Ariana couldn't help but play with the fabric on her soft blue, slim fit dress as her and her mother stood with a crowd of people in a giant auditorium. "Relax you will do great." Lady Zula murmured into her ear as she placed a reassuring hand on Ariana's shoulder. Ariana looked up and gave her a bright smile then looked behind her.
Ariana felt a wave of relief seeing everyone that cared about her standing against the wall, silently cheering her on. "Look, it looks like it's about to start." Lady Zula urgently whispered. Ariana turned her head back and saw an older looking man limping onto the stage.
The man wasn't bad looking with his grey hair slicked back, strands of hair delicate hung forward. His eyes were a deep brown, he wasn't tall but he wasn't short either, he looked to be in his early 60's and his strong features were just slightly hidden by a few wrinkles.
"Good morning everyone!" He announced once he reached the podium. Ariana was shocked for a second, she could hear some people snickering around her but she couldn't find the situation funny.
"My name is Paloma Hadley, and I am the homeroom teacher for all first year students and one of the directors on the board." He continued to say in a slightly high pitched, almost feminine voice. Some could barely hold in their laughter as tears started to escape their eyes. Ariana slightly shook her head in disappointment and gave her full attention to her homeroom teacher.
"As you all know our Academy prides itself in nurturing the best and brightest among the young nobles and very talented commoners." Suddenly a puff of indigo smoke surrounded Mr. Hadley and everyone gasped.
The man speaking before them was no longer there but instead there was a very curvaceous woman. She had a stoic face, sharp eyes that were a deep brown, black, silky hair tied up into a neat bun and fair skin. "Ah, it seems to have finally wore off..." She said as she inspected her hands then looked down. She unbuttoned her vest and top three buttons of the white dress shirt. "Better." She mumbled as her voluptuous breasts looked to be less constricted.
"We at the Academy pride ourselves in our students and could careless were you come from. So every year we allow students to write the exam, as long as they can afford the fee, to see if they are made to survive... have the balls to... are able to... to-to-tooooo." Ms. Hadley was saying when a small green being flew onto the stage.
Ariana's eyes grew wide and sparkled with fascination as she watched this tiny person, dressed in a tan trousers, a light green vest flutter onto Ms. Hadley's shoulder. He had transparent, green, dragonfly wings and very coyly put his hand next to his mouth and started to whisper into her ear.
"Ah right... in order to assess your capabilities in learning. If you didn't put the effort in learning outside in the real world how can we expect you to take our education seriously." She said with her deadpan face.
"The top 10% examinees will be held in high regards by the Academy and given special privileges out in the real world until you are properly moved onto school grounds. While the top 3% will be given a chance to speak to the board of directors, if we deem you as someone truly worthy of our time we will place you in the special classes. Not to say that all top 3% are important, we need to make sure of your mentality and skill testing questions." Ms. Hadley explained further.
Ariana kept her eyes glued to the tiny being sitting on Ms. Hadley's shoulder, he seemed to be face palming himself and she couldn't help but let out a small giggle.
He quickly moved his hand into his green, spiked hair and brushed it back with his fingers as he locked his sight with Ariana's. She quickly dropped her gaze, embarrassed that she was staring at him for so long. "Now Mr. Waldemar, could you please collect the students who were laughing earlier. As per tradition, they will be writing a harder exam then the rest." Ms. Hadley said flatly.
Ariana quickly brought up her gaze and searched the room for the man that Ms. Hadley called. A tanned, short male walked onto the stage. He had downward pointed eyes, one was blue while the other was green, black, seaweed like hair and showed a bored looking expression on his face. He waved his hand in the air and the people around her started screaming as they were suddenly encased in black bubbles.
"Thank you Mr. Waldemar you may take them now." She said and Mr. Waldemar nodded his head and walked off the stage. The examinees in his black bubbles rose into the air and in a single file, followed behind him. "Now for the rest of you... please pick a faculty member to follow." Ms. Hadley said as four more people stepped out.
Each one had an even tiny being sitting on their shoulder. They almost looked human but their entire body was one colour while their wings looked to be made of light. "Red, blue, green, tan..." Ariana mumbled and Lady Zula quickly looked at her. "Don't move!" She ordered under her breath catching Ariana by surprise.
Each person would step off stage and a group of kids would follow after them. Ariana listened to her mother and stood perfectly still until she was the only examinee left behind. Ms. Hadley looked at Ariana with her poker face but she could tell that Ms. Hadley's eyes sparkled with interest. The tiny being on her shoulder started to whisper into her ear. She nodded her head and he stood up.
The small being jumped off Ms. Hadley's shoulder and flew right up to Ariana. "Hello." Ariana greeted causing him to stop a foot away from her. Now that she had a better look at him, he was quite handsome. He had a rugged look to him, square jaw, tiny lips, slightly pointed ears, his eyes were hooded and were a beautiful shade of bright, emerald green. "You can see me?" He asked in disbelief.
