Farvald Island, present day
Veronica's POV
Standing on the dock, facing the gothic, towering gates to Farvald Island, I was suddenly hit by a wave of adomania. And it was true, the future was coming way too fast, but at the same time, it wasn't coming fast enough. I was almost certain that the adomania wasn't even a thought of my own, but rather a warning. In fact, I was starting to think Farvald Island was warning us-me and my fifteen other classmates-away from the island. It wouldn't surprise me.
"Hey, Vee, come look at this," Cam called from across the dock. My best friend and I, like all of the other freshmen, were stuck on the rickety, creaky, wooden dock until the gates opened, and they didn't look like they would be opening anytime soon. With this in mind, I walked across the dock towards my friend. I had been so grateful when she had been accepted to Farvald too, otherwise, I wouldn't have had very many friends. People liked to classify me as a "freak". Depending on how they define freak, they might be right.
"Would you hurry up!" Cameron shouted. I rolled my eyes and picked up the pace. When I was finally next to my blonde best friend, she pointed down to the ocean that crashed against the legs of the dock. The water was pretty, dark blue and light green, but I didn't see anything unusual.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?"
"Down there, look!" I followed Cam's eyes until I found myself looking back at the ocean.
"Cam, I don't see anything."
"Are you serious? It's literally right there!" Cam pointed again at the ocean, but I still couldn't see anything.
"Maybe it would help if you told her what to look for?" A voice from behind us suggested. Cam and I turned around to face the voice's owner. He was just a little bit taller than I was, so he had to be around 5' 11". The second thing I noticed about him was that he-unlike Cam and I-was a human. I hated to admit it, but he was handsome, cute even. His black hair was messy, but his bright blue eyes were bright, matching the smile on his face. He, like me, was extremely pale, but I wouldn't hold it against him.
"Hi," He said, sticking out his hand," I'm Asher. And you two lovely ladies are..?" He was charming, I had to give him that.
"Cameron," Cam introduced herself, shaking his hand. I could tell she had already fallen for his smile. She was like that.
"And you?" Asher asked, turning to me.
"Oh, I'm Veronica." I shook his hand.
"Well then," Asher said, walking over to the railing that bordered the dock," It's nice to meet you. Now tell me, what are we looking at?" I stepped back and waited for Cam to do all the talking. She was much better with strangers than I was. As I said, I'm a bit of a freak.
"I was trying to show Veronica here the dolphins in the water. Just over there, look," Cam pointed over to the water, farther away from where I had been looking, but I still didn't see anything. There wasn't supposed to be dolphins near Farvald. And I would know; I had done such thorough research on the place that I could probably run it. At Farvald, they had fish of all kinds, and occasionally, killer whales. But for some odd reason, dolphins and whales avoided the place. I had no idea why.
"I must agree with Veronica here, I can't see any dolphins," Asher said, surprising me. I had thought that he would agree with Cam, if not because he could see the dolphins, then because he wanted her number.
"That's ridiculous! They're right over there," Cam stated, and I was fairly convinced that she was seeing something, just not dolphins.
"Alright, alright, I believe you!" Asher chuckled," Now tell me, what houses are you both in?"
"Purple. We're both in purple," I answered, surprising myself. I had no idea why I didn't let Cam answer for me. Once again, I freaked everyone out, even myself. My father and older sister could attest to that. My little sister, however, was just like me. Ellie and Veronica, the Triton freaks.
"Wow, that's awesome. I'm in purple too, so we'll see each other around a lot, I'm sure." I looked over at Cam, who now seemed to be ignoring Asher. Cam was strange too, but she was better than me. People just liked her. She was a people-magnet, which was what I used to call her when we were younger. Unlike me, with my long black hair, freaky silver-ish eyes, and my ever-present hoodie pulled up to hide my face, Cam always had the perfect outfit, the perfect thing to say, and the perfect smile. It sometimes surprised me that everyone hated her too, or at least, they hated her in high school.
Asher opened his mouth to say something else, but he was interrupted by the most horrible screeching sound I had ever heard. We all looked over to the gates, where the sound was coming from. We watched as the intricately designed iron gates squealed open, revealing a stone path that cut through the forest. The path wasn't big enough to be a road, but that didn't surprise me. Cars weren't allowed on Farvald.
Right behind the gates, an older woman with a kind smile and bright white hair stood, studying the group of us. I immediately recognized her from the university's website. This was Mrs. Annalise Matthews, the dean of admissions of Farvald University. Her smart, navy blue business suit looked extremely out of place among the dark green of the forest, the grey of the path, and the multi-colored ensemble of the rest of the freshmen. I was simply wearing a dark purple, long-sleeved shirt, black leggings, and a black hoodie, so I wasn't as colorful as everyone else. As always, this was on purpose. I hated flashy things, like the sparkly purple blouse Cam was wearing, or any of the sequin dresses Cam had in her closet. Absentmindedly, I wondered how many of those dresses she had brought with her.
Mrs. Matthews cleared her throat, wrenching me from my thoughts, and turning my attention back to her.
