I picked the feather up again, unsure of whether to talk to him or not.
No, I decided. I’d let him come and own up to this mysterious present, if he ever did. The only times he’d ever approached me was when I was injured. Except for the thumb injury; maybe he didn’t deem it life threatening enough to pretend he cared about me.
I wound the feather around the base of the statue on my dresser. It curled easily, like a sleeping dragon. I lay on my bed, propping my chin up on one hand, examining it.
Despite its most likely creator, it was one of the most beautiful things I owned.
When I woke the next morning, I was crushed to see that all that remained of my feather was orange dust on the plinth of the statue. Hurt and confused, I swept the dust into my palm and then brushed it out of the window. Why give someone something that wouldn’t last, like leprechaun gold? Maybe he simply lacked the skill it took to make it last.
In any case, I wouldn’t approach him to mention it at all.
When the weekend rolled around, I managed to obtain permission from Jett to head into Keyes, despite it being a weekend when we weren’t supposed to leave the Academy. He signed the permission form in silence, deliberately not asking why I needed to go into the village.
I rode alone again, enjoying the ride as Echo ambled along. I hitched her at the same place as last time, and then headed through the town square to the clock tower. Niko wasn’t outside chasing chickens this time, but I thought nothing of it as I bounded up the steps to knock on the door.
It took a few minutes, but then Larni’s mother opened it. Her brow furrowed when she saw me.
“Yes?”
“Uh, it’s me, Sky,” I said awkwardly, wondering if she didn’t remember me. “I was wondering how you were going with the tester?”
“What tester?” she asked, confusion plain in her eyes.
“The magic tester, for Larni,” I told her slowly.
She bit her lip.
“Do I know you?” she asked finally.
“I came to see you last week,” I said desperately. “I’m Sky, Larni’s friend.”
She shook her head.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know you.”
My mouth fell open, and I didn’t know what to say. Either she was playing a cruel joke on me or...
“Your memory has been modified,” I told her, anger beginning to shake through me. “You need to get Larni tested for magic again.”
Her eyes went blank for a second, and then she looked at me in renewed confusion.
“I’m sorry, who are you?”
That was it then. Her memory had been modified so that every time I mentioned Larni’s magic or the tester, it reverted back to her not recognising me at all.
Who would’ve done this? I racked my brains trying to think of anyone who knew about Larni’s abilities. But then I remembered that Larni had found out I’d been to Jett, and how difficult it was to keep secrets in the Academy. And if they’d gotten to her parents, the next person in the firing line was
“Larni,” I said, almost to myself, and turned, leaping off the porch, leaving her mother behind. I sprinted through the town square as the clock tower struck the hour, but I hardly noticed.
I unhitched Echo and vaulted into the saddle. I urged her on, and she broke into a canter, and we headed back to the Academy faster than I’d ridden there before, my hair streaming back from my face in the wind.
Her hooves clattered across the cobbles of the stone bridge as we shot over it. We hit the dirt path on the other side, her hooves throwing up dirt clods behind us. When we reached the castle, I leapt from her back.
“Stay here,” I told her sternly, stroking her velvet nose. She snorted, her sides heaving.
I dashed inside the heavy double doors, sprinting up the stairs to the dorms. I passed Dustin on the way, and he began to run with me.
“Sky, what’s going on?”
“People are modifying memories,” I panted, taking the last few steps two at a time. “I think Larni, my servant... I think she’s next.”
~Chapter Nine~
We reached the top of the stairs and turned off towards the girl’s dorms. I shoved my door open, Dustin on my heels.
“Miss?” Larni stood in the middle of the room, her arms full of laundry. Her eyes held the same glazed expression as her mother’s. My shoulders slumped as my chest heaved; I was too late.
“I’m sorry,” I said to her, fighting back tears.
“Sorry? What are you sorry for, miss?”
“Don’t call me miss,” I closed my eyes so I couldn’t see
her puzzled expression. “Call me Sky, please.”
“As you wish, mi-Sky,” the confusion in her voice
pained me to my very soul.
I closed the door and slumped against it out in the
corridor. Dustin sat next to me and put his arm around
me.
“What was that about?” he asked finally.
I quickly told him everything. By the time I reached
Larni on the other side of the door (she was yet to come
out), I’d rested my head on his shoulder without even
realising.
“I’m as confused as you are,” Dustin said finally. “I
think you should be careful from now on, though. Just
watch your back.”
I nodded, my cheek grazing his shirt. Finally, as night
fell, we headed down to the mess hall. Just before we went
in, Dustin stopped me.
“I don’t think you should tell anyone what you told
me,” he said, his golden eyes on mine. “I think it would be
best to keep it as secret as you can.”
“Alright,” I agreed, because I knew he was right. Dustin looked like he wanted to say something else, but
he just brushed my cheek with his knuckles.
