St. Văduva's School for Prestigious Girls

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕱𝖔𝖚𝖗

To say that the school was large was an understatement — black towering stone caked on top of the other created a castle-like structure loomed over the SUV as they parked in a lot with seven identical vehicles. Spires crowned the top of the building, seemingly piercing the sky with their crimson tips. On the eaves, tall, brooding figures made of stone convened, their mouths curled back into a terrifying snarl as their stone eyes looked down upon the masses.

A barren, rocky moat lined the perimeter of the school on the outskirts of the lower terrace with a quaint bridge built overtop. It was constructed from the same iron as the gate that acted like a serpentine barrier. Wrought iron curled like vines on the handrails.

The whole place was enveloped in a golden luminescence that contrasted bitterly against the rugged black stone structure. It felt less like a school and more like an ancient king's home, and Temperance could not stop her gasp when she exited the vehicle.

"It's... very big..." she said absentmindedly, eyeing the well-maintained grass and trees that provided the perfect amount of greenery.

"Yes, big." Dmitri grabbed her items, hurrying up to the cobblestone path that lead up to the front door. "Come, come. Smell rain — storm coming. Night makes Hoia Baciu strange."

She peered skyward, and sure enough, even though the bright lights drowned out the stars, dense clouds were rolling in quickly. By the time she turned her sights back to the ground, Dmitri was already halfway to the door, quickly retreating down the path across the courtyard. She stumbled, rushing to join him. She flinched as the rumble of thunder resonated through the ground and vibrated in her bones. A swift, southern wind blew through her, chilling her as she rushed to keep in step with the anxious driver. As she got closer, she could hear him mumbling something over and over in what she could only assume was Romanian, eyes shifting around nervously. Like a prayer of some sort.

She thought over what he said about the shadows and the trees, how the fear radiated from him. Perhaps it was some legend he referred to. Growing up in New Mexico, she was very familiar with the Native American myths and legendary creatures, and knew the taboos well, like not whistling at night and not saying or thinking of the names of certain creatures. Maybe it was the same here. She would not question it, for fear of provoking him further. Nothing was more dangerous than a scared man.

Trekking up the stairs to the lower terrace, the second the two of them made it under the awning, the rain started immediately. It poured thickly, flooding the grassy courtyard in a matter of seconds as Dmitri struggled with his keys to open the front door. He placed the bags down, holding the key ring to the lantern fixed to the stone on one side of the doorframe to find the right one.

Temperance watched the rain pool in the grass, waiting patiently as she wrapped her parka tighter around her thin form. As the frantic jingle of keys melded together with the sound of thunder, movement in the blanket of water caught her eye. Something tall stood by a tree, barely detectable if it had not been for the way it rose its hand to feel the oncoming droplets beneath the foliage. Temperance narrowed her eyes, leaning forward to see who was there. In the dark, it was almost impossible to see who or what was there. And then—

Lightning struck. The entire school lit up like a Christmas tree, and the figure was illuminated for half a second. Temperance gasped as she took in the image of a man. Hair as black as the skies above, thick eyebrows above closed eyes, full lips. He stood in a black suit, blending into the surrounding shadows, as though he was cloaked in the tendrils of darkness. And then the lights dimmed to nothing as thunder echoed across the mountains. Temperance blinked the phosphoresce from her eyes, squinting and looking around to see if she could see him again.

Lighting immediately flashed again, this time striking nearby, white flashing across the yard even more brightly. The man still remained, but he was not enjoying the feel of the rain any longer. His eyes were trained on her. Temperance's gray orbs widened as she realized that his smoldering icy blues were not the only off-putting thing. Before the lights died once more, Temperance swore she saw the thick remnants of coagulated red on his lips mixing with rainwater and dripping down a sculpted chin.

"Found it!" Dmitri cried and Temperance jerked at the sound of his voice, spinning around to see the driver triumphantly raise a key up and slam it into the lock. She had no chance to process what had happened before the older man was ushering her into the warm and dry building, and slammed the door shut behind her, the man with the piercing blue eyes gone with the next flash.

Her gaze remained fixated in the direction where she had last seen the man, now nothing but the wood grain in her sights. Had she truly seen that, or was she hallucinating once more? He, like the strange child at the art show, was too ethereal, yet real enough that she was questioning everything. Was this whole scene even real? Was she even in another country in the first place?

The warmth from the inside beckoned her attention, as she reluctantly turned away from the entrance, intending on thinking further on the matter once she had the chance. Inside was a much different story than the outside.

Warm golden light spilled into the foyer from the massive chandelier that hung above the staircase. On the ground floor, a dark wooden door led to another room, while one staircase ahead of the first led to the second level, the other led down to the lower level. She underestimated just how big the place was.

She looked around at the grandiose entryway — white tile inlaid with gold, elegant crown molding at the corners of where the ceiling met the walls. If she had not known any better, she would have thought that this was a royal palace.

Dmitri placed her bags down against the wall, turning around and locking the main doors.

Chatter from before her forced her to quit her sightseeing, as she came across the source. Two students congregated at the top of the stairs, each dressed in uniforms of plaid skirts and baby blue sweaters. One was taller with box-braids that hung down to her waist, blonde at the ends. The other was shorter, with a perfect fringe and long, straight hair. Both bore glittery eyelids and nude lipsticks. They looked like they were models on a runway, with clothes from a Catholic girls' school. She also could not help but notice the sneer from the taller girl, her eyes cutting through her even as she stood some feet away.

When the one with bangs caught Temperance's curious gaze, she paused, before she shrieked with a smile. Temperance flinched, perplexed by the reaction of the grinning girl who was darting down the stairs as Temperance wondered if she should run away.

The girl trotted up to her, taking Temperance's chilled hands into her own.

"You're the new girl, right?" her voice was high and clear, like a bell. She bore some sort of accent, audible on certain words but overall indiscernible. "Welcome to St. Văduva's!"