By The Skies

by J E Mueller

  My little group did not say a single word about our disappearance. The worst was a few smirks and some knowing glances, but I could deal with that. Mostly. I almost craved to know what they were thinking, the feeling far more than a need than a want, but it would be rather awkward and possibly humiliating to hear. It was easier to bite my tongue and never know.

  The outdoor lessons and games continued with a brief break for dinner until we were sent to bed at dusk. The temperature was dropping rapidly at night, the end of fall steadily making its unpleasant approach.

  The women’s cabin was alive with chatter and nonsense until we were told twice it was time for bed, the noise level only dropping due to doors being closed. It amused me that everyone was so loud, as if we didn’t spend nearly every waking second together, but this was different. An air of freedom was around us here.

  I sat down on my bed, tapping my fingers along the headboard as I stared at the plain white quilt. The flowered pattern embroidered into the fabric only held my attention for a moment.

  “What are your thoughts on sneaking out?” I asked Soleia as she brushed out her hair. It wouldn’t be impossible to sneak out around here.

  She glanced at the window behind her. “Everything is going to be spelled you know.”

  “Likely,” I agreed with a smirk. “But just how well? If it’s the normal precautions, we’ve got this.”

  Soleia raised an eyebrow but shrugged as she opened the window. I went over to join her, letting my magic reach out.

  “You see? Not very at all.” My smile widened.

  “It’s around the whole building. Getting out is one thing but how are you going to get back in?” Soleia’s head tilted curiously, more interested than opposed to my shenanigans.

  That was exactly my point. With the magic woven into the fibers of the building itself, we were set. We would only set it off if we touched the outside, and I could easily avoid touching anything. I grabbed my bag and quickly rejoined her by the window, trying hard and failing not to show my excitement. Wrapping magic around me, I was suddenly outside. I waved to her from my spot of freedom.

  Soleia shook her head and vanished from the window for a moment before launching herself outside, tucking into a roll and bouncing up gracefully beside me.

  “But how are you going to get back inside?” It seemed it was my turn to be confused.

  “Flying roll.” She shrugged. “Just launch myself back inside, tuck in my wings, and hope not to make too much noise.”

  “We should have done a silencing spell.” I sighed. “Maybe I can get inside first and do that.” That was a problem for later though.

  Soleia shrugged. “Now what, oh plan master?”

  “There are a few things I want to gather that are only out at night,” I answered as I started to head back behind the cabin to the forest.

  She gave a small laugh. “I figured as much. Which ones? What are they for?”

  “I want to make another Reydua potion since the last one failed so spectacularly.” I explained, squinting into the night to try and figure out the best path.

  Soleia cocked her head to the side. “The one where you tried replacing the lunar lily with the white night rose?”

  “Ugh, yeah.” I nodded. The white night rose was easy to find, but the lunar lily was not anywhere near my house. The few hours difference between here and home was just enough to make all the difference. Darn plants.

  I gave her a rundown of the things I wanted to try and where they would be as we walked. Owls were happily starting to hoot while branches rustled here and there from squirrels trying to get away from us. Something that I could only guess was a raccoon half fumbled out of a bush before turning and rushing away.

  We hadn’t gotten far when we heard a branch snap behind us. We froze and quickly turned around to see two figures approaching us in the dim light. The clouds were only letting a moon beam or two here and there escape, giving the figures an almost menacing look as their dark forms approached us.

  Mentally, I braced for a teacher and their scolding to come. We couldn’t be the first to ever sneak out, and I doubted we would be the last.

  Aylum’s familiar drawl broke the brittle silence. “I wish I could say I'm surprised to see you two out,” Beside him, Delmar chuckled breaking the tension. I let out a breath of relief before my heart beat fast once more. Was Aylum excited to see me? Or were they hoping for some time to hangout on their own?

  “How did you both get out? And why?” That last part I was more curious about.

  “Magic.” Delmar shrugged before he shoved his hands into his pockets as they stopped in front of us.

