Lady Amethyst's school of magic was a strange, extraordinary place - plush and decadent in one area and artistically bare in others, almost as complicated and as beautiful as the woman who ran it. Hidden away in a lush valley, sheltered from the outside world by a natural stone wall, the school was a place seldom heard about and even less frequently visited. Despite their isolation, the children who resided here for the school terms were blissfully happy, learning to use magic for good, in the Eastern way, to heal and protect.
Although wary of strangers, the students were delighted and curious in the way children are when five newcomers made their way up the narrow rocky path to the main building as the sun began to set.
"Thank the gods for that, we made it after all," Carrot grumbled. "And about time. I'm hungry and tired and…hello…" his eyes bugged out as a young teacher, arms laden with books and blonde hair hanging loose over white robes like Marron's scurried across the courtyard, probably to report their arrival.
Chocolate gave him a half-hearted thwack on the head, too tired to reprove him properly. She called ahead to Marron, who was picking his way gingerly down to a flight of elegant stairs. "Hate to say it, I mean, my darling thinking is dangerous in itself, but Carrot's got a point. Why'd you have to zap us so far away?"
"Forcefield," Gateau cut in before Marron could answer. "He said before there was a forcefield he couldn't teleport through, probably set up for security. Right?" he grinned cheesily at the black-haired figure ahead of him, who nodded assent.
"Oh," Chocolate pouted.
"I've gone far enough. I'll wait for you at the spot we teleported to," Milphey declared, turning sharply on his heel. "Good-luck-see-you-soon-goodbye!"
"What's with the ass-monkey?" Carrot wondered aloud, scratching his head. The crack brought him another healthy thwack from Chocolate, but he shrugged it off and jogged ahead to catch up with his brother.
"So, what do we do now?" Gateau asked the trees in general.
"I believe I can assist you in that matter. Do follow me, and I'll take you to meet with Lady Amethyst," a sweet voice cut in. It came from a girl of about sixteen, pretty-faced with silvery hair and gentle violet eyes. She wasn't particularly tall, and the modest clothing she wore denoted her status to be probably an assistant teacher or menial.
Marron sighed inwardly in relief, and began to introduce his companions.
"Don't worry, we know who you are. We were expecting you, Marron Glaces," the menial said quietly. "The rest of you, too. And Carrot?"
"How can I help you, sweet thing?"
"Please be mindful of your behaviour. This is a school, with children, not an orgy." Her strange eyes glimmered wickedly as he blushed uncontrollably.
She led them through the winding passageways of the ancient building with purpose, then stopped at a doorway leading to what seemed to be an office of sorts. Assistants of all descriptions smiled at the newcomers, except for an older woman sitting at a desk who scowled fiercely.
"Don't mind her, Anja's always in a bad mood. It makes her happy in some strange way, but she really has a heart of gold," the girl whispered confidentially. Pushing open two vaulted, ornately scrolled doors, she gestured for the group to enter a round, open room panelled on one side with glass that gave a clear view of the valley below in the oncoming twilight. A pond at the bottom of a small natural waterfall the room had been built around trickled water in a stream under glass tiles that ran across the floor in an elegant, meandering course. In the centre of the room, facing the glass wall, were a semicircle of plush couches and chairs, all either blue or purple. Even the paintings on the pure white walls were purplish, trimmed with silver frames that must have been rather costly. Marron absorbed all of this without looking particularly obvious, and the menial smiled at him.
"Take a seat. She'll be with you in a minute." With that, she bowed a little, turned on her heel and dashed out of the room.
The thunk of the door closing broke the magic spell of the tranquil room, and Carrot flopped thankfully down on one of the couches. Within a few second of sinking into the comfortable piece of furniture, he felt completely at home and slouched gracelessly further down, his chin resting on his chest. Marron eyed him disdainfully from an armchair across the semicircle from him, and wasn't too surprised when Carrot declared after a few minutes:
"Okay, sleeping here. Never moving again. Too tired. Don't care any more."
"I rather hope you don't. We've readied quarters for all of you and my office is hardly a suitable place for sleep. I've tried it before - it's not as comfortable as it appears to be."
The menial re-entered the room, appearing to have changed her clothes to a dust-free version of what she'd been wearing originally. The silver hair was restrained neatly in a low ponytail and fell smoothly down her back as she took a seat on the rail in front of the glass wall.
"Isn't she coming, then?" Gateau asked, trying to mask his disappointment.
"Isn't who coming?" the menial said politely, trying not to offend her guests.
"Lady Amethyst."
"I'm Lady Amethyst," the menial replied, and her face fell in confusion when Gateau fainted dead away.
Gateau's head buzzed with stars. Jeez, what a weird dream. We were hiking down a gorge and got met by this strange looking girl who said she was one of the most powerful beings that exist, and…
"That's enough, wake up," an unfamiliar voice quipped. Something was slapping his face.
