Disclaimer: I tried to sell my soul to own Spring Awakening, but my plan failed when I realised that I had already sold it for a donut. Therefore: Spring Awakening is not mine.

Author's note: A map of the grounds of Saint Sheik's can be found on my profile.
This chapter is longer than I had originally anticipated, but I really wanted to introduce some of the other characters. It took several rewrites to complete this; and it will be about two or three parts long.
It covers two of the teachers and all of the students. A change of disclaimer will occur in the next part of this chapter.

Chapter 3: Arriving at Saint Sheik's

Sonnenstitch
The hallways of Saint Sheik's were blissfully quiet, but Herr Gregor Sonnenstitch knew that this would not last for much longer. The pupils would begin to arrive soon, and after that there would be no peace until the next summer; so he was trying to make the most of the quiet time that remained.

He pulled out his book of Virgil and tried to figure out the first assignments for his classes, but there was something that was nagging at him. The uncomfortable feeling of the unknown future seemed heavier than usual this year. He closed his book and looked out of the window in his quarters. The woods that greeted him from outside the window seemed to reverberate with the heavy feelings inside him.

This year is going to be a bad one... I just know it. Something bad is going to happen, and there is nothing that I can do to stop it.

Grossebustenhalter
Fraulein Grossebustenhalter had thought that the sinful thoughts were gone...

She had some peace during the summer, free from shameful thoughts about her favourite young pupil: Georg Zirschnitz. There were no dreams of her star pupil playing the piano so beautifully that it made her want to cry; no dreams of her shy green eyes and soft black hair; definitely no dreams of the silky white skin that seemed like it was meant to be touched. The dreams had driven her crazy with desire, but she was glad to be rid of them.

But Georg was going to return to school today, and the dreams had returned as suddenly as they left; more vivid and disturbing than ever.

This year is going to be a bad one... I just know it. I don't think that I will be able to control myself much longer.

Martha
How on earth am I going to explain this one? Martha Bessel inwardly scoffed as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror.

His dark brown complexion was not dark enough to hide the enormous bruise that covered his left eye. The blue and purple colour of the bruise winked at him in the early morning light; serving as a constant reminder of the injustice that he suffered at the hands of his father.

He continued to stare at himself in the mirror. The bruise wasn't the only thing to worry about... Martha could not open his left eye due to a large amount of swelling that served as a companion to his bruising. He sighed; the glittering hazel of his right eye seemed dull without its pair.

Martha desperately wanted to take his long black hair out of its tight braid to cover the bruise; but he knew that his parents would never allow it. He kept his hair as it is; he didn't want to go to school with two black eyes.

"I fell over and hit a doorknob." Martha said to his reflection; hoping that his friends and teachers would believe his sorry excuse.

Martha was secretly glad to be leaving his home to board at Saint Sheik's. He would be around his friends and teachers all of the time, and he would only see his parents on the weekends and holidays. This meant that times would get easier for him: less time cowering in a corner away from his father's rough punches; less time worrying about explaining cuts and bruises to his friends; less time crying in his bad after his mother's latest sinful display. He was grateful for leaving his home; and, even though he was walking, he was glad that he would not take the journey with his parents.

Martha gave his reflection a small smile before leaving his mirror and his old life behind. Carrying his two trunks, he walked to school with a heart so light that it seemed to make the trunks weightless.

This year is going to be a good one... I just know it. They won't be able to hurt me where I am going.

Ernst
Did they really deserve that kind of punishment?

The small form of young Ernst Robel was hidden by the many layers of her frilly blue Sunday dress ("you need to look your absolute best for your friends" Frau Robel had told her). It served as the perfect camouflage to listen to her parents' conversation.

Herr and Frau Robel were talking about a pair of boys who were caught in a barn just outside Müssen (the closest town to their own). The boys were caught doing something that Ernst knew was sinful; but she felt that the crime did not merit the punishment that they were given: The boys were taken to the town square (completely naked no less), and hung right then and there.

Frau Robel thought that the townspeople were right to execute those boys, but Herr Robel thought that the children should have at least had a chance to explain themselves. The two had been arguing their points of view for some time, and it was just about to escalate to a full-on shouting match, when they realised that their lovely daughter was in the back of the cart... listening to every word that they said. She knew that the divorce of her parents was inevitable... and surely this was the big lead up to that event.

"Ernst?" Herr Robel called softly, as if afraid that he would frighten the fragile young thing.

"Yes father?" She replied, keeping her eyes hidden by her loose black hair.

"You know that we both love you, right?" That was the announcement... they're getting divorced while I am at school. I deserve a bit more explanation than that!

"Of course... father." She dared to show her eyes to her father as she gave a small, sad smile.

Ernst sadly turned her silvery grey eyes back down to the bible that she held open before her, and her parents left her to 'absorb the knowledge of divorce'; but her mind was really focused on the fate of the two boys...

Is it truly a crime for two people, such as they were, to pursue a matter of the heart? Is it truly a sin to love another person... disregarding age, rank or gender?

A/N (again): I have decided to make Ernst a bit more angst-y than normal... it may make no sense now, but believe me it will later.
Divorce was not common practice in the western world (Europe, America, etc.) until recent times, the 20th century; so Ernst's parents were undertaking an uncommon practice in getting divorced.
Also... a bit of trivia: the town name that I used (Müssen) is actually German for 'must'.