December 1, 2005
A well-structured manor was up in flames. As the fires arose, the crackling flames almost reached the dark skies. The nature surrounding the once beautiful home was smoldering in ashes in a sad and pitiful state. The people in the flames were either crying for help, moaning in agony, or laying on the ground unmoving as their skin burned. In front of the burning manor, on top of the steps, there was small, slim figure in a flowing dress, standing still holding something in its arms.
The figure was shrouded in darkness as it danced a bit with the body in its arms when an alluring and classical song echoed throughout the flames. The singing was beautiful and hypnotic. Anyone could get lost within the music and hopelessly follow the singer. The song lasted for a while, but suddenly, the singing stopped. The flames spread, the figure raised its head from doing something to the form it was holding; however, a blinding light devoured everything in sight.
"Diva, rise and shine." Jacalyn said, shaking the girl's arm.
Devanna opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times before yawning and sitting up on her bed, allowing the warm blue comforters to fall off of her shoulders. Her blue eyes drowsily looked up at the thick and curvy frame of her friend. Jacalyn was standing over her while holding a toothbrush, toothpaste, make-up; a towel, a hair brush, bra; underwear, and an outfit in her arms. She was heading to the showers.
Jacalyn Beaumont was Devanna's best and only friend. Jacalyn was a lot taller than Devanna, standing at least five-nine. She was very pretty with her sharp-looking black eyes, curly black hair that reached to her shoulders, and her skin was a sepia, reddish-brown complexion.
Devanna yawned, stretching her arms over head and scratching her black hair lazily. She looked over at the white clock on her bedside desk and saw that it was 6:37 AM, she must haven't heard her 5:30 AM alarm. It was twenty-three minutes before breakfast and when 8:00 AM hit, it would be time for classes. "Is there a long line for the showers today?"
Jacalyn hummed before she went to their door. She stuck her head out to see a rather short line of girls in their underwear or pajamas standing near the showers' door at the end of the hall with their items and outfits in their arms. "It's rather short today, but it will be longer if a certain girl doesn't get her ass out of bed and follow her beloved best friend, who's in desperate need of a hot shower." Jacalyn gave Devanna a look with a raised black eyebrow over her shoulder.
Devanna held her hands up in surrender with an amused smirk on her face, "Fine, fine. I'm getting up." she got up out of her bed and made her way to her drawers. "You're stinking up the whole room anyway." One of Devanna's hand easily caught the flying toothbrush that was coming towards her head. The other hand dug through her neatly folded clothes, trying to pick out a cute outfit for today. She decided on a simple long sleeved navy blue dress with a white cardigan. Devanna grabbed her essentials along with her pink lipstick before handing Jacalyn her toothbrush with a cheeky smile. Jacalyn rolled her eyes. The two walked out the room and headed for the showers.
Devanna Laval and Jacalyn Beaumont attend the Joan D'Arc School for Girls, a boarding school in the city of Bordeaux, France. In Devanna's opinion, it was a great place to call home; however, there were moments when Devanna would look at her beloved city and feel sadness and bitterness coiling inside of her for some reason.
The two girls stood behind the other others in line as they waited for the showers. There were a few girls looking at Devanna with some sight fear and a sneer on their lips. Devanna caught the girls looking at her. The girls flinched and turned around to ignore her gaze. Devanna rolled her eyes, sighing through her nose while walking up a little, as the line moved. She glanced over at Jacalyn and said, "I had that dream again." her hands tightened around her essentials.
Jacalyn looked down at the shorter girl with wide eyes. "Really?" Devanna nodded, as Jacalyn looked concerned. "That's the third time this week. You should tell your mom about this."
"And what? Make her worry. She has enough on her plate already." Devanna scoffed. "No, thanks."
"You'll never know if you don't try. Madame Laval is very understanding." Jacalyn said. "Come on, the line is moving." She gently pushed Devanna towards the door and both girls walked into the showers, getting ready for the first day of December.
"Blah, blah, blah. Yap, yap, yap. Dribble, dribble, dribble." Devanna heard her mathematic teacher said, as she wrote on the blackboard.
