There are two empty desks, both right next to each other, and I claim one, more or less just to have something to do. All of this waiting around is starting to be a little irritating, honestly. It’s a waste of our time to be here when the professor isn’t. What are we supposed to do? Just sit here for the entire period?
Without warning, a fairy with deep purple hair flies in. Her eyes are rimmed with red, and she rushes forward to take the seat beside me. Immediately, she folds her arms on her desk and puts her head down.
I glance around. There’s still no sign of the professor anywhere, and I don’t want to pry, but she seems really upset.
"Hi. I'm Rosemary. I understand if you don't want to talk, but I can talk for the both of us. Sometimes talking can help. And so does telling someone to shut up if they're overbearing."
She tilts her head toward me and almost smiles. “I’m Orchid.”
“I love your hair,” I tell her.
“I love how you styled yours.” She sits up and wipes her eyes.
“Thanks. I did it on the fly.”
We giggle.
“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you? Is it a fairy we need to de-wing?”
“If we could.” She grimaces.
“What did he do?”
She laughs, but the sound is a little bitter. “I don’t even know if it’s a he.”
I lift my eyebrows. “You don’t know who hurt you?”
“Someone went into my room yesterday and stole my talisman. My great-grandma made it for me and gave it to me hours before she died. It means the world to me. It’s priceless.”
“I’m so very sorry. Are you sure it was stolen?”
"Yes." She nods emphatically. "I didn't make it to my first class this morning because I was looking for it. It's nowhere."
I furrow my brows. “Do you have a roommate?”
“No.”
My eyes widen. “You live here on the grounds, right?” At her nod, I add, “I thought everyone had roommates.”
“We’re supposed to, but housing isn’t completely full this semester for whatever reason.” She sighs.
“If there’s anything I can do…” I offer.
She smiles sadly. “Thanks. I had to tell the authorities about it, and—”
Professor Drake floats in. He doesn’t fly. He glides. It’s a sight to see.
But his frown? Not so much. He looks stern and fierce, and that ages him a great deal. The girls who all fawned over him yesterday aren't trying to talk over each other to clamor for his attention. The entire classroom went from being almost too loud to completely silent the second he entered.
“Counterspells,” Professor Drake says firmly, “is more than just what the name suggests. It is more than just countering a spell. It can be used to find out any measure of things, including, perhaps, a thief.”
I glance at Orchid. Her face drains. She clearly hadn’t expected the professor to say anything about it, and she slinks down in her seat, just like I do when I wish I could be invisible.
My heart aches for her. For the professor to talk about the theft makes me wonder if the talisman has a monetary value and not just sentimental.
“Thievery will not be tolerated,” Professor Drake continues, and he launches into a detailed explanation of what the academy has in place for defensive measures.
That is the entirety of the class, and Orchid sighs as we stand and prepare to leave.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her.
“I am too, but I’m glad he didn’t single me out. That would have made things even worse.”
“Do you want me to come over during lunch to try to help look for it?” I ask.
“I’ve already looked everywhere.”
“Yes, but maybe someone will bring it back if enough professors mention it and the punishments that will incur if the thief is found with it in his or her possession.”
“You’re one of those enteral optimists, aren’t you?”
“Is that so bad?”
“I guess not, and usually, I am too, but I can’t. Not right now.”
“I understand. Well?”
"Well, what?"
“Do you want to check your room after lunch?”
“No. I would rather you do something with my hair.”
I giggle. “Anything,” I promise, knowing she just needs something to keep her mind preoccupied.
We don’t have Magic of Music together, since that’s her first class of the day, but we have Alchemy and Divination together, so we part ways with plans to meet up for lunch. I’m so glad we’re friends, but I do hate that we met under such circumstances.
Professor Fern makes mention of the theft at the beginning of class, but at least she doesn’t harp on it like Professor Drake had. When class is finally over, she motions for me to approach.
“Do you think you might be willing to take the harp to your room to practice this week?”
What’s the rush?
I shrug. “I don’t live on the academy grounds.”
“You don’t? That’s a pity. I suppose an exception can be made.”
I exhale through my nose. Why is she pushing me so hard?
“I’ll think about it,” I say.
She purses her lips.
I glance at the door.
“Yes, yes, you can go,” she says, shooing me away. I hear her sigh as I exit.
Harps are only for the lightest of fairies, and I don’t know if that’s me. I mean, yes, I guess it could be, but I don’t know if I want that. Yes, that would mean I would have a strong affinity toward healing, and that’s something I’ve always wanted. It’s even crossed my mind that I could sneak over to the human world and maybe masquerade as a doctor and heal some of them with magic instead of medicine. It’s frowned upon to do that, of course, so that would maybe be the darkest application of light, but it would help people, so isn’t that a good thing?
This is something I haven’t talked to anyone about, not my parents, not even Bay. I know my parents will object, and Bay? I have no idea what she would think of it, and she’s not a tattletale, so she won’t tell our parents, but… It’s my little secret. Maybe even my goal.
