The School in the Middle

Chapter 1, the introduction

The days on Planet:Unicorn were, and always will be, sunless. Only the stars and the peculiar foliage would emit beautifully colored light in shades of magenta, cyan, and violet. Vibrant specks of the colors danced outside of the window of my car as I drove as fast as I could without getting a warning or being pulled over by a cop. In this string of planets; solar system, as you may call it, the laws are different; logical and moral, including that the legal age to start getting proper driving lessons is at fourteen. So now when I actually have to drive to get somewhere on time, I have two years of experience.

Suddenly, the traffic light turns red, tapping me on the shoulder to wake me up and tell me to hit the break. With the time that I have, I check the card in the little holder in between the driver's seat and the passenger's.
The card holds simple writing in efforts to tell people who I am, or at least the basics.
Name: Chloe.
Species: Unicorn
Age: 16
Power: Undecided.

The traffic light is shorter than it normally is, changing back to the emerald green color, signaling "go". I rush to put my foot on the gas pedal, eager to get home as fast as possible, my mom is probably making dinner by now, and my sister should be back home by now. The last thing I want to do is keep them waiting, plus, they might have a lot of questions about the tour of the school.

The School In The Middle, or TSITM for short, is known as the greatest school in this solar-system. It's a school located in the middle of all of the planets, made to keep as much peace as possible between all of the thousands of kingdoms that circle around our galaxy. The school isn't difficult to get into, it's required by law that you go to the school for at least one year between the ages of fifteen to nineteen. I was supposed to start last year, but my dad joined the Blue-Jay Military for the war, and I guess the royals didn't want me to have to deal with a school on top of my dad fighting.

The war ended a few moon-cycles ago (months... I think that's what the other planets call them), my dad was killed by a cardinal. All I can remember is fire, red hair and red eyes. It's something that I would really prefer to forget. But things like those, they stick in your mind.

The roads here are narrow, and made of bumpy, uneven stone. It's enough to put a car off track. And plus, I'm almost home. I'd better keep my mind on the road.

Time skip brought to you by: The Author who does not want to spend their time describing what the road looks like.

The door to my house is beautifully decorated with hanging crystals of different colors, mostly overshadowed by various shades of purples and soft blues, catching the light of the moon and setting the glowing images on the ground in a dancing light show upon the soft, emerald grass. It's always something that I take a moment of appreciation for, I just take a moment to look at the lawn to center myself between the balance of the soil and stars.

I take a hand and twist the glass doorknob to the kitchen. The soft scent of steamed vegetables quickly fills my nostrils as I look around. My mom is holding a wooden spoon over a pot filled with carrots, broccoli and mushrooms, along with other special crops only grown on the land of Planet:Unicorn and various herbs and spices.

Besides journaling, cooking is one of my mom's favorite hobbies, it's also something that she is extremely good at.
I light up my horn, making a small whirring noise, signaling that I'm home.
My mom quickly sets the spoon down to turn around and smile.
"Chloe, you're home! I was worried about the traffic." She said, excitedly. Her lavender colored eyes lined with joy.

I wave my hand "Hi mom! Where's Sky?" I ask, looking around the kitchen.

"Your sister's been gone for over an hour" she said, looking down at her watch "I'd bet that she'll be home soon, you two love steamed vegetables, and I doubt that she'll pass up the chance to have the last dinner with you for a while."

I'm going to miss my home, everything and everyone in it. TSITM is a sleep away school, so I won't be in this house for at least a year.

"Now would you please set the table? The food is almost ready." My mother tells me.
I nod.

I take multiple trips from the kitchen to the dining room, setting down the bowls along with intricate silver forks and knives on the dark wooden table.

As I hurry to the kitchen to get the glasses, I notice the door open.

My sister, Sky, is finally home. Her light blue hair, fading into a slightly darker and more vivid shade, is matted and tangled. Her wings, blue with white and black, hang low behind her back. The only word I can find to describe her is "Traumatized"

"I-I..." Sky's voice faintly stammered from shock. She took a deep breath, as if it was her last, "I saw the cardinal. The one that killed dad. I think she's planning something." She got the words out quickly, in one breath.

My lips parted. Obvious fear in my eyes,
"What?"