It only her second class for Tuesday's schedule and Devanna wanted to go back to sleep. But if she did go to sleep in this class, she would be bitched at by the teacher and the teacher would tell her mother. Devanna didn't want to deal with that so early in the morning. So, she pretended to pay attention while doodling in her sparkly notebook. Diva began working on shading the katana's hilt.
Along with the dreams about the fiery manor, Devanna would have dreams about a swordswoman and a katana. A young woman would always have it in her hands. Devanna couldn't see the person's face, because it was covered in a shadow. But she could tell that it was a small, petite young woman holding the sword.
As Devanna was mindlessly doodled in her notebook, she noticed red painted fingernails snapping in front of her face. Blue eyes looked up to see the teacher, Professor LeBlanc, who was a white, stern middle-aged woman with brown hair tied in a tight bun, sharp light green eyes and an angular face.
Devanna frowned when she saw her most least favorite color on Leblanc's nails. The color red always made her feel uncomfortable.
"Ms. Laval," started Professor LeBlanc, tapping her foot.
"Yes, Madame?"
"Can you give me the answer to the third problem?"
Devanna heard the girls in the background snickering. She tried to ignore them as she looked at the third question on the blackboard. What were they learning again? Something about Calculus. "Uhh..." the third and all of the questions looked like complete gibberish to her. "I'm sorry, but I don't know..."
"And that is why you need to pay attention." Professor LeBlanc said, scowling. "Just because your mother is the Headmistress of the school doesn't mean you get to slack off. Now pay attention. You need to know this for the Le Bac."
"I will. I'm sorry, Madame." Devanna said.
As LeBlanc continued her lesson on the board, Diva heard a faintest whisper, "What a freak."
Another snicker, "Yeah. She should go off somewhere and leave us normal people alone."
Of course, no one else heard it. It was in a very faint whisper, but Diva could hear it. She always had very sensitive ears. It was one of her aspects that made her special. Diva's face turned into an aloof expression, her hand tightened around her mechanical pencil to the point it broke in half.
It was only after her Italian and Physics/Chemistry classes, Lunch finally came. Devanna could smell the mouth-watering meals being cooked. It almost made her forget about the freak comments. Almost.
Devanna noticed Jacalyn receiving her cabbage and tomato salad, she squeezed through the crowd of chatty girls and grabbed her a lunch tray, small glass, and silverware. Today's lunch was cabbage and tomato salad as a starter, the main course was roast beef, potatoes, and baked tomatoes with herbs, a kiwi for dessert, and bread and cheese. Once filling up her small glass with water, Devanna went over to sit with Jacalyn.
"Hey, D." Jacalyn said, munching on her salad.
"Hey, Jacalyn." Devanna said quietly. She then sat in silence, cutting her roast beef.
After a minute, Jacalyn was annoyed from the silence. She asked, "Okay, who's ass do I need to kick now?"
Devanna tried not to smile at the face Jacalyn was making, she just said, "No. Not this time. Just being called a freak again. You know the usual."
Jacalyn was quiet for a minute before saying, "So...are you sure you don't want me to kick ass for you?"
"No!" Devanna laughed. "Stop trying to make me laugh! I'm really upset about this!"
"Well, you shouldn't." Jacalyn said. "Those girls who call you a freak are just stupid. They just don't know that your powers are cool! I mean you can hear other people's heartbeats and move things with your mind! I wish I can move the TV remote with my mind so that I don't need to get up from the couch and lose my spot to Fabian."
Devanna snorted, "Do you want to trade?"
"Of course."
"People will be scared of you."
"I don't like a lot of people anyway."
Devanna rolled her eyes, "Fine. Whatever." she took a drink of her water.
Everyone in the entire school knew that Devanna was different in more way than one. Despite her petite frame, she was much stronger than the average person, able to send someone flying across the room. Devanna was faster than anyone, she could even outrun everyone in Gym without breaking a sweat. Objects would shatter when Devanna was highly upset. Years ago, little Devanna broke a glass window when a group of girls were picking on her for not having a real mom. The group of girls only received a few small cuts. However, they became scared of Devanna. Many parents called and visited the Headmistress's office to talk about how Diva was a danger to their children; that she needs to be sent somewhere to be contained.
