He didn't move. He grunted and shifted down, more drool dripping onto the lake he was slowly building. Professor Analine, or Anal-line as I had started calling her, was facing the blackboard, a map labeled "Spain" pulled in front of it. Wherever that was. I didn't care about most of this stuff, anyway. I did care about Eddy not getting in trouble. We had survived a month in this torturous hell, I was determined to make it two. I still hadn't figured out what detention was, but I was sure it would be hard to continue the revolution from it.
Anal-line was still facing the map, but was due to spin around with some punctuation about the battle she was talking about any second.
“There were an estimated four hundred thousand Trpaslíks who stood with Edmund, facing only seven of our men. We were clearly outnumbered, even more so seeing as the Queen’s brother Dramin was only months away from death and unable to fight...”
Death. Destruction. Epic battles. Professor Analine was drawling on like she was half dead herself. No wonder he fell asleep.
"Hey, ass-hat," I snarled right in his ear. "Wake up!" I prodded him again, sending a slight spark of magic into his rib cage. This time it had the desired effect.
"Catch the rat!" He jerked himself awake, arms jerking forward and sending the books on his desk right into the head of the Golden brat that was sitting in front of us.
The girl howled in pain as a corner of a book rammed into her neck, everyone around us turning with varying looks of horror on their faces. Eddy blinked himself awake, still mumbling about the rat stew that used to be his favorite.
Okay, so that hadn't gone the way I thought at all.
"Excuse me, Mr. ... Mr. Edward," Professor Krul began, hands folded over her chest in such a way that you really couldn't look anywhere but at her long blood-red nails as they tapped against her floral print shirt. Blood and flowers. It was a slightly horrifying image.
Eddy flung around at the sound of the dumb name everyone still thought was his, eyes blinking furiously as everything came into focus. The shock on his face faded to horror as Professor Krul stepped closer to the back of the room where I and my people had segregated ourselves.
I had originally been sitting in the middle of the pretty sparkling golden brats for this class, but after Prince Rowan had turned into a giant royal dick, I had moved myself to the back. Something that the Krul didn’t fight over even though these were supposed to be assigned seats for the year.
It was safer back where the air didn’t feel like some kind of black weight was pressing against me.
I could still feel it. It just wasn’t as bad when he sat five rows away, staring at me with giant purple bags under his eyes. Looks like he needed to do another of his week-long disappearing acts soon.
Rowan’s inability to act like a human was not the problem. The raging bitch that was storming through the aisles toward us, was.
"Shit," I groaned, resisting the urge to send her across the room before she got much closer. She had murder in her eyes, a look I sent right back as I leaned over the weird U-shaped desk. Yes, there was nothing more than a sliver of wood between us, and yes, she could nail me to the wall in two blinks, but I wasn't about to let her touch any one of my people.
She ignored me completely, moving right to Eddy who had now sunk into the tiny desk like the thing could hide him. It couldn’t.
"It appears you have something to say,” Professor Analine drawled in that same condescending tone she had used on that very first day. “I am sure the sprawling knowledge that you received in your underground home school has taught you much about this Abby and its historical significance. Care to share with the class?”
She gestured around her, but not to us, just to the Goldens behind her. They all broke into rolling giggles, the mocking sound echoing against the walls from everyone. Well, everyone but the Prince who was still staring with an expression that made me wonder if he had been punched rather than just forgotten how to sleep.
“Well?”
God, did she have to make it harder for me to restrain myself?
I was officially fuming, my fingers curled around the edge of the desk as the smell of burning wood drifted through the air. It was probably good my magic was restrained, or I would have exploded the desk in her face by now.
"Professor," one of the goldens near the front of the class said, raising her hand like she was trying to get her attention. "I believe that Drains don't have school. They come uneducated. Which is why they are all assigned basic Reading and Arithmetic classes upon enrolling."
"Oh, I know." Their tones made it clear that they both knew.
We all knew. We were the ones that had to sit through that damn class every day. Yes, our math and reading might be lacking, but we weren’t children. The teacher, Toper Smythe, was still ‘teaching’ us to count.
It made me want to punch something.
Like Analine who was smiling at me like her grin could cut her face in half.
"Which is why I'm surprised Mr. Edward here has such sprawling knowledge to share," Professor Analine continued, looking down her nose at us. "Unless, of course, he was simply sharing a recipe for rat stew."
More laughter rattled around the classroom, the Goldens giving each other high fives, like they had won some great argument. The Undermortals around me, however, were looking as furious as I felt. Rage darkened their features, tension and magic swirling through the air as everything threatened to explode.
“Seeing as you know so very much. Why don’t you tell us the history of Rioseco?" She smiled. Her grin, matched with that nose, was making her look like one of the monsters I used to think hunted the subway tunnels at night after all the children were tucked into their beds. She was as evil as that, anyway.
This room was about to explode and she didn’t even care.
Someone needed to get this under control. Seeing as she wasn’t about to act like the adult in this situation...
