Once again, I don't own anything, all rights belong to rainbow.

Sorry for the delay. This chapter has become way bigger than I planned.

So far, Anastasia thought the classes were….. interesting.

After Lady Griffin gave her speech about the new semester (Which she found very impressive) her class had magic-combat and espionage.

In combat magic, they were supposed to learn how to create a bolt. When Lea asked Anastasia why they all learned how to fire a bolt, if they all had different powers that had nothing to do with bolts, Anastasia explained:

"That's part of our social training. Witches are supposed to work together, so that means fighting together too. The clue is, a bolt is a very effective weapon, fast and destructive. Know, if we all know how to fire bolts, we all have an effective weapon against all sorts of trouble. So, first we are trained in some techniques that every witch can do, like bolts and energy shields. After that, we learn how to improve our original power. Then, when we fight opponents, we are supposed to fight them with uniform techniques. Our personal powers are supposed to be used against serious cases. Now, the trick is, when we always fight others with bolts, they will be overwhelmed when they are suddenly attacked with things like for example magma ore rocks. So we shall hide our powers until it is too late for our enemies to prepare for them."

"Okay" Lea replied "how does it come that you seem to know as much as any teacher around here?"

"I have been very busy in the last two month." That was the only answer she got.

Though Anastasia knew allot, her magic skills were another story. While Lea managed to create a little bolt after six attempts (it shot out of her palm, every witch had her personal body parts to create energy. Some fired out of there fingers, others their fists, some had to clap their hands together and so on), Anastasia was not able to manage one single bolt, no matter how hard she tried. Strangely, she didn't seem to be sad or surprised about that. And the teacher said nothing about it.

In espionage, they where taught to collect information's about persons, come to the right conclusions about special circumstances and use that to their own advantage. While Anastasia appeared to be a natural, Lea had some problems, she was more for the direct approach than sneaking around in the shadows and gather information.

Despite the fact that Anastasia was very closed up and didn't seem to be really honest, Lea still hung around with her. At first, Anastasia didn't mind that and in some way Lea felt sympathy towards her. Second, without Anastasias lead Lea would have never been able to find any classroom in the tower, not before the lesson was already over. Like many other freshmen did and got detention for that.

Know they had a lesson in flying. Lea figured that this class would take place on the highest platform, and she was right.

After the class was gathered on top of the highest platform of the tower, the teacher asked who was already able to fly.

A bit more than half of the class lifted their arms. Anastasia and Lea were not under them.

Next, the teacher placed the students on the edge of the (railing-less) platform. She stood in the middle. The students built a circle around her, the ones who said that they could already fly stood behind her. He teacher said:

"The task for today is to return to the platform. Anyone who succeeded in that can help the others. One last question. Is anyone scared of heights?"

A few arms were lifted.

"I couldn't care less."

With these words, the teacher fired two beams out of her hands on the ground. That created a shockwave out of violet energy which swept the surprised students screaming about the edge and let them fall downwards.

Yelling desperately, Lea fell towards the earth. She closed her eyes and prayed desperately for the fall to end.

Meanwhile, Anastasia stayed calm. She had attempt that test a dozens of times and knew that she was not able to fly for some unknown reason. But that for she had a plan.

While falling, she lifted her pigtails and stretched them to an incredible length, making them appear like tentacles. Her hair got a hold on one of the many spikes on the building. Her pigtails wrapped around it and she used that to swing herself to the tower, while her hair already reduced its length.

Then her feet hit the building. With her hair still wrapped around the spike, she pulled herself upstairs. As she reached the spike, she got a hold on it with her hands. Her hair let the spike go, stretched again upwards and got a hold on a window-sill. She pulled herself upwards again. This way, she climbed back to the top of the platform.

In the meantime, Lea wondered why she had not hit the ground already. Slowly she opened her eyes. She noticed that she was lying in the air, in the position she had while falling down, head downwards, and feet upwards. Not daring to move much of her body, she moved her heat and glanced around.

All students that were blown from the platform were now in the air, surrounding the tower. Some of them flew around, others hung in the air like her, others laid in a green sphere a few meters under her.

Suddenly, one of the flying students flew towards her. She had grey, almost silver hair, which was bonded in a ponytail. Her green eyes sparkled in the sun. She was dressed in a silver T-shirt, a blue jeans and white gym shoes. Grinning, she said:

"How lazy of you to just hang around during a lesson."

Lea sighed. "FUUUUNNNNNNYYYY. Could you please tell my why I am not dead? Or help me back to solid ground?"

The strange girl smirked. "You are not dead because you just learned to fly. My older sister told me that they pull this stunt every year. They blast the students from the tower to force them to fly. You just managed to stop your fall. Students who can't do even that are saved through that sphere under us." She pointed at the people downwards. "Now, all students are supposed to fly back to the platform, while guys like me help them with it."

"Okay, thanks. And how exactly does flying work?"

"Hmm, good question. First, since when do you know that you are a witch? Were you raised by witches? Or other magical beings?"