  “And we figured you’d both be out,” Aylum admitted. My heart did a somersault at those words.

  “Well, we’ve got a few things to find then.” Soleia shrugged and started to head off. I was glad she spoke first, giving me a moment to regain my composure. Bless the darkness for helping me look calm and collected.

  I filled them in as we walked through the woods. The forest was dark and difficult to navigate, the moon casting slivers of light that did little to illuminate things.

  That didn’t bother me though. I loved exploring the woods at home and relished in the night sounds that surrounded me. Taking careful and steady steps helped ensure I’d avoid falling. Most creatures were more afraid of us than we were of them, so I felt at ease. The worst I could imagine was a teacher catching us on the way back in.

  “We’re not going to find much,” Soleia commented softly. “Not without a light and that would surely get everyone’s attention.”

  “That’s fine.” I shrugged, not minding the challenge. “At least trying is still worth it.”

  “Sneaking out is always worth it.” Delmar chuckled.

  “As long as we don’t get caught,” Soleia agreed as if that needed to be said.

  We wandered a few minutes longer before Aylum finally spotted one of the plants. I suspected both him and Soleia were using some sort of dragon vision to see things since I could hardly even see when we were on top of them.

  Aylum’s hand brushed against mine as we slowly felt for the mushrooms. I felt my cheeks heat and was glad no one could see. I tried to ignore the fact, focusing instead on the mossy texture of the plant.

  These could be found during the day, but the way the mushrooms pulled magic at night gave them a better potency for energy potions. As we gathered them into jars something felt off. I paused what I was doing, the others slowly following suit. The forest showed nothing of course. It was too dark to give hints of anything going astray.

  “What is that?” Delmar asked curiously.

  “We should head back,” Soleia stated firmly. There wasn’t any hint of fear or worry in her voice, more annoyance.

  “Oh, okay…” Delmar brushed his hands off as I shoved the jars back into my bag. “Should we be concerned?” He sounded equal parts cautious as curious.

  Neither Soleia or Aylum said anything as they stared off into the night.

  “Let’s go then.” I could bother her for information once we were safe again. I started to move to head back but noticed Soleia and Aylum were still rooted in place. I could feel them pulling magic, setting my senses on high alert. “What is it?”

  “It’s…” Soleia looked over to Aylum for confirmation.

  “Complicated.” Aylum nodded agreeing. “They’ll stay at a distance if they know what’s good for them.”

  “They’re already leaving so I think they do.” Soleia sounded relieved.

  “Explanation please?” I tried to sound purely curious, but something about it all was just unsettling. The dark forest was only making me more anxious now, the excitement of nighttime adventures gone.

  “To put it simply, it’s not a student from here. They are a reasonably powerful mage like myself,” Aylum summed up.

  Delmar scoffed. “Just say it’s a bloody dragon. I know she knows, so there’s no need to hide it with flowery language. Which one is it? Or is
it someone you don’t know?”

  I was surprised by his abrupt bluntness, but those were exactly the answers I was looking for. My eyes stayed fixed on Aylum, the shadows making his expression impossible to read.

  “I’m not sure if I know them or not honestly. Something seems familiar, but that hardly means anything. They flexed some power, challenging us since they recognized our magic. We flexed back, they left. That’s all that matters.” Aylum explained before grumbling, “Dragons hanging around campgrounds doesn’t make sense. Are they bored and looking for a challenge?”

  “Is there anyone you’re friends with that you’ve kept this a secret from?” Soleia gave a sigh as she shook her head and started to lead the way back, the rest of us following. That was a good question. How did Delmar know? They were friends, sure, but this was a huge secret to reveal.

  “Delmar knew before I started here thanks to an incident we’ll not discuss,” Aylum half mumbled.

  “Incident?” I knit my brows at his comment, hardly an explanation. I hadn’t realized they knew each other prior to this semester either.

