Cards and Curses

Welcome To Wisteria

William's stomach was going in circles.

Partially because of the train jostling, but also because of the anxiety that built up inside of him.

He'd barely been able to sleep because of the sheer excitement, he almost fell asleep and missed his train, which would have been both disappointing and embarrassing.

Being a stable boy wouldn't be so bad, he was used to shoveling large piles of feces by now, plus he wouldn't be doing the job for very long, after he passed the test, he'd be taking classes to perfect the spells of all the witches before him.

After what felt like months of being in a tunnel, the bright light of the sun shone through the windows.

The train stopped as it pulled into the capital station. All the passengers arose from their seats, making their way to the assorted exits. William grabbed his bag, he only had one, as he didn't have very much stuff, to begin with.

He stepped out of the train, and onto the platform, there was a lot of bustling and people were moving this way and that, William found it hard to move through the crowd.

As he finally left the crowded station, William stepped out to the busy capital square.

The buildings and shops all around were large, and filled with people. The scent of fresh baked goods, fried foods, and sweets filled William's nose, causing his stomach to gurgle.

He could see the spiraling turrets of the castle, they seemed to almost touch the sky, they were gorgeous.

Everything in the square felt so, large, so big, much bigger than him, much bigger than where he came from. He felt small in comparison to the large landscape behind him.

He heard the chime of the trolley, quickly grabbing his bag, he ran towards the trolley, the conductor yelled out, letting the patrons know how long they had to get on.

"Wait! Hold the doors!"

William barely made it on the trolley, the doors closing just as he entered. The trolley was crowded, and seeing as there were no seats available, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with all the other patrons. He felt hot but chose to distract himself with thoughts about Wisteria. Would the building be as big as he thought? Would his teachers be nice? Would his classmates?

He was jolted from his thoughts as the trolley went over a bump in the road.

~᪥•᪥•᪥•᪥•᪥•᪥~

He got off at the Alderban stop, and boy was it gorgeous. The rolling hills, and the small town, gave it a comfy, homey atmosphere.

And in the distance, stood the large building that was the academy.

It was large, even from a distance, it was huge, the large bell tower ringing, signaling that it was noon.

William made his way through the town, some people greeted him, others ignored him, but he continued his walk until he finally reached the large doors.

They were opened, with a large banner reading; "Welcome New Students! We're Happy To Have You!"

William could feel the excitement and anxiety building up in him, creating a concoction in his stomach. It was enough for him to feel like he was gonna throw up right then and there. He wouldn't, that would be incredibly embarrassing, considering the number of students around.

Small groups of people around his age talked and giggled, all of them were dressed much fancier than he was, they all most likely came from more well-off families. Meanwhile, his own clothing was, well, he looked worn.

"Excuse you!"

William had been so deep in his own head that he hadn't noticed he'd bumped into someone.

She was just about his height, her hair framed her face, her brown curls accentuating her soft cheeks and round eyes.

"Oh, my apologies, I didn't see you," William said, offering a soft smile.

"I was literally right in front of you," the girl responded, looking slightly annoyed, "Who are you, anyway?"

"William Havel," he held out his hand, "Nice to meet you."

A/N
Apologies for the chapter being later and shorter than usual, I haven't been feeling well, (dw it isn't Covid or anything, just my allergies)

Chapter three comes next month.