Twisted [Lady Lesso x OC] {S L O W B U R N}

Chapter 3

"Now we wait," Lady Lesso said and pushed me further into the room.

I couldn't tell what it was about her that made me feel both uncomfortable and somewhat safe whenever she was around. Sure, she was mean and would probably turn out to be even more of a bitch later on - I wouldn't expect anything less from a villain - but there were those small, kind gestures that made me like her slightly more. Renn had told me a bit about Lady Lesso and it would be enough for most people to assume that they'd never want to be near her if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Despite her snarky comments, she never yelled at me for being dumb and didn't rush me or tell me off when I freaked out about her falling from the bridge earlier that day. She did threaten to drag me to the tower but I wasn't sure whether she'd really do that or not. At this point, she was surprisingly the only person to make me feel welcome in a place I didn't fit in. I knew I was an outcast but she never held it against me, at least not yet. She kept calling me a Reader and the word itself made her face twitch in disgust. I couldn't help but wonder why but I never dared ask.

I looked around the room curiously. Despite a few lit torches and fairly big windows - they looked a lot smaller from the outside - it still was quite dark in there. I'd assumed it was the School Master's office but one could easily mistake it for a library. An enormous bookcase took up one entire wall and I'd never seen so many books stored in one place. I walked up to it and read what the book spines said - "Body of power", "Magic explained", "Potions and Remedies", and "Time Travel for Beginners" to name just a few. Most of them appeared to be textbooks, though some could've been novels and I fought the urge to grab at least one of them to find out.
Even though I wanted to go home, the magical school was starting to intrigue me and part of me wanted to stay there for a little while.

"Oh, Miss Tremblay, I've been awaiting meeting you for a very long time now," I heard someone say and I immediately spun around to see a man standing by the door. He wore a purple robe, and his posture and grey hair clearly indicated his old age. His face was covered in wrinkles but when I looked closer I saw a spark of both playfulness and wisdom in his icy blue eyes.

"Good morning, sir," I said and glanced at Lady Lesso only to realize she'd already been watching me carefully. Her eyes shifted between me and the old man in front of me and I wished I could read her better. Part of me thought she suddenly hated being in that office even more than I did.

If one called Lady Lesso intriguing, they'd surely find the School Master mysterious and I do not mean it in a good way at all. He seemed kind but something about him was so unsettling that I struggled to maintain eye contact and would much rather be thrown from the sky by one of the magical birds than stand in front of him and act like a polite foolish girl.

"As you might already know, I am the School Master. I know being taken away from your home must be confusing and is very much throwing you in at the deep end but I would like to assure you it's in your best interest to stay here," he explained while coming up to me and grabbing my hand. He squeezed it and smiled lightly.

"I appreciate it, sir, I really do but I also wish to go home. It's just me and my dad back in Gavaldon. He's got no one else," I was on the verge of tears at this point and I hoped he'd finally be the one to send me back to the village.

"I think you would be a lot safer here, Miss Tremblay," he stated and gave me a meaningful look that made me bite my lip. I understood it wouldn't be possible to convince him to let me go. "You'll like it here," he then added and smiled again.

"Oh, is that so? I don't even know why I'm here. Everyone keeps calling me a Reader and some are even scared of me. Why would they be?"

The School Master cast a critical eye on Lady Lesso for some unknown reason and then looked back at me.