‘So,’ Krystal said, keeping her voice light and bright, ‘you must’ve been born in Appleyard. That’s where I’m from. The orphanage attached to the nunnery?’
‘O-oh… Yes, I was born in Appleyard. I know the n-nunnery.’
‘Sorry,’ Trudy said, ‘but I’m feeling left out here. What’s “Tangleroots?”’
Krystal grinned, pleased to be able to play guide instead of guided. ‘Tangleroots is what they call the western side of the forests in the north of Concordance. The eastern side is forested and cultivated. Appleyard was named for the orchards around it, but it sits quite close to the edge of Tangleroots. It’s a lot denser in there, wild and untamed. It’s where the old palace of the Armonia family is.’
‘Ruins,’ Jesse piped up. ‘The castle’s mostly ruins now.’
‘You’ve seen them?!’
Jesse nodded. ‘We keep away, mostly. The stones there have a b-bad feeling about them. They say they’re haunted a-and there’s supposed to be a witch l-lives there. The p-plants there are… odd.’
‘I’d love to see them sometime. They’re historic.’
‘Krys likes books,’ Trudy said. ‘History books as well as magic ones, I’m guessing.’
‘I’ve read a few, yes,’ Krystal replied a little defensively. ‘If you don’t mind me saying, Jesse, you seem a little, uh, timid.’
Jesse bit her lips and folded in on herself again. ‘I’m a b-bit… I’m not used to…’
‘Strangers?’ Trudy suggested, and Jesse nodded. ‘Well, we aren’t strangers. We’re the girls across the hall.’
‘Uh, well–’
‘And there’s Charley, down the hall,’ Krystal added. ‘The tall blue.’
‘The loud, tall blue?’ Jesse asked.
Krystal grinned. ‘That would be her. She’s pretty nice when you get to know her. Really likes flying.’
‘I don’t really fly much. It’s nice that she has a p-passion. I’m pretty p-passionate about plants.’
‘I’d never have guessed,’ Trudy said, smirking.
‘They’re beautiful,’ Krystal said. ‘You don’t have a roommate?’
‘N-no. I got l-lucky. It g-gives me more r-room for my plants.’ Jesse paused, considering. ‘I’ll be taking some cuttings soon. I c-could give you some for your r-room…’
‘That would be great. Uh, if you have any problems with your studies, I might be able to help. Like Trudy said, I read a lot. I know a lot of magical theory.’
‘O-okay.’
‘And maybe we’ll see you at the Founder’s Day celebrations tomorrow,’ Trudy said.
‘Founder’s Day?’ Krystal and Jesse asked in unison.
1st Day of Autumngate.
The school’s Grand Hall did not see excessive use. It was used for graduation ceremonies, a couple of annual balls, random events designed to encourage the rich and even richer to make endowments in support of the school, and the Founder’s Day event which always happened the day before the official start of the autumn term.
Krystal entered with Trudy, Charlotte, Glinda, and a nervous Jesse, and she immediately felt underdressed. There were a number of people in the hall in what looked like evening dress, including some who had to be students, and there was Krystal in jeans and a T-shirt. Of course, her companions were not exactly dressed up: both Charlotte and Jesse were in shorts, since neither seemed to wear anything else, Trudy was in another summer dress which had seen better days, and even Glinda’s newer dress was nothing especially fashionable. Still, the expensive gowns some of the other women were wearing brought colour to Krystal’s cheeks. It would be better when term started and all the students would be dressed the same.
‘See that group?’ Charlotte said, nodding toward a group of six girls who all seemed to be in gowns worth more than Krystal’s entire wardrobe. ‘Those are the indigos from the ground floor.’
