Amber's POV

I had been having the most horrible nightmares. It was hard to sleep but even harder to stay awake, and now I was kind of just floating through the day. Caleb seemed hurt by my distance, but it was so hard to make myself talk when it felt like my head was stuffed with wool and my throat was raw from screams I didn't remember. My eyelids were always heavy and I wanted to go to sleep, but the second I closed my eyes, I would remember what I had seen.
I would remember Gareth's Companion lashing her tail in agitation, the empty syringes littering the ground with traces of a viscous black substance remaining in them, and his arm. Oh god. The flesh writhing like a living creature around the end of the needle, tendons and muscle gaping over mangled and cracked bones. For once he had taken his gloves off, and I could see that his fingers were white and stiff and dead-looking, almost like they had been turned into marble.
I didn't want to see it, but it almost like the image was burned into the back of my eyelids.

Set's POV

I sat in a stunned silence. Zenery was holding my arm. I was going to run away, but now I couldn't move. I was... terrified? I don't know.
"Set please. I'm not saying you have to open up to the whole world, but you cant keep yourself alone like this forever. Well maybe you can, but its just not healthy."
She pondered for a second, then resumed talking.
"Besides. Do you really think this is what Lucy would want?"
That snapped me out of my paralysis.
"Leave her out of this." I growled at Zenery.
She looked at me sharply.
"Why? You're making all these excuses to avoid people and stay alone and hated because of what you did to Lucy. How does this not concern her? Really Set. I don't care if you think you're staying away from people for safety reasons or whatever. Lucy was not expecting what happened, and had no means to protect herself. I am a space elementalist. And I know what could happen. And I am capable of keeping myself safe."
I sat there in a stunned silence letting what she had said sink in.
It was true that she had ways to keep herself safe. Of all of the people I had met so far, save Milaek and Azami, she seemed the most capable of ensuring her own safety. Half the time she knew what was going to happen before it did. But I didn't like it that she was comparing herself to Lucy. Lucy was perfect. She was kind, gentle, strong... she had no faults. And Zenery, who knew nothing about her, was implying that she did.
"Lucy wasn't weak." I said finally, finding it to be the only cohesive thought I could put to words.
Zenery sighed and rolled her eyes.
"She was. Stop being a dreamy eyed bastard and wake up. No one is perfect Set. Not you, not me, not Lucy. Got it? Now stop protecting a dead persons 'perfect' image and grow up."
Zenery's words stung like a knife. I tried to glare her down but she just glared right back, her eyes sharp and defiant. As if daring me to prove her wrong.
I couldn't. I finally broke.
"But Lucy was... she was..."
"She was human. She had her faults. She couldn't protect herself from anything. She was weak. Don't deny it Set. I'm not saying she was a bad person, but I am pointing out one of her many flaws. I could point out some of yours while I'm at it. Or even mine."
Her gaze was now less knife like, and more like disinfectant in a wound.
The memory shattered. I remembered Lucy lying in the mud, bullies taunting her. It was 4th grade. She tried to get up but couldn't. They pushed her down. She didn't fight back. She cried. I stepped in.
Now it was seventh grade and some girls had torn up her homework and flushed it down the toilet. She came to me sobbing. She hadn't tried, or been able to stop them. I went and took charge. I had been protecting her her whole life. She just lay down and took it. She just gave up and cried.
She wasn't perfect.
Suddenly Zenery's face was in front of mine.
"Dont look at this as a shattering of your memories. Think of it as finally opening your eyes."
I stared at her. She stared back.
Her face came closer to mine.
Then her hands reached up to my face.
Quietly and carefully, she removed my sunglasses.
"This is the real world. You don't have to choose to be here, but I can be your transport. I can get inside your world, and show you ours."
I felt something wet drip down my face, and for a moment I was confused.
Then I realized I was crying.
I never cry. Not since Lucy. But here I was, sitting on the cold stone floor of the academy in front Zenery, with tears running down my face.
I grabbed on to her, the one solid thing in my world at that moment.
She jerked away slightly, then, slowly, I felt her slim arms slide around my back comfortingly.
She held me for minutes? Hours? Days? Time didn't seem to matter anymore.
Finally when my unknown crying subsided, she let me go, helped me up, retrieved my glasses, put them back on for me carefully, and lead me to my room.
When we arrived she turned to leave.
"Wait."
She turned back.
"I...I can't be like that. Ever again."
She gave me a small smile.
"Maybe not soon, but bit by bit I can help you. Don't worry. I wont tell everyone about your crying."
I felt choked up again.
"I- ... thanks."
She smirked at me.
"Just don't expect any special treatment from me because of this. I'm still going to beat you tomorrow in Ancient Military Tactics."
"FUCK I STILL HAVE TO DO THE HOMEWORK!!!"
Zenery just winked at me, and then turned and walked off.

Xerin's POV

It was very, very difficult to pay attention to Professor Elena, due to the presence of a certain redhead. I was, naturally, studiously avoiding looking anywhere except my paper. Not looking... Not looking... Good heavens, why, Xerin? Why did you have to realize you liked him? Why do you have to be such a goose? I was even fidgeting, and I never, ever fidgeted! The temptation to shake Briar and ask him why he was such a contrary idiot was overwhelming. But I controlled myself by chewing one of my nails. I actually chewed my nail. This had got to stop. I was clearly out of my mind, and the best thing to do would be to ship me off to an insane asylum forthwith.
If only.
In my hurry to leave the classroom, I swept all my books into a pile and started walking quickly towards the door. And, apparently, straight into Briar.
"Are you all right?" He raised an eyebrow quizzically. I'm certain I immediately approximated the color of a beet.
"No, I mean yes, I'm definitely okay, except for walking into you obviously, for which I'm sorry..." I fled.
I stopped in the corridor outside of my room and started pacing, completely unsure of what I was going to do.
"What are you doing?" Oh my god. Why was he here? I looked up, only to freeze in horror. This wasn't the door to my room! I slowly pivoted to face Briar.
"Um..." It was then that I noticed his eyes were twinkling. Why, that... he was laughing at me! I felt the last frayed strands of my patience snap. Furious, I growled, "I can't help it if you're too stupid to figure it out!", scowled at him, and stalked away.
Why, why, why?!

Amber's POV

I was so freaking tired. I almost decided to skip class, but Milaek and Azami could be pretty scary sometimes (although my English has improved sooo much because Azami uses big words all the time, even though Milaek always scolds her for it). We had Professor Elena first, which was bad because I think she hates me. It's so hard to pay attention for that long though! I slid into the seat next to Caleb, and he broke off his conversation with Tyron to smile at me. Sadly, we didn't have time for more, because Professor Elena clapped her hands really loudly and started her lecture. As usual, I got bored about two minutes in and let my gaze wander around the room. Set looked really pale (I wondered what happened, but it was Set so it probably wasn't very interesting), and Lisse looked like an ink blot in the corner as usual. Xerin and Briar were making sure not to look at each other (oh, what happened to them?) and Larimar still looked sad. I really couldn't understand why.
Gareth wasn't paying attention to the lecture, but Professor Elena never even called on him. Actually, sometimes she seemed almost afraid of him, but that was crazy. She was a teacher! Teachers at Skeleton Keys were the strongest Elementalists, everyone knew that! But still... I peeked at Gareth again out of the corner of my eye, wondering for the 23439498th time why he wore all black and why the only skin he exposed was on his face. He would look perfect with a giant ribbon on top of his head! Forgetting that I was in class, I giggled out loud at that hilarious image. Of course, Professor Elena heard me.
"Does something amuse you?" she trilled (see? big words). I shook my head. "Then perhaps you can demonstrate." I was totally confused, because obviously I hadn't been paying any attention. Caleb whispered,
"Make a ribbon out of your element!" Ohh. So that was why I had been thinking about ribbons. I quickly made a ribbon out of light and had it hover in front of me. Professor Elena raised an eyebrow, but nodded and continued with her lecture. I sat down and gave Caleb's hand a quick squeeze.
"Thanks," I whispered.
±±±±±
I was determined to find out why none of the teachers ever called on Gareth, so after class was over I gave Caleb a quick kiss and told him I had something to do so I would see him later. He grinned, and then walked over to Larimar. Good. She looked like she needed to be cheered up, and Caleb was good at that. Then I set off in search of Gareth. He always disappeared between classes (according to Nico, he was hardly ever in his room and never actually slept there). But Skeleton Keys was a big place, so I was sure that I could find him somewhere. Luckily we didn't have any classes until three, so there was plenty of time for me to explore (if anyone asked I could just say that I was trying to memorize the layout of Skeleton Keys so I wouldn't get lost later). There was really no way to find out which direction Gareth had gone, so I picked a random one and started walking. I had to get through all the dormitories first, though. Some of the fourth and fifth years glared, but when it was obvious I was just passing through they decided not to bother me. Finally, I found a long hallway that stretched as far as I could see, lined with doors on either side. There were way too many doors to look into all of them, so I just opened random ones.
Maybe it was luck, or fate, or whatever you want to call it, but I did find him. It was in an empty room at the end of the hallway, dusty and deserted. I heard his panther's voice first.
"It's higher now, you know. But I don't think they're trying to kill you."
"I know. Shut... up." I was shocked. Was that really Gareth's voice? It wasn't a condescending monotone anymore- it was rough and he sounded like he was gritting his teeth. In a normal person, it would sound like he was experiencing something painful. But this was Gareth. I was sure there was another reason. So I peeked around the corner, only to stumble back in horror at the sight in that room.
I think that was when I started running. I ran through the empty hallway and back across the school, past a surprised Zenery and straight into our room, where I jumped onto my futon and yanked the covers over my head. But I could still see it. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the image seemed permanently stamped on the back of my eyelids. I wanted to scream.
I was just glad that Gareth hadn't seen me.
If he knew I had been there, I would be dead.

Caleb's POV

Oh my god oh my god oh my gooooooddddd. Amber. And me. DATING! She's amazing. She likes talking to me, and I love listening to her. We can laugh together and hang together, not to mention she's an AMAZING kisser.I cant belive this is happening to ME. I guess good things can happen to me. If I can just pretend my past never existed...
Never mind. Im ignoring that. It never happened. Why should I let it get in the way of the awesome present!
Anyways Amber and I have been hanging out all the time, and I guess I feel a little bad about not spending much time with my other friends, but this is AMBER we're talking about. Sigh.

