Hallor Chronicles

CHAPTER IV. - FIRST TRIALS

I have never seen or owned anything so beautiful. The fabric is so soft and light, but at the same time very thick and warm. The dress look exactly like the design Cyn had in her sketchbook, but I am still surprised how they turned out. Since I won't need them until the day of the ball, I fold them and put the box away into the closet.

Everyone from the 1st year is gathered in a small ballroom. We are meant to use high heels and I am not really good with those. I didn't even have appropriate ones and I had to borrow a pair from Gaia. I got ones that go around my leg and have some level of support.

When I finally finished tying laces around my ankles, the instructor called us to the dancefloor. We are meant to find a free space but still stay in formation. Thanks to Skylar, I already know the basic steps but I had hoped that I will be able to practice them with someone. We only have thirteen students in the year, which I thought would be an issue since one person won't have a dance partner to practice with, but I got corrected right after getting to the class. Only the girls are going to practice here while the boys got hauled off somewhere else. The whole ceremony is sacred and the dance is used for something during the actual ball. For this reason we are not meant to perform it outside of the Equinox ball. And a part of the ritual is also being chosen by someone. I am glad that Draco only declined to go with me for this reason, but how are we supposed to dance with air?

The whole class is more like a torture and the instructor is even worse than the soldier professors in Combats. We are being taught by an older Russian lady, but it's nothing like Skylar. Her accent is heavy and so are her instructions. She yells out if you make a mistake or don't correct your steps. Despite limping and using a cane to walk, she always manages to get to your spot quickly and taps your with a thin stick she is carrying in her other hand. Each hit stings against my skin and it will definitely leave some bruises.

Struggling as I expected, by the end of the first class I am sweatier than coming from a gym or training. My whole body hurts because the instructor kept correcting my form. I had to bend my arms, legs or back in weird angles, then keep holding them like that. If I was a cat or more flexible, it wouldn't be such a problem, but at this point, I am just a stick that has two options, horizontal and vertical, when it comes to dacing. Reilly seemed to get the hang of it somehow, but she trained her body for years. The most elegant and almost perfect as the instructor called them, were Saxa and Reira, and of course she had to threw that in my face by looking at me, lifting her eyebrows and slightly tilting her head. It pissed me off, but I can't risk an attack when Woreus is not here to protect me. They banned him from entering the ballroom, or more like the instructor isn't keen on dogs.

With the help of Reilly, I got back to my room and when Woreus saw me limping, he immediately jumped out from his bed and wants to know what happened. I barely waved at him to not be worried and told him to not even ask. Reilly betrayed me though and revealed what actually happened, earning me a good laugh from both of them.

Hot bath helped me relax the tense muscles but I still feel weak for some reason. It's this weird feeling of something between being sick and tired. We practiced only for two hours with a enough long break, so I can't be exhausted from that. Luckily, we can use this for some examination Woreus wants to do in order to find out who sealed off my source. If I was fully awake, it would make it harder for him, but me being tired helps him connect to the remnants of the magic better. I make myself confortable on the bed and Woreus lets me know it's okay if I fall asleep. I would love that but I also want to know what he finds, so I fight the sleep with everything I can muster. Watching Woreus as he walks from the head to my feet, sniffing and checking some invisible magic lines, I try to stay still and calm my mind. He freezes at one spot and keeps smelling it.