TAKE TWO, kotlc

Chapter 3- Oralia

"Elvin History is soooo boring," Arella whined, feigning sleep as she slumped down onto her desk and gave a loud, fake snore.

Oralia glared at her sister and kicked her in the shin from underneath their desks. Lady Ceah turned around briefly to send a harrowing glance in their direction and went back to lecturing.

The only part about Elvin History that Oralia enjoyed was when she talked about her Mom and Dad. She figured she could probably ace every single test about them since her parents told them all about their adventures every night before bed. She knew all about her mom's kidnapping, finding Silveny- who was a grandma alicorn now, and her evil grandma.

Oh- and it was complicated enough having three sets of grandparents on her mom's side. Her favorite was definitely her adoptive grandparents, Grady and Edaline. They baked her mallowmelt and ripplefluffs and always showered her in presents on her Inception date.

"Sit through it, you won't die," Oralia hissed to Arella.

"Easy for you to say, you have Telepathy session after this," Arella shot back grumpily. "I just have ability detecting. I keep trying to get mom to boost my mental energy and see if it triggers anything but she says that she wants it to be 'naturally activated.'"

Oralia stuck her tongue out at her twin and continued taking notes.

It was pretty easy to tell the girls apart- Oralia's eyes were speckled with gold instead of pure ice blue like her sisters' and during class, whichever one was chatting and neglecting to take notes was obviously Arella.

When the class was finally over, Arella shot her one last glare before sliding off her seat, stuffing her textbooks under her arm, and stomping out of the door. Braelynn offered her a smile before following her stubborn twin sister off to ability detecting.

Prentice- or Sir Prentice -had made a full recovery after his mind had broken down all those years ago. He had been recruited by the Council as an Emissary working with Bronte, but when Bronte decided to take over as Foxfire principal instead, Prentice had moved with him, helping Tiergan juggle with Telepathy sessions with multiple prodigies whom had manifested.

Oralia tentatively twisted the handle, checking that she'd got the right classroom twice before gently opening the door. Prentice sat at his desk, his dark blue eyes watching her as she mumbled, "Hi," and shuffled nervously over to the desk in front of his.

"You're Sophie Foster's daughter, right? Oralia?"

Sometimes it was hard living in her mother's shadow- but she was determined to make her own Sencen legacy instead of being known as her mothers' daughter.

Nevertheless, she nodded uncomfortably and forced herself to look up.

"Welcome," Prentice told her warmly. "Can you remind me when you manifested?"

"At eight. I took after my mom's young manifestation," Oralia said anxiously, as if reading from a teleprompter- she got that question so many times that it was practically rehearsed. 

"And your twin hasn't?"

"Not that I know of," Oralia agreed, relaxing slightly. "What are we going to do today, Sir?"

"Just wanted to test something," Prentice promised, extending his fingertips to her temples. Instantly, Oralia could feel his consciousness slipping into her mind weaving through her head and soaking up information...

Prentice pulled away, shaking the dreadlocks out of his face before observing her thoughtfully. 

"You're a very bright young lady," Prentice decided. "Like your mother, who saved my life and my sanity. I think that you could do a lot of good with that head of yours."

Oralia blushed, barely able to believe that one of the most famous Telepaths in the Lost Cities had just said that to her.

"Thank you."

"Is it okay if I request Magnate Bronte give you two sessions with me instead? We can replace Elvin History, and I'll have Lady Ceah give you some extra textbooks instead. I know that both you and your sister inherited your parents' photographic memories."

"Am I in trouble?"

Prentice smiled at her. "Quite the opposite. Your mind is as brilliant as your mother's."