A Different Kind of Witch

by Carol A. Robi

  ¨That's what I don’t get. Especially when she said that she’s been doing magic for a while,¨ Sophie agreed.

  ¨Are you sure it was a fireball she was holding in her hands?¨

  ¨Definitely. And the way it glowed- I'm surprised her hands didn't burn.¨

  ¨Witches can manipulate fire,¨ Sheila explained. “But very few can do it so expertly.” There was an odd ring in the older Faery’s words, as though she meant them as a warning.

  ¨Maybe it wasn’t magic. It could have been a trick,¨ Aimi interjected. But Sophie shook her head, thinking of the girl with her detailed tattoos and rudimentary clothing.

  “I doubt she is the kind to play tricks,” Sophie said. ¨I am pretty sure it was magic.¨

  They stopped talking when they made it out of the woods to stand before the most curious single building she’d ever set her eyes upon. It was a humongous ancient fortress of sorts, set on the island's highest point, towering over everything around.

  Four large towers rose from each of its corners, and another keep towered higher than the rest, rising from its middle. It looked like something created out of a story book or an epic fiction, with its thickset grey stone walls swallowing up the sunlight, seeming timeless, parts of it covered by dark green creeping plants growing or climbing on it, that seemed to be as old as the building itself.

  ¨Welcome home!¨ Sheila announced cheerfully. ¨That tower to the front left is Rhiannon House,¨ she added, pointing to the tower topped off by a Faery-like gargoyle, seeming to be lifting into the air.

  The fortress was even more spectacular inside than it was from the outside. An exquisite giant chandelier hang from the center of the high ceiling of the lobby they were in, which was approximately the height of three average floors in modern terms. Dwarfing pillars, elaborate statues, sculptures, ceiling art, motifs, large paintings - a true heaven for an art history enthusiast. Unfortunately, Sophie wasn’t one.

  She thought the building very enchanting, like stepping into a fairy tale. One could easily imagine Belle and the Beast dancing in the large open lobby they now found themselves in, with its gigantic painted and patterned windows letting in moonlight in different shades and patterns that splayed playful against the marble flooring.

  Sophie giggled when she saw Keira bent over backwards, staring at the ceiling above them, and the beautiful motifs and relief sculptures etched onto it. She straightened up and turned upon hearing her laughter, made a funny face at her, and then the two cousins burst into excited giggles again.

  ¨Come on girls!¨ Sheila called drifting off towards the sprawling staircase with the stunningly sculpted bronze railing. The staircase was wide and set in granite and colorful stones. Sophie could easily imagine Cinderella running from the ball at midnight on these stairs, losing her glass slipper on the fifth one from the landing.

  It was an impressive building!

  They walked past a few older students rushing up and down the stairs, going about their business. They only afford them a passing glimpse, with a few hi newbies.

  ¨Are we here?¨ Sophie asked excitedly, hurrying up to Sheila when they got to the first floor landing and turned right.

  This had to be it. Delicate wings had been relieved onto the massive doors ahead, and they joined where the two doors met when closed.

  “It’s beautiful,” Keira whispered. Aimi only sighed, and Diego sounded to be muttering something Italian.

  Sheila just smiled as she pushed the heavy doors open, leading them into a common room of sorts bearing couches and brightly coloured throw pillows.

  ¨This is the Rhiannon common area. We call it Com. You are allowed to bring your friends from other dorms here,¨ Sheila said, as she kept walking towards another door across the room.

  They walked out into a hallway that had a door at either end.

  “Girls wait here, boys, follow me.” They remained in place and watched the boys follow her towards the door to the right labelled He-Faeries Only.

  The corridor was well lit from large windows on the opposite wall, but due to its long stretch and high ceiling, it created in Sophie the same feeling a gothic church would, that of being insignificantly small and overwhelmed by surroundings.

  A few Faeries came through the corridor, using their wings to propel them faster, and the three fledgling stared after them wistfully, longing for their own wings.

  “Ours will be green, though mine will be a darker shade,” Keira broke the silence to say. “Wings,” she clarified, upon seeing Sophie’s confused expression. “Aimi’s will be..”

