Chapter 1 just needed some editing! If these two chapters are successful enough, I'll continue with this story!
Another day, another hour to struggle out of bed.
Another night without much sleep.
She thought she would've gotten used to the early morning schedule. But it never seemed that way. Every morning was just another day of getting her bearings together enough to crawl out of the safety of the blankets.
But now she had another reason to get up on schedule.
She knew her teammates were trying to be nice and not wake her up, but they were bigger people, and despite their best efforts, they always made noise. So, instead of worrying them, Seraphine would just wake up at the alarm so that they didn't have to tiptoe around.
Nonetheless, she pushed herself up, grunting as her shoulders cracked.
Yesterday had been a long day of training with her mentor. The older woman had probably pushed her too hard, but Seraphine never complained. Professor Kagari saw potential in her, and it made the girl's heart flutter. She didn't want to disappoint the one person that saw her as a somebody instead of a nobody.
Seraphine perked up at the sound of somebody else waking up. She could hear joints popping and cracking as they stood up and stretched. Even through her sleepiness, she could make our short white locks of hair sticking out in all directions. The person was very tall and rather skinny.
"Ahhh Nelson really pushed us with our flying patterns yesterday," They spoke, placing their hands on their hips and stretching back to crack their back.
"Mmm Eddy, she pushes everybody~" Another voice spoke up, sleepiness strung into their words. The first witch stood back up and simply shrugged.
"You have a point there Alli," Eddy replied, before going back and stretching their arms out. This was routine for the two of her teammates. But unlike Eddy, who only got up to pop sore joints, Allisandra got up to start a workout in under a four minute timespan.
And under four minutes she did.
Seraphine paid her no mind though, as she readied herself for the day. Today was going to be certainly busy, as the yearly Winter Festival was fast approaching. Many compared it to the Samhain Festival that took place during the hotter months of the school year, but this was nothing like that. Where the Samhain Festival was a test of a magic and show of Luna Nova's teaching efforts, the Winter Festival was a whole weekend to relax and have fun. The academy had less than two days before it started, and Seraphine felt as if they weren't ready yet.
This was her first year here at Luna Nova, so she had no clue as to what the Winter Festival was like. Eddy and Alli were also first years, with Eddy entering the semester late due to some personal issues. None of them knew what was to be of the festival, but but they did know was that their headmistress was a very skilled and organized woman; and with this knowledge, they could only assume the festival would be amazing.
Today, classes were not held so that preparation could start. All teams were assigned to one job or another, and, with the teamwork of everybody, the festival would come together nicely. Purple Team, as dubbed by the color of their sashes, were in charge of a very important project. But none of them had a clue as to what their project was exactly, as nobody had told them.
Just as the three of them were about to head out of the suite, there was a soft knock at the door. Eddy rushed over in two swift steps, and opened it without a second thought.
"Hello- eh?" They stopped when they realized that no one had been standing there. They peered down both ends of the hallway, but no one was there.
"Ahem,"
A small, squeaky chirp came from below, and Eddy glanced down to see a small fairy standing there, a note in his hand. Leaning down, they accepted the letter from him, and pardoned him.
Shutting the door behind them, they flipped the letter over, overlooking from whom it came from. A wax seal closed off the letter, a D and C in beautifully written cursive engraved into the wax.
"Fancy," Was all Eddy could say.
"Who's it from, Ed?" Alli asked and Eddy shrugged. Seraphine offered to look at the letter, outstretching her hand to the other witch. Eddy obliged and smiled. Seraphine examined it briefly.
"It's from the headmistress," Seraphine was quiet with her answer.
"The headmistress?! How would you know?" Eddy exclaimed.
"There's the shape of a Unicorn head in the stamp of wax," Seraphine murmured. It made sense now, the D and C were the headmistress's initials; the unicorn signified her family name.
Without wasting another moment, Seraphine ripped the letter open, unfolding the message from inside. Alli peeked over her shoulder, curious what the headmistress wanted from them.
Reading over it briefly, Seraphine blinked before her eyes widened.
"The headmistress has invited us to her quarters," Seraphine spoke up.
"She did all this just to tell us that?" Eddy tilted their head, brows furrowing. Seraphine nodded.
"The headmistress is a Cavendish, meaning she's very formal about everything and anything," Allisandra responded this time.
"Yet she's married to Professor Kagari…" Eddy trailed off. Seraphine flashed her a look for a few seconds before glancing back at the letter. A strike of panic went through her body.
"She wants us there by ten o'clock," Seraphine's tiny voice couldn't hold a sense of urgency, but Eddy and Alli understood regardless. It was already nine-thirty-four. And the headmistress's headquarters were in another building on the other side of the school.
"Crap! Hurry, hurry!" Eddy bounded across the room to throw on their uniform and quickly brush their messy hair. Alli breathed a quiet "watch your mouth" to Eddy but they never even heard her. If anybody had to leave a good impression, it was Edlyn. Only because the headmistress herself allowed Eddy to even attend Luna Nova in the first place. Alli was in less of a panic getting ready, while the already dressed Seraphine walked over and grabbed her wand. She paused when she glanced at the Shiny Rod sitting against the table, lifeless and showing no signs of magic from the seven orbs.
As if all the magic it once held was a distant dream.
But Seraphine could remember those days. The days where her life wasn't filled with loneliness. She was very young then, when a witch had put on elaborate and flashy magic shows all over the world. Even from a television screen, seeing that magic show was the best moment of her life.
The one time she had felt… happy.
It was the reason why she had come to Luna Nova.
But she never thought she'd meet the witch behind the shows. A witch whose mind and body were plagued by a terrible past, covered up by a fake smile and soft eyes.
Her mentor, Professor Kagari.
Seraphine would be lying to herself if she said that she didn't feel a bit disappointed. She was disappointed; to the fact that her idol held a defeated look to her maroon eyes.
But her mentor's spirit was still the same. Bright and determined as ever. And Professor Kagari put all her faith into Seraphine. The only person. Even her own teammates were still new people to her, she had only known them since the start of the semester. Eddy was kind and cheerful to everybody though, so it was only natural that they would get along with their team. Allisandra was kind and laid back, and even physically strong, but Seraphine was still hesitant around both of them.
But her mentor was older, and knew and experienced things that no one should ever go through. Seraphine only heard about the stories and rumors, but one thing was true; her mentor had once saved the world with the Shiny Rod herself. Like her mentor had said before:
A believing heart is your magic.
…what heart?
"Seraphine? Yoo-hoo, Seraphine!" Eddy's chipper voice broke into her thoughts, and the small girl blinked. Eddy was waving a hand in front of her face, trying to catch her attention.
"S-Sorry…" Seraphine stammered, and Eddy gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's alright. Come on! We're going to be late if we stand around here any longer!" Eddy was at the door with two long strides, ready to be out the door. Alli was close behind, Seraphine following last in a slow pace.
As the three of them walked quickly down the hallways, Seraphine's mind was still clouded with intrusive thoughts.
Do I even have a believing heart?
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