Headmistress Cecile Laval refused to believe that her daughter was a dangerous person, but she had to please the parents and the school board. She stated to everyone that Devanna will not use her abilities when she is near the other students. But there were still angry parents voicing their extreme demands. Some parents took their daughters out of the school to be transferred to another one, as other parents, even though infuriated, they accepted it. Mainly for the fact that Joan D'Arc was a very good school.
Devanna kept her promise and tried very hard to control her powers ever since the incident. Although, there would be innocent hiccups from time to time. No one would be harmed, but it gave them more of a reason to bully Devanna, albeit verbally. Despite the outrage from parents and the scared students, Jacalyn stayed by Devanna's side. Even to this day, Devanna didn't understand why a smart girl like Jacalyn would still be her friend.
"You don't scare me, D." Jacalyn said. "You're my friend for a reason." she sipped her water.
"What's that reason?"
"Well, you're really nice and you really care for everyone. You let me copy your history notes-"
"-you wouldn't need to if you just do it yourself."
"-history is boring. Anyway, you're funny and good at singing. Plus, being friends with a pretty girl has it merits."
Devanna blushed a little, as she mumbled, "I'm not that pretty. I mean, I'm alright looking. But I'm not like you."
"Thanks for the compliment. But seriously D, you're very pretty." Jacalyn lips curved mischievously. "Who wouldn't like a girl with big blue eyes and a pair of nice tits? They may be small, but they're nice."
"J-Jacalyn, really?!" Devanna's face turned red. Sure, she didn't mind talking about relationships, boys, and being snarky with Jacalyn, but she didn't like her friend pointing out the fact that she had tiny breasts. Devanna looked at Jacalyn's chest and scowled. "Don't be an ass."
"Don't be jealous that I'm blessed." Jacalyn gestured to her own breasts, which were larger than Devanna's.
"Don't be a bitch."
"Don't be a prude."
The two looked at each other with hard expressions before bursting out laughing, causing some of the girls in the cafeteria to turn their heads and stare at them either in curiosity or irritation.
Devanna eyed Jacalyn's half-eaten main course for a long minute; her stomach growled. Jacalyn noticed the hungry stare and rolled her eyes. Luckily, Jacalyn didn't eat as much as her friend. Devanna always said that Jacalyn eats like a bird. Jacalyn scraped the roast beef, potatoes, and baked tomatoes on Devanna's tray. Devanna cheered.
"It's still a wonder how you can eat a lot and still be thin." Jacalyn exclaimed.
Devanna shrugged, "Mom says it's a high metabolism." she took a bite of the roast beef, a little bit of its juices dribbled down on the side of her chin.
Jacalyn scrunched up her nose and held up a napkin. Devanna's cheeks tinted pink a little, as she took the napkin and wiped her mouth. "Sorry."
"It's fine. Just don't start eating the table."
"Stop being mean to me."
"No."
After eating their lunch and drinking post-lunch coffee, Devanna and Jacalyn decided to spend their free time in their dorm until it was time for their other class to start at two in the afternoon. Both girls checked over each other's economic homework, studied for their civics test, and Devanna allowed Jacalyn to copy her history notes as she corrected her homework for the subject. Aside from her mathematics grade, Devanna did well in her other classes, especially in History/Geography. There was just something about learning from the past and acknowledging famous events or people that always interested her. Jacalyn didn't see the appeal and would be very annoyed when she had to remember dates and some dead person's name and achievements, especially for tests. She founded math to be more interesting, which caused Devanna to look at her weird. But she does get Jacalyn to help her with her math homework, so she wasn't going to complain much.
When Devanna finished writing the answer for question six, 'What was the relationship between Henrietta of England and King Louis XIV?' with 'She was his brother's, Philippe of Orléans, wife and his first cousin who he was having an affair with.' she looked out the window and saw snowflakes falling from the sky, feeling a sense of calmness as she blinked a few times.
When she blinked again, she found herself looking out of a window, but it was a different window than the one in her dorm room. This window was much smaller and surrounded by black edges instead of white. She heard a neigh from horses and the clopping of its hooves.
Am I...am I in a carriage? Devanna thought to herself.