Zenery's POV

If I had less of a rage threshold, Briar would currently have his head in the soulless plain of fire, and his body in the outer space regions of my native plain. Of all the things for that ridiculous, bone headed, idiotic, drunkard who calls himself a human to do, he had to do the ONE thing that would enrage Set, the boy who, need I remind you, KILLED SOMEONE ON ACCIDENT WITHOUT RAGE. Now imagine that power going out of control with rage behind it. That is what that idiot Briar was toying with. I don't know the specifics of Set's power, and now that Briar has so royally messed up I wont know for a much larger amount of time than I had originally hoped, but I do know that any Elementalist's power is enhanced and more uncontrollable when they are subjected to extreme anger. Luckily for Briar, Set seemed too stunned for any of his power to be set off. Luckily again, I had been watching them and noticed when things seemed to be going awry. Briar only got Set's glasses partially off of his face before passing out, and I was able to put them back into place with my power before anything else could happen. Of course Briar's actions effected Set anyways, as I knew they would, and he ran out of the room before anyone could say anything, let alone notice or react. A week passed before I deemed it favorable to attempt to converse with Set again, who hadn't said a single word to anyone since the incident. I found him sitting in one of the seemingly infinite hallways this school seemed to own. It was after our last class that day which was Pyrotechnic Runes with Prof. Vantas. I had to admit he was getting better at teaching us, though both his temper and mouth were still as foul as ever.
When I saw Set he seemed to have the locket in his hand again, and I was still roughly 20 feet away. I didn't want him running away from me, or avoiding me, so I decided on a silent approach. He looked to be very concentrated so I was hoping to arrive unnoticed. I inhaled deeply and calmed my mind. Footsteps were loud, and could be sensed by their vibrations. Flight however was silent. I concentrated, and felt myself lift off of the ground a few inches. It was just enough. I angled myself forwards, and floated silently over to Set. I had been practicing this ever since I first learned of it in my native plain. I still wasn't very good, but I could levitate a small amount and move with much less effort now.
Once I was besides Set I slowly released my power. The landings, however, were still not very good, and I landed with an audible tap. Set looked up at me, surprised. I could see his body tense up as I sat down next to him, much like that of an antelope ready to flee. Unthinkingly I grabbed his arm.
"Don't run away from me. I want to help."

Amber's POV

“Hehe...” I still couldn’t stop giggling over Professor Vantas’s shouted curses. I wondered why he was a professor, though. Aren’t professors supposed to teach you something? My gaze wandered over to Caleb, who was gesturing wildly while talking to Nico. He was a good kisser, and also really cute. I still couldn’t believe that everyone knew my secret now. I wondered if I had a curse on me... My gaze wandered across the room. Poor Larimar looked upset. I wondered why.
‘Because of you.’ My tiger ghosted by.
‘What?’ I was confused. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘She’s upset because of you. Although if you aren’t clever enough to figure it out, far be it from me to enlighten you.’ She drifted away again. I crossed my arms, wondering what she meant. Then I caught sight of Gareth sitting stonily across the room. I grinned, and skipped over to bother him.
“Hi!” He didn’t look up.
“Are you ignoring me?” He continued glowering contemptuously at the room in general, somehow managing to include me even though I was at the very edge of his peripheral vision.
“Whyyy are you ignoring me?” I poked him. When he continued to feign deafness, I used my last trick- the puppy dog eyes. “Pleeeeeease stop ignoring me?”
“... Hm.”
“THAT WAS NOT AN ANSWER!”
“You didn’t ask a question worth answering.” I skipped around in a circle.
“Yes! I got you to talk!” Maybe it was my imagination, but I was sure I saw him facepalming (that’s another word I learned!).
Or maybe not.
But I'd like to think so!

Xerin's POV

I scribbled notes ferociously during Professor Vantas’s class. I was still hung over from the night before, and people kept teasing me about my very low alcohol tolerance, so I was determined to show them that I could still function perfectly well. However, my brief bout of studiousness was obviously never meant to be. While the Professor was demonstrating an extremely tricky rune, a chambered nautilus randomly appeared in the middle of the classroom. He quickly abandoned all attempts at teaching in order to chase the suspiciously speedy nautilus, which promptly zoomed out the door. Naturally, Professor Vantas followed it. His screams of “Ffffuck you, suspiciously tentacled snail!” slowly faded in the distance, leaving nothing but an echoing silence in the classroom.
A silence which was quickly broken by Amber’s uncontrollable laughter.
“Ssssuspiciously... HAHAHAtentacled.... SNAIL!!!” Almost everyone else started laughing as well, with the obvious exceptions of Set, Gareth and Lisse, and the surprising exception of Larimar. I frowned. I quite dislike it when my friends are unhappy, and I considered almost all of these people, however tentatively, friends. Chewing on the tip of my pencil, I considered what to write. A sudden flash of inspiration led to a neatly, albeit quickly written note (for I never let my handwriting fall beneath a certain standard, no matter how quickly I write) deftly folded into a paper airplane and tossed towards Larimar. Luckily, my aim wasn’t too far off, and she caught it, a small smile hovering around the corners of her mouth when she unfolded it and read my message. She mouthed ‘Thank you’ across the room, and I winked in reply. Then, mischievously, she gestured towards Briar. My eyes widened. Did she really just- I shook my head violently, trying to rid it of bad thoughts (and hoping my hair would hide my face, which I’m fairly certain was the color of a beet at that point). ‘Bad Xerin. Don’t even go there. You cannot think like that about Briar. He’s a contrary, prickly Irish idiot so stop that’.
It didn’t work, but I’d like to think it did.
At least I tried.

Briar's POV

So I wanted to know if Set had eyes. In retrospect, that is obviously really, really stupid. However, I was drunk, so I take no responsibility. After snatching the glasses off of Set’s face, I remember being disappointed that he did, indeed, have eyes (the said eyes were looking at me in utter shock from a dead-white face). However, I took no notice. I vaguely remember mumbling, a bit blearily, that “Yr eyes’r no big deal...” before passing out unceremoniously. However, from Zenery’s scolding later you would have thought that I had brutally skinned him with barbed wire. She was ranting about his ‘psychological damage’ and the fact that she had ‘almost gotten him to open up’ or something of the sort. Whatever. From what I gathered from Nico’s complaints, Set is an utter freak and we’re best off without him.
Anyways, though the party only lasted a few hours, it’s effects are going to be felt for weeks, if not months. Larimar studiously avoids Amber and Caleb, who are stuck together like glue. Nico teases Lisse constantly (I can’t imagine how he can stand being near such a concentrated source of evil). Set appears to be a tortoise, as he has retreated into his invisible shell and become, for all intents and purposes, deaf and mute (though I notice his eyes turning to Zenery sometimes when she isn’t looking). Zenery has backed off of Set, though she still watches him constantly. Illia and Tyron seem to have grown a bit closer together. And Xerin... Christ, there is something wrong with that girl. One moment she is perfectly civil and the next she gives out to me something fierce. Or she ignores me entirely.
If I want to be quite honest with myself, she’s extremely pretty, and I like girls with some spice. However, I haven’t got a snowball’s chance in hell, so why bother? I’d be better off attending to Professor Vantas’s lecture (if you can call it that, which is highly doubtful) rather than thinking about Xerin.
‘If you can, that is,’ Gwalchmai murmered slyly from somewhere to my right.
I ignored her.

Set's POV

We were all seated around a large circular table with a weird shadowy bartender guy placing shot glasses in front of us. This had been going on for several minutes. Drink the glassful, set the glass upside-down, get new glassful, repeat. I had gone out several rounds before, by cause of vomiting which was one of the disqualifications. It had not been a pleasant experience, and though my system had been purged of most alcoholic content, I could tell by the faint buzzing sensation that there was enough in my bloodstream already to make me slightly tipsy. The first one out had been Xerin, which Zenery had pointed out was most likely because of her small body mass, and unaccustomed nature to alcohol. The second out was a hard-pressed tie between Nico and Illia. Both of them lasted surprisingly long, but finally they both cracked, Nico only milliseconds after Illia. Illia went by the method of passing out, though it was more like she fell asleep, and Nico went by way of vomit. Wonderful. Fourth out was me, which I need not recount, and I was currently watching Zenery, Tyron, Briar, and Larimar battle it out for the title of “can last the longest while drinking”.
Briar’s cheeks were flaming red, and he was babbling. Typical stereotype. Tyron looked a tad green in the face, and Larimar’s cheeks were the ripe pink of someone under the influence. Zenery however was still her natural pale self, and her eyes remained un-clouded. Her dress nicely outlined the white expanse of her collarbone, bringing a soft glow to it, making her look like a living doll. She suddenly looked up at me while Briar was starting the next round. Her eyes sharp as ever, seemingly reading my mind. I shook my head violently and looked away. The alcohol must have still been affecting my brain. Unsettled by this, I went to the bathroom to get some cold water to try to regain my senses. I was only in there for less than a minute, when Tyron came running in and into the nearest stall. As I heard the glorious sounds of Tyron emptying his stomach into the toilet, I mentally noted to watch myself closer tonight. I didn’t want to let the stupid alcohol to decide I had to suddenly be friends with everyone. As I walked back in I saw an utterly inebriated Briar, a defiant but queasy looking Larimar, and Zenery all taking what must be their 8th shot.  Larimar paled and I could see her fighting her gag reflex valiantly. She made it one more round before puking on the ground and then passing out unceremoniously. The bartender sighed, waved his hand, and the vomit cleaned itself. And then it was two. Briar lasted for three more rounds, ending with a glorious spew of greenish liquid, then banging his head on the table. Zenery, who a still drunk Nico had put a fake little paper crown on, stood up, and simply dusted off her dress.
“Well that was uneventful.” She said simply.
Briar looked up at her, still completely drunk from the looks of it, and gaped.
“Wha’ the hell s’you talkin’ ‘bout? Ss’you’re supposd to be drunk ‘sall hell.”
Zenery shrugged.
“Well I feel perfectly normal. My guess is that I am unaffected by alcohol. It isn’t uncommon for someone to be immune to the inebriating effects of alcohol. However they usually do feel the effects in their stomachs. I guess I’m just completely unaffected somehow.”
I cracked a smile. It was somehow very fitting that she of all people couldn’t get drunk. I can’t even imagine what a drunken Zenery would look like. Briar seemed to be complementing this, and trying to make some sort of sense of it.
“Sso you can jus’... drink all ya’ wan‘n never get sick?”
Zenery looked at him.
“I suppose you could put it like that.”
A look of confused joy crossed Briar’s face.
“So ya’ could jus’ be drunk all th’ time an’ an’ never hav ta stop or sum’in? Tha’s fuckin’ awesome! I wish I was like tha’. Oh! Could ya’ show me how ta’ do tha’? ‘Cuz tha’ would be fuckin’ sweet ‘n shi’.”
Zenery sighed, and shook her head, clearly disgusted by the idiocy of the drunk.
“No it doesn’t work like that. I physically cannot get drunk. I feel no affect from alcohol what so ever, pleasing or not. For me it’s like drinking poorly flavored water. And it’s biological so it isn’t something that can be taught.”
Briar rolled over and groaned.
“Tha’s sstupid with all tha’ wordssn’ stuff. It doesn’ even make any sense like.”
Zenery just rolled her eyes, and gingerly pulled Briar to his feet.
“You should probably just quit while you’re behind dude.” Nico chimed in teasingly. He was bothering a murderous looking Lisse by holding her drink out of reach, apparently having recovered some from his puking.
Briar just rolled his eyes at him, and went over to the seat next to mine at the bar. Zenery seated herself next to Larimar who was boisterously recounting a time when she had killed a bear or something like that to Xerin.
Briar looked at me as he took his pint of beer from the bartender guy, and laughed.
“Dude wha’s with you’re sunglass’s? You always wear them ‘n shit.”
“None of your damn business.” I replied icily.
“Awww c’mon’. I’s sure there’s some sor’a story.”
I didn’t respond, figuring he would just absorb himself back into the beer.
“I don’ even know wha’ color your eyes are. Do you ev’n have eyes? Like f’r serious. Maybe you have like... huge holes tha’ show your brain n’ stuff. Dude tha’ would be fuckin’ gross.”
“I assure you I have eyes. How else would I see?”
A look of glee suddenly crossed Briar’s face.
“So if ya’ go’ eyes then why don’cha prove it?”
My still fuzzy brain wasn’t quick enough to realize the immediate danger for a few seconds and when it did and I whipped towards him in horror, a hand was already reaching for my face.

