by J. B. North
When we all materialized into the different world, it was impossible to see anything. I flinched when something scaly touched my arm.
“Sorry,” said Natalia’s voice.
“What is that?” I asked.
She hesitated before answering, “I’m in my half-form. It’s a little known fact that mermaids can see in the dark. They have to in order to hunt in the deep parts of the ocean.”
“Oh,” I said. After a pause, I wasn’t sure if she was there or not. “Natalia?” I asked.
No answer. “Liana?”
“Yes? I’m still here.”
“How do I change into half-form?” I questioned.
“When you’re not finished transforming into first or second form, you cut off the thoughts of whatever it is that you think about.”
“All right. I’m gonna try it,” I said.
I recollected the warmth of the sun. I felt my skin starting to change, and the bright light was coming into view. Immediately, I thought of Natalia instead. What must she look like in half-form? My changing felt different this time, my skin shifting in ways it hadn't before, a burning feeling coiling around my entire body.
“Ivy…” Liana whispered. “Look at your arms!”
I looked down. I noticed straightaway that my vision was better. I could see the shapes of the caves, and I heard sounds echoing throughout. Bats rustling, water dripping, rocks clattering.
But I wasn’t ready for what Liana had seen. Swirls of light veined my skin, glowing in the darkness.
“It’s on your face, too,” she whispered in awe.
I touched my cheek.
My clothes had changed also. When I changed back from full second form, I had on an inconvenient dress. But now that I was in half-form, the dress had been made for battle. It was shorter in the front with a long train of feathers, the same colors of the phoenix's, in the back. Tall boots stretched up to mid-thigh, but oddly, it wasn't uncomfortable. They fit me perfectly. A sword was strapped to my waist, and leather gauntlets warmed my fingers.
I drew the sword. It rang as it cut through the air. I took off one of the gloves and fingered the edge, testing its sharpness, and I felt it pierce through my skin. It was truly a dangerous weapon.
I could see Liana now, almost perfectly. She stepped up to me and touched my hair, holding part of it so I could see. Feathers were entwined with my normal red curls.
I smiled. “I guess we’d better start looking for food,” I said. She nodded wordlessly.
I drew my sword. It rang as it cut through the air. I fingered the edge, testing its sharpness, and I felt it pierce through my skin. It was truly a dangerous weapon.
I found a couple of cave lizards, and with my new form’s quick reflexes, I killed them on sight. Several times, I came across the sight of guano, cockroaches crawling in and out of the giant pile that had been building up for years and years. The sight made me shudder, and Liana and I stayed far away from it.
Finally, our exploit ended, and we all were back in our normal forms. Abby was sulking. “What’s wrong?” Liana asked her.
“I died,” she said, her eyebrows pinched into a scowl. “Death by cockroaches.”
Liana and I looked at each other and grimaced. That sounded like a horrible way to die. I wondered if it was actually possible in the real world.
Our meal was of moderate size. We had potatoes and chicken and green beans. I felt sorry for Abby, who had to watch us eat while she got nothing.
I headed for the dorms, satisfied. I was grateful to Liana for giving up her fruit, and for being a wonderful friend in general.
I entered the dorm room, where Angelica, Natalia, and January were already waiting. Roselle’s bed was stripped of its blankets, and I had no doubt that her side of the trunk was empty as well. I didn’t want to think about her absence, but the silence of the dorm rang with it. I knew that I couldn't move from my bunk, at least not for a long time. I didn't want to fill in Roselle's place.
Suddenly, a pair of feet stepped in front of me. I looked up and met Angelica’s glare. She crossed her arms as if she was annoyed.
“I don’t understand why you’re so sad,” she said. “You just got elevated to a level four.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you care?”
“I’m just disgusted. You have the most productive trainers, both the headmaster’s sons. Niko has the record for the earliest graduate, and Kurt would have if his hadn’t died on him.”
“How long did it take for them to graduate?” I asked.
“A year.”
I sighed as I stood and grabbed my sleeping clothes out of the trunk, hoping she got the hint that I was through with the conversation. I heard her footsteps retreating behind my back rather loudly. I ignored the annoyance that clawed at my nerves, and slipped behind the changing screen.
When I was dressed in my nightgown, I crawled into bed and closed my eyes, pretending to sleep.
Except, I wasn’t sleeping.
Instead, I was thinking about what I could do to make sure that I would beat that record. I didn’t think I could stand being here for a year.
*****
I awoke several hours later to the sound of January climbing down from her bunk. I sensed that it wasn't even close to our wake-up time by the snores of the other girls, and the silence outside. She rummaged through her trunk and went into the other room. I noticed a faint blue light coming from inside. Then it disappeared and she emerged, walking around the bunks to the door. She paused with her hand just short of the doorknob. I was worried that she’d noticed I was awake, but she opened the door and left quietly.
That was my cue to do the same. I delved in my trunk for my clothes, hoping that I didn’t forget any of them. I learned when I went back to change that it was harder than it would seem to dress in the dark. I accidentally put my pants on backward the first time. I put on my shirt, shoes, and coat in a hurry, trying to make up for the time that I'd lost.
