Sam stormed through the grey halls of Hezalia Academy. Fury boiled just beneath his skin but his face only showed a calm and focused boy. His sixteenth birthday was just around the corner and he did not want to have to deal with the newbies on his birthday. It was bad enough classes started that day and now he had to lead annoying, sniveling kids around too. Principle Dussere could suck it. He hated the third centuria. They were just a bunch of kids anyway. Why did they have to take in seven and eight-year-olds? Why couldn't the academy just stick with ten and up?

Calmly Sam knocked on the door to Principle Dussere's office and waited for the green light to signal he could come in. It flashed on surprisingly quickly and Sam swung the door open to come face to face with Jacob Dussere. Sam suppressed a growl and shoved passed him. He hated the headmaster's son more than anyone. Him and his good looks and nice hair and pretty eyes. Damn him.

The principle eyed Sam and nodded for him to begin. Sam glanced back and watched Jacob exit the room and close the door. Letting out a breath Sam began.

"Sir, I respect your status and decisions. However, I disagree with your choice to place me on basic training." Sam said. His voice was level and clear and he kept his shoulders back and his feet shoulder-width apart and facing forward. A stance that had taken two years and a lot of pain to perfect.

"I see," Principle Dussere said, "Is there anything else you would like to add?"

Sam shook his head and the principal nodded. Shuffling around the headmaster collected some papers and handed them to Sam.

"These hold the names of seven students that show a lot of potential. They will be joining the second centuria the coming school day and I expect you to be their mentor." He said. Sam's eyes widened but he bit his tongue. He knew better than to backtalk.

"Yes, sir." He said instead. Turning on his heel he left.

As soon as the door closed behind him threw the papers at a wall. Seething, Sam glared at the papers as if they were the worst possible thing imaginable. Closing his eyes Sam took a moment to calm himself. One breath, then another. He couldn't risk any punishments. Especially not before a new school year. Stooping, he picked up the scattered pages and looked some of them over.

The seven students were Xavier, Bryan, Justice, Rose, Neo, Eliza, and Jane. All of them were mages. Good, Sam thought, that way they could keep up with him. Justice and Elizabeth seemed easy enough and Neo and Rose seemed manageable. The only people he was worried about was Bryan, Xavier, and Jane. They seemed like trouble.

A squeal interrupted Sam's thought and he looked up to see a group a circle of students around something. Picking up the last few pages Sam hurried over to see what the fuss was.

The large group of students surrounded a few other students who were beating up someone young. Probably from the third centuria by the looks of them. Some people in the crowd were laughing and jeering but others clearly wanted to help but were too scared. Sam sighed. Not that he was going to do anything but picking on someone lower than you is such a lowly thing to do. He turned to go when someone grabbed his shoulder and shoved him into the ring. The papers scattered everywhere again and Sam cursed. He had just picked them all up.

"And who do we have here?" A sickly sweet voice said from behind him. Turning Sam was met with one of the ugliest creatures he had ever met. Sure on the outside, she looked perfect. She had blonde curly hair and bright pink eyes but Sam could tell just how twisted and rotten she actually was. Not to mention the atrocity she wore as clothing. Some people say there is no such thing as 'too much pink' but Sam strongly disagreed. Even her eyes matched the sickly color.

Her voice sounded like marshmallows and cotton candy. Sweet at first but quickly makes you sick. Her smile looked innocent enough but Sam could see the hint of rage and envy on her lips. The hatred burning just behind love.

"Silver! I haven't seen you in forever! How have you been sweetheart?" Belle said. Sam disliked his middle name but it was better than some of the 'code' names. He looked behind Belle to see a blonde boy with muddy orange eyes and a brunette with lime green eyes. Mages.

"I didn't know you cared about my life," Sam said. He glanced around for an exit but the crowd had become denser. The kid they were kicking seemed to have escaped but Sam wasn't quite sure that was good news. He looked back at Belle when she let out a cackle.

"Oh, sweetheart! I don't care. I mean, I would. IF you had a life." Belle said. The crowd roared with laughter. Honestly, Sam didn't really care about how other students viewed him. He did care about how they viewed Belle. They seemed to look to her as a goddess and he wanted to correct them.

"Well if you don't care then why ask the question in the first place, Belinda," He said. A gasp ran through the crowd. Everyone knew how much Belle hated her real name. Sam watched as her footing shifted to a fighting stance and her eyes changed from devious to seething. Sam didn't move. As Belle's eyes glowed Sam's vision began to dance and tilt.

"Shit." He said as he took a step backward. The world was bending in strange ways. He closed his eyes and focused on his other senses. Preparing for a blow he caught Belle's leg and shoved it upwards. A sudden weight in the hand with her foot in it surprised Sam and her other foot collided with the side of his face and he stumbled towards the crowd. Someone punched him in the side and he bit his tongue so he wouldn't cry out. Someone else grabbed his arms while one of Belle's buddies grabbed his throat. Sam felt their hand slowly get hotter. Heating magic wasn't exactly rare but it was hard to defend against unless you knew it was coming. Either way, Sam wasn't very good with defense magic.

He felt his skin start to burn. It hurt. Tears pricked the back of his eye but he refused to let them out. Gritting his teeth he bared through the pain. The heat grew to such a level that his nerves had stopped working and the pain dulled slightly. Sam sucked a small gasp as he realized the hand was also beginning to crush his windpipe.

He was weak. He was pathetic. Why didn't he use his magic? Why didn't he do anything? If he wanted to he could rip their heads off. He could burn them till even their bones crumbled. He could skin them and choke them. He had all this power. Why didn't he use it?

A sharp electric pulse reminded him. The headmaster was always watching. Sam couldn't hurt a single student without specific permission from the president. This meant no fighting back. Acting as if he was the weakest.

He squeezed his eyes shut. Ignore it. Ignore it all. The pain, the anger. All of it.

"HEY!" A voice as smooth and rich as honey called above the crowd. Everyone froze. The hand cooled and released Sam's throat. The student who was restraining him let go. Cracking open his eyes he saw the world tilt and he fell forward. Into a pair of warm, strong arms. Closing his eyes again he let himself go limp. He didn't think the situation could get worse.

"Belle?! What were you thinking?" The smooth voice said. It seemed agitated. Sam didn't like the voice when it was agitated. A fuzzy feeling took over his brain as his thoughts swam.

"He attacked me! He sent my papers flying and so these people jumped in to save me!" Belle's lies were backed up by the nodding passerby's and scattered papers.

"I'm taking him back to the infirmary. Once he is healed you will both report to the headmaster's office. Understood?" The honey voice was commanding and harsh. Sam's brow furrowed. It didn't fit the voice. The talk continued but Sam was losing the battle against unconsciousness and quickly fainted.