Xerin's POV

I sipped my glass of wine again, trying to drink as little as I possibly could. Wine, after all, can stain your teeth. I wished champagne had been an option, but in their typical style the Headmasters had apparently judged it as containing too little alcohol. Certain people (I was NOT thinking of a particular redhead) seemed intent on getting drunk as quickly as humanly possible, while other people, such as Set and Zenery, hardly seemed to be drinking anything at all. Gareth had disappeared somewhere, as usual. By this point I was beginning to wonder if he was actually a student here, or just a figment of my imagination. Lisse was sitting as far away from everyone else as she possibly could with a glass of something that I was fairly sure had an illegally high alcohol content. Luckily, she was more intent on directing murderous glances at Nico (probably for the nickname he had given her) than actually drinking it- I REALLY didn’t want to see a drunk Lisse, and I’m fairly sure everyone else shared my sentiments. I wasn’t really paying attention to Zenery’s conversation with Larimar, though I did catch the names ‘Caleb’ and ‘Amber’ several times. The two in question were flirting quite obviously, but that was a given, considering how they had been behaving in classes for the last few days. Zenery was chatting with Set when Larimar suddenly sprang up from her seat and loudly proposed a drinking contest to the room at large. Lisse looked scornfully at her and remained seated, but after a few moments Briar and Nico shrugged and joined her. I carefully brushed the dirt off of my clothing and walked over to her, stepping over the bottles that had mysteriously migrated to the floor. Illia skipped over, followed a moment later by Tyron. Zenery firmly gripped a reluctant Set by the arm and dragged him along. Amber and Caleb were, however, apparently too involved with each other to even notice. Gathering my hair into a ponytail with one hand, I fanned my face.
“Who’s going to start?”

Zenery's POV

After the headmistresses vanished, the real party began. Apparently Caleb had gotten the message of mandatory drinking, because as soon as they left he scooped up two beers and sauntered off. I myself found the idea of drinking rather distasteful. I had had occasional sips of various alcoholic beverages courtesy of my parents, but found them all to be rather vile. Also the idea of purposefully dampening ones senses seemed rather idiotic. Why would one willingly choose to become a blathering idiot?
I sighed, and ventured over to the bar where Set, Xerin, Briar, and Larimar had all seated themselves.
Briar already had a pint of beer half drunk by the time I seated myself, and was enthusiastically talking about Ireland to Nico, who had yet to get anything to drink. Xerin was daintily sipping on a glass of red whine while staring bleakly at the wall behind the bar counter. Both of these companion options I quickly dismissed. Xerin seemed to be deep in thought about something, and I was willing to let her ponder in silence. Briar was obviously going to be drunk out of his mind within the first half hour or so, and I didn’t need to be anywhere near him if and when he decided to start dancing on the bar counter. So instead I seated myself between Larimar and Set. Set was staring blankly at the glass of vodka in front of him, and Larimar was absentmindedly sipping on a shot glass full of some white liquid while staring off at Caleb, who was talking enthusiastically to Amber.
I decided to aid her some in her thoughts.
“So, why don’t you go over there?” I said to her.
She shifted her gaze to me questioningly.
“Go where?”
I sighed crossly.
“Where do you think?”
She glanced back at Amber and Caleb who were now sitting centimeters away from each other, bumping shoulders as they laughed about something or other. Oh dear. It looked like Amber was one of those girls who became super slutty when drunk.
“I don’t want to disturb them. They look like they’re having a fine time.” She said briskly.
“You feel left out.” It wasn’t a question.
Larimar looked at me again and sighed.
“You know it’s really creepy how you do that.” She muttered.
I raised an eyebrow happily, and she sighed again.
“What, is it so wrong that I want to have friends too? I think Caleb is cool to hang out with, but obviously doesn’t have time for me with Amber around.”
“So you’re jealous of Amber.” Again, not a question.
Larimar flushed a deep hue of red before sputtering out her response.
“N-no! Look at Caleb going all gooey eyed at her! You think I want that little childish psycho making eyes at me? No. I just…” She trailed off as she watched Amber scoot into Caleb’s lap, giggling and sloshing her beer.
“I just wish he had time for other people too. I though maybe I would have someone to really call a good friend. But its all about Amber now.” She finished quietly.
“You know you could make other friends too right? There ARE twelve of us.”
She eyed me cautiously.
“No offence but most of you are either crazy psychos, currently drunk, or already stuck to someone like glue.”
I nodded slightly.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you cant still find friends. Now I would suggest you stop moping about and staring at them, and try to talk to Nico and Briar. They seem to be suited to your kind of interactions.”
Larimar shrugged slightly, and returned her attention to Caleb and Amber.
I could tell she wasn’t going to be very interesting to talk to for a while now, so I turned my attention to Set, who was still glaring at the glass in front of him.
“You do know the headmistresses said ‘drink’ not ‘glare at’ right?”
Set’s face shot up, but when he realized it was me, he returned his attention to his drink.
“Yeah.” He said in his low voice, and proceeded to take a drink from the cup.
We sat in silence for a few more minutes.
“So you’re still set on keeping everyone out, huh?” I said, breaking the silence.
He paused.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
He turned to me again.
“None of your business.”
“Actually it is. If you keep acting like I don’t exist, it becomes my business.”
“Why are you so obnoxious about this? I don’t need anyone, and don’t want anyone.”
“Right. Which is obviously why you’re so happy all the time, staring at your dead girlfriend’s locket and sighing.”
A burst of rage flashed over Set’s face.
“Don’t talk about that. EVER.” He growled out.
“Oh yeah, because it’s a huge secret that you killed her.”
His face was turning darkening by the second, and I began to feel a chill run down my spine.
“And that’s exactly why you should stay away from me. All of you. I can do it again.”
I waved my hand at him.
“Oh don’t make threats at me. You loved her, so obviously it wasn’t your choice to kill her. Stop trying to act like you did it on purpose.”
There was silence, and the chill subsided.
Set was staring at me. I returned his stare just as intensely. The anger from his face had vanished. Instead it was now unreadable.
I waited for him to speak, and I felt that he was about to, but just as he opened his mouth there was a slight gasp from beside me. Then Larimar leaped off of her barstool.
“WHO WANTS TO HAVE A DRINKING CONTEST?” She said loudly, and to no one in particular.
I had my assumptions about her outburst, and they were confirmed when I saw in the reflection of Set’s glasses, Amber and Caleb with their mouths glued together.
Well this ought to be interesting.

Caleb's POV

The previous week’s happenings, which had been clamoring in my brain all throughout the week, were roughly pushed out of my mind at the sight of Amber. She was, to say the least, gorgeous in her party attire. Her black hair was shining in the dim lighting, and I could see a glint in her brown eyes. I was barely aware of the headmistresses materializing as I gawked at her. Over the week we had gotten to be good friends, and she laughed at all my jokes during pyrotechnic runes even though Professor Karkat would snap at the both of us. At one point he had even sent us both to the corner of the classroom as punishment, but we spent the entire hour giggling away and ignoring his crude remarks.
Needless to say I was now certain I was madly in love with this girl. She was perfect in every respect.
“Caleb. Earth to Caleb.”
I was snapped out of my musings by a calm female voice whispering next to me. I turned to see Larimar standing next to me, staring straight at the headmasters. Copying her tone I responded.
“What?”
“Are you TRYING to get the headmistresses to kill you? You haven’t been paying any attention to what they’ve been saying have you?”
I flushed.
“I… I mean I’ve sort of been listening. Kinda.”
Larimar snuck a sarcastic look at me before returning her attention to the headmistresses. Her vibrant blue eyes caught the light as she did so, and my stomach stirred slightly. I must have been getting hungry or something.
“So far they’ve only been talking about how there wont be any chaperones because the staff is having a separate party as well as all of the upperclassmen. Also if we misbehave they’ll kill us or something like that. And we all have to drink. On pain of death I think.” She recapped to me quietly, so as not to alert the headmistresses.
Also over the week, Larimar and I had become friends. We were often paired together in Professor Chiron’s class, and we had taken to conversing during our increasingly difficult matches. She didn’t laugh like Amber did, but she occasionally smiled at my jokes. Soooo not a good quality in a girl. Come on dude, where’s the sense of humor? You should be cracking ribs from laughter. I’m just THAT funny.
Neither of us had spoken of that night where she had found me, and I was planning to keep it that way.
“Thanks.” I whispered back to her.
She nodded slightly, but kept her attention on the headmistresses who seemed to be wrapping up their speech.
“And finally,” Azami said with a flourish of her hand, “If any of you attempt to leave early you will be promptly punished. Milaek and I will be quite upset if we are forced to leave our own celebrations to come track down one of you small children.”
Milaek picked up quickly.
“And trust us, if we’re upset, you will NOT enjoy the outcome.” Her eyes darted around the room slyly before she finished.
“Any of you.”
And with that they vanished.
As if on cue bright lights illuminated a dance floor, and music began playing from unseen speakers. It was loud and danceable. Over in the corner were some proper tables and chairs, with food piled on top of them.
Remembering my earlier stomach qualms, I grabbed two beers from the bar, and headed to the food table nearest Amber.

