Ad Maiora Semper

Uptown Funk

"It's so good to see you!" A girl, roughly the same as Merry's age, grinned at her. She was dressed in a loose grey top and jeans. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, the brown hair falling to her back. Her dark skin shone in the dimmed light from the lamps. It was the first time Merry had seen someone wearing normal clothes. It was almost shocking.

"Hi," Merry replied, having nothing to say at hand. The girl jumped closer to her, her sneakers booming in the quiet hallway. "You turned so beautiful! I wanna catch Zeus' reaction when he sees you. He's going to die."

"Who's Zeus?"

"Your boyfriend? Or used to be. Ex-boyfriend."

Merry felt another mountain drop on her. She had a boyfriend too? What kind of a girl had she been? But that was all in the past. Now, she didn't even know him. "And you are?" She asked the girl.

"Esther McLaughlin," she said with a frown. "They told me you didn't remember anything. I thought maybe you would but don't worry, I'll make sure you get your memories back." Esther smiled dazzlingly at her, showing perfect white teeth.

"Thank you, Esther. But I'm tired today. I'll see you around," Merry said and turned to face the locked door. "Oh, do you know how to, uh, open this?" she asked. Esther shrugged dramatically. "You tell it you're here," she said matter-of-factly. Merry was puzzled. "I tell it?"

"Yeah, go ahead and say your name. The door knows you."

Merry looked at the heavy brown door. "Meryl Cimino." The door stood the way it was. Merry thought that maybe Esther was making fun of her. She turned to face the other girl.

"Nothing happened," said Merry.

"That's because you didn't say your real name."

Merry tried to remember the name Headmaster Seoras had used for her. "Claire Yvonne Merissa Verlin," she said. The door fell free on one side and opened a chink. Merry pushed it further to reveal the room she and Fallon had come to earlier.

"Take care, Claire." With that, Esther made her way down the stairs without turning back. Merry closed the door behind her and leaned against the frame. She tried not to think about the events of the day. She thought of her music, the last song that she had written. Forgotten, she had named it. How ironic.

She moved forward, letting the cloak drop to the floor, and fell face-first on the four-poster. She could forget all of it when she was asleep.

************

The next couple of days passed without incident. Merry woke up and roamed the grounds by herself. Fallon had gone to the human world for his exile after he had been lashed in the Common House the other day. There was no news about Darragh so she was left without a mentor. She felt all alone. Only Wynona had remembered to bring her food and talk to her for a few minutes every day, telling her about the academy and the royal family.

She was the King's twin sister, bound to him by blood and magic. She had been born as a witch, with powers she didn't mention but she was one of the Ginsar too. Declan Verlin was one of the strongest fire users and the most famous ruler, known for his quick decisions and risk-taking behavior. Wynona hadn't mentioned anything about his wife and Merry hadn't pressed. She didn't want to know if her mother was dead. Though she didn't remember her mother's love, if there had been any, she was afraid it would break her heart even more, knowing that she had been orphaned twice.

Wynona had told her about Fallon, him being the sworn protector of the Ardos Academy that sat at the center of Ernec, in the capital city of Nairet. Ernec was somewhere near Dublin, masked and warded from the human world. Ardos functioned both as an academy as well as the King's archives and training ground. The King resided just outside the campus, with the family of other royal subjects. Verlin was one of the most powerful names in the Ginsar world. There were others too, Vazquez, Ortiz, Reedus, Sengbloh, McAuliffe, McLaughlin, Cenatiempo. Families like Anagnos, Kruschwitz, Zephir, and Lynch managed academies in other parts of the world. Ardos was in the hands of Family Seoras, the oldest keepers of the academy. Headmaster Eoin Seoras was the head and soon, Lorcan Seoras would take his place.