I didn’t mention anything to anyone about Larni’s
predicament. I knew I’d be able to find out eventually
who’d mind wiped her, but if my hunch was correct, I
wasn’t going to be able to do anything about it.
That night I met with Jett for our secret sword training.
I geared up with the swords like he’d shown me, but he
was quick to pick up on my mood.
“What is it?” he asked.
I took off the swords again, and sat down on the
practice mat, the full weight of the day suddenly slumping
onto my shoulders. After a moment, Jett came and sat next
to me. I quickly told him about my trip to Keyes and my
deal with Larni’s mother. Slowly, painfully, I told him
about that day. Though I had vowed not to tell anyone,
Jett felt more like a friend than a teacher, and I felt like he
wouldn’t tell anyone else. And if he did, hey, maybe they
could figure out who had mind wiped my friend and her
family.
“I told you not to take it any further, Sky,” was the first
thing he said when I fell silent.
“Why?” I burst out angrily. “It’s bad enough this
country, this world, condones slavery, why must I stay
quiet about it when my friend has a chance at a better
life?”
“You don’t think, do you?” he replied, just as angry.
“Sky, haven’t you noticed how uptight Iain and Netalia
are? For the past couple of years, they’ve been banishing
students left and right. I don’t know why, only that they’re terrified of change. And I don’t want you to be the
first of this group to fall under the knife.”
It was more than he’d ever said on this subject. While it
answered a lot of questions, it still left a lot to be desired. “Jett, who runs the country?” I asked after a moment’s
contemplation, picking at
a loose thread on the practice
mat.
“When there isn’t a monarch, as there hasn’t been for
about a thousand years, they run it.”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
“One thousand years?” I gaped at him. “How old are
they?”
He shrugged.
“Older than I know,” he admitted. “They run the
country to their standards, and people don’t know any
better, so they take their word as law.”
“But isn’t the general populace educated?” I asked. A lot
more things were suddenly falling into place. “Don’t they
know they’re not the real rulers?”
“But that’s the thing, Sky,” Jett said desperately.
“They’ve been in power so long, they’re so used to being
in charge, that people accept themas the monarch.” I let this digest for a moment. Suddenly I viewed Iain
and Netalia in a whole new light. For years they’d kept the country running to a certain extent, and they’d kept
Lotheria from international meddling.
I tugged one sword from its sheath carefully, looking at
my reflection in the polished steel.
“I think they modified Larni’s memory,” I said quietly,
and the moment I spoke the words aloud, I knew them to
be true.
“Please let this go, Sky.”
I shook my head stubbornly. I would not, could not,
give up on Larni. No matter the risk to myself, I would
keep striving to obtain her the best life that I could. I told
Jett as much.
“Then I’m sorry,” were his next words.
I started to ask what for, but then there was a sharp
crack of light and I reeled back from it.
“What’s going on?” I asked Jett, who was sitting
solemnly by my side.
“You fell,” he said, standing up to help me up. “Here,
let’s get started on a few routines.”
“Alright,” my head swam hazily. I had the feeling we’d
been discussing something important.
Whatever it was, I forgot all about it as we went
through the dances he taught me. I was proud of myself;
whenever I’d tried to learn dance routines before – I’d
done a short stint of ballet when I was five – I just couldn’t remember them. But now the steps came to me as though eager to present themselves. The swords had quickly settled themselves in my hands as though extensions of my arms, and I rejoiced in the feeling of excelling at something, which was a nice change after my failed object
creation.
“Wonderful,” Jett said as I finished my final dance, out
of breath but very pleased with myself. “Let’s leave it
there tonight.”
I hung my swords up reluctantly. More than anything I
wanted to take them back to my dorm room with me so
that I could practice at leisure, display them proudly as
Dustin did his scythe, Dena her broadsword. I traced the
engraving on their hilts one last time, and then left the
weapons room.
As I walked, I tried desperately to remember what Jett
and I had been speaking about. I remembered exactly
what he’d said about the Masters of the school, but I
couldn’t help but feel there was more to the conversation. Try as I might, I just couldn’t recall it, and gave it up as
unimportant.
For the next two weeks, the Academy felt more like a
prison than a school. I made sure to discuss only school
matters with Dena and the others; conversation with Larni
was strained, and I felt something had happened between us. Such was my feeling of imprisonment; I couldn’t have been more relieved when Watt told everyone that we’d be
going to Moon Bay and the Paw Islands for term break. Rain perked up at the news, and began speaking at a
million miles an hour about all the places she was going to
take us and all the things she had to show us. There was
an air of excitement about the Academy in the final few
days of term; I could hardly sit still as I waited for Jett to
finish teaching us in History on the last day.
“Oh, alright!” he said irritably, observing his excited
students. “Go and pack, then, off with you. You’re not
going to learn anything.”
