NOVEL NEXT 4
I walked over and picked up the katana from the floor. It felt more comfortable with it in my possession. I began to follow the maid and Victoria as they walked out of the room. Miss Irons gave me a cold look over her shoulder.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
‘With you. I believe the fairy lady said that Victoria here would tell me how to return home.’
‘Fairy lady! And it’s Headmistress to you! I should cut you down for everything you’ve done today!’
Without looking back, Victoria let out a sigh.
‘Just stop Miss Irons. Take her with us and leave her in the waiting area while we go figure out what to do next.’
‘Yes, Headmistress.’
I followed behind as close as I dared to. We entered a doorway that led to a small room with chairs lining the walls. At one side was a desk where a portly older woman sat. She wore a hunter green suit coat with gold cuff-links and had a head of short curly salmon hair. She looked distressed when seeing the maid supporting Victoria through the room.
‘Headmistress! Is everything all right?’
‘I’m fine Miss Swella. Please give Selene a call to come over.’
‘Right away ma’am.’
The Headmistress turned to look in my direction. She made no attempt to hide her exasperation.
‘You wait out here. I will talk to you after I have sorted out this mess.’
‘Sure thing, Victoria.’
I sat down with a smile on my face. I’d found a chink in her armor. The sight of both her and the maid flinching at the sound of her first name brought me entirely too much satisfaction. A sat in the closest chair and rested the sheathed sword across my lap.
Victoria and the maid continued into a room with a ‘Headmistress’ placard on the door and the receptionist used an orb-like object on her desk to make a sort of phone call. I had noticed the same contraption on Miss Wintry’s desk.
After a short while, I began to inspect the blade for any damage from the fight. It had a few scrapes, but the edge wasn’t damaged. The receptionist looked concerned at me.
‘Excuse me. Students are not allowed to have weapons outside of the gym. Can you please go and return it?’
‘Oh, I’m not a student.’
This reply only seemed to confuse her more but she didn’t seem to want to push the issue. The time ticked on and I began to become very bored. Just as I was about to get up and pound on the door the entrance door swung open and a small child walked through.
‘Miss Swella! How are you?’
She was very short at around four and a half feet and looked to be 11 or 12 years old. She had long straight crimson hair that ran down the front of each of her shoulders. She wore a silver cloak with crimson embroidery as well as a silver dress with crimson accents. She carried a wooden shepherd staff that was a good foot longer than her and appeared to be completely naturally formed.
She entered quickly and hurried over to give the receptionist a hug. At her size, the receptionist barely rose from her chair to reciprocate the deed.
‘Fine. Fine. And how are you, Miss Orica?’
‘It’s been a busy morning. And I heard the Headmistress has had her hands full with four new recruits. Two Naming Ceremonies yesterday, one this morning, and another this afternoon must be exhausting for her.’
‘Indeed, it is. She just walked through here a while ago looking like she was about to fall over. I haven’t seen her that exhausted since she stopped fighting in the Wilds.’
‘Oh, that poor thing!’
Realizing I was still sitting in the chair by the door, the receptionist gave that ‘we probably shouldn’t be gossiping around others’ look. The little girl turned to look behind her at me. Instantly her face beamed. She quickly rushed over and grabbed my hands.
‘Darling! You must be the fourth recruit! Look at you! You’re beautiful! I can’t wait to see what you look like after you have made your pact with your fairy. I’m Miss Orica and I hope we can be the best of friends! And it looks like you’ve already chosen a weapon too. You’re going to be a fine magical girl.’
Through all of the bubbly talk, I could not remove my gaze from her eyes. They were silver mostly but had a crimson crescent moon across the bottom left corner and a single crimson star in the top right.
I suddenly noticed a slight pulsing coming from her hands into mine and mine were returning the beat in force. I looked down at my hands just as the pulsing gave off a single reverberating thud that echoed through my body. The girl instantly dropped my hands and had a look of shock in her composure.
‘Oh. Um. Dear me. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to talking more with you later but it seems as though Miss Victoria requires my services right now. Have a good day.’
She hurriedly rushed to the door marked Headmistress and knocked. The maid opened the door for her and her composure instantly shifted back to peppy.
‘Headmistress! How wonderful to see you again!’
The door closed behind her and with it any chance of hearing the rest of the conversation. I waited for what seemed like hours. Finally, the door opened. Victoria was a bit pale but resolute as she walked up to me. The maid followed and the silver child stood in the doorway with a concerned look on her face. The maid planted her hand on the Headmistress’s shoulder.
‘Are you sure about this Headmistress?’
‘If there is any chance, I’ll have to take it.’
She then turned to address me. She struck an imposing figure. She stood a good six inches over me and her witch’s hat only increased her size although also making her look a bit ridiculous.
‘Alright. You’re staying here. If you’re going to go back then you need to find your own way. We will not be helping you. You will attend your classes and stay in this complex. Even if you find a way past the wall the monsters in the Wilds will eat you alive without a fairy so you’re stuck. Maybe in time, you will learn to like it here but this is your new home. The sooner you accept it and make your pact the sooner we can all move on.’
