Magnolia Academy - Chapter 1
The early morning light was just as annoying as always. The golden rays landed flat onto my face, waking me up five minutes earlier than my alarm. I lied there until the black box rang for what seemed like a hundred times and then slammed my paw down onto it. My feet hit the floor with a loud thud like always, making things shake around on my shelves.
My head was pounding; probably from staying up so late studying for Magic Studies. I ignored the pulsing and gathered some clean clothes (that weren't strewn around my floor) to head to the shower. I stripped down to my bare fur until I could feel a breeze from the open window above the shower.
I basked in the warm water, washing all over my body and my silver hair. That was when something new caught my eye. Nothing about the bathroom or the shower... but about me.
Another one, huh? I thought to myself while I examined the black markings that decorated my white-furred forearms. The thorough self-examination took a strange turn; staring that the new markings for about 10 minutes trying to figure out what they said. Oh well. I'll just have to go to the 'Bibliotheca de Dante' after school to find out.
I quickly exited the shower, got dressed in about ten minutes and went to get my school bag. I dashed into and out of my room after grabbing my leather bag and my glasses, making sure my necklace was also in-place. It was a necklace decorated with three claws, and various crystals and metal orbs between them.
The heavy oak door to our house closed with a satisfying thud. My fingers waved in response and the brass lock shuddered while I ran down the street to school. It wasn't too far, so I didn't bother getting on a bus or anything this morning.
By the time I arrived, everyone was standing around as usual. As expected, there weren't nearly as many people than there would be when class is about to start.They're probably all down in the commons area or in the food court, I thought to myself. Too bad this place is ridiculously expensive.
"Kal!~" a familiar sing-song voice shouted from behind me. It gave me no time to turn around before I was tackled to the ground under a familiar weight. "Why are you here so early?" I recognized the voice as Wolfy, a good friend I made recently when moving to Magnolia Academy. He's pretty silly, but he's older than I am even though he doesn't act like it on occasion.
"I was here to finish up some homework... but I guess not anymore," I replied, slightly annoyed and slightly crushed. He lied on top of me for a few minutes, playing with my tail and calling me fluffy and other things like that. He knew that I didn't like it, so that's why he did it. Luckily, there wasn't anyone around to catch him lying on top of me around the side of the school.
He soon got up and apologized for it. I told him it was all right, but he insisted anyway.
"I just get a bit silly sometimes," he admitted with a slight pink crossing his face. The front of his face and his hands (or paws) were completely white as well as his feet. The top and the back of his head were a deep blue, as far as I could tell.
We started walking to our classroom in the East wing of the school, talking about what we did over the weekend. I did the normal magic studies and games as usual. He had apparently taken a weekend trip to Brago's resort, but he never told me if he went with anyone or not. Eventually, we ended up in our classroom where someone was waiting for us right inside the door.
Our instructor, Ms. Myers, was sitting on top of the front table, her eyes fixated on the door. When we came in, she stood up and strode over to us, shutting the door behind us.
"W-what is it?" I asked curiously. I've never seen that serious of a look on her face before. She was one of my only two human instructors, namely in Magic Studies, but she handed us both a letter sealed with wax. The wax bore the school's crest which seemed to shine every-so-often with magic. "What's this for? Did we do something wrong?"
"No, Kaldorei," she sighed. "You two did just the opposite. These are letters addressed to you from the headmaster himself. As of today, you two and two other classmates will being going to the Capital to compete in the Trinity Tournament!"
The weight of her words hit my ears hard. A sinking feeling in my gut sank in before spitting a question back in disbelief.
"THE TRINITY TOURNAMENT?!" My words resonated loudly through the hallway outside the sealed room. "Why the Trinity Tournament?!" No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way that I could believe what she told us.
"Calm down!" she bade me. "Why are you so against participating? It's not that dangerous. I know that there are rumors going around that it's this lethal tournament, but it's safe! The most dangerous thing that's happened there is a few minor injuries!"
"I don't give a damn about the tournament!" I shouted with rage building. I could feel more than my own anger. The runes on my arms started to burn; the sensation crawling its way up to my shoulders, burning a trail as they went.
Wolfy put his hand on my shoulder and stared directly at my eyes. He looked so worried... I quickly calmed down, both the runes and my rage being suppressed by his touch alone. He asked if I was okay, but I just threw the letter at the floor and left the room.
I don't give a damn if the tournament isn't dangerous. It's the Capital I hate. I'll never go back there no matter what. Not even the headmaster could get me to go back.
At least that's what I believed...