Recap : "My name is Jayden. I am a Sentinel and I am here to take you to your rightful place."
"My rightful place, huh? And where is that?"
"At Vox Nevestra Academy of Magical Sciences."
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Atalie stared at the guy. He couldn't be more than 20 years old. She had tried to guess his age before as well but this was the best guess she could come up with really. What bugged her was that a strange guy was in her room and he was spewing rubbish about how her rightful place was that Nox Vostra- no wait, it was Nos Vextra, no urgh whatever it was named academy for magical sciences. Atalie was tired and scared and in a hell of a mood. This crabby, angry version of Atalie didn't care about that person's feelings. Besides, he was the one who had invaded her personal sanctum, hadn't he. He deserved the tongue lashing he would get. So she did just that.
"Hah! Stupid of you to think that I would believe you. My rightful place is in Nox Vextra Academy of Magical Sciences." Atalie said mimicking his voice, her tone dramatic. "Who on earth gave you the right to pull this prank on me? And how did you even come into my room, huh? Well it doesn't matter how you came in, but, now you are leaving or I'll scream and then my parents will wake up and you will have to face the consequences of your actions. Oh and word to the wise, my father is not very fond of trespassers, especially those who sneak into his daughter's room." Atalie fumed. All this time Jayden was standing silently, his bowed a centimetre.
"Are you done?" He asked quietly, not wanting to invite her ire. When the academy had tasked him with getting this girl with him, he had assumed - from whatever he had gathered about her from her file - she'd be a docile, submissive little mouse who would nod her head to everything he would say or at least be an agreeable person whom he could convince. But this? This was something he had never thought of. In hindsight it was his own problem, a bed of his own making. So now he had no choice but to go and lie down in it but he could say that he wasn't happy, couldn't he?
"Look, number one, it Vox Nevestra Academy not Nox Vostra or Nox Vextra or whatever you call it. Second when I say that it is your rightful place, I meant that it was a place where you could fit in and be safe. I understand your predicament Atalie. After the horrible experience you've had just fifteen minutes ago it is perfectly rational for you to not trust me because of my gender but please understand that I do not mean you any harm. It was presumptuous of me to think that you would leave everything and come with me and I am ready to amend my mistake. So can please declare a truce and start over again?" He asked hopefully.
When he mentioned the incident that had taken place just fifteen minutes ago, all the fight went out of Atalie. Her body became loose and it began wrecking with sobs. She blinked her eyes rapidly for a few minutes and then turned to look at Jayden, her composure regained.
"How do you know what happened fifteen minutes ago? Were you there? If you were there then why didn't you do anything?" Atalie demanded answers from him
"Yes I was there. I was tasked with keeping an eye on you but I failed. And as for the other thing, as soon as I was about to intervene, you channelled powerful and raw magic. It was amazing. Though I have no right to be, I am still very proud of you."
"Please tell me Weston is alive." It was a whisper of hope. She didn't want to kill him, she didn't want to be the cause of anyone's death.
"Unfortunately he is. But on the bright side he is very disfigured. If her ever thinks about touching another woman inappropriately, those scars will remind him of the true power of women and what happens when you mess with one." It was obvious by his tone that he was more than happy to finish the job Atalie had started. The thought both scared and calmed Atalie.
"You said that I would have to go to this school for controlling magic?" Atalie was tired. All the fight had gone out of her when the crushing weight of that past had pressed down on her.
"Yes. It is for your own benefit. You will be able to live a better life if you learn to control your magic."
"What if I say no?"
"If you say no then we will be forced to wipe your memory and take away your powers but I wouldn't suggest doing that because that would make you a prey for the mage hunters."
"Mage hunters?"
"Yes mage hunters. Mage hunters are people who like to hunt and torture mages. They believe that the world should only belong to the humans. Something about that whole purist thing, you know, like the world should be pure while the mages are impure and all that. They are good at detecting mages and they won't hesitate to torture you even if you are a small child. They won't feel remorse for killing you even if you don't have magic to protect yourself against them." Jayden could see that Atalie was getting overwhelmed so he suggested, "Why don't you think about this and let me know tomorrow? Also here. This is the official letter from the Academy. Read it and then make your decision." Completing his statement, he vanished into the shadows, leaving Atalie alone with her thoughts.
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Atalie stared at the envelope. It had a crest in gold on the top right corner. It had various symbols inside and outside it and some weird words. When she ran those words through Google translate she found the words translated to Truth and Honour in Magic. Upon opening the envelope, she found that there was a letter and a form inside it. She picked up the letter. It read
Dear Miss Rivera,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been admitted into Vox Nevestra Academy of Magical Sciences. To confirm your admission, please fill out this form and send it to us by the end of this week otherwise your admission will be considered as null. We hope to see you there in person at the beginning of the year.
Yours Truly
Elizabeth Walker
Recruitment Advisor
Vox Nevestra Academy of Magical Sciences
Atalie stared at the letter and the form. The end of the week was three days away and she had to fill out the form by then. Talk about pressure! Unable to sleep, she pulled out a paper from a notebook and made a list of pros and cons.
