Rose's POV
I open my eyes to see the sunlight being filtered into my room from the blinds. I look at the sun's positioning to see that it is about a quarter til' six. I get up from my bed and make it, soon following my morning routine. When I get in the shower, I make sure to use my rose scented body wash after shaving, and my lavender scented shampoo & conditioner. I definitely want to make sure that I smell nice on my first official day at the Academy.
I get dried off, split my hair down the middle, and begin braiding my hair into two separate ponytails. After this, I throw on my undergarments, a black form fitting shirt and red & grey compression shorts. I put on my combat boots, weapons, put the vials of my various powders and serums in my sword case's pockets, slip on my heirloom and Lucia family ring, and head out the door.
I go to wake Oliver and Jake, seeing as how it only took me about 25 minutes to get ready. It doesn't take Oliver too long to wake from my knocking. He and Jake are walking with me towards the canteen within 10 minutes. Us three go to our table after gathering our food, waiting for the others to arrive. Andrea, Mikey and AJ show up next, followed by the golden boys, and last but not least, Jaxson. I lead grace and we begin eating and chatting away, anticipating how the day will go. We plan to meet up at the cafeteria doors and say grace as a group before heading off to our designated eating tables. Around 25 minutes later, we depart for our first classes of the day, AJ walking with me.
"What do you think we will do?" I ask AJ, wondering about this plant related course.
"Honestly, I don't know. Either we can just mess around with whatever they have, or it will be the note-taking kind of class." AJ says thoughtfully. I nod my head in agreement. I find my thoughts leading towards my companion.
'Good morning Belvedere.' I tell my dragon.
'Good morning little one, I hope you have a good first day.' My dragon tiredly says.
'Thank you. I have to go now, but I will do my best to see you sometime soon.' I inform Belvedere. AJ and I walk into the class, sitting towards the middle-front, next to each other. I look around the classroom and see a bunch of bottles, different substances, and textbooks. In the next 10 minutes, the classroom is full, everyone waiting to meet our teacher. Seeing some of the faces in here makes me realize that AJ and I are the only year 1's in this class. Suddenly, the door bangs open. A cloud of purple smoke arises from the entrance with a moderate looking women in her late 30's stepping forward.
"Hello my pupils. I am your teacher, Miss Celeste Barnes, but most people just call me crazy." She says, earning a couple of chuckles from us. "How well you do in my class depends on your determination and focus in my classroom. I am not too strict, but do not think that you will be able to go all cave man up in my class."
"I will not go over a syllabus because the school does not facilitate my teaching methods on a daily basis, therefore why should I inform you of the school's expectations. But, my expectations are that you shall listen attentively when I speak, do not touch anything that is not yours, don't play around with somebody else's concoction, and most importantly, have fun! That is pretty much it, but I will hand out these textbooks that you can use during the course of this school year to you as I walk around. I would advise you to read some of the chapters, discovering some of the substances you could be making, and how to perform the chemical reactions. With that being said, I want you all to go around and make something of your own creation using the materials provided to you in my supply closet. It is alright if you do not know how to yet, that is what this class is all about." Miss Celeste finishes.
I look around at her supplies and see that I can make one of the serums I have been experimenting on. Stacy was always going on and on about how I did not make an anti-aging serum yet, so that is what I have been focusing on for the past couple of weeks. I take some tea extracts, milk powder, vitamin grinds, and a couple of other things before getting to work. I forgot to mention, but the Academy provides us with a basic black bag with the school crest on the back. I embroidered roses onto mine yesterday so that I could tell the difference between mine and the others. I am very glad I decided to bring some of my sewing supplies to the Academy.
I grab a beaker and begin taking measurements of all of my materials. Based off of all of my previous trials in the village, it has not worked because I cannot get the precise percentage of Magnesium Phosphate right. If it were to work, the wrinkles would fade in a matter of seconds, so when the wrinkles remain, I know that the formula is off.
I concentrate very hard on the dropper. I have always been extremely advanced when it comes to math, and I believe I have just found my error. After I carefully mix all of the ingredients together, it comes out as a clear looking oil. Now, I just need a tester. I look around the room and notice a bunch of people scrunching up their faces in aggravation, AJ looks a little disappointed, yet motivated. I make a mental note to ask him about it later. I see Miss Celeste roaming around the classroom, observing everybody's attempts. I clear my throat.
"Miss Celeste?" I politely ask.
"Yes dear?" She inquires, walking towards me.
"Would you be willing to try out my serum? I would have asked someone else first, but I do not believe that it would show the best results if they were to be my tester." I tell her. She thinks for a moment before responding.