We all shot off into our dorms. Dena, Theresa, Yasmin,
Rain and I all gathered in Dena’s room, dragging with us
our rucksacks and about half our wardrobe.
“Definitely swimmers,” Dena said, shoving her tank top
and shorts into the rucksack. “Cloak, blouse, shirt,
breeches.”
We all copied her, making sure to check off essentials
on the list Rain had drawn up. By the time the Academy
bell struck ten, we were packed and ready to go. Instead of
going to our own rooms to sleep, we set up camp on
Dena’s floor and had a very girly sleepover.
“So, boys,” Rain began, handing out sticks of the hard
toffee we could buy in the village. “Go.”
I opened my mouth but she cut me off.
“We already know you’re going to say Dustin, Sky,” she
said, moving my hand to my mouth so I was eating the
toffee and couldn’t talk. “Next!”
“Well, who do you think is cute?” Theresa prompted
Rain, as she had seemed so intent on this discussion. “Petre,” she said immediately, and Yasmin started
choking on the toffee.
“E’s pompous,” I managed to get around the toffee. “Shush,” Rain told me. “I think he is.”
“Pompous?” I repeated, and everyone giggled. “No, cute,” she fixed me with a mock glare. “And he’s
smart and neat...”
“Are these,” I swallowed the toffee with difficulty. “Are
these traits difficult to come by or something?”
She pouted prettily at me.
“Oh alright,” I conceded. “He’s cute.”
The others began their discussion about the boys in our
group. Yasmin had been crushing on one of the other guys
in our class.
“Not Red Hair?” I asked.
“No, not Red Hair,” she threw one of the spearmint
buttons we were eating at me. “His name is Trevis, from
here. I think somewhere near Riverdoor.”
We teased some more information out of her, but as the night ticked on, our eyelids grew heavier and heavier as the candy gummed our teeth together. Someone muttered something about heading to the bathrooms to brush our teeth, but before anyone could answer, we’d all fallen asleep.
~Chapter Ten~
The next morning we were woken by not one, but five golden bells. As they began their shrill cacophony, we rolled over and groaned. I swiped at my bell, though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. It fluttered out of my reach, and then dive bombed me when I closed my eyes again.
“Up,” Dena instructed us all, pushing her glasses onto her nose. “They’ll be leaving soon.”
We staggered around the room blearily, cursing our late night chat. Slowly, we dressed and gathered up our rucksacks. At the last minute, Rain snatched up the fallen candy.
“Just in case,” she mumbled when she saw me watching.
We stumbled out the front doors, squinting in the bright sun that seared over the horizon. We slung our rucksacks on our backs and shuffled slowly to the stables with the rest of the class, where we quickly saddled our horses. After two riding lessons, I could now heave myself into the saddle, wh
ich I promptly did so, despite my sleep heavy bones.
We all began to wake up during the ride. We bypassed the turn off to Keyes, and I looked away as something, half remembered, niggled me.
The ride was long and hot, but as we slowly woke up, we began to chat again.
“Will we need to stop for the night?” I asked Rain.
“Probably not,” she replied, riding next to me. “Because we left so early, we should get there by nightfall. We’re making good time.”
I could only assume that was because we were yet to see anybody on this road. Lined with trees on one side and fields on the other, we’d been the only people for miles.
As the sun crossed overhead and finally began to drop below the horizon, I began to smell the salty ocean. I’d been riding in a daze, but as I came to, I noticed the sound of rushing water. I looked to Rain in excitement. “The ocean,” she confirmed with a grin.
We rounded a corner and began to head downhill. The ocean lay before us, sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight. On one end of the beach, there was a long jetty, with a small ship next to it. I desperately hoped it was there to take us to the islands, which I could just see on the horizon.
Jett and Professor Alena had been riding up front. As we closed in on the white sands, they slowed and gave the signal to dismount.
Everyone did so gratefully, groaning as they stretched their legs. We were led to a small grass area just behind some rolling sand dunes. We unsaddled and groomed our horses, feeding and watering them before we began to set up our own camp. Jett started a fire by clicking his fingers
- he didn’t even look at where he was pointing, I thought, disgruntled. I couldn’t wait to have control like that - and we gathered around it to cook the meals we’d organized before leaving.
“Alright, here’s the plan,” he began, and everyone fell silent. “Tomorrow we head to the Main Island, and we’ll spend a few nights there. Though this is a holiday, please try to keep an open mind when exploring new places. This will make it easier on you to write the paper when you get back and start the new term.”
Everyone groaned in sync. As I looked sideways to trade iffy looks with Dena, I spied Phoenix sitting just past her, half in shadow. His eyes were fixed on the flames, and he didn’t appear to be listening to a word Jett was saying. I looked away from him when I noticed Eleanora seated next to him, her arm looped through his.
As I tucked into our meal of warmed stew, Dustin came to sit next to me.
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