𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐦

Swirls of grey clouds draped themselves across the darkened night sky, dancing as they watched the moon rise up to them. The air outside was almost still, a mystic feeling lingering making anyone who ventured outside feel a sense of entrancement. Droplets of water latched themselves onto the freshly mown blades of grass due to the earlier shower.

It was evident that autumn was close to its full debut, and it seemed that the habitat was dousing itself in the warm and esoteric spirit. Rumbles of laughter and jollity enveloped the interior of the building as everyone filled themselves with delicious meals and treats that had been provided in the main hall. Alongside this, another sort of buzz filled the rooms of the school, and it was that of the high the first years were experiencing from completing Threshing and being one step closer to the dream that they all wished to achieve.

The previous night had been of a similar atmosphere, and it seemed that their high spirits had not yet been dampened. Currently, the thoughts of their fallen comrades were far from the forefronts of their minds as they became befuddled by the relaxed sense of comfort around them. No one held any thoughts of their future deaths or the deaths of their friends but instead staid in the joyful present.

Except Isolde. Death seemed to always be plaguing her mind as she was always aware of how close she was to being found out. Perhaps by the runes on her body, or furthermore the scars that littered her skin. Maybe one day the words that fell from her tongue would show a hint of an accent that she had worked so hard to conceal. The uncertainty of her future filled every inch of her body, and yet she was unable to confide in the others around her about her worries.

That night however, Isolde had made the plan to do the one thing she swore to herself that she would never do. Return to her village. The night she left, everything was so meticulously planned that if she were to divert by a single centimetre she would have been found out and punished severely for her actions.

But she was different now. Her body was stronger, her mind sharper and if she was to be found, she knew that she had a fighting chance of escaping.

***

Pulling on her darkened hood, Isolde peeled open her window, clutched her bag to her chest and began the short climb to the ground. Feeling her boots landing on the hardened surface beneath her, she looked up and around at her surroundings, making sure to note that no one had spotted her. The moon that lit up the field, pale and distant, seemed more like an apparition than a celestial body, veiled in the faintest whispers of mist that curled and clung around its edges like tendrils of an unspoken spell.

It felt as if Isolde was being judged and tried beneath its judicious gaze, and she couldn't help but to feel slightly powerless under the planet. They were meant to be brave, and strong. They were to ride dragons and fear only the most fearsome of the gods and yet she felt an urge to bow in the presence of such a spirit.