Krystal looked and memorised. These were likely people to avoid, if she could. The main issue was that they seemed rather interchangeable. There was some variation in hair colour: a dark blue, several blacks, a couple of purples. Otherwise they were attractive and well-dressed, and they carried themselves like they owned the room. Only one stood out at all, mostly because she was a little taller, but also because she seemed to be the leader. The others moved around her as though she was the centre of attention at all times. She was Krystal’s height, maybe a tiny bit shorter, with deeply tanned skin, high arched eyebrows, and straight purple hair parted on the right. Her body was fit and she had a quite substantial chest highlighted by her corseted gown which, keeping with current fashion, was a narrow sheath of purple fabric. It had to be terrible to walk in. Her nose was straight and slightly snubbed, and set over bee-stung lips painted deep red. Of course, she had purple eyes, quite dark, but vibrant. There was something mean in them, something about the disdain with which she regarded those around her. She was especially one to watch: Krystal had met a couple of people in the orphanage who looked like that and they had all been trouble.
‘Ladies, gentlemen, and students.’ The magically amplified voice came from the platform which took up one end of the hall. Everyone turned toward it and Krystal got her first sight of Dean Scintilla Rainshadow, the headmistress of the school. She was, by all accounts, a powerful magician: an indigo dragon over a hundred and fifty years of age, raven-haired, upright, tall and beautiful, and confident in her power. ‘Gentle dragons all,’ Rainshadow went on, ‘I welcome you to this celebration of our school’s foundation two hundred and thirty years ago, and of our founder, Celestina Nightsky, without whom we would have no school.’ If the founder was present, she made no effort to be seen, and Rainshadow went on as if this were expected. ‘Once again, we welcome our new students. One hundred and ninety-seven young women have come to us this year hoping to follow in the footsteps of the many who have gone before them, showing the world that women can be exemplary magicians, just as men can. This was the vision of Celestina Nightsky when she became the first dean of her school, and I am proud to follow that tradition.’
Rainshadow paused briefly, her eyes scanning over her audience. ‘We have dragons here from all walks of life. Almost all the colours are represented. There is food and drink, and the opportunity to meet and mingle. New students, take the opportunity to meet the people you’ll be seeing for the next four years. Everyone else, here is your chance to see who will be taking the world by the throat when they leave here. We will keep the speeches to a minimum. Now, join us all in celebrating this three hundred and twenty-sixth anniversary of the foundation of the Celestina School of Magic.’
‘Actually,’ Krystal said as the noise level rose around her little group, ‘the anniversary is tomorrow. The school was founded on the second day of Autumngate in six seventy-three.’
‘You would know that,’ Trudy said, grinning. ‘It’s always celebrated on the Royalday before term starts. I think we should grab something to eat before the harpies descend on the buffet.’
‘Don’t have to tell me twice,’ Charlotte said, and she began muscling her way through the crowd.
‘She was out flying all day?’ Krystal asked Glinda.
‘Charley would never set foot on the ground if she could sleep in the air,’ Glinda replied with a rather world-weary grin. ‘She’s crazy fast, great control, always working to improve both. I’ve no idea how she applied herself to get past the entrance exam for this place. No, I lie, I do know. The school has one of the best amateur aerobatics teams in Concordance and she’s wanted to join since she found out about them.’
‘And there I thought the point was to study magic.’
‘Oh are you in for a shock.’
Krystal frowned. ‘Huh?’
‘Well, maybe a third of the girls here come from families hoping to marry them well if they have a good education. And a third are here hoping to get a good education so that they can find themselves a rich husband. Those thirds overlap, but not completely. All those indigos Charley pointed out from our
hall, they’ll be here to upgrade their marriage potential. I’d bet good money on it.’
‘And you?’
‘I’m here to study magic, maybe to get into the Weather Bureau in Spinyard, but my family’s paying for me to be here because they hope I’ll get a good husband out of it.’
‘Oh.’
Glinda shrugged. ‘That’s the way the world works. You’ve probably also got a chunk of students sent here because they have a lot of raw talent, but they’d really rather be doing something else. Like Charley. Charley’s a bit of an odd case though. When she gets behind on her studies, it’ll bug her because people back home in Spinyard are counting on her and she won’t want to let them down. It’s why I’m glad we got a room together, because when she gets miserable, I can cheer her up. Grab a plate. Time for food.’
