Mystal: School of Magic~ Aiya's Story

Chapter 5: Mystal: School of Magic

Aiya looked at the simmering teleporter warily, before sharing her expression with Charlie.

“I don’t know about this..” Beside her sat a suitcase and a dufflebag, filled with her new school stuff, along with clothes and a few special mementos. “\Are you sure about mom? And you? I can’t just leave you two alone…”

“Aiya.” Charlie gave her a soft smile. She had said this about six times already that day. “Go on. This is where you belong. This is where dad wanted you to be.” Aiya looked back towards the teleporter, blinking back sudden tears. She nodded, giving her brother a tight hug.

“I’ll miss you, Charlie…” she mumbled into his shirt.

“ Me too… Now get going, Monkey! Your going to be late!” He gave her a slight push and after a farewell wave and a sad smile, she stepped through the teleporter, into the new realm.

As a light flashed, Aiya was covered in the complete darkness. Nervous, she closed her eyes and thought of nothing, trying to calm her mind. A few seconds later, she emerged from the device and onto the grounds of Mystal.

“wow..” her eyes lit up as she stared at the castle she had been dreaming about for so long. It was incredibly large, not even able to be seen by one side, with pointed roofs and ancient decorations. It had a look of history and age, but it also looked incredibly sturdy and homey, which felt odd to her. Not too far away from the school was a gigantic lake, right next to a rather dark and menacing forest.  

Through the many teleporters other students were arriving. Some looked young and nervous like her, and others looked bored and experienced, like all this arriving each time was a drag.

Taking a deep breath and wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans, she walked up to the iron gates covered in metal roses and leaves. Standing in front of it with a clipboard was a rather plump, cheery lady with puffy brown hair and cheeks that seemed to be filled with nuts.

She watched a random student approach her, say something to her, and then show her something. The lady nodded, and then the student walked into the gates without a look back.

Shaking, Aiya slowly approached her, but not before a girl with long red hair stepped in front of her. Taken aback, she waited behind the girl.

“Whats your name dear?” The lady asked, smiling kindly. The girl didn’t respond at first, but then mumbled,

“Muse.”

“Last name?”

“Wright.” Humming, she used a pen to trail down the list of names, stopping at the last page.

“Here you are. Letter please.” The girl named Muse gave an annoyed glance before searching into her skirts pockets, slapping the paper into the woman’s hands.

“Thank you.” Muse didn’t respond, but instead lowered her head as she proceeded towards the gates.

“Whats your name, hun?” The lady was now talking to Aiya.

“Uhm, my name?” she jumped, caught off guard. She glanced at a girl with curly blonde hair and glasses before answering. “Er, Aiya Storm.” she tried to hide the shakiness in her voice but epically failed. The lady paused for an unnoticed second before search the list for her name.

“Here you are Aiya.” she said brightly. “May I see your letter.” nodding, Aiya fumbled in her pocket before pulling up the wrinkled letter. She handed it over. “Thank you sweetheart. You can go on now.”

“Uh… Thank you..” Aiya turned to the gate, moving forward slowly. The gates looked much more intimidating up close and suddenly she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue.

“Name dear?” The lady was now talking to the girl who had been behind her.

“Olivia…” she was so quiet, her last name had sounded like a jumble of mush. Shaking her head, she remembered that she wasn’t the only one who was new. The other girl, was her name Olivia? seemed to be even more afraid then she was. She had to be strong, to be brave.

With a slight confidence boost, Aiya continued forward, following the many kids up towards the school. Noticing that a large crowd of them were gathering around the entrance to the school, she stopped beside a girl with a long blonde curtain of hair. On the other side of her was a girl with wavy red hair, who looked bored out of her mind. She decided to attempt to be social.

“Hey, why are we stopping?” she asked the blonde. The girl glanced over, smiling shyly.

“I think the headmaster is about to speak.”

“Oh.” Aiya looked up, trying to not rock on her feet. The dancer in her gave her the inability to stand still for very long. “hopefully it won’t be much longer.” Not many people were left to come in from the teleporter.

“Agreed.” The blonde nodded. “I’m Preslea.” She added with an afterthought. “And this is Sabrina.” Biting her lip, Aiya offered a warm smile. “Hi, I’m Aiya. Aiya Storm.”

“Students~!” Called the headmaster. “If I may have your attention please!” Aiya turned away from Preslea and Sabrina to hear better. “Today, we welcome both new and old students into our mists. I simply ask that you treat each other as a family because here, were all united under something very important. Magic.” he had a twinkle in his eye, which Aiya admired for some reason. “But lets leave the boring speeches for later, shall we? Come!” he made a gesture with his hand, telling them to start moving forward. “And welcome back, my dear children, to Mystal.”