  “I’d really rather not discuss it.” Aylum shook his head, tucking a loose lock of hair back behind his ear.

  Soleia gave a small laugh. “Well, good luck getting back inside. Hopefully, tomorrow is far less eventful. Maybe you’ll be more willing to give us answers then?”

  “It’s hardly a good trip unless there is some mayhem. Answers would be nice though.” I chuckled, looping my arm through hers. “Everything worked out fine anyway.”

  “Uh-huh.” She didn’t sound nearly as convinced.

  Chapter Eleven

  Morning was rough. With fewer normal amenities, everyone took longer to get ready. I wasn’t surprised to see so many simple braids. Nothing else looked right without all the fancy magic tools. Spoiled brats the lot of us. How did the Sedimentary folk handle this on the daily?

  It was admittedly harder to concentrate today. While it didn’t exactly come up again, that confession was in all my thoughts. Aylum liked me back. Aylum liked me and wasn’t all about having a pretty, incapable shut-in doubling as an arm accessory at events. He seemed to genuinely enjoy learning with me and helping me do more.

  My stomach was in odd knots at the concept that someone who liked me viewed me as an equal. It was something we were taught early on not to hope for, not to expect.

  ‘Be happy with what you can get. Do everything you can for your husband first, your family second.’

  Ha.

  Every fiber of my being screamed with joy that things could be different, that they were not like this everywhere. It was perfect, and all I had to do was play my cards right and win a little duel then my hopes and dreams could actually come true.

  “Are you even paying attention?” Soleia asked me as we washed a basket of herbs in the stream.

  “No, not really honestly,” I admitted freely. “Were you saying something?”

  Soleia raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t usually this scatterbrained. What’s going through that head of yours?”

  “Nothing terribly exciting,” I replied, gathering up everything to take back for dinner.

  Today's course of action was rather dull. There was a lot of good material to be learned, but I already knew most of it. I was so far ahead on reading and researching things of my own accord that most explanations were barely a refresh.

  “Uh-huh.” Soleia followed behind me. “Nothing exciting doesn’t mean there isn’t something.”

  “True. I can agree with that.” I flashed her a smile as I casually evaded what she wanted to hear.

  “Just tell me already!” She let out a dramatic sigh.

  “I am simply thinking on a conversation I had yesterday.” I shrugged, letting it sound like it was truly nothing. Or trying to anyway.

  “What exactly did you and Aylum discuss?” Soleia dropped her voice and chuckled. “I have several ideas and you seem to be adamant on not bringing it up.”

  “I have no desire to discuss every aspect of my life.” I shrugged, keeping my tone casual.

  “Spill.” Soleia tugged my arm so we were barely a hair apart.

  I gave another shrug only to be met with a firm glare. “We may have mutual feelings that could possibly be explored once I can get things in my life sorted properly.” I smirked at her.

  Soleia’s face lit up with a delighted smile. “Well, it is about time. Still would have been easier if you’d just let me do away with this scum you are Promised to.”

  “I prefer to do things the right way.” I gave her a small laugh. “And won’t it be so satisfying to defeat him? It’s unlikely he’ll recover his status after such a duel.”

  “If you insist.” Soleia shook her head. “I need to know when it is so I can watch him squirm.”

  “Of course. An audience should always be present to properly document how a duel plays out. There is far less hearsay and he can’t lie as easily later,” I agreed. That was the last thing I wanted or needed. It really wouldn’t surprise me though. A man of his morals would do anything to save his stature and I planned on making sure he was thoroughly defeated.

  Soleia gave a small laugh at the idea. “I look forward to it.”

  Reaching the campsite cut off our current conversation. Some things didn’t need to be spoken around others. Instead, we focused on the food preparation, my mind more often than not thinking about Aylum. No surprise really. It was harder not to fancy him now that I knew he felt the same. The phantom feeling of his lips on mine lingered.

  Soon.

  Things would come together soon.