Lea shook her heat. "I just found out four month ago. Before I only lived with my dad. Both of us didn't knew that mommy was a witch. And daddy is no wizard, so the whole magic thing is new to me."

The green-eyed girl frowned. "To bad. Well, my mother explained it to me this way: First, you have to believe that you can fly. Fairies" she spoke that word like others would speak the word bitch "have the advantage that their wings make it easier for them to believe that they can fly. Young witches often have problems to accept that they can fly just like that without suddenly dropping out of the sky. But see. You are in the air and not dropping, right?"

"Right."

"So if that is possible, it should also be possible for you to stand in the air instead of hanging."

Lea groaned.

"Boy, I hope so. This is both embarrassing and uncomfortable."

"You have my sympathy." The girl replied in a tone that made clear that she had way to much fun to feel real sympathy. "Okay, know just concentrate on not dropping while moving into a standing position. If you drop, I will catch you."

Lea looked skeptical. "Okay, but could you tell me your name first? I'd like being able to curse the person who didn't catch my when I fell to my death."

The grey-haired girl chuckled. "You are such a downer. Well, my name is Judith Calbourne, and know get going before I beat you up for wasting my precious time." She threaded mockingly.

Lea rolled her eyes, made a mental note to never let her guard down towards anything in this crazy school, then she tightened her muscles and swung her legs downward, getting into a standing position. As soon as she managed that and felt no ground under her feet, she fell once more. Gasping, she prayed for solid ground and instantly stopped falling.

Blinking, she first looked down. She was still in the air, but it felt like she'd be standing on hard earth. Then she looked up. Judith was like four meters over her, and had not moved an inch.

"Hey" Lea complained "you liar didn't even try to catch me."

Judith grinned. "If I wouldn't have told you to catch you, you might have not moved. By the way, if you hadn't been able to stop your fall the sphere would have saved you. But back to the main topic, you are standing in the air. Do you think you can do something else?"

Lea thought about that. She was indeed standing in the air, and it felt like she'd be standing on solid ground, so maybe…..

Closing her eyes, she took a step forward. Nothing. After opening her eyes again, she started to walk. Still she didn't fall.

A warm feeling run through Lea. Being here, hundreds of meters above the earth but not falling and wandering around just like that….. felt just right. So wonderful right. Smiling, she continued walking, started to run, spread her arms and laughed cheerfully.

Suddenly, Judith appeared in front of her, holding up her right hand and showing her palm in a gesture that without a doubt meant:

"STOP! As amusing as your happy moment might be, and believe my, it is amusing, I have no intention to watch you running around like a maniac the entire day. Understood?"

Lea blushed. "Sorry" she said quite ashamed "I got caught up in the moment."

Judith rolled her eyes. "Whatever, lets finish this. Now that you are able to stay in the air, you just have to learn to move in more ways than horizontal. Unfortunately your way of flying seems to be different from mine. Let's see, how do you think do you manage to fly? I fly through imagining that I am lighter than air and that my willpower can move me. Then I just think about where to I want to fly and my magic does the rest."

Lea rested her index-finger on her chin and looked thoughtfully in the sky.

"Hmm, I guess that I just imagine that there is solid ground under my feet and that's enough to keep me here. That would mean my flying is based on the thought that my surroundings are not how they really are. Now, if I would imagine that the ground is actually above me and the gravitation pull should WHHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Lea screamed while suddenly shooting up into the sky. Judith blinked, then she gave chase.

After they passed the height of cloud tower, Lea abruptly stopped "falling" upwards and Judith crushed into her.

"Au" she groaned, rubbing her temple "curse your hard bones. I hope that little stunt was worth it."

"Yes!" beamed Lea "I've got it! All I have to do is thinking that I should fall in a specific direction and then…"

She shot forward, then stopped after five meters.

"WHOHO!"

Enthusiastic, she shot upwards, downwards, to the right, to the left, and giggled childish while doing so.

Meanwhile, back on the platform, Anastasia watched the scene. Although she was not the first one to return, nobody noticed her sneaking back onto the platform. After she was back, her eyes searched for Lea. After she found her and saw the girl with the grey hair helping her, she recalled everything she knew about that specific girl. Then she analyzed what her roommate was getting herself into through accepting help from that person. She didn't like her conclusion the slightest.

Back upwards, a rather annoyed Judith screamed at Lea: "Enough already! I admit that I've also been eager to use my new ability after I learned to fly, but this is a god damn school lesson, so we have a deadline, and I am so goanna get you if I get problems for being late."

A little bit ashamed, Lea stopped whizzing around like crazy. She gave Judith a remorseful glance. She just rolled her eyes, motioned Lea to follow and flew back to the platform. Lea followed, not nearly as graceful as Judith, she raced uncontrolled towards the platform, stopped two meters above its ground, let herself fall and landed on her feet next to Judith.

"Thanks allot for your help. I owe you."

Judith smirked in response. "That's what my help was all about. You better don't forget that. Ciao."

With that, Judith left a confused Lea and jumped from the platform again, flying to other students who had still problems with flying.

"I see that you have already gotten yourself into serious trouble."

