Cities always give me a headache. If it weren't for the trick my old I'm mentor taught me, then I would probably explode from all the information this one is giving me. Everyone seems to be thinking completely different things all at the same time.
That little boy over there is thinking about pick pocketing me. I shoot him a glare and he hurriedly backs away into the crowd.
Just being here is sapping my energy. Doesn't matter, I just need to focus on my own goals, or more specifically, my own thoughts. Since I memorized the map of Maith, I know exactly where to turn. Pine road, Pine road... there it is, passing right through Krail Drive!
I can distantly hear two people bickering. I extend my thoughts to theirs, and realize that the little girl is attending Odeas, and none of them know the password. I roll my eyes. It was literally written in thick letters under 'important' in the letter they sent the students.
"Juniper," I say once I reach the people, "Juniper is the password." The gate opens and I walk past the girl, who seems to be about my age. I can't read that much about her, she has a surprisingly guarded mind.
"Thanks," says the girl, whom I now know as Zelena, thanks to the other woman, "What's your na-" but I'm already gone, slipping through the trees to take a shortcut to my new school.
If only everyone wasn't trying to be friendly all the time, maybe my head wouldn't hurt so much. It was different back home, where my parents and four siblings always guarded their minds against me, to make it easier for me to relax.
I sigh as I continue walking on the path during this gorgeous sunny day. Maybe I'll be able to visit them again, but for now, I need to focus on school, and hopefully get noticed by the High Mage of Telepathy, who could grant me a quest.
I round another bend in the path and abruptly stop walking. The school is so big, and bustling with so much activity, I can't take my eyes off it. Beautiful turrets at every corner of the school soar so high, they seem to be grazing the clouds. The school closely resembled a fairy tale castle, with it's grand front doors, overlooking a moat.
Not a very good idea, considering water mages could get in without trouble, but still breathtaking nonetheless. I slowly approach the school and notice, well hear, a large crowd of people standing in front of a table lined with school officials. I zoom in on the closest one, and realize their handing out pamphlets and whispering passwords to the meandering students, probably for their dormitories.
I hurry over to the table, hoping to get a good bed next to a window, and stop in front of a stern looking woman wearing a crisp Odeas uniform.
"Welcome," she says, in a most unwelcome way, "What is your name?" She pulls out a list and I say clearly, "Georgia Senn, miss," the lady looks through her sheets and stiffens. A quick scan shows that she graduated a year younger than everyone else, and had treasured the thought of being superior all her life, until today that is.
She is jealous of me not only being able to beat her record, but also do it while at the same time skipping three grades. I beam widely at the thought of getting under this woman's skin, and politely say,
"Where will I be staying while I'm here?" This seems to aggravate her even more, as she shoves a pamphlet entitled Welcome to Odeas School of Magic for Girls! We are so excited to have you! under my nose and practically shouts "Wall Frog!" In my ear.
"Your turrets supervisor will show you to your dormitories." Before I can respond, she shouts 'Next!' And I'm pushed out of the way by an older student, who thinks she has the right to anything she wants, even though that's about the only thing floating in that empty head of hers.
I can't wait to see see that sour woman, since she's probably going to be teaching here, I think to myself sarcastically.
Once I reach the drawbridge, I test it doubtfully with my foot. It doesn't seem in great working order. Once I've convinced myself it's safe, I walk across, perfectly fine. Of course, I get my long skirt caught in the wood several times, but there are no rips.
When I walk into what can only be described as the main hall, a teacher guides me to the right telling me I can sit wherever I want. Since there are already social divisions forming among the tables closest to the front, I sit in the at an empty table meant for five.
We wait for a couple of minutes while the rest of the students enter, until somebody declares that there are no more students, after seeing that a last girl comes through the door.
Seeing that all the other tables are full, she comes and sits down next to me, smiling broadly. A flicker of recognition crosses her face, but disappears once the headmistress starts talking over a wand that's clearly been enchanted to amplify her voice.
"Welcome to all the new students joining us this year, and welcome back to those coming for another year of school," she starts, followed by a round of applause and a couple hoots. "Now, I will invite Miss Delaware to state a few of the most important school rules." she steps away from the podium, and the sour faced woman from before takes her place. Great, just what I needed, the old bat from out front could put me in detention without a second thought.
"Listen up students, I will only tell you this once," she begins stiffly, straightening her already perfect posture, "We have three major rules at this school, but for a detailed list, please visit the rule book in the library," the girl next to me rolls her eyes, and I understand what she's feeling, who would purposely want to read that?
"First, all students must maintain proper behavior at all times. We do not want to tarnish this schools perfect reputation. Second, all students must abide by the dress code, no matter what grade," she stares pointedly at a group of fifth years, all who have cut their long skirts into ones so short, I could see their bright underwear peeking from underneath.
They giggle and Delaware continues her speech, "And lastly, the most important rule, no student from the first, second or third year is allowed to perform magic on the school grounds. That includes all of those students, no exceptions. Thank you." She returns to her spot at the table, And sits down looking satisfied.
The headmistress reclaims the podium, and says, "Now, you have all received your passwords, and I will tell you where your dormitories are. Your turret supervisor will lead you to where you'll be staying and show you how to access your dormitories. All Enchanter, Elemental and Telepathic mages please follow Ellie Marr."
A cute girl from the fifth grade stands up and motions for us to follow. I stand, as well as several other people scattered across the room, including the girl, Zelena.
We exit the room together and someone closes the great doors, shutting off the headmistress' next listing.
"What turret are we going to live in?" Zelena asks Ellie but she ignores her, and keeps walking down a narrow path, shouting at everyone to stick together. Come to think of it, she isn't very interesting on the inside. "Alright, everybody please follow me up the stairs, when I say your grade, you can enter your dormitory. I will come and get you in two hours to go eat supper." she looks at us expectantly and we all nod our understanding.
We begin climbing the spiral steps, and several girls are grunting and complaining, lugging their huge bags up the stairs. I only have a backpack, and it's easy to carry up the many stairs. We get to a small landing, and several girls drop their bags in relief.
"All first years, you can make your way into the dormitory on our left. It's up to you to choose where you want to sleep, but please, no fighting," says Ellie, casually gesturing in the direction of the wooden door. She doesn't care about any of us, and just wants to get back to her private supervisor room, where she can paint her nails in peace. I'm not kidding, those are her thoughts exactly.
The same procedure goes on for the second and third years, leaving us with a group of around twenty girls. All of whom are 17 or 18, except for me and the other purple eyed girl, we seem to stick out uncomfortably to all these older girls.
"Since there are very few of you this year, you will be sharing a dormitory. Lucky for the first year brats, they won't need to sleep in the dungeons." The last part she whispered, but we all heard. I doubt Ellie has very many friends. A longer scan of her mind just proves me right. She runs down the stairs, leaving us alone on the doorstep.
Zelena walks forward and places her hand on the door. Ours is solid iron, unlike the other students', and contains a heavy lock, where the others were open. She tries saying the password we used for the main door at the base, but nothing happens. I dig deep into her mind, pushing my way through the guard, and realize what she's about to do.
It's never been done before by an elemental, but then again, this is no ordinary elemental. She touches her hand to the lock and spreads her feet apart. A look of concentration crosses her face, and she crushes the lock, easily snapping it off the door. It swings open with a loud clang, but everyone is staring at the girl.
She smiles brightly at everyone and steps inside the room. Thoughts are flying through everyone's mind at top speed, but I'm only focused on the door, and the room beyond. Welcome home, Georgia, I think to myself, welcome home.