School had just ended for the day, and Raine Whispers was left alone in the empty Bard classroom. Being in the class's top ten garnered special privileges, one of which was having access to this very room. They preferred to be alone when perfecting their craft. Raine rested their chin on the violin, closed their eyes, and played their rhapsody.
The rest of the world seemed to vanish as they played; the only sound was the one they poured out from their heart and soul. They made a few missteps, as any artist would at their age, but they found a way to improve along the way. The room filled with their passion, swelling up until reaching its peak and faded with elegance for the climax. Thus ended a song no one would hear. Upon opening their eyes, they saw a reflection in the window. "Ah!" They screamed and jumped around to the only door in the room.
"That… was something." The person in the reflection said, a pale girl around their age with an orange mane that went down to her back. She still wore her school uniform, Potions yellow.
"H… how d-d-did you g-get in here? School's closed…" Raine stuttered. "M-most students wouldn't want to be here. Like the cute ones…" Their face flushed red all over. "Oh, Titan! Did I say that aloud!"
"Heh." She chuckled. "You're pretty cute yourself." She walked close to the young Bard. "Though, you might wanna work on the nervousness. A Bard shouldn't have stage fright, y'know."
"I… I know that. I just…"
"Hey, I don't judge." The girl offered them her hand. "I'm Eda, by the way."
"R… Raine. My name is Raine." They hesitantly shook it. "You're… you're uh… the High Priestess' daughter, r-right?"
Eda rolled her eyes. "And don't forget Hexside's number one troublemaker; I've worked hard to earn that title."
"R… right. Sorry."
"For what?" Eda looked at them, confused.
"You didn't seem happy about…"
"Oh, the High Priestess' daughter, thing. Don't sweat it. You're not the first person to try and befriend me because of who my mom is."
"What?!" Raine was surprised by the accusation and turned even redder upon realizing how it sounded before. "No. I wouldn't… I'm not that kind of…"
"Relax, I'm just messin' with ya." Eda laughed. "Well, it was nice meeting ya, but I gotta go. I've got a teeth-stealing hex that won't hide in Jenkinmeyer's office on its own. Byeee!" The redhead exited the room, with the still blushing Raine.
Something about her gave them a feeling they could not describe. They had to get that feeling out and readied their violin. A new song was born to mark the beginning of an unlikely friendship.
Raine thought back to that day and was still in disbelief. Four days have almost passed since what had happened to Eda since she went missing. No one has found any trace of her, Owlbert, or King. They just disappeared. And with it, much of the joy Raine had in life. Raine did not even want to think about what Eda's family was going through. There was only so much heartbreak they could stand.
"You're going down!" An orcish student wearing a Glandus uniform, Illusion Track, shouted at passing Hexside students.
"In your dreams!" One of the Hexside students, Beast Keeping Track, shouted back.
Today was going like any other day, except it was not like any other day. Hexside was joined by classmates from rival schools, Glandus and St. Epiderm. The annual "Battle of the Schools" was coming up. The top students from each academy would compete against each other to see who was worthy of the emperor's funding. Hexside would be hosting the battle this year and playing "home" to the other students.
While Eda was forbidden from participating, given her "criminal" record, she would always cheer Raine on from the stands. But they were not entirely alone out there and would have Poppy and Lilith backing them up. But the latter was no longer attending Hexside. By order of the Emperor's Coven, Lilith Clawthorne was required to join early as their newest recruit. She will continue her education under their tutelage.
"Hey, Raine." They heard Morton speak, completely forgetting he was with him. "Hey, don't let them get to you," He patted their back. He has been supporting Raine through this. "They're just trying to intimidate you. And you still have Poppy by your side."
"Yeah… I guess." Raine said, with their mood far from improving. Hexside had lost someone that always brought a smile to Raine's face. Someone irreplaceable, someone they may have seen more as than just a friend.
"Don't worry about Eda. She's the toughest witch we know, remember? Well, one that doesn't try to steal our lunch money." There was an awkward silence. "She's all right, Raine. Nothing bad will happen to her."