I wonder what Sage might think about all of this…
Chapter 8
Lunchtime. Finally. I’m ready to relax some. It might be nice to see Orchid’s room if she’s up for it. I never did get a chance to see inside some of the houses for students here. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it works out for me to move into her room? My excitement grows as I grab milk with honey, an assortment of berries, and a honey cake. Again, not the best choices, but I can barely keep still. All I want to do is fly and have some fun. Isn’t that what going to an academy is supposed to be about?
I glance all around. Neither Orchid or Sage is in sight, and I grimace. Hmm. I pop a blueberry into my mouth and try to figure out where I can be so I can see one or both of them. Eh, I'll just stay here by the exit of the food tent.
The sheer number of fairies in and out of the tent is crazy. I don't know how many attend the academy, and the thought that any one of the fairies flying about could be the thief dampers some of my excitement. A talisman Orchid had said. I wonder what kind and what it did, but I'm not about to bring it up again. The last thing I want to do is upset my new friend.
A fairy with purple hair flies by, but she’s not Orchid. Growing impatient, I chomp down a few more berries.
Out of the corner of my eye, I finally spy Orchid. I start to fly straight toward her when I notice Sage over to my right. I hesitate, hovering in mid-air. Who should I go to? Maybe Orchid didn’t see me.
I glance her way. She’s waving me over.
I look at Sage. He’s grinning at me and flies right up to me without hesitating.
“How was your morning?” he asks.
"Not too bad all things considering, but I think I might be on Professor Beansprout's naughty list."
“You’ve been a bad girl, huh?” he asks with a twinkle in
his eye.
A thrill races through me. “I’ve been called worse,” I murmur and bite my lower lip.
His gaze falls to my lips, and my heart races. There’s something so freeing to talk to him. I feel like I can be more like myself around him… even if I might still be channeling Bay a little bit. We both tend to bite our lower lips, but I do it when I’m nervous. She does it to draw attention to her mouth. She claims it drives guys wild.
Just now? I did it for both reasons.
"Do you want to sit and eat together?" Sage asks.
“Yes,” I blurt out too quickly.
“Great.” He grins. “How about…”
He looks around, and I do too. Big mistake. My gaze connects with Orchid’s. She starts forward and then pauses. She has no idea how much I like Sage already, and she won’t know how big of a deal eating with him is.
Sure enough, she flies on over. “Are we still going to—”
“I’ll do your hair later,” I say in a rush. “Before class. I promise.”
“That hill looks like it’s not crowded,” Sage says, pointing toward the south.
“Perfect,” I gush. “Orchid, do you want to—”
"It looks too crowded for me," she says stiffly, and she flies off, although her wings hardly flutter.
I wince. She’s upset with me, and she has every right to be, but Sage is already flying away, waiting for me, and I trail behind him.
“Did you hear about that theft?” he asks as soon as we reach the hill. He reclines on the grass, places his tray beside him, and casually plops a raspberry into his mouth.
I opt to sit rather than lie down on the grass and place my tray, so it's next to his. My fingers run over my fruit, but I don't pick up any.
“Yes,” I murmur, “I did hear about the theft.”
I’m so glad he didn’t ask around Orchid.
My heart sinks a little. I disappointed her. On top of the theft, she’s having a terrible day and doesn’t deserve for me to have treated her like that.
“I’m surprised you did,” Sage says.
“Oh?” I stare at him, puzzled, my eyebrows lifting.
“Or maybe I shouldn’t be,” he continues, “because you’re the thief?”
“And just what did I steal?” I ask, my heart back to racing.
“My thoughts,” he says.
I laugh.
“Too corny?” he asks with a grimace.
“No, no. I liked the line.”
“You wanted me to say my heart.”
“Oh, no. That would have been far too over the top.”
“So you don’t like over the top?” he asks.
“That depends. Over the top gestures can either be as smooth as silk or as terrible as trying to fly in a twister.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever attempted that.”
“And that would make you one smart fairy.”
He laughs. “You almost make it sound as if you have.”
“I haven’t denied it,” I point out.
“So you did? You tried to fly near a tornado?”
I nod. “In my defense, I was five, and my sister dared me to.”
I wince. I hadn’t meant to mention Bay to him, but then again, if Sage is going to one day be my boyfriend, he’ll not only have to know I have a sister, he’ll have to meet her. Not that I want to think about that right now. It’s not that I don’t trust Bay. It’s just that guys always preferred her to me in the past. Will Sage still want to be with me instead of her? Or will he want to get with her because of her looks, dress, and attitude? Even I have to say that she has a lot more self-confidence than I do, and that’s huge.
“You clearly survived,” Sage says.
“Yes, but trust me. What I did is not advisable at all.”
“You like to be daring.”
“Just call me a daredevil,” I quip.
“Okay, Daredevil, do you like peaches?”
“I do. Why?”
He sits up and holds out his fruit cup. “You don’t have any.”
