Magic of Shadow and Secrets

Chapter 10

Saiyah wandered through the east wing of the academy, desperate not to be in isolation in her demolished room. (She still hadn't cleaned up yet). The halls used to be lively, bustling with students and instructors. Now it was empty and quiet, it was almost unsettling.

Would the students I grew up with ever return? How would people now learn to control their magic?

The girl shook her head, deciding not to worry about the future and focus on the now. One step at a time. She found herself stopping at Romelle's door, the only other room occupied in the girls' dorm wing. Saiyah took a deep breath before knocking, feeling deja vu. At nights when she had unpleasant dreams, she'd sneak into Romelle's room and vice versa—Romelle would sneak into hers. That was back when they were younger, their once frequent visits became less....frequent.

"Just a minute." A muffled voice grumbled from behind the thick white door. Two heartbeats later, the silver door knob twisted and the door opened inwards. On the other side of the door, a girl about 5'4" with a red-brown rat's nest on her head stood. The stranger had small, squinting hazel eyes and a few pimples dotting the edges of her forehead, though her bangs covered most of them.

Realizing with a start that it was Romelle, a wry smile spread on Saiyah's face. "Your insomnia has gotten worse, huh?"

Romelle yawned loudly, rubbing one of her crust–filled eyes. "Just shut up and come inside."

Romelle's room was homey, and much more lively and welcoming than Saiyah's room. Unlike hers, Romelle was organized—most of the time. There were a few occasions in which Saiyah spotted socks, underwear, and bras laying on the floor and furniture. The walls were decorated in paintings that the Genochemist had done herself. There was one that always caught Saiyah's eye. It was the one beside the gargantuan bookshelf. It was a dark castle, with stairways unending that twisted and weaved around one another.

It looked like a perilous, chaotic hell.

But Saiyah found it interesting, despite the wicked thorny vines in the margins of the painting. The painting was a mind maze of somesort, keeping Saiyah's mind sharp and her perspective of things flexible.

"What is it this time?" Romelle rasped, dropping onto her bed with a 'thud' "Bad dream or is Xev snoring too loud?"

Saiyah snorted at the jest, "The boys sleep all the way in the north wing, I doubt I'd be able to hear them from here."

Shrugging, Romelle peered at the ground passively. "I sometimes think there are times where these walls are made of paper." She replied cryptically. There was an uncomfortable silence between them for a moment.

Breaking the tension, Saiyah blurted, "Sometimes I don't even know why I'm here. I don't belong here with the rest of you."

"Yes, you do." Her friend said firmly. "West is a late bloomer, so are you." Saiyah scoffed quietly, Romelle assumed she felt out of place because she didn't have powers. Although it was the complete opposite actually. I'm a villain, I don't deserve to be part of this hero team. It wasn't her insecurity speaking, but her mind this time. What scared her the most was how indifferent she acted towards the truth: that she was a bad guy.

"And if I did have magic, what form do you think it'll take?" Saiyah asked, trying to continue normal conversation.

Her companion shrugged again. "Dunno. But you do love helping others, even though you're shy. So whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be amazing." Saiyah nearly choked, realizing that Romelle saw her as some selfless, good samaritan. She almost laughed, suddenly wanting to prove Romelle wrong. She was even tempted to right then and there show Romelle what she was really capable of. But it took all of Saiyah's self restraint not to.