Chapter 29: Surprise exams – Part 1.
I'm laughing at some lame joke Enid said as we exit the cafeteria, when suddenly I see Croix at the other end of the hallway, and quickly tell an apology to the twins before hurrying up to seek my best friend.
"Croix! Croix!" I yell, making more than a few heads turn in my direction. She, of course, stops and looks at me unimpressed.
"Chariot." She simply greets me, but I notice a small smile on her face, making my own widen with enthusiasm.
"Where are you going?" I ask as she starts walking away, hurrying up to keep up with her.
"To class." She says matter-of-factly.
"Cool! Can I walk you there?"
"Sure." She chuckles at my enthusiasm.
"Yay!" I jump and do a little victory dance that is promptly interrupted by an angry yell.
"Miss du Nord, Miss Meridies!" Finnelan yells our names, startling us both so much that I freeze on the spot. "I'm glad I finally found you both." She smiles coldly. "Would you please accompany me to the orientation office? I'd like to discuss the events of yesterday."
Croix and I turn to look at each other. I shoot her a panicked glance, and she responds with a sigh before putting up a perfectly neutral mask and turning to the professor's direction again.
"Of course, Professor Finnelan." She answers politely. She then gives us a court nod and then turns around to start leading the way, but before we follow her.
Sooner than I would have liked it, we arrive at Finnelan's office, and since I'm just an useless wreck of nerves, Croix ends up explaining everything to the professors. From the stand selling weird fruits, to my little show of magic, to how we sent the dragons away. Granted, she does so very accurately, so I can't complain, but hearing it from her makes it sound like it was mostly fault of my reckless use of magic… and maybe it sort of was. Needless to say, Finnelan isn't happy with me. At all.
"Miss du Nord." She starts her scolding with that strict tone of voice and disapproving glare that scares me so much. I cower under her gaze. "Why are you always the one causing the worst disasters?"
"Bad luck?" I answer with a grimace.
"No. You are a bad student. Plain and simple." I flinch at her harsh words.
"Now, now, Finnelan." Holbrooke speaks up from her desk, trying to calm her down. "There's no need to be so hard on her. I'm sure she's already learned her lesson."
"With all due respect, Headmistress Holbrooke, I don't care if she's a descendant of one of the Nine Olde Witches." Finnelan says, glaring at the old and gentle professor. I even feel bad for her. "Rules are rules, and she's broken them far too many times, even endangering lives in the process."
I wince at the last part, remembering yesterday's events. No one really died, sure, but it could have easily happened.
"Not to mention, we had to do damage control before Luna Nova's, and the entire magical world's name, was hurt anymore." Finnelan finished. "This situation could have easily ended in disaster."
"Let's not forget that Miss Meridies was also there. It's unfair to blame Chariot entirety." Holbrooke tries to defend me, meekly. I, however, would prefer to take all the blame than to let Croix's reputation be tarnished.
"None of it was her fault." I protest. "You heard what she said; I used magic, which led to the egg being hatched. She simply helped me send the cub and his mother into the Leyline."
"That's another thing!" Finnelan yells. "Ever since you two became friends, Miss Meridies had been obligated to clean after your messes, and it's showing in her academic grades." I turn to look at my friend, but she deviates her gaze to the ground, giving me all the confirmation I need to know that what Finnelan said is true. I feel pain in my chest, far greater than the one I felt at the thought of getting detention again. The last thing I ever wanted was to get Croix in trouble!
"But.. I-I didn't… I wasn't…" I stutter out, too shaken by this new information to say anything coherent.
"What do you suggest then, Professor Finnelan?" Holbrook asks with a sad look on her face.
"I will give you one more chance to prove me wrong." Finnelan snarls. "Five professors, I won't tell you which, will evaluate your performance tomorrow. If your notes are anything but excellent, you will be expelled." I take a sharp intake of breath at her words, thinking his can't get any worse. Then she turns to look at Croix. "That goes for the both of you."
"W-what?" Croix's eyes widen, and her face pales even more.
"Maybe that'll teach you not to get yourself involved in these sorts of situations." She finishes with a scoff.
"Very well." Professor Holbrooke sighs. "If you really think this is the best course of action, I have no objections." I feel a pang of pain on my chest once more. I thought Holbrooke would defend us! "I'm sure they'll do just fine."