I was shocked. Words could not form in my mouth. Weren’t these ladies just recently kneeling in respect to the Fairy Queen? Hadn’t the Queen instructed her to send me back? So, she was now in open defiance to her leader…over me? None of this made any sense.
Red hot heat echoed in my mind. It lapped against the Psychic Veil which was always present. The two combined sent me into a rage. I drew my weapon and charged. I feigned a strike at Victoria knowing it would be blocked by the maid. As she stepped forward to block her sword materialized but I was ready for it. The feigned strike shifted into a downward strike at the maid’s leg. It made contact and cut deep.
The maid fell sideways and I continued the movement of the blade. It lodged itself cleanly just below the Headmistress’s sternum and exited just beside her spine. Her heart was clearly punctured. I pushed it deeper and twisted just for good measure.
A trickle of blood ran down the corner of her mouth as her eyes glazed over. Yellow lights began to appear around her body that rose into the air. I heard a sigh from the direction of the crimson child as the Headmistress began to dematerialize. A slight smile on her face was the last thing I saw before she vanished. Not even a bloodstain was left on my blade.
‘Good Riddance.’
I was suddenly aware of a yellow light coming from a second door next to the Headmistress. The door opened to reveal a confident Victoria wearing a smirk and folding her arm in triumph. I looked at her in disbelief but then I saw the writing on the rooms’ plaque. Resurrection Circle. I suddenly remembered the talk of rooting and returning even if you are mortally wounded. It didn’t help me be any less pissed off.
The red-haired child brought a red vial of liquid to the maid which she drank. After a few seconds, she stood up as if her thigh muscle had not been split in two seconds earlier. She came over within an arm’s reach and held one out for me as well.
After seeing the effect it had on the maid and being reminded of my rib, I felt it was best to drink it before the adrenaline wore off. I begrudgingly took it and chugged the sour concoction, then threw the vial against the wall shattering it into a thousand pieces. It tasted like concentrated tart cherry juice but I instantly felt a relief in my sides.
‘See. It doesn’t matter how many times you hurt me or anyone else in this facility. We are rooted here and will always return. Sable, whose hand you cut off, has already returned to her classes. It’s time you quit this tantrum and accepted your new place in this world.’
‘Like hell. All this means is I need to find a way to break your curse and remember my name and I have a one-way ticket back to my world. If you think the fact that I can’t kill you yet means I’ll just bend over and accept my abduction, you haven’t learned a thing about who I am.’
‘And who are you then? By what name should we call you?’
‘Get rid of your Veil and I’ll happily tell you.’
This wasn’t going anywhere. I needed to get away and clear my head. There was a way through this. I just needed more information. And Victoria wasn’t giving me any clues. I turned to walk out of the room.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
‘Anywhere but here. I don’t feel like wasting my energy killing you again. I’m going somewhere to clear my head and calm down.’
A voice of restraint came from the red-headed Selene. By this point, she had walked up next to Victoria and seemed very concerned with the tension in the room.
‘Just let her go. We all have a lot to think about. Maybe she will be more cooperative when she learns what we are doing here.’
I took the lull in the fight as a signal that it was time to leave. I walked over to the door and opened it and was almost in the hall before I stopped. I turned and popped my head back into the room.
‘Oh, one more thing. You brought me here and stuck me in this cage. So you have to take responsibility for any damage I cause. I hope you’re prepared.’
I turned and walked into the hall, slamming the door behind me. I had half the mind to cut the banner by the entrance in half as I passed but I figured they could probably restore it with magic or something. Outside it was bright and sunny but not too hot. I wondered if all of that was some sort of magic illusion too. For all I knew this was some hellish nightmare world with a magic ribbon to make this tormenting place look like rainbows and unicorns.
At first, I studied the gate. It was a huge iron gate that was obviously sealed by some form of magic. After discovering my ability to repel binding magic I was fairly certain I could power through the gate’s lock with some effort, but I knew even less about what was on the other side and I didn’t doubt Victoria was lying when she said there were powerful monsters on the other side. I’d need more information and supplies before I headed down that road.
After wandering around and exploring the school grounds I came across a grove of trees that overlooked what looked like a combat training ground. I also had a decent view of the gate from this location. There was an added bonus that I was starving as I had not eaten all day and some of the trees were apple trees full of ripe fruit, and I’ve always loved apples.
‘…wait…what?’
I held the red fruit in my hand and ruminated on the thought I had just had. I held the apple in my hand and thought hard about apples from my past but all I was met with was the white wall of the Psychic Veil. I looked at the fruit and I felt its texture. I used my nail to cut a line in the fruit and I smelled its sweet fragrance. A bit of comfort washed over me and I took a bite.
As the taste washed over my tongue and a bit of juice dribble down my cheek, I felt another crack form in the wall. I had a memory wash over me. It was an apple grove by a house. I would walk through it and find a tall tree full of ripe fruit. I’d climb the tree and eat until I was full. Then I would nap in its branches. I ate my apples and basked in the sudden peace that came from remembering. Then I drifted off to sleep.