Safehaven

Chapter 23

The chiming of a bell woke me the next morning. Outside, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Its new rays of light painted the sky. I slid out of bed and walked to my dresser. Gwindol was still asleep on MY bed(What was wrong with his?!). Surprisingly, all my robes had holes, in the back for my wings!  Also, there were added zippers, just to help. Someone must have done that over the night. Whoever it had been, I was truly thankful. I dressed into a grey robe and strode over wake my dragon. He looked so peaceful, all snuggled up in the covers like an infant. Gently, I shook him. "Mornin', sleepy head!" Gwindol raised his head. Good morning. Now let me go back to sleep. The beast lay his head back down and started to snore once more. I took hold of the blankets and gave them a firm yank. They flew off the bed. Now, Gwindol shivered in the drafty room. He sat up and stretched like a cat would. That's no fair. He yawned, tongue lolling out. He pounced down from the mattress and the two of us walked briskly out of the room. No one was down stairs and the rooms were empty. They must have already gone to breakfast. So together, Gwindol and I hustled down the stairs and through the door toward the mess hall. We got there just as the food was being served. Today, it was eggs and bacon, my favorite. I scanned the room before I found my friends sitting at one of the back tables. They all talked heartily and their animals were sitting at the table beside them, stealing a piece of bacon every now and then. "Good morning, guys." I smiled, sitting down between Holly and Sage. "So what's the plan for today? There's no dying a painful death on the list, is there?" That earned a little laugh, but not much. "Well," Quinton started, looking at a sheet of paper beside him. "We are all split up, since we are in different groups. I start out at "Magic 101". Holly's got "Secrets of Safehaven". Lucky Sage, she gets a combined class with Jada and Antigone in "Soul mate defense". Shiloh, on the other hand, gets to go brew potions. And there is our day, all planned out and everything." I sighed. It was kind of a shame that most of us had to split up. I thought that at the castle we could stick together. Apparently not, though. Quinton passed around our schedules, which he had gotten from Nathen. As the first meal of the day came to an end, my 5 friends and I said farewell to one another and parted. Sage, Jada, and Antigone got to stay together though. Yay for them! I got up from the table and exited the mess hall. On my list, I had potions. It was odd because I had no supplies. Badon hadn't given any to me. I found the room where the class was on the third floor and found a seat towards the back. Nobody else had arrived. Gwindol sat on the stone floor beside me, still gnawing on a strip of bacon he had stolen from my plate. One by one, students streamed in through the doors as time slowly passed. I saw all kinds of animals alongside their masters. Bears, birds, the likes... Strangely, I saw no creatures such as mine or my friends, mythical. What was with that? I pushed that thought aside, though. Happily, nobody sat next to me. Either the dragon scared them off or I needed a shower. Just when the bell sounded, the professor stumbled in. He had a fraying jacket that loosely hung on his thin frame. Huge glasses dominated his face and magnified his eyes so they were the size of baseballs. The man deposited his mountain of books on the desk in the front and wheezed. "Alright, class!" He squeaked. "Let's begin. Open your text books to page 204 and heat up your cauldron . Make sure that it bubbles. The base is already in there for you." I was about to say that there was nothing on the desk(It was just a plain wooden surface that was scarred with previous "accidents".) when I happened to glance back down at the table. Now, there was an enormous cauldron set on top of a small block of wood. Beside it lay a thickly bound volume. I opened the book to the desired page and read the title. "The potion of truth". Interesting... I glanced around at the other students, who were having trouble starting their fires underneath their cauldrons. The matches they had been given seemed ineffective. I grinned and looked at Gwindol. He nodded and I lit the tip of my forefinger. As soon as it touched the small pile of wood under the metal cauldron, a small bonfire instantly sprung up. Several people turned my way with looks of disgust. They were probably jealous that they had to do it the hard way. I smiled and waited for further instructions. The small man was marking something down on his clipboard, probably attendance, when he looked my way. His eyes settled on my wings, then my face. He stood rigid, a gleaming smile on his face. He snapped out of his trance and practically leaped over to my table. I nodded in approval of my now bubbling cauldron then tried to sneak a glance at my wings. He caught my eye and stared down at his feet, as if he were embarrassed. "Sorry to stare, my dear. It's just, I haven't seen the likes of a dragon in my class for a LONG time." He looked back up and smiled sadly. I grinned too. "Do you mind?" He breathed, staring once again at my wings. "I don't care." Like a kind at a toy store, the professer bounded over and began to examine every scale. That was when he saw Gwindol. "Oh sweet heaven, and a dragon too! It must be Christmas." The tiny man was so excited I though he was going to keel over with sheer happiness. After his joy generally leveled out again, the man cleared his throat and continued his mature manner. "Sorry 'bout that. I'm Professor Monn. It's a pleasure to have you in my calss." He held his hand out and I shook it. His hand had a surprising strength to it. Monn smiled once more before walking back up to the front of the class. An older student tripped him on his way. There were giggles. That made me bubble with anger. What a bunch of stupid morons. They needed to grow up. Shoving his exceptionally large glasses farther upon his nose, the professor spoke. "O.K, since everyone has lit their cauldrons, please follow the instructions on the page. When you're done, take some and cap it in a vial so that it can be turned in. You have the remaining time of the period. You may start." There were shuffles as students and animals went to the cupboards on the opposite wall to retrieve the ingredients they needed. I examined the page.