"Alright, but I want you to explain your substance, the materials you used, and what motivated you to make it." She tells me. I nod, motioning for her to take the seat in front of me.
"My serum that I have revised is an anti-aging serum. My hope is so that wrinkles or dark under eyes fade to where they are hardly noticeable. My mother figure was always on my tail about wanting to look younger, and how she wanted to know if I could make this possible for her, even though she could easily pass for early 40's. I used green tea extract, black tea extract, magnesium phosphate, vitamin C, D, and E grinds, rosemary oil, aloe vera gel, and milk powder." I conclude, applying my serum onto her hands in a soothing motion.
"Milk powder?" My teacher questions.
"Although peculiar, it is the secret ingredient that is needed for the serum to succeed. Milk provides many healthy antioxidants for the body, and the powder is essentially just the broken down version of all of those plentiful nutrients." I tell her. I return my gaze to her hands where I applied my serum, only to see it looking baby soft and smooth. "It worked!!" I whisper in excitement. Miss Celeste just smiles at me.
"Good job. Let me know if you are going to sell your serum one day, I would be your first customer." She compliments. I thank her and go to a mirror. I want to see how long the effect lasts, so I apply a light layer of my serum under and around my eyes and to my forehead. I put the rest of the serum into an empty vial from her supplies and go back to my seat, pulling my journal out of my bag.
I have been keeping track of all my progress for each and every one of my solutions. I write down the exact formula and all of the details I can remember. From the time I pulled out the ingredients, to when I tested it on myself, I record my data. I make sure to put my vial with the others in my sword case pocket. I see AJ sit down next to me and sigh, twiddling his thumbs.
"What's the matter?" I ask, turning to face him.
"My powder won't work. I have been trying to revise it for the longest but nothing seems to help." He tells me.
"I can offer you a fresh mindset next class if you would like." I offer.
"Thanks, that would be apprecia-" He stops mid sentence when he turns towards me. "Am I day dreaming or did you just get like three times more beautiful." He says, a light blush covering his cheeks. I walk back to the mirror with AJ right behind me. I gasp. My serum not only faded my slight wrinkles, but the bags under my eyes are completely gone, I have no dark circles, and all traces of wrinkles have been erased from my face. My porcelain skin is completely smooth and soft, devoid of any facial marks besides the slight freckles sprinkled on my nose.
"It's my anti-aging serum, I tested it on myself." I reply to him, walking back to my seat happily. I jot down the results in my journal.
"One, that's so cool. Two, that was stupid of you, trying it on yourself." AJ scolds me. I hear the bell signal. I nod my head in response to him, wishing both him and Miss Celeste goodbye. I make my way towards my first elemental lesson with my bag, weapons, and newly successful serum.
When I reach the Level 1 Nature class, all heads turn to me. I take one of the open seats closest to the windows, still knowing that I have a many people watching me. I see my nature instructor walk into the spacious area.
"Good morning class, I am Mr.Patterson, your Advanced Manipulation Learning and Control of Nature teacher. We will have many other Nature masters visiting this class throughout the year, so this is just a brief warning. Today, we will walk down to the items gallery to get all of you new students your items. I only have 8 returning Level 1 students who are now year 4's, being year 3's last school year. You other twenty-seven year 4 students, you showed promise on your exams last year, thus why you are in this class now, being moved up from Level 2. I believe we have two year 3 students and one year 1 student currently in this class as well. After this, we will come back in here and I will explain what will occur in my class, my expectations, and I will see your progression with nature so far when I bring out some of earth's resources. Now, follow me." Mr.Patterson instructs. I have counted 38 people in this Level 1 class, meaning that 29 other students, not including I, are new to Level 1.
We walk past the courtyard, going into the shop between the blacksmith and clothing shop. All of the previous Level 1's remain in the back of the group, everyone else looking around. There are four sections of the store, each one dedicated to an element. My class is only permitted to look through the nature section, my guess is that I will look through the other sections in my next couple of classes. I have gone though every single aisle of the nature section, only 3 of us having not picked out an item yet. Nothing is catching my eye, and I am beginning to lose hope when I see a green like glow being reflected from the rising sun. I walk over to the item and admire the piece. It is a beautiful bracelet that has emerald stones on it, with a few silver beads in between the clusters. The main part of the bracelet is a detailed silver charm, crafted into the shape of a leaf.
I bring my item to the front of the shop, registering the piece as mine. Every item is registered under a name so that if it gets lost, when it is found the school will know who it belongs to. I realize I will need some help getting it on. I look around the shop and see some people holding bandanas with different designs on them, some holding watches, others holding chains, and I also see four of the previous Level 1's with newly pierced ears, adding the jewelry to their item registration.