They had arrived at the buffet and Krystal looked around for a plate to pile food onto. By the time she had one, she turned back toward Glinda to discover that another woman had inserted herself into the queue between them. This was an older dragon, probably an indigo. Her purple hair was fading a little, and her eyes were not as vibrant as a younger dragon’s would be. Her face was sagging a little around the eyes and cheeks, and her eyebrows were thicker than was fashionable but she was still an attractive woman in a slightly hard-edged way. She was wearing an expensive but out-of-date gown, sleeveless with a deep cleavage and a slit up the front of the left leg. There was a lot of pale skin on display.
The woman flashed a smile at Krystal. ‘Always best to grab the food early. The people here eat like true dragons.’
‘That’s more or less what my friend said. Though she spends a lot of time in dracoform, so she’s not exactly one to talk.’
‘Ha! At my age I rarely shift to anything. Must be nice to be young. You’re one of the new intake?’
‘Yes. I’m Krystal Ward.’ Krystal was starting to wonder who this woman was. She had taken her for some elderly benefactor, but she seemed more like a lecturer or some other member of staff. But Krystal had seen pictures of most of the senior lecturers and this woman had not been among them. Was she new to the school too?
‘Ward? Interesting. Of course, you’re here on a scholarship.’
‘Yes, I am.’
‘I find that scholarship students frequently apply themselves better than the rest. I’m sure you’ll do well here, Krystal Ward.’
‘Uh, thank you,’ Krystal said, and the woman gave Krystal another smile before turning and slipping into the crowd with her plate of food. ‘Odd,’ Krystal murmured to herself. Aside from anything else, the woman had never given her name, which was something of a breach of etiquette. Krystal figured she had just experienced ‘small talk;’ it was not something she had had much chance to engage in previously. Of course, she could manage proper manners thanks to her training at the orphanage, but servants did not engage in small talk with their employers.
Krystal finished adding food to her plate and made her way out through the throng to the others. The buffet consisted of finger foods of various sorts, which was useful since there was nowhere to put your plate down. Krystal’s friends were gathered in a defensive circle, which parted a little to allow her into it, as though they were guarding their precious hoard of comestibles.
‘The wrapped meatballs are really spicy,’ Trudy said as Krystal joined them.
‘Awesome,’ Charley said around a mouthful of food.
‘I’m not sure I like spicy,’ Jesse said.
‘Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it,’ Trudy suggested, and stuffed another of the pastry-wrapped balls into her mouth.
Jesse did the same, though her mouth was a little smaller than Trudy’s so it was more of an exercise. She chewed for a second and her face went through various contortions as she battled with the food. By the time she swallowed it down, her eyes were watering. ‘Mm, nice,’ she said in a voice so full of a desire to please others that everyone giggled.
‘If you don’t like them, you don’t have to pretend you do for me,’ Trudy said. ‘Though you might want to try smaller mouthfuls. At home, we tend to eat fast because everyone else will start asking “do you want that” about anything left on your plate when they’ve finished theirs.’
Jesse wiped her eyes on the long sleeve of her purple sweatshirt, which had an owl appliquéd on the front of it. ‘I’m n-not really that used to eating w-with anyone else.’
‘You spend a lot of time alone in the forest?’ Glinda asked. ‘This place has to be a huge culture shock.’
‘I-it is a little overwhelming.’
‘You’ve got friends around you,’ Krystal said. ‘There’s nothing to worry about.’
Jesse’s eyes widened a little. ‘Fr–’ And at that moment someone bumped into her back, pushing her forward into the ring of girls. Krystal and Charlotte reached out together to steady her, and that was when they heard the voice.
‘Damn it! Look where you’re going. You almost spilled my drink.’ The speaker was the tall indigo from their hall. She had her gaggle of sycophants behind her and she was glowering at Jesse as though her eyes could pierce skin with a look.
‘I’m s-sorry,’ Jesse began.
‘Jesse was standing still,’ Krystal said, stepping forward to meet the indigo’s gaze as it turned to the new target. ‘You bumped into her. So if anyone should be apologising, it’s you.’ The indigo glared, but Krystal was used to bullies. Three-inch heels gave the indigo a height advantage, but not enough to make Krystal feel small.
‘Do you know who I am?’ the indigo hissed.
‘I don’t have the faintest idea,’ Krystal replied. ‘I’m Krystal Ward. We live in the same hall.’
