It hurts! It hurts it hurts it hurts it actually hurts!
My teeth were clenched, a muffled scream hissing through them as I hunched over, clutching at my chest. Ever since I'd gotten my powers, ever since my body had changed, pain had, at most, been distant, an afterthought. But this… it was like someone was carving a design down my sternum, slowly, with a red-hot, razor-sharp poker, and the pain wasn't dulled at all!
Then I noticed my other scream, deeper than the first, muffled by my face, but still quite loud. It also wasn't restricted by such things as lungs, so when my normal scream trailed off, it kept going. I could hear my friends calling to me, trying to get my attention, but I couldn't make out what they were saying over the agony.
Eventually, after what felt like hours, the torture ended, leaving just a dull, burning ache behind. Gradually, I managed to uncurl enough to glare up at Louise, who was looking a little shell-shocked as she stared down at me. "You never said this would happen, that it would hurt so much, you bitch!" I hissed at her. She flinched back as if I'd struck her.
"I, I'm sorry, I didn't know," was all she managed before trailing off, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy.
In that moment, two sides of me fought. One side was ashamed to have lashed out at her like that, while the other, stronger side, hated her with a fiery intensity for all she'd put me through these past few… was it only minutes? In any case, my wrath must've shown through, because she covered her mouth with her hands again and started backing away.
As quickly as it had ignited, my rage burnt out, leaving me feeling tired and empty. With a sigh, I let my head fall forward again. My friends tried to get my attention again, and I murmured to them to calm down.
Glancing up at the sound of movement, I saw the man walk past me, towards the crowd. "Alright, students!" he called out to them. "The ceremony is over, now. Time to head back." The crowd grumbled back at him, but I wasn't paying any attention to them. Instead, I had pulled my shirt away from my chest to look at where the pain had been.
Down my sternum, traced out in spidery script, were letters in an odd script. Even if they hadn't been upside-down from my perspective, I doubted I'd be able to decipher them. Or, at least, I assumed they were upside down to me.
"So," I said coldly as I let my shirt fall back into place. "You've branded me." I glared up at Louise again, and apparently that was the last straw. She turned and ran, stumbling a few times in her effort to get as far away from me as possible.
I heard a sigh from behind me, and I turned awkwardly to focus my glare on the man from earlier. "Was that really necessary?" he asked, giving me a disapproving look.
"Hey, why don't you try getting something burned into your chest and see what it does to your mood," I growled. "Now, are you going to help me get free of this or what?"
"Oh?" The man's face lit up with interest. "May I have a look at your familiar mark?"
My glare intensified, and I covered my chest with my arms. "Fucking perv," I muttered. The man's expression froze, and a heated blush spread across his face. Then, his words really registered with me. "Wait, you knew this would happen? And you didn't warn me?"
"Uh…"
I sighed. "Whatever. Just get me free already."
"What? Oh, right! Sorry." With a few words and a wave of his staff, the earth holding my legs in place liquified again. I sank in a little more, but the mud wasn't that deep, and I was able to stand and walk out before it hardened again.
My jeans, socks, and shoes remained covered with mud, of course, and while it was already hardening and flaking off as I moved, the garments would still need a good washing. Taking the chance, I took a good look around the place.
I took note of the towers and walls around me, but what I was really looking for was a gate. I made a mental note of its location before returning my gaze to the man. "Say, you never told me your name."
"Mmm? Oh! Pardon me. My name is Jean Colbert, a professor at this academy." His expression turned slightly hopeful. "Might I know your name, Miss?"
With the mood I was in, the urge to break that minor hope proved too much. "No." His face fell. "Now, with all you lot have put me through today, I think it'd be the least you could do to get me a clean pair of pants."
"What?" With an exasperated huff, I gestured to my jeans. "Oh, trousers. Yes, I can lead you to where to get some."
"Well, then. Lead the way."
.o.o.o.
He led me to a door inside the central tower, beyond which a matronly servant (an actual servant! Wearing an actual maid outfit!) was folding clothing. He spoke a few words to her, and she bowed and gave me an appraising glance, wincing at the state of my jeans. She puttered off, then returned with a pair of brown pants that looked handmade. On that note, almost everything about this place looked pretty old-fashioned. The lighting seemed like it might be electric, but I was starting to have my doubts.
In any case, I asked if there was anywhere I could change, giving Jean a glance that the servant caught. Without hesitating, she shooed him out the door, closed it behind him, then went back to her work with her back to me. After a bit of encouragement from her, and getting assurances that she wouldn't peek (which made her chuckle), I took off my shoes, socks, and jeans. Surprisingly, very little mud had gotten on my skin, and it was easy enough to brush it off.
The pants I'd been given proved to be of the perfect length for me, though a little loose in the waist. Nothing my belt couldn't fix, of course, but even so. When I asked her what I should do with my soiled garments, she simply gestured to an empty hamper and told me to leave them there. The sound of the nails in my feet clicking on the stone floor drew a few curious glances from her, but before she could ask, I was out the door.
Jean was waiting outside. "All set?" he asked, before his eyes caught my bare feet. "Wait, don't you need shoes?"
"No, I'll be fine," I replied. Turning away from him, I started walking back the way we'd come.
"Wait!" He called after me, hurrying to catch up. "Where are you going?"
"Out that gate I saw," I replied. He started to protest, but his words died when I fixed him with a look. "I need some time to myself, okay?" Turning away from him, I continued, "Don't worry, I'm not running away. It's not like I have anywhere else I can go."
