The Queen Of Death and Ruins

Hands off

The main building was once again buzzing as students lined up in front of four rooms to get their schedules.

The scene wasn’t messy, much like in the conference hall, the students were divided by seniority, each class lined up in front of their designated office to get their necessary documents. But just because Mystics were awfully organized didn’t mean they weren’t like your typical teenagers. Flirting, gossiping, whispering and laughing, these magical creatures looked like they belonged in a high school movie.

I stood in line, observing the behavior of my fellow students. I wasn’t that interested in what the juniors were gossiping about, nor did I find the sophomore girls flirting with the senior boys a fascinating scene to watch, but I needed a distraction of any sort. My mind was spiraling out of control and my friends were so engrossed in their own conversations, they didn't notice my struggle.

I had a lot to be confused about. The fact that I was joining magical classes starting tomorrow morning was one. I was also supposed to take part in the fundamentals along with young students so I could catch up on what I missed, as well as continue my work with Mr. Blackthorn before and after my classes.

To say that my plate was full was a gross understatement. However, all of that seemed to pale in comparison to what I had just experienced at the assembly hall. My reaction to Caelum brought in an onslaught of questions I had no logical answers to. What was it about him that set my nerves on fire? His eyes, those big, brown, beautiful eyes tugged at my heartstrings. But it was his reaction to me that further confused my rattled brain. He had looked at me as if he too was lost. But unless he also had been attacked and left without a memory, there was no reason for him to look so puzzled. Did he know something? Was this a clue worth looking into or was I just trying to justify my attraction to a guy I had just met? A guy who had a girlfriend my friends seemed to despise.

The line seemed to move at a painfully slow pace. How hard was it to give out these damn schedules anyway? For annoyingly perfect creatures, this task seemed too complicated for the Mystics of Lixierra and that got on my very last nerve. I clenched my fists, digging my fingernails into my palms in an attempt to control the sudden wave of anger that took over my entire body, replacing my confusion. I tapped my foot on the floor loudly and groaned, counting the seconds until I got out of here.

“Are you alright?” Zephyr, standing behind me in line, stroked my back.

“Fine.” I snapped, louder than I meant to and immediately regretted it as a few heads turned to give me quizzical looks. “I just want to get out of here already,” I continued, lowering my voice.

“Me too.” Zephyr gave me a sympathetic look, no doubt picking on my hostility. “It’ll be over soon.”

“Not soon enough.” I unclenched my fists, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves.

After what seemed like forever and a half, Kira, Zephyr, Lysandra and I finally had our schedules. I pretended to read mine, avoiding whatever conversation the girls were engrossed in. Truthfully I wasn’t able to read a word out of that thing, so I folded it and shoved it in my pocket, making a mental note to check it out carefully later. I looked up as we got out of the office, following the girls who seemed determined to carry out the lunch plans we made this morning.

The restaurant we went to was called ‘Joe’s place’. It was quiet, cozy and practically empty. It was past lunch time for Mystics as we were well into the afternoon —apparently we stood in line for longer than I remembered— but I suspected this tiny secluded restaurant didn’t get a lot of attention anyway. We sat outside, a table facing the ocean, and ordered our food.

“Fancy seeing you girls here!”

I turned around, watching two boys who looked to be our age climb up the stairs and stop right in front of our table. The first one had short black hair and a bright smile, his porcelain skin glowing under the rays of the sun above us. The other one had slightly lighter hair, brown eyes and a more petite frame than his tall friend. Their attention was mainly focused on Kira, but they both turned to give me a warm smile.

“How are you doing sis?” The first guy said, directing his words to Kira. I vaguely remembered Kira telling me she had a twin, honestly I was surprised I could remember anything with the wild storms going on in my mind, but the memory surfaced back to the top. Now that I took a closer look at him as he stood next to Kira, their resemblance looked uncanny.

“I’ll be a lot better when my food gets here.” Kira responded. “Did you get your schedule?”

“I did. It’s no walk in the park.”      
 
“The council is not taking it easy on us anytime soon.” The other guy chimed in, rolling his eyes as he studied a piece of paper in his hand.

“Nyx.”  Kira looked at me, “this is my brother Kaius. And that’s his friend Soren.”

“Nice to meet you both.”

“Nice to meet you too Nyx. We’ve heard so much about you,” Kaius said. “Do you ladies mind if we join you? We haven’t had lunch either.”

“I thought Joe’s place wasn’t exactly your scene,” Kira said, air quoting the last part.

“I’m always open to new experiences.” Kaius smiled sheepishly. “Besides, I wanted to catch up with Sandra and Zephyr, I haven’t seen them all summer.”

“Is that your way of saying you missed me?” Zephyr laughed as the two boys pulled up a couple of chairs and joined us at the table.

“Of course I missed you Z,” Kaius said as he sat down, giving Zephyr a wink. “How was your summer Sandra? Kira was really bummed that you didn’t visit.”

“I was going to but I got caught up with my family. But I’m here now!” Lysandra said as she held Kira’s hand, smiling brightly at her girlfriend.

“So, Nyx,” Kaius said, turning back to me. “How are you liking the academy so far?”

I smiled, pushing back the confusion and frustration of my day. “It's not so bad.”

Soren smiled back, his brown eyes appraising me silently. “I can see why Sin said you're off limits.” He winked, leaning back in his chair .

“What are you talking about?” Zephyr said, her eyes darting between Soren and I.

“You haven't heard?” Kaius shook his head, pushing a hand through his locks. “His highness the Prince of Aitheria has ordered everyone on campus to back off. He has been seen with Nyx a few times and decreed her his royal property.”

“I'm sorry, what did you just say?” My voice was low, eyebrows quirked in confusion.

Kira looked at me, her eyes narrowed. “When were you with Sinifer?”

“We went out for lunch a couple of days ago, and hung out a few times.”

“And you didn't tell us?” Zephyr gasped, her eyes wide in shock.

“I'm sure I mentioned it.”

“I'm sure you didn't,” Kira hissed, crossing her arms.

“What's the issue here? Aside from him calling me his royal property.”

“He didn't say that exactly -” Soren started, but he was soon cut off.

“The problem is that Sinifer is an asshole. Seriously Nyx, of all the students in Lixierra, Sinifer is the one you should avoid at all costs. He is an egotistical douchebag with a superiority complex and a taste for trouble.”

Kaius rolled his eyes, holding his hands up. “Okay, that's a bit much don't you think? Yes he's not great, but maybe you're a little biased here.”

“Why is that?” I asked, looking between the twins. Lysandra looked down, hiding her smile behind her hand.

“Kira and Caelum are close friends,” Soren said. “Caelum and Sinifer are sworn enemies. You do the math.”

“Still, it doesn't change the fact that he's an ass.” Kira huffed, watching as a waiter finally brought our food out. She reached for a fork, stabbing her plate with a vengeance.

“Just, be careful around him, okay?” Kaius said, giving me a small smile.

I nodded, adding his advice to the neverending list of things to do at the academy.