Nymphix

Chapter One

Chapter One 

The angle she positioned herself on the protruding tree branch would have looked awkward if it were any other person, but it wasn't. Katerina was on her hands and knees, somehow managing to balance on the thin branch while extending her neck to catch the words that drifted out of the slightly opened window to the classroom.

“Now, your magic is like an animal. It has its own personality, wild until you tame it. But once you do it'll be your most loyal companion.” The voice was deep and warm, the kind that demanded respect and attention from Katerina. But the rest of the class seemed to be bored out of their minds, sprawled across their desks, flicking pieces of paper into their classmate's hair and making rude gestures at the back of the class. It was precisely that reason that Katerina preferred to attend the class while not actually being inside the classroom. This was where the widespread chestnut tree came in handy – Katerina could use its extended branches to listen in on classes. She didn't know exactly if this was allowed or not, but since no one had stopped her she continued to do it.

“Felix!” A sharp voice snapped her out of her daze, and Katerina pushed a leafy branch out of the way to peer closer into the classroom.

“Since you seem to be so confident and keen on using your magic-” The once deep and kind voice turned sharp and authoritative as the teacher - who insisted students call him "Mire" -  glared at a boy slumped at the back of the class. He had just been caught with a thin silvery stream of magic extending from his fingertips, slowly weaving its way along the ground towards another boy at the front of the class.

“Perhaps you'd like to demonstrate it to the class.” The boy – Felix – seemed unfazed and stood up managing to look both lazy but graceful at the same time. He strode to the front of the class in a few steps, taking advantage of his long gangly legs. Once he reached the front, he faced Mire who seemed to pull a cup out of thin air and placed in on a desk in front of them.

“Magic isn't all about waving your hands and shooting lightning bolts at anything that moves, it takes a great amount of control to discipline it to obey your will. If you do not spend enough time doing this, it will eventually control you instead,” He gestured to the cup and then to the boy

“Go ahead Felix, I want you to lift this cup, and hold it in the air for as long as possible.” With a snap of his neck, Felix flicked his raven black hair out of his eyes, a movement that somehow managed to irritate Katerina; yet she couldn't help but lean in closer to pay more attention. He made a great show of rolling up his imaginary sleeves and rubbing his palms together causing a flood of sniggers to roll through the class. Finally the joking look on his face seemed to disappear and he seemed to concentrate, once again a smoky silver tendril weaving out from his fingers to wrap around the cup. He wrinkled his forehead now, before the cu shivered, then slowly began to levitate into the air. Becoming cocky, he relaxed his stance and shot a smug grin at the teacher, who seemed to be focusing on the cup instead. With a small, almost indistinguishable flick of his wrist, Felix sent the cup flying across the class to his the boy Felix seemed to be targeting previously. The sniggers broke out into laughter and the boy looked up from the desk where he seemed to be writing furiously. Taking a closer look, Katerina realised that the boy was actually more of a man – or at least he looked that way. How his freakishly large body managed to sit on the chair without breaking it, Katerina had no idea. As soon as the cup hit his head, the pen that was in his hands snapped like a twig and he looked up. If it weren't for his face, Katerina would have been sure it was a fully grown man sitting there, except his face was young and boyish that seemed misplaced on his body. He looked incapable of hurting a fly, but as he stood up Katerina reconsidered her judgment. He stormed towards the boy at the front of the class who seemed unfazed, the cocky smirk faltering for only a second. Katerina was so sure that he would pound him into the ground with the murderous look that plastered his face, but at the last second he turned and stormed out of the class.