Undaunted

Chapter 1: The Key Stealing Fox

I smile as I walk down the sidewalk and the warm spring breeze blows my blonde hair around. I managed to get through the school day without too many accidents, which is good for me, considering that I always seem to cause them. Today I only caused four accidents -- which is low for me, trust me. It's not like I want to cause accidents or problems for people, I just do. I've gone through most of my school career being labeled as clumsy, which while it's true, doesn't make me feel any better about the accidents that I cause. No matter how hard I try something always seems to go wrong every single day. In the end I remain positive though, because I believe that if you work hard enough and try hard enough to do something and want it with all of your heart, that you can achieve it. Not to mention that being upbeat and positive just happens to be a part of my personality.

As I come closer to my aunt's house I notice a peculiar looking fox with yellow eyes and fur the color of a fire sitting in the grass and it stares at me as I walk by.

"Hmm...strange," I mutter aloud before shrugging and going back to minding my own business.

I smile as I think about how my aunt took me in to live with her after my parents move out of the country and I wanted to stay here. She's always looked after me as if I were her own daughter, and I appreciate that. As I walk up the stone steps that lead to my aunt's front door I reach inside my bag to look for my keys, but I can't seem to find them. I frown in confusion and stick my head in my bag to look for them. I pull my head back out of my bag, still unable to find my keys, and look around to see if they might've fallen out. However, as I look down next to me I spot the same fox sitting by my feet and I gasp in surprise.

"Um, hello there..." I say and bend down to look at it closer.

I reach out a hand to pat it on the head and it doesn't seem phased at all. I smile and scratch it behind its ears as it stares at me with the same blank expression and giant yellow eyes. My eyes travel down to its mouth and I notice that it has my keys in its mouth.

"Huh," I look at the fox in confusion, "That's odd..."

I go to try and take my keys, but the fox backs up and shakes its head.

"Hey!" I gasp and reach for my keys again, but the fox takes off in a run.

I run after it, careful not to trip down the stairs, and chase it through my aunt's yard and down the sidewalk.

"Wait!" I call after it and it turns around the corner.

I sigh and continue to keep chasing after it and find myself in the woods after a few minutes.

"Too bad I don't speak fox," I laugh bitterly as I look around at my surroundings, "Where am I?"

Suddenly the little fox trots back up to me and I bend down to greet it. In place of my keys it's holding a scroll in its mouth and it drops it at my feet.

"Huh?" I pick up the scroll and pull on the red ribbon that's tied around it, "What's this?"

The scroll unravels and my eyes widen in surprise when it floats in the air in front of me, but I find myself more intrigued than scared, a little surprised, but not scared. I reach out cautiously to touch the glowing scroll as pieces of gold dust float around it in the air and once I touch it I find myself standing in the middle of a courtyard in front of a giant school that looks like a castle. I gasp in surprise and stumble backwards, letting go of the scroll and returning back to the woods. I blink a few times and shake my head before looking back at the floating scroll in front of me. I glance back down at the fox and it blinks expectantly at me, as if telling me to touch the scroll again. I return my gaze back to the scroll and nervously reach out and touch it one more time so that I reappear back in the courtyard that I was in. I stare at the giant, tan school before me with a giant green lawn and a stone pathway leading to the school.

"What is this place?" I mumble aloud in awe as I look around at the surroundings and notice that there are several people around my age who appear to be students walking across the yard.

"Are you lost?" A cold, male voice comes from behind me and I jump in surprise.

I turn around with wide eyes to find a teenage boy not much older than me with strawberry blond hair and stormy grey-blue eyes standing in front of me wearing what appears to be a school uniform. He raises a brow at me as he has his arms crossed and I blush from embarrassment.

"Um..." I trail off, looking for the right words, "I don't know where I am..."

"That's the same thing as being lost," The boy sighs in frustration, "You must be a new student."

"New student? I --"

"And I don't have time for a headache, so goodbye," He says as he walks past me and waves sarcastically.

I frown as I watch his retreating figure and I turn back to face the scroll.

"I hope all the people around here aren't as cold as him," I sigh in defeat.

"Don't worry, we aren't," A feminine voice chuckles from behind me and I turn around to see a blonde haired girl with brown eyes wearing a school uniform and holding her brown, leather bag at her feet in front of her.

"Um --"

"You must be new here," She says and extends a hand, "I'm Augustina. That was Ryder Axilum. I wouldn't worry too much about him. Anyways, you're probably really confused right now. That letter that you received is an invitation to this academy, which is a magical academy, if you haven't noticed yet."

I stare at her and blink a few times, surprised that I don't find it hard to come to terms with the fact that magic is real.

"If you want to come to this academy, all you'll have to do is sign your name at the bottom of the letter that you received and you'll automatically be enrolled. Whoever your guardian or guardians currently is will be notified if they are part of the magic bloodline. If not, then they'll receive a letter saying that you've been accepted to an elite school overseas that's free to attend since you earned a scholarship, and you'll have a day or two to spend with them. Otherwise, you'll transfer over immediately and you'll have time to pack your things and say your goodbyes until you go back home before you head off to the academy," Augustina explains.

"O -- Okay," I stammer and nod, feeling a little overwhelmed, "So, I was asked to attend because? I mean, I'm nobody special."

"You've probably figured out that you're a sorceress from what I just told you, and all sorcerers and sorceresses are accepted into this academy if they show at least average academic performance in their regular schools," Augustina explains, "Although there are a few exceptions..."

"Okay," I say after thinking for a moment, "Um, thank you, Augustina. By the way, my name is Philomena."

"No problem! Well, it was nice meeting you, and I'm off to class!" She says before rushing down the stone pathway.

"So," I mumble to myself as I turn back towards the floating letter and the fox sitting on the ground before me, "I'm a sorceress, huh?"