//A/N//:
Don't forget to check out the original (created and edited by us!) video trailers for this book as you read! They will be linked to the top of selected chapters! Also, feel free to give us some feedback, we love talking to you beautiful people!
Edit/Disclaimer: It has been brought to our attention that some scenes in our book resemble the 'House of Night' series. A lot of our writing inspiration comes from mythology and paganism. Sisi is a practicing pagan and draws inspiration from her craft as well as nostalgic elements from what magic meant to us as children. We are by no means intending to copy content from any other creator, the ideas and creativity in this book are entirely our own.
Happy reading ♡
- Katie and Sisi
———
I'm such a cliche, you thought to yourself, as you were packing your family's grimoire carefully into your suitcase.
Of all the monsters, mythological creatures and fairytale characters, I had to go and be a witch.
You sighed heavily, closing your suitcase and jumping on it so you could attempt to zip it up.
You were the daughter of two seemingly ordinary but talented sorcerers, growing up in a small cottage away from the hustle and bustle of the big city nearby.
Your parents were fiercely protective of you for as long as you could remember, rarely letting you out of their sights.
But now look where you are, being sent away to a magic boarding school in South Korea of all places.
You slid off your suitcase, turning around to grip the handle and pull it off the bed.
"I'm ready!" you yelled in the direction of your door.
You were 19 years old, having already finished all four years of regular high school in your hometown, as did all gifted kids before attending their specialized schools.
You didn't want to leave, you liked it here. You were planning on attending the Aurox Magic Preparatory Academy for your second year, the same specialized school your parents went to and graduated from. It was where all your friends were, all the gifted kids you grew up with. The school was only an hour's drive away and for your whole life it seemed like it was going to be your only option.
And you were fine with that.
You pushed your suitcase out into the hall with the other two you had packed beforehand for your father to get, trudging down the stairs towards the front door.
You slid on your shoes and threw on your coat before grabbing your purse from the kitchen table.
Your mother appeared from outside, "The car is ready to take you to the airport sweetie."
"I'll just go put this into the trunk for you Y/N." your dad said, walking past you with your suitcases in tow.
You turned back to look at your house one last time, sighing again, this time hoping your mom would hear and feel sorry for you.
"I know you don't understand now, but trust me, in time you will." Your mother put her hand on your shoulder in a feeble attempt to comfort you.
You didn't reply, you just nodded in understanding. It's not like you had a choice right?
The comforting dull warmth emanating from her hand, a perk of her Fire Affinity, didn't even calm you down as struggled to swallow the lump in your throat.
You didn't want them to see you cry, no matter how upset you were about being shipped off to another country.
You made your way out to the front where the car was waiting for you, hugging your mom and dad tightly and saying your goodbyes.
You climbed into the car and waved at your parents from the rear window until they were completely out of sight, wiping away the tear that had finally rolled down your cheek.
-----
"We are now beginning our descent into Seoul Incheon Airport. Please stay seated with your seat-belts fastened until the flight attendants have turned off the fasten seat-belt sign. Thank you for choosing Kiltine Airlines."
You rubbed sleepily at your eyes, stretching and sitting up straighter in your uncomfortable plane seat.
You had slept most of the flight to Korea, only waking up once when the flight attendants came around with food.
You began to collect your things, packing them neatly back into your purse and double-checking you had everything you needed for customs.
Once you had landed and deplaned you made your way to the arrivals gate.
You got through customs pretty quickly and retrieved your suitcases from the baggage claim area only twenty minutes later.
You managed to put all your suitcases on the luggage cart and started rolling it in the direction of the pickup area at terminal 1.
Stopping just before the automatic doors out into a new world, you looked down at your letter from the South Korean Maelyeog Academy of Magic for the 1000th time, eyes scanning every word to keep yourself from disassociating;
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Y/N,
Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Maelyeog Academy of Magic beginning in August as a Second Year student. You can take pride in this accomplishment, for you have been selected as 1 of only 200 of the world's most talented and competitive gifted students.