Xerin's POV

Somehow, I was completely unsurprised to find Briar and Nico completely healed by the time we dragged them to their rooms. I had the sneaking suspicion that the Headmasters had ulterior motives, but I brushed them aside... at least, until I saw the gilt-edged invitation hovering in the air. I use the term ‘invitation’ loosely, as it was really detailing exactly what would happen to anyone who dared not attend (evisceration, flaying, and public humiliation, to name a few). The incongruous addition of ‘semiformal dress required’ at the end nearly made me laugh, since I was fairly sure it was only added to be annoying. I was also pretty certain I was the only one who wouldn’t find semiformal dress an annoyance. Slightly cheered, I skipped off to find something to wear. My closet, however, appeared to have magically morphed to hold only disturbingly revealing ‘clothing’ (again, I use the term loosely). Mentally cursing Azami and Milaek and whatever demonic creature that caused me to apply to this ‘school’, I carefully selected the least offensive garment, which was very short, very tight, and bright red. Ugh.
To add to the indignity, the entire shoe selection promptly disappeared, leaving only a single pair of what I was completely positive qualified as stripper shoes. In bright red, of course, because the idea of shoes that didn’t match was apparently terrifying. Really, if everyone else was experiencing anything like this horror, Azami and Milaek were going to die. And they would be very, very dead when we were through with them. Occupied with these happy thoughts, and what I am pretty sure was a Lisse-like expression on my face, I wandered vaguely over to the vanity, only to recoil in disgust at the array of neon colors and heavy glitter. Hmm... maybe something was telling me to skip the makeup. I walked gracefully (thank god pointe prepared me for walking in these humiliating things, because I really did not need a painful fall on top of everything else) out the door, only to walk into Lisse. A very angry Lisse, if her face was anything to judge by, followed by a smirking Nico. She brushed past me and slammed the door. I heard the click of the lock behind me. Nico started laughing, and I raised an eyebrow quizzically, curious because I hadn’t really seen Lisse angry before. A murderous, psychotic maniac expression was more typical of the insane creature (since I doubt she qualified as human. No human should be allowed to be that messed up).
“Care to explain?” He grinned mischievously.
“She really doesn’t like the nickname Lissie,” Nico explained. I found it hard to believe that anyone could get a rise out of her with just a nickname, but perhaps he was exceptionally irritating. I shrugged. Most likely, the reason Lisse hadn’t killed him was because she believed the Headmasters might force her to do something strange. Imagining what they could possibly have had in store for the others, I wandered around the corridors aimlessly, wishing I could magically vanish all the while, until I realized that the ‘invitation’ had not mentioned where we would meet. It had, however, commented in great detail on the punishment for being late. One had to admire their cleverness- being forced to consume large amounts of alcohol at the beginning of what promised to be a very long party was a very successful deterrent. The halls were all but deserted, however.
I had the vague idea that the second and third years had been sent on some sort of project, and the fourth years were out on field assignments. I was surprised, understandably, to find a fourth year leaning against an imposing door. Even more surprising was that it was this particular fourth year. Her name was Stella, I think, and she had a bit of a... ah, reputation. Which most probably meant that this was where the ‘party’ was. Confirming my suspicions, she smiled sweetly (yeah right) and waved me through the door.
I was surprised to find Amber already sulking in a corner, dressed in a brilliantly embroidered yellow, slightly modified hanbok. I had to prevent myself from squealing, simply because the girly clothing combined with her pout made her look a bit like a small and unusual animal. Tyron was also there, looking extremely uncomfortable in a suit. With a bright pink tie. For his sake, I prevented myself from laughing (but it was extremely difficult). When I could speak without having to suppress the snickers, I asked if they had seen anyone else. They had eyed me in turn (and I’m fairly certain they also struggled with the urge to laugh, or at least stare in trepidation), and shook their heads at the question. I glanced around the room, somehow still surprised by the interior. It looked like an extremely sketchy bar. Oh goody (note the heavy sarcasm). I gingerly sat on a stool (good grief, it was authentic- right down to the plentiful dirt) and examined the unassuming bottles lined up on the counter. Of course, they were all filled with alcoholic drinks. Lisse entered the room shortly afterwards, dressed in black as usual. But this... she was wearing a short, frilly, lacy dress with, of all things, scruffy sneakers. I suppose it wasn’t her choice, but really, it was a waste of an extremely cute dress! Nico followed shortly, wearing a black wife beater with matching black pants, and a bright indigo tie, which he pulled at awkwardly, obviously not used to having something around his neck. Lisse, after the requisite cold scowl, retreated to the opposite side of the room. Zenery and Larimar raced in afterwards, followed by Caleb, Briar and Gareth. Zenery was in a surprisingly short purple dress and a pair of black heels that rivaled my own in their need to be in a strip club . Larimar however seemed to have gotten off relatively easy with a light blue native-American looking dress . It was floor length, so I couldn’t see what shoes she had been forced to wear. Set came after the rest of them in a pure black dress shirt, pants, and tie with a floor length trench coat to top it off. Illia burst in last wearing a modest length green shiny dress and gold crossed heels. And then, of course, the Headmasters materialized.

Set's POV

I sat stiffly on one of the seats on the far side of the dining hall. I only had half an hour before the “mandatory” party Milaek and Azami were throwing, and I needed to be alone. I was getting too close to the people here already, and it had only been a week. Well technically I had met Zenery two days before the week started but that wasn’t really important.
“Yes it is.”
My rabbit spoke from the ether apparently, because his physical form was nowhere to be seen.
I ignored its statement as I had been all day. Because there was certainly nothing of notice or difference about the purple haired girl.
Instead I looked at the locket in my hand again. It was a golden chain with a heart pendant at the end.
I flipped it open for the millionth time and re-read the all to familiar inscription.
Yours to own and keep safe, Lucy.
It had been two years now. I had learned not cry. But I still felt the pain and guilt; fresh as the day it happened. The tears didn’t even threaten anymore. Sometimes I wondered if I was even capable of crying anymore.
I snapped the locket shut.
My resolve to keep myself from caring, or getting to close to these people strengthened 100 fold; I stood up, and slipped my sunglasses back on my face. I never wore them when I thought about Lucy. I had begun to wear them only after she died. After I killed her.
I would have jumped at the loud sound of the door banging open, but I don’t flinch. Ever.
I was hoping whoever it was would just go and leave me alone, but to my dismay footsteps came closer to my corner.
“Set, shouldn’t you be getting ready for the party? The headmasters did say it was semi-formal.”
It took a few seconds for my heart to remember it was supposed to be pumping blood to the rest of my body, during which time I turned to see none other than the one person I wanted to leave the most.
Zenery stood behind me wearing her normal day attire, and a worried expression on her face. I could almost see the gears in her head turning as I far to slowly for my liking returned the locket to my pocket. Uncharacteristically she said nothing about it, and seemed to be waiting for my answer.
“I was going right now, and was unfortunately interrupted by you.”
Her eyebrow twitched up slightly, but other than that she didn’t react to my statement.
Instead she sat down next to me and looked at the wall.
“What.”
She continued to look at the wall.
“You’ve cut yourself off again you know.”
She really didn’t beat around the bush did she? One of her few redeeming qualities. Reminded me of-
I stood up in a flash, my chest tightening uncomfortably as my mind raced.
I did NOT just think that. Zenery was NOTHING like her. Nothing.
“You know I love getting a rise out of you, but I don’t think I did that one. Care to share?”
“No.”
Zenery turned to look up at me.
I stood still as a stone, and I could feel her gaze burning into the back of my neck.
After a seemingly interminable amount of time, she spoke.
“You know you can try to lock me out, but I have my ways of getting in. Other people don’t though, and you’re going to end up losing any chance of having people care about you.”
“Has it ever crossed your mind that I don’t want people anywhere near my life?” I retorted flatly.
“Yes, but the fact that you felt the need to say it tells me that somewhere in that closed off mind of yours you do.”
I greeted her statement with silence.
She sighed, and stood up, brushing off her shorts.
“Fine, do whatever you want, but I think you’ll end up regretting it later.”
She turned to walk out of the door, but then stopped again.
“Oh and by the way, you might want to hide your girlfriend’s locket better if you don’t want people asking about her.”
I whipped around.
“How did you-“ I started, enraged, before realizing I was talking to an empty room.
She was NOTHING like Lucy. But then why did she remind me of her?