"Pros, I'd get to learn magic. Cons, I'd have to leave my life behind. Pros, I'd meet people who are like and who will understand me. Cons, I will have to stay away from my parents.
Pros, I'd be a totally new and amazing person. Cons, my identity as Atalie Rivera would be gone." Atalie mumbled to herself as she made the list. Calculating the pros and cons, Atalie didn't realise when she succumbed to sleep.
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This time the dream was different. It wasn't a cozy house with a woman and her child but rather a grey cliff which had grey waters at its feet while grey skies claimed their domain. Huh? Where on earth was she? And why the hell was everything in monochrome? Didn't this place have colour? Suddenly a glowing spectre caught her attention. The spectre beckoned her over, its hazy features twisting in a semblance of a smile.
"Accept your destiny!" The spectre commanded
"Accept my destiny? What is my destiny? That school?"
"Accept your destiny." It repeated
"Look here creepy, glowing spectre, I am not going to some unknown school with a bunch of weirdos who believe that they can do magic, okay? So send me back to that cottage with the mother and the baby and leave!" The spectre did just that, it left, leaving Atalie alone.
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After hours - or was it minutes? - of roaming Atalie sat down on the cliff. She had tried leaving but had found that the same landscape went on and on. She was mentally and physically exhausted.
"See here, creepy-glowing-spectre-in-a -monochromatic-world can't you just send me back to my house and then I could get on with my life and you could get on with yours?" Atalie suggested but got no response.
"What do you want me to say, huh? That I am scared that all this is a dream and it's all going to go poof!? Or do you want me to say that I am scared that I don't know anything about this place? Look, it's just, it would be nice to know exactly what I am getting into." Atalie sighed wistfully. Suddenly a vortex appeared out of nowhere and sucked her into it. When she landed, she found that she was on a bridge with hundreds of other people who were talking, laughing and having fun.
There were two girls there, chatting animatedly. When she got closer, she heard, "OMG! I can't believe it! I am finally here! Vox Nevestra! Oh I have dreamed of coming here for so long."
The friend of the girl who said that replied, "Amen sister! Now let's go and check room assignments." The girls walked away and the scene changed. They were now in an office with lots of year photos and certificates hanging on the walls. The woman who stood there was roughly 40 years of age. As soon as she sensed the door open she asked "What are your names?"
One of the girls smiled mischievously and said "Katya and Nora Sullivan."
"Katya and Nora? Your names are not in the list...." She trailed off when she saw the faces of the two girls. She obviously recognised them because she said, "Of course it's you two! Should have known! Here you girls are rooming with Leanna in room 216. Off you go!" She shooed them away while the girls giggled. Atalie watched as the girls got settled in and then spent the rest of their day together.
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When Atalie woke up, it was to find that someone was shaking her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that it was Jayden shaking her.
"Atalie wake up! Are you ready to make your decision?"
Atalie got up gasping and saw that it was 6:30 am. She sighed in relief. "Yeah about that, I was wondering, would I get to see my parents again?" She asked nervous about his answer.
"Of course you would! You would only be distancing yourself from them. You can still come to visit them during summer or winter break."
"Ok.... Then yes! I'll join Vox Nevestra Academy." Truth was that whatever she had witnessed with those girls had cemented her decision to go.
Jayden smiled and told her to pack a bag and fill out the form while he took care of her parents. Atalie did as she was told and packed a bag taking along with her some clothes, books, makeup, jewellery and photos of her and her parents. She also took her little stuffed bear with her. Hey she was going to a new place with strangers galore. She deserved something that reminded her of home. Jayden appeared half an hour later and told her to get ready to leave. He pulled out something from his pocket - like an orb of a sort? - and spun it. A glowing doorway appeared in fron of them and he ushered her through it. When she opened her eyes, she was standing on the same bridge on which she had stood last night. Vox Nevestra Academy! Jayden didn't waste any time and nor let her gawk around. He simply took her through a series of winding and twisting hallways and reached a door. He knocked and then opened the door. Inside there were two girls, one blond and one brunette. They stopped their conversation and turned to look at them. Jayden walked in the room and said,
"Atalie, these are your roommates Sophia and Odette. Girls this is Atalie. Help her get settled in" Saying this he walked out of the room and shut the door in his wake. There was pin drop silence in the room. The blonde girl suddenly smiled and said, "Welcome to Vox Nevestra roomie!"
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This is how I imagine Vox Nevestra Academy. However you guys are free to use your awesome imagination and picture it anyway you want.
Oh and the photo on top is the school crest. How do you guys like it? Let me know if there is anything I can do to make it better.
Thoughts on the chapter? Who do you think was the glowing spectre?What did it mean by the statement that Vox Nevestra was Atalie's destiny? Also, who were the girls in the dream?
I also wanted to run something by you guys. The next 2 or 3 chapters will be very long so I will be dividing it into 2 parts. Therefore there will be no update on next Sunday. Instead there will be a double update on the Sunday after next which means that you guys won't feel bored while reading the chapter (s) and won't have to wait for the latter part of the chapter for another week. This way you and I both will be happy. I will inform you when this pattern ends.
Let me know your thoughts and theories in the comments section. Don't forget to Vote Comment and Share.
Love you guys
Fictionally yours,
Aurynn