise be life-threatening. Other gemstones capable of being amulets and the magic they are compatible with are as follows..."

Professor Cicero begins scratching a list onto the blackboard with chalk.

Unicorn: Moonstone

Pegasus: Opal

Kelpie: Alexandrite

Phoenix: Ruby

Thunderbird: Quartz

Gryphon: Jade

Manticore: Fluorite

Sea Serpent: Aquamarine

Hydra: Diamond

I grumble under my breath when, once again, I see nothing for dragons. Not that I'm surprised at this point, but I am beyond frustrated. Is it too much to ask for one straight answer? Just one? As professor Cicero goes over different methods to imbue magic into gemstones, he leaves the healing amulet hanging over his podium. Quickly growing bored of the lecture, I find myself sketching the necklace in the margins of my paper. It doesn't take long for me to capture the moonstone's essence on the page, it's a simple piece of jewelry without many embellishments.