CHAPTER 01
The glistening golden sun crept above the horizon, its heated rays pouring over the silent citadel below as it was consumed by the stillness of dawn, not even the caw of poultry piercing the silence. Suddenly, a shriek pierced through the tranquil scene as metal slammed against metal, vibrating across a petite mahogany bedside table. A groan erupted from beneath the duvet, a lump manoeuvring about the covers blindly in search of the wailing alarm clock that interrupted its slumber. A pallid hand shot out, its colouring practically matching that of the ivory white sheets as it curled into a tight fist before pounding down on the clock.
Silence settled once more as the chaos vanished the moment the device became dormant. The lump shifted left and right, rising into the air to perch itself upon its hands and knees. A groan echoed through the room once more before the charcoal duvet crashed to the ground, revealing the crouched figure of a young girl. Her head was toppled in pin-straight charcoal black tangles that poured over her shoulders, brushing along her petite waist. A section of notably shorter strands had been pinned out of her large, ashen eyes, the irises decorated with ebony flecks and slivers of shimmering silver. She dragged her short figure to its miniscule feet, exposing her alluring, deep curves that looked almost disproportional with her miniature stature. Her body was hugged by a loose-fitting murky grey shirt that sliced along her mid-thighs which were slid into a pair of dark shorts.
"Mei, are you up?" An elderly voice rang through the two-story home, the girl's ears perking up in response.
"Yes Nana." Mei hollered back in a cracked voice before stumbling towards a pale beige door upon the furthest right wall of her rectangular room, "I am going to take a shower."
She peeled the door from its wooden frame, slipping into the bathroom in a slight daze as a blast of cooled air rushed over her. Her glazed over eyes darted about the room, ensuring all her materials were in place. She sighed in relief before gently closing the door behind her. She slipped from her clothes, punching her shirt and trousers into a ball before placing them within a wicker basket beside the beige sink. The pin from her hair dropped onto the edge of the sink before she crept into the square shower, tugging the metal lined plastic door shut as she went. Her porcelain ivory flesh shivered as chilled water droplets bombarded her figure from the shimmering shower head above. She hugged her figure as she begged for the shower to increase in temperature, her drenched dark tangles clinging to her shuddering, bare features.
Mei emerged from the dormant shower, her flesh now reddened as the windows were consumed by steam from the intense heat. With a small, relaxed smile pulling at her shapely lips, she ran a hand through her matted down tumbles, combing them out of her features with her dainty fingers. She wrapped her figure in a violet towel before thrusting the bathroom door open, the stiff heated atmosphere exploding into her cooled bedroom, encapsulating her as she went. She snatched the remainder of her clothes from the draws of her cabinet, unwrapping the towel from her–now pallid–figure.
Mei glanced at herself in the elongated, charcoal rimmed mirror her mother had handed down to her, the frame decorated in silver vines with blossoming roses. Her slender legs were encased in tight-fitting black jeans, whilst a jet black tank top decorated in a splattering of lemon-coloured paint clung to her torso beneath a black and ashen pin-striped waistcoat. She tucked her feet into a pair of striped socks before threading a bright yellow belt sprinkled in silver studs about her hips. She grabbed her ink black fingerless gloves with skulls engraved into the knuckles before tugging them onto her hands with a grin. She grabbed her ebony comb, running down her thin strands, side parting them easily before brushing out her fringe. Her bangs slanted across her forehead, tickling over her left eye slightly before vanishing into her toppling tumbles, yet through the raven bangs swept a single ivory streak that was bizarrely natural. She glanced at herself curiously before ruffling her hands through her well-layered her gently.
"Do not forget to have something to eat before you leave." Her grandmother's voice snapped her from her inspection of herself.
"Will do." She called back in a low tone before sweeping from the room.
The house was plastered in vibrantly coloured wallpaper and extravagantly unique furniture that her grandmother collected addictively. Mei strolled into the kitchen, crouching down to rummage through the cupboards. She retrieved a fruit nut bar, peeling back the tinfoil encasing the elongated cube before nibbling along the edge of it.
"I hope you realise that the Saint Monster Academy will require you to wear a uniform, Mei." Her grandmother teased as she entered the kitchen, her tall willowy figure encased in vibrant dark lavender and jade robes.
