Shcielle (Draeyer Academy 2)

Chapter 20-Death Awaits

Icefall Academy
Arktis Skyland
Northern Space

There was nothing but silence in the hallways of Icefall Academy. Solana walked through it, scratching the back of her head and looking around with brows scrunched in confusion. Every now and then, she would hear noises of the students from behind the classrooms' closed doors.

"Where's the infirmary again?" she whispered to herself. When she told Alec that she had a lousy sense of direction, she wasn't lying even by one bit. I should've waited for Knox, she thought.

She continued to walk through the corridors, admiring the paintings of green landscapes and the swirling patterns craved onto the grey walls. As minutes passed, the urge to barge into the classes and ask for directions grew. With a huff, she decided to do just that. However, she paused on her spot and her brows rose to her hairline.

A butterfly with pink and green wings fluttered around in front of her, looking so out of place in the cold and dull hallways of the academy. Her feet moved toward it and she reached out. The insect settled on her finger and she smiled while watching its wings flap. Her exhaled breath must have scared it because it flew off down the corridor. She followed after it, curious why such an insect was present in Arktis.

It took a few moments before the butterfly disappeared through a gap between black metal bars. She went to stand before it and she noticed it was a gate. However, her breath caught in her throat when she saw what was beyond it.

A glass arched tunnel led to large dome also made of from the same transparent material. The dome was filled with lots of trees, flowers in many colors, and other plants that she had only seen in Saggaran and Cetrulis. More butterflies and other insects flitted about the area.

"A greenhouse," she said. "This is amazing."

She strained her ears when she heard a female voice coming from inside the greenhouse.

"Oww," she heard. "Why does this have such a strong stem?"

Her brows knitted and she looked down to find that the gate was ajar. Curious as she always was, she slipped through the gate and followed the sound of the voice. The warmth of the glass structure engulfed her and she opted to take off her coat and gloves. She stuffed the gloves inside one of the pockets before draping the jacket over one arm.

With her steps quiet, she stood behind a tree and peered at the girl bent over a patch of plants with yellow flowers. Compared to most female Arktis she has seen so far, her body was wide and curvaceous. Also, Solana was sure that if the girl stands to her full height, she would be a few inches taller than her.

"Are you all right?" Solana asked.

The girl gave a startled squeak and she fell back on her rear from her crouch. Her head shot up in a frantic motion, and Solana met her beautiful purplish-blue eyes. It was then that she recognized her as Sierra, a Sky Games delegate from Icefall.

Taking note of her still wide-eyed look, Solana stepped out from behind the tree and rubbed the back of her head rather sheepishly.

"Sorry for startling you," she said. "I'm also sorry for entering."

For a moment, Sierra was quite. All of a sudden, she look down and shook her head. As she stood and dusted herself, she gave Solana a small smile.

"You're Solana, right? No need to apologize. I was just too immersed in what I was doing to not notice you," Sierra said. "Everyone is welcome in the greenhouse, so you don't have to be sorry about entering too."

"Thank you Sierra," Solana said with a sigh. Her eyes roamed over to the plot of plants Sierra was tending earlier. It was then that she noticed the knife next to a pile of the same plant lying on the earthy ground. She raised a brow at Sierra when her gaze went back to her. "What are you doing?"