....Where was she? It's dark. And enclosed. She's stuck in a box, of some sort. She couldn't see, so she went to her next best option: hearing. There was shuffling, and the murmuring of a high pitched voice. So she wasn't alone.
Taking a deep breath, she gently pressed against the edge of the box, searching for any give. The lid shifted slightly, but seemed to be held shut with a latch. She pushed down her panic. This was manageable. Someone had to let her out eventually.
"I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me...."
Uniform? Was the nasally sounding guy infiltrating this place or something?
"Urgggh... this lid weighs a ton!"
Her eyes widened. He's trying to open the lid! She pushed against the front of the box, hoping to help out the stranger.
"Try this on for size! Mya-ha!"
....mya-ha? Well, there are stranger expressions to use, she supposed. Suddenly she heard a gust, and then a clatter. But the lid on her box remained. Was...there more than one box?
A boy's voice broke her out of her thoughts. His voice was gentle, but very panicked.
"What?! F-Fire?!"
"Now to grab the goods...What?! You ain't supposed to be awake!"
"F-Floating coffins?!"
Poor boy. He sounds absolutely terrified. She jiggled the door of her...coffin, apparently, hoping to get his attention. She wanted to reassure him.
"One's rattling?! Is...Is someone there?" His fearful voice called out. Elle sighed in relief. She made an effort to speak loud enough to be heard. Despite this, her voice still came out quieter than she intended.
"Hello? I'm not sure where I am...could you possibly help me out?"
There was a pause, before she felt someone rattling the door from the outside.
"Is this the one you're in?"
"Y-Yes, thank you so much!"
"Don't thank me yet, I haven't gotten the lid off."
"Oh-ho! You've got a lotta nerve ignoring me, human! The name's Grim. Believe me, you won't forget it!"
"Hey Grim, how did you open my coffin?"
"Ffnya?! Hey! Listen to me when I'm talking to you! Gimme your uniform and be quick about it! 'Cause if you don't...you're gonna regret it!"
Oh. Sounds like the guy who came to rob the place is mad. But...why would you tell someone your name when you're trespassing? Isn't that a one way ticket to getting arrested?
"S-Somebody help!"
"Hey, come on! I'm on a tight schedule here!"
She heard a small yelp and frantic footsteps moving behind her, and then her vision filled with blue as light seeped into her tiny prison. She hurriedly stumbled out of the coffin, her eyes widening at the sight of some kind of fire cat with a forked tail that did not look happy.
"What kind of Pokémon looking..."
"There's another one?! Why are you guys awake?! Doesn't matter, hand over those robes!"
"Okay, time to go."
Elle quickly looked around, spotting the boy she had heard earlier. He was wearing a black and purple robe with gold accents. She could see fluffy brown hair poking out from underneath the hood. He looked a couple years younger than her, from what she could tell.
She ran up to him, reaching out to grab his wrist and pulling him with her. She briefly noted that she was wearing the exact same robe as him.
"W-Woah!"
"I'm not about to ditch you, let's go!"
"Uh, right!"
"Get back here!"
The two sprinted down the halls, a fire cat hot on their heels. Elle made sure not to let go of his wrist. His safety was her priority.
Eventually, they came to a stop in what seemed to be a library. The boy braced his free hand on his leg, breathing heavily.
"If this is a dream, I'm ready to wake up now." He whined.
Elle, despite also being out of breath, rubbed small circles on his back. He found himself leaning into her touch, reassured by her presence. She had quickly become his one rock of sanity in this crazy place since he woke up around ten minutes ago.
Suddenly, familiar blue flames burst to life in front of them.
"Foolish humans! Did you really think you could slip away from ME?"
Elle stood protectively in front of the boy.
"Stay behind me." She murmured to him. He nodded, albeit hesitantly.
"Now, unless you want to get burned to a crisp, take off that-"
Suddenly, a whip came out of nowhere, grabbing the cat monster.
"Me-YEOW! That hurt! What gives?"
"Consider it tough love."
A new person arrived, and if Elle wasn't on guard before, she sure is now. This guy was dressed in a sparkly black suit, with black feathers on his shoulders and a mantle that resembled wings. He had a top hat with a mirror, three keys, and another feather on it, and he wore a mask over his....glowing yellow eyes? It somehow resembled a corvid of some sort. Were...were his ears pointed??? They were! What is this guy?!
She stepped closer to the boy, never taking her eyes off of the strange man. She was checking her peripherals for any possible escape should this interaction go south. The boy peeked over her shoulder, confused.
If the man noticed her suspicion, he didn't show it.
"Ah, I've found you at last. Splendid. I trust you're two of this year's new students? My, were you ever eager to make your debut. And bringing a poorly trained familiar with you? That is a clear violation of the school's rules."
Students? So this is a school. Despite having a million questions running through her head, she couldn't bring herself to speak. She didn't have enough experience with this person to know how to safely navigate a conversation, so she froze, studying him. Instead, the boy behind her tried speaking up.
"He isn't either of-"
"As if I'd serve some lowly human! Now lemme go!"
This crow guy must have a talent for not listening to people, because he ignored both of them.
"Yes, yes. Rebellious familiars always say that. Do be quiet for a bit, won't you?"
"Mmmrph!"
The whip was now covering the poor cat's mouth. No wonder he acted out if this is how he was treated most of the time.