Manners. You could tell when someone had had them drummed in, and the indigo had been beaten with the social graces as though with a stick. You could sort of tell that she did not want to, did not feel she should have to, introduce herself, but it would have been terribly impolite to not supply her name at that point. ‘Felicia Goldring.’
Krystal bowed her head. ‘Honoured. Now, Jesse will just be embarrassed by an apology, so I suggest we go on about our business as though nothing happened. We don’t wish to appear uncivil, do we?’
Felicia sniffed, but she turned without a word and led her posse away into the crowd.
‘You d-didn’t need to d-do that,’ Jesse stammered.
Krystal shrugged. ‘You weren’t going to stand up for yourself and it was her fault. If you let her get to you, she’ll walk all over you in those spiky heels of hers.’
‘Yeah,’ Trudy said, ‘but she’s a Goldring, and you’re an orphan who I thought was into books more than anything. Where did you learn to stand up to people like her?’
‘Bullies in a school are one thing,’ Krystal replied, stepping back into her place in the circle. ‘You can avoid them if you try and you can go home to get away from them. In an orphanage, you live with them. Either you learn to deal with them, or you end up miserable. I was not going to waste good reading time worrying over bullies, so I learned to stand up to them.’
‘I think I’m going to really like you,’ Charlotte said, grinning. Her plate was empty. ‘Do you think they’d mind if we went for seconds?’
Everyone, even Jesse, giggled. ‘We won’t tell if you don’t,’ Trudy said.
‘Right.’ And Charlotte set off again for the buffet table.
‘Celestina.’ The voice sounded like it belonged to Dean Rainshadow and Krystal looked around for her, wondering if the dean was really calling out to the school’s founder. ‘Celestina! I’ve seen you. You can’t get away now.’
‘Hello, Scintilla,’ another voice replied from somewhere in the crowd. It sounded oddly familiar.
‘Why don’t you ever tell me that you’re going to turn up to this event?’ Rainshadow asked. Krystal had narrowed her search to one clot of people, but she could see neither the dean nor who she was speaking to yet.
‘You know perfectly well why I don’t,’ the second voice repl
ied, ‘and the next words out of your mouth are going to confirm it.’
‘What? “I have some people you really have to meet?”’
‘Yes, those words.’ The crowd parted and Krystal spotted the dean. The second speaker was not yet visible, however. ‘I just want to mingle with a few students and see what the new intake is like.’
‘Yes,’ Rainshadow said. It was difficult to tell over the general noise, but the dean sounded a little sad, a little weary. ‘I know you do, but you also know that this is important.’
‘All right. Lead on, Dean Scintilla Rainshadow.’ Rainshadow turned and started back the way she had come, and the second speaker, Celestina Nightsky, followed, becoming visible as she walked past the gap in the throng.
Krystal let out a little squeak and Jesse looked up at her, concern on her face. ‘Are you all right, Krys?’
‘Yes,’ Krystal replied. ‘It’s just… I met this old dragon at the buffet table.’
‘That one in the purple dress?’ Glinda asked. ‘I saw her talking to you.’
‘That one,’ Krystal replied, nodding. ‘She never said her name. I thought she might be a lecturer or something.’
‘So?’
‘So… So that was Celestina Nightsky. I talked to Celestina Nightsky! She said she thought I would do well!’
Trudy gave a shrug. ‘Yeah, well, you probably will. Anyone with half a brain can see that. Now, where can I dump this plate and where are the drinks? If there’s a royal in the room, I need alcohol.’
~~~
‘Um not used t’ wine,’ Trudy slurred, and then she started giggling again.
‘You said,’ Krystal told her.
‘Six times so far,’ Charlotte added.
Trudy was currently slung between Krystal and Charlotte. Trudy’s toes barely touched the carpet of the hall’s corridor, but she would probably have been floating anyway. ‘We drink light ale an’ cider at home,’ Trudy explained. ‘Nearly never had wine before. Not nearly never.’
‘You’ve said that before too,’ Krystal said. ‘It still doesn’t make grammatical sense.’
‘Well, I’m drunk. How come you’re not drunk?’
Misfit Magic (Misfits Book 1) Page 4