Vayne Arelius
Twilight of Wizards
By Ashley Kern
Ch 1
A couple of weeks ago I was accepted into an elite school for wizards. I moved from my adopted families' home in Twilight Town to stay in the academy dorms, just five miles away. Ever since I was born I had a powerful knack at doing magic. So now it leads me to today, where I'm currently running to the Hall of Wonders for the schools entrance ceremony.
Dang it I'm going to be late. Damn alarm clock didn't ring. On top of that the school is like a maze. Where's a map when you need one? I smiled then laughed at my stupidity. Of course I could always make one.
"Zetta-mappus." And just like that I conjured up a map that will lead me straight to the Hall of Wonders. This was in-the-direction-I-just-came-from! And I passed it, like a retard; crap I knew I should have followed those students. I back tracked my steps and what do you know I found the Hall of Wonders. I entered the room though a crack a student left in the door way. I joined my fellow classmates who were just getting ready to sit down as the Head Master entered the room. So now I know I didn't miss anything. All the trouble that happened to me on the way over here didn't slow me down too much. I took a seat at an empty table near the back.
"Welcome new students to Twilight Academy and for those of you who have been here already welcome back. I'm expecting greatness from all of you this year, as you all have done in the years before. I want all of you to grow and become the best wizards you can be, and to reach out and make new friends this year. I'm expecting the upper classes to shelter and help out all the freshmen here who need it. Your schedules have already been placed in your bags except for the 1st years they will report in the Gym. There will be no classes today, due to some of the teachers haven't arrived. I suggest every one reread the rule book and follow it or you will regret you didn't," I'm not for sure, but I think it was just me who caught the glumes of an evil look in his eyes when he said those words. "Now, I know you don't want to be here all day so you are now dismissed." And he vanished out of thin air and the room buzzed with noise.
I sat there silent for a while then stood up and walked towards the doors. I could hear a guy running and call for help. I don't know why but suddenly I was complied to help him, like I was obligated or something. I just met this man for the first time. So why was I now standing in front of three guys ordering them to stop picking on him?
"Give me one good reason why we should?" The tough guy in the middle pointed out. He had a good point. Why indeed.
"Why should I not?" I replied.
"You just made the worst mistake of your life. You better say sorry or you will pay." The hot shot on the right hand side suggested. Like I would listen to some punks who think they are all that. And how is the world is saying sorry going to help any?
"Sorry for what, I don't apologize to jerks."
"So that's how it's going to be then, I'll give you one last chance to say you're sorry." He repeated. And once again with the sorry thing, this is getting old. By now it felt like the whole school was in a circle around us and the kid they were picking on was nowhere in sight. What an ass-hole, was all I could think.
"Not a chance, but if you don't mind I have things I need to do and your just wasting my time and energy." I smiled then turned and headed for the door again. And a couple things happened simultaneously, one they cut me off and called me a coward. Two, I saw his fist aiming for my head before I stopped it with my hand and three the crowd gathered around us went completely silent once that happened. I blocked his "attack" with my left hand and gripped it so he could break loose. "No, see that was your mistake for trying to pick a fight with me, next time be a man and try to hit me while I'm facing you, I really don't like cheap shots." I dropped his hand down and walked out the door.
It felt good helping that student get away, but now I just made myself three new enemies. I walked down the hall with the least amount of people walking on it. I didn't know where I was going I was just letting my feet lead the way. Stumbling across a garden of flowers surrounding an oak tree, I sat on one of its stumps and closed my eyes, enjoying the wind. I heard a student gasp as her books dropped on some flowers.
"Oh no the flowers, what have I done." She cried out.
"Here let me help you." I bent down to help her.
"No I got it, your help is not needed," she picked up her books, all the while not looking at my face. "Refixus." And nothing happened. "Refixus." She called again. She looked a little lost staring at the dying flower.
"Fixus." I said and the flower looked good as new again. She looked at me with a profound look in her eyes. I was looking for the words to explain them to here but I couldn't spit it out the right way.
"How did you do that?" she asked
"Just don't say re in front of it and then it will work."
"Not what I meant. That's a 2nd year spell, 1st years, like us, shouldn't know hardly any spells."
"I don't know how I did it; it just happened so to speak. And what about yourself you shouldn't know any spells."
"Uh-huh. It was something I overheard some 2nd years say." She looked at me with disbelief and explaining herself.
"I'm telling you the truth. Believe what you want to believe I suppose." I got up and walked back to the tree.
"My name is Sakura Noel." She smiled following me.
"Well Ms. Noel my name is Vayne Arelius. You can just call me Vayne though; I don't really like people calling me by my last name except if it's teachers."