She looked around and indeed she was in a carriage. It was black with golden linings and dark blue drapes. Devanna felt the cushy seat beneath her and a fur coat wrapped around her body. Something about the length and style of the coat reminded Devanna of something, like she seen it in a picture before.
Then she noticed that she was not alone. There were three male figures with her inside the carriage. Their faces were mostly covered in shadows, but Devanna could see some of their distinguishable features. One of the men had curly golden-blond hair and was wearing a very colorful fur coat. She felt that he was very flamboyant. The man sitting beside the colorful one had long black hair and a somewhat crazed look in one of the eyes Devanna could see. He made her feel the most uncomfortable, but at the same time...excitement, the kind of excitement a person feels when going to find trouble. The last man had pale-blond, wavy hair and pretty light green eyes. Devanna felt a sense of fondness towards him, but also a unbearable rip in her heart.
When she was about to ask them who they were, Devanna heard voices coming outside. She felt her skin prickle. Two were soft-spoken female voices, one of them had a Russian accent and the other woman had anger in her tone. Her voice made Devanna feel a big wave of emotions that were overwhelming. The other voice was deep, male, and baritone. Devanna felt a sense of value, but the need to strive for further approval.
The voices became clearer and caught some of the words being said.
"...is it not are duty as Chevalier to protect Diva from any possible harm?" said the woman with the Russian accent.
Protect me? Protect me from who? Devanna thought, still listening to the conversation.
"...understood." responded the man with the deep voice.
There was a and a quick snap from reins and the horses' neighs echoed in Devanna's ears. She felt herself being lurched forward slightly; the sound of wheels screeched. Devanna and her companions were on the move.
"HOLD IT!" shouted the angry woman.
Then the sounds of fighting and yelling became fainter and fainter as the carriage rode further away. Devanna could feel her eyes drooping when she suddenly felt tired. She placed her head on the lap of the man with the light green eyes, her vision becoming blurry. She felt the man put a gentle hand on top of her head, smoothing out her hair.
"You'll be here when I wake up, will you?" Devanna felt the words come out of her mouth. She didn't know why or the reasoning, but she needed their reassurance.
"Of course we will." said the man above her. His voice was deep, but soft and kind with a hint of a French accent. "We'll always be by your side, Diva. When you wake up, we'll be together again."
Devanna made a satisfied hum and closed her eyes.
"Have a good sleep, Diva."
"Devanna! Devanna! DIVA!"
Devanna suddenly jumped up and looked around her surroundings. She was back in her dorm room. White walls were covered in posters of popular bands and Opera singers, her and Jacalyn's belongings were scattered over their room. Jacalyn's bed was neat with purple silky pillows and drawings of buildings. Her own bed was messy and filled with her stuffed animals. Devanna was still holding on to Jacalyn's history homework, as the pencil was on the floor.
"Diva, are you alright?" Jacalyn asked with concern. "You were staring into space, then you started talking to yourself."
"Oh." Devanna sniffled, as she wiped her eyes. She had been crying. "I'm sorry, Jac." she picked up the pencil off of the floor. "Is class starting now?"
"In the next ten minutes. Are you sure that your alright? Do you want to talk about it?"
Devanna shook her head. "No, not really."
Jacalyn looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but she just said, "Alright, then."
A minute later, Devanna and Jacalyn packed their work into their satchels and went off their respective classes; Devanna's was history/geography and Jacalyn's was German. Jacalyn would give Devanna some looks of wonder and concern, but like Devanna wanted she kept quiet.
Devanna felt a bit better when she entered her music class. When she was a child, Devanna gained a love and appreciation for music, especially Opera. It was her mother introduced the genre to her. She would always play old Opera songs by Renata Scotto, Lucia Popp, and Mirella Freni her office or at home on the holidays when school was out. Little Devanna would try to imitate the famous singers by wearing her mother's dresses, heels, and makeup, which her either too big on her or she would add too much eye shadow on her face. Her mother would always come to her performances. It was then her mother gave her the nickname Diva, the title for famous female Opera singers.
