Aphmau: Mystreet Next-Generation - Dragonrise Academy

CHAPTER 2 - A Royal Order

Alina and Zoe keep walking briskly until Alina falls slightly short of breath. They arrive at a large hall with tall windows nearly reaching to the ceiling. The morning light harshly shines upon the two girls. Zoe lets go of her and sighs exasperatedly.

"What made you think you could just run around like that?!"

Alina averts her eyes, "I just thought I saw someone I knew...what's so wrong with-"

Zoe grabs her wrists, "Look, whatever you think you know, whatever impression you have of high school, forget it. This is a private academy. It's leagues above every other public high school. You can't just go around picking fights with everyone without knowing what you're getting into!"

Alina is silent for a moment before whispering, "Wow. Uh-sorry-I didn't mean to make you so angry-"

"Who cares? They were gonna beat you up! Do you know who that was? She's one of the local gang leaders. I don't think she even goes here, or even lives in this city! You're pretty much screwed if she-ugh what'd you do to her?! It's literally your first day oh my Irene-"

Zoe runs her fingers through her hair and starts muttering to herself.

Alina stares at Zoe with concern, "Do you...know her? The pink haired girl back there. Who exactly is she?"

Zoe ceases her muttering. She looks out the window, "She's a bubblegum haired bit-"

"No, like seriously."

Rolling her eyes, Zoe walks down the hallway, with Alina following closely behind, "Iris is one of the many leaders of a gang that's been constantly terrorizing Dragonrise Academy. They call themselves 'The Dragon Slayers' and go around beating up random kids or destroying school property."

Zoe becomes so angry at the thought that Alina almost swears that she sees a few veins popping out, "Why doesn't the administration do anything about it?"

"They've tried, but the Dragon Slayers are really good at cleaning up after themselves. There have only been 4 cases of suspension in the past 5 years that the gang has been active. Oh, we're here."

Alina looks up to see two large wooden doors towering above her. Three giant locks hold the doors together, each one in the shape of a different dragon. Zoe takes out a key ring and unlocks the doors, revealing a dark room.

"Is this another one of the 'cool places' that you wanted to show me?"

"Yup. This is the academy's artifact vault. It has a ton of magic items that the Dragon Slayers would die to have in their hands. But unfortunately, the key is only given to a select few." Zoe smiles smugly and runs into the vault.

Alina glances behind her nervously, "H-hey are you sure we're supposed to be here? How'd you even get the key-Zoe!"

As Alina scampers in, Zoe holds a finger up to her face, "Shh! Close the door, you're gonna get us caught!"

"W-what?! I'm not the one breaking into a vault full of-" Alina breaks off her sentence as she looks around, "magical...items..."

Zoe closes the doors and pushes Alina towards the back of the room. Only a few dim lanterns illuminate the vault, shining upon parts of strange items Alina has never seen in any textbook. They reach the wall farthest away from the door and Zoe turns on a nearby lantern.

The warm light reveals a large tapestry of a hooded woman. White and purple flowers are embroidered on the rim, and the woman's flowing raven hair seemed to writhe around her as if she were alive. Even though she's never seen the tapestry before, the embroidery of the woman feels strangely familiar.