Amber's POV

After Caleb left, saying he was going to go look for Zenery to find out what happened, me and Gareth decided to turn into a little corridor neither of us had seen before. At least, I knew I hadn’t seen it, and I knew better than to ask Gareth. He’d just look disdainful and not speak one word. It’s maddening! Anyways, I wanted to explore, so we turned down the little corridor. There weren’t any doors down the hall at all, except for one at the very end. It was completely plain metal, which should have made me suspicious, especially in this weird school. But I never really think before doing things, so I opened the door. I shouldn’t have been surprised to have been sucked into what seemed like an enormous tornado just then, but somehow I was. Me and my 2-second attention span. Anyways, before I got really freaked out, Gareth did something that froze the tornado (and me with it). Not froze like ice, but froze as in stopped. Completely. I peered suspiciously at him from where I was suspended.
“Is your element space?” He ignored me. It probably wasn’t anyways. I sighed. I’d just have to find a book that told me what all the elements were. But for now…
“Can you at least get me down from here?” Gareth gazed at me, tilting his head to one side (by like a centimeter). He picked his way across the debris scattered on the floor (it really was like a tornado contained in a room- why didn’t they have a sign or something?!) and sauntered until he was standing just under where I was floating. Floating, by the way, isn’t really as comfortable as it looks. Anyways, he stood right under me and I expected him to do something interesting. But noooo. That would be too conventional of him. He just let his hand hover about an inch over my arm (evil tall person) and I floated down.
“… Let’s not explore any more for today…” Gareth nodded (again, by like a nanometer. God. It wouldn’t kill him to have actual facial expressions or to actually nod once in a while) and we left the room. I made sure to close the door really tightly when we left. However, once we reached the end of the corridor, I realized that it had moved. Like, the entire thing had moved to somewhere else. I had no idea where we were now.
“Umm… Gareth? Do you know how to get back to where we were before?” He ‘nodded’ (I’m just going to add quotes because that doesn’t count as a freaking nod) and tread quietly down the unfamiliar hall. Wow. He really looks like a human version of a cat. He’s just as irritatingly mysterious as one too! Just as I thought that, my tiger, who I’ve decided to call Ermengarde (that’s a name I got out of a book! Yes, I actually read a whole book!) materialized and drifted lazily over my head.
‘I approve of that boy,’ she commented. I rolled my eyes at her.
‘You would. Just because he’s all mysterious and cat-like.’ She did a slow somersault.
‘Also because he looks like he’ll keep you out of… trouble,’ she said. I stopped dead.
“WHAT??” How could that… that feline know about that?! I thought it wouldn’t be a problem here… maybe I was just overreacting… Meanwhile, Gareth had stopped and was looking back to see why I was yelling.
“Will you continue conversing with your spirit or will you come?” I stomped over, grumbling about stupid upstart animals. We walked about three more corridors, finally stopping at a pretty big one. Apart from it’s size, it looked exactly the same as all the other ones. I grinned happily at Gareth, and we walked through the doorway, only to halt when Zenery, who had been sitting against the wall with a book, looked up and gleefully pointed out,
“The mistletoe is still there from Christmas. Oh, and there is a New Years’ party next week for all the first-years. Milaek and Azami said it was, ah, mandatory.” I was pretty sure those weren’t the exact words they used, but I had other things to worry about. Like the mistletoe. And the fact that if Azami and Milaek were throwing a party, it was for a reason. And that reason was almost definitely to sow as much pain as possible. So there would be alcohol. And we would definitely all have to drink it. I was so screwed. Hastily, I stood on tiptoe and pecked Gareth (who had been standing there stonily the entire time) on the lips (to his apparent surprise, although I could hardly tell due to his LACK OF ACTUAL EXPRESSION) before rushing off to see if there were any things I could use to kill myself.

Larimar's POV

OOOOOkay. Okay then. Caleb was just writhing on the floor in pain, and his back as bulging and burning. No need to panic. He told me I couldn’t tell anyone and wouldn’t tell me what was going on. Don’t panic. I couldn’t take him to his dorm because I didn’t have his key and so now he’s passed out in my bed and god I hope no one comes in and most importantly DON’T PANIC.
That was all that was running through my head as I spazzed around the room for lack of a better word. My Sprit of course was being ABSOLUTELY NO HELP WHATSOEVER. He had decided that NOW of all times would be a good time to take a freaking nap. Because really I had this COMPLETELY under control. NOT. Right. Claming down. Callmmmm. I sat there for a few seconds trying to focus on my breathing. Nope not working. Okay. I needed to be up and doing something even remotely helpful. I thought for a second, and then I hopped up and headed into one of the several side rooms.. Then promptly walked out of the room because it was the closet, which was not the room I was looking for. The next room was much more appropriate for what I planned to do. Which was make tea. The elders had shown me a recipe for an herbal tea that relieved pain slightly and relaxed muscles. I was pretty sure Caleb would need something like that once he woke up. If he did. I didn’t really know what was happening.
Luckily the kitchen had all the ingredients I needed and soon the tea was brewed and I was out of things to do again. But luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it)  as I was wandering around the room aimlessly, I heard shifting noises from where Caleb was. I went over to my bed, carefully lest I spill the hot tea, and found Caleb blinking and looking confused.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked, setting down the tea on a nearby stool.
“Huh? Larimar? What the…” suddenly his eyes regained focus, and he sat bolt upright.
I jumped back slightly, but regained my outward “cool”  rather quickly.
“Uh well you told me not to take you to anyone, and I couldn’t get into your dorm and I didn’t think leaving you in a hall was a good idea so I kind of had to improvise?”
Yeah outward “cool” my ass.
“Oh…” he seemed to calm down a bit, but not all that much
We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, but after a while I got fidgety again, and decided to say something.
“So…. What happened back there?” I asked cautiously.
Caleb, who was already pretty damn pale, turned several shades whiter.
Yeah I was soooo going to be remembered for my wondrous bedside manner.
Caleb was quiet for a few moments, but then suddenly broke into his goofy smile.
“I dunno, I must have pulled something during my battle. Of course I get to be the lucky one who gets to be in pain. Unless of course you all got hurt too, but have yet to break out into your spontaneous bursts of pain.”
We both knew I didn’t believe a word of that, but I let it slide. He obviously didn’t want to talk about it.
Obviously as awkward as I was in this situation, Caleb soon attempted to climb out of my bed. Which ended in him yelping in pain, and falling unceremoniously onto the floor face first.
“Aw man now my face hurts too. Who the hell slipped me a bad luck charm?” he grumbled into the floor.
“Here.” I said helping him up, noting how he winced whenever he had to bend his back. “I made you some tea I learned a while back. It’s supposed to relax muscles and ease pain. Which you look like you need right now.”
He nodded, pouting slightly, and took the tea from me.
Of course the first sip ended up halfway across the floor when he spewed it like it was someone’s intestinal acids.
“What?” I asked him unhappily.
“This stuff tastes terrible! What did you put in here? Bark?”
I frowned.
“Yes as a matter of fact I did. It’s an herbal remedy stupid. Now stop being a child and drink it!”
He made a face at me, but proceeded to drink the tea like I had asked. Albeit while making exaggerated vomiting motions, and pretending to be dying. I think I preferred it when he was passed out.

Xerin's POV

After the group dispersed, I had gone back to my- our new room alone, not having had a chance to explore it fully the last night, which was the only time I had been in there since the change. I pulled out my key, marveling once again at the shimmering, perfect ovals of lapis lazuli, blue topaz, and sodalite set in the silver. I had noticed that the keys to Briar, Tyron, and Caleb’s room were inlaid with just red amber (most likely because of it’s rarity), while Nico, Set, and Gareth’s keys glittered with citrine, golden chrysoberyl, and sunstones. Larimar, Amber and Zenery’s keys demonstrated an elegant pattern of chrysoprase, peridot and jade. For some reason, all the boys had gold keys, and all the girls had silver. However, each set of keys had a different, intricate pattern in tiny stones circling around larger ones in convoluted spirals.
When I unlocked the door, I noticed for the first time that the pattern on my key was reflected on the door. I shrugged it off as an oddity, and stepped into the room. It was still heavily scented with gardenia. I liked the smell, though. It was soft and pleasant, and reminded me of a long-ago waft of perfume, buried in a far corner of my memory. Illia had been right- the color scheme had morphed to sky blue and gold. Rather than abstract stars, fluffy, vague white clouds drifted across the walls, which had changed from velvet to quilted satin. The stone now had a golden tinge, rather than a silvery one, and all the silver gilding throughout the room had changed to gold. The lamps in the walls (still necessary, as there were no windows) were also glowing golden now. The wood had switched from smooth and silvery to textured with a warm tinge. Only the beds remained the same- even the gauzy curtains had turned to a pale amber silk shot through with golden filaments. Deciding I had to start somewhere, I chose the first opening to the left, planning on continuing around the room counter-clockwise. The first niche was a closet of sorts- it opened into a small chamber with six doors in the far wall, with our names emblazoned on them in flowing golden script (I took the fact that there were still six doors to mean the boys couldn’t move out yet). I cautiously pulled open the door with my name on it, clapping my hands in delight when I saw the interior. It was full of clothes, all exactly suited to my taste. Shoes were neatly lined up on racks beneath the bars that held my clothing. The back wall was covered in compartments. Upon further inspection, they contained everything I needed for dance- warm-ups, tights, leotards, slippers, pointe shoes (which had already been sewn with perfect placement) and everything else I could possibly require. I looked down at my jeans and top, which were from the day before and still covered with dirt (thankfully, I had located a simple tank top and shorts in the chest of drawers by my bed, so I hadn’t had to sleep in these clothes). Smiling happily, I stepped out of them and pulled on a pretty dress in a sage green floral pattern with pale pink lace trim. It had a swingy a-line skirt that ended just above my knees, fitted elbow sleeves, and a square neckline, and it fit as if it had been tailored for me. I kicked off my filthy boots and slipped into a glossy pair of patent leather flats. Feeling much more like myself, I skipped out of my closet, firmly resisting the temptation to peek into Lisse’s and Illia’s. I attempted to ignore the other three doors, which only reminded me of our unwelcome guests.
The next door led to another chamber, with another six doors with our names on them. I scowled. I would never be able to remember where anything was! Peeking past my door, I found a luxurious bathroom, with the kind of bath that could easily be mistaken for a small swimming pool. It wouldn’t have looked out of place in a palace, as nearly everything was covered in golden gilding. Ornate mirrors and statues decorated everything. My cosmetics and personal effects were neatly lined up on a long marble counter, along with numerous things I had never seen before in my life. After quickly washing my face of the last traces of grime and coiling my hair in a knot at the nape of my neck, I resolved to explore the ridiculous amount of drawers and cabinets later, and left. This time, I did peep into Illia’s and Lisse’s rooms, only to be disappointed- apparently this was the default bathroom and wasn’t personalized. I could see why it might be difficult for people to find fault with something such as that.
The third niche (again) had six doors. Muttering under my breath about the impossibility of identifying identical rooms, I yanked the door open, then stopped dead. It was a studio, a beautiful one- even, smooth wooden floors, fully mirrored walls, and glossy barres. A tiny door on the far side led to a little room with ceiling-to-floor racks overflowing with CDs and a powerful speaker system. A second tiny door led to a little room, tidy with boxes of rosin, sewing supplies, elastic, and ribbon. I sighed happily, then quickly roused myself from my bliss, reminding myself sternly that Milaek and Azami were certainly not giving this away for free. Again, I had to exercise immense willpower on my way out, to avoid peeking into the other doors (although I was fairly sure the others would lack my scruples). I was utterly overwhelmed after completing my circuit of the room’s little doors- contents varied from libraries packed with books gearing towards personal tastes to miniature gardens and even animals. Everything was extremely individualized- though I only looked through my doors, it was all impeccably selected for my taste. My animals, of course, were all dogs, and there must have been around thirty of them, all appearing healthy and well-cared for. Even my dogs from home had somehow appeared there, all seven of them, and they greeted me eagerly. After giving them all a thorough rubdown, I had scooped up a tiny white Pomeranian puppy, who I had dubbed, more than a little sarcastically, Pom Pom. She was extremely sweet, however, and when I had summoned my dragon (named, again sarcastically, Ator) he approved of the tiny dog, rubbing noses with her. There was an enormous field in one of the rooms, which I assumed was for this express purpose. It was amusing to watch the tiny ball of fluff roll around the dragon’s legs, once I had been reassured, a little disdainfully, that he wouldn’t step on her accidentally. He wasn’t very much older than me- he had informed me he was nine hundred and sixty five, the dragon equivalent of eighteen. I rolled my eyes at him and let him play, before I realized that Briar and Zenery would have to come back at some point, and I wanted to hear about it, my curiosity being stronger than my overwhelming desire to avoid Briar. I left Ator in the field after he assured me he could easily come when I summoned him, and departed with Pom Pom firmly secured under one arm. Walking through the halls, I wondered what had happened to everyone else. I passed Larimar, who looked grim, but she was in a hurry and didn’t see me in the shadows. Finally, I reached the arena and slipped through the door, which had been left standing ajar. A cushion appeared near one corner of the raised platform, and I seated myself with a mental shrug. Pom Pom wriggled out of my grasp and began to frolic over the arena, running in circles and rolling over herself in that funny way puppies have. I hummed softly to myself.
Rose, rose, rose red

Will I ever see thee wed?