Lea jumped and spun around to Anastasia, who had appeared behind her, with a cold, disapproving look on her face.

"Trouble? What trouble?"

Instead of an answer, she got another question.

"That girl, what was her name? Her full name."

"Äh… Calbourne. Judith Calbourne. Why is that…"

Anastasia interrupted her: "I feared so. Listen carefully. Judith is a princess. She comes from an old, proud line of witches who have been the rulers of their realm for centuries. Her family is a matriarchate and all of their women follow a strict honor code. And you just got yourself involved into it."

Lea blinked. "Come again? She just helped me to learn flying."

"She did not just help you, she made a treaty with you. As she is doing right now with every other student she helps. In her culture it is common that you owe a debt to the person that helped you once. You have to repay the debt through helping that person in a task she asks you for. If you refuse to help her, you will not only lose all of her respect, you will also insult her honor. And her family takes insults very seriously. To make things worse, as a princess she most likely had excellent private tutors before she enrolled here, and her line is also famous for their skills in their own sorts of material arts. Means, if you ignore the debt you owe to her, she has everything she needs to get after you. And believe my, she will if you give her a reason."

Lea closed her eyes and shook her head in denial.

"No no no. That is just sick. You told me that witches are supposed to work together, so why am I now caught up in some crazy old traditions with a princess using me for her own benefit? Why does everything in this stupid school have to be a challenge? Hell, why am I even here? I've never asked for having these powers. So why do I have to live in a place that is dark 24 hours a day full of people who make decisions about my very life!?"

Her voice became more desperate and she started to tremble. It was just unfair. She had been happy with her life, until her powers activated and she had to enroll here. She had to leave all the people she loved, knowing that she had to if she wanted to control her powers in order not to hurt her beloved. But this place and its weird rules was just such a burden.

While Lea was drowning in depression, Anastasia found herself confronted with a feeling she never felt before. Pity. She realized that she had foolishly assumed that Lea would think like her about being a witch, and didn't consider that Lea came most likely came from a completely different background than her.

She didn't really know what to do with this new feeling. Actually she believed that feelings for other people were a weakness, something that'd only hinder you from thinking clearly and doing the right things for yourself. Neither did she believe in friendship, she thought that this was only an excuse to get something without giving anything in return.

But now, seeing her roommate in such a state, she remembered the times in that she was also desperate and cursed her life, desperately trying to stand the pressure, but slowly dying inside through the cruelties of the people around her. Until the day she found her powers and with that a way to fight back, until Lady Griffin found her and freed her from the hell which was her life.

She had been alone that time, and Griffin helped her.

Now, Lea was in a desperate situation, finding herself in surroundings which rules she did not understand, and people trying to manipulate her.

Telling herself that this was just about helping someone who might help her later, she rested a comforting hand on Leas shoulder. Lea opened her eyes and looked her into the eyes.

"See" Anastasia started in a soft voice "I am not good with this emotional stuff, but I'll try. I have always seen my powers as a gift, so I didn't consider that you might see them as a burden. I can understand that you are confused from the rules in could tower, but try to see it this way. Witches are feared and hated all over the magic dimension, especially after the Trix-incident a few years ago. True, that's why witches should stick together, but this school is about more than that. There is a motto: "If you survive cloud tower, you survive everything." All students are in an endless competition with each other, about things like power, knowledge, abilities or popularity. During the years, some sort of hierarchy has developed. It is a hard thing, but it prepares you on your life after school. Out there, people might try to manipulate or seduce you to find ways to get rid of you or blame you for something they did because as a witch you are some sort of perfect scapegoat. Here, your classmates are only trying to manipulate you to prove that they are better than you or learn how to manipulate. But they are not going to harm you. Use you maybe, but not put you in serious danger."

"Why didn't you tell my anything about that in the first place?" Lea asked accusing.

Anastasia shrugged. "You didn't ask and I thought it might be be better for you to find it out by yourself. Maybe that was a mistake. But listen, how about I explain you all the unwritten rules of the school after the classes are over. And if you want to talk about what's bugging you, I am there. And this is an offer I've never made before." Now her tone was serious.

Leas mood lit up. "Thank you. I needed that. The support, I mean. It's just that everything has become so complicated since I am a witch, and I prefer to have things under control. But hey, it's not like everything is bad, mainly I like my powers, especially the flying. Okay, you can explain the things I should know and what for I should watch out. But not everything, just the most important things, I guess you are right with that better learn it the hard way. We can see about the changing life stories later. And if you ever feel the need to talk, I'll be there too."

Anastasia waved the last statement off. "Sorry, I admit that I like you, but for me doing that we'd have to come MUCH closer, and the possibility for that is very rare."

Lea chuckled. That was one thing she liked about Anastasia. She was honest to everything but herself. For her it was obvious that her red-haired roommate was more close to her than Anastasia was willing to admit.

Hope you liked it. I will explain the rules in cloud tower later, it wouldn't be good for the story to tell them now and the chapter is already almost double the size of Alfeas side of the story.

Please review.

Next time: First meeting between Anastasia and Ann-Sophie, first fights.