I peered quietly around the corner, barely able to see the sleeping forms of the others. I crept around them and opened the door, shutting it as quietly as I could. After that, I was less careful. I hurried down the stairs and out of the dorms, into the crisp night air. Everything was silent except for the clanging of weapons and a few shouts coming from the training arena, which had a glowing aura, probably lit by magic.
I hurried to get there, and I stopped in the doorway. There were only three people in the nearest clearing. January and a tall young man with dark hair were in the middle of a fight, and Grix was watching from the sidelines. He noticed that I was watching and smiled at me, beckoning me to come closer. I veered around the fight, and stood next to him stiffly. He acted nice enough, considering he had been trying to kill me only a few days before.
“Jan has been trying to beat Roland for months. This is the only time that she’s ever come close,” he muttered to me.
I watched the fight. She was matching every strike of his sword. Roland was slowly picking up the speed, and soon, January was struggling to keep up. Her gaze flicked to me in a second, flashing with surprise. Before she knew it, Roland had his blade at her throat. They stood there, panting, until January angrily clanked his sword away with her own and stomped toward me.
“What are you doing here? As if you had a chance to compete against any of us!” she spat, her sword pointed at my throat.
I fought not to reel back from the blade. “I’m not here to beat any of you,” I retorted. “I just want to learn.”
Grix laughed and January snorted, but Roland seemed interested. “And why would you want to learn?” he asked.
“So I can leave as quickly as possible,” I stated clearly.
January sniffed. “I’ve been trying that for years. It doesn’t work unless they want it to.”
“And if they didn’t, why would they promote me to a Level Four after my first week?”
January was silent.
“Good point,” grunted Grix.
Rol
and laughed. “This is the little first-year that beat you in a challenge?”
Grix glared at him. “Yes. I didn’t expect her to change into a fire breathing pterodactyl,” he said defensively.
Roland chuckled. “You should have paid more attention to who her trainer was. That always tells whether or not she’ll be talented.” He paused to look at me. “Well, maybe I can teach you a few things. Who knows? Perhaps you can break my record.”
My eyes widened. “You’re the one who graduated after only a year?” I asked.
He nodded. “Technically it was only eleven months, but I guess a year is easier to say… January, give her the sword,” he instructed.
She glared at me as she handed it over. It was heavier than I thought, and the tip sunk into the ground. “Come on! You aren’t even able to raise your sword?” Roland taunted, walking out further into the field. I hefted it up, my arms trembling.
“Hang on a second,” he said. He fell back with me and took the sword out of my hands, rolling his eyes. He tossed it in the air. “January, release your spell!” he yelled back to her.
She glared at us. “No,” she said.
Roland’s almost turned on her, but he stopped to think. “Fine,” he muttered eventually, handing me the ridiculously heavy sword. He began to walk off again, and I followed him uncertainly.
“What she doesn’t know is that this can be used to our advantage,” he whispered to me once we were out of earshot.
“How?” I asked.
“We can train you with this sword so that when you practice with a normal one, it’ll be easy.”
It made sense, but I didn’t exactly appreciate it right then. He swung his sword at me, and I struggled to block it like Kurt had taught me. I only barely deflected it, and then Roland moved in with another swing before I could even raise my sword again, placing the cold metal on my neck.
He lowered it. “Again,” he said, and he started to slash at me once more. I only blocked once, and I did that for several tries before I finally got two blocks in.
Grix and January practiced nearby, and I could see her smirking at me almost every time I failed.
Finally, when my arms were aching and the sun had started to come up, we heard the trumpets wailing from inside the dorms, making a bizarre sounding melody ring off the walls of the arena. I let the sword drop to the ground, and Grix and January stopped practicing. I noticed that Grix had a few cuts on his body, but I felt better when I saw that January had her share of injuries, too.
There was only a small cut on my neck, where Roland had pressed his blade a little too hard. That had been after I’d gotten three blocks, the best I’d done all day.
I heaved my sword over to the table where it belonged before I followed Grix, January, and Roland out of the arena. None of the students had come out yet, so I knew we would be the first ones in the dining hall. Roland sat at a trainers table, while the other two sat at a student’s table together.
I found one a little farther away and sat there to wait for my friends. One by one, the dining hall was getting more full. Abby came in, and I thought that she would sit with me, but she ignored me and sat somewhere else. The first one to sit with me was, surprisingly, Natalia.
“I noticed that you went out early to train,” she said. “You’ll have to work on your stealth skills.”
I smiled at her. “Is that something that you could help me with?”
She shrugged. “I could, but I’m not sure that I want to.”
My smile faltered. “Why not?”
“I don’t want to interfere with Niko’s training. Only a fool would do that. Or someone who is more talented than Niko.”
“Then why not use your talent to teach me your talent?” I asked.
Her mouth twitched as she hid a smile. “Good point, but I still don’t think I can. Niko is a wizard. It wouldn’t matter if I was stealthier than him.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
Another girl joined us, and then Liana finally came into the room. She sat next to me and asked, “Why were you not in bed this morning?”