"Yes I can." Ariana answered as she nodded her head. He took a sharp flutter back and looked completely panicked. "You can hear me?!" He asked with a higher pitched voice. Ariana looked confused and tilted her head. "Yes I can... is that wrong?" Ariana asked in turn.
The tiny being quickly flew back and reported back to Ms. Hadley while Lady Zula face palmed herself. "Should have told you not to talk either...." Lady Zula groaned.
Ariana was completely puzzled and stared at her mother until she explained. "Your mother did the same thing, she stuck out like a sore thumb but at least this way no other examinee saw you... but their parents did... what a headache." Lady Zula sighed. Ms. Hadley then jumped off the stage and walked over to Ariana and Lady Zula.
"Can you see Breeze?" Ms. Hadley asked as she held out cupped hands. Ariana looked at the cupped hands and was a little surprised. "Yes... but his sitting right there on your shoulder not in your hands." Ariana answered as she pointed towards her left shoulder.
Ms. Hadley dropped her hands and stared at Ariana. "What colour is his wings?" Ms. Hadley asked and Ariana gave her a big, toothy smile. "He has transparent, dragonfly wings but you can still see that there is a green tint to them. It looks like it's the same colour as his hair but his hair is solid coulour, it's not transparent and his eyes are such a beautiful bright green, almost like emeralds!" Ariana answered happily. Ms. Hadley and everyone else within ear shot looked surprised.
"Come with me." Ms. Hadley said as she turned around while Breeze spun himself around and stared at Ariana. "Go on then." Lady Zula sighed and Ariana gave her a quick hug before she ran after Ms. Hadley. They both walked onto the stage and Ariana waved her heart out before she disappeared behind the curtain.
"Why didn't you walk off with one of the faculty?" Ms. Hadley asked as they continued down a hall before they reached a set of floating stairs. "I mumbled some colours and my mother said to not move." Ariana said with an embarrassed look.
Ms. Hadley placed one foot on the stairs and looked back at Ariana. "What colours?" Ms. Hadley asked as she eyed Ariana.
Ariana pointed at her right shoulder and matched Ms. Hadley gaze. "Each teacher had a tinier fairy on their shoulder. There was a red, blue, green and tan." Ariana answered without hesitation. Ms. Hadley swallowed back saliva then turned to face the stairs.
"Do not repeat this to any student or teacher.... I will let the headmaster now but if anyone asks why you didn't chose a teacher just say you were scared." Ms. Hadley instructed then walked up the stairs. Ariana silently followed her. "Why?" Ariana asked as they reached the top and suddenly she was blinded by a bright light.
They were now in a giant field surrounded by a forest if blossoming cherry trees. Everyone had already taken their seat at the desks provided. They were divided into five sections and were eagerly waiting to start the exam.
"Do not disclose anything you see here!" Ms. Hadley hissed under her breath and walked forward. Ariana tried her best to look straight but she couldn't stop her eyes from wondering to the trees.
Cute creatures were hanging from branches, hiding in bushes, peaking from around the trunks of the trees while the tinier human like fairies were buzzing around different sections. "Sorry, this child was too intimidated to choose. I will be placing her in the wind section." Ms. Hadley announced to a older looking man. Ariana looked up and her jaw dropped.
The man before her looked like a better version of the man Ms. Hadley tried to impersonate. He was ridiculous handsome, his hair was silver, olive skin, his eyes were a rich purple and he wore a complete suit unlike Ms. Hadley.
"Have her take a seat, we would like to begin." He said with his deep, silky voice. Ariana tugged at the back of Ms. Hadley's vest. "You didn't do him any justice, especially your voice." Ariana whispered causing Ms. Hadley to pale. "No you can't use the bathroom!" Ms. Hadley shouted causing the people around her to snicker. Ariana frowned and dropped her gaze.
Ariana quietly followed Ms. Hadley to her seat. "Now let us begin!" The man shouted and exam papers suddenly appeared on top of the desks. Ariana kept her eyes glued to her paper and refused to make anymore mistakes. "You answered that question wrong." A voice said into her ear causing her whole body to shiver. "Nope that one is wrong too, pick b." He said but Ariana kept up her eyes down and her mouth shut.
"Don't be like that... hey tell me your name, you already now mine." The voice said pitifully. Ariana pointed to the top of the page and Breeze looked at the paper. "Nope, I'm too lazy to read, just tell me." Breeze said with a teasing tone. Ariana griped her pencil. She was starting to get annoyed. She took a deep breath and started writing her exam again.
"Why are you being so mean? The others who can see the pixies are listening to their advice why can't you just listen to me? I'm better, I'm a full fledged sparrowman, I'm handsome, I'm smart and not a horrible liar like those pixies. They love to play their tricks." Breeze pouted.
