Golden Prophecy

I I I

"WELCOME TO Hornwell Academy!"

Andorra stood, hands behind her back, smiling at the headmaster. He was a short man, but he made up for his height with the fact that he could levitate. And levitate he did.

He sat crosslegged in the air in front of her. He didn't look human, but there was something soft and welcoming about him, despite his outside attire. He was cloaked from head to toe in a dark black fabric, but beneath the hood was a skull. Like a grim reaper almost. No eyes, no teeth, no nothing.

His bone fingers reached towards her, but didn't touch her. "My apologies. It's been so long since I've seen a Sun Fae. You my girl are warm. These old bones get cold, so terribly cold, and it's been forever since the war struck these lands and took the sun away."

Andorra didn't know quite what to say. She stood along in the Headmaster's office, feeling much more human than before out front, with the girls. She ducked her head in embarrassment.

"My dear girl, don't fret. And don't regret your decision to bring back the Snow. Your clan, while lovely, wasn't good. There is a lot the Sun Fae need to learn before Anlithamy welcomes them back, but that is discussion for another time. Can I offer you tea?"

Tea? Andorra looked up, her mouth dry, her regret slithering away. She didn't ask how he knew she was feeling that, feeling less than because of that decision.

The Headmaster floated towards the back of his office, his bone fingers reaching for a tea kettle. The kettle floated in the air as well, and when the Headmaster reached for it, it began to shriek, alerting them that it was hot.

The Headmaster poured the hot water into a mug, also floating in the air. The man touched nothing, yet moved everything as tea bags moved through the air. "How does Earl Gray sound? Or better yet Oolong? What are you feeling? How about Spiced?"

Andorra's family had never been tea drinkers, unless you included lemon tea when you had a sore throat. That was about all Andorra's family had stocked in the cabinets back home. "Spiced tea would be great," she said after a moment, her eyes fixed to the floating tea bags.

The bag for spiced tea floated through the air, plunking right into the hot cup. The Headmaster spun his bone finger, allowing the tea to mix in the cup, and then the mug floated towards her until Andorra wrapped her hands around the warm cup.

She was speechless. Amazed. Not at all in her element.

"Take a seat, Princess. I suggest the arm chair. It has been said to have wonderful arms."

Wonderful arms? Andorra didn't know what that meant. She staggered to the seat and dropped down, bringing the mug to her face. The steam from the tea warmed the tip of her nose, and Andorra pictured herself slipping into the mug of tea, soaking in the warmth, becoming one with California again.

A dream she would always be chasing, it seemed. She took a sip.

"Now, let me introduce myself. I am Fizulo. I've been headmaster here at Hornwell for hundreds of years. I've seen many talented students come through here. I've had my predictions of who would become future King or Queen. I've taught some of the brightest Fae in Anlithamy. Yet, you my child are nothing that I expected and everything at the same time."

Andorra had nothing to say, so she drank more tea.

"I taught your parents. Both were fine faeries, built to lead. I was not surprised when they were named King and Queen for their bravery in the War. As students, they excelled in their studies with little trouble. As friends, they were loyal and truthful and fought hard. And as leaders, well, Anlithamy saw too little of them. Their disappearance has haunted Anlithamy for many years now."

Andorra could picture them: two blonde students, popular, beautiful, amazing. Perfect. But, no matter how she pictured them, they didn't exist. Couldn't exist.

"And me?" Her voice was small. Andorra, for all of her life, had been smart. School had always come easy. But Hornwell didn't feel easy, or welcoming, or like something she could handle.

"And you, my dear child, will do great things. Hornwell will give you the tools you need to be a great leader. I am more concerned with you becoming your true self. People will expect you to be many things, but being yourself will allow you to be the best version of you. Do not let their expectations attach to you.

"Andorra, I am a Reaper Faerie, from the Autumn Court. One of our favorite jobs is helping fae move on from this life. In that time, we are allowed the pleasure of viewing the life they lived here on Anlithamy. Most do great things. Some though succumb to expectations and let that drag them to their death. It is the saddest thing to find a soul corrupted by others. Stand above at Hornwell, and you will do brilliantly in the Royal Court."

Andorra didn't know how to make sense of his words. Of what a Reaper Faerie was. Of what expectations he spoke of. How could she understand? She was a human-raised faerie, missing years upon years of training and knowledge.

There was a knock at the door. "Ah, my one o'clock. Andorra, I must bid you goodbye. You are free to wander the halls, but find your way back before it becomes night. I wouldn't want your first night here to be sullied."

The cup in her hands, nearly empty, disappeared.

The door swung open. A boy with chestnut colored hair and golden eyes stepped through the door. His grin was easy, supplied with money and no hardships. He looked like a prince from a fairytale.

And Andorra had seen him before, in the truth pond.

"Prince Anders, come in my boy. Sit down."

Prince Anders looked at Andorra like she was a mouse, and he was the cat who had caught her. He bowed at the waist, low and mocking. When he straightened, his grin turned more lethal. "Princess, it's a pleasure to finally meet my betrothed. Tell me, how does our world compare to that of the human filth?"

Andorra didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She was a blushing idiot who was spooked by the big man on campus. She scuttled out the door, her heart hammering.

Prince Anders, in the flesh, looked a lot more like a prince than he had in the truth pond.

He also looked more dangerous, too.

* * *

Annnnnd we meet Anders!

How so very exciting. Another piece to our puzzle of Anlithamy. Woohoo!

Want to learn more about Anlithamy and Andorra? Read my blog!

https://wickedpromisesblog.wordpress.com/my-books/the-golden-prophecy-series/