“I woke up early to train,” I said.
“Really eager to get out, huh?” she replied with a frown.
I didn’t answer. The number platters came in. We got tent number 7, ‘an easy one’, Liana had said, and it was. She galloped along with her bow and arrow, and Natalia dove into the deep river as a mermaid, her scales a shimmering, iridescent black. The other girl disappeared into the forest, and I didn’t see her again until the end. I flew in the air, letting my wings bathe in the sunlight. I came across a meadow and saw a small deer grazing. I dove down quickly and the poor thing didn’t have time to react before I’d killed it. It made me feel better to know that it wasn’t real. That deer didn’t even exist...at least I didn’t think so.
Anyway, we settled down for a huge breakfast of sausage, eggs, biscuits, gravy, cheese, bacon, fruit, and hot chocolate. I ate until I was completely stuffed, something I regretted when I was training with Niko, because I had to stop to throw up everything that I’d eaten.
He looked on with disgust before making me get back on the ground for some push-ups.
The day ended with a medium sized meal from a desert oasis that I could barely contribute to.
On my way back to the dorm, it felt as if I were slogging through waist-deep mud. I didn't even bother to change clothes before crumpling into my bed and slipping into slumber.
CHAPTER TEN
An icy draft pulled me out of my slumber the next morning. I noticed movement to my right and looked over to see January disappearing into the other room, glaring at me when she realized that I was awake. As much as I wanted to pull the covers over myself and slip back into sweet darkness, I forced my mind to wake, shifting my feet to the floor and making myself stand.
We made a routine out of it, January and I, waking up at the same time, her leaving as soon as she was dressed, and me catching up afterward. We did this until all the days strung together, forming a whole two months since I'd left the orphanage. With each day, I sensed her resentment for me grow.
Gradually, the days got warmer, turning the ice and snow into slush, which melted into the ground, and caused the river down the pathway to turn brown and overflow. It was a relief to watch the river turn crystal clear again, and hearing it burbling along the bank reminded me my home in Forlander, where the river flowed through the middle of the town.
*****
Today was the summer solstice, one of the most popular holidays on the northern islands. Unlike every Sunday at the conservatory, the solstice was a true holiday, one where we wouldn't have to do anything for the entire day, except for the survival tests, of course. Even those weren't mandatory. Liana had been talking about a festival in Winter's Peak—the little town down the mountain—for the past few weeks. In fact, the subject seemed to be on everyone's mind lately. It was a celebration of the beautiful weather, but also a solemn reminder of how little time we have left to bask in the sun before the winter breathes over the land once again.
I hadn't been allowed to go to Winter's Peak since I had tried to make it all the way to Forlander and back, but the headmaster said that I would be allowed to go on the solstice. Liana and I had planned to go after the morning survival tests even though the festival didn't start until dinner time, but our plans were ruined when she woke up sick. It was the kind where she had to have a bucket at her bedside at all times.
When I had completed my survival test, I abandoned the crowd of students headed to Winter's Peak, and hurried to my dorm room to check on my friend. I shut the door and sat on my bed, which was still next to hers.
Liana was pale. A cold cloth had been placed on her forehead. I could tell that she truly felt horrible because her usual cheerful face was screwed into an expression of misery.
She cracked open her eyes to look at me, squinting as if the light hurt them. “Ivy, you should go with the other students. I know that it's one of the only chan
ces you'll have to enjoy the festival.”
I shook my head. “I don't have anyone to go with. I'd rather not go at all if I can't go with you.”
She gave me a small smile. “Maybe it's time that you make some other friends.”
We heard the door open, and both looked toward it. Natalia came in with a small glass of water in one hand and a thermometer in the other. “Ivy, you should go down to the village with the others,” she said. I wondered if she had been listening to our conversation.
“I prefer to stay with Liana,” I said.
Natalia walked over and sat next to me. “I'm taking care o her. Plus, I told Roland that you would go with him.”
“Roland? Why would you tell him that?” I asked.
“Because I know that you've been training with him in the mornings, and figured that he was one of your only other friends, besides Liana and me.”
I was surprised and honored when she said that. She had just called herself my friend. I'd thought Natalia was incapable of having friends.
“You should go,” Liana pitched in again. “I don't want to spoil your day. Mine's already spoiled enough.”
I smiled and stood up. “Alright, I'll go. But don't expect me to enjoy it without my friends.”
“Wait,” said Natalia. She went to her trunk and rifled through it, pulling out a beautiful green dress. “You should wear this,” she said. “It was my sister's, but it doesn't fit me, and I doubt it even fits her anymore.”
I took the dress and held it out. It looked about my size. “Thank you so much,” I said, smiling at her.
She shrugged her shoulders. “No problem...Oh, and wear these as well.” She took out a pair of nice dress shoes and handed them to me. They were a little worn, but I was glad to have them.
I hurried and changed before making my way out of the room. Because the shoes were a little too big, it made my descent down the stairs a little awkward, so much so that I nearly bumped into Roland at the bottom.