"All right Vayne, then you can just call me Sakura since were friends now." She smiled.
"Yes friends." I smiled back.
We talked for hours on end, only stopping to catch a breath. Anything and everything that could have been said in a conversation about oneself were reveled in this conversation. I felt happy and alive. I never knew I could have made such a good friend on my first day coming here. We laughed and joked.
"That's so funny Vayne. Where do you get all this stuff from?" she giggled at my joke I made a second ago.
"Well my mom tells me I'm special all the time. But don't think so." I looked at her though the corner of my eye. And we just busted out laughing.
"It's about time for lunch, so I'll catch you later." She smile, "who knows maybe we will have some classes together, since you seem to know more magic than me."
I stared at her retreating figure. It's not like I liked her or anything because I don't! I just I don't know couldn't help but looking at a friend who promises to come back. I can't keep friends for very long; I don't know why that is. But it probably has something to do with jealously knowing the friends I had that would be the most likely. I sat by the tree a little longer then stood and walked the direction Sakura went. This Academy was amazing. Really it was. The contractor who built this really knew what he or she was doing. I haven't seen anything like it; the railings had purple stars on top of yellow poles, the walls a creaming ancient color and the ceilings were always changing with the day.
The cafeteria was buzzing with noise. I took my spot in the back of the lunch line. The line was progressing slowly and like every school they serve crap to you and expect you to eat it. On the bright side I guess it can't taste as bad as it looks. I sat at an empty table near the center of the room. I eat a spoonful of my meal and surprisingly it was delicious?
Looks like crap. I smelled the plate of food. Smells like crap, but taste great. What has the world come to?
"Do you mind if I sit here?" So the coward came back to talk to me. Bravo what a retard. He pulled the chair sitting across from me out. "Thanks for earlier. I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't step in."
"No problem." I said.
"My name is Yuki, and yours is?"
"Vayne."
"You don't talk much do you?" Yuki stated.
"I talk plenty." And just like that a couple more people join the table.
"Wow you have great hair." The girl to my right messed with my hair. "Very nice color, dark brown, I think; and the shine, how do you get it like that? What do you put in your hair?"
What in the world do they think they're doing? Are they normal? "Umm nothing…" And then another girl on my left pulled me her way so I was facing her. Was she looking at my eyes? Where do I know her from?
"You have awesome eyes, pretty color purple. Right?" Who are these people?
"Hey Vayne, are you going to eat the rest of that?" Yuki pointed to my plate getting ready to snatch whatever was left, until I pulled my plate away.
"Oh so your name is Vayne. Well I'm Nina." The girl on my right said.
"Hi." I said.
"And you remember me right. Sakura, you helped me fix that flower." She smiled. "Told you I would see you around didn't I." I smiled back at her.
"Yes you sure did. So why are you all crowded around the table?" I asked
"Were all friends now? Sakura you agree with me right?" Nina asked Sakura.
"Of course I do. Hey Yuki pass the salt." And so he listened.
"Do any of you know what we will do in the first day? I know we have to meet in the gym. But what exactly will happen in there?" I asked
"You don't know." Sakura and Nina said.
"No, that's why I asked." I tried not to smile in this too serious moment.
"We have to show off what we can do. This will take a week or more to find every ones weaknesses and strong points. When that happens then we will be given our schedules with classes that will help each one individually. A lot of students are going to have to take beginner class and some regular and there is an advanced and a then the last on is AAP (advanced advanced placement) class. There is no way anybody can graduate early because they keep on giving you classes to challenge you and you have to pass each one." He smiled, "I'm going be the one in AAP class just you wait and see. They also have karate/fighting classes so you can build stamina and learn how to protect yourself without using magic."
"Sounds like were in for a ride this year." Nina said to me.
"Yep, at least we will have friends to support us." I smiled.
"Yep that is true." Yuki said and we all laughed.
I felt a finger tapping on my shoulder. I turned to look who it was as saw my three buddies from earlier there. "You owe me an apology." They demanded.
"I don't owe you anything." I said as gentle as I could possibly be at the moment. I knew they saw my eyes change, when they looked at me with a weird expression and backed off a little. And I just kept looking at them.
"He thinks he is a tough guy trying to stick up to us, well I have news for you we will make you life a living hell…"
I cut him off before he could say anything else. "You mean try to make my life a living hell." I smiled.
"That's it, were going to settle this in the court yard. No magic allowed you got it. Now we will see who the stronger man is." He laughed an evil way. I smiled; they do not know who they are messing with.
"Alright when." I said
"No what are you doing? You are no match for the strongest guy in the school." Sakura warned me.
"Well then I guess I'm out of luck." I smiled in a reassuring way. There is a reason why I'm the only scholarship student the school has had in a while, and I don't just mean brains. But they will see soon enough.
