REAGAN AND DANAELYA got off the ship. Their hands holding each other's, fingers intertwined. Reagan isn't sure what to feel. She's not afraid, if she is she would be shaking by now. Instead, she feels something she hasn't felt in a long time. The feeling of being alive.
Like she's looking forward to whatever's about to go down. She feels excited at the thought of surviving and also staying. She wants to survive but also wants to stay. She has no family left to go back to, so what's the reason to even fight?
Danaelya's hand tightens once around Reagan's, reminding her of her presence. Danaelya is calm and more collected than she thought she would be. Earlier, with Pedestal she screamed so loud she's almost sure that she can wake up the whole neighborhood had they heard her. But now, she feels an odd feeling of peace and serenity. Like she's already accepted in this world. Is being accepted enough to make me stay?
Once everyone has left the ship and are now standing before the entrance of the school, the professors leading the group light a few more glows. So now, they are enveloped in golden halo. They heard the ship leave with a cry that echoes their own. Emotions vary from each student, some feel scared, some are still unbelieving, some have now accepted that this is as real as it can be, and some are eager.
The school's aura is slowly getting to them. It's the first time they get to see it clearly, thanks to the professors' glow, since they'd caught a glimpse of it from afar. It's a school that looks more of a mansion than one. It carries spooky and mysterious vibes around it and that makes it interesting. From the gates, they can see that there are trees that are preventing them from seeing more.
Danaelya realizes that the fog has been lifted and they are now illuminated with gold light. She scans their surroundings. She thought she saw pairs of eyes close and open from afar, hiding behind the tree trunks but she's not sure.
"Once these gates open, it is advisable that you shall not stray from the group until we have made it inside-inside," Professor Shakespeare started. "You are on unfamiliar ground, thus you must know that there are creatures lingering around. And when I tell you that you don't want to meet them, I mean it."
Danaelya gulps. Maybe, staying is a wrong idea after all. "They need to face reality, Gothel," Professor Mireda counters. "They must not be blinded by those stupid fantasies of yours." It's the first time Professor Mireda has spoken so vile to Professor Gothel that it shook Danaelya and Reagan when they heard it.
Professor Gothel glares at Professor Mireda but says nothing. The gates from behind the professors began to creak and their attention was drawn to it. Well, as well as to Professor Hatter, who is taller than the towering gates. He's smoking, even from earlier he's smoking. Does he stop?
The eerie creak of the gates as it opens fills the night. The sound reminded Reagan of the memory she wanted to forget.
"Mom!" A seven year old Reagan shouts from the bottom of the stairs. "When are we going to the park?"
"Honey, I'm sorry but I think we might not set out for today," her father replies, lifting her up. Young Reagan pouts and crosses her arms over her chest. "It's raining really hard, sweetie. It's dangerous for us."
"But you promise!" She whines. She has been looking forward to this day. It's the only day that all of them are together and her family is complete. So, she doesn't want the rain to ruin her day.
Lightning shines from outside followed by thunder. She bites her lip and begins contemplating on the idea she heard her father sigh. "Okay, fine, we'll go to the park."
Her face lightens up and she feels like a burden has been lifted off her heart, the innocence of a child shows. Her mother comes down with a smile on her face. "Mom! We'll go to the park!"
Her mom looks at her father for affirmation who can just shrug. "It's near. Maybe, the rain will let us through."
Reagan can tell that her mother is having second thoughts so she attacks her the only way she knows. She begs with her puppy eyes and sure enough, her mother agreed.
Reagan was acting like a spoiled brat back then, she can see it now. But she didn't know that back then. Oh, how she wished she could turn back time.
"Reagan! Reagan!" Danaelya's voice registered a little later. Reagan was startled and she shook out of her daze. For a moment, she has no recollection of what's happening until she sees the school. "Are you okay?" Danaelya's concerned eyes meet hers.
She nods because she can't say anything. Her panic attack is slowly dying down and she is able to breathe again, even if it's minimal. "Let's go," Danaelya said.
That's when she realized that the group had moved and they were lagging behind. They walk together and Danaelya is still holding her hand, tighter than ever. She knows that it's not because Danaelya is scared, but it is because Danaelya knows what happened without even asking and that's her way of lending her strength. Reagan breathes deeply to calm her mind and clear every remnant of memory in her head. That's right, she has someone to give her strength and she won't make the same mistake. Not now, not ever.
Danaelya's steps weren't dragged, no, she was walking with purpose like she knows exactly what she came for. Once everyone was inside the school premises, the gates closed on their own. As they walk, lamps that she didn't know were there, turn on from their sides. It was enough to light their path but not enough to see what's inside the woods.
