A Story I Once Lived

Friends

I don't know why the walls of the school looked metalic from the other side of the barrier. From the inside, the walls were just plain stone. Maybe I imagined the small golden glow that emanated from them but they were still just rock. I could also get a better look at the four castle-things as we walked to the smallest building. They were all made of the same sort of glowy stuff. I could also see more students walking around, most of which I should have seen from the other side of the barrier. What was the point of this little bit of magic?

If this school was only for nobles, I did not expect there to be that many students and indeed I only saw about twenty people walking around. I was not sure but I think a few of them had stopped to stare at me. Were they whispering about me? I could certainly see their mouths moving but convinced myself that they must have been talking about something that did not involve me. That is until someone said in a whisper that was too loud, "she burned down the maze." That changed everything. If they were talking about my achievements, I might as well look proud. I cast a quick smile in the direction I heard the words. You'd almost think I boiled a cat from the look on their faces.

Coming up on the entrance of the smallest building, I noticed a ridiculously tall door. I barely had the time to wonder whether giants attended the school when it began to shrink. It was a regular sized door by the time Gabriela reached for the handle. What was the point of THAT piece of magic?! I never thought I would feel so confused by being surrounded by magic. The door opened to a hallway and several doors, too many of them. Was everything different in a small magical way? There was no way that the hallway could be that long for such a small tower! Was this school just using magic because it could?

We walked the hallway for quite a while before we met another person, a boy followed by a maid of his own. He had to be here for the orientation thing. He looked older than me, not by much but still students were supposed to start at the age of seven and that guy had to be at least ten. He turned as we approached. There was nothing noteworthy about him except pale blond hair. He was also wearing robes so he was clearly a student.

"Welcome!" He started cheerfully. Would it be rude to take a step back? I didn't fully understand why but I was suddenly filled with a strong feeling of dislike and it was all directed at some pale kid in robes. "You must be here for the orientation. Ten new students this year, much more interesting than last year. There were only four last year."

He gestured to the door which was promptly opened by the maid beside him.

"Who are you?" I asked testily.

"Iker Bennett. I led the orientation last year too, not that you would know since you failed the test." Yeah, that was a more concrete reason to hate the guy. Also, the orientation was up to a kid?

"Fantastic..." I said with a fake smile.

We walked into what looked like a small auditorium with a small raised platform in the middle. The sears in the audience part were wooden and painted a shade of gold similar to the accents from my robes. They also all faced the raised platform. Some of the seats were even filled by about seven kids, all of whom were staring at me. Behind them were also a line of maids just kind of standing in the back of the auditorium. Gabriela moved to join them after shooting a concerned look at Larissa.

As I was thinking about where to sit I noticed a familiar face, the nephew of the king, sitting in the back of the room very far away from the other kids. I headed straight for him.

"You actually decided to go to school this year?" I asked sitting down. He sat up as if he had been startled out of a deep sleep.

"I have to." He said looking from me to Larissa. "My little cousin is starting this year. I have to beat up anyone who dares look down on him, not that I think it will happen?"