"Go 'way," he groaned, batting the hand off as he opened his eyes reluctantly. The girl with the funny hair and eyes was leaning over him, threatening him with a glass of water. Rise and shine, Gateau, gods only know why you passed out. How sissy…he looked around, gauging his surroundings and company. And in front of Marron, too…damn, this day sucks. He hauled himself to a sitting position and waited for her to speak.
"What in hell is going on here?" he grumbled.
"You came to me, therefore the onus of explanation is on you, my friend," the Amethyst wannabe said lightly.
"You? We didn't come to you. We came to Am-" Marron whispered a few words under his breath and Gateau lost his voice.
Amethyst flashed those strange eyes and his voice came back. If it was physically possible, Marron paled. "Now dear, I'd like you to be perfectly aware of the fact that I am Amethyst. Do not be deceived by my appearance."
"You?!" Gateau spluttered. "But you're just a kid! You're younger than…than Marron even!"
Amethyst raised one silver eyebrow. "Incorrect. But my age is not the issue here. I know what has happened at the Stellar Church, that the Haz Knights are gone, and that their fool of a pink-haired leader sent you to me for help." She turned to Marron and eyed him critically. "You have been ascended for less than a season, haven't you? You came to me to increase your power."
Mind a total blank of anything else to say, Marron nodded.
"I'm afraid you'll be sadly disappointed. You're already as powerful as you'll ever get, and I'm not going to teach you anything."
The faces of the Sorcerer Hunters fell in shock and disappointment.
"I'm…I'm sorry then. We'll be leaving now, I guess," Marron stammered.
"Why on earth would you be doing that? You're here to learn, aren't you?" Amethyst quipped.
"But…but you said…"
"I'll explain it in the morning. You're tired. Sleep." She waved a hand minutely, and one by one, each fell asleep.
A sleek grey cat glided in the partially open door, and rubbed itself against Amethyst's ankles. She picked it up, petting the silky ears as she teleported each Hunter to their respective quarters.
"You know what, Kurenka?" the cat mewed and stared at her with golden eyes. "This could be a lot harder than I imagined. But first things first." The cat leapt for a chair as Amethyst disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Milphey woke with a start, overcome with a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong. An all-too familiar figure stood across the small glade he'd stopped in, glowering at him over crossed arms.
"Why me?" she snarled. "Why, out of all the Mages on Earth, did you have to send him to me, after I warned you to keep the hell away?!"
Milphey rubbed the sleep from his eyes and cowered a little. "You know there was no-one else, Amethyst. I had no choice."
"There are always choices, you fool." She paused mid-rant, and eyed him critically. "You're not of this plane any more. You're dead, aren't you?"
"Yes, if you must know, I am."
She smirked, an unpleasant contortion of her pretty face. "Couldn't have happened to a more deserving person."
That was enough. The unhappy knight stood up in righteous outrage, towering over the slip of a girl, face a mask of anger. "Do you really think sniping at me is going to help matters?! You're too concerned with yourself to even consider going after Shallot, and that kid is all we have! For once in your life, do something decent!"
"Me do something decent?! You're the one who let all I had left of Opal die!"
Anyone who had stumbled across the scene in the glade would almost have laughed out loud. It seemed as though a girl and a rather effeminate man were having a screaming row, but what was surprising was that the girl was obviously winning. Until this remark, that is.
"Opal didn't belong to you! And Minda's not dead. She's just nearly dead, and if you don't do something about it, we'll lose her for good, too," he snapped hotly.
Amethyst lost her will to argue at this point. "But…I felt her life-force flicker. And you know as well as I do what happens when the life-force flickers."
Milphey grabbed her small hands and looked intently at her, begging her with his eyes to trust him. "Please, Amethyst. For once, trust me. I know how much you loved your sister. I loved her too. And I know you hate me for letting her die, I hate myself. But all we have left of her is dying, and she needs you. Please believe me."
She pulled her hands away, folded her arms again, and drew her brows together in determination. "Where is she?"
A loud thumping on the kitchen door woke Onion up from his restless doze. Who the hell would be here at this hour? Without bothering to get dressed, he stumbled down the stairs in his pyjama pants, ready to beat the hell out of whoever had the gall to wake him up. He pulled the door open and nearly fell over backwards when the dead Haz Knight and a girl of about sixteen with silver hair barged right in.
"Where's Minda?" the girl demanded.
"Who the hell are you?! And -" he eyed Milphey suspiciously. " - You're dead!"
"You got it," Milphey said cheerily. "It's a story for another time and place, but for now, where's my daughter?"
"Upstairs, second door on the right. But she's really -"
"I know, sick. But she's not sick, she's poisoned and dying, and she will die if I don't hurry." The unfamiliar girl took the stairs three at a time, and Milphey shrugged and ran after her. Out of sheer morbid curiosity, Onion followed them.
