"Come on! Punch harder! Remind the school why we let you take these classes!"Guardian Schmidt yelled from the side lines as a Novice came at me with his left fist. His hand connected with my shoulder, knocking me flat on my ass. I thought this guy was a little tough for a new student, but the instructor did not give me a break.

"You're weak, spineless, Little Girl. Queen Vasilisa made a mistake. Maybe you shouldn't train with the Novices." He spat. Schmidt was pissing me off. And, trust me; a pissed off Magda was something you did not want to spar against. I used both legs and kicked the poor guy square in the chest. He staggered back. I used that brief imbalance as a chance to pounce and pin him onto the mat.

"Well done, Szelsky. You too, DaVinci. Both of you get A's for today" Schmidt applauded.

The bell rang. The novices headed out of the door toward the locker rooms.

"Nice job, newbie. "The boy smiled and held his hand out. "The name's Leonard, Leonard DaVinci. You can call me Leo if you'd like, or… "

"Ginger, Ron, or ninja turtle" a tall Dhampir with scruffy, light brown hair, coal black eyes, and a mischievous smile interrupted.

I giggled, "Ninja turtle?"

"Yep, like the blue one. The more 'serious' one."

Leo sighed "I'm sorry for… him. He's a bit of a geek."
Scruffy hair huffed "am not!"

"Guys its fine! They called me Mikey back at 'glades."

"Dude you watch Teenage mutant ninja turtles? You have just gained epic status. The name is Raymond, Ray for short." He bowed gallantly.

"Nice to meet you" I said.
It felt kind of weird introducing myself like that. Back at the Everglades academy, aka St. Lourdes, everyone would kiss on the cheek the moment we wanted to say hi. Then again, it was a regional custom I've only seen in Latin American countries and Cities in which the Hispanic minority was actually a majority, like Miami. Even though I was half- Russian, half Turkish, I've always felt like a full blooded Latina. Spanish is my second language, not Russian or Turkish. I guess it was because my parents met in Mexico while on business. They got married and lived in Culiacan for ten years until I was three and my brother eleven. Then we moved to Miami. But after everything that I've gone through, I was glad to move away from my life for a few years.

"You're not too bad for a freshie." Leo grinned as he ruffled the few strands of hair that got loose from the bobby pin holding my bangs. I rolled my eyes.
In turn I tousled Leo's short, military styled, auburn locks. "Whatever, ginger-boy" I replied coyly, "You're a freshman too."

"But I doubt many freshmen can take on the Great Leonard DaVinci."

"Don't get such a big head Leo," Ray scoffed. I could detect a faint New York accent in his voice.

"Hey, I've been known to beat up senior novices in the eighth grade."

"Eh, lucky shot."

"Against Castille, Ashford, and Cortez?"

"Well, you did get your ass handed to you by Rose Hathaway…."

"SHUT UP! Rose had Belikov for a teacher; the guy's practically a god"

"Sounds like someone has a crush…"

I smiled, "Well if you ladies are done here, I'm going to change"

"Sure we'll see you at lun- Oh my god!" ray shouted.

"What is it?" I inquired, befuddled as to what could have made him react like that.

"You're Moroi!" he answered.

"But you're so tan. And you have boobs!" Leo added.
Ray and I stared at him. An awkward pause passed over us.

"So?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"This is Beginner's Guardian combat techniques. Why are you here?"

"Well, Kirova wouldn't let me level up to intermediate because I'm failing elemental fundamentals…"

"This is a Dhampir class though, since when are Moroi joining in?"

"I don't know; I had these classes at St. Lourdes…" Since Miami wasn't usually occupied by Moroi and there were limited classes at the campus, my parents decided the best way i would learn to defend myself was by joining the novices. The restricted curriculum prevented the court from interfering. I didn't mind, of course.

"That's cool; we can always use more Moroi fighting with magic." Ray smiled.
I bit my lip. The only reason I was failing the elements class was because… well I didn't specialize.

Leo didn't seem to notice. "I think we should shower and continue this conversation during lunch." I silently thanked him for changing the subject; I didn't want people I've only just met sticking their noses where they don't belong.

"Oof, Leo. You should first ask the girl out before you invite her into the shower..." Ray teased.

"Dude!" Leo blushed. "I don't even know your name."

"Magda Alexandra Szelsky." I told him.

"Szlesky, as in Lord Trenton Szelsky's Daughter? Princess Ariana's Granddaughter?" Ray's dark eyes grew wide.

"I'm not like the other royals… If that's what you mean." In truth I was only half royal. I didn't know my mother's side of the family: she never elaborated anything beyond the fact that they were Turkish. But it was too late to ask her about it anyways…

"Neither am I. My mom's a Voda." Leo shrugged. It was rare for Moroi women to fall in love with Dhampirs, especially if she was from a royal family. "But I don't expect royal treatment; the parties aren't worth it either."

"Ugh. You're such a bore. If I were a royal, I would party like there is no tomorrow." Ray mused. I had to agree with him on that one. Being a South beach chica, parties were practically engraved into my system.
The guys started bickering yet again….

"Seriously guys? Can I change, and then meet you guys later?"

"Sure. We'll be at the quad."

I took a quick shower and changed into an aquamarine top and a white skirt, clothing more suitable for the mall on a Saturday than school. Then again, all the royals dressed in clothing far more revealing. I was only fourteen; I didn't want to be labeled anything so I played it somewhat safe with a little edge. I pulled my hair back into a pony tail but I kept the bangs out, blow dried them straight, and got out of the locker rooms.

As I strode across the hallways in my nine west wedge heels, I came across a lanky teenage Moroi with sandy brown hair and dark blue eyes. He would have looked like any other Moroi except that dried blood caked his neck, was Basically transparent, and -despite the fact that he was dead- he grinned like the goofball of a brother he was.

A silent tear escaped my right eye. I smiled.

"H-Hey Gabe"