"You mean, nothing worse can happen to her." Raine walked away, leaving Morton regretting his choice of words. Perhaps, Raine thought, that was a little harsh. He is Eda's friend, too. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Morton joined them, then let out a sigh. "I'm trying to be positive, but I'm worried about Eda, too."
"I know you are."
"It's just… she can be impulsive, but she wouldn't get herself cursed. Someone had to have done it to her?"
Raine did not want to believe that. They know people in the Demon Realm could be cruel, but could they be that cruel? No matter what Eda's done, they did not expect someone would want to hurt her like that.
"I know you want to help, I just… I just want to be alone right now." Raine apologized before turning the corner, leaving him behind.
Raine wandered down the halls, passing the door slightly ajar by the teacher's breakroom. "This is wonderful." Raine heard Ms. Jenkinmeyer's voice coming from the room and stopped. They peeked inside to see the teacher was talking with another.
"I don't remember any week being this easy." Said the other one, enjoying his coffee.
"And all it took was someone cursing that Clawthorne brat." Raine felt a rush of anger overcome them, muscles growing tense. "After all the trouble she's given the staff and Bump refusing to do anything about it, she finally got what she deserved. I just wished it happened sooner."
"And we won't have to worry about her smearing this school's reputation anymore."
"Eda Clawthorne being cursed is the best thing to ever happen to Hexside."
Raine's anger was at its peak; they were ready to kick the rest of the door open and hit them with the most painful spell they could think up. They were not about to let them get away with what they were saying!
But before they could act, a hand was placed on their shoulder. Raine looked up to see it was Principal Bump, shaking his head. "Let me handle this, Mx. Whispers." He said, opening the door all the way and entering.
"Oh, Principal Bump." Jenkimeyer greeted, pretending to be friendly. "Care for some coffee?"
"From you, no." The amount of venom in Bump's tone was probably enough even to frighten the emperor himself. "When I hired you to teach at my school, it was because of your academic credentials. I thought you would both be good influences on my students. I'm aware of how problematic Edalyn Clawthorne can be; she also drives me insane. Still, I will not tolerate any of my staff joking about this tragedy."
"What?" The other teacher questioned. "You can't be serious!"
"This place needs teachers like us!" Jenkinmeyer argued. "Teachers willing to get rid of those who don't deserve the powers they have."
"That is not for you to decide." Bump shot back. "It's for no one to decide. Our jobs are to educate young minds and teach them how to use magic appropriately. And if you two refuse to understand that, then you have no business in my school."
"Wh… what are you saying?"
"Clear out your desks and get out of my building."
"Principal…"
"You're both fired! Now leave of your own accord," Bump drew a spell circle on the ground; three abominations rose from the tiles. "Or I will have you escorted out."
"We don't need this! I'm sure the other academies would prefer what we have to offer! You will regret this, you senile fool!" Both teachers stormed out of the breakroom with that declaration, nearly pushing Raine over. They disappeared down the hall for the last time.
Bump exited the breakroom and turned towards Raine. "Mx. Whispers, I know how close you were to Ms. Clawthorne, but I must ask you don't make any impulsive decisions. Especially now. You are one of my best students, after all."
"Yes, Principal Bump." Raine hung their head. "Sorry, Principal Bump."
"I can arrange for you to have meetings with the school's counselor if there is anything you need to get off your chest."
"It's alright. I won't try to cause trouble. I promise. I need to get to class."
"It doesn't start for another…"
"I would like to get there early, please." Raine walked past the principal. "Excuse me." Bump watched them leave, concerned for his student's well-being.
Murr, murr, murr. Frewin, Bump's seeing-eye palisman, told him.
"I'm worried about them, too." The principal agreed.
Raine just went through the motions, even after school ended. They just did their schoolwork and kept to themselves throughout the rest of the day, hardly interacting with anyone else. Usually, they would have gone to the vacant Bard classroom to improve their talents. But they instead felt a compulsion to visit the grudgeby field. They sat in the stands and just stared for a thousand yards.
