Rise from the ashes

Chapter 10 - The Mage

    Aria Grace sat on the stone bench outside in the garden, or what was supposed to be a garden with its brown stems and wilted pedals. She tucked a piece of her stark white hair behind her ear, turning a page in her book. It was a gift from her brother for her 12th birthday. She remembered the day so clearly in her head there was no way it could have been 4 years ago.
    She had gotten up early that morning, like every morning on her birthday and had gone up to the gates that surrounded the school, waiting for her brother that would always show up late, but always making up for it with a present. This day he had approached her with a bundle held at his side and she was surprised at the scar on his cheek, white against his tan skin, which stood out against her own pale almost translucent skin. He had given her the burlap wrapped parcel and told her to keep it hidden from the wretch who ran the school, who didn’t allow outside items on the premises, and spoke the promise he always had on this day. “When I'm of age, I’ll get you out of here, and you can come live with me, I promise.” and then he had left. Just like every year, well every year except the following. 
    She looked back at the book in her hands, the book she had read over a hundred times, but still unable to give up for it was the last gift she had ever been given. She closed the book to wipe the tears that were now falling to the ground. Her brother would be here any day for her. He turned 18 a week ago and she just knew he was working out a plan for her. 
    “Look, I’ve found a crying ghost”
    She jumped at the voice she had not heard approaching. “Leave me alone Kyle” she said turning away to hide the book in bush next to her, unlucky for her, it was dead. 
    “What’s this we have here” he swooped and picked it up before she could react. “Is this… outside material? Wait for Dean Helga to find out about this”.
    “Please, Kyle don’t do this” She rubbed the tears from her cheeks. “I’ll do anything, but please don’t tell Helga about this, she’ll kick me out”
    “Kick you out where, you’ve been living here since you were a baby, you have nowhere to go” he said with a smirk.
    He was right, and it hurt. “If she finds out she’ll make me clean all the rooms again, please don’t do this.”
    He smiled and turned to leave with the book. “Great, I’ll let her know you can start with mine”
    She wiped the tears that were now streaming down her face, unable to do anything about what was happening, just like always. He turned back around just as he was headed into the school. “Don’t cry, how can eyes so blue cry tears so human” he walked away laughing, it echoing down the halls behind him. 
    I looked in the reflecting pool in the middle of the garden. My blue eyes “The only color to me” as everyone liked to say, were now accompanied by the red bloodshot of my eyes. I put my head in my lap and cried at what lay ahead. “Why can’t you just come for me now?” she silently questioned to her brother who was out there, somewhere.
~******~
    The meeting had not been great. Actually it had been awful. Apparently Kyle had spoken to her about the whole cleaning rooms’ idea and that had suited her fancy, but that wasn’t the worst conversation I had this evening. Flashes of Dean Holga came back in waves. 
    She sat at her desk, pencil in her ear, her mess of stringy gray hair covering the back half of the pencil. She looked at me with her deep set eyes and wrinkly skin. A shiver went down my spine.
    “So, tell me, Aria” she said my name with disgust. “Where did this come from?” she held up the book with two fingers, like it was a bag of poison. 
    “M-Ms. Helga” my voice quivered with nerves
    “DEAN” she slammed her fists on the desk. I shrunk in my chair. She cleared her throat and sat back down. “My name is Dean Holga, now answer my question.” 
    So of course, I did. That was a major mistake. At first it felt good, to finally tell someone about this secret I’ve been keeping to myself all this time, but as I went along I could see the anger and hatred cross her face. It all happened so fast, the yelling, the threats, and the orders. Now I was in my room, just trying to process it all.
    “Life isn’t fair, we know this” I said putting my very few clothes in a backpack I had.
    “But still, it could be a little bit nicer” I said, changing my voice a little. 
    “True” I jumped when the bed next to mine stirred.
    “It’s late at night and you’re talking to yourself, that’s it, you’ve gone crazy” I put the clothes in my pack faster.
    “Please we’ve known this for how long?” I nodded silently as I pulled the drawstring. I crept across the creaky floorboards and when to the door, opening it slowly.
    “Who were you talking to?” My body convulsed against its will and I was on the floor, trying to breathe before I knew it.
    “Kyle” I quietly scolded him “Don’t EVER do that to me again.”
    “I was just wondering who you was talking to” he stood in the hall with his blue striped pajamas, sipping from a juice box. 
    I rolled my eyes “Quite, you’ll wake everyone up”
    He stood there “And that would be a problem because?” he asked
    I sighed “It’s none of your business”
    He smirked “Are you doing something you’re not supposed to be doing?”
    My heart stopped “No”
    He smiled even bigger “I am so telling Dean Holga” he took off down the halls 
    I had no choice but to follow, this was life or death. I chased him down the hall, being as quite as I possibly could, him checking to see if I was following every so often. I thought it was all over when I saw him get close to Dean Holga’s office, but at the last second he turned and went down a side hall, I followed. He didn’t stop until he was in the garden, where he stopped in the middle of the outside space and just stood there. I stopped at the doors
    “Why did you come out here, you was almost there?” I asked, out of breath.
    He smirked and walked closer “I was just thinking.” 
    I backed away “About?”
    He got really close “What a shame it would be for someone like you to be kicked out of school.”
    I backed up until my back was against the wall “I don’t know what you mean, hasn’t that been your goal all along” 
    He shrugged “Before you go, maybe you could give me one thing” He closed his eyes and puckered his lips, leaning his face closer to mine. What happened next all happened in slow motion, like someone was telling me what to do. My hand slipped under his arm and around his back, my body slamming against his, knocking him on his back, then the heel of my shoe coming down on his throat, leaving him gasping for breath.
    “You sir, are despicable. If you ever tell anyone what happened tonight I will come back and tell everyone that I beat you single handedly and you’ll never live it down. I took my foot off him and he gasped for breath, getting up and running back inside. I felt it deep inside of me that the events of tonight would stay silent; he did love his reputation after all.
    I looked over the wall to the world outside it, foggily lit with the lights of the nearby street lamps. “I'm coming for you brother”.