But Devanna always failed to noticed the most strange aspect of her singing until she got older. When Devanna sung to her mother, Cecile would be in a hypnotic daze. When Devanna sung outside or near others, they would always flock around her in a daze, scaring the daylights out of her. Devanna stopped singing when she finally noticed the hypnotism when she was about 10-years-old. People already thought of her as a demon in disguise, but her mother broke her out of her worries. Cecile told her to follow her dream and to overcome the obstacles.
Devanna caved in a few weeks, but it took her months to have control of her hypnotic singing. She just had to think about it and concentrate. Although, there would a few minor hiccups, but at least she could singing without making a horde of zombies.
"Okay, stop." said a male baritone voice. The music teacher, Professor Dubois was waving his arms in the air in annoyance, causing the class to stop singing. He was a very tall and stocky black man with short, thick black hair and small black eyes. He scratched his full beard as he looked at a lanky, honey-blonde girl.
Professor Dubois sighed, "Jacqueline, you're shouting instead of singing again. I know you're trying to hit the high notes, but you're trying too hard. I keep on showing you how to hit the notes properly, but it seems like you're not taking my advice seriously."
Then he looked over at a slightly-overweight girl with long black hair, blue eyes, and freckles. "And you Alaina, you keep on choking off your singing between words." he paused, thinking. "Try singing choppy by cutting the notes off, then try singing while letting the note ring right up until you sing the next one." he looked over at Devanna and said, "Laval, will you show them an example, please?"
"Of course," Devanna responded. She cleared her throat and concentrated. It'll be alright. Just focus on yourself, don't pay attention to the others. It's just me and my voice.
It's a beautiful Christmas night
Snow spreads its white coat
And eyes lift toward the sky
On their knees, small children
Before closing their eyelids
Say one last request
Little Father Christmas
When you come down from the sky
With toys by the thousands
Don't forget my little shoe
But before leaving
You must cover yourself well
Outside you will be so cold
It's a little because of me
I can't wait for it to get light
To see if you have brought me
All the lovely toys that I see in dreams
And that I ordered from you
Little Father Christmas
When you come down from the sky
With toys by the thousands
Don't forget my little shoe
And when you are on your beautiful cloud
Come first to our house
I wasn't always very well behaved
But I ask for your forgiveness
Little Father Christmas
When you come down from the sky
With toys by the thousands
Don't forget my little shoe
Little Father Christmas
Devanna's voice echoed through the music room as she stopped and looked at her teacher, who was clapping gleefully.
"See," Dubois pointed at Devanna, while looking at Jacqueline and Alaina. "she did not scream or choke. You two need to practice more and follow my advice or you won't get those recommendation letters." then the school bell echoed throughout the school. "Class dismissed and remember, practice!"
A horde of girls walked out the classroom, Devanna put her notes in her white satchel. When she looked up, she noticed Jacqueline glaring at her and Alaina was sniffling like she was going to cry. Jacqueline comforted Alaina by putting her arm around her shoulder before leaving the room. Devanna frowned.
The blue eyed girl walked up to Professor Dubois, who was standing at the piano, writing in his notebook. "Professor."
"Yes, Laval?"
Before Devanna could get a word out, Dubois exclaimed, "Oh, I almost forgot." he flipped through his notebook and pulled out an envelope. "Here's your recommendation letter." he gave the letter to Devanna, before sitting down on the piano seat. "Now, what do you want to talk about?"
"You should write Alaina and Jacqueline recommendation letters. I know you pointed out their problems, but you can't deny that they're talented singers." Devanna said.
Professor Dubois signed through his nose, "Laval, it's true that they are talented singers. But the problem is that if they don't improve, they won't be accepted into a music university."
"But, sir, isn't the point of university to further a person's education and skills in order to reach the dream they're trying to achieve?" said Devanna.
"Yes, but Jacqueline and Alaina want to attend a music university and in order to be considered acceptance is an audition." Dubois said, calmly. "If they sing the way they do, they wouldn't be accepted into an university. As I have told you and all of my other students that it is very competitive in the music world. Getting into a music university will be hard. I want my students to succeed and to do that, they need to practice harder. I know I'm being harsh, but that's how it is in world, especially in the music one."
Devanna looked into Professor Dubois's eyes and saw them filled with honesty and seriousness. "I guess you're right..." Devanna unconsciously fixed the strap of her satchel. "I'm sorry to have bombarded you with this, Professor. It was rude of me."
