From inside the carriage you could see that the college was magnificent with high towers between its roofs of low heights. The bricks seemed to be made of translucent glass, where colorful lights sparkled, delivering a magnificent effect to the eyes. Despite this, nothing could be seen inside the building.
A giant bridge stretched over them. Mira thought that if the ground was not matte, she would have the feeling of falling.
When they passed by, a huge glass door opened and the castle could be seen more closely. It was stunning, the giant windows with silver details could now be observed.
Mira came down, rubbing her eyes due to sleep, and the friend was right behind. When the brown-haired girl overtook her, Astrid stopped Kendra and whispered:
"You didn't tell her, right? You didn't tell her what else the Emperor said. Other than knowing her."
The girl was going to say something, but the woman had already gone away.
Upon entering the massive door of the school and passing through corridors with the same transparent but opaque floor, as the bridge and walls full of pictures of previous directors, the coordinator exclaimed:
"I think you're hungry. Go through that door and go to the cafeteria. There must still be something. I'll come back for you."
"What is a cafeteria?" asked Kendra.
Mira shrugged and went through the door indicated.
The girls crossed the refectory, which was a place full of wooden tables with chairs of the same material around, a gray flag with black edges and a colorful owl in the center that flickered hovered on the main wall. In addition, there was a table with dishes and behind it there were several containers with food, lots of food.
The short woman with sunburned skin and red hair looked at them with an ugly face and asked what they preferred. They chose the meat and bread stew. It was very rare to see beef where they lived, which certainly showed the level of that school. There was no one there, so they sat at the first table they saw. They tasted the food, and it was clearly the best they had ever tasted.
"What a strange place!" exclaimed Mira." Our school is not like that.
"Well, our school is your home." Kendra laughed.
"At least the food is good." replied the other.
They ate fast. They were hungry because they had not had breakfast. When they were finishing, something caught their attention, or rather someone.
"Kendra!" said the stranger.
He was a young man, possibly a year older than them. He had honey-colored eyes, messy red hair and wore the school uniform: the shirt, white pants and coat, with the collar, black cuff and tie.
"Jack?" asked the surprise blonde. "What are you doing here?"
He smiled and hit his glasses.
"I'm the one who should ask, right?"
The young man approached and kissed the hand of the blonde. He tried to do the same with the other girl, but she walked away.
Jack sat down and said:
"The college had invited me, but I wasn't sure if I should come. So, when I almost burned it down, I decided I should take them up on their offer. They're good at finding talent. I'm certain that's why you're here."
"How long have you been studying here?" Asked the blonde.
"Two years ago. The two years we didn't see each other, I was here. I wanted to meet you. But I couldn't. They rushed me in because of the fire. Then I couldn't leave."
"Wait. Did you burn down the house? How?" Mira asked without understanding anything about it.
"Oh! I forgot you didn't know."
The young man reached out, and the flames appeared before them.
Mira seemed surprised that just that boy, of all people, possessed such power. She frowned.
"I didn't know you controlled the fire." Mira said serious.
"And I don't know what your power is either, but there must be some, since you're here. Of course, it shouldn't be something so powerful…" laughed Jack.
Mira stood up, angry. They both didn't like each other. And they loved to tease each other.
Kendra sighed and tried to say something to improve the mood, but Miss Astrid appeared, interrupting them and wincing before saying:
"Ladies, I'm glad you made friends; however, I ask you to join me now. And you, Mr. Price…" addressed Jack, "I think you should be in class by now."
Jack said goodbye and the girls accompanied the coordinator.
Mira had her face closed. Kendra was sure it was because of Jack. Mira disliked the young man very much, but there was no one who understood him as well as he did. Not even Mira understood her when it came to her powers. Her friend could calm her down, but understanding her was complicated.
The young man was the only one who understood her, as if she were normal. Kendra looked at the golden chandelier on the ceiling, a candle had gone out like that day four years ago.
Kendra woke up scared. The candle next to her had gone out. It had happened again, the damn visions that tormented her. She stood up, putting a light blue robe over the thin pink pajamas.