  “Black,” Aimi prompted.

  “Black,” Keira said simultaneously, smiling proudly for having guessed correct.

  “How do you know?” Sophie asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed by all that she yet didn’t know about her new nature.

  “The eyes,” Aimi answered. “We almost always sprout wings that resemble our eyes.” Before she could expound anymore on the phenomenon, Sheila flew back through the door.

  “That’s the boys’ end, and no girl is allowed in there unless she’s the house prefect,” she said sternly.

  “It’s Runic magic, unbreakable, so don’t even try it.”

  “Now,” she started with a sudden smile again, “off to the better smelling end of the dorm.” Her small entourage chuckled as they turned left and followed her. This door had the words She-Faeries Only emblazoned to it.

  The door opened into a large staircase automatically.

  “The school isn’t too archaic. Most doors here have sensors,” she explained as the heavy door slid back shut behind them, an audible lock mechanism sounding as they started up the stairs. “But runic magic ensures only female Faery students come in here.”

  ¨First years have their dorms on the fifth floor,¨ she continued, attacking the stairs so fast and effortlessly that Sophie was left wondering how such a tiny person could be so fit.

  ¨This is your floor,¨ she said, when they finally walked out onto the fifth floor landing. She continued walking along the corridor, past two other doors on either side of the artificially lit corridor.

  ¨I placed all three of you in one dorm apartment, as it wouldn't do for one to live alone,¨ she said, opening one of the remaining doors with a key that hang in a set of three keys, which she then placed in Sophie’s hand.

  ¨They are primarily for two to share, but I'm sure you’ll make do. Your uniforms are on your beds, regular uniform, you’ll get your P.E. kits from your P.E. teacher. You each get two pairs of regular uniform first, unisize, which generally means oversized, but anytime next week, you may ask for more, or a better fit from the seamstress. You only have about half an hour to clean up and change into them for dinner. I’ll meet you at ten minutes to eight at the com. I trust you can find your way.¨ Sheila then turned and actually flew away, her wings appearing suddenly from two slits Sophie hadn’t noticed on the back of her blazer.

  Sophie stared after her long after she was gone, once again longing for her own set of wings.

  “Oh my,” Keira muttered. Sophie turned and saw what had her cousin exclaiming. She looked around mesmerized at the small but comfortable living room of sorts they'd walked into. A couch, and a coffee table stood on one end, facing a wall with a simple empty bookcase.

  There were three doors in total, the middle one leading into a small but sufficiently sized modern bathroom that looked brand new, its lights, like those of the rest of the suite, coming on automatically the instant the door opened. The other two doors lead into two bedrooms, each fitted with a bunk bed, but one had two sets of study desks facing the opposite walls, the room to be shared.

  ¨Let’s share this room, cousin!¨ Keira cried out gleefully, and Sophie had to fight the grimace that was dangerously close to showing on her face. She’d hoped to get the single room and have her own space.

  ¨Ummh.. I don't know. Maybe Aimi would like..¨

  ¨No, I'm ok with it. You two can share,¨ Aimi said quickly.

  Chapter 7


  Sophie hated her uniform instantly. She looked bloated and stupid in the skirt that fell all the way to her ankles and ballooned unnaturally around her small hips. She would be visiting the matron’s office as soon as possible.

  They met with the boys in Rhiannon’s com. Sheila arrived just as the warning bell sounded, and she led them out the doors and down the main staircase again. They met with a continuous stream of students going the same direction, and were promptly swept up in the tide.

  ¨Hey newbies,¨ could be heard from different directions.

  The best way to describe the dining hall would be large and noisy. People pushed from all directions as they hurried to their tables, seeming to be talking at the top of their voices, laughter coming from all directions.

  The Faery fledglings followed Sheila quietly to a table at the front. Older students bumped into them unapologetically as they talked animatedly or playfully shoved each other around. It almost felt like a regular school canteen, only this one was filled with flying beings, half turned beasts, oddly paled boys and girls, and Witches that thought it funny to drop plates on their friends heads, only to reassemble the pieces again and replace the plates to the stacks on the table.