Our school was founded over two hundred years ago by Kim Kyung-soo, a legacy, and spearhead for gifted people all over the world. As the indisputable leader of magic education, MAoM is known for its exemplary elemental studies program and the outstanding achievements made by its faculty and students.
We are ecstatic to be accepting you as one of a select few international transfer students. Please notify the admissions department with your flight information and our driver will meet you at Seoul Incheon Airport Terminal 1 accordingly.
We look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to life at our academy. Please review the enclosed checklist of necessary books and equipment. As is stated in our admission requirements, every student must be in possession of their family grimoire during the duration of their studies starting from Second Year.
Yours Sincerely,
Choi Jung-soon
Director of Admissions
-
You folded the paper up and put it back inside your purse.
This place sounds like Hogwarts.
Or some rich boarding school only upper-class Affinists go to.
You groaned out loud, earning yourself stares from other travelers, as you threw your purse strap back over your should with a huff.
How did I even get accepted to a school like this?
You stepped out of the automatic doors, the afternoon sun blazing down on you making you regret not changing out of your hoodie before you got off the plane.
You immediately spotted the school driver who was waiting in front of the terminal 1 doors, your name messily scribbled across the board he was holding.
"Hello!" you said cheerfully to the man, plastering a convincing smile on your face.
"Hello Miss, welcome to Korea." the man replied, bowing to you before collecting your baggage from you.
You stood awkwardly watching him load your things into the trunk of the blacked-out car, your social anxiety stopping you from entering the car without explicit permission.
It wasn't until he had motioned for you to climb into the passenger side that you broke your statuesque stance to shuffle into the car.
The ride to the school took just over two hours from the airport, you had tried multiple times to start a conversation with the driver. Every time he would answer shortly and return to silence.
The only useful information you received the whole journey was that the driver is available anytime a student needs, which included weekends when you could reserve a driver to take you into the center of Seoul.
Since the school was quite far away from the city you were thankful for this perk. You made a mental note to reserve a driver as soon as possible.
Once the city had long blurred into the horizon, the driver turned onto a forked off road, a narrow dirt path leading into an endless sea of green.
The car followed the path for at least thirty minutes, the long winding road seemingly endless as you made your way through what was obviously a forest.
You couldn't help your over-active imagination from coming up with ways to escape should the driver actually turn out to be a psychopath.
I pack a mean punch, I'm sure I could take him!
As if on cue, the car suddenly rounded a sharp corner, the path leading out onto a relatively open road.
You breathed a sigh of relief as a large structure started to come into view.
I may have been a little dramatic...
As the structure became clearer you started to notice how huge it really was.
A massive European-style off-white building that stretched across a large green space, beautiful big trees bordering the outside. The roof was a rustic brown, the contrast to the white walls reminding you of a castle.
"Welcome to Maelyeog Academy of Magic" the driver said, startling you slightly and motioning you to look out the window.
Wow, you thought to yourself, even if this whole move has been literal hell on earth, at least the school is beautiful.
The car pulled into the long driveway leading to the front entrance of the school. As soon as it stopped the driver was out and opening your door.
You stepped out onto the gravel, looking around and trying to take in the sight before you.
"It's even better up close..." you said out loud, words coming out as barely a whisper.
"What was that Miss?" the driver asked from beside you, brows furrowed with confusion.
"Oh sorry," you replied, not taking your eyes off the building in front of you, "Its nothing."
You only looked away when you heard the driver say goodbye from behind you, turning around in time to see him pull away and down the driveway.
You grabbed your suitcases, and struggled your way up the white stone staircase to the large double doors of the school, reaching out to grab the handle.
Your hand was at least a foot away when the doors suddenly opened on their own, granting you your first view of the inside.
You tried not to think too much about the weirdness of the door situation as you stepped cautiously inside and into the front foyer.
There was a large semi-circle shaped wooden desk directly to your right which you assumed was the front desk.
You shuffled your way over with all your luggage and dinged the bell on the counter, hearing the shuffling sounds of feet almost immediately.