I will marry at thy will, sire,

At thy will.



Oh poor bird,

Why art thou

Flying in the shadows 

Of this dark hour?
The last note was just dying away when Briar appeared from thin air and slammed into the floor of the arena headfirst. Pom Pom, frightened, raced back to me, quivering in fear. Azami materialized right after him.
“Never again…” croaked Briar, sounding truly dreadful. Azami simply smiled and said, “Sadly, this will have to become regular” before disappearing again. Almost instantly after that, Zenery appeared, looking a tad disoriented, but smirking at the sight of Briar sprawled face-first on the ground. As I was in a somewhat shadowy corner, and Pom Pom was too frightened to make any noise, she didn’t notice me. She nudged Briar with her toe.  
“Hey!” She kicked him gently. Frowning when he still didn’t respond, she knelt beside him and turned his head. I inhaled sharply when I saw an enormous gash on his forehead, bleeding profusely. The white of bone showed through. Zenery snapped her head around at the noise, but her expression relaxed when she saw who it was.
“It looks bad,” she commented. “Do you think you could take him to the nurse’s office?” About to reply in the negative, I looked a little more closely at her face. She was pale and clearly exhausted, swaying a little. I wondered what had happened wherever they had gone, but decided against further inquiry. With one last, regretful parting thought for my pretty dress, which would be ruined with the blood, I attached the convenient collar and leash that had materialized next to the cushion to Pom Pom, and slung Briar’s arm over my shoulder. I had to half drag him, since he was too tall and heavy for me to move him any other way. My shoulders were trembling with exhaustion by the time we were halfway across the school. Grimly, determinedly, I tried to distract myself by contemplating dances I would choreograph. Perhaps one that displayed the individual personalities of all these fascinating people, who I tentatively called ‘friends’. In this way, I managed to make it to the nurse’s office, only to pause uncertainly when I saw Nico and Lisse asleep outside the door. Their hands just brushed each other. Apparently Lisse had her eyes half open even in her sleep, or something along those lines, because she started awake as if she was aware of my scrutiny. Shaking out her spiky black hair, she glanced at Nico, still asleep, before commenting with her usual brevity, “The headmasters aren’t back yet.” I gaped at her.
“The Headmasters are the nurses?!” She stared at me impatiently before eyeing Briar and my blood-soaked dress.  
“I think he might die,” she offered. I glared at her.
“Very helpful. The headmasters wouldn’t allow it.” She shrugged. I carefully deposited Briar on the ground near Nico.
“What’s wrong with Nico, again?” I inquired. She pointed to his ankle, which upon closer inspection seemed to be far worse than it had appeared before. I stared at her, awed.
“What did you do?” She looked at me indignantly, but was saved from having to answer by the appearance of Azami and Milaek. They both looked at the blood disapprovingly.
“He’s got our floors and your lovely dress all sticky with blood. This simply won’t do!” snapped Azami. I had the sneaking suspicion, with more than a little validation, that she was playing another role. With a flick of her wrist she vanished the blood from my dress and the floor, and healed Briar with a negligent twist of her hand. Milaek, who was thankfully not in one of her odd moods, was tending to Nico. Azami smiled brightly. It creeped me out.
“There. All better!” Her smile widened, saccharinely sweet. “Of course, Milaek and I are very busy, so you’ll have to bring them back to your room.” They vanished again. Lisse and I looked at each other, and for the first and probably last time in our acquaintance we did something in unison- we groaned.

Caleb's POV

“Hahaha. Yeah thanks guys!” I said, waving as the group I had been with walked off.
After Larimar’s little episode, I had gone off with Amber and Gareth, who were freaking awesome. Well at least Amber was. Gareth just kind of stood there and didn’t say much. Amber is super cool, and she laughs at ALL my jokes! She’s actually kind of pretty too…
But eventually I had gotten tired and decided to head back to my dorm. It was actually starting to get a bit late…  Of course about half way there I had another attack. Fuck my life. They had started to become less frequent, but still hurt like it did when my back was first cut open.
At first I managed to keep myself upright by holding onto the wall, but within a matter of seconds I was on the floor. I had figured out early on that moving only made the attack worse, so I curled up into a ball on the floor as my back felt like it was being ripped open from shoulder to hip. Wet hot tears streamed across my face as I tried to ignore the pain, which was so not working. I was at the worst portion, and was barely holding back a scream when a voice shrieked from down the corridor.
“CALEB?!?”
I knew that I knew that voice, but my brain really just wasn’t in the position to be doing any thinking at the moment. I cracked my eyes open a fraction, just enough to see a blonde running towards me. Which one of my classmates was blond? I’m pretty sure Amber had black hair, but at this point I really couldn’t say for sure. She was Asian wasn’t she?
The blond girl was now leaning over me, whipping her hair out of her face.
“Oh my god are you okay? Caleb talk to me!”
I tried to tell her I was fine, but all that came out was a pained squeak.
This did not seem to help her state of concern.
For a second I was under the impression that I had begun to hallucinate, but then realized that no, there really was a rat climbing up her arm. She seemed stunned for a moment, and then nodded cautiously, and the rat hopped off. That rat also seemed awfully familiar. Was that my rat? Did I have a rat? Fuck. I was starting to lose myself. This happened sometimes when the attacks were particularly bad. I tried to recite my information in my head, but found it harder and harder to do. My name was Caleb. I went to Skeleton Keys. I was a wood Elementalist. My name was Caleb. I went to….. I was a… wood Elementalist. My name was Caleb. Caleb.
My concentration was broken as I realized that I was being rolled over. The blond seemed to be talking to me, but I couldn’t really hear anything she was saying. But when I felt my shirt being tugged on I began to thrash. No one could see. No one could know about what was under there. That much I remembered.
A shot of pain reminded me of why I hadn’t done that earlier, and I instantly stilled. The person, was it a boy or a girl, I forgot, seemed to have taken the hint however, and stopped trying to get my shirt off. Instead I felt strong hands lay themselves against my back, and then to my horror, begin rubbing at the area causing me so much pain.
White light exploded behind my eyes as my back felt like it was being torn apart, ripping my spine to shreds. I don’t think I could have screamed at this point even if I had wanted too. What did this person think they were doing? And then everything just stopped. It felt like the whole world had taken a breath and was now holding it as my back shattered into a million pieces in slow motion. And then it stopped. The pain was gone, with only a dull throb reminding me of the previously contorted muscles.
I blinked once. Twice. The attacks had never subsided like that. They usually went on for at least 5 minutes, and up to half an hour.
I turned slowly, groaning, to lie on my back and look at whoever had come to my rescue. Blond hair, blue eyes. Definitely not Amber.
“Larimar?” I strained out, voice more cracked than I cared to admit.
“Are you okay?” she said, panic in her voice.
‘Yeah. I’m fine.” I instantly shot back to my normal self.
I tried to stand up, but came crashing back down as I realized my legs had practically turned to jelly.
“You are NOT fucking okay as we can both see. What happened? I had to use one of the old muscle calming techniques the elders taught me! What the hell was wrong with your back?” she was talking far to fast for my poor brain to take in. All I wanted was to just curl up and pass out.
“Nothing. Its not important.” I told her, and before she could spit out her reply I continued. “Look, I hate to ask favors, but I have two I need.”
Larimar seemed to contemplate this for a minute, then shut her mouth and nodded.
I could tell I was going to pass out any minute now, and I needed to make sure things didn’t happen that I didn’t want.
“You can’t tell anyone about what just happened. Ill be fine, really, but people cant know.”
She nodded, and I continued.
“And would you mind taking me to my dorm? I think I’m going to pass out, and I would rather not do it where everyone can see.”
Larimar nodded again, worry still clear on her face.
She stood up quickly, then carefully stooped down and scooped me into her arms. It was embarrassing that I was short enough for her to carry me around, and it was embarrassing that anyone had seen me like that, but as Larimar carried me to my room, all I could think of was the loud thud of her heart near my ear as I fell out of consciousness.

Tyron's POV

I glanced up at the ceiling when something brushed my head, only to let out a startled exclamation.
“Oh!” I had completely forgotten it was the holiday season, and someone had liberally decorated this doorway with mistletoe. Illia followed my gaze and let out an “oh” of her own. I looked down at her, suddenly feeling a little mischievous.
“Hey, Illia.” 
“What?” I leaned down and kissed her, quickly and almost tentatively.
 “Merry Christmas.”

