Guardians of Plaxas

Chapter the Fifteenth: Opal

"Ruby, what do you have next?" Bella asks, tapping on my arm.

I pull my schedule out of my bag as I'm served soup. "Um....it's my special training class," I say.

"Oh, good luck with that," says Kaitlynn, spooning soup into her mouth.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, but it's probably super hard."

"Why would it be hard?"

"Well, I'm just thinking that it's one-on-one and the teacher might push you harder because they don't have to teach a whole class, they only have to teach you."

I grimace at this possibility and hope that it's not true. I'm already exhausted by this morning's classes and we've gotten a ton of homework already.

"So how was Creature's class?" Bella asks Kaitlynn. She's the only one of us who's had it.

Kaitlynn shrugs. "It was fine. I mean, Dante was in my class, but that's just how it goes, right? We got to see a Fluff ward today,"

Bella rolls her eyes. "Lillian and her friends will be happy."

The bell rings to signal the end of lunch and I look down at my still untouched soup. I hope I don't need too much energy for this afternoon.

I check my schedule. I'm heading up to the top floor of the school, into one of the towers. It'll take a while to get there, so I know I need to begin climbing.

I arrive one minute after the bell. The teacher is already there, her back to me as she stares out the window.

"Hmm. One minute late. I can accept that, as it's your first day of school, but Opal....try to stay on time in the future."

I jolt. "H-how do you know my name? I'm called....I'm called Ruby, here,"

"Yes. The name of your sister." the lady finally turns around and I gasp.

"I-I know you! Mistress Kali? What are you doing here?"

The lady steps forwards and I back towards the door. "No. No, get away from me, please!"

The mistress pulls off her white hood and bends down so that we're face to face. "Opal. Look at me closely. Am I mistress Kali?"

"Yes." I answer immediately.

"Opal. You haven't even looked. Look at me, Opal,"

I slowly turn my face to stare into the lady's eyes. And I realize that while this lady and the mistress look very much alike, they are not the same person. This lady has a small mole on her left cheek. Her teeth are straighter than Kali's, her smile wider.

"No," I breathe. "You are not mistress Kali,"

The lady stands again and walks toward the window, gesturing for me to follow her.

"You and I are not that different, Opal," she says as she stares out at the sea.

A cluster of people appear from inside the school, standing on the beach. The ride dragons and an assortment of weapons can be seen among them.

"The seniors' beginning of the year test. You all have them. But the seniors' test is to patrol the country, once around. They must report any strange going-ons to the school." the lady says.

"Ma'am?" I ask. "You said that we're not that different-how so?"

"Opal. I am mistress Kali's sister. Twin sister, just like you and Ruby. Just like you and Ruby,"

"Oh," I say, staring at her. "You mean you're-"

"Yes. She did it when she was young. In her second year of school. Her power is manipulation, you know. She wanted to manipulate....herself. In a way. And in trying...."

I nod. I understand what she's saying. And she's right. We really aren't different, not at all.

"You and Ruby are meant to be together. It was part of my sister's spell. This school....neither of you were supposed to go. This is a major setback for her. And I think that we can use this set back to our advantage." 

Any thoughts on what happened to Opal and Ruby? I'd love to hear them, just write them in the comments.