"SinSin!" called the cat, but no sign of him.
Would what she had seen in the vision have already happened?
Desperate, she ran through the night, tears streaming down her face. "Why? Why did she have to carry such a burden?"
She stopped in an alley, panting, and screamed in anger.
She cried like she'd never done in his life.
"Are you all right?" a male voice asked.
She turned and saw him.
The young man looked at her curiously and kindly.
"I'm fine" stood up and wiped the tears, "it was nothing."
"People don't hide in a place like this for nothing. I saw you running and hiding here." Confronted the boy.
"I'm not hiding," she said angrily.
He laughed.
"Of course it is. If you're not hiding, you're hiding something." Said the smart young man.
The girl wanted to leave. Jack held her by the arm.
"Look!" he exclaimed.
The young man showed what he could do. The girl one saw the flames in his hands, colorful, illuminating everything. And it was beautiful. The most beautiful thing she ever seen.
The boy was strange, she didn't understand why he did something like that out of nowhere. Maybe he wanted to show confidence. And surprising worked.
"I saw my friend die." she explained in an almost inaudible whisper.
"I'm sorry." he said sincere. Very strange for someone she didn't even know.
"No, you didn't. I predicted his death. I predicted it the day before. Furthermore, I thought it was just a dream, but I was wrong. Now the same thing has happened to my cat. He will probably be carried away by death as well."
The boy hugged her. It wasn't right for an unknown man to hug such a young woman, but Kendra allowed it because for the first time since the day she discovered her powers, she felt safe. Safe and secure.
Months later, she dreamed of the death of his parents. The next day when he woke up the dream had come true: they were stabbed to death and left on the ground, bloodied, as if their lives had no value. The killer was never found.
At the wake, Mira and her mother Alice were there for her. And as much comfort as she received from them, it seemed not to be enough.
When everyone was in her house, giving her the condolences, Kendra went up to the room and cried. If she had predicted earlier, she could have prevented it.
The friend hugged her and said it was not her fault, but the brunette did not understand, would never understand. If Mira possessed a power, logically, it would not be something as fearful and sad as yours.
It was when Mira came down that he appeared. Jack hugged her. His strong arms enveloped her as if to protect her.
"I'm sorry." He said panting. "I came as soon as I heard. I just got back from the neighboring village.
"Mira says it's not my fault "looked at him with teary eyes "but if I had…" sobbed" Just a little earlier…
"If you went to them, you'd probably be dead." Caressed her face, wiping her tears." I know it's angry to have a power, and it only brings suffering."
"How can you understand me so much?"
Jack smiled.
"Simple. We are equal."
The redhead kissed his forehead. And walked away when the healer arrived, looking at him with a not pleasant expression.
The young man came out of the room, smiling at Kendra. And it seemed that all the agitation inside her had calmed down.
It was brought back to reality when the candlestick candle seemed to light up. She saw Miss Betwein shake her hand. Probably lit the fire with magic. She had never believed it, but after seeing blue fire and wolves with silver fangs, lighting fire from nowhere was not a surprise.
She looked at the friend who was facing her worried, most likely the memory had lasted a considerable time.
Mira followed the coordinator to the principal's office. Kendra was inattentive, must have been thinking about this Jack guy.
She sighed. She didn't like the young man very much, there was something wrong with him. Something false. Kendra always saw the best in people, and Mira knew it would bring her trouble in the future. However, she couldn't do anything. If her friend liked him, she had to trust her.
Miss Astrid knocked on the glass door. In this was the name: Mrs. Murphys, Director. The letters were highlighted in capital letters and silver.
A soft, thin voice replied:
"Between."
They went into the principal's office. The place was cozy. It was nothing that symbolized the fear they should feel for those who occupied it: the walls with a light yellow wallpaper, the sandy carpet that covered the entire floor, the brown chairs and the director herself did not bring any bad feeling to Mira.