"Rioseco is an ancient abbey located in the middle of," I checked the map again just to make sure, "Spa-in.” I sounded out and a few people chuckled. I ignored them, plowing on. “It was where one of the largest battles in the Great War was fought. It was also where our king and queen were married… eh, bonded," I gave Rowan a pouty look as I forced a tear to fall over my cheek and looked toward the sky like a love-sick teenager. I even added a sigh to my montage, surely that was appropriate. Rowan glared and turned away from me, the muscles in his back pulling through his white shirt. Jerk.
"It's where the school is located now,” I continued, ignoring the still flexing muscles in Rowan’s back. “It's all relovited--"
"Renovated," someone hissed behind me and I quickly amended myself. But it was too late, the Goldens were back to their giggling. Screw them. I gave Analine a bigger grin.
"Did I miss anything?"
"Yes." She sounded like she was turning into a snake.
"Yes? Like that someone died here or something?"
"Like the fact that I had directed the question to your friend here." I think I got spit in my face with how she was leaning over me, snarling at spluttering like she was.
"Oh, whoops," I said, as innocently as I could. I even batted my eyes a few times. "I didn't know. I mean, I've never been to school and all."
This time it was the Undermortals turn to laugh, and Analine’s turn to fume and storm away. The stomps of her ugly black heels drowned out by the bell that announced the end of class.
It didn’t escape my notice that Rowan was the first one to get up and rush out, like always.
"Two pages on the history of Rioseco. Due Monday!" She roared as everyone gathered their stuff, the groans of the class multiplying as several people shot me a dirty look. Like the essay was my doing? Idiots. Anal-line got the name for a reason, she would have assigned it anyway.
I did the only thing I could think of. I smiled, waved, and blew a kiss to one especially glowering Golden. The smoke flowing out of her ears was not a good look.
"Please tell me
you have worked out how to get the food out of here," Eddy hissed under his breath as he shoved his drool covered book in his bag. "I think it would make this a whole lot easier if we were actually doing something to stand up to these bastards."
"Not yet," I grumbled, face falling as the last of the Goldens rushed out, leaving me with no one to antagonize.
"Well get on it. I know one person you can ask." He gave one quick look to the side, toward the woman who was seated behind her desk, sipping tea and glowering at papers like most of the Golden’s did.
Seemed like a pretty bleak future if that’s what was waiting for us. Scowls and paperwork.
“You can’t be serious.” I was going to be sick.
“You know how important this is, Gem, and your friendly neighborhood prince officially has a stick up his ass. Unless you want to call up your BFF the Queen, it’s time to change tactics.” I had a feeling Eddy's statement was more warning than I was used to from him.
I waited until he turned his back to let out an exhale.
It wasn't exactly like I had been dragging my feet, but he was right. The douchebag prince I had been hoping to ask had suddenly stopped staring at me, talking to me. Even started avoiding me. In defense class yesterday he gave me one-word answers and kept enough space between us to let a flood of rats through.
So much for getting on his good side and weaseling my way closer to where I needed to be.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was sick all the time. He missed more classes than he was in them. Or maybe it was the fact that his girlfriend and I had turned into arch-nemesis and in a rage of jealousy she demanded he stay away from me. That one was more likely.
He was a prince. Correction, he was a douche who did not deserve a second thought, or my worry. I shoved the last book in my bag with a bit too much force and made my way to the front of the classroom.
Oh god, this was going to hurt.
"Excuse me, Professor," I put on the tiniest, meekest, voice I could, trying to tap into my inner Golden, which was much harder than it should be. I only ended up feeling like I was made up of lies and vomit.
Okay, maybe I was doing it right.
Professor Analine looked up, a smile on her face. Well, until she saw it was me. Then she went right back to organizing whatever it was she was working on.
"What do you want?"
I was actually surprised she didn't call me a Drain. It took every bit of muscle not to roll my eyes at the tone in her voice, though my lip might have curled into a sneer. Thank god she was looking at her papers again.
"I was actually wondering if you might tell me how I can get an audience with the Queen?" I was barely able to get the question out before she laughed with a loud mocking sound that echoed off the stone walls of the empty classroom, pulling the focus of a few students who were passing by the door.
"The Queen?" She was laughing so hard now that her question was more of a shriek. I really needed to find a way to vent my frustrations that wasn't violence. Otherwise, this ladies face was going to be mince by graduation. "You think you can see the queen? You think the queen will want to see you?"
"Well, I have already seen the Queen.” I began, physically forcing my snark down my throat as if it was that vile leaf stew they kept serving us. “We had a nice conversation about the weather, bombs, and the future. It was quite lovely. She said that if I needed anything to ask, as Rowan isn't talking to me anymore--”
"Rowan was talking to you?" She was on her feet in a flash, hands flat against the surface of the table as she stared into me.
She seemed genuinely concerned. Disgusted even. I mean, it wasn't surprising. She hated me and keeping me and my kind away from her precious prince was clearly a priority. I still took a step back on principle. You couldn't just show up at some fancy school and leave behind the war zone you were raised in, everything about her screamed 'warning'. Plus, I had a better angle to flip the desk in her face if the conversation went that way. I wasn't ruling anything out.
"Yes, and other students, and the teachers, and his na-- girlfriend," I quickly amended, she was still a nasty ass, but Analine looked ragey so best to keep it simple.
