It feels like my insides are being pulled out. Every single limb of my body is being stretched in ways it was not meant to. Lights are around me as we zip through "a portal", as Sadie called it. The three of them act like this is as ordinary as a ride in the elevator.
Finally the light dims and my eyes adjust. I feel a bit dizzy, and I find myself leaning on Christian. I can't say it's the worst thing in the world.
"Oh you finally brought her," a woman in a gold gown with roses looks down upon us. Her long brown hair flowing down in curls. I could see her eyes narrow as we appear. "Took you long enough."
"Yeah, yeah, sorry." Christian deadpans.
I look between the two and catch a few subtle similarities. None toward Sadie and Eric, however.
"Where am I?" I look around the regal room I'm standing in. Long windows, and towering pillars. It looks like something you'd see in a storybook. In the front of it all is a throne which sits a woman who looks like a queen.
She probably is.
I'm proven correct when the woman scoffs. "You're in my kingdom, of course. My name is Queen Fiona Cordelia. It is Queen Fiona to you." I notice that Queen Fiona pulls emphasis on the "Queen". I nod slowly, not wanting to say something to upset her.
"Well, Queen Fiona," Eric clears his throat. "We have to test out April and see what kind of Mage she is. If you'll excuse us."
Queen Fiona waved her hand and guards opened two doors and led us all the way to the door. Then they literally shut it in our face.
"Well that's rude." I mutter just loud enough for the trio to hear me.
"That's the way of the royal family, especially my aunt." Christian chuckles.
My face goes white, "That's your aunt?!" I exclaim. "So you're the nephew of the Queen!"
His eyebrows raise and he looks at me with a thoughtful expression. After a brief silence he says, "just because I'm part of the royal family, that doesn't mean you can treat me any differently."
"Of course, your highness." I mock bow my head in his direction. This time I get a real laugh out of him. Not just his "I'm too cool for you" grunt of laughing that sounds like a mix of choking, coughing, and snickering.
"Now we should go back to our home. We can set up an appointment for the stimulator tomorrow." Eric announces.
"The stimulator?" I ask cautiously. "What is that?"
"How do you think we find our Mage group? We have to take the stimulator and it tells us at the end which category we fall in. You're supposed to get it when you turn 13." Eric looked me up and down. "You're four years late, but I guess it'll do."
"Why when you're 13?" I ask.
"Wow, you ask a lot of questions." Christians remarks as he walks ahead of me once I gather my strength to stand and walk on my own.
"It's fine, I know how weird this all may be." Eric gives a kind smile. "The stimulator is very... tricky."
"What do you mean by that?" My eyebrows bunch together in suspicion.
"Well don't sugar coat it," Sadie rolls her eyes. I didn't notice before but Eric and Sadie have a faint British accent. You can barely sense it though. They say everything the American way. It's cute. "The stimulator can be dangerous. If your mind is still not developing, then the stimulator can kill you. That's why you take it while going through puberty. That way you know your category before you start making random weapons out of nowhere."
YOU ARE READING
Inferno
FantasyAll you have is your fire, and the place you need to reach. Don't you ever tame your demons, always keep 'em on a leash... April Annenberg was as normal as normal could get. When she finds her life isn't as boring as she always thought it was, will...
