Verbena Academy

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕱𝖎𝖛𝖊

House of Memories

We strolled back into the main lobby space and up the stairs. We went to the left first. Moving up the staircase, I saw a few students walk into the space.

"Up here is the girls dormitories. All species live in their own section, but share a common living space." His voice became tight as he spoke again. "You will room with the witches, as they are the most welcoming to the presence of a newcomer, such as yourself. You do know we can't have you with the Fae or Werewolves." He finished with a certain tone that was sharper than it should have been.

"Yes, I quite understand." My voice was even, but I really could have ended his existence right then and there. Relationships between Vampires and Werewolves are notoriously bad, but the ties between Fae and my kind are just fine. He only said that I can't room with the fae because their blood is addictive to Vampires. An unfortunate downside to my life, but something not too disappointing. As we entered the shared living space of the female students, I felt another few presences.

"Your highness, this is Nikole Youngblood, my niece. Nikole, this is our new student. Queen Demitrieva Chermenci Serveta, the heir to the throne of Italy and France." he made the point to say my whole title which just aggravated me more an he knew that. I figured he just wanted to make me angry and lash out, getting me expelled from the school, and getting me tried in the high court.

The girls was shorter than me by about six inches, but I was wearing heels, so we were about the same height. She had long blonde hair that was up in a high ponytail and sparkling blue eyes. All of her facial features were very sharp and pronounced, but she had small lips that were stuck in an angry scowl.

"Nice to meet you, but please, call me Demi. Demitrieva is a little complicated." I held out my hand for her to shake, she didn't, she just nodded her head and looked to her uncle. I dropped my hand back to my side, unnerved by her unwillingness.

"Nikole, show her around, will you. And play nice, please" He told the girl and gave her a sinister smirk.

Fabulous, I thought, just what I needed, a little brat werewolf to deal with. She stood from where she was sitting and started toward the entrance to the girls dormitory rooms. I followed the blonde into a long hallway with double paned windows that let strings of angelic light in.

My eyes moved to the bust of Augustus Caesar sitting on a pillar in front of a set of double doors. They opened to a good sized room with several doors going off of it. It looked the almost the same as the hallway with black and white tiled floors and wood paneled walls. Nikole lead me to the last room on the left side. She opened the door to yet another room, but this one was much smaller with lush burgundy carpet and dark grey walls.

Nikole ushered me in and then turned to leave but not before sending me a nasty glare and slamming the door.

Rude.

I took my shoes off and set them by the door. My toes felt good in the cool carpet. There were another two doors, one to my left and one to my right. I figured they would be a bathroom and a bedroom. The space I was standing in was my living room. There was a set of table and chairs, painted charcoal black and a couch in the corner of the room with a coffee table that was the same as the dining set.

I walked over to the bathroom and opened the door to an all glass shower with a black tiled surround. The mirror was so large, it spanned from the shower door to the opposite wall with a marble countertop underneath it. My bedroom had a large window to the right that looked out to the back of the Academy and onto a cemetery.

"Lovely..." I said out loud.

My bed was nothing remarkable but I could fix that. There was a desk under the window with a lamp and a laptop. A closet to my left was bare but all of my clothes would easily fill it, and more. I looked back to the door and saw my bags. I quickly changed into some black jeans and a white flowy shirt.

I sat on the floor, unpacking everything. All of my stuff spread around me in a big circle. It as kind of organized, but then again, I had never been good at keeping things clean. I had piles at least. Bathroom, closet, and everything else. There was a sudden rapping at my door, and before I could even get up, it opened.

A girl with long, almost perfect blonde hair and the body of a model stood in my doorway. She smiled warmly, her eyes sparkling.

"Hello! I'm Crystal De Faux. You're Demitrieva right?" She stumbled over my name, making it come out choppy and cacophonous. I stood up quickly, stepping over my stuff and moving to her. I shook her hand and she tensed up a bit. I dropped my hand.

"Uhm, ya. But please, call me Demi, it's easier." I laughed a bit and let her come in. I sat back into the middle of my little pile.

"It's a bit messy, I'm still unpacking." I motioned to the plethora of things around me and she smiled again, getting a bit more comfortable. She put her hands together, playing with them for a minute then moving towards me.

"That's okay. Do you want some help. I was supposed to show you around. That Nikki girl refused to do it, but you've been here before right?" She sat down on the outside of the piles.

"I would love some! And yeah, I kind of grew up here." She squinted a bit at me then her eyes widened.

"I've seen you here before. I mean, not you, in person. But, your face, it's in the portrait hallway." She took a breath and started chattering again. "And you're so cold. Your name is on the old wing. So you're her?"

"I'm who?" I looked her with furrowed brows. She stood up abruptly, and held out her hand to me. I took it and stood up.

"Come with me." She rushed out the door and I followed her.

I didn't even get to put my shoes on.