Flames of the River

Chapter 2

"Mora!" Luna waved excitedly at Mora, as if they hadn't been together about two hours ago. Mora smiled brightly as she walked over to take her usual seat behind her best friend. 

She placed her bag on the floor before flattening the back of her skirt with her hands as she sat down. The unfortunately designed red uniforms with the blazing torch emblem were suggested by her mother and designed by her gorgeous and ever whimsical aunt Melita. Mora was yet to see anyone that could pull it off, not even Luna, who Mora considered the most beautiful girl she'd ever met, could. 

"Where's Heidi?" Mora asked looking around for their other best friend. 

"Late as usual." Luna replied as she turned around to face Mora. 

"If his mother finds out he's being late to every class again even I won't be able to help him out."

Heidi's mother, Ophelia, was Mora's personal guard. She'd been her mothers but had been given the duty of protecting the future queen once she was born. Mora had grown up mostly sheltered, only surrounded by her brother, cousins and the children of the people who worked in the palace. Heidi and Luna had been her best friends since she could walk and talk. 

"Where's Ms Flor?" Mora asked again.

"Don't know." The red headed girl shrugged. "She seems to be running late?"

"Ms Flor?" Mora arched a brow. Ms Flor was never late to anything. She walked in just then, before she could put a stain on her perfectly punctual reputation. Her round face was adorned with the same sunshine smile she had on every morning. The floral dress she wore seemed to flow elegantly, as if in a dance with the breeze coming in from the open windows. 

"Students, students." When Ms Flor said the word, it sounded as if she was in a song. "Precious students, settle down, settle down."

Ms Flor appeared to float as she walked. As far as Mora was concerned, her teacher was fully mortal, but she seemed to resemble the fairies that had been said to have come out when the world was almost at its end and nature was all but doomed. Their history teacher could be described as a dainty flower. Soft features, heart shaped lips, bright and round brown eyes that never stopped sparkling and glowing brown skin. 

"Remember the last lesson," Ms Flor began as she reached the front of the class, speaking as if the last lesson had been an hour ago and not two days ago, "we talked about..."

She let her words trail as she often did. The class replied simultaneously, grumbling and chewing on the words, "what society was like in the past."

"Yes!" Ms Flor replied with a beam, as if she was ignorant to the boredom of the class. Mora wasn't bored one bit. History was her favourite subject. She'd grown up being told stories about how they came to be, what things were like before they had received their gifts, all the wonderful and horrible things that had once made up society. 

"Ms Flor," Siyah, a boy who'd been classmates with Mora since she had begun attending school began, his hand raised, "why do we have to keep learning about this? We've been taught this since the first lesson we've ever had as learners."

The class demonstrated their agreement with nods and whispers of complaints. Ms Flor smiled and went to stand behind the rectangle Birch wood table. 

"Do we know everything about our history?" She asked and the class nodded. Her smile grew as she scanned around the room, her eyes resting on Mora long enough for her to notice but not everyone else. "Do we know everything about what life was like fifty years ago?"

The class shook their heads once more and Ms Flor's smile only seemed to expand. Her eyes began to dance. "What about a century ago?"

The class shook their heads with more vigor. Ms Flor continued. "Well, I can tell you a bit. Our ancestors would find us horribly primitive."