I look at my fruit cup. He’s right, and he has some delicious slices of peaches right on top.
I start to reach for my fork, but Sage shakes his head. "Fruits are finger food."
“Yes, but—”
“Come on, Daredevil,” he challenges.
I dip my head and look up at him through my lashes before reaching over and taking a slice. Daintily, I put the end in my mouth, think about biting it, and then slurp it as ladylike as I can. His eyes widen and then widen even more as I lick the fruit juice from my fingers.
“Delicious,” he says hoarsely.
“Very much so.” I lick my lips. “Thank you.”
He brings his fruit cup back to him, picks out a cantaloupe square, and holds it up questioningly. I nod and start to reach for it, but no. Sage leans forward and feeds it to me.
And I might die and fly straight to heaven.
Or to the other place, but I can’t help looking at his crotch area and noticing a sizable bulge. My thoughts are so not consistent with being a light fairy, but fire and brimstone, even light fairies have to have sex for there to be light fairy babies.
Just like Mom and Dad. Mom’s far more light than Dad is. He’s much darker. I’m more Mom, and Bay’s always been daddy’s darling, even if he is much harder on her. Probably because he knows just what kind of trouble dark fairies can get into.
“You don’t have nearly enough berries,” I remark.
“I don’t.”
“I can help with that.”
My words come easily enough, but my hand shakes as I pick out the best-looking strawberry from my cup. I lean over and drop my gaze from his eyes to his lips and back up to his eyes again. He closes his as soon as the strawberry passes his lips.
I’m blushing so badly, and I don’t know how I survive, but we feed each other our fruit and then even feed each other our honey cakes, which is entirely unnecessary but so much fun. I swear my heart stops when I feed Sage the last bite, and he grabs my wrist to lick my fingers. A puddle. That’s what I am. I’m a puddle for him to lap up, and I don’t even care. I’ve fallen so very hard for him, and I don’t know if I’ll ever recover… or if I’ll want to.
Chapter 9
Alchemy. Sage and I fly there together. We don’t talk along the way, but every so often, I would look over, and he’s always looking my way. We’ll share a smile and keep on flying.
He opts to fly for the duration of the class, so I do too. The other guy who flew yesterday, the one who had flown back and forth for Bay, isn’t in class. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I watch for Orchid to arrive, but she doesn’t. I hope she’s all right.
Sage and I whisper to each other about nothing important throughout the class. The professor either doesn't notice or doesn't care since we aren't really disrupting the class. Unlike the other professors, he doesn't mention the theft, but that's all I know that he doesn't say, and I can't tell you what he did say either. Sage preoccupies everything, from my body to my racing heart. He even knocks into me at one point, and I swear my skin burns through my dress at the point of contact.
When class is over, and we have to part, I don’t want to. It’s bittersweet, saying goodbye.
But then, he doesn’t say goodbye.
“I’ll see you when I see you,” he offers.
“Not if I see you first,” I return.
“I’ll be sure to keep an eye out.”
"Only one?" I counter. "Then, you'll lose."
“Maybe. Maybe not.” He winks, gives me a salute, and flies off backward before dipping into a tight spiral circle and then rolls off.
I can’t stop smiling as I head to Divination. Orchid hovers near the lower door, and I drop down to land on my feet. “Hi.”
“You didn’t look for me,” she says flatly.
“I didn’t see you in class. Did something else happen?”
She purses her lips. “I… I don’t know if I want to talk to you.”
I hang my head and nod. “I get that. I understand. I’m sorry! I just… I know this is going to sound really lame, but I like Sage. A lot. More than any other guy I’ve ever met, and… The way I treated you was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
“Are you, though? Because it sounds a lot like I’m sorry, but if there’s a chance to be with Sage, I’m going to pick him again.” She crosses her arms and purses her lips.
“I swear, that’s not me. I’m just new to all of this.” I wave my hand.
“To being a good friend?” she asks sarcastically.
I wince. “To going to school.”
“You were homeschooled?”
“Until yesterday.”
“Wow. That’s kind of crazy.”
I roll my eyes. “Not too crazy. My parents don’t want us to live on the academy grounds.”
“Considering how boy crazy you are—”
“I am not!”
She just stares at me.
“One boy doesn’t make me boy crazy.”
“It does if you’re crazy for him,” she counters.
I shrug sheepishly. “You probably think I’m crazy.”
Orchid sighs. "I don't know. My mom and dad met one day and got married a week later and are one of the most in-love couples I've ever met. So I know that love can handle really fast, but they were a lot older than us. They had plenty of dating experience, so they both knew what they wanted and didn't want in a fairy. Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think you've dated all that much."
I scowl. “Is it that obvious?”
“You’ve got a stereotypical head over wings schoolgirl crush on the guy. Is he really all that?”
“All that and honey cakes.” I clasp my hands to my chest and mock-swoon, falling onto my back.
Light Fae Academy: Year One Page 4