  Sophie breathed easier when they finally got to their table. Placecards indicating where they ought to sit.

  ¨See you later!¨ Sheila called before disappearing into the crowd of students.

  Sophie noticed that her placecard was by Boke’s, and she immediately swiped it with the placecard reading Markus. She had no idea who Markus was, but she hadn’t seen anyone as far out there as Boke, so she was sure he’d do.

  They were soon joined by the freshmen Werecats and their prefect, their boisterous laughing and confidence distracting the whole table.

  A beautiful girl with springy auburn curls sat to Sophie’s left. Lola, her placecard read.

  ¨Hi,¨ she called cheerfully, beating Sophie to breaking the silence.

  ¨Hi,¨ Sophie smiled back. ¨I'm Sophie.¨

  ¨Lola,¨ she replied, beginning to play with her placecard by flipping it expertly with her fingers, clearly a very hyperactive person.

  ¨So, you are a tinkerbell?¨ Lola mocked.

  ¨We can even fly!¨ Sophie said laughing, and Lola laughed too, admitting that it was a cool power to have.

  ¨Tinkerbell Sophie, green eyed- so you must be from Ireland like all green eyed Faeries?¨

  Sophie was interrupted from answering by the arrival of Avalons, and the Witches soon after. An Avalon boy with platinum blonde hair that appeared almost white especially against his still not so pale skin, sat by Sophie’s.

  Boke soon took her place, now blending in with everyone because of her uniform. Even her hair seemed tamed, held in a ponytail that fell in heavy thick coils past her shoulders. It still didn’t look like it had seen a comb in ten years, but the mane now looked somewhat manageable.

  ¨No, I am from Sydney, Australia.¨ Sophie finally managed to answer Lola, her eyes still distracted by Boke. ¨What about you?¨

  ¨Boston, Massachusetts!¨ She answered. ¨My parents are originally from Rio, Brazil though.¨

  ¨A Brazilian cat? Feisty!¨ Sophie said, drawing a laugh from the Werecat.

  ¨That's right babe!¨ She answered confidently, and Sophie found herself laughing again.

  A heavy silence then seemed to fall over the dining hall, and so the freshmen followed suit and stopped their talking. Muffled footsteps echoed from the other end, and heads wheeled around to see Monica, the head girl, walk forward with a team of school prefects.

  Sheila was among them too. They occupied one of the empty long tables ahead. Not even one student dared snort or mutter anything disgruntled, unlike what Sophie was sure they'd have done in her old school. It was almost as though Monica was revered by all, feared even, yet she was only a student.

  “This is a special day,” Monica began, her authoritative voice ringing across the large hall. “We are joined by new fledgling..” and almost mechanically, as though rehearsed, three sets of claps began, and then just as instantly stopped.

  “We are a family, think of Drachenburg as a haven for all Supernatural Beings. Here everyone is important, precious, and equal. Tonight we feast your arrival. Welcome brethren.”

  It all sounded too Kumbaya for Sophie’s taste, but she raised her glass of water with the rest of her new schoolmates and toasted the head-girl's speech.

  “Let’s welcome the principal,” she said. Chairs scraped the floor, and then the whole school rose to their feet, and Sophie followed suit.

  From a side door Sophie hadn’t noticed before, a tall heavily coated figure strode into the room, closely followed behind by two guards. Sophie wondered to herself what kind of school this was that had the principal followed around by personal guards.

  The pale face that looked around the hall when he shoved back his hood stunned her. Sophie hadn't suspected he’d be an Avalon, for he’d walked too nimbly, as though to weak to bear himself upright.

  ¨New members of the Supernatural Realm, welcome to Drachenburg School for the Supernaturals.” His voice was dry, and his harsh Eastern European accent only made him sound less likeable.

  “My name is Count Jan Sanguine, and I am your Principal. Here at Drachenburg, we pride ourselves for being the best supernatural school in the world. Especially because we are the only school for supernaturals in the world.¨ He paused to let the laugh that ensued die down.

  ¨At Drachenburg, you’ll receive a normal education to prepare you for life as an adult on earth, as well as a specially tailored curriculum to teach you the principles and arts that will help you as a Supernatural in your adult life.