Illia's POV

I tried to get a glimpse into the room beyond Tyron, but sadly I had no success. Tyron didn’t move aside, making it impossible to see. Suddenly, and without warning, there was a shriek from inside, and a loud male voice yelled “GET DOWN!”
Tyron, who obviously could see what was going on inside the room, tensed, and suddenly tackled me to the ground. Before I could get my bearings or say anything about the indecency of the situation a loud bang shot through the hall, and dust and chunks of rock flew out of the room. I saw Tyron wince above me as some of the rocks hit his back, but we were just barely far enough away to miss being hit by the larger chunks. After what seemed like minutes, but was probably only seconds, the dust began to clear. Coughing slightly, I pushed against Tyron’s chest, signaling him to get off of me. Lucky for me, he had been extremely careful when tackling me, and hadn’t let the brunt of his weight fall on me. I would have been squashed!
Tyron took the signal, and pushed off of me carefully. Once he was standing upright he leaned down and pulled me up.
“Are you okay? What happened?” I asked quickly, scooting around him so I could check his back for injuries.
“I’m fine. How about you? I’m sorry I had to jump you; I just didn't wan-” I cut him off before he could finish.
“I’m perfectly fine, now hold still!” I began poking at his back once I had discerned that there were no outer injuries.
He winced as I prodded a bruised area, and I jumped back.
“Sorry!” I yelped.
“No, no I’m fine. Um… thanks! And you’re sure you’re okay?” he said worriedly.
I nodded, and was about to say something else, when from the room emerged a coughing black haired boy.
Tyron and I stared at him until he finally looked up. I noticed the glasses on his face were covered in dirt as he began sputtering out apologies.
“Oh my god I am so sorry, the Pyrocumularoty Areomandrin dropped one of its seeds, and it missed the holding casket, and of course it hit the floor and exploded, and I am so a sorry and are you okay and oh my go-” Tyron cut of his tirade with a quick “We’re fine.”
The boy whipped his glasses off and started polishing them furiously.
“Well since we almost blew you two up, why don't you come in and take a tour? This is the green house!” The boy said.
I was about to answer in the affirmative, when Tyron shook his head.
“Thanks, but we should be getting back to the combat arena. Some of our friends were fighting earlier, and I want to make sure no one got hurt.”
The boy frowned, but his face instantly lit up again.
“Well then stop by later, and you can see it! Just ask for Josh, that's me by the way, and ill show you around!”
“Okay!” I replied happily.
I saw Tyron’s face darken momentarily, but it quickly passed.
“Well we really should be going.” I said grabbing Tyron and pulling him behind me.
“Nice to meet you Josh!”
With that Tyron and I walked off.
Again we managed to get hopelessly lost, going up and down hallways full of mysterious key emblems.
Finally we stopped under a giant arch, that I seemed to recall being near the dining hall. I was just starting to catch my breath when I heard a startled “Oh!” from Tyron.
I peered up at him, only to see him looking up at the ceiling.
I followed his gaze, and was met with a plant hung on the ceiling. Mistletoe.  I had forgotten it was nearing Christmas.
“Oh.”

Lisse's POV

I helped Nico to his feet and left with a parting glare at the rest of the room. I really didn’t think it was a coincidence, however, that the nurse’s room had been re-located to the opposite end of the school. I gritted my teeth,  prayed the headmasters would burn in hell, and informed Nico, who looked more white-faced then ever. He slumped against the wall.
“This isn’t gonna be fun,” he observed gloomily. He had a lot of trouble just walking this far, seeing as I was almost a foot shorter than him and so wasn’t very good support. I had an idea, though. I formed two crutches out of the air, and presented him with them. He looked confused.
“… What are you doing?” Oh. That’s right- only I can see my creations.
“They’re crutches. I made them.” He still looked completely bewildered. I sighed, and thrust them towards him.
“Remember? I can make solid and invisible objects.” He seemed a little disconcerted, recalling my match earlier. I glared at him.
“I promise it isn’t covered in vicious spikes or anything equally dangerous.”
“… Fine.” He attempted to stand and failed. Miserably. Apparently invisible crutches aren’t very easy to use. As I was thinking about this, Nico was walking (or limping) away. Damn. I forgot to warn him…
“AAAAH!” I walked carefully towards him.
“My objects vanish when they get more than 10 yards away from me,” I informed him, gazing down. He groaned.
“Why didn’t you warn me?” I shrugged. I hadn’t really thought about it. We continued down the hallway.
“I wonder if they’ve killed each other yet.” Nico was still sulking, and didn’t answer. I smirked at him, amused. “Sulking, are we?” He jumped, stung.
“I am not sulking!” I raised an eyebrow.
“Mm-hmm. Very convincing.” He was saved from having to respond by almost running into Caleb and Amber. Gareth was gliding besides them.
“So Caleb, what’s an Elvis?” I caught a glimpse of Caleb’s confounded face, and smirked as we passed. Nico chuckled quietly.  We rounded the corner, and Nico stumbled. I heard yet another ominous cracking sound from his injured ankle, and his face turned ghost-white and he collapsed, unconscious. I knelt beside him, frowning at the swelling around his ankle.
“This… is not good.” I formed a floating platform, and tried to lift him. It didn’t work. I glared at my ridiculously skinny limbs and formed hands to raise him to the level of the platform. I moved him onto it, and walked beside it as Nico seemingly levitated himself along the hallway.
±±±±±±±±±±±±45 minutes later±±±±±±±±±±
We finally reached the nurse’s office (Nico having regained consciousness 10 minutes before) only to discover that there was, in fact, no school nurse aside from the Headmasters, and they were, of course, absent.
Fuck.

Zenery's POV

My soul whirled around sporadically, until it finally fell peacefully into place. I could feel everything settle nicely. So this is what a native plane felt like.
However, the feeling lasted only a few seconds, and was replaced by an eerie one of being watched.
I cautiously cracked open my eyes, and jerked back as I found myself face to face with a giant trio of red eyes. I loud caw reverberated around, and I stumbled and fell back.
The thing I had awoken face to face with, now that I got a good look at it, seemed to be a baby crow, with three shining red eyes.
With another screeching cry it flew off, and I got a chance to get my bearings.
I seemed to be floating in space, on top of a grey stone path. In the distance I could see a black suspended mass, probably a forest of some sort judging by the multiple forms, and the path I was on seemed to lead to it. I turned behind me, and saw the path continue on in that direction as well, but it seemed to fade and get blurry. I tried to walk towards it, but was met with an invisible wall. I looked at it curiously, and suddenly a bright form began to blaze in midair. It was Orange and flaming, and I recognized its shape as that of a gate. Surrounding it, much paler and grey in color, were several other gate shapes, shifting and twisting. Then as suddenly as they had appeared they vanished. The invisible wall remained. I shrugged it off, and turned back to the direction I had originally been facing. There seemed to be no other option (except for jumping off the bridge and into the great expanse of space, but that didn’t sound to good), so I continued down the stony pathway. I could see the stars glimmer around and below me, reminding me that one false step, and I was probably done for.
For my entire long walk, I felt the presence of eyes on me. Shifting, staring, but always there. Occasionally a black crow would swoop out of the darkness, practically invisible until it either opened its eyes, or flew in front of the path. These crows loud shrieking cries were the only thing that broke the silence in this eerie realm. I continued walking, trying to judge the distance from here to the forest I seemed to be heading towards. It seemed more that 3 miles away, but I had a sense that space in this realm, and henceforth distance, was an inconstant thing. I continued walking until I reached a bright spot in the path. It seemed to be illuminated with a faint purple glow. I stood there for about 2 minutes trying to figure out what it was until finally something broke my concentration.
“I do believe that it is above you.” A smooth voice broke into the silence.
I practically jumped out of my skin.
“Who’s there?” I yelped.
A white form appeared in front of me. I let out a breath as I realized it was my wolf.
“You have not yet given me a name, so I fear I cannot answer your question properly. For the moment however I can identify myself as your Animal Sprit.” She said in her silky tone.
“Oh right. Sorry. Does Faron work?”
Faron meant forest in a language I couldn’t remember.
“Yes I believe that will fit nicely. Now back to my previous point. The thing you seek is above you.”
I looked, and about 20 feet up I saw a glowing purple gate. My first thought was ‘Yay I found it’. My second one was ‘shit how do I get up there?’
Like the mind reader she was Faron answered my thoughts.
“You are a telekinetic, no? Have you ever considered the possibility that your powers could extend to your own person?”
Well now I felt stupid.
“Of course! But, that would take so much energy and concentration. I don’t think that I could manage it at my current power level.”
“Well I’m not here just for moral support. It is reasonable to presume that I could aid you with your concentration. However, I cannot help you past that.”
I shrugged. Might as well try.
I took a deep breath, and focused my powers. Faron’s silvery form vanished, but I could feel her settling in my mind, holding down the weak points in my concentration. Carefully I let my powers encircle my body, and slowly began to lift. It wasn’t as hard as I had imagined. I made myself lift a few inches, and suddenly I was in the air. It was rather like lifting another person; only the weightlessness belonged to me. I could however feel the slight strain on my concentration. Though with a bit more practice…
Before I knew it I was flat on my back on the cold ground. Right. Less pondering, more concentration.
This time I remembered to stay focused on the task at hand (no matter how easy it seemed at first) and was soon inching my way towards the gate, picking up speed as I got more accustomed to the feeling. Finally I burst through the gate. Instantly I found myself surrounded by black trees and mist. The sudden change of location made my concentration drop again, and I braced myself for a long fall. However I found myself almost instantaneously on the ground. Huh. The exit gate must have been at ground level. I felt something in my mind click, and knew that I had regained my ability to return home, which is what I decided to do.
The first thing I saw when I returned was Briar passed out on the broken floor of the arena. Well this was going to be fun.

Amber's POV

I wandered towards Gareth after Illia left with Tyron.
“Why are you so strong?” I asked plaintively. He raised an eyebrow. I think it was his trademark expression. Actually, it was his only expression.
“That is a secret.” He knew how much secrets annoyed me. I had told him. I whined,
“But whyyyyy?” He shrugged.  
“Azami agrees it ought to be a secret. Milaek is neutral on the matter.”  
“Oh.” If the headmasters knew about it, it was probably really important, which meant I’d never find out. Just like him to tell me the right amount to interest me! I pouted. He regarded me coolly.
“You’re mean!” I announced. He looked at me with some surprise (expressed in a minute lift of his eyebrows).
“I’m sure.” Was his only observation, however. I grinned as an idea struck me. Grabbing his arm, I towed him out of the room. His expression, when I looked back, was as emotionless as ever, but I detected a very faint trace of pink in his pale face (I could have been imagining it, but somehow I doubted it). I giggled to myself happily.

