Chapter 3.
On our way to the library I couldn't stop thinking what Carmack said. No Air users, or any magic users for that matter, have visions. Only the paid psychic people have voice in there head telling them about the future or whatever it is they do, but even humans do that sort of thing. Max knew me too well, he must have picked up that something was wrong because I am so quiet.
"What's wrong?" he asks quietly.
"Hm? Oh nothing, just tired." That's the excuse I always use.
"Bull, I know you, you're never this quiet, what's wrong? Are you stressing about this family tree project we have to do for history?" God dammit, I forgot about that. Thanks max, I mentally glare at him.
"No, I haven't even started." My family tree probably won't go past my parents since I don't know much about the grandparents or anything. I guess I should ask my parents about that.
"Well we will see what we can find while were at the library then yeah?" he's inquisitive today.
"Yeah sure." Just then we walk through the library doors and head over the table we always sit at right at the start of the bookshelf on magic specialisation. How ironic. We start to go through moroi history hoping to find my family name in there somewhere.
Which it probably won't considering these books are only filled with the royal's history. There's a lot on St Vladimir, the schools namesake, I wonder if he had visions, it says he never specialised but I wonder if the intuition's he had were because of visions. It goes all the way back to a king named Naakve. It goes through the wars for the past 100 years. I gather these have all been rewritten over time and translated. My eyes are drawn to a certain paragraph. It's about a book. Is this the book we were talking about in history?
It says that the book was found in an ancient war with the strigoi, and it has never been opened, that it is sealed with some sort of magic. I wonder if it's some sort of air magic that compresses the book so it stays shut. Why would someone never want a book opened? The book now resides in the courts library for public viewing.
"I wonder if I can see it." Without even realising it, I've said that out loud.
"What? Oh the book? Well you're going to court in a few weeks aren't you? You can look at it then I suppose. Didn't know you were interested in it." He shrugs off the comments.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that trip. It will be good to see my mother though." My mother, Paige, works at the courts as an accountant for some Conta royals, and she is only getting a week holiday in 3 weeks, so dad said that we can go see her even though it means I have to miss a few days school. I guess I can look at it then.
Sitting back in my dorm room, I turn on the computer and start doing some research for the family tree assignment. Using a site that our teacher suggested I type in 'Markson' and see what comes up. It's hardly a surprise that it isn't much. It goes back a few generations so I have some material to go on. Jesus, some of these people had up to 8 kids. Wow. I'm glad I'm an only child. My mother always wanted more children but dad wouldn't let her.
Zoning out halfway through my research, I start thinking about the trip to court. I've never been to court, not that I'd like to, with all the stuck up royals thinking they are better then everyone. I don't even get why they have a royal system in place, what makes a last name more important. Did they create lands or something? I don't get it. I guess its life though. Thinking about creating things I think about strigoi. Who made them? How did they start? Would made sense if it started from a greedy royal draining a feeder. I have no idea.
Absentmindedly, I realised I've typed something in the search bar. Nesahla. What the hell? Who is Nesahla? I just stare at it blankly for a while. How did I do that? I lean back in my computer chair and bring my hand to the side of my face and rest it there. I've never even heard of this name. Staring at it for abit, I decide to just press enter to see what happens. I'm surprised when only one article comes up.
'Nesahla family killed and home destroyed by strigoi attack.
The last two members of the common Nesahla family, have been brutally killed in a random strigoi attack. Their home was burnt to the ground and looted by common people not long after the family disappeared. Although nothing is found in their home, all that remains are the pillars that stand in front of the family's library. Although they may not be royals, it is devastating that a family name has been wiped out by the darkness that plagues this world.'
I read the article 4 times. Nothing is really significant to me, I don't understand how or why I typed it. Clicking out of the programme, I shuffle over to my bed and pull back the covers, but I realise I needed to brush my hair. Standing in the mirror I stare at myself. My hair is a mess from the wind outside, all tangled in black snarls and knotted. I take my brush and try to attack my hair. This is going to take a while. Hazel blue eyes stare back at me and I can't help but think that neither of my parents have hazel eyes. My father has brown and my mother has blue. I must have just come out weird. Still brushing my hair, I can't get the name Nesahla out of my head. The name is ancient and no longer exists but still, I can't stop thinking about it.
Thinking about family, I realise I might be able to do a bit more extensive research on mine at the library at the court. I'm sure they have better programmes and more informative books on families that aren't royals. Sighing, I give up on my hair, tie it in a bun, and shrug back to bed. Laying there, I just think about the sealed book. It's definitely a mystery.
The news the next morning is going wild, Princess Dragomir had a dead fox on here bed. Well I'm sure if we had a newspaper going through the school this would be front page. Apparently she got back to her room yesterday after school and found the fox lying in a pool of its blood on her bed, people are saying she was in hysterics. Trudging to class, I bump into Max.
"Whoa, hey, watch where your…oh hey, it's you, sorry I thought you were someone else. Oh my god, did you hear the news about Dragomir this morning? How horrible, I mean who the hell would do something as disgusting as that? It's kind of weird considering she has only just got back from a two year holiday and it seems someone already has a vendetta against her. Could always be Hathaway who done it. Maybe they are looking for…" and off he goes. I give an exasperated sigh and keep walking to class. It's ironic because both Hathaway and Dragomir are in my class this morning. This should be interesting.
Max and I walk in and sit at our table, everyone is staring at Lissa and talking in hushed whispers, and it's not half obvious what they are all talking about. Lissa is sitting with her head in her hands and Hathaway looks like she could murder someone. Wouldn't surprise me if she did really if you look at her reputation. I'm also guessing the higher powers up there are playing the funny cards too, because we are in an animal behaviour class. The whole time in class, the whispers don't stop, neither to do the side glances toward the princess. Looking at her again, I keep thinking of a part of my vision, with the fluffy animal looking thing and a red bed sheet and someone crying. Odd. Because I'm not paying attention I hardly notice when a girl, Mia, I think her name is, asks a question. There is a collective intake of breaths.
The rest of the day goes by in a blur and once I'm back in my dorm room, I collapse on my bed and just lay there for abit. Without realising it, I've fallen asleep and something has woken me but I don't know what. Rubbing my eyes I walk over to the computer sitting in the middle of the white wood desk sitting in the corner of my room and find an email, so it was the little ping of my email that woke me up. It's from my dad.
'Vienna, I'm sorry for the lack of communication' Yeah, I'm sure you are. 'I'm just sending you this to confirm the details of your visit to court to see your mother.' I hardly pay attention to what the rest of it says. This is the first email he has sent me in months. Mum trees to send some when she can without interrupting work but dad just stays off the grid and ignores the world.