"Dear me. Of all the students I've dealt with, you're the first with temerity enough to open their own gates and step out of them. Does the very notion of patience elude you two? No matter. Your orientation has already begun. Let us return to the Mirror Chamber."
Seeing as Elle was still frozen in place, the boy decided he would do the talking for them.
"Gate...?"
Very eloquent.
"You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not? All of the students here at the campus arrived by passing through such gates. Although typically the students have restraint enough to wait until I open them before waking up."
"I think something blew the lid off ours..."
Elle watched the conversation, trying to figure the adult out. He seems to be in charge of this place, and thinks the two of them are students. She certainly doesn't remember enrolling in a place like this. Her sister would be excitedly chattering nonstop about it if that were the case. Judging by the look on the boy's face, he was just as clueless as she was on the matter. She didn't like not having all the facts. It made her feel insecure. Intel is the only weapon she is capable of wielding, so without it, she felt defenseless. She decided to melt into the background for now. Wait until she had more information to make a move.
"The culprit appears to be that familiar of yours. You're the one who insisted on bringing it, so curtailing its behavior is your responsibility!"
Elle tensed. She hated being wrongly accused. It was an injustice. This man was wrongly accusing the boy who helped her. The boy who was just as confused as she was. He didn't deserve to be treated like this. She wanted to put her foot down. To flatly tell him that he was wrong. She wanted him to apologize to the boy behind her.
Despite this, she couldn't find the words. She couldn't bring herself to speak. She settled for giving the man a long, meaningful stare, hoping that somehow she could communicate her displeasure via brainwaves. Of course, he didn't even glance in her direction. It was like she was air.
"But now is not the time for such prattle. You've a student orientation to attend! Go on, now. Make haste."
The boy held up a hand.
"First, just tell me one thing. Where are we?"
Elle gently held onto his sleeve for support. He appreciated it. He gently placed his other hand on top of hers. The crow man's glowing yellow eyes bored into them.
"Hm? Have you not fully regained consciousness? The timespace teleportation must have addled your memories...Well, these things happen, I suppose."
Neither of them liked the sound of that. They glanced at each other with worry before looking back at the cloaked man.
"I shall explain it to you while we walk. Truly, my magnanimity is boundless."
And she hated him. She made sure not to show it, though. Showing animosity would only hurt her in the end. So she kept quiet. The two watched, dumbfounded, as the man began to walk off. She offered a hand to the boy.
"Want to go together?" She asked softly.
His cheeks flushed as he gently took her hand. Her voice was so gentle and light. He had yet to see her face, seeing as there was a hood over her head, but he was growing more curious about her by the minute. Her hands were soft and small, but not in the way that would imply that she hasn't worked much in her life. There were callouses from writing that he could feel, and there were other marks that he wasn't quite sure of the origin of. Despite this, her hands were soft. He liked how they felt in his.
He could see blonde hair peeking out from under her hood, and from the way it tucked back in behind her shoulders, he could tell it was pretty long. He felt pretty lucky to have heard her calling from inside the coffin...er...gate. He had no clue how he would be handling the situation without her.
"Yeah, alright. Let's go."
...
The two teenagers followed the ominous crow man past a courtyard full of apple trees.
"Ahem. This is Night Raven College. It is an institution for students the world over who demonstrate a rare aptitude for magic."
Elle squeezed the boy's hand, looking over at him with a raised eyebrow. He shook his head, shrugging. Guess they were just expected to accept that magic was a thing now.
"It is the most prestigious academy of its sort in all of Twisted Wonderland."
Another look. She glanced to the man in complete confusion, looking to the boy to see if he found this situation as absurd as she did. Luckily, he shared her sentiments exactly.
"And I am Dire Crowley. Having been entrusted with its care by the chairman, I serve as headmage."
Well, at least they have a name now.
"Wait, hold on, back up a second, magic?" His voice was trembling a little, but he was managing to keep it together.
"Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted to the college. Those who are selected are summoned to the campus through those "gates", which can appear anywhere. A black carriage bearing one such gate should have come to meet both of you."
Elle didn't remember anything like that happening, actually. She remembers falling through a mirror, but that's about it. She glanced over to her one ally in this strange situation. He put a hand to his chin, thinking.
"I do kinda remember crossing a dark forest..."
"Seriously? I've got nothing." She whispered to him.
Crowley must really like listening to himself talk, because he simply continued with his exposition lecture.
"That black carriage serves to receive a student chosen by the Dark Mirror. It too bears a gate that connects to this campus. And as you know, sending a carriage to meet someone on a special day is a time-honored tradition."
"In what culture?" Elle mumbled to herself. The boy beside her stifled a laugh. At least he didn't have to deal with this man's carelessness alone. It was good to know he wasn't the idiot here.
"So basically, we were dragged here by this carriage against our will?" He asked, not so subtly annoyed.
Grim began to struggle in the hold of the whip, but whatever he was trying to say came out muffled. Elle gave him a sympathetic smile. If he broke into the school for a uniform, chances are he wanted to attend. It was probably painful for him to see two students who didn't even want to be there.
"Now, let us attend to your orientation."
~~~
And here is chapter one! I'm going to be posting one chapter every Monday, but since this is the first week, I'm dropping two chapters directly onto your head!
I don't have much to say that I haven't already said last chapter, but I really do hope you enjoy! I also have not finished writing the prologue arc because I got impatient but hopefully that won't interfere with the upload schedule.
I hope you have a nice day, and I'll see you next week!
~Astroleap