"I accept the punishment." Croix says before I can find my voice and protest about this injustice. I stare at her in disbelief and indignation. "If that's all, I'll be in my room. Studying."
"Very well, Miss Meridies." Holbrooke nods solemnly. "You should also go, Chariot. The two of you are dismissed."
And with just a simple nod, Croix exits the office, looking very angry, even for Croix's standards. I quickly follow her, but she doesn't turn to acknowledge me. When she arrives to her room, she closes the door on my face and locks it, confirming that she's mad at me, probably because she blames me for the punishment.
But then again, maybe it is my fault. Maybe I've got Croix in more trouble she would have ever gotten herself into otherwise. Maybe… I'm really not a good friend.
I spend the whole night studying… or at least trying to. The thought of being unworthy of Croix's friendship is enough to distract me from anything I try to read, so I end up reading one phrase over and over again until I realize nothing makes sense and move on to the next one. So when the sun comes up, I'm just as unprepared as when it set on the horizon. But I don't want to be expelled! Being a witch is my dream! Yet, I don't know if it's really in my hands to accomplish it.
When I arrive to the classroom, both Croix and Professor Finnelan are already there, meaning I don't have the chance to properly greet my friend and wish her good luck, so I resort to just smiling at her and giving her a thumbs up. In response she attempts to smile, but it ends up looking more like a grimace. From the bags under her eyes and her disheveled appearance, I imagine she didn't sleep much either, and end up feeling even more guilty.
"You are late, Miss du Nord." Finnelan says with an angry scowl. I can only smile sheepishly as answer. "Not that I expected anything else from you." She scoffs. "Anyways, take a seat. Your first test will be Bird Language." As I sit down where she pointed me to (very far away from Croix, unfortunately), I notice a black crow standing proudly in a perch next to Finnelan.
The professor first hands Croix a paper sheet, and then comes to give me another one. The instructions on the top are written in lunar runes, but thankfully I recognize some of them and I'm able to properly write my name and date in the corresponding spaces.
"You will listen to the crow and write down what it says. I will do the same and evaluate you according to how accurate what you wrote was." She continues, getting out a notebook and a pen of her own. "Any questions?" When both Croix and I shake our heads, she nods. "Very well then, begin."
I steel my nerves and attempt to stop the shaking of my hands, but since I haven't studied much about bird language, having no familiar of my own, I'm more than just a little nervous. The crow starts cawing and I'm able to understand a couple of words that I quickly write down. Ball and… storm? What? That doesn't make any sense! And now he's saying something about maize? Is he hungry? No, wait. Maze? What does a maze has to do with all of this?
At this rate I'm going to be expelled by the end of the hour! I need to do something!
Wait… I'm very good at metamorphosis magic, am I not? And, if I recall correctly, transforming into an animal gives you the ability to understand the language of the chosen species. I don't think Finnelan would approve, but then again… she's so concentrated on writing down what the crow says that maybe she won't find out if I'm subtle enough.
Careful not to make any sound, I get out my wand and mumble the metamorphosis spell, quickly transforming myself into a crow, just like the one on the front… except red. Damn. This won't do for subtlety, but I guess there's nothing that can be done about it.
The crow speaks again, and this time I'm able to perfectly understand what he's saying. Though… now I can't use my hands to write, so I resort to dipping my claws on the ink and using them to scribble what I'm able to understand on the paper. Sure, it's messy, and I'm barely able to understand my own writing, but I can always write it again (properly) later.
"Chariot!" I hear Croix scream-whispering my name and turn to give her a questioning gaze. She answers with a panicked glance and points with her head at Finnelan. Who still has her eyes firmly on her notebook. "Don't cheat." Croix mouths, but I just roll my eyes. It's not cheating if I'm not caught. Duh.
In that moment though, Finnelan stops writing and I quickly transform myself back into human before she can see me. So when her eyes land on me, I'm just a regular sixteen-year-old student. She eyes us suspiciously, but I just smile trying to look as innocent as possible. After a few tense seconds, she shrugs and goes back to taking notes.
