The girl that entered the classroom was tall and by far one of the prettiest women Darian'd ever seen. She had pretty dark orchid eyes and a slightly darker shade of hair up in a high ponytail. Her skin was like Trista's with maybe a hint more copper to it. The girls' school uniform usually came to slightly above the girls' knees. Apparently, though, because of Atia's height, it went halfway up her thighs and was almost mini. But it was astoundingly cute. Atia's features were bright and cheerful, and she looked to be without a care in the world.
Darien frowned a little and shook his head. He recognized her from somewhere. The memories swirled like fog in his mind. Just when he thought he could place her, the memory was chased away by his teacher's voice. "Mr. Shields! As the top student in the class, I'd like for you to show Ms. Tamuchi around campus."
Mutterings of "Lucky," "Maybe I should try harder," and "Damn," echoed around the room. Darien didn't deny the fact that Atia was beautiful and hoped that Serena wouldn't get any ideas if she saw him showing the girl around campus.
The girl took the empty seat at his table and put her book bag on the ground. She pulled the advanced trigonometry book from her bag and sat it on the table along with a notepad and a pencil. For all her smiling, Darien could've sworn he saw a flash look of sorrow cross her features. "Um...we're on page 248."
"Thanks." Darien detected a light accent on her voice. The girl brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and opened her book. "Ah. We've already done this at my old school," she muttered. "Like learning my multiplication tables all over again."
"You really think this stuff is easy?" Darien asked, surprised. He was, at the moment, barely making a passing grade. At the head of the class, he hardly dared to guess what the other students were making. Atia nodded. "Would you mind helping me sometime after school?"
"No, I wouldn't."
"Are you an honor student?" he couldn't from asking.
"Yes. I've been allowed to skip three grades so far, and I'll be doing another at this rate," she murmured, staring at the hardest part of the book.
"You're only seventeen?!" he hissed, eyes wide. She flashed him a smile.
Mr. Kineo started in the lesson, and the two went quiet. Ten minutes later, Darien glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Atia staring out the window. He followed her glassy gaze and saw a cluster of butterflies. They almost appeared to be dancing. He glanced back at Atia and saw her smiling. Looking again at the butterflies, their dance became more complicated. Not a dance, he realized with a jolt. A waltz. A familiar waltz. It took all of his effort not to get up and perform it. And yet, he suddenly realized that he had never waltzed that waltz in his life.
The class drew to a close, and Mr. Kineo wrote the assignment on the board. Atia regretfully turned her attention to it, but Darien watched in astonishment as, when she stopped looking, the butterflies stopped and flew away. The class groaned as they saw an assignment of twenty-seven difficult problems. Atia sighed, bringing him back to reality. "Oh, great."
"I thought you liked this stuff," he managed, staring at her in awe.
The girl didn't seem to notice. "I do." She shoved her things into her backpack. "I just hope I get it all done so I have time for dance class and to ride my horse." She stood up, and he was quick to follow. She was as tall as he was.
"You...ah...have a horse?" he asked as they walked out of the room. He wasn't used to seeing people as tall as himself, and he was still unsettled by the butterflies.
"Yeah. His name is Sleetcold. He's a handful, but I love him."
"Sleetcold. Isn't the palace of the Norse goddess Hel, daughter of Loki?"
"Yes, it is!" It was her turn to stare at him incredulously. "You're good. Nobody else knows that."
"You named him that on purpose?"
She nodded. "It fits his temperament perfectly. What class do you have now?"
"Advanced expository writing."
She snorted. "Me too. Please tell me this class isn't as boring as that one was."
He laughed. "I believe this one is a bit more interesting."
Serena looked up as a brunette-haired girl walked into the classroom and up to Ms. Haruna. She asked the teacher something, then handed her a note when she nodded. "Students," Ms. Haruna said as she stood. "It seems we have a new student. This is Autumn Tamuchi. She's just transferred here from...uh..." Ms. Haruna frowned at the paper.
Autumn smiled good-naturedly. "Gastahdylia." Her voice held a light accent, and her amber eyes seemed to dance. She truly did look exotic with her light brown skin and oddly angled eyes. Serena found herself entranced by the girl. She looked almost familiar...
"Um, yes. Autumn, please take a seat beside Serena." She gestured towards the blonde. "And, Serena, I don't know why I'm saying this, but...I'd like you to show Autumn around."
"Sure, Ms. Haruna," Serena replied, surprised. As Autumn sat beside her, she smiled a greeting. "Hullo."
"Hi. Serena, right?"
Something about the girl's friendly attitude made Serena smile. "Right."
Halfway through the class, Serena glanced over at Autumn. The girl wasn't paying the least bit of attention. She was staring out the window, and her eyes had a glazed look about them. Butterflies flew around in the pretty spring weather, and she thought she saw them dance in patterns. The more she watched, the more perfected the dances became. A hint of a smile rested on Autumn's lips, and the dazed look in her eyes became a sparkle of contentment.
Ms. Haruna closed her history book. "Class, please take out your literature books."
Autumn sighed and put her book away. The moment she looked away from the window, the butterflies flew away. She bent down to get out her textbook. "How'd you do that?" Serena hissed as they both leaned down.
"Do what?"
"Make the butterflies dance."
Ms. Haruna's voice prevented Autumn from answering. "Please turn to page 389, where we'll continue our study of proverbs."
And you are blind to the truth.
Only four know the truth,
The light, what was forgotten.
The Enemy is waiting,
Watching, listening, planning.
He will be the
end...
Unless...
The notes are never the same.
Unless?! Unless what?! Serena shrieked inwardly. She heard a stifled gasp and looked first at Autumn, then at Amy and Lita.
Autumn was pale and looked like she was going to pass out. Amy and Lita looked uncomfortable, and Serena herself felt uneasy. The words were no joke. Something, somewhere, was happening. These weren't just words; they were real.
Something very strange was going on.