I walk up to the group of four and clear my throat.
"Hi, sorry to be a bother, but will one of you please help me put on my bracelet?" I politely ask. The four 18 year olds turn their heads to me.
"Sure, my name is Matisse." He introduces, gently grabbing my wrist. I give him my item, asking a question.
"Do you speak French?" I ask Matisse. He looks at me in shock after clasping my bracelet onto my wrist.
"Nous parlons tous français, magnifique." One of the boys in the group flirts, thinking that I wouldn't understand them.
[ T : We all speak French, beautiful. ]
"I am Timothée, Matisse's twin." Timothée says. His name means honor in the language while Matisse's means present of God. "This is William, and that is his brother Louis. The reason why the two look different is because Louis is adopted, but they are both brothers till the end." He concludes.
"Our families moved away from France when we were little, but we have never lost our mother tongue. Us four have always appreciated nature and have fully embraced our French given names." Louis says to me, his name means brave warrior and William's name means protector.
"Je pense que c'est vraiment noble de votre part." I smile at the group.
[ T : I think that is truly noble of you all. ]
They look at me shocked. William blushes a bit, remembering his previous statement.
"I like this one. Can we keep her?" Matisse asks, throwing an arm around my shoulder.
"One, thank you for helping me. Two, I would appreciate it if you did not refer to me as if I am not in front of you. And three, my name is Rose." I say, shrugging off his arm. Timothée's eyes widen in recognition.
"Oh my goddess! You are the one who perfectly placed every test that was given to you." He says. The others look at me in shock and recognition, well, not Louis, he just looks exasperated.
"That was you?! I can't believe what Mr.Barden did, I mean, did you see your bruise. And let's not even start with the dragon-" William puts his hand over Matisse's mouth, muffling the rest of his words.
"I can't believe you didn't notice. Are you all stupid? She is the only girl to attend the Academy, let alone a year 1 with white hair. Dead giveaway." Louis states, rolling his eyes. Matisse just mumbles a Whatever.
"Alright students, now that everyone has found an item, let's return to my classroom." Mr.Patterson says. I begin walking out of the door, towards the classroom. I notice that William, Matisse, and their brothers catch up to me, matching my strides.
"Hey bestie." Matisse slings an arm around me again, I could easily tell that he is the upbeat and cheery person in the group.
"Hey Matisse." I laugh. He gasps.
"Oh my goddess! First you can ride dragons and wield all elements, next to that you have a goddess worshipped body image, then it's like heaven created your face themselves, and now you have the most angelic laugh I have ever heard! YOU ARE PERFECT!!" He shouts, causing the other Level 1's to turn heads.
"Thank you, though I have many faults." I mumble to him in slight embarrassment.
"I just died and came back to life. YOU ARE SMART TOO!" He yells, as we enter the classroom. I just laugh at the similarities between him and Danny.
"Ugh, ta gueule Matisse. Mes tympans n'en peuvent plus." Timothée shoves his brother.
[ T : Ugh, shut up Matisse. My ear drums can only take so much. ]
"You're no fun, I was only teasing. I was just getting to the part where I tell her that I would totally go for her if she was a dude. Plus, you already know I've got a man." He mumbles. William and Louis chuckle at Matisse's behavior, moving to the open seats near me.
"Alright, I am going to pass around a small container of soil, a rock, a stone, and a crystal. I want to see how you manipulate different things from each of these materials." Mr.Patterson informs us, now that we are back in his class. He goes around passing out all of the resources to each and every one of us. When the materials are set in front of me, I close me eyes and focus on the sounds coming from the open window.
I can hear the subtle breathing of the four boys around me. I envision leaves dancing through the wind, a never ending contest. I can feel the sun's warmth on my face, the small beads of sweat around my neck forming. I then listen to the wind, the breeze lowly whistles a tune that never grows old. I open my eyes after focusing on my surroundings and grab the container of soil in front of me. I put my hands in the soil, feeling around for its every component, just like I did during my placements test. I feel the moisture that becomes more apparent the father I reach my fingers.
Much like I did when I battled Mr.Casey, I concentrate on putting my energy into the soil. I envision a rose. The delicate and fragile petals of a rose, fresh and young. The flower feeling smooth to the touch, little water droplets dripping from the petals after the morning mist disperses. The center is a bud, waiting to flow through the wind at just the right moment, spreading the exquisite flower's seeds. The scarlet red petals shining beautifully in the sun, it's stem bearing thorns.
The flower itself can represent two things, one being of beauty, another being of sadness. I can feel myself putting my energy into growing a beautiful bouquet. Each rose detailed to perfection, a symbol of youth and beauty. When I open my eyes, I see that I have sprouted a plentiful amount of roses from the container.