Briar's POV

Those narky old ladies were off their nuts (and god help me if they heard me say that). I might as well put a Santa hat on it and call it Randal. I was still mostly at a loss as to what, exactly, I was supposed to do, especially in this gloomy, depressed-looking forest. Although, if our native planes were warped versions of our favorite places… I smirked at the satisfying image of Zenery being chased by carnivorous books. But only for a moment, since I’d my own troubles to tend to. I furtively glanced around, suspiciously picturing what might be behind every crackle. As soon as my brain leapt to man-eating unicorns, I decided I’d much better hurry and find these gates Zenery mentioned. While I was at it, I summoned my sword and my falcon, who I’d affectionately christened Gwalchmai, or May Hawk. She peered at me sarcastically.
‘Is there anything you need, your highness?’ I grinned.
‘You’re a nice sort of creature, aren’t you? I need your help.’ She still looked unamused.
‘Does it have anything to do with remaining in this exceedingly depressing place?’ I affected unconcern.
“The sooner we get out of here, the better. We need to find gates.” This time I spoke out loud. Gwalchmai ruffled her feathers.
‘How many?’ I shrugged.
“I’ve no idea.” She glowered at me, but took flight.
‘Don’t move until I return.’ She wheeled overhead before arrowing in a northwestern direction. She returned but a moment later, clearly in a panic.
‘RUN!!! INTO THE WOODS!!!’ She screeched.  
“Wha-“ I began, before noticing the sinister shapes stirring in the direction she had just come from. Without hesitating a second longer, I turned and plunged into the woods in the opposite direction. Gwalchmai followed a moment later, landing on my shoulder.
‘They can’t follow us here- they’re too big to pass through the heavy forest easily.’ I didn’t inquire as to ‘Their’ nature. Instead I focused on what our next move ought to be. Gwalchmai tapped my ear with her beak.
‘I did discover that there are two gates, and none in the north.’
“How do you figure that?” She shifted restlessly.
‘I… can feel them.’ She was clearly uncomfortable, so I didn’t inquire further.  
“Can you figure their location?”
‘No.’ I sighed.
“Well, at least we have somewhere to start!” I picked a random direction, carefully keeping my sword at the ready. Milaek and Azami claimed they would protect me from mortal danger, but somehow I was fairly sure their definition of mortal danger differed greatly from mine.
Three hours and a lot of dead unicorns later (it turned out I was quite correct in imagining flesh-eating unicorns as a common predator on this plane), we finally discovered the first gate. It was green and glowing, not unlike the spot that had first pulled me here, but with intricate shifting designs in a darker green floating within it.
“Well, here goes nothing.” I cautiously stretched my hand towards it. When it didn’t pull me in, I touched the circle. My hand disappeared. Gwalchmai fluffed irritably.
‘What are you waiting for? Go on.’ Muttering about upstart birds with ridiculously high opinions of themselves, I stepped through.
“JANEY MACK!!!”
I had stepped right into a clearing of unicorns. They focused their flaming eyes on me, pawing the ground and snorting.
“Nice horsies… nice horsies…” I backed away slowly, feeling for the gate.
It had disappeared.
And I was surrounded by hungry carnivorous unicorns.
Oh shi- Luckily for me, Azami and Milaek apparently did consider this mortal danger. Azami’s irritable voice echoed through my skull.
“Ride the unicorns, you dull boy! They’ll find the gates for you.” Wondering how, exactly, I was supposed to have known this, I swatted aside two of the black beasts that were closing in on me and hurriedly swung myself onto the back of a third, kicking it hard in the sides. It needed no extra urging, however, because as soon as I had mounted it the other unicorns made a mad dash for me, disregarding the fact that I was on one of it’s fellows. Snorting, my mount wheeled before setting a hard pace southwest. As soon as I caught sight of the green circle, I dived into it, tumbling out onto the arena floor (which was mercifully no longer ice).  My head slammed into the floor.
“never again…” I croaked.
Azami appeared, smiling at me in what I’m sure she thought was a kind manner.
It was plain frightening.
“Sadly, this will have to become regular.” I think it was at this point that I completely blacked out.

Tyron's POV

I could feel the heat rising in my face as Illia grabbed my hand and towed me out the door. I shook it off though, wondering why on earth I was blushing, and instead thought about where the gardens might be. It was impossible to find anything in this blasted school- the doors were only marked with keys and other obscure symbols.
“so,” Illia said, breaking the silence, “what did you think of that fight? Pretty intense, huh?” I nodded.
“I wonder how Larimar knew to dodge that.” Illia shrugged.
“She must have trained before or something.” She commented disinterestedly. “I want to know what’s up with Gareth.”  
“I think we’re all asking ourselves that,” I said dryly. Illia caught the eye of a passing upperclassman.
“Hey, can you give us directions to the garden?” He rolled his eyes and smirked.
“Sorry, it’s against the rules for us to help you.” He waved cheerfully and continued.
“Motherfucking son of a bitch,” Illia muttered blackly. I patted her gingerly on the arm.
“Is that it over there?” I asked, pointing at a door with a vine twisted around the key emblem. We cautiously opened the door and peeked around it, only to groan in disappointment.
“It’s winter!” I smacked my forehead. “Stands to reason the plants would all be dead in this ridiculously cold place.” Illia looked glum.
“Will it ever be summer here?” 
“… I seriously doubt it.” We wandered back along the hall, looking for familiar landmarks… only to realize we were completely, totally, and utterly lost.
“Umm… where are we?” Illia’s eyes grew wider.
“Oh, come on. We can’t get lost. This place is like a labyrinth!” I could certainly imagine wandering around these halls for the rest of eternity. If only those damned symbols made any sense at all.
“And tonight was the night we were supposed to get our room back,” I said, miserable. Illia tightened her grip on my hand consolingly.
“We’ll just have to look at these doors really carefully.” I nodded in agreement, and we began to inspect each symbol with renewed interest. After about an hour of still being completely lost, we both gave up.
“We’re going to starve and no one will ever miss us, will they?”
“… Probably not.” I couldn’t think of anything reassuring to say. The dinner bell had already rung, and we were no closer to figuring out where we were. “It looked enormous from the outside, but you really have no fucking idea until you actually start wandering around in here.” Illia nodded gloomily in agreement.
“Even if Azami and Milaek might have helped us (no way in hell), they’re gone…” We dispiritedly collapsed in front of a small door. I blushed, realizing how close Illia was sitting.
“I wonder where this leads,” I said quickly, standing and trying the knob on the little door. To my surprise, it was unlocked. Illia stood on tiptoe behind me.
“Maybe we shouldn’t open that…” It was too late. Utterly disconcerted by the fact Illia was pressed against me, I opened the door. I really shouldn’t have done that.

Illia's POV

We all stared at the spot were Briar had disappeared incredulously. Nico especially was looking around for any sign of his opponent. Suddenly the entire arena dissolved around us, and we were once again standing on normal ground. It was only then that we noticed that the headmistresses and Zenery were gone too.
“Where IS everyone?” Amber asked, eyes darting around the room nervously.
Gareth (of course) was the one to answer.
“They’ve followed Briar.” He stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“And you expected us to know that because?” Larimar spat with more anger than seemed fair.
He turned to her with a look of superiority that I didn’t understand, or very much like.
“Well, it ought to be obvious. Oh , I forgot, you aren’t very knowledgeable in the field of elementalism, are you?”
I shivered from the sudden breeze that flew through the room.
“I know plenty.”
“Of course you do. That’s why you’re in such good control of your element.” The sarcasm practically oozed from his sentence.
The wind was now rushing in little circles around the room, and Amber (the closes to the two) was beginning to back away.
“Says the guy who’s too afraid to even show us his powers. Or are you just too high and mighty to stoop to that level?”
The area around Gareth began to darken, and an eerie feeling began to accompany the wind in the room.
Larimar obviously picked up on this.
“Heh. Seems like I’m not the only one whose powers have a mind of their own. How does it feel to know that you’re no better than the rest of us?”
In the blink of an eye Gareth appeared before Larimar, his face still expressionless. Well we all knew how this was going to end. He’d used basically the same move on Xerin, and look how well that turned out for her.
Larimar, surprisingly, seemed to know what was happening, and before anyone knew what was happening she was up in the air, Gareth below her looking disdainful as usual.
She quickly brought her leg down, aiming for the back of his head, but quick as a cat he grabbed her leg, and used her own speed to fling her across the room.
Just before Larimar hit the wall, a powerful burst of air cushioned her, and she landed on the ground crouching. Instantly they both launched themselves at each other, Larimar’s face drawn into a snarl, Gareth still expressionless. It didn’t look good for Larimar. Suddenly a burst of light erupted in the center of the room, sending both of them flying back, Gareth crashing into the wall, Larimar onto Nico, who was still too worn to move very fast. Amber screamed loudly, but the rest of us watched in silent awe.
When the light died down, we saw an envelope sitting in the middle of the room, as normal as can be.
Xerin was the first one to come to her senses.
“Should one of us… read it?” she pondered out loud.
Caleb, nodded mutely, and went to pick it up.
While he was reading it silently, I surveyed the damage. Gareth and Larimar were both starting to get up slowly, Larimar glaring at Gareth and Gareth merely looking superior, but they didn’t seem to be planning to attack each other again, for now at least. Nico on the other hand was holding his leg and his face was screwed up in pain.
I started to walk over to him
“Are you okay?”
Lisse had gotten there first and was surveying the damage. I stopped, and decided to wait where I was. Tyron came up next to me.
“Do you think they’re okay?” he asked me worriedly.
Gareth and Larimar were up now, dusting themselves off, and Lisse was talking to Nico in hushed tones.
“Yeah I think so. Jesus Christ, who would have thought Gareth and Larimar would try to beat the shit out of each other?”
Tyron smiled slightly.
“I don’t even know. Seems like he set Larimar off pretty good.”
I nodded and was going to say something else, but was interrupted by Caleb.
“Hey guys! The letter is from the headmistresses. Says they’re gonna be gone for a bit with Zenery and Briar, and that we have the rest of the day off. Also they say not to destroy the room please.” He said the last bit in such a way that I couldn’t help but to laugh.
The others seemed to find this equally amusing.
Lisse stood up abruptly, and cut the laughter short.
“Nico’s ankle is hurt, so I’m going to take him to the nurse, seeing as the rest of you don’t know where it is. I suggest you all spend your day not trying to kill each other for the sake of the rest of our well beings.” The last part was obviously directed at Larimar and Gareth, whom had retreated to opposite ends of the room.
Quietly Lisse helped Nico up, and they walked out of the room. The rest of the group began to break off into smaller groups and head out as well, though Larimar and Gareth made sure to give each other one last hateful glance before leaving.
I turned to Tyron.
“Hey I heard that the school has a really cool garden. Wanna come help me find it?” I asked happily, now that no one was in any danger.
“Uh, yeah sure. That would be um, really nice.” He said, slightly startled, and turning slightly pink.
“Great!” I said cheerily, grabbing his hand, and pulling him off towards the door.