The Apprentice's Trial

Conference

Gabby POV

I heard shouting, and lots of it. I scowled and slammed my book onto the table. The library was meant to be quiet, but apparently my classmates weren't aware of that. All I wanted was a bit of silent reading time. I stood up and stretched, then leant down and pulled up my knee high white socks, tugged my dark green skirt down and straightened my dark green blazer. I smoothed down my brown hair, and left the library. I needed to discover the source of all this commotion.

I walked along the cool, dim corridors, checked around me to ensure I was alone, and then picked up the pace and sprinted. I had to keep up appearances, after all. Apprentices had to conduct themselves in a certain manner. At least when others are watching. I caught my breathe before leaving the school, blinking and shivering in the sudden light and warmth. My eyes adjusted to the light and I saw what all the commotion was.

Sky and Matilda were back.
"Sky!" I yelled, running down the path towards them, for once not caring who saw me. They'd been gone for weeks, and I'd missed them. I shouldered my way through the crowd that had amassed around them, seeing that Alex was already there.
"Gabby! Good to see you again." Sky said in low, mature tones. He gave a me a smile, but Matilda threw her arm around me and hugged me close. She had Alex pinned under her other arm.
"How are my two favourite not-my-children-but-sort-of-my-children?" She crooned.

I blushed and tried to pull away, as did Alex, but her grip was like iron. I squirmed, embarrassed.
"Answer my question!" She said in a sing song voice.
"I'm good." I said. But instead of releasing me, Matilda pulled me closer, squeezing the air from my lungs.
"Ok Matilda, let my apprentice go." Sky said, prying her arm away from me. He gave her an odd look that the chattering students didn't catch, but I did. Matilda squealed and let go of Alex.
"Of course! We aren't staying long, but we have some very important news for you two. Let's go to the study. It's a bit sensitive." Sky clapped his hands and all the students backed off, letting us pass. I regained my composure, smoothing my clothes as I walked side by side by Sky, Matilda and Alex falling into step beside us, talking animatedly.

Sky was everything you would need from a headmaster, calm, collected, and always in control, with impeccable manners. Matilda, on the other hand, was everything you would want from a headmaster. Bubbly, fun, happy, and always optimistic. They balanced each other out pretty well, all things considered. I guess me and Alex were the same.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Sky said from beside me.
"Charge a pound, there worth more than a penny, honey." Matilda piped up from beside him, throwing me a wink. I laughed and shook my head.
"I was just thinking about what a good team the two of you made." Alex coughed and muttered something that sounded a lot like 'suck up' under his breathe.

"Fight me!" I yelled, my voice echoing off the high ceilings and stone floors. Alex looked shocked, and then doubled over laughing.
"Play nicely children!" Sky chastised, a playful tone to his words.
"And get your butts in gear. We have important, time sensitive plans to share with you." Matilda said, trying and failing to sound somewhat foreboding. We arrived at the study the two of them shared, and Sky threw open the door. It was dark inside because the curtains were closed, and the air was slightly stale. Me and Alex stood awkwardly in the doorway whilst Sky opened the curtains and Matilda opened the windows. They sat down at their desks that were side by side in the center of the room.
"Come hither, small ones." I rolled my eyes at her.
"I'm taller than you, Matilda! So is Gabby. And Sky. You're the smallest one here for crying out loud." Alex protested, but sat down alongside me all the same.

"Shhh, young one."
"You can't argue against that." I pointed out to him, earning myself a scathing glance from Alex. He opened his mouth to retort, but Sky and Matilda clapped their hands together in unison, earning them our full attention.
"So, the chairman has called for a conference of all the Guardians from around the world." The chairman was the only one in the world with the power to call meetings or order attacks.
"He wants every Guardian present. With their apprentices. Time for your first conference!" Matilda yelled. Alex turned to me with an excited grin on his face, one that I returned.
"It's not all good news, though." Sky cautioned.

"I believe we are being gathered to launch an attack. Recently, renegade dark magic users such as assassins are becoming more daring. We think that we are being summoned in order to hatch a plan of attack. Which means that you might be putting your fighting skills to the test, but in a real life fight." Sky seemed to think it was a bad thing, but it sounded exciting to me, and I'm sure Alex was of the same opinion. It would finally give us a chance to show people what we're made of.

"So, you kiddos need to pack your armoured clothes and the weapons we gave you."
"When are we leaving?" Alex questioned.
"Half an hour, you might want to change too."
"How long are we going for? And where is the conference held?"
"In Spain, and it'll probably last for about a week. Now scram! Meet by the front gates in half an hour." We calmly walked to the door, but the second it closed behind us, we high fived each other and raced to our respective rooms to prepare.

I was breathless when I got to my room, but I didn't have time to dilly dally. I changed into a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, my new pair of combat boots, and a black and white striped shirt. There was no time for makeup application, and I didn't really like it anyway. I dragged out a suitcase from under my bed, and started piling clothes into it. First, I packed suitable clothes and shoes for a hot country, then I carefully folded and packed my armoured clothes. They were very expensive to make, but worth it. Neither weapons nor magic could pierce them, unless the wielder was incredibly strong. Then I hurried to the safe in the corner and punched in the code.

Once it swung open, it revealed all the jewels my mother and father had given me. I didn't wear them much, but I liked to keep them safe. I hooked out an elegant sapphire necklace. I'd only take one, so I dropped it into a side pocket. Then I shifted the jewels aside and hooked out a large, black briefcase. I shut and locked the safe, spinning the dial widely. I unclipped the case and opened it, checking the contents. A black katana and a silver hand gun. Presents from my mother and father when Sky declared me as his apprentice. I laid the briefcase carefully down in the suitcase, caught up my book on galactica magic and added that to the mix before closing and zipping up the plain blue suit case.

I had to drag my suitcase out the door because it was too heavy to lift. A few of my friends saw that I was leaving and wished me luck. I arrived at the main gates with a few minutes to spare. Sky arrived a couple of seconds after me. Alex was bang on the dot. And Matilda, in true Matilda style, was almost ten minutes late. She'd gone to clean herself up a bit, but somehow she was more of a mess than before.
"Ok lets go!" She said, pumping her fist in the air with a mad grin.
"Please calm down before the conference." Sky groaned as we all piled into the car that would take us to the airport. Alex could barely sit still with excitement when we set off, and I wasn't much better.

Our first conference.

What could go wrong?

Hope you enjoyed part two of the Apprentice's Trial!