“I can’t believe that the winter ball is so near!” Princess Amy said dreamily looking at Jane trough the shield of books that she had stacked around herself to help her (escape Amy’s pestering gaze) concentrate on the work that lay in front of her.
They; Jane, Eddie, Josh, Amy, and Susana; were all in the library after dinner, working until curfew called the students and teachers to their dorms or private studies for the night, where those few who dared to leave their lights on continued their work into the night. The weeks that had preceded the first year’s first day in the forges went on with little disturbance.
Eddie and Jane had established a routine that consisted of Jane waking up hours before Eddie to dress in the bathroom to minimize noise (and Eddie finding out Jane was a girl) and performing morning training to keep her in shape. She no longer had the battles and her patrolling of the slums of Icedell’s capital.
At the morning bell Eddie would wake up just in time for Jane to grab four apples and let a school butler come in to dress him in his uniform (rich kids XP). Jane would prepare for class to begin with the extra time and pull out books for other classes to get ahead.
So far Jane had done better than anyone had expected a slums person to perform and Jane wanted to keep it that way. Eddie after having breakfast in the hall would race to class to complain to her how she was unfair for waking up and leaving before him without even having breakfast with him.
Jane had learn by then to let him throw his temper tantrum and ensure that his image was not ruined by preventing others from seeing and or hearing them. Jane would mean while eat one of her apples for breakfast and shove the other one in his mouth when others entered the room.
After their morning classes Jane and the others would go down to have their usual picnic type lunch by the lake. The cooks gladly provided a picnic lunch for them everyday. Josh normally ran to the kitchens to get it before coming to meet everyone under the cherry trees.
When the afternoon bell rang they would gather in the third (magic) building for their Creature’s class. Then undergo dangerous training with Ox when he wasn’t informing them about the bloody past of Faylea. Every other day they would alternate with the forges and herbology.
Susana didn’t understand why they had to learn about stupid shrubs and weed and spoke a little too loudly when professor Luckinbill (Luck-in-bill) passed. “If you want to run into a field of enchanted white poppies, be my guest.
It doesn’t concern me that at night unlike normal white poppies if you trample magic ones, release pollen which turns into a sleeping gas that if you do not escape, will teach all that come across your starved corpse why they are nicknamed the coma flower or the plant of eternal sleep. The gas will cause restless sleep, making you kick up more of the pollen, preventing you from ever waking.
Now why don’t you go over to that group of poppies over there and tell me, which are magic miss Susana. Since you find this class pointless tell me how one can tell the difference before it is too late.” Susana had paid more close attention in the class since then.
When they went to the forges the story was different. Archie seemed to hate Jane. He did everything in his power to try to get her to quit his class. Many students had dropped out, but Jane would not let him crush her spirit.
The only people who equaled his hatred for her were the female students sitting on the benches. He found them annoying since he would only let them use the period to study. “A lady’s place is not in the forges.” Was one of his favorite sayings to throw at Jane. Jane’s soon became, “Good thing I’m no lady.”
Afterwards they had Antidotes & Poisons with Miss Silvia. To Jane’s great respect and fear Amy was quite talented at the love potion. Many girls had already come up to her to receive help with their love lives.
