Hey guys! I'm a little late with this one. I've had massive writer's block for the past few weeks, and I'm hoping that it's gone now. I find that the more detailed I am with my outlines, the less writer's block I get, but that didn't work quite as well for this one. Sometimes the words just won't flow.
The next few days were relatively uneventful- a blessing for Mel. She struggled to keep up with the whirlwind of new activities that consumed her days and nights. She was glad that she had arrived a few days before the school year officially started, before the rest of the students flooded the premises. In the mornings, she attended classes and in the afternoons she would explore the school grounds until dinner, when she would meet up with Cecily and her friends. On her second day at Selium, they went out to eat at a restaurant that Cecily claimed had the "best dessert in Sacoridia." Mel was doubtful, (Could anything be better than dragon droppings?), but when she got to her room that night, she collapsed on her bed from the sheer pleasure of tasting ice cream.
Zofia, a girl a few years older than Mel with dark hair that fell in heavy braids to her waist, laughed as Mel's eyes sprung open on her first bite.
"I had that look on my face the first time Cecily took me here, too," she said, smiling at the memory. "That's the good thing about being friends with someone who has lived here practically her whole life. She knows all the best places in town."
"It almost makes up for her bossiness," contributed a fair-haired boy as he slid into the seat beside Zofia. His eyes crinkled into a smile. "So, just arrived are you? It's good to meet another one of Cecily's adoptions." As he spoke, he reached over and snagged a bite of Cecily's dessert.
"This is Julian. He doesn't seem to understand that without me and my so-called bossiness, his pretty head would still be stuck in the mud behind the mess hall," Cecily put in, mock glaring at him. She slid her hand around her bowl to protect the ice cream for further attacks.
The boy sighed ruefully. "Unfortunately, it's true. I arrived just after Karigan G'ladheon beat Timas Mirwell soundly in a duel, and I couldn't control my laughter. It's only thanks to Cecily's diplomatic skills that she was able to rescue me and keep me from being totally humiliated in my first week."
Mel shook her head at the picture. She remembered Karigan telling her the story, and it was as funny now as it had been then. Mel took another bite if her ice cream, savoring the sweet vanilla flavor. If only someone combined chocolate and ice cream, they would have the perfect dessert. She directed her next question towards Cecily. "How long have you been here? How do you know so much about this place?"
She smiled and let out a breath. "It's not much of a story. My mother was a seamstress in the outer city, so I know my way around there pretty well. I never dreamed that I would be smart enough or have the money to get into the school, but just before she died, my ma got a patroness who commissioned her for an entire dress. In her will, she left everything to me and told me to use it to reach my dreams, so I ended up here, training to be a healer. I'll never be helpless again when someone I love is dying."
"Wow," Mel breathed. "How did she die?" Immediately after she said it, she realized the bluntness of her words and a blush began to creep up her neck.
Cecily let out a bitter smile. "It was a fever. It swept through her body in a matter of days. If I had known what I know now…I might have saved her." She looked down.
Zofia reached over and squeezed Cecily around the shoulders, frowning at Mel. Julian gave her a strained smile. In the silence that followed, Mel wished she could sink underneath the table and disappear. Her second day and she was already embarrassing herself in front of the people she most wanted to impress. What would the rest of the year be like?
The next morning, Mel awoke to a thumping noise outside of her room. She got out of her bed and ran to open the door. In the doorway to the room is across from her a boy sat on a trunk, his shoulders heaving. She watched as he sat there for a moment before standing up, stretching out his arms, and attempting to drag the trunk into his room again. He huffed in frustration as his hair fell into his eyes. Before Mel could offer to help him, he threw his strength into one last attempt and managed to bring the trunk beside his bed.
"Wow," Mel commented. "What could you possibly have in there?" The boy looked up suddenly, startled to see her there.
He offered her a sheepish grin. "My family says I always pack too many books, but how am I supposed to help myself when they just stare at me from my bookcase while I'm packing?" His face turned so pitiful that Mel couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"What do like to read?" she asked. He began to pull books out of his trunk, laying them in a circle surrounding the bed. Her eyes widened as the pile grew and grew.
"How do you have room for clothes in there?" she asked.
"I got my friend to bring some of them for me. I'm Noah by the way. Are you new? I don't think I've seen you here before."
Mel told him her story of how she had been forced to come. He listened interestedly, but when she told him that it was her dream to become a rider, his face contorted and he winced. Mel was shocked. She knew that there was some anti-rider sentiment. She had even come up against it at the palace, but such a strong reaction was discouraging.
"I'm sorry," Noah apologized. "I'll try not to judge you for your choice. But seriously, the Green Riders? Not only are they obsolete, they used to use magic. Why would you want to be part of something like that?"
Mel just blinked at him. Who was this person? She had to be careful not to reveal what she knew about the brooches. But how could anyone still think of magic as an evil thing? Sure, Mornhaven had devastated them with it, but what about the Eletians? What about the hundreds of people who had used magic for good during the war? She shook off those thoughts and tried to make her escape. Noah, completely unaware of the inner turmoil that he had just caused for Mel, waved cheerfully as she returned to her room and went back to his books.
The rest of the day passed slowly for Mel. Since the official school year hadn't started, only a few teachers were teaching classes, and most of those were large lectures. Mel was indistinguishable from the other sleepy, only half paying attention, slightly bored students. Since the summer classes weren't graded and they didn't build on previous knowledge, no one was taking any notes. After classes let out, Mel joined up with Cecily and friends again. The awkwardness of yesterday seemed to be forgotten.
The rest of her week flew by. Cecily introduced her to a new feature of Selium each day, and at night Mel would do her best to avoid Noah and his views on the riders on her way to bed. She fell into a routine that made the days go by quickly, and before she knew it, the week was over and classes were about to start. Mel prepared herself for the long grind of school.
DUN DUN DUN DUN. Maybe the ending wasn't quite that dramatic, but did you catch the tension between Mel and Noah? Hmm, I wonder if his views will come up again. The next chapter is almost finished, so expect it soon. Remember to review!