The Ancients

Chapter 2

I had just woken up when I heard a squeak coming from the floorboard outside my room, followed by shushing and giggles. I smirked, it had become a routine in the household to play pranks on the birthday child, but this morning I had woken too early. Quietly, I tucked myself back into bed and pretended to sleep.

My brothers opened the door slowly, Zeak stifled his laughter as he approached my bed. "Now, just like I explained before." Whispered Darien. He reached for the blanket to lift it off me. Just when his hand approached my face my eyes shot open wide and I grabbed his wrist before he could react. Darien screamed in surprise shaking his arm free and jumping out of my reach. Zeak and I started laughing hysterically, clutching our stomachs, Zeak even fell down.

"You should have seen your face!" I managed between laughs. Darien glared at us but a smile was creeping up his face. Just then our parents burst in the room. "What's wrong? We heard a scream." Tankor was tense but he relaxed when he saw his children laughing. "It must've been quite scary for you to scream that loud, Anika." He smiled kindly at me. I started giggling again and a look of confusion crossed his face.

"Actually," I gasped in a breath of air and sneaked a glance at Darien "that wasn't me." Darien blushed and looked away, Tankor smiled widely and walked over to his son slapping him on the back.

"Now, now you three," Selice poked her head through the door "Leave the poor boy alone and Anika, get dressed breakfasts ready."

~~~

"Breakfast is served." Mum said, smiling proudly at what she had prepared. On the table was a range of different meats from sausages to octopus balls, each plate had it's own serving of eggs.Taking up most of the plate however was a piece of bruschetta- a slice of bread dribbled in oil with tomatoes on top and grilled to perfection. Mum had been busy. In the middle of the table was bread still warm from the oven.

"Mum, you did all this for me?" I asked, I couldn't take my eyes off the food, I wasn't that hungry a second ago so why was my stomach rumbling? Well I think we all know the answer to that.

"It's your 16th birthday!" She said. "This is an extra special occasion, and special occasions should be celebrated properly."

"I'm not complaining." Darien said sitting down. I sat across from him and Zeak sat next to me, I could feel the anticipation rolling off of him.

"Dig in!"

Just as we finished there was a knock on the door. "Oh that must be Reine." Mum said, getting up to answer the door.

"Reine?" Darien asked. "Who's that?"

"She's the young girl from next door, I met her yesterday, sweet girl, she offered to show you around." Mum said. She opened the door and there was a girl around my age with long auburn hair and emerald eyes. She wore a light gown that just reached her ankles decorated with a colourful floral pattern, a large green ribbon was wrapped round her head and behind her ears, emphasising her eyes.

She smiled and greeted everyone in turn, curtseying formally.

"Come in, come in, do you want something to eat?" Dad asked.

"Thank you, but I just ate." Reine said politely. "Are you ready to go?" She turned to us kids, and when she looked at me I could tell I was going to like this girl, not because she was polite or pretty, but I could see the glint of mischief in her eyes, the same glint Darien had when he was about to do something 'fun'.

~~~~~
The academy was huge and imposing, like most buildings in this city. However unlike the newer buildings, where they were made of metal, this structure was made with bricks and wood painted a creamy yellow. Students bustled around, chatting excitedly with their friends or going about their business. Some students were doing the work they had left until the last moment as quickly as possible before class and others were playing sports or running around chasing each other and yelling.

Reine dismissed her families carriage with a wave of her hand and lead us through the school. She showed Darien the area where most of the boys his age preferred to spend their breaks and he headed off to make new friends.

She led me to a secluded spot in the school where there was a large grass area with tall trees making it nice and shady. Under one tree around the middle of the clearing was a group of about 4 girls sitting in a circle talking and laughing, each one completely different to the other. When they saw Reine they stopped and waved, yelling their greetings and opening the circle as we approached.
A girl with with mahogany coloured hair that spiked around her head and freckles looked us up and down, reminding me of the way a cat would look at its prey. "Who's this?" The girl asked. Reine introduced me to her friends.
"Everyone, this is Anika, she's new." Reine sat down and put her arm around a small girl with large round eyes the colour of chocolate and long, sandy blonde hair. "This is Scarleitte," She seemed to make herself smaller as if by not talking and keeping her arms tucked in at her side she wouldn't be noticed by anyone. "she's kinda shy at first, but we all know she's actually crazy." A smile tugged at my lips as I tried to imagine that. She waved shyly.
"That there is Yue." She gestured to the girl on the other side of Scarleitte. She wore a friendly smile and had hair so blonde it was close to white dressed intricately with pearls and plaits all spun together beautifully, but what stood out the most was her eyes. Her eyes were the colour of moonstones, glowing brightly, they weren't eyes you could easily forget.
"It's a pleasure." She grinned.
"Next to Yue, is Haili." Haili waved excitedly, showing a big toothy grin. Haili seemed to be the complete opposite of Yue with short ebony hair in a bob cut and hazel eyes. Where Yue was calm and composed Haili was bustling with energy. "Heluuuu!" She giggled and popped a grape in her mouth.
"And lastly is-"
"Kaya." Interrupted the girl with spiky hair, she stuck her hand out and grabbed my hand, shaking it roughly. She had a smug grin on her face. "You don't look to bad, you wanna hang out with us?" Despite the fact that I was never accepted by others at my previous schools, after seeing such different people get along so well, I wasn't surprised by the offer, which, in itself, was surprising. I grinned. "If you'll have me."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day went just as well as it started. Some of my friends were in a few of my classes but Scarleitte was in most of them and together we made the tedious classes more enjoyable. My 16th birthday was definitely a good one.
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A/N
You hungry yet? Haha
Hi guys! Here's the next chap. Sorry about it taking so long. And friends who are reading, if you didn't pick it up, Scarleitte is based on Kyla as a tribute to her so when you read of Scarleitte think of her.
Also just so you know this isn't based in modern times so they aren't as advanced in technology as we are, seeing as how they live Aestrim, which is why it takes a long time to grill stuff (just in case you didn't pick that up).