  Five hundred years ago, the first summit of the Supernatural Realm was held that comprised of at least one representative from each of the four Beings of our realm. They met to discuss about creating a future together, in a world where it was fast becoming difficult to remain hidden as a Supernatural Being. Here we are today, still working strong together, in one of the first institutions to be born after the unification of our realm. Freshmen, we bid you a heartfelt welcome to our society. Let us all lift our glasses in salute to them.¨ A round of hip hip hooray ensued.

  ¨Bon appetit everyone,¨ the headteacher concluded, and then left almost instantly through the same side door again, as though he couldn’t stand to be in their presence any longer than was necessary. It was very odd behavior for a principal.

  Sophie was glad his speech was brief for her stomach was already grumbling. They reached out for the filled serving bowls in the middle of the table, piling food on their plates as the buzz of conversation resumed in the hall.

  ¨Why do you live down under, Sophie? I thought all green eyed Faeries live in a community in Ireland?¨ Lola asked, before filling her mouth with a forkful of potatoes.

  ¨My parents moved away.¨

  ¨Why?¨ She asked again, refilling her now empty glass of juice. Sophie looked towards Keira for help, not sure how much she was allowed to reveal.

  ¨Her parents were one of those excommunicated after the virus saga,¨ Keira simply answered in her stead. Half a dozen pairs of eyes at earshot turned to stare at Sophie, someone dropping a fork. Even Boke looked her way from the corner of her eyes.

  ¨Your parents refused to heal Avalons? Wicked!¨ Lola exclaimed impressed, just before gulping about half of her juice down. Sophie smiled.

  ¨I support your parents decision. Everyone should have the right to decide whether they are to be fed on or not,¨ Klaus said, a Witch sitting opposite her.

  ¨Witches should also remember not to make others’ blood a cure,¨ Markus retorted in answer.

  ¨There were too many Avalons. It is our primary job to protect humans. If it means killing our own Supernatural brothers to do it, then we shall,¨ the boy Witch across glared at the Avalon beside her.

  ¨It is that kind of talk and mentality that gets Witches like you in Apros,¨ the Avalon threatened.

  ¨What is Apros?�
� Sophie interjected the verbal fight to ask.

  ¨A prison for Supernaturals. For those that commit capital crimes.¨ Lola answered noncommittally.

  ¨What capital crimes?¨

  ¨Killing a fellow Supernatural, revealing about the Supernatural Realm to humans, killing humans needlessly - such crimes¨ Aimi answered.

  Killing humans needlessly? Sophie thought to herself. Have there ever been a need to kill humans? Up to about two months ago, she had been human. If someone had killed her, would they go scot-free just because it wasn’t needless? If someone were to kill Natalie or Gina, her best friends back home, would she let it go?

  ¨Can you do any magic?¨ Sophie asked Klaus, needing to change the subject from the uncomfortable turn it had taken.

  ¨Probably,¨ he answered. ¨Our powers start appearing after we turn fourteen,¨ he continued in a don’t-you-know? tone of voice.

  “I’ve had my ‘powers’ for a couple months now, but there is no special trick I can do as yet,” she said.

  “You’re a Faery,” Keira said. “You can do magic already, but only if you know the spells.”

  “Really?” Sophie asked happily. “I need to learn a spell this instance!” The whole table roared with laughter.

  “That’s what we’re in school for,” a dark haired, stocky looking Witch said from the other end of the table.

  Boke on the other hand can perform magic already, Sophie thought to herself, turning to face the girl. She immediately regretted it, as the shock of her very unusual eyes meeting hers at that precise moment nearly overwhelmed her.

  Could she read minds? She wondered to herself again for probably the umpteenth time today.

  Can you? She asked silently, holding Boke's gaze behind Markus' bent head as he drank his soup. Boke then broke their eye contact, and faced her food again, breaking the Naan bread in her hands into two. Markus lifted his head again, and Sophie decided to turn away. She didn’t read minds after all.

  Sophie then noticed that Klaus was looking at her questioningly.