°° The shadows Of Skotia°°

Chapter six

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Mr. Julian clapped his hands, breaking the tension in the room.

“Excellent. Catherine, we’ll get you settled into your new home right away. Madeline, if you could assist her?” Madeline nodded, giving me a reassuring smile.

“Come on, Catherine, let's get you to your dorm. You must be exhausted.”

I nodded weakly. Now that the adrenaline rush had faded, my knees felt like jelly and my stomach churned painfully. My mind was racing, trying to process everything that had happened. Mr. Julian dissolved into the shadows with a swift movement. Ms. Sylvia, who had been eerily quiet, stepped forward. She crouched to my level and smiled.

“You're going to be a star, I'll make sure of it,” she cooed.

Straightening up, she exchanged a look with Madeline before vanishing as well. I shivered slightly.

“What does she mean?” I asked.

“Oh, probably nothing. Sylvia’s always spewing nonsense. Do me a favor and never listen to her, will you?”

I considered asking her about what their deal was, but her tone was dismissive and irritated. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

As we walked out, the hallways felt both familiar and entirely new. The air was thick with the scent of old books and something unidentifiable, adding to the aura. Madeline seemed in a better mood as she pointed out paintings and statues, explaining their origins.

“These are naiads, beautiful creatures of the sea… and this is the quad; it leads to most of the other branches… and the cafeteria…”

Her voice faded into the background. I was too exhausted to focus, barely trailing behind her, my stomach in knots. We climbed a stairway leading to a hall with numerous doors. Room 1_02 it read.

“This is your room,” she said, opening the door. The large room had three beds, three wardrobes, and three sofas circling a round coffee table. In the corner was a long table with three chairs and a shelf. Pink travel cases were by one of the beds.

“Your things have been transferred already,” Madeline sighed. Her earlier anxiety was gone, replaced by a calm demeanor.

“You must be hungry. You'll find clothes in that box. Change, and let's get you something to eat.”

I got changed and we had sandwiches. I didn't bother to ask where they came from. I had more important questions to ask.

“So, what now?” I prompted.

“Tomorrow, the other students will resume. You'll meet your new roommates. You don't need to worry about settling down, you'll be told everything you need to know…”

“So you're leaving me. Alone, in this place.” I tried as much as possible to hide the panic in my voice.

Madeline blinked.

“I'm sorry, but I can't stay. Now that my job is done, tonight is the last time we'll see each other for a while.”

I didn't know how to take that. Her job. I was a mere task to her, just another obligation. I could feel my face heating up again, all exhaustion from earlier dissipating as energy surged through my veins.

“What about my mother, my old life? I might not give a damn about my old school, but what about my mother's body? You're just… going to abandon me.”

“Calm down, I'm not abandoning you,” she said, her calming voice overpowering my anger.

“Everything's being taken care of. On Saturday evening by ten p.m., there'll be someone to take you back to the normie realm, to your mother where you can send your last greetings.”