Ariana hesitated for a bit, she turned her pencil and was ready to erase her answers. "That's right, just listen to me and you can get a perfect score." Breeze said with a smile. Ariana closed her eyes and remembered all her sessions with Tillie. She shook her head, turned her pencil around again and continued her exam. "Fine be that way but don't say I never offered you a hand." Breeze said with a pout.
"Times up, pencils down!" The man shouted, Ariana slammed her pencil against the desk then her exam paper floated upwards and went straight towards the man who was shouting. Ariana looked around and saw that Breeze wasn't lying there were some examinees with pixies hanging around them, laughing as some examinees looked miserable.
While others had no idea pixies were on them or even close by. One examinee caught her attention. She seemed the be loved by the different types of pixies as the hugged, hung and sat near her.
"Eyes up front now gorgeous." Breeze said as he flew up and helped her turn her head. "Please wait as we tally up your scores. You are more then welcome to move around but stay away from the forest. As I said before if you are left behind here you will never return home." He announced before he placed the exam papers into a black box that Mr. Waldemar was holding.
"What is he talking about?" Ariana asked under her breath. Breeze sat back on her shoulder and leaned against her neck. "Oh now you want to talk to me. How about some manners and you tell me your name." Breeze said in a mocking tone.
Ariana rolled her eyes and got up from her desk. She looked around and saw the girl that caught her attention. She was quietly sitting at her desk as some pixies played with her pink, curly hair. Ariana walked up to the girl and stuck out her hand. "Hello my name is Ariana. May I have your name?"
The girl hesitated, her light blue eyes shook as her pink, flower petal like lips trembled. "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Ariana said as she started to drop her hand. The girl quickly got up and grabbed her hand.
Suddenly Ariana felt a hot sensation starting in her hand. "Breeze cause a distraction!" She hissed under her breath but it was too late. Ariana's feet started to light up, the wind picked up and the colourful fluffs of light started to appear. The girl pulled back her fair hand and the pixies started to fly around Ariana.
The pixies started to evolve as they flew around, Ariana's eyes turned white and Breeze couldn't get away. When she settled down everyone looked at her with their mouths wide open. The pixies were now fairies and sparrowmen and completely visible to everyone while Breeze lost his wings.
He was now standing next to her, everyone could see him and he couldn't help but smirk. "I did it I became satyrs! You stupid pixies why did you piggy back on my beautiful transformation! You even played a mean trick on this girl! Shame! Shame! Shame!" He shouted causing people to nod their heads to his explanation.
'Master are you alright?' A familiar voice said in her head causing Ariana's eyes to well up. She brought her hand to her mouth to stop herself from crying, making Breeze's coverup more believable.
"Vasu!" She whispered. 'Yes Master, sorry we don't have enough energy to take form but at least we can still communicate.' Vasu said and everyone started greeting her enthusiastically. While the newly born fairies and sparrowmen hugged and kissed her head before returning to the girl in front of her and resuming their positions.
"Alright! Exams have been evaluated please return to your seats!" The old man shouted. Ariana hesitated for a bit and looked at the girl. She brought up her hands and started to move them. 'It was nice meeting you, next time please tell me your name.' Ariana signed and quickly walked back to her seat, leaving the girl in complete shock as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Let us begin the weeding!" The man shouted and Mr. Waldemar raised his hand and black circles shot from his feet and went to a few examinees. "You failed, goodbye." The man shouted and the teens were sucked into the black circles.
"Thank you Waldemar. Now for the rest. You all have passed and will be starting school in the next few weeks. I, Caelan Nakia, am your headmaster and president of the board of directors. Congratulations on all who are still here. Breeze, the newly born satyrs can you please help your Master hand out the ribbons." The Headmaster explained.
Breeze bowed to the headmaster and then raised his hands. He swiftly moved pink ribbons a male teacher with brown mop like hair conjured up into the air. Almost everyone received a pink ribbon. Then the man produce red ribbons and Breeze started to hand out the red. A few students received the red ribbons, including the fair girl with the pink, curly hair. Finally the man produced bronze ribbons and the remaining few received it, including Ariana.
"These ribbons will indicate your year and placement in the exam. They are enchanted and will never be stolen. Wear them proudly, once you have completed your first year they will change colour according to your final mark and year. You have a chance to move up so do not be discouraged."
"First years who are at the top 10% are red, the top 3% are bronze. Bronze ribbons you will receive a summons at a later date, please be prepared. You are dismissed!" The headmaster shouted while the faculty started to applaud. A white rectangle appeared before them and in a single file people started to move towards the light.
The girl from before ran up to Ariana and grabbed her hand. She looked completely flushed as she nervously brought up her hands. Once she was done she ran to the door and disappeared. "Edlyn Abela... you are now my best friend!" She laughed as she chased after her.