Crown of Shadows

Chapter 4

A sharp alarm blared, piercing my ears. I sat straight up and my eyes flew open, expecting the morning sun to greet me, but there was a veil of darkness lingering in the room. I heard a grunt and a thump, and loud moaning from the others in our dorm. I couldn't see a thing, and the noise kept ringing in my ears. My wings shot open, ready to fly in case anything happened. I reached for my flashlight, my hand hovering over it as a precaution.

"What the-" Laila's voice began from above me.

"Don't worry everybody!" somebody shouted. "It's just the wake up alarm. No need to panic. But you do need to get up immediately. First class starts in the garden in half an hour!" Half an hour? That's how long it would normally take me just to get out of bed. I groaned and blinked in the dark, ruffling my hair.

"Get your suits on, too! We have training today," the person who woke us up said. It sounded like a woman's voice, but I couldn't see her in the dark.

"Could somebody turn on the lights?" I asked, my voice dreary and tired. I rubbed my eyes and the lights flicked on. I heard several moans and I squinted, eyes adjusting to the bright light. I blinked, and when I could finally see, I reached for my bag, knowing I had to be quick. I pulled out my suit and laid it out in front of me. I sat for a moment on my bed, simply staring at my suit, my exhausted mind wandering elsewhere. I realized I shouldn't have stayed up so late. Now I was so tired that it took all my strength just to get up.

I picked up my suit and dragged it lazily over my body. I didn't even change out of what I had worn to bed. It was just a t-shirt and shorts, so I hoped nobody would notice that it also functioned as my pajamas. I pulled the suit over my clothing, yawning.

Laila, unlike me, was a morning person. She didn't like abrupt wake ups, but she was ready to go either way. In the morning, she was swift and didn't waste time in a way I didn't understand. She actually took the time to meander over to the dressing rooms and change out of her pajamas to put on her suit. As much as I didn't understand how somebody could ever be so awake in the morning, I had to admire it. It took a special type of person to be able to function in the morning. I was not that special type of person whatsoever.

After getting my suit on, I snapped my goggles onto my head and pulled on my boots and gloves. Then I sat back down on my bed, yawning, as I waited for Laila to get back from the dressing room across the hall. I shoved my bag back where it was and let my legs dangle off the bed. I tried not to let my eyes close, but they felt so heavy. I managed to keep them open, at least until Laila came back.

"Come on," Laila said as she walked back into the dorms. She strutted toward me in her white suit, shining and looking like an angel.

"I'm tired," I complained, blinking drowsily. Laila rolled her eyes and grabbed my wrist, yanking me to my feet. "Hey!" She ignored my protests and dragged me out of the room. She knew all too well that I couldn't function, let alone move and think at the same time, in the morning. She knew the only way was to forcefully drag me out of the room. I flailed my wings and dug my heels into the ground, trying to get her to slow down.

"I can walk on my own!" I said, even if it wasn't quite the truth. I could walk but it wouldn't be efficient with how tired I was. My legs felt heavy and my feet dragged with each step. Laila let go of my arm and I stumbled, but caught myself with a grunt. Laila saw me trip and snickered playfully.

"I think you might be a bit over dramatic" Laila said, smiling. "And anyway, I thought you would get a lot of sleep? More than you usually do, at least."

I sighed. "Stayed up later than planned, studying and reading. And then..." I shook my head. My thoughts were still a little blurry from just waking up. "Nevermind. I think it was just a weird dream." I had a lot of those kinds of dreams. Dreams that felt so real that when I woke up, I thought it had actually happened. But there was always something off, too, this feeling that it wasn't real.