Brann began to speak out to everyone, "Welcome new Students of Atlantis! Now you all are officially students of Atlantis, there are many rules in Atlantis but only one rule is absolute, you never take another life unless another life is threatened! Failure to follow this rule will result in instant dismissal. Now I know Atlantis may not have been your-."
I didn't quite know how to react, is this the same Paul back from my world? It would kind of explain why Scarlet is friendly to me, but if there are alternate dimensions it could equally be Paul from another world he might not even be called Paul. I couldn't get a clear view of him through the crowd. Seeing him again for the first time in over 4 years surprisingly gave me butterflies, I felt so conflicted, a part of me still felt hurt from the past, but why do I feel like a teenager seeing their crush for the first time? Scarlet looked at me and smiled, she began nudging Paul till she caught his attention and began motioning her head to tell him to look in my direction. I froze as he turned to look at me, a part of me missed him terribly.
As his eyes met mine I found myself smiling, a very nostalgic feeling overwhelmed me it felt pleasant, he always used to make me feel happy in a special way, but his expression didn't change, did he not recognize me? My feelings quickly faded, as he turned to Scarlet with a confused expression, Scarlet now with an equally confused expression looked at me and then back at Paul then began swivelling her head side to side gesturing nothing.
"Hi, my name is Jay nice to meet you." Whispered a male voice next to me.
"Hi, I'm Emilia nice to meet you as well," I whispered back, turning to take a look at the source of the voice, Jay was a slightly taller than average young man with an average build, his facial hair and hairstyle gave him a very scruffy look. "Umm, you don't happen to know who those three students behind the headmaster are," I questioned him quietly.
"What you don't know Atlantis' S ranked sorcerers? The Chinese guy in the middle with the black trench coat is called Paul the Black Dragon Slayer currently rank one, the girl on his right is Scarlet currently ranked 2nd and finally to his left is Travis currently rank 3rd." He answered.
"Black dragon slayer?" I questioned.
"Yes, Paul's most notable achievement is when he reportedly slew a black dragon during his first year in Atlantis, which is insane as even the strongest sorcerers would struggle to even scratch a black dragon also he and Scarlet are the youngest S ranked sorcerers ever, achieving S rank by their 2nd year." He answered.
"Wait there are dragons?" I questioned in surprise.
"Have you been living under a rock? Everyone knows all the S ranked sorcerers in all the institutes" He said.
"Yeah pretty much, it's a long story," I replied.
"Looking forward to going to Atlantis?" he questioned
"Yeah, a little bit not sure what to expect though". I replied, a part of me still wondered how Caroline was doing, I wonder if the Fighting pits were actually as bad as the rumours were. "By the way has anyone ever switched institutes or ran away?" I questioned.
"Switching institutes, I'm not too sure, but there have been reports of runaway students and solider, but it's very rare as they would be a fugitive and most likely live a new quiet life. Why do you ask?" He answered.
"No reason, just wondering" I replied.
"Ohh come on we are friends now you can tell me." He insisted.
"Hmmm….Well, I had a friend that went to the Fighting Pits and she really didn't want to go there." I said hesitantly.
"Damn, that sucks, I hope he/she is okay." He said.
"Is it really that bad?" I further questioned
"I've never been there personally but it's known that place is very horrible." He added.
"Is there a way for me to contact her?" I asked
"There are a few ways, you can send a letter, send message spell or use of mobile communicator device but you both will need one each." He answered
I felt extremely hopeful that once I get the chance I'd at least be able to contact Caroline, I really hope she's okay. I doubt Scarlet or Paul will help me now as it seemed like he didn't recognise me at all.
"So what rank are you?" Jay questioned.
"Rank? I dunno how am I meant to know?" I replied.
"It's the letter you got on your left hand." He answered.
"Ohhh I got an F." I answered.
He turned in shock looking at my hand, and went back looking forward towards Brann, "Woah and you managed to get into Atlantis? " He said in total shock
"I guess so the marking on my right hand is the same as yours" I added looking at Scarlet, 'could it have been her that helped me get into Atlantis?'
"Interesting students that are C ranked would be lucky to get into any of the institutes." He said.
"F-Ranked me how the hell did I manage to get in then?" I asked in shock.
"No idea, my best guess is someone with importance in Atlantis really wanted you here, you should consider yourself extremely lucky." He answered making me look at Scarlet, maybe she was the one responsible for me getting into Atlantis.
"Hmm, I guess it could be Scarlet she has a strange liking for me and seems to talk to me like we are friends," I added.
"No way you know Scarlet? Wow, she's rumoured to be pretty scary and don't really make friends with people." He replied
"Yeah, No idea myself, I've never met her before," I added
We stopped talking for a while and went back to listening to Brann's speech. "- Once we arrive on Atlantis please separate yourself into three groups, for your tour of Atlantis, if you have any questions please feel free to ask either Paul, Scarlet or Travis during the tour.-" Brann instructed
"Ohh and by the way, I witnessed the commotion between you and Calista, you should be careful she may be stuck up, but her father is the King of Arcadia, and she is of royal blood so you know, with just a word she can probably make you disappear one day with no repercussions," Jay warned.
"You mean that stupid bitch that grabbed my arm?" I asked.
"Yup that's her, best stay away from her in my opinion." He further warned.
"Well it was her Fing fault she started it with me, wait is she a student here?!" I replied.
"Of course, Atlantis watches over and guards Arcadia. So the Princess of Arcadia would most certainly be a student here." He explained.
Great of all the people that decided to have a problem with me, had to be the F-ing Princess of Arcadia, and she probably still has a vendetta against me for breaking her thumb. I guess I'm just gonna have to keep a low profile, none of that matters anyways all I want to really do is somehow contact and help Caroline. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder why Paul didn't recognize me.
There was a sudden large blue flash on the left side of the room as an extremely large portal appeared similar to the portal earlier today but much larger, large enough for several students to pass through simultaneously. The portal seemed to lead to a courtyard with an extremely large glowing tree.
"- and that is the sign we are ready to leave for Atlantis. Children please calmly and orderly make your way through the Warp Gate." Brann beamed. As Bran towards the portal. As Bran stepped through the portal everyone else slowly made their way through the portal, I tried to get a clearer look at Paul while the room emptied, he looked exactly the same as I remember he even wore a black trench coat and had a jade necklace his late mother gifted him when he was a child.
"See you on the other side," Jay said as he walked towards the portal. Making my way towards the portal, "Emilia!" I heard a familiar male voice from behind me, as a hand landed on my right shoulder.