Mr. Dubois quirked up a smile through his thick beard and waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. Don't worry about it." he looked up at the clock. "You better hurry off to class or you'll be late, Laval."
Devanna nodded with a small yet polite smile on her face. When she left the music classroom, Devanna quickly sped down to the other side of the school for her civics class. Thankfully, she made it on time and that Alaina was in the same class.
Devanna sat beside her, earning a suspicious look from Jacqueline, who sat in front of her friend. The teacher informed the class that the test will take up the whole class time, so there is no rush. When the test was passed out, the scratches as pencils were the only sound in the classroom.
As Alaina was writing her extended response for question five, a small piece of paper hit her arm. She picked up the paper, then looked at Devanna who was writing the answer for question seven. Alaina looked up at the elderly teacher, whose neck looked like a turkey's wattle, had his nose in a newspaper that had Anthony Stark on the cover.
Alaina opened the note and it read, 'I'm sorry, about what happened in music class. I didn't mean to embarrass you like that.' - Diva.
Alaina bit her lip, then wrote under Devanna's neat cursive and quickly threw it back at her. She finished writing her answer for question five.
Devanna unfolded the note and read scratchy print, 'It's alright. I know you didn't mean to. I just don't like being put on the spot in front of others.'
'I understand. I'll let you finish your test.' Devanna gave Alaina the note and focused on her test again.
When class was over, everyone turned in their tests and Alaina rushed over to Devanna, who was walking out of the classroom.
"Devanna! Wait up!" Alaina said. "I know we have never spoken to each other, but can you help me with my singing?"
"Really? Why, you're good." said Devanna.
"But not good enough. You're easily the best singer in the class. So, please, can you help me?"
"You really want me to help you?" Devanna asked as she saw Jacqueline eyeing her with suspicion. "Jacqueline won't like it."
"I know, but she'll get over it." exclaimed Alaina. "So, can you help me, please?"
Devanna became quiet, contemplating. "Alright, we can start tomorrow. I don't know what I'm doing, because I never taught anyone."
Alaina beamed, her dimples showing. "Well, it will be a new experience, won't it?" she looked up at the clock. "Ah, we need to get to class. Goodbye, Devanna." she walked out the door and ran through the halls.
As Devanna felt the classroom, she could still feel Jacqueline's eyes, but Devanna felt lighter at the thought of gaining a new friend.
December 2, 2005
Wednesday was possibly the best day of the week. Only having two classes, lunch, and then Fencing was probably the best way to spend a school day. In her second class, Music, Devanna noticed that Alaina looked happier when she walked in, waving at her. Jacqueline sent her a scowl and a piercing glare. During lunch, Alaina asked if she could sit with her and Jacalyn to talk about singing techniques and favorite types of music. Devanna agreed, happy to have another person sit with her.
At lunch, Jacalyn said her favorite type of music was old Punk-Rock and Metal, which made Alaina look at her with an incredulous stare and asking, "Isn't that-isn't that just screaming and shouting?"
As the two spoke, Devanna noticed Jacqueline sitting on the other side of the canteen with a hurtful and angry look in her mossy-green eyes.
When the school day finally ended after lunch, Alaina left to find Jacqueline, Devanna and Jacalyn went to the gymnasium for Fencing. Normally in France, there isn't any school-sponsored extracurricular activities. School is for classes, that's it. However, the Headmistress pulled some strings to allow a few after school activities to exist at the school. Besides Fencing, there was Etiquette, Cooking, Language; and Arts Club.
After getting dressed and doing exercises, the Fencing teacher, Ms. Grosse, a fit-looking blonde woman decided to have everyone do a dual for a review of everything they learned before getting to the real lesson.
When Jacalyn was hit in the chest with a sabre, her and her opponent took off their masks, shook hands before sitting down on the bleachers. Jacalyn unbuttoned the top of her white uniform, revealing a black tank top underneath. She took in a breath as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead.
"Good job, girls." said Ms. Grosse, clapping. "Laval and Moreau, you're next."
"Good luck, D." Jacalyn said, guzzling down her bottled water.
