On the first day of classes, Jia realized that different people saw her status as a bad thing.
When she walked in for her first class, she saw that at least everyone was already paired up and they had someone to talk to.
That was the disadvantage of being home-school, you didn't know anyone when you finally entered the system.
"Hey, Jia!" Zoey yelled as she stood up from her seat, "Come and sit with me."
Jia gave her a thankful smile and moved to sit next to her. She sat on the second desk from the front and was writing something in a blue book. It looked like a diary of some sort so Jia didn't pry.
The two girl's in-front of Zoey and her turned around to face them. One of them she heard from Kyra was called Heather and the other was Sofia. They were both from Calico.
"So I heard that you're royalty?"Helena asked her.
Zoey turned to her and repeated her question, "You're royalty?"
"No, I'm more like a noble," Jia answered with a tight smile.
Lately, a lot of people have been asking her that question since this morning. She didn't even know who spread the information of who she was but then again, when you're a High Society member, it was only a matter of time before people recognized you.
"You're going to expect royal treatment from us , are you?" Sofia asked as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.
Jia frowned, "No, I just want to be treated like everyone else."
Before either of the girls could say another thing, a Professor, who had the brightest pink hair Nia had ever seen, walks in and slams her textbook on the table, "Good morning class, I am Professor Galloway and I will be taking you all for Magic History."
"Alright, class, let's begin," Professor Galloway said as she turned to write on the board, "I will start by going through the outline of the topics we will be learning till the Mid-Terms and until your end of the year exams. Then we will begin with the Origin. "
Jia opened her book and quickly took note of everything that was being said but she couldn't help but feel that what happened with Sofia and Heather was just the beginning.
"Okay, everyone, to begin. We must understand our Origin."Professor dictated as she turned and let her chalk continue to write on the board," Now, according to ancient texts, the first of our people were created and given magic by the Bright Goddess. She in turn trusted us to take of our land and our people. Over time there was peace."
"Why do I fell like a 'but' is coming?" Jia asked Zoey.
"We all lived under one royal family, and the capital was here in Kovia but in time, conquerors rose up and none was ever more feared than Emperor Zong. Emperor Zong was the son of a Duke who went on to become a solider for the Royal family. "
Jia raised her hand, "Why did we need an army if we all lived in one kingdom?"
"Why indeed?" Professor Galloway questioned the class, "As long as we have existed, we have known there to be four lands, one for the living, one for the dead, one called the Ether World where things with negative and evil energy thrive and finally, the Aster World for the Spirits and Guardians of the Universe. To travel between these worlds, is impossible except if you were a Guardian, a Spirit or the Bright Goddess yourself. The army was there to maintain peace, solve conflicts and fight the monsters that escaped into our world from the Ether."
Jia wrote the word 'Ether' in bold letters so she could remember to research about it later.
"The Emperor was soon so powerful that the Bright Goddess had to intervene."
"That's when she created her Honor Guard," Sofia spoke up.
Professor Galloway nodded, "She charged six people with the powers of the main elements of magic before training them to defeat the Emperor. Their leader led the group into battle against him on the Day of the Spring Festival and won. "
"How?" another student asked.
"By trapping him in a tomb,"
Jia exchanged confused glance with Zoey who shrugged.
"You see, Emperor Zong took certain steps to ensure that he couldn't be killed so the only way the Honor Guard could truly defeat him was for them to trick him into the Lost Tomb. Once inside, they desiccated him and sealed off the Tomb."
"So that tomb is sitting somewhere out there for someone to find and open it?" Jia asked with a frown.
Professor Galloway shook her head, "No, the Tomb's location was only known by the Honor Guard and the secret was passed down inside their families to ensure that no one but them could find the tomb. The identities of the Honor Guards families became a closely guarded secret so they made sure that any record of them was destroyed."
The class began to murmur and whisper to each other.
Zoey raised her hand, "Professor? What happens if the Tomb is found and the Emperor is released?"
"He'll bring chaos to this world," Professor Galloway declared.
Jia felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She hoped that never happened while she was alive.
"And now, moving on to the effects," Professor Galloway continued as she walked down the isle of desks, "Because of seeing what one Emperor could do to one unified kingdom, the ancestors of our world decided to separate and spread over the dimension. One by one, their own kingdoms and countries rose up to be what is now."
***
When classes were done for the day, Jia went back to the room with a headache and frayed nerves. There was already homework for her to complete and an assignment due in two weeks. Aunt Willow didn't tell her that school would be this stressful. She ditched dinner so she could come back to the room for some peace and quiet.
She stumbled into the living room and fell on the couch with a tired groan before pressed her face into the throw pillows.
"You're a noble?" Clary asked. The door flew open behind her to make way for the others to enter.
Jia turned to see all her roommates standing over her.