The rest of the exam goes on in a similar fashion, with me alternating between my human and crow forms, making sure Finnelan doesn't catch me. Just when the hour is about to end, however, the crow says something I wasn't expecting at all.
"Professor Finnelan, do you think we can end this early? One of the girls is constantly transforming herself into a crow, and it's very distracting!"
Instantly, Finnelan's eyes land on me while I frantically try to do the metamorphosis spell. However, she still catches a glance of my bird form, and fixes me with a severe glare.
"Miss du Nord." She starts as she approaches, putting down her notebook. I gulp, feeling my stomach twist painfully.
"Y-yes?" I stutter.
"Did I say you could use metamorphosis magic to pass this test?" Her question is no doubt rhetorical. However, my mouth ends up answering before I can stop myself.
"W-well… y-you didn't say we couldn't."
Finnelan's eye twitches at my response, and she's about to open her mouth to retort, when Croix speaks up.
"Chariot is right." She says calmly, with an almost layback attitude. Finnelan stares at her like she just sprouted a second head. "Though I admit that using metamorphosis magic shouldn't be permitted on an animal language test, you failed to remind us of that very fact. Thus, Chariot didn't cheat; you simply forgot to tell us the rules."
"I didn't think I had to!" Finnelan retorts, obviously finding Croix's attempt at defending me utterly exasperating. On the other hand, I'm smiling like a fool as a warm sensation spreads through my chest. Honestly, even if I'm failed for cheating, I still wouldn't feel bad because Croix is defending me from Finnelan.
"It's Chariot that we're talking about." Croix pretty much rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "She breaks the rules even when you explicitly tell her not to." I pout at her, but she flashes me one of those confident smiles that never fail to make my heart skip a beat. I quickly deviate my gaze, finding the floor to be very interesting.
"I see what you're trying to do here, Miss Meridies." Finnelan sighs. "And though your attempts at helping your friend are very noble, I can't ignore the fact that she doesn't know as much about crow language as she should. Hence why she had to turn into a bird."
"But you don't know how much she's actually able to understand without transforming, so you can't just fail her either." Croix says matter-of-factly. To my surprise, Finnelan nods solemnly.
"I will grade your exam, Miss du Nord, and subtract two points to whatever grade you get." She glares at me. "You can thank Miss Meridies for my generosity; if it were for me, you'd already be expelled." I gulp and nod vigorously, too surprised to say anything in return. "Well, you are dismissed now. Your next exam will be flying magic, and you can't be late."
I thank Croix as we walk towards the field, but she's still giving me the cold shoulder, despite having defended me from Finnelan. Honestly, this girl! I can't understand her half the time. And we're best friends since like a year ago!
When we arrive, Professor Nelson is already waiting for us, and so are our brooms. This should be easy enough; no one better than me at flying, if I do say so myself. Except maybe Croix. Maybe.
"Okay girls. I don't know what trouble you got into this time, but I'm not going to take it easy on you." She crosses her arms over her chest and gives us a stern expression, but after being with Finnelan for an hour, Nelson doesn't look even slightly intimidating. "You'll be doing an obstacle course I designed specifically for this test. You'll have three minutes to complete it, and every ten seconds after the deadline will rest one point from your grade, is that clear? We both nod. "Good, now get on your brooms. You shall start at the sound of my whistle. Ready? One, two…"
The whistle sounds and both Croix and I take off at maximum speed. Soon enough, I find myself ahead of her, and end up smiling cheekily at my friend, who just rolls her eyes… and easily avoids the first obstacle. I end up hitting the wooden pole face-first, but thankfully I don't fall and only have to take one second to get my bearings and recover from the pain, before taking off after Croix again.
I speed between the poles with ease, just like we do in class, and end up catching up with my friend no problem. Actually, maybe this is way too easy. I bet I could impress Nelson if I pulled of some of the tricks I've practiced, and then maybe she'd help me when it comes to making the decision of my expulsion of Luna Nova. I mean, I doubt I can do as well in the other exams, so why not outdo myself in this one?
Plus, it's more fun.
I soon start showing off, doing complicated acrobatics on my broom in order to evade the obstacles. I don't even have a problem with the magically appearing pillars that sprout from the ground as we go. Croix shoots me a disbelieving stare, but I just smile and wink in return before speeding past her at maximum velocity. We're already half-way through the course, and this doesn't feel like a challenge at all; more like a field trip. How could I make it more interesting? Oh, I know!
