Terramancer

Chapter Six

I had walked to the infirmary with Ece's arms wrapped around my shoulders as he babbled deliriously into my ear. I had to find my own way to the infirmary as Ece was being absolutely no help whatsoever.

By the time I had found the infirmary, I was already late for dinnertime. I left Ece in the hands of the nurse and, after asking the nurse for directions, found my way to the dining room with minimal struggle.

When I walked in, everyone looked up at me. I suppose I looked a mess – still in my clothes from training, my hair coming out of its ribbon. A few peoples' mouths hung open as they stared at me, others made remarks to their friends. I awkwardly made my way down the table and took my seat next to Iza. He wore a horrified expression.

"What are you still doing in your clothes from training?" he hissed in my ear.

I was beginning to reply when the headmistress spoke. "Miss Mary Sue," she said, her voice taking on a sharpness. "I do not know what the customs were in whatever village you're from, but it is the absolute height of disrespect to show up to mealtimes in the clothes you train in."

"Sorry, ma'am," I said. "It will not happen again."

"It better not. I will not be as kind to you if it does." She stood up and turned to address everyone in the Academy. "The Cooks are preparing your meal," she said. "I hope you trained hard today."

"Yes, ma'am," everyone at the table chorused. I frowned, looking down at the tablecloth.

She smiled warmly. "You may talk as you wait for the Cooks to finish preparing your meals."

Iza turned to me. "Where were you? And where's Ece?"

"He wanted me to practice a defence spell on him," I said. "I knocked him out then had to carry him all the way to the infirmary."

Iza smiled smugly. "Good," he said, the satisfaction clear in his voice. "How did you manage to carry him all the way to the infirmary? And, why bother? You should have just left him in the Training Room to rot."

I frowned. "Why would I do that?"

"Because he's annoying, and I hate him?" Iza suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

"He may be annoying and you may hate him, but either way he is essential to our quest, and I doubt he would be much help lying dead in the Training Room."

Iza pouted. He had one of those faces that were just made for pouting. "I know," he whined, "but it would be nice to be free of him for once."

A plate full of food appeared in front of me and I jumped. The Cooks must have finished preparing our meal. Iza immediately began to wolf it down and I rolled my eyes at him. Just what had made him so hungry?

When I got back to my room after dinnertime, I immediately had a bath and changed into my sleepwear. I fell into my comfortable bed, feeling exhausted. My body ached from training, and my eyes felt heavy, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

I awoke to a a loud banging at my door. I hauled myself out of bed and answered it, eyes bleary. It was Iza.

"Wha..." I asked, still half asleep.

"Listen," he said, "I saw someone sneak off into the forest. They must have jumped down from the second floor. We must alert the headmistress!"

I rubbed my eyes. "I am sure it's not a big deal," I said. "The nurse would have done something to stop it if it were."

Iza looked frantic. "What if there's a..." he dropped his voice down to a whisper so low I had to strain to hear it. "...a vampire in the Academy?"

I let out a laugh, but Iza didn't seem to think it was funny. I sobered up and looked at him. "You cannot surely think there is a vampire in the Academy," I said. "Someone would have noticed if there was." Truthfully, I did not believe in vampires – I thought they were fictional creatures made up by parents to scare their kids and stop them from talking to strangers. But I humoured Iza. I did not think letting him know I didn't believe in vampires would change his belief in them in the slightest.