The Aether Effect (NaNoWriMo 13)

Chapter 3: In Which The Sixth Years Students Take Their Oaths

Erin didn't find sleep until dawn had spread it's colorful fingers out over the horizon. She watched it happen from her window, the pinks and oranges stains slowing spilling into East Lormandi's sky. The part of the sky Melody was under by now.

She had climbed the wall in less than twenty minutes; had disappeared in the wink of an eye after tossing the door key down to Erin. She had run to the opposite side of the campus, throwing the key over the wall there, to misdirect others when the search for Melody began. She had also worn Melody's shoes as well, to mislead the hunting dogs should they be brought in.

At this point Erin really didn't know what to expect. She knew she would have to do a lot of lying, she knew she was basically guilty of treason, she knew she couldn't crack under the pressure, no matter how much there seemed to be. She knew she would be questioned, but beyond that, aside from getting suspicious glances, there wasn't a damn thing they could do to her.

If worse came to worse she would need a lawyer, and her father employed some of the best. It was one of the few time she had been satisfied with possibly using her father's power to her advantage. She would do her best to avoid having to though.

Her aetherbox clicked on at six, a weather anchor blaring the chances of today's rainfall. Erin had completely forgotten she had set it just an hour before she had helped Melody run away. She turned the thing down, but still let the news drone on for background noise; she was also half listening for any mentions of skinny, red heads being caught trying to flee West Lormandi.

She looked at herself in the mirror and groaned. She looked as pale as an Aether Eater and the dark circles under her eyes gave away the fact that she hadn't slept, which would not be conducive to her "I was asleep the whole time" story.

She took the time for a shower, turning the hot water on as high as she could stand it, hoping it would give her skin a nice, healthy, pink glow. She clenched her teeth against the burn of it and by the time she got out her skin had upgraded to a nice peachy color and her teeth hurt like hell.

She wrapped a towel around her body and left the small bathroom. She pulled her full academy dress uniform out of her closet and dressed herself methodically, a slip, her stay, some bloomers, black stockings. She slipped on her white dress shirt, buttoned all the way to the top, and then her red, pleated skirt, tucking the shirt into it. She tied her thin black neck tie with practiced hands, then put on her black vest. Last was the red blazer and she spent several minutes trying to pin her Golden Honors badges to her lapels.

When she had finally lined them up evenly she made her bed. Melody's was already made up to give credence to the story that Erin thought she had just gotten an early start on the day. It was a quarter until seven when Erin sat down at her vanity. She applied concealer to the circles under her eyes and a stain to her lips that matched her blazer. She dusted her eyes with some beige shadow and slipped on her gray lace- up heels.

It was five until seven when she walked out of her room, leaving her just enough time to get to the assembly hall by seven. The parents of all the Sixth Years were gathered there for visiting before roll-call and Oath Swearing. The students weren't permitted to eat before the tests were done at seven-thirty, due to the fact that some of the magic tests can make one vomit. So the Oath Swearing worked to prevent this. It involved a sip of something that turned the face of an offending student ( someone who had snacked since midnight) a shade everyone referred to as "perjury purple." The effect lasted for days and said student would have to wait a whole day to test.

Erin sought her father out in the crowd of milling students and parents. She saw Ben and Chantilly with their mother and father, she waved and smiled, but moved on quickly, wanting to avoid any awkward moments until they were absolutely necessary.