That calmed her down and she settled back down in her seat, going through papers and banging drawers open and closed in an orchestra of frustration.
"Anyway," I was hesitant, something was up with her. I mean she was always kind of the head of the bitches, but I had clearly struck a nerve. "Seeing as The Prince," I made a special effort to emphasize the title, "isn't talking to me, and the Queen offered to help. I was wondering if you could help me get her a message."
Analine continued shuffling the papers, clearly ignoring me now. She was dumber than rocks if she thought she could get rid of me that easily. I stood there, absolutely still, absolutely silent.
I could stay like this all day if I needed to. It was a skill any Undermortal needed to master at a young age. When the Tarns and the CCC were raiding the tunnels any noise could get you found. Any noise could get you shipped off to The Wastelands or worse.
The wait was on. Although, to make it more interesting I did loudly sniffle every few minutes. That did her in.
"What is it?" She exploded, slamming her fists against her desk after about only four extra snotty, inhales. I cleared my throat like it was a banner of victory.
"The other Undermortals and I would like to take leftover food from the kitchen to our communities on the weekends. It's going to waste here and it could do good back home. We would need help to get it there, and seeing as you guys have all those shiny vans..."
She looked up, her head snapping to attention as she narrowed her eyes at me. Yeah, I knew this was a kamikaze mission, but no turning back now.
"Can you please do that for me, professor? I need your help," I said, putting on the glittering voice of a Golden again. Her hands tightened around the paper she was holding, singeing the edges.
"Why of course, anything for the Queen." She smiled, I smiled, adjusted the strap on my bag and ripped myself out of the cold, empty room and into the bare halls towards my next class. I was clearly already late, not that it mattered. The whole thing had been worthless.
Both of us knew she wasn't going to do a damn thing about getting that message to the Queen. I would have to get the prince to talk to me again. Or figure out how to get an audience with the headmaster.
It would have to be the headmaster if only because the look Rowan gave me as I walked into Professor Stones class made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me.
Don’t worry, dude, the feeling was mutual.
Even though the feeling was starting to break up inside me.
10
Rowan
'I signed you up for Rugby. Don't complain or I'll tell your dad. - Uncle Ry'
The note was taped to my door when I stepped out to go to class this morning. There must have been a meeting last night, it was the only reason I could see Uncle Ryland coming to the school in the middle of the night on a Tuesday. I would have been pissed that he didn't stop by and say hello, seeing as my light was clearly on, but he was supporting my delusion that everything was okay and normal in my life. Even if my mom wasn't.
'Don't forget the mug' was scrawled on the back of the same note, the loopy handwriting one I would recognize anywhere.
I didn't know if I should send them menacing notes back, or just thank them. Well, thank Uncle Ryland. The mug was still tucked away at the bottom of my underwear drawer. It was staying there.
Ryland, however, seemed to be tapped into my long hours. Rugby was needed.
Between the purgatory of being dragged around by Sia, dodging her kisses and roaming hands, or being stuck in my room for endless nights and dodging the blood-filled dreams there hadn't been much for me at this school. I had always been a bit of a loner, but without my family I hadn't realized how much I had been fooling myself.
The last month at Imdalind Academy had been one long haze. It wasn't until
that note that I realized how lonely I was.
Trekking down the long sloping grass to the rugby pitch, I took a deep breath and let my lungs burn in the crisp air, the moisture announcing that autumn wasn’t that far off. Living in the caves of Imdalind my whole life meant that I didn't often see sunrises, I didn't often get to feel the crispness of the morning, when the air was filled with dew and the sweet tang of changing seasons. The air was buzzing with power, the deep energy of the earth lifting every hair on my arms, pushing its way into me.
The deep magic recognized me, just as I recognized the magic that gave me so much power. The power of a Drak. I shook my head, trying to dislodge all of the eager want that was trying to take hold and sprinted down the rest of the sloped lawn to the one thing that probably wouldn't bore me completely.
I knew Rugby. Rugby was Uncle Ryland’s sport. He had taught everyone he could through the years. It was pretty much the only sport that was played anymore, the championship games and cups occurring nearly year-round. The game had mutated from what he had known, magic even being allowed in some clubs now.
A loud part of me hoped that the school club embraced the magic rules. I was desperate to do something other than cast basic skills and throw invisible bits of chalk at the blackboards when the teachers weren’t looking. Judging by the way the players were jumping twenty or so feet in the air, I was in luck.
I had never played on an official team, but I had played with my family since I was old enough to hold a ball. This wouldn't be much different, except for softer when you get taken down. The stone pitch in the underground caves was rough on landings, I had broken my wrist more than a few times.
Unfamiliar faces turned to me as I grew closer. I hadn’t seen any of the players in classes. They must all be third or fourth years. Even better. I wouldn't have to hold back. That lack of recognition didn't go the other way, unfortunately. With each step I took to them their eyes grew wider, the whispers starting as they gestured to those around them to look. Like I was some kind of circus sideshow. A tall kid with an absolute mop of blonde hair on his head fumbled the ball and went down, the guy next to him pushing him to the side as they both stared slack-jawed at me.
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