Elementals 2: The Stones of Power

Chapter 6-Under New Management

Chapter 6

Alex's P.O.V

Today started off like any normal day in Arceus. I woke up, got dressed and headed towards my first class, History of Magic, without anything out of the ordinary happening. Although, since I woke up, my magic seemed a little...off.

I looked down at my hands as the ball rang, feeling a foreign tingling sensation pulsing across my palms.

"Hey, Alex?" Lexie tapped my shoulders, snapping me out of mg daze. "You good? You seemed out of it during class."

"Yeah, your eyes are a little off-coloured. Is everything alright?" Haru asked, standing next to Lexie.

I blinked at them. "Huh? Oh, no, I'm fine. Just-"

*Attention, please. Team A10, report to the headmaster's office immediately*

Lexie and Haru turned to me, expressions of concern and confusion plastered across their faces. I stared back at them, equally as confused.

"What does the headmaster want with your entire team, Al?" Lexie asked.

"I dunno." I shrugged. "We didn't break any school rules since the start of the semester. At least, I didn't. Can't really say the same for Zack and Cameron, though."

"Well, whether you're in trouble or not, I suggest you get there fast. The headmaster doesn't like waiting." Axel chimed from behind us. Haru turned and growled at him, and Lexie shot him a glare. Axel just turned on his heels to leave the classroom, mumbling something I couldn't make out.

"He's right. My grandfather doesn't really like it what I keep him waiting." I sighed, packing the last of my books away. I swung my bag over my shoulder.

"Tell us what happens, 'kay?" Haru said. I nodded in response. Without another word, I made my way out of the classroom towards grandpa's office.

•••

The man sitting next to grandpa caught my eye from the moment we stepped into the room, and right then and here, I noticed something...strange about him. My friends seemed to notice it too, but didn't utter a word.

This man looked...normal. Too normal. His hair was long and jet black, tied up in a small, neat bun behind his head. He dressed in a long brown overcoat with a black suit underneath and dress shoes. But what everyone found strange sat staring at us behind his thinly-rimmed, round glasses.

His eyes were brown.

"Students," Grandpa motioned to the man, who greeted us with a friendly smile. "I would like to introduce you to Adiran Ellowin, the new Head of Discipline at Arceus."

My jaw dropped. "Huh!?"

"Ever since Andreas Bliss' assault, the responsibility of Head of Discipline was vacant. Then it fell to me and Saladin until we could find someone else to take the position. However, as the headmaster, my plate is quite full as it is." Grandpa explained.

"So, I'm here to take the stress off of his hands." Adrian said in a gentle, welcoming voice. I shot a glance to my grandpa, but he didn't respond.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all." Adrian said, flashing us a smile.

"Pleased to meet you too, Mr Ellowin." Smiled back at him.

I didn't know what, but something about him didn't sit right with me. Something about that smile seemed as fake as my own, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I caught Damian staring at me out the corner of my eye. Grandpa stood up, patting Mr Ellowin's shoulder.

"Right. I'll be formally introducing our new head of discipline at tomorrow's assembly." He turned to Adrian. "From then on, Adrian, your duties will begin."

Mr Ellowin nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Uhm, Mr Fier." Zack raised his hand. "If you're going to introduce Mr Ellowin to the school at tomorrow's assembly, why are you introducing him to us early?" He asked.

"Good question." Cameron added. "And why us specifically?"

"Well, I thought that some of you might not be all too trusting of our newest member of staff after...you know. So introducing you early should give you all a chance to get more comfortable with each other." Grandpa explained.

I thought for a moment. Grandpa did have a point; I already didn't trust Mr Ellowin. After Bliss, it would make sense. Perhaps Grandpa might've been onto something.

Still, something didn't sit right with me about him. I just set those thoughts aside for a moment.

"Well, that's the introductions done then." Grandpa smiled. "Adrian, you're free to explore the school if you'd like." Mr Ellowin shook his head.

"Oh no need for that. I know my way 'round already."

"Ah. Right then." Grandpa's eyes fell onto us. "Students, you are dismissed."

With that, we all made our way out of the office. Ten minutes had already gone by. As Mr Ellowin made his way towards the staff lounge, my friends and I walked towards our next class, Geography. I looked back and watched the new head of discipline disappear around a corner.

"...something's off about him." I said to the rest of my team. They all turned to me.

"What makes you say that?" Keith asked.

"Well, for starters, his hair and eyes are two completely different colours. Plus, I couldn't sense a drop of magic from him at all. You guys dont find that suspicious?" I said.

"Well, that's not entirely unheard of. About five to ten percent of elementals the Elemental Realm don't manifest their magic at all." Damian scratched his chin. "Maybe he's a part of that minority."

"Wait...there's a chance that an elementals magic won't manifest?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah. A five percent chance to be specific." Damian said.

"It's pretty uncommon though." Zielo added.

"Huh..." I muttered. "Still, something doesn't feel right about Mr Ellowin."

"And what exactly is that?" Aaron asked, hovering with his hands in his pockets.

"I dunno!" I shrugged. "It's like there's this voice in my head and this feeling in my gut telling me that he's not the guy he says he is."

Aarya put a hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure it isn't just because of what happened last semester?"

"It's normal for someone to distrust someone who's similar to someone who might've caused them pain or grief." Natalie said. Flashes of the night Bliss attacked me began to replay. I shook my head.

"Look, I don't know why, but I just don't trust him. Maybe it's because of what Bliss did, maybe it's something else. I just..."

I noticed a few strands of my hair fading to red from a different colour. I held out the strands and blinked in confusion. I shook my head again and ran my hand t through my head, letting out a breath.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I am just being paranoid." I sighed. "Just forget what I said."

With that, we all stopped outside the door to room 39.

~~~~~

Author's Notes

And I'm back! I'm super happy with this chapter and how it came out, especially with the addition of our new character, Adrian Ellowin. On to Alex, I've never written a character with paranoia before, and I'm hoping that I did a somewhat decent job here. I'm hoping that I didn't make things too obvious, since I don't want you to figure out what I'm plotting. But with that being said, I'll end the chapter here. Hope you enjoyed reading, and I'll see you in the next one.

-BlueBoyHalo14