The woman was short, slightly smaller than Kendra, had gray hair, brown eyes, few wrinkles, and rosy cheeks. She smiled with her white teeth as she sat on the chair. She put on her green dress and crossed her legs before she started talking:
"Miss Collins and Miss Millers, I believe you know my name from the sign on the door, correct? I'm going to ask you a few questions before we move on to the proper conversation"
The principal started so fast that the girls didn't even have time to ask how she knew their names and surnames.
"Miss Collins, your mother Alice Collins has recently disappeared, possibly taken by the Emperor, correct?"
The girl agreed to a nod.
"She adopted you when you were 6, correct? You don't remember your real parents, correct?"
Mira agreed.
"You have no knowledge of the Emperor, correct?"
The girl agreed again, angry.
The director analyzed it. Her eyes turned blue for a moment.
"Do you know anyone close to your mother? Anyone who knows her whereabouts?"
The girl remembered such a person, a man, Liam, who was very close to her mother.
The young woman told the director about him. The woman just smiled and said that everything would work out. What did not leave this happy.
"What do you mean? You're not explaining anything. You said we'd have a conversation. That doesn't sound like a conversation to me!" she exclaimed angrily.
"I think you should rest and finish tomorrow, right?" replied the director.
Mira left upset and Kendra followed her, trying to calm her down.
Mrs. Murphys looked at Astrid and said:
"Looks like we won't have to worry about Alice's safety, Astrid. She'll be fine."
"You know that kidnapping is just a flashy. The mother was never the real target. He wants the girl. I just don't understand why after all this time. Maybe the spell is losing its effect."
The other smiled and said:
"Sure. I believe he is."
"Mira, wait! You don't know where you're going!" cried Kendra behind her.
The young woman walked without direction. The only thing she wanted was to get away from that room.
"Miss Millers is right. You don't know where you're going." Astrid appeared in front of you. "Come. I'll show you to your room."
The girls followed the woman. There was not much to do about it, and besides, the young girls' bodies were already asking for rest.
The room was certainly bigger than the one in their house, but it wasn't as much as they expected. The beds were bigger and soft. Much better than the ones they knew. The sheets were white, and the bedspreads were black. The walls were clear and there was not much furniture. Only one wardrobe, two nightstands, one on the side of each bed and a desk. The wide window was covered with light, slightly lacy curtains.
The bathroom was entirely white. The only thing Mira had ever seen was the bathtub there.
"The room is the same model for everyone. No one here is privileged." said the coordinator.
Kendra looked worried at Astrid.
"What about the payment?"
"It's not necessary. The only thing our school wants is your talent."
Mira stared at her. It seemed like a means of exploration for her.
The coordinator fixed the glasses and gave a half smile.
"Why did you help us?" asked Mira, suspicious.
"I couldn't let that kingdom destroy anyone else." replied the elf.
"And my mother? Why can't you help her too?" she continued.
"She wasn't in the house. I could only see where you were. Sometimes fate acts in mysterious ways, I feel you should be here. If I had saved your mother, you wouldn't be here now. Take a shower and rest. The uniforms and your clothes are in the closet. I'm providing your materials. Tomorrow we will sort things out about your mother. Good night.
Mira tried to ask more questions, but the door was closed in her face.
Kendra stared at her friend.
"What do you think?"
The other looked at her thoughtfully.
"I don't know." Sighed. "I think they're hiding something and there's still a lot I don't understand, but I think we're safe here. What about you?"
"I just want to sleep."
They laughed.
Mira spent almost an hour in the bathtub, thinking about all that. When she left, her friend was already asleep. Despite her sleep, it seemed she couldn't rest. I felt something inside her, something calling her, telling her she had to leave. And that's what she did.
However, she did not know where to go. She looked at the details and objects nearby to find his way back. There was a picture of purple flowers in front of the room, walked down the long corridor until you saw a door. It wasn't a special door. It was made of weathered wood. But something said that the girl should open it. Behind it were spiral-shaped stairs.
She began to descend them, and when she did, it seemed that her feet were walking alone. After finally reaching their destination, she saw him. His eyes were silver and his hair dark. He smiled and said:
"I was waiting for you, my queen!"