The road they're walking on wasn't muddy but it also wasn't concrete. It was soft, almost like they're walking on mallows. When she looked down to check it, she was surprised to see that they were walking on clouds. Yes, clouds. Fluffy, almost see through clouds. She can almost see what's beneath them.
What used to be towering buildings now look like flat plane surfaces. Cars look like ants moving from underneath. And the lights appear to be that of fireflies. Still beautiful even from afar. She was mesmerized by it.
A thug on her hand pulls her back from her thoughts. She looks up at Regan who's looking ahead. She averts her gaze and almost gasps at the sight of the school. Earlier, when looking at it from a distance, she knew it looked more of a mansion than a school. But now, it looks like a palace.
A palace that projects nightmare and darkness. At first, she thought of it as a haunted house but she was completely wrong. Because, even with its white, gray, black palette, there is something classy and royal about it. They reach the bottom of the steps that would lead them to the door which will welcome them inside. The staircase is much of a look. Painted with white, it almost looks glassy. There is a symbol hanging on top of the canopy of the door.
It looks like how you would draw an atom with rings surrounding it like it's some kind of a planet. The circle in the middle, the planet, has a feather engraved on it. It's painted in plain gold which makes it stand out even more. There are also flags on top of the towers of the castle. The one on the right holds two crescent moons, the one on the left is one half moon while the third one, the one standing atop of the tallest tower and the largest flag, has three full moons with the middle moon turning blue.
"That's the crest of the prince," A voice says from her side which startles her. She gazes at Gregg, who is sitting on top of a floating cloud, with wide open eyes.
"My gosh! You nearly killed me there!" She exclaims.
"Sorry, miss." Though he doesn't sound sorry because he is grinning from ear to ear. It's strange to see him grins but Danaelya didn't voice it out. "But, as I was saying, that's the crest of the Prince."
Danaelya remembers Pedestal mentioned that 'Prince' when they were still travelling. She also remembers that Pedestal said that it was the prince who was responsible for her gold ticket. The one who "left" it. The one who "chose" her.
"This Prince," Danaelya starts. But before she could even say anything, Gregg was already shaking his head.
"Nuh-uh," he says. "We are not allowed to say anything about him. Though there's really not much to say as he is rather really private with his life." Danaelya backs away, distress is clear on her face. Gregg feels touched by the thought that she asked him when she needed to know about something and not the others. "I'm sorry, miss. We really can't say anything. Because he will know. And we're dead if that happens."
"Even his name? You're not allowed to say it?" Danaelya curiously asks.
"That's the thing," Gregg says. "Cause we don't even know it. We only call him 'the Prince'."
Danaelya opens her mouth to say something but her eyes catch movement from above. She instinctively looks up. There, beside the flag of the tallest tower, stands a man tall enough that he can almost amount to the pole. He's wearing a mask and a cape. Danaelya knows, even without someone telling her, that this is the prince.
She hears gasps from the other students which tells her that she is not the only one who can see him. The only confirmation she is waiting for is… Gregg gasps and mutters, "didn't know he would visit" before disappearing.
Danaelya was distracted momentarily by Gregg and when she brought back her eyes to the prince, she was surprised to find him staring right at her. She cannot look away even if she wants to. It's like she's compelled or something. The prince smirks before vanishing into thin air.
"Didn't know he would make an appearance today," Profesor Hatter's voice was loud enough to cut through their echoing silent thoughts.
"A-hem," Professor Shakespear clears his throat. "Your academic calendar will start tomorrow so for today, you shall let your mind rest and give yourselves a peaceful evening. The batch number that you have on your silver tickets corresponds to the assigned adviser for each class. For Batch 1101, I am your head teacher. Batch 0110 is under Ma'am Merida, batch 0011 is with Professor Hatter, and last but not the least, batch 0101 is under Miss Gothel. Please fall in line after the Professor assigned to you."
The kids shuffle around, each finding their own class. Danaelya looked at her silver and found out that she was among the batch 0110 which is Professor Merida's class. She noticed that the hand that was holding hers was detached from her. She spotted Reagan in Hatter's class. Their eyes met and they passed a silent assurance to each other.
Danaelya fastens her steps. She unexpectedly bumped into someone. "Sorry," the person she bumped into mutters.
"No, it's okay." But he was gone right away. Danaelya decided not to dwell much on it and proceeded to stand in line.
After everyone has arranged themselves, the door behind the professors opens in a hushed note. They can't see much inside, aside from another set of stairs. Danaelya's heart pounds on her chest as if begging her to let it out so it can run. But then, there's no turning back, even if she didn't choose this, there's a part of her that longs to find what's unknown. She wants to know, she wants to see, she needs to seek and that's what she's gonna do.