Disclaimer: I don't own TT

Baleful & Anodyne

Ch 1

Kori lived her happy life. She had parents who loved her and an older sister. Everything seemed to be going wonderful for her. Nothing horrible ever happened to her. She had a bunch of friends and everyone liked her. Ever since she was little Kori wanted to be a princess. Nothing else ever mattered. She never even considered anything else. All of her birthdays were princess themed. Kori was confident that she would become a princess one day. She was good by nature. She never did anything wrong. No one spoke ill-willed about her.

"Oh! It is a most glorious morning," Kori said when she looked out her window.

There wasn't a rain cloud in sight. The sun was high above beaming down its rays. Birds flew around and squirrels ran around on the ground. Kori turned away from the window and got dressed.

"And where are you going today?" Ai'sa asked her daughter.

"I thought I'd go into town," Kori replied.

"Well don't stay out too late."

"You know I always come home early."

"That you are."

Kori skipped out of the house towards town. She enjoyed walking. The air wasn't too hot or humid. She hummed a soft tune and greeted everyone she met. The town square was filled with people. Everyone had a smile on their face. Kori looked at all the stalls around her. There were so many things that caught her eye.

"Kori!" someone shouted in the crowd.

Kori tried to look for the source of the direction she heard her name being called. She saw a girl waving and running towards her. A huge grin appeared on her face when she saw who it was.

"Kole!"

The two girls quickly embraced each other. It had been awhile since they last saw each other.

"How have you been?"

"Good. A lot's been happening."

"Are you going to apply to the academy?"

"I don't know. It's not really my thing."

"Oh come on. It would be great if I actually know one person there."

"Unlike you my dream isn't about becoming a princess."

"That's not all it offers. There are plenty of other things you could do."

"Fine. I'll apply only for you. Just don't be disappointed if I don't get in."

"Deal."

The two friends walked around the town. They did a little shopping and got caught up in each other's lives. They hadn't been out like this in a long time. Before they knew it the sun was about to set. The sky was filled with orange and red. They promised to meet up with each other next weekend. Kori headed home just before the sun made its descent in the sky.

Xxxx

Raven sat in her room reading a book. She wanted nothing more than to be left alone. For the past few months her parents have been hounding her about taking this exam for some academy. If it was up to her she wouldn't waste her time with something like that. She didn't see why it was so important for her to go to this academy. There had to be a way for her to flunk the exam and not get into the school. There was no way her parents would force her to do anything again.

"Raven," Arella said on the other side of the door.

'Speak of the devil.' Raven let out a sigh. She marked the page in her book. She really didn't want to talk to anyone. Getting up she answered the door. "Yes."

"Have you started on your application?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"Because I don't want to go to this stupid academy that you and dad want me to attend."

"We're not forcing you to do anything."

"Really! You don't think making me do this application that I don't want to attend isn't forcing me to do anything?"

"We're only thinking about what's best for you."

"You mean what's best for you."

"Raven!"

"If you'll excuse me I have things to do."

Raven closed the door and locked it. She walked over to her bed and flopped down on it. She couldn't believe her mother. It was bad enough that she was forced to do this against her will. Honestly, she didn't know why this academy of evil was so important. Why people wanted to learn how do cast spells, voodoo, and how to conquer places in the first place was beyond her understanding. The whole thing was completely stupid. She couldn't have cared less. Getting up she grabbed the application off her desk and filled it out. This way her parents would stop hounding her about it. The sooner this was done the better. And once she wasn't accepted she was moving out. She couldn't breathe with her parents breathing down her neck. The next process would be taking the exam for admittance. Of course that wasn't until a month away. There was plenty of time for her to come up with a plan to get out of it.