"Now would be fine." I got up from my seat and followed them to the court yard.
As natural my three friends followed and half the students in the cafeteria as well. We were now surrounded in a huge semi-circle again. It felt good that I would win this in a matter of 10 seconds but who knows he is the strongest student here right. I smiled and looked at my friends who were staring at me like a retard, probably wondering why I was smiling. I guess we start whenever he says so lets' get this show on the road.
"Alright it's going to be three against one. That shouldn't be a problem will it?" he asked in a cocky way.
"The numbers don't matter, I guarantee you won't be able to put a hand on me. But hey, who's to know, maybe you could be the first one." I laughed.
"Oh I will, we start on the count of three. One." He smiled with over confidence. "This is only going to take 5 seconds. Two, three." And I let him come at me for a little bit first just to prove 5 seconds was already up.
"Let's say we rap it up, my lunch is getting cold." I said.
I dodged there attacks one more time then I came at them with the speed only half of what I was capable of and that was the speed of a healthy male. I watched as the faces in the crowded turned to me in disbelief. All three men were on the ground and all I did was tripped them so they'd fall on their butts. One of the guys claimed 'it's not over' and said a spell on Sakura. Forcing her in a nearby tree just beyond the man who cast the spell.
"You low life put her back down on the ground." I said as my voice filled with rage.
"You will just have to get passed me first." He said, liking how the turn of events went in his favor.
I couldn't think straight at all. I all heard was Sakura screaming for me to help her and then she slipped and was falling. I jumped to the first branch of the tree to save her but she was too far out. I leapt off the league and caught her. I landed on the ground with my feet. I wasn't breathing heavily because this felt like a beginners work out for me. I didn't set her back down on the ground. My anger wouldn't let me. What would happen if I did, would he pull a stunt like that again? Who knows but I surely wouldn't want to find out.
"What are you? What a freak." He yelled and ran off.
I stood and stared after him, half wanting to run after him until I remembered Sakura was still in my hands. By that time my friends and everyone else was running to us. People were yelling is she ok, are you alright, wow that was so cool, you rock, and he's so hot; which made my face turn pink a little.
"Sakura, are you alright?" I asked her. I noticed her face was turning red and so was mine.
"Yep, you can put me down now please." She said avoiding eye contact.
"Oh, sorry." I placed her safely on the ground and we kept as much distance between us as the space would allow.
"That was totally sweet, how do you know how to move like that?" Yuki said as we try to maneuver around the crowd.
"Practice I guess." I said.
"I would like to meet you mom and dad."
"I don't know who they are. My foster mom and dad won't even tell about them. All they say is there alive and they love me. Oh and you will know soon enough when you start school." I wish I truly knew who they are and why they left me alone.
"Wow. Well when you find out you have to tell me who they are and let me meet them, alright?"
"Yep sounds like a plan." I looked up at the sky, "It's getting late it think I will just head to my room and unpack."
"Alright then, see you tomorrow." Yuki said waving goodbye.
"Bye." I waved to Sakura and Nina as I walked to the Boys only dorm.
Ok so I was already unpacked and stuff. I could have hung out with my friends more but I was kind of tired from all that had happened today. I pulled out a piece of paper from my spiral notebook and began writing a letter home.
Dear Mom and Dad,
Hi, how have you been doing? I'm great if you're wondering. The school looks more amazing then in the broacher I showed you. I wish you were here sometimes to give me advice about a couple of things. Oh, I was challenged to a fight this evening. I won naturally and saved my friend in the process. Oh I have made three new friends, Sakura (the girl I saved, she a cute brunette with pure blue eyes), Nina (She cool kind of like a sister, Blonde with brown eyes), and Yuki (He's out there [in a good way] black hair, green eyes). They were all so welcoming and treated me like I'm not a freak. I love you both. So far no word of my birth parents like you said when I start school.
P.S please tell me about them I really want to know or at least when I will meet them.
Sincerely,
Vayne Arelius
I stuck the note in an envelope and addressed it to my parents. I sighed, and placed it by the edge of my side table. I laid face forward on my bed, staring at the ceiling hoping the answers would magically appear. Which of course they didn't. I hadn't looked at my clock the whole time I was in my room but when I did it took me by surprise.
"It's ten already. Crap I missed dinner." I beat my head against the wall. I opened my curtains and looked up at the stars. "What a beautiful night."
Some ones knocking on my door?
I reached for the knob and turned it slowly. No one was there but a plate of food was. It was addressed to me by my birth parents.
The note read:
You will meet us soon. I promise. We send our love.
I couldn't make out there names at the bottom of the note. My lips curved and began to smile.