Lady Kristel knew that she was missing two but the Academy year couoldn't wait. Maybe the students were already here, but had never drawn attention to themselves before. Perhaps a little twist of fate might reveal them, or perhaps they might reveal themselves.
Solange, Guardian of Beauty, curtseyed.
"All the students from last year are here, plus Salem and Miri. They are all awaiting your beginning of year speech. My lady?" Solange had a very deep, rich voice, a beautiful one, everyting about her was beautiful.
"Yes Solange, I know. I do not yet know what to say, but I shall try to think of something encourageing," Lady Kristel smiled but Solange was still worried.
"My lady, you cannot stop these things, as a pebble cannot stop the tides. Even if you were to try, you would be, like a pebble, destroyed by the tide. It is best that you concentrate on the Academy, as well as the other matters," Solange's words of wisdom were few and far between, but when she said anything it often was set out poetically.
"Goddess bless you, Solange, Goddess bless you," Was all Lady Kristel said in reply, before sweeping out of her chambers to address the students.
Salem found out that he would be sharing his dormitory with two other boys. One was the boy he had talked with the night before, the other a boy who was extremely mysterious. No one seemed to know anything about him, except his name.
Jinxes had been giving a running commentary on the students entering the Academy Great Hall. All the students were gathered there for Lady Kristel's 'Another Academy Year' speech. Jinxes boasted that he knew it by heart. Salem realised that Jinxes wasn't mysterious but actually quite fun to be around. He seemed to lighten up an atmosphere.
"Oi! Mraya! Over here!" Jinxes called in the middle of introducing a girl called Sarla to Salem. Sarla rolled her eyes and walked away. Jinxes however didn't notice.
"Mraya! WHOA!" Jinxes shouted. Beside Mraya, about seven feet tall, was her familiar. It was a Ferilion.
"Hello Jinxes," Mraya said coming over. Salem looked up at the fluffy, and some what cute, creature. "He got much bigger over the two month vacation didn't he?"
"Y-yeah! Wow! Is that the real Starrynight? What have you done with the small little thing that I knew last year?" Jinxes teased.
"I tied it up, put it in a sack and drowned it in the river. I'm not a baby that needs your comments, Jinxes," Starrynight replied, in mock-solemness.
Kaptra walked forward and bowed his head to the seven foot creature.
"I am Kaptra," He said. "Pleased to meet you Starrynight." Salem felt a pang of what his familiar was thinking. Which was "Oh crap, I haven't ever met one of these things before..." Salem had to take a deep breath to stop himself laughing outloud.
"Mraya, this is Salem, Salem this is Mraya. Salem's new," Jinxes explained. Salem took Mraya's hand and kissed it, bowing. Mraya blushed and muttered. "I wish all boys here were as charming!"
"Oh! Let's introduce you to our fellow room mate, if you're ready for that?" Jinxes was obviously jealous but tried to cover it up. Mraya seeing this walked off, talking to Starrynight as she did so. Salem realised he hadn't seen Jinxes familiar yet.
"Where's your familiar?" Salem asked.
"Well, when I was attacked my old familiar, Klapaucius, was killed. So now I have a new one, he's probably just flying about somewhere. We haven't really had time to chat yet," As he said this a white eagle landed on his shoulder.
"Speak of the devil! This is Whitefeathers, he's a white eagle, probably ate something funny..." Salem offered a weak smile. Whitefeathers, obviously ruffled by his master's lack of respect, flew off.
"Now I'm warning you, Victory, well, he's weird. He has no friends, but that's only because he choses not to have them. Plenty of girls like him though," Jinxes sounded a little jealous. Salem smiled, a guy named Victory who didn't need anyone. What a room-mate!
Jinxes lead Salem to the far corner. There were plenty of girls around here. Victory sat in the corner, his serious grey eyes staring hard at a book, as though that would stop people looking at him.
Salem had to admit that Victory was handsome, he had long grey hair that he tied back away from his face and he obviously had specially made clothes, as it highlighted the good points of his body perfectly. Salem noticed dreamy expressions flow over the girls face as they saw him.
"Victory?" Jinxes asked. All the girls around him went quiet, as though they hung on to his every word. Salem felt about twenty eyes on the back of his neck. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Yes?" replied Victory coolly.
"Yeah, right, er," Jinxes was doing pityfully badly, he could hear some girls sniggering at the back. He could hear them saying things like, "He's gonna ask Victory if he's gay!" Salem felt like going anywhere but here.
"We're your new room-mates. We just wanted to introduce ourselves," Salem covered up. Victory' eyes went to the twenty girls who were waiting for his reply.
"Victory, ignore them. If they've got nothing better to do than chase you around school then they are obviously stupid," Salem said. Jinxes looked at him astonished. A few girls cried out in outrage.
"How dare you!" shouted a girl from the back.
"I got the average mark in my exams!" cried another. Victory raised a hand.
"Please, just let me talk with them," Victory had a posh accent. It was strange, he must have something wrong with him.
"I'm Salem, pleased to meet you," They shook hands. Jinxes looked at the hand that was offered to him, and blinked a few times, before he realised he was supposed to take it.
"Jinxes," He muttered embarrassed.
"I'll get to know you better tonight. If I can get away from-from...my studies," Victory walked away. Salem felt puzzled. Jinxes had described him as weird in a nasty way but Salem had found Victory just different.
"You know, I think that's the first time he's ever spoken to any one like that," Jinxes said, admiringly. Many of the girls had gone but about five stayed. One of them, with a tiger as a familiar, came up to Salem. She peered into his eyes, Salem remembered her from somewhere...
"Victory has a new rival, I think you're quite good looking!" She walked back to the group. Salem felt slightly weird. Colour rose in his cheeks, it wasn't major but Jinxes saw that he wasn't used to compliments like that.