In one single motion, I jump on my broom, landing with my soles on the broomstick, and easily maintaining the equilibrium in that position. Turns out, this way is better when it comes to obstacle courses, since now I can make sharper turns and squeeze between small gaps without fearing for the safety of my legs.
"Chariot, stop!" I hear Croix yelling from behind me. "Can you fly normally? You're gonna fall!"
"Yeah, right. I'm not taking advice from a snail." I taunt, enjoying way too much the exhilarating sensation flying like this gives me. The wind hitting my face, the pounding on my chest, the adrenaline running through my veins… it's all addicting. Flying has always been one of my favorite things about magic, and even now is the most fun.
"Chariot! Dock!" I hear Croix's warning, but before I can process the words, a flock of birds appears out of nowhere and I'm hit by them. I try to deflect them with my hands but because of my position, I easily lose my equilibrium and end up falling from my broom.
"Chariot!" I hear Croix's panicked voice just before hitting the ground. The impact makes me bounce and roll a few seconds before I finally stop. I think I black out for a moment, but when I come back into my senses, I can tell by the intense pain I'm feeling that I'm covered in bruises, scratches, and some rather nasty injures. I can barely breathe and the pain on my ribs tells me I probably broke a couple of them. Yet, I still stand up and search for my broom… only to find it a few feet away. Broken.
"Chariot, are you okay?" Croix asks me from above. I quickly wipe my tears and put on a brave façade. I wouldn't want her to fail because of me.
"Y-yeah. Go ahead, I'll catch up in just a second." I answer.
"Are you sure?" she asks, doubtful.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I assure her. She eyes me with a concerned gaze, but thankfully ends up flying away. She probably didn't notice my broken broom.
I sigh. This time I really messed up. How on Earth am I supposed to finish the flying magic test without a broom? It's not like I can cast the spell on myself… wait a minute. It is possible to cast Tya Freire on virtually any object, including oneself, like I did only yesterday at my show. We only use brooms because it's more convenient and easier to maneuver. But, maybe I could…
"Tya Freire!" I yell, concentrating my magic on the soles of my feet the same way I'd do so with a broom. Instantly, I start elevating myself from the ground. Unlike the sensation of rising up in a broom, when I do this on my own, the magic seems a little unstable. Or maybe it's just my imagination that makes me think I'll fall at any second and get hurt again. Still, I'd feel better if I had more support under my feet, like, if I had four legs instead of two. That'd also make me faster, and I definitely need that if I want to finish the course on time.
Wait… that's it!
"Metamorphie faciesse." I transform into a horse, but only partially. Because a simple, ordinary, horse is way too boring, right? So what better than a centaur? A creature said to be only a myth, but one I can turn into with the power of my imagination.
Instantly, I feel the power of my strong legs, and I'm more confident at my ability of running, especially since having four legs definitely improves my equilibrium. It's a little weird though, having half of my body transformed into another animal, and my first steps are a bit hesitant, but I get used to the sensation quickly enough, and soon I'm running through the sky, avoiding the obstacles with ease and, dare I say, grace. Honestly, this is almost as fun as flying!
Though if I didn't have two broken ribs it'd be more fun. Oh! It's a good thing I didn't transform the upper half of my body while injured. It would have been nasty. Croix would be so proud of me, even if my purpose for transforming into a centaur wasn't avoiding a crisis.
Anyways, there's the finishing line! I can already see it. Of course Croix has already arrived, and is waiting for me next to Professor Nelson. And I mean, I wanted to best her for once, but it was my fault for trying to show off. I have to admit she won fairly, as much as it stings.
I descend as I approach the finish line, and stop by diving my hooves on the dirt, leaving a cloud of dust behind me. Once I've come to a complete stop, I transform myself again, stumbling a little as I get used to maintaining the equilibrium in just two legs. Then, I turn around and smirk proudly at seeing Croix's and Nelson's awed faces, their jaws practically hitting the ground.
"So… what was my time, professor?"
At my question Professor Nelson blinks and shakes her head, obviously trying to comprehend what just happened, before finally looking at the clock she's holding on her hand.
