Mount Asteria

Chapter Three

Alexandra sat gingerly on the bed and closed her eyes. There was certainly a lot to take in. She was awed by the sheer size of the school, the antique furnishings, the ornate decor, the perfectly maintained grounds... She had seen many grand places before, of course - being the daughter of an ambassador meant she was often invited to State events and private functions in a range of equally beautiful venues. But this, a school. One of the most exclusive private schools in Europe, certainly, but a school nevertheless.

It was odd, she thought, given the magnificence of the building and grounds, that she had never heard of the place before. Maybe that was point - maybe it was meant to be a closely guarded secret.

Alexandra heard a soft knock on her door, dragging her out of her reverie. Quickly, she hopped off the bed and ran to open it. Before her stood a girl of about her own age and height.

"Hallo!" the girl said, her shoulder-length blonde ringlets bouncing around. "I'm Hestia. You must be Alexandra? I'm in your year. Mrs Elbourne sent me to give you a tour.Well, actually, she was looking for Ebony but she wasn't there so she asked for some of the other girls but none of them were around either so she told me to go. I hear you're the daughter of the new Ambassador to Britain, is that right?" Hestia had bright blue eyes, a smiling face and a hand which stuck out in front of her.Alexandra took it awkwardly.

"Yes," Alexandra replied, not knowing what else to say. Hestia, however, seemed quite capable of speaking enough for both of them.

"Cool! I'm from England!"

"Oh, really?" Alexandra said, feeling stupid saying it; Hestia spoke with a cut-glass British accent. It was pleasantly familiar to Alexandra's ears.

"So, where did you live until now? Or I suppose you move around a lot?"

"No, actually, I was at boarding school in Cornwall until this year. For some reason Mum and Dad wanted me to come here, just as they move to London." Alexandra wondered if Hestia's smile was a permanent fixture.

"Well, it is a good school. Anyway,will we go? The place is pretty big, I still get lost sometimes! This morning I was wandering around and somehow found a back entrance to the principal's private rooms! She wasn't there though so I suppose I was alright."

Alexandra raised her eyebrows, biting her lip,trying not to laugh.

The two girls left the South Wing and returned to the spiral staircase that divided the main building from the boardinghouse. Instead of moving towards the steps, however, Hestia led Alexandra to a lift, next to the door of the fourth year floor. Lift may have been a bit of an exaggeration. It looked more like a rickety old birdcage.

"Wow... This building is very old, isn't it?"she observed, stepping cautiously into the elevator.

"Oh no - well yes, I suppose. Most of it's Georgian in design-or Palladian, whatever that is." The lift began rattling down and Alexandra clutched the sides, afraid it wouldn't take their weight. Hestia, busy speaking, seemed unperturbed. "But it was actually built about a hundred years ago, on the site of an old manor house from the something-or-other era. Some of the other buildings outside, like the Abbey, have been there for way longer though... I think." She frowned. "Sorry- history isn't my best subject!"

"Oh really? History's my favourite,"Alexandra said, glad of something to talk about.

Hestia looked thoughtful. "Daughter of an ambassador and loves history... yep, you're definitely communications."

"What do you mean?"

"Communications... Um, it's part of the curriculum here - nevermind, you'll find out more about that tomorrow.

"This is the sixth-years' patch," Hestia announced, the lift arriving on the ground floor, much to Alexandra's relief. They left the building through a pair of French doors. Here was a well tended garden, complete with a low wooden bench from where the grounds could be admired. "We're not supposed to go into their garden or they get kind of cross. I'll take you to the front entrance again first and we can start from there. It'll probably make more sense that way.

Hestia babbled on for the better part of an hour.She brought Alexandra to the library, the dining-hall, the courtyard,the 'glass-house' - a large conservatory filled with a myriad of exotic plants and flowers - , showed her where the teachers lived in the North Wing, where the principal's office was, the medical centre and Matron's office, and finally, the abbey.

"This is just where we go for religious services on Sundays. The choir sings here too..." was all Hestia had to say about the building. It was, to Alexandra, the most intriguing building of all the places she had seen on her tour. It was an old, stone church, large enough to seat the hundred students,teachers and staff at the school.

Without waiting for invitation, Alexandra put her hand on the door handle and opened it. Inside it was a like a medieval cathedral, only smaller and less eerie.

"So, we all sit here." Hestia gestured to the pews around them in the main seating area, evidently not worried at all about speaking at a normal volume in such a place, though Alexandra scarcely dared whisper. "The choir's up on the gallery and the teachers are at the sides."

"Do we have to come every Sunday?"

Hestia shrugged. "We don't have to, but a good few people do. There's a Catholic mass normally, then a Protestant one every month. And there are lots of other sorts of religions throughout the year – Buddhist and Hindu ceremonies, Jewish services -"

"That's a lot!"

"It's good to get experience of all the different religions. But that's more your field, if you're going for communications. I'm science and technology."

"Umm... right?" Confused, Alexandra found herself tuned-out of whatever it was Hestia was saying on their return journey to the fourth year common room. It was a cosy room equipped with a small kitchenette and comfortable modern furniture,where about six other girls were lounging on the sofas, reading,watching the television and, in one case, sewing.

"Girls! This is the new girl in our form -Alexandra Gracieux," Hestia announced. They all looked up,mildly interested. "Alexandra, this is Grace, Thea, Claire,Bláithín, Fatima and Ebony.

The first five girls smiled politely, saying hello and asking the usual questions - Where are you from? Do you like the place? Do you play hockey?

Alexandra replied appropriately, trying to keep up with them all. They were all so different – Fatima was from the Middle East, she was sure, Thea looked like she was from somewhere on the Mediterranean coast - though her accent was perfectly neutral –Grace, Claire and Bláithín, on the other hand were unmistakeably Irish. As for Ebony -

The last girl to be introduced had stood and made her way over to Alexandra and Hestia when the other girls had finished their interrogation. She was quite tall and slim and had sleek black hair that fell halfway down her back. Her skin was porcelain and her eyes were a piercing blue. Altogether, she was rather intimidating. "So you're the new ambassador's daughter."She frowned, as if she had expected more.

"Ah - yeah," Alexandra said, feeling a little nervous.

"Well," Ebony said, almost resignedly,

Alexandra glanced at Hestia in confusion, but she seemed to be daydreaming, staring out the window with a small smile playing of her lips.

Instead of elaborating on what she had said, Ebony straightened and sighed. "Welcome to Mount Asteria, Alexandra."

***

Author's Note

There seem to be some technical difficulties with the last chapter regarding formatting which hopefully will be soon resolved!

So, what do you think of the characters and this chapter overall? Reading over it - I haven't seen it in a while - I can't help but want to rewrite the entire thing, but unfortunately  I don't currently have the time!