Moving the container gently to the side, I grab the rock. The rock looks like it is Sphalerite Ore, I know this because I have helped Luke study and memorize his collection. I feel the rough texture of the rock, on the brink of crystallization given the right environment. I close my eyes once again, concentrating on honing in on the rock's very makeup.
I clear my mind and become one with the Sphalerite Ore. I can sense that the water has been utilized throughout the rock's lifetime. I can point out the granite, stone, and slight obsidian grinds within the rock's interior, based on the feel. This is where my training in the blacksmith shop is being put to use, identifying different elements.
I detach myself from the ore and tune into reality. I make a motion with my hands, doing my best to break down the rock to thousands of grains. When it does, I refocus my attention on joining specific grains with one another to form a shape. I combine all of the grinds of sediment, moisture, and other grains of Sphalerite's make up, forming it into a leaf shape. I detail the grains in a way so that it is obvious that I reshaped the rock.
Moving that off to the side as well, I grab the stone. I rack my brain for the name of the stone, recalling all of Luke's study sessions. Ah, the sic parvis magna stone. Sic parvis magna means 'greatness from small beginnings' in Latin. It is a jade like green, sometimes infused with marble. The simplified name for it is Indian Adventurine.
I repeat the process of me closing my eyes and feeling around for the stone's components by becoming one with it. I can sense the moisture, along with the purities this stone beholds. I reel back from the stone, wondering what I am going to do with it when an idea hits me. I am going to attempt to make the sic parvis magna stone into a healing stone, much like the one Nicholas gave me. He explained to me how he did it in fine detail, my curious ways benefiting me right now. I recall Nicholas's words and begin to change the stone itself.
I become one with the stone again, tuning out all possible distractions. I utilize the stones properties, infusing them with water, adding pressure, and manipulating the stone's materials. When Nicholas did it, he used a diamond as the base, getting healing properties from an aloe vera plant.
I am using the stone as my base, putting its own healing properties to use. After breaking down the stone to the size of my current healing stone, I manipulate all of its components much easier. A minute passes and I am left with a bead-sized, jade green healing stone. I realize I have nowhere to put it, so I raise my hand, beckoning my instructor over.
"Can I help you?" He asks, raising an eyebrow at my previous manipulated resources.
"Yes, I made a healing stone utilizing the sic parvis manga stone's healing properties. The problem is that I have nowhere to put it." I tell him. He thinks for a moment before looking down at my wrist.
"I can infuse it with your item's silver charm." He offers. I nod my head in appreciation, setting down my healing stone and taking off my bracelet. I hand the two things over to Mr.Patterson and he gets to work.
Miraculously, I see him form a center hole in the middle of the charm. He sets my healing stone in the middle of it, the circle fitting the healing stone's diameter perfectly. My superior then surrounds the stone in a clear layer of something, securing it to my item. I thank him as he passes my item back over to me. I turn to get some help from William, being that he was the closest one to me. He clasps it one quickly, returning to his task. I thank him and turn my gaze over to the crystal.
I recognize it from Luke's collection as Green Fluorite. I am wondering what to do with the crystal when my mind wanders back to all of the things I saw in the gallery. I decide I am going to gift AJ a Green Fluorite crystal chain. It is slightly different than the ones the school provides as an item because those chains have a leather rope encasing the crystal. The one I plan to gift to AJ will have a metal chain and top, keeping the crystal sturdy. I make my gift quickly, reshaping the crystal into a single defined shape then asking Mr.Patterson for a metal chain. In the end, it is not my best work, yet it is the thought the counts.
Now that I am done, I take a look around the room. I notice that Matisse has a single Venus Fly Trap growing from his container, has made the rock into a pendant, he hadn't done anything with the stone yet, and has reformed the crystal into a heart shape. He too is looking around the room, I guess he gave up on the stone.
Timothée is currently at the same conclusion as his brother, abandoning the stone. But instead of turning it into a pendant, Timothée turns his rock into a circular ring, much like a marriage band.
William has abandoned his crystal, but has reformed both the stone and rock, while growing bamboo out of his container. Louis reformed the rock, stone, and crystal, while growing a couple tulips out of his container. The other Level 1's are not doing so well in my opinion, but that just leaves room for progress.
"The bell is just about to sound. I have looked over each of your manipulations and have assessed your abilities as of right now. You may pack up taking everything with you." Mr.Patterson says. Just as he finishes talking, the bell rings. I change the container of the roses to a vase from the back of the class, and take all of my other items with me. I walk my way towards my fire control class, hoping that just for today, class will be easier than my battle with Mr.Jacobs.
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