"Uh… three minutes and twenty-three seconds."
Instantly, I feel my stomach drop. Did I really take that long? I thought I'd made it just in time! I was right behind Croix, wasn't I?
"What about Croix!?" I ask, fearing the answer.
"Two minutes and fifty-eight seconds." Her gaze is almost proud as she turns to look at my friend. "Not nearly close to her previous record, but still quite impressive considering she stopped to look after you." I open my mouth to protest, thinking it's impossible that there was such a gap between the two of us, but Croix voice interrupts me.
"What happened to your broom, Chariot?" She asks, a frown on her face.
"It broke." I shrug. This action alone makes the pain intensify, and I can't help wincing noticeably. However, none of the two witches comment on that, obviously more concerned with something else.
"And you just… ran the rest of the way?!" She practically screams, staring at me with a mix of horror, disbelief and awe.
"Uh… yeah. It's still flying magic, isn't it?" I try to say it nonchalantly, but I'm feeling so proud about my idea that I can't quite believe I actually accomplished it.
"You used flying magic and metamorphosis magic at the same time." Croix chuckles, shaking her head. "Honestly, only you would think of something so ridiculous and complicated."
"But I passed, didn't I?" I huff, turning to look at Professor Nelson for confirmation. She sighs and looks at her clock once again.
"Well, yes." She answers. "Bumping into one of the obstacles cost you a point. Plus two from the twenty seconds you took past the deadline… that means you got a B."
"What?!" I almost shriek. I was counting on this test to give a chance to get at least one A.
"You could have gotten an A+ if you'd flied normally. Like Croix." She chastises me. I pout. "Honestly, so much wasted potential."
"Professor." Croix interrupts her before Nelson can keep chastising me. "I believe Chariot needs to go to the infirmary, since she got injured with her fall. I will accompany her, if you agree."
"Ah, yes, Miss Meridies. You're right as usual." The professor nods. "Please, make sure she's tended to properly. I'll go tell Professor Lukić that you'll be arriving a little late." And with that, she flies off on her broom.
"Ah… I wished she'd give me extra points for what I did with flying magic." I sigh as soon as she's out of earshot.
"Not everyone appreciates creativity, Chariot." Croix says as she approaches me, a gentle smile firmly on her face. "But for the record, I'm really impressed."
My heart skips a beat at her words, and a smile of my own soon appears on my face.
"I must have hit my head hard. I'd swear I just heard you compliment me." I joke.
"Don't let it go to your head." She chuckles, ruffling my hair affectionately. "But yes, I did compliment you. Honestly, maintaining control of both spells at the same time is quite a feat. One I doubt even I would be able to accomplish."
"Really?" I stare at her in disbelief. It was way too easy for me!
"Yes. And it takes quite a significant amount of magic too. I'm surprised you didn't faint afterwards."
"You've never complimented me like this before." I say, feeling a prominent blush taking over my face, mostly because of how proudly and affectionately she's looking at me. "And here I thought you were mad at me!"
Croix's expression then turns into a frown.
"I'm mostly mad at the teachers, to be honest." She says in a cold way, contrasting with how she'd been talking to me until now. "And I definitely don't appreciate being in this situation at all." She continues, unable to hide the anger on her voice. Yet, then she takes a deep breath in order to calm herself down, speaking her next words more softly. "But I'm still your friend. And since we're in this together, I might as well support you in any way I can, right?" She smiles hesitantly. It's just a tiny twitch of her lips curling upwards, but it's enough to make the smile return to my face as I pretty much tackle her in a hug… and then I remember I broke my ribs.
"Ow, ow, ow!" I scream in pain as I separate myself from Croix and take deep breaths, trying to push down the pain. Still, my eyes start stinging with unshed tears.
"Let's get you to the infirmary before you manage to injure yourself further." She sighs. But the gentle sound of her voice is enough to make me forget about my pain.
A/N: Hey! I did promise to update every two weeks, didn't I? XD. Anyways, this is the exciting start of a very long and fun arc in this fic, so I hope you enjoyed, and if you did, please review/follow/favorite. It really do helps a lot!
Well, thanks for reading! And thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)
See you in two weeks!