"Good afternoon, students, and welcome to Farvald Island! As I'm sure you already know, Farvald University is not like any other school in the world. Here, you will learn, experience, and discover things that you won't be able to find anywhere else in the world. Of course, you all already know all about the houses, and you should already know what house you are in too. If was in your admission packet, if any of you forgot."
"As a quick reminder, pets are allowed but there can be no insects, no animals that are capable of killing, no exotic animals, and no animals that can talk, such as parrots. Your pets will live with you in your house, and you are expected to take good care of them." Matthews paused, and I looked over to the other side of the dock, where my bags and my cat's carrier was. Wicklow was my familiar, so even if animals weren't allowed at Farvald, I would've found a way to take her with me.
"Next, though I'm sure you know this, it is my responsibility to remind you of all of your houses. I mean that literally. Purple House resides in Violet Manor, near the woods. Blue House resides in Sapphire Compound. That is also where some of your hands-on science classes will be. Yellow House resides at Golden Manor, near the beach. And finally, Green House resides in the individual cabins known as Ivy Court, which is by the river. Green House, your house leader will explain more to you about living arrangements."
"Quickly, I must inform you that, unless otherwise stated, the following places are off-limits to all freshmen: Farvald Manor, the forest, the Sapphire Mountains, and the beach on the north side of the island. These places are all off-limits because they are dangerous, or they are simply not for the public."
"Finally, only one club will meet today. All others, including sports teams, will meet tomorrow. Your house leaders will inform you of where to go and when to be there. As I was saying, The Timberwolf Assembly will be meeting today at seven-thirty, in the woods near Violet House."
"Now then, each of you has a map that came with your admission packet, correct?" Matthews didn't wait for an answer. I had mine folded in my hoodie pocket, and Cam had hidden her's away in the pocket of her jeans.
"You will use these maps to find your way to your houses. There, your house leaders will greet you. When walking around the island, you must always have at least one other person with you at all times. I recommend traveling with another member of your house since all houses have their classes in the same places. But moving on, we here at Farvald expect great things from you, and we will not be disappointed, I'm sure. You all seem like a good group, so I hope none of you will have to meet Mr. Meadors," Coach Meadors, I remembered, was the swim team's coach. However, he was also in charge of dealing out the punishments around Farvald," Right then, I'll leave you all to it. Remember, classes start Monday. Don't be late." And with those slightly threatening words, Mrs. Matthews began to walk up the path. It didn't take her long to disappear from our view.
While Asher and Cam looked for the other member of Purple House, I walked across the dock to grab my bag. Since every student at Farvald had to live in their houses, none of us had to bring anything but clothes and pet supplies. And even then, Farvald had a very small-and I mean very small-pet store, so we didn't have to bring much. All I had was my black suitcase, my black backpack, which held all of my books, and my laptop. And of course, I had to carry Wicklow's carrier, but she wasn't all that heavy.
It didn't Asher and Cam long to find the other member of Purple House. He introduced himself as Ethan Wilkinson. He was almost the opposite of Asher. They both had black hair, but Ethan's was buzzed and slightly curly. Ethan's dark brown eyes matched his skin perfectly, which, I could already tell, was going to make Cam fall for his smile. She always fell for smiles.
"Right then," Ethan said,�� Should we get going?"
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The walk from the dock to the forest wasn't nearly as long as I had thought it would be, and we were at the clearing that Violet House sat in in no time at all. Violet House was old, that I knew immediately. Its walls were made of dark grey brick, which contrasted greatly with the purple banners that hang from the windowsills of the house. The coolest thing about Violet House, in my opinion, was the tower-like spire that jutted out from the roof. It wasn't very high, and it wasn't very big, but it looked peaceful.
Standing on the covered wrap-around porch was a woman that I didn't recognize. Unlike Ethan and Asher, she was a werewolf. But curiously enough, she was familiar, in a way I couldn't place. I felt like I knew her, or like we were related. But that was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard.
When the four of us approached the porch, the woman smiled, and I was certain I knew her from somewhere. Her light brown hair didn't even reach her shoulders, and her hazel eyes were sparkling with a smile. She reminded me of Cameron a bit, even though they looked nothing alike. Where Cameron's bright blonde hair reached down her back, and her eyes were bright blue, the woman was the complete opposite. But still, they shared the same confident energy.
Wicklow meowed suddenly, and then it hit me. I guess that's the point of a familiar though, to give advice. I wondered if the witch in front of me had a familiar too. The woman was a different type of witch than I was. She practically oozed magic, and I could tell she was born into it. I, however, was a chosen-witch, meaning that I wasn't born into magic, but I learned it.
"Welcome to Violet House! My name's Aurellia Farvald, and I'm a sophomore here at Farvald University. I'm the Purple House house leader, which means I'm supposed to give you the grand tour!" Aurellia chuckled a little, and I had a feeling the "grand tour" was more of an inside joke than anything else.
For an odd moment, none of us said anything, but Aurellia just...watched us. It wasn't unnerving per sey, but it was odd. But Aurellia snapped out of it quickly.
The four of us still didn't say anything. Not when she led us across the porch. Not when she pushed open the dark purple door. And certainly not when we were inside Violet House. Because then, we were speechless.