  I forced myself to concentrate and do what tasks needed to be done. It was nice when we were finally just able to sit and relax. Little excitement or mayhem had occurred today. No injuries that couldn’t be healed in seconds, leaving conversation quiet. More people seemed tired, not used to working outdoors. Even our normal group was rather quiet.

  I wanted to talk to Aylum more, but since all I could think of were things I didn’t want most of my classmates hearing I kept my mouth shut. Aylum didn’t appear bothered by the silence, but he was quieter than normal.

  Maybe he was feeling the same. I would have to talk to him as soon as I got a moment, though at this rate it would be after dark. Soleia wasn’t opposed to sneaking out so maybe she would be fine giving me a few minutes to talk alone with him. Time would tell.

  Professor Achworth cleared her throat, pulling my attention to the teachers. "We have one last list for you all. Track and find everything before dusk and make the required potion before bed. The cabin with the most successful potions will win."

  The excited chatter quickly filled the area as everyone instantly started to divide up.

  “Going to take you men down.” Soleia smirked as she gave Delmar and Aylum a sweet wave.

  “Uh-huh. You heard what they said,” Delmar countered. “The ones with the most successful potions. Half your girls can’t brew.”

  “Still more than your guys can,” she scoffed.

  I laughed. “We do have more in high levels than you do,” I replied, singing the last three words. My light hearted mood faltered a moment as I saw Gawin and Tedric sneering at me. I would be hearing about this the second I wasn’t surrounded by people.

  Soleia tugged my arm, pulling me to where the girls were congregating. The list was instantly shoved into my hands.

  “What first?” Orabella asked as everyone chattered excitedly.

  I glanced over the items, mentally making a map. “Effie, Neveah, Kismet go with Soleia. I know you can get these ingredients on your own. Grab as many as you can and put them inside the cabin. Boys can’t enter at night so they can’t steal them. The rest of us will rush to get the ones furthest out and we’ll meet in the middle to grab and bring the rest of the ingredients back.”

  There was no bickering or fighting when it came to something like this. We wanted to win, so we moved to do what was best from the start. The guys could be heard laug
hing and bickering. A quick look toward them showed they weren’t ready to go. We took off, the sounds of them yelling and escalating arguments reached us as we stepped into the woods, pulling further ahead.

  The first half of the group quickly started gathering the things they needed once they were in sight while the rest of us pushed forward, nearly running to keep our lead.

  “I bet you they follow us,” Celibria joked while we ran.

  We laughed, and pressed on harder, joy and ecstasy fueling us. It was too likely to be true. We’d enjoy the lead while we had it. Hopefully we could keep it.

  The men's team didn’t seem to be following us, though we could see a few here and there in the distance. Laughter and conversation filled the woods, the sounds mixing in almost soothingly with the streams and birds getting ready to settle in for dusk.

  We were nearly to the midpoint, our divided group within sight of each other when the temperature swiftly dropped without warning. The darkness of night had been slowly creeping on the horizon when suddenly it changed nearly to complete blackness. No sunset to tie the events together, causing us all to stop dead in our tracks. The magical chill and night caused goosebumps to rise rapidly along my arms. I glanced to my side and saw Orabella looking around terrified as Soleia rushed over to join us, her group of girls following quickly behind her.

  “What’s going on?” Keti asked, moving closer to me.

  “I haven’t a clue,” I admitted, feeling rather spooked by this. Magic didn’t work like this. At least not magic I knew. Was anyone going to step up? I really did not want to be at the head of this.

  “We need to head back. Now.” Soleia stated as all of us gathered close together.

  I nodded, concerned about getting back when it was so hard to see. “Let’s just stay close and everything should be fine.”

  Fenella attached herself to Effie. “I hate that dark. This feels worse than normal darkness.”

  Effie tried to pat her head reassuringly but didn’t say anything. This was not normal.

  No one else dared say a word. Shoving down my concerns, I made up my mind. “This way.” I motioned for everyone to follow me.