"1 skin of a toad,

3 heads of a billow mushroom,

2 fangs of a monster python,

5 fish eyes,

3 drops of dragon blood."

The needed ingredients were listed at the bottom of the potion instructions. Really, 3 drops of dragon blood? That was just wrong. I looked at Gwindol. He was sitting on my stool, reading the list. He looked up and met my gaze. It's just a potion. I'm not offended, so you shouldn't be either. Still, I was a little mad though. I wondered where they had gotten the blood. Had it been from a live dragon? Had he or she given is willingly? I pushed the thoughts out of my brain. I had a potion to brew before the hour was up. The mob at the cupboard had receded a little and I went up to get the things I needed. I felt eyes boring into the back of my skull. I got the things and ambled back to my seat. I felt somewhat clumsy. It was kind of hard to maneuver in a tight space with these wings. Sure, they were awesome. But they were a little clunky. I sighed and then started on the potion. I stirred, added the ingredients in order, and set the correct temperatures. The final instruction was to add the 3 drops of dragon blood and stir 5 times counterclockwise. I held the little bottle of blood close to my eyes. The stuff inside was dark and thick, nothing like what it was supposed to be. I placed the vial down. What would happen if I used my own blood? I thought about it for a moment. "What do you think, bud?" I whispered to my dragon. Still sitting on my stool, Gwindol cocked his head. It's your potion and your blood, not mine. Feel free! I took the silver bade I had used to slice the mushrooms and held it over my palm. I had always been afraid of needles and stuff like that. But my curiosity got the better of me. I quickly pricked myself and a drop of ruby liquid rush to the surface. I squeezed 3 drops of the stuff into the bubbling potion and stirred it like the text said. According to the book, the concoction was supposed to turn a dull grey. Instead, mine swirled into a shining color of silver. I hoped that was good. I looked at other people's cauldrons. Most of the potions looked like mixed cement, consistence and all. The liquid in mine was thin and free. I gathered some in the vial I had been given and walked it up to Professor Monn. He was reading from a stained, leather-bound volume when I approached. When he was me, the man quickly set it aside and accepted my vial with surprise. "Done to fast? Well, you must have a natural talent." He examined the vial closer. "Amazing." He muttered, almost to himself. "The consistency and shade is perfect, better than I could have managed." The professor looked into my eyes. "How did you do this?" I just shrugged, not really wanting to tell him that I used my own blood instead. I tried to hide my bleeding hand behind my back. Monn shook his head. "Well, class is almost over, so clean up your things and you may go." I thanked him and packed up. The cauldron and supplies vanished, so there was little to do. The bell rang, and everybody got up and rushed to the door. I stayed behind with Gwindol, not wanting to be trampled to death. We were the last ones out. Again, I glanced at my schedule. "Magic 101" with Holly. That would be fun. I smiled and made eye contact with my dragon. His eyes shone with eagerness for the next class. I felt the same way. Maybe today wouldn't be as bad as I had thought...