Mei grinned at her eccentric grandmother whose features were still beautiful despite the crinkles dotted over her ivory complexion. Her eyes were a piercing crystal blue framed by long, glossy ebony lashes sat on either side of a dainty nose. Her silver tangles were pulled up into a messy bun held in place with a single ebony pencil, several curls falling free to outline her features. Her grandmother was a writer, well-known in both the monster and human world, although the humans knew her as Fiona Heart, the pseudonym she wrote under for them. Her kind knew her as Kimie A. Xiantha.
"I would like to enjoy my freedom whilst I still can, Nana." Mei snarled with a scowl directed towards her new school rather than the elderly woman before her.
"You will enjoy it there." Kimie soothed, tugging Mei into an embrace before kissing her upon the top of her head, "But you had better hurry up and get going. They will pick up your trunks, all you need to carry if your bag."
"Fine." She whined before breaking away from her grandmother. She sauntered towards the front door, her dark hair shimmering about her voluptuous figure as she went.
Mei slipped her fabric encased feet into her black, worn-out converse, tying the laces tightly before snatching her dark shoulder bag from the ground. The raven-coloured bag was decorated in various badges and safety pins that she had pierced through it. She ran her thumb under the strap of her raven bag, straightening it out before bidding her grandmother farewell.
"Enjoy yourself!" Kimie exclaimed.
"I will try." Mei called over her shoulder before sweeping into the street, the vibrant colours of dawn startling her. She rubbed her palms against her eyes with a scowl before glancing back at her grandmother's home, "I already hate this."
Mei strolled alongside the pavement that was rimmed with bushes of blossoming, vibrantly coloured flowers. She halted in her tracks, glancing at the vast, gargantuan forest before her with a deadpan expression.
"A barrier and a forest, wow I am impressed." She muttered to herself sarcastically before stepping into the barrier encasing what was presumably her boarding school.
Her head spun, her vision blurring into vertigo as her stomach flipped over itself. She stumbled onto a clearing dizzily before regaining her balance.
She had not done that in a while.
Her glistening ashen eyes darted up to glance at the pale-coloured extensive building with a dark roof before her, which was decorated with balconies and towers, the grounds rimmed by extravagant, charcoal iron gates. A path ran from the entrance of the gates through the emerald grass, leading towards a pair towering dark doors lined with steel. Above that sat a balcony rimmed with raven fencing, held in place by four pillars that sat before the entry to the building.
"All this impressive architecture, I may just faint." She spat, rolling her eyes before crossing her arms over her chest.
"You should not talk to yourself." A dark, masculine voice boomed from behind as his cloaked partner chuckled darkly.
Two pairs of heavy hands grasped her shoulders attempting to pull her forward. She resisted as if the rubber soles of her shoes were nailed to the ground.
"Let me go." She snapped.
"We cannot do that," A melodic, charming voice chimed from the one who had chuckled.
"Every new student has to meet our special someone and his-" The man's voice caught in his throat, smothered in a moan of agony as Mei's elbow slammed into his crotch.
She tore her arm from him as he keeled over before her second arm consumed with flames under her command, the second male jerked back with a gasp, tearing his flesh from hers. Her pale lips tugged into a smirk as she spun on her heel to face her captors, arching at eyebrow at them in amusement. Mei stormed towards the male that clutched his crotch, pinning him down with her foot, pressing the sole of her shoe to his weak oesophagus.
"Now leave me alone." Mei hissed.
The second male's hood flung back as he gawked at his burnt hands, his impeccably handsome features pinching together in agony. Tousled blonde tangles fell about his beautiful face, tickling along his neck as his crystal orbs winced together at the despicable heat radiating through his porcelain flesh.
"A Northern European Snowman," Mei mused, noticing his overdramatic reaction to heat, "How interesting."
"I would appreciate it if you got off of my friends," She glanced over her shoulder before rolling her eyes in irritation at the towering crow demon that stood behind her, his arm draped around the shoulders of a bizarrely petite girl, "Yuki, Jiro I trust the pair of you are okay."
The males nodded weakly as the blonde female beside the crow grinned widely. Her tumbles were pulled into a pair of pigtails, her large pale sapphire eyes twinkling with excitement towards Mei.
"Kurou, be polite," She whispered before turning her attention back to Mei who had now turned to face the couple, "Welcome to our school, I am Hiyo Osora."