"Brooding doesn't suit you, Whispers." The Bard jumped and turned to the voice. Sitting behind them was Leon, with his arms folded.
"Where'd you come from?"
"That's not important." The tri-clops straightened his posture. "What I'm wondering is if you'll have your head in the game."
Raine was confused. "Huh?"
"The Battle of the Schools."
"Oh… that…" Raine felt embarrassed not picking up Leon's meaning sooner. "I'd never think you'd care about them."
"I don't care about them, but I do care about who's participating in them."
"You mean Poppy?"
"You participated in last year's battle, you know how badly Glandus lost, and that they're out for blood."
"Well… I wouldn't be that dramatic… but…"
Leon stood, hands in his pockets. "Look, I get you're worried about Clawthorne.'' Hearing him refer to Eda as anything other than 'Owl Brat' felt… off. "But Poppy expects you to watch her back down there."
"Huh, I've always wondered, how are you and Poppy friends?" Leon glared at the Bard. "I… I mean, she's kind and sweet, and you're… well, you."
"I still wonder about that, too."
"Look at what we have here." A pompous voice made itself known; one Raine was familiar with. Along with Leon, they turned their attention to it. Leaning against the railing was a Glandus student, Abomination Track, with a pink side cape attached to his uniform. He was a dark-skinned teen with bright green eyes and amorphous purple hair that moved similarly to the golems witches like him can create.
Accompanying him was another student from his school, Beast Keeping Track. They were about the size of a baby class student but were older than they appeared. Auburn fur covered them from head to toe, with claws in place of hands and feet and slit magenta and yellow eyes.
"Darius. Eberwolf." Raine addressed two of Glandus' top students, both of whom had a bone to pick with the Bard due to last year's competition.
"The little songbird, out here." The pompous student added, purposefully trying to get under their skin. Hehehe. The furry sidekick chuckled. "We wouldn't have expected to find you here of all places." Darius looked over at Leon. "And with some problematic company, no less."
Leon scowled at him, narrowing all three of his eyes. Raine stepped forward, hoping any conflict could be avoided. "What do you two want?" Raine could only guess they were here to cause trouble.
"Come now, Raine, we just want to see how you're holding up. See if you're in denial like everyone else in this school."
Raine looked at them, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Hexside still thinks it has a chance at beating us. But one of your top students no longer attends, and the word going around is you're depressed over her missing sister."
"Don't push me, Darius. I'm not in the mood." Oooooh. Eberwolf was surprised by the Hexside student's tough-sounding, uncharacteristic response.
"Why are you getting so defensive. Everyone knows about Edalyn Clawthorne's record. Her pranks, her disregard for authority, constantly fighting others. And don't even get me started on that fiasco at the tryouts." Leon saw the look in Raine's eyes as Darius continued to run his mouth. Leon was not so easily intimidated but seeing the anger welling up within Raine Whispers left him uneasy. "The Emperor's Coven was probably her only chance to make something of herself, and she threw it away. Honestly, she was an embarrassment to witch-kind."
Leon, Darius, and Eberwolf did not even see Raine summon their instrument. But the next thing the pompous student knew, mud was thrown on his face and uniform by way of a magical tune. Mhm! Eberwolf squealed, realizing what was about to happen next. "How dare you!" Darius shouted and extended his arm out; it morphed into abomination sludge and grabbed Raine before they could react. He then threw them from the stands and onto the field.
"Ahhh!" Raine screamed, but with a quick strum of his string, they cast a spell to slow their fall and tumble safely onto the ground.
"You're going to regret that." Darius transformed his other arm into the sludge and used both hands to launch himself forward. As soon as anyone, whether they be friend or foe, dirties Darius in any way, all civil formalities go out the window, and a duel begins.
"Hooray! Another chapter!" And "Boo! A Cliffhanger!"
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