Devanna sent her a wink after tying her hair in a royal blue hair tie. She put on her mask and grabbed her saber, stepping onto the blue mat. She faced her opponent, Chantal Moreau, a broad-shouldered girl with very light blonde hair with unnerved focus.
"And...Begin!" shouted Ms. Grosse.
Chantal lunged forward to aim at Devanna's chest protector, Devanna quickly stepped back and blocked the attack. As Devanna lunged after her opponent, a small women with a katana flashed through her line of sight.
Huh? Devanna thought. Chantel blocked her attack.
The two opponents attacked and blocked each other with their sabers. Flashes of the swordswoman appeared in front of Devanna. It was not Chantal Moreau she was fighting anymore. It was the woman who haunted her dreams.
Faceless. She would always be when Devanna slept, but this time, Devanna saw glowing red eyes.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" screeched Devanna. Her sabre fell on the mat, the last thing she heard was "DIVA!," before seeing only black.
Devanna stared at blue roses. Fully blossomed and beautiful, interlocked by green vines and thorns on the brown-colored wall made out of stones. It was freezing cold in the room she was sitting in. She was only in a worn and dirty sheet that covered her body. Her legs close to her chest and arms resting on her knees; the bright sunlight touched the floors through the glassless windows.
Oddly enough, looking at the roses put her at ease.
Soon, she could hear the tapping of feet rushing, scrapping on the floors towards her; the person sounded like they were out of breath. Devanna lowered her head, some strands of her much longer hair covered her eyes.
The feet stopped with a scrape. The person was behind the large wooden and metal door that Devanna could see beyond the ironed bars.
Suddenly, a loud clicking noise echoed, followed by the sound of metal hitting the floor.
Devanna opened her eyes. She saw bright lights on the white ceilings and felt a pillow under her head. Devanna noticed her surroundings and saw the white curtain around her bed and the IV needle in her arm. She was in the infirmary.
"Oh, you're awake." said a woman's voice.
Devanna turned her head and looked at the brunette, middle-aged nurse with kind, light brown eyes. Mrs. Leroy smiled at her.
"How are you feeling?" Mrs. Leroy asked, sliding the curtain more.
Devanna moved her mouth, feeling that it was dry. "I'm fine."
Mrs. Leroy reached for a glass of water and handed it to Devanna, who sat up from the bed. "You caused us quite a scare, Laval. Do you know what might of caused you to faint?"
Yes, a crazy red-eyed woman was trying to kill me. Devanna thought, but she said, "I've been having trouble sleeping. I've been worried about the Le Bac and college applications."
"The Le Bac won't happen for a couple more months." Mrs. Leroy stated.
Devanna shrugged, "It's better to be prepared."
"Hmm, right. Your mother was here about an hour ago and thought it would be better if you stayed here to make sure nothing else happens to you."
Devanna only nodded. Of course, she worried her mother.
"Well," continued Mrs. Leroy. "it's past dinner time, I've brought it here so you can eat in private. I thought that you wouldn't want to see anyone after your incident."
"Oh, you didn't need to that, Madame. I'm not hungry." Devanna's stomach let out a huge growl. Devanna blushed when the nurse giggled.
"I'll bring you your dinner. It'll just take a moment." Mrs. Leroy closed the curtain and left Devanna alone with a snap of the door closing.
Devanna let out a shaky sigh through her nose as she folded her legs closer to her chest and covered herself up more with the blanket. She remembered seeing the red eyes and the sharp blade, how real it felt.
"Please, can I see her?" Devanna heard Jacalyn's voice from the other side of the door.
"I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over." said Mrs. Leroy.
"Please, Madame. It won't take long. I need to see if she is awake."
"She is awake, but the answer is no."
"Madame, I got permission from the Headmistress to see her." Jacalyn said.
Devanna heard the nurse going silent, then releasing a grunt. "Fine, but only for a minute."
"Thank you very much."
Devanna straightened herself on the bed when the door opened and the two came over to her bed. Jacalyn moved the curtain and instantly pounced on Devanna, embracing her. The smaller of the two let out an oof.
"Beaumont! Get off of her now!" Mrs. Leroy shouted. "We do not jump on patients!"
