After her first mission, Dia was in a deep sleep, dreaming of nothingness, when a voice called out. A voice that should've been dead! Jolting open her eyes, she saw herself standing in an endless space of darkness. Across from where she stood, the ghost of the deceased Goblin Mage was chained to the wall. The silver metal chains constricted her movements.
"Where am I? What are you doing here? Aren't you dead?!" Dia didn't understand what was going on. A hint of fear could be detected in her voice.
"Stop your crying, youngling. You already killed me! There's nothing else I can do to you." The ghost seemed exhausted, her tone lacking real anger towards the girl who doomed her. "Before the Gates of Hell, drag me away, allow me to tell you my story."
With a grave voice, the Goblin Mage told Dia a story of how the first time she opened her eyes, it was behind a steel cage. She never saw the person who gave birth to her as most of her life was spent behind the bars of a small cage. She could only hear footsteps, which would appear before her cage and throw a tray of food at her before grumbling under their breath as they took their leave.
It was only after she grew out of her infant stage was she finally released from her cage, unaware of the horrors that awaited her.
"They used me as breeding cattle! I lost count of the number of goblins they forced me to give birth to. I never once saw sunlight, as most of my time was still spent in a cage. When those people weren't using me to breed more goblins, they would chain me to a white table and operate painful surgeries on my body which they called 'research'!" The anger in her eyes returned tenfold.
"They used me as an animal! But in the operating room, they didn't do those horrible things to just me but also to many other female supernatural species! I had to get away from there! I could no longer stay, especially when I heard the doctor who operated on us mention a new project dealing with cross-breeding. I wanted no part of it, so I ran away!"
"But why rob those jewelry stores?"
"I was going to use those jewels to bribe the local tribes to accept me and the goblins I took to safeguard my escape into their homes. I heard a whole lot of chatter during my time locked up as the people there couldn't seem to keep their mouths shut. Plus, I would talk to some of the other women, who were held captive like me, and I managed to get information from them. I thought my plan was perfect, but I wasn't prepared for the outside world."
Fire lit underneath the mage's feet, forming a circle that began to drag her down.
"Looks like my time is up, but before I go, the man who operated on me bore the symbol of a black crescent moon underneath his left eyelid. I wish you good luck, little witch, 'cause you're going to need it when the time comes when you must face that vile group."
The mage disappeared into the fire spell circle, and Dia reawakened in her room. The story of Goblin Mage weighed heavily on her heart. A flash of light came from her bracelet, and Lilith pressed her fuzzy black forefeet against Dia's wet cheeks.
"Your heart is kind, little master, but you must harden it if you wish to survive these two worlds. You did not know her story. That goblin was going to take the lives of your friends in exchange for her freedom. Do not feel guilty and think over such thoughts anymore. You did good today." Lilith's reassurance lulled the teen back into a sleep of endless dreams.
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The cafeteria was packed with students ready to fill their empty stomachs with the scrumptious variety of food the cafeteria had to offer. But none of them could eat because their eyes were glued to the gorgeous female student wearing the black and red 'Gifted Students' uniform, seated at Lisa, Alice, and Dia's table.
"Hi! I'm Tai! Nice to meet you, Dia and Alice's friend!" Tai extended her hand to Lisa, who stared questioningly at the new girl joining their table.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Lisa!" Lisa shook the girl's hand, getting a good vibe from the other girl despite this being their first time meeting each other. After shaking hands, the girls could hear the gossiping voices from the students, who couldn't keep their eyes off the gorgeous girl.
"Hey, isn't that the famous young model, Tai?"
"I heard she just returned from a big modeling gig overseas!"
"I heard she was scouted by some of the biggest modeling agencies in the world!"
"She is so gorgeous!"
"How does she keep her skin so smooth and milky!"
Despite her super hearing, Tai kept a smile as if she didn't hear the gossip and compliments thrown her way.
Alice stabbed her fork into her spaghetti and asked, "So when is your next runway?"
"My agency was kind enough to give me a month's break to enjoy myself. So I'm planning on taking full advantage of it," said Tai as a light bulb went off inside Lisa's head.
"I recognize you now!" Lisa retrieved her phone and quickly pulled up a magazine cover with Tai posing on the front.
"You model for brands like Dreamy Valentine, Diamond-N-Dust, and my all-time favorite and boss lady of the fashion world, Athen! Tell me, how was it working with her? I'm a huge fan of her clothes!" Dia could hear the excitement in Lisa's voice, knowing how much her friend adored the fashion world.
"She's great! A fun and independent woman who proudly leads her empire. You know what, the next time I'm modeling for one of her shows, I'll invite you!" Lisa was close to jumping over the table to hug Tai. Crowning the other girl as her new best friend to Dia's amusement.
The four girls continued to talk and enjoy their lunch as Dia wasn't shocked to see Lisa and Tai become fast friends. The day continued, and Tai shared most of their classes, except for Dia's World History class which she was running late to.
'I only got three minutes to make it to class on time or face Mr. Jones locking the door on me.' Dia was running down the long, empty outdoor corridor, trying to get to her next class, when she bumped into something solid, and her rear crashed to the floor.
'Ow, that hurt!' Dia winced from the pain and picked herself off the ground.
"You're the cutie from Sara's party!"
Dia looked up and saw it was the same sleazy rebellious boy from Sarah's party who Lisa had rescued her from. He wore the 'Gifted Students'' black and yellow uniform, but his shirt was untucked from his pants, no tie or vest anywhere in sight.
"Sorry for bumping into you!" Dia quickly apologized and was ready to skate past the group when a hand forcibly gripped her forehead and slammed her against the wall. The boy had his arms around a pretty girl dressed in the daytime students uniform.
In the middle, wearing the same uniform as the boy, smacking on pink chewing gum and blowing bubbles, stood an attractive girl and another cute boy with red burgundy hair.
"Why in such a hurry? Because of your little friend last time, we didn't get the chance to get to know each other." The onyx eyes radiated lust as he peered down at Dia like a delicious snack. Invading her personal space and boundaries, his left hand settled on Dia's waist before sneaking behind her and smacking her on the butt.
"Cutie with a nice ass! I gotta make you-"
The boy couldn't finish, his face snapping to the side, cheek red from Dia's slap. She glared her brown orbs at the filthy beast.
"You disgust me!" Dia glared heatedly at the boy as two of his friends, the boy and a girl wearing the same uniform as him, gaped at her actions while the girl he had rested his arm around glared at Dia as if she had offended her.
"Feisty, but I love my girls obedient." The boy's voice was cold, eyes a glowering shade of gold. Before Dia could run away, the boy seized her throat as two of his friends laughed.
"She got some spunk, but it won't be long until she becomes another slut addicted to Travis," said the harsh voice of the female 'Gifted Student'.
"Sweet Cakes, it was a really dumb move pissing him off. Now, he isn't going to be so nice to you anymore," said the fake apologetic voice of his red-haired friend. The iron grip the boy had on her throat was cutting off Dia's oxygen intake, trying with failed strenght to remove his arm.
"Aww, you look so cute when you struggle. It makes me want to kiss you, princess." The boy grinned at Dia. Her struggle made his blood boil in a good way, moving his face closer so their lips were centimeters away from touching.
Dia closed her eyes, ready to summon Lilith to her aide when a snarl echoed in her ears and made her shudder. The hand on her throat was removed. She greedily took in the missing oxygen but flinched when a body was slammed into the wall.