"What about his friend?" Jinxes shouted.
"He shouldn't count on his looks to get him girls, or his brains either!" Anither girl shouted. Salem sighed and walked away. He had seen that girl before. Damn his memory! Why couldn't he remember? She looked different from...
"So...What do you want to do now? Lady K is taking her time. Well?" Jinxes asked.
"Introduce me to some more people. My dream!" Salem began to run back to where Victory was. The group of girls was still there but the one he was looking for had gone.
"What in the name of the Goddess are you doing?" Jinxes asked. Salem was looking around the hall. Damn! He thought. Lost her!
"Oh, I get it! You remember her from the Hospital Wing! Yeah, she's a Princess. Think yourself lucky to get a comment off her, all she did to me was laugh!" Jinxes began to drag Salem away.
"I don't think it's luck, more like...Nevermind..." Jinxes sensed a difficult moment and was saved by Lady Kristel walking in.
"Quickly follow me, we have to get into lines!" Jinxes scurried ahead, leaving a slightly bewildered Salem behind him.
Lady Kristel stepped out infront of the students. It wasn't going to be the normal speech, as this year would be abnormal in itself. Many students usaully turned off their ears when she began he speech but this year they would listen.
"Greetings Students," The hall went deathly silent. "Another Academy year has began, and I know that you are all eager to get to you're studies. But this year we have a new way of teaching." A ripple of whispers went through the crowd. Lady Kristel stuck up one finger and a blast went off. Sparks rained down on the students. All turned silent.
"The Academy grounds will be expanded. All your lessons will be inside the House of Dreams. You may have noticed that extra caution was taken in getting you here. That is because of danger that now lurks outside our walls. I am afraid that, the House of Dreams, is vunerable to this danger. So are all of you here. I am sure that within the grounds you shall come to no harm but once on the mountainside, we cannot cast protection spells. Therefore, when you wish to leave the House of Dreams, you shall need a Guardian or Senior Student. I do not expect anyone to break these rules."
"Also, familiars, many of you have had your familiars taken off you when you have returned home, you may or may not have recieved notice, all without familiars come to my office at lunch today to chose your own."
"Finally, two new students join our ranks this year. Please help them and show them around. Thank you." Lady Kristel walked swiftly out of the hall. It was like an explosion of sound. No one noticed that Lady Kristel was crying...
Miri was far too sensible to have stayed where she was. She had a feeling the boy would try to find her, she also had a feeling that she didn't want to be found. After Lady Kristel's speech she had returned to her room.
The first day was for settling in and packing things away. Miri decided that it would be good to get to know her room-mates, as she'd spend the rest of her time at the Academy sleeping in the same room as them.
Miri used her key to get in. No one was there yet so Miri began to unpack her things. She hadn't bought the clothes, shoes, or anything else, Lady Kristel had paid for all her stuff. Miri put everything away.
The dormitory was quite big. It had two four poster beds in it and an ensuite bathroom. Miri had heard that the boys dormitories had to have more beds in, and they had to share bathrooms. Miri wondered why they had given girls the luxury.
Miri sat down and pulled out a long wooden box. She had hidden it under her bed. Opening it she saw her lovely flute. It wasn't the usual metal kind, but a small wooden one with only a short range of notes.
Miri closed her eyes and began to play a little song that she'd learnt as a child. Soon she began to play great pieces, songs that she had heard once and learnt. Pieces that made your heart soar like an eagle and made you feel what the music wants you to. Miri had always found that her music sounded like animals, though she had never known why.
Miri was startled by the sound of a draw opening. She stopped playing and looked at the source of the noise. It was a girl. She had long straight brown hair and she wore spectacles. She was pretty in a tomboyish kind of way. She looked a little disappointed.
"Oh don't stop! You play that so well!" She said walking over to Miri's bed.
"I'm not that good," Miri said, modestly. She was really quite flattered but experience told her that people who were not modest lose friends fast.
"I'm Mraya, you may have seen me earlier in the hall? I had that big fluffy-dragon thing," Mraya said. Miri thought for a moment.
"I think I did. I wasn't really paying much attention. You were talking to that boy, Jinxes is it?" Mraya smiled.
"You learn fast. We'll get along fine! Do you have anything that's kinda fashionable?" Mraya asked. Miri thought about all her clothes and realised that it was all fashionable.
"Yeah, why?" Miri asked.
"Coz tonight, there's a start of year rock concert, and you're gonna go out and mingle!"
"I think I'll skip it, thanks," said Salem. He needed time to figure out what his dreams meant. And why they featured that girl...
"Salem, this is the concert of the year! I refuse to let you miss it!" Jinxes ran over to the wardrobe and began to fling out some clothes. "I'm sure that the Princess will be there-Aha! Found it!- She might even wave, if you're lucky," Salem smiled weakly at Jinxes joke. He wouldn't understand.
"I don't have any feelings for the Princess. I'm not into girls. Ok?" Jinxes shrugged.
"Just thought tha-" The door burst open and Victory ran in quickly slamming it shut and putting the catch and lock on.
"Can't breathe! Air!" He coughed. It was obvious he had run a long way. They must have chased him a from the hall all the way up the stairs.
"Hello," said Salem. He'd found a way of avoiding going. "Victory? Are you going to the concert tonight?"
"You have got to be joking! I'd be crushed to death by lovestruck girls!" He wasn't joking either.
"I'll stay here with you then," said Salem.
"Hey! No fair! You've gotta go with me!" Jinxes whined.
"He has his own free will, let him do what he wants," Victory said. Salem felt grateful to this guy, who was still distant from him.
"Oh well, I'll get the Princess all to myself then!" Jinxes said, turning his back on Salem, getting his clothes ready.