Jacalyn let go of her friend, apologized, and pulled a chair over to sit on. "How do you feel?" she asked.
"I'm fine, Jac." Devanna said. "Honest."
Jacalyn looked like she had more to say, but the nurse came over with tonight's dinner in the tray table. Tonight's dinner was lentil salad with tomatoes, beef bourguignon, cheese fondue and bread; and a bowl of fruit salad with a glass of water.
Devanna said her thanks to the nurse for delivering her dinner. Mrs. Leroy gives her a smile and leaves the two girls alone with a soft click of the door.
"Okay, Diva, be honest with me." Jacalyn started. "What happened? Why did you faint?"
"I told you, I'm fine." Devanna said, taking a bite out of her beef bourguignon.
Jacalyn threw up her arms with an angry huff. "You always do this! You close yourself off when something happens to you! Can't you see that I'm worried about you?!"
Devanna saw the hurt in Jacalyn's eyes and felt immediately guilty. She lowered her fork and looked away from her friend. "I'm sorry, Jacalyn. It's just...I don't even know what's going on with me."
"It's the dreams isn't?"
Devanna's silence was the answer she needed, Jacalyn sighed. "You won't go to your mom about this and you won't talk to me about it." she crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what are you going to do?"
Devanna grabbed her fork and started to poke and stir her food. She was hesitant, but also thinking. "...maybe I could do some research. You know, look up what these dreams could mean. There are certain things in my dreams that I can probably find in my research."
Jacalyn nodded, "Do you need any help?" I want to help you, Devanna could hear it in her tone.
Devanna was about to shake her head, but instead she said, "I'll ask you when I need it. I promise."
"Really? You promise? You swear to me?"
"Yeah, I swear. Really, Jac."
"Really, really, real-"
"Yes, I swear! Jeez!" Devanna's nose scrunched upwards, annoyed.
Jacalyn's lips curved into a smile, she rose up from her chair and hugged Devanna tightly. "You need to trust me more."
It took a minute for Devanna to hug her friend back. "I do trust you. It's just...I have to figure things out for myself first."
"Alright."
A minute passed and Jacalyn hasn't let go of Devanna. The smaller of the two said, "Jacalyn, I love you and all, but I would rather have a more manly figured person, preferably tall with big muscles, lying on top of me."
Jacalyn snickered, releasing her friend, but she kept her hands on Devanna's shoulders. "You're sounding like a minx, D." then she wiggled her eyebrows playfully. "Perhaps, I can change your mind about your gender preferences?"
Devanna made a humming sound, pretending to think, "Grow about six more inches then I expect dinner and show."
Both girls giggled and Jacalyn returned to her seat. "Oh, Alaina told me to tell you that she wants to do the lessons on Sunday."
"I see. Has she practiced her singing when I was out?"
Jacalyn shrugged, "I don't know. She wanted to visit you when she heard that you were in the infirmary, but Jacqueline convinced her to "help" her with her homework."
"Oh," Devanna said, a little sad that Alaina hasn't came to see her.
"Don't worry about Jacqueline. She's all glare, but no punch. Even if she was to hit you, you can easily knock her out."
Devanna rolled her eyes, "I don't want to knock anyone out. You know that I don't like fighting."
Jacalyn scoffed, "You need to get use to it. In the next few months, we're graduating and going off to college. When you go, the boys are going to fight over you. So, you need to use to it and enjoy the testosterone."
"Boys are not going to fight over me. Besides, the way you say testosterone makes it sound dirty."
Jacalyn gave her a smile filled with mischief. "That's the way you're supposed to say it. And boys are going to fight over you. So, don't give me that shit. When you get to college, you're going to find tall, dark, and handsome."
"Tall, blond, and handsome." Devanna corrected. She saw Jacalyn's raised eyebrow and shrugged. "Blondes have more fun."
"Now you're just stereotyping."
"Sue me."
Jacalyn and Devanna continued to talk as Devanna ate her dinner. Soon, Mrs. Leroy told Jacalyn that she needed to leave as it was almost time for the student's to go to bed. When Jacalyn left, it took a while for Devanna to go to sleep, but when she did, she saw the blue roses again.