Just then, a frantic looking woman with messy gray hair appeared from the door behind the desk, her eyes seeming to soften when she saw you.
"Oh hello dear!" she said brightly, rushing over to stand in front of you, "You must be Y/N, the new international transfer student I've been hearing all about!"
You shifted uncomfortably on your feet, "U-uh yeah, I guess that's me."
"Great! Then let's get you set up." the woman turned to the filing cabinet behind her, rustling through a drawer of papers for a moment before finding what she was looking for.
"Ah! Here it is!" she said with a smile, turning to hand it to you, "This is your welcome package, it has everything you need to know about the school."
She motioned for you to open the large envelope.
You undid the fastening at the top and took out the stack of papers.
The woman reached out to take them from your hands, readjusting her reading glasses as she started to present them to you one by one.
"Here is the school newsletter, the school map, the school's activities and events list for the coming month, information about the school and the classes, a list of extracurriculars and clubs, and a list of services offered by the school."
She set them in front of you and picked up another piece of paper from the stack, this time handing it to you directly.
"And this here is your class schedule for this term. Each term is 3 months long, there are two terms per semester and two semesters per year."
You looked down at the sheet you were handed, getting a good look at what your life is going to look like for the first time.
-
Maelyeog Academy of Magic
Y/N's Class Schedule
9:00 am - 9:55 am Charms and Hexes
10:00 am - 10:55 am Systematic Study of Elemental Magic
11:00 am - 11:55 am Astronomy and Astrophysics
11:55 am - 12:55 pm Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 1:55 pm History of Magic
2:00 pm - 2:55 pm Creative Studies
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Practical Defense Training
-
You looked up at the woman, "What's creative studies?" you asked, confusion apparent in your voice.
At the Aurox Magic Preparatory Academy, you never had a class named creative studies.
You couldn't even imagine what that would be for.
What does creativity have to do with Magic?
"Here at Maelyeog Academy of Magic, we pride ourselves not only on our Elemental Magic courses but also on our creative ones. Students must learn art, music, and dance throughout their time here at the school. We embrace creativity as a part of learning and consider it vital to the education and growth of our students." she smiled widely at you, seemingly proud that she managed to get out that obviously practiced spiel.
"Right..." you said, looking back down at the schedule in disappointment. You had two left feet, and the voice of a dying cat to match. You were seriously not looking forward to this class.
"The class locations are posted on the school website," she said quickly, "And here are the keys to your dorm" holding up the envelope and grabbing your wrist.
She tipped the envelope and two small bronze keys fell out into your palm.
"You'll find your room number on the top of the school map inside your package, your room will be marked with a star." the woman placed all your papers back into the envelope and placed the map on top, handing it back to you.
"Welcome to Maelyeog Academy of Magic!" she said brightly before bowing and heading back through the door she came out of.
You sighed heavily, grasping the keys in your hand and picking your suitcases back up.
You followed the directions on the map to the East Wing of the school, passing by a few students that seemed to be your age and earning yourself quite a few stares.
I guess transfer students from other countries are a rarity here? you thought, trying to avoid the piercing eyes of a group of boys walking past you.
You quickened your pace slightly, wanting desperately to get inside your dorm and regroup.
You turned a corner and found yourself looking down a short hallway, leading to what was supposed to be your room at the end.
The large white wooden doors were adorned with the Elemental Affinity Sigil, an intricate design that held two pentagrams and five crescent moons representing each of the 5 elements.
You nervously shuffled towards it, standing in front of the door for a moment and taking a deep breath before turning the key in the lock.
Here goes nothing.
—-
//A/N//: How are you guys liking the story so far?
We hope you love it as much as we do, we can't wait to keep writing this!
Our number 1 goal is to bring a smile to everyone's face, whether you're having a bad day or if you just need a glimmer of happiness, we hope we can help with that!
Please take a look at the sneak peek trailer we made for our book! Just a little preview into what could happen/get the vibe we're going for!
Love you all sooooo much!
♥︎Katie and Sisi♥︎