Page 9 of The Holy Academy of Witches

Stuffing my face, I let my feet take me back to the tapestries Adeline had shown me earlier. I tried to remember everything Adeline had said about them… about the Academy’s founding and history: the popular myths, the birth of Witches, the Patrons of both schools. All interwoven with threads of gold and silver. Looking down, I saw a glimmer in the tapestries, some kind of preservation spell? Touching the stone floor, I felt a tightening in my chest. Something was calling to me.

Looking about, I saw the torches had been lit. That didn’t make any sense… I’d only been here for a few minutes, hadn’t I? I felt weak and as I looked down I saw that rather than stopping at a drop I had fed most of my magic into the stones. They shimmered happily with my magic, as I felt my knees begin to buckle.

Hurrying out of the hall, I saw that darkness had indeed fallen… I’d been feeding my power into the stones for what must have been hours. The Feast had already started.

I took the last empty seat that was, unsurprisingly, next to Silva. The group all acknowledged me before returning to a story about something or someone I didn’t know enough about to follow. As I sipped at the smoothie Amelia placed in front of me, I felt my magic reserves slowly starting to refill. It was a bit like drinking a hot drink in front of a warm fire after coming in from the cold. I stretched my loosening muscles, soaking in the sensation.

Headmistress Alva began her speech. She touched on the rules again, stressing that we were only under the school’s protection within its boundaries and that leaving, whether to fraternise with the boys or any other reason, was ill-advised.

“We are witches. Our futures are our own to grasp, our own to craft, and so we must also own the consequences. Do nothing without thought. And know that should any student be found endangering themselves or another student they will be expelled. Pregnancy falls under that category as we do not have a midwife on staff. So once again… proceed with caution.” Her voice was soulless and despite the reason I saw in the words she spoke, I couldn’t help but feel colder hearing them. Still, I swore I’d renew the contraceptive charm they’d provided when I got back… or once my reserves filled up again.

As she sat, a procession of ghosts came carrying large platters of meats, potatoes, vegetables and pies. As the food was placed in front of us, I nodded my thanks and then filled my plate to the brim.

Each bite helped fill the rest of the gnawing ache at my centre. When I couldn’t take another bite, I looked around to see my disinterested tour guide talking to a very blonde girl. She was dressed just as extravagantly as Silva, though didn’t look anywhere near as moody.

“What’s the deal with the Headmistress’s daughter?” I heard myself ask.

Silva looked up to see me looking at Adeline and her Blonde friend. She set her silverware down gently, and replied, “You already met the Ice Princess then?”

“Yeah, she showed me around. She reminds me of you actually. Are you friends?” Silva’s eyes flashed and her lip curled in a snarl. Amelia interrupted this time, holding up a strong hand that had Silva backing down.

“Silva might have a mouth on her… but she’s nothing like Princess Alva. Silva’s all fire and Adeline… Well, she’s not so much Ice as she is a void. And that’s what you should do, doll. A-void her. She’s her mother’s creature through and through.”

Looking back at Silva, I saw she had grabbed a sweet pie having dismissed her previous poise as she tried to inhale it. A stress eater then, maybe she and I had more in common than I thought. But I had upset her.

“Sorry, I just… I’m not myself right now. I’m gonna head to the dorm.” I stumbled my way out of the Hall to the night sky. The darkness embraced me as the silver path lit the way. I ran until I saw my name flash across the door. It sensed my hurry and swung open faster than before. I was alone again. But… That was okay, safe. My phone buzzed with an incoming call. Theo?

“Well well well three missed calls, ten texts left on read….”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry-“ I began.

“I’m so proud of you!!!” He interrupted.

“Huh?”

“You haven’t been glued to your phone, which can only mean you actually spoke… To other people, yeah?”

“Oh… well yeah, a couple words, I guess.”

“Good.” His pride settled over me, and just like that I felt a little more myself.

“So how many people have you got following you about? Do you have a statue built in your honour yet?”

A long sigh came through the phone, “Sis, we’ve been through this. Statues are a big ask on the first day… Maybe next month.”

“Oh right, right. My bad… but like… How many?”

“While I’m honoured by your faith in me… It seems the top dog here isn’t one to roll over so easy.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah… hey, they assign you the same Tutor garbage?”

“Yuuuuup!”

“You know who yours is yet?”

“Nah, you?”

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