Dark Is Her Nature

by Judith Berens

  “We are going to go down to the city and get some stuff for classes,” one of the kids said.

  “And some delicious food.” His mother winked.

  “Mmmm, they have a delicious pasta dish down there at the Earth-side Italian Bistro. You should check it out. Have fun and be careful.”

  Izzie looked around the room, spotting Aya with her parents in the corner. They looked just as shy as her. Her mother’s hair was pulled into a low ponytail and she was blushing, and her father was pushing up a pair of thick-rimmed brown glasses.

  “I’m gonna sneak away,” she whispered to Ms. Berens. “Maybe go for a walk through the pastures, get away from the craziness.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, fine.” She put on her best fake smile. “Just want some quiet.”

  “Okay, come find me when you get back. The dining hall will be empty tonight because everyone goes out for food, so we can eat together and have whatever we like.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll be back soon.”

  Izzie scooted quickly away and hurried down the front steps and onto the lawn, dodging the groups gathered there. She looked to the left and found Kathleen standing with her parents, everyone’s bright red hair blowing in the breeze. She smiled and waved and Kathleen looked up and smiled at her, gesturing for her to come over. Izzie shook her head and faked a smile back, and took off toward the outskirts of the main grounds.

  Once she reached the hill she let out a deep breath, looking down at her sandals. Her feet hurt, and she hated dressing up. Once she was out of sight she looked around, thinking of going to the stables, but she could see a large group at the edge of the barn. She sighed and squinted into the sun at the next hill over. There was Horace, working with one of the horses, his hair shining brightly. Horace was always a calming presence. Izzie knew he would be the perfect person to hang out with, since he wouldn’t give her sad glances. It was obvious to everyone else that she had no one coming, and she was tired of dodging people. She didn’t want to have to explain.

  Horace wiped the sweat from his forehead, thankful for the fall breeze that swept over the hills. One of the newer horses was giving him a bit of a problem, nipping and biting the students, and working with it that day was the best thing he could do. He didn’t want to interfere with the droves of magical folk who swarmed the building, and the headmistress knew how to get him if she needed him. A shadow blew over him and he looked up, nodding at the gargoyle soaring across the sky. As he turned back to his work he spotted Izzie standing all alone on the other hill in a blue and silver dress that was flapping in the breeze. He waved her over and she smiled, picking up the edge of her skirt to not trip, revealing her silver sandals.

  Izzie jogged over, glad that Horace didn’t mind her being there. He was all alone on top of the hill with the horse and a couple of dogs, who were running through the grass nipping at crickets. Horace looked strange, wearing an ill-fitted suit with horse hair stuck to the front of his pants, and his shoes shined perfectly. He also looked incredibly uncomfortable, pulling on his vest, the flower in the small breast pocket wilted. Izzie held back a chuckle, since she felt just as out of sorts as he obviously did.

  “Nice tie.” Izzie smiled, raising her eyebrows.

  “Yeah, thanks.” Horace grimaced, pulling on the tie to loosen it. “The headmistress requests I dress nicely when the parents come around. Makes it hard to work.”

  “Probably would help if your jacket wasn’t too small on your shoulders.”

  “Had to borrow one from the instructors and he’s a bit smaller than me.”

  Izzie walked up to the horse, petting it down the front of its nose. The horse settled, letting out a breath. Horace nodded, seeing that she too had a way with animals. She looked sad though, and almost as if she were running away from something.

  Horace didn’t want to ask her what was wrong so instead he started a story. “Years ago, there was this kid—a student here. He had a lot of talent, a lot of magical power, but he wasn’t the same as everyone else. His breed, I guess you could call it—it was a dying one and it made him different from everyone else here.”

  Izzie looked at the woods in the distance, anger still bubbling inside of her. She hated that she couldn’t be like the others, that she was all alone. She turned her head back, knowing Horace was trying to help by telling a story.

  “This kid was shy around new people, but outgoing and great around people that he got comfortable with. The only problem was when he would get comfortable many of them would turn on him, teasing him about who he was and where he came from. He was in a sea of different magical creatures, but he still felt all alone.”

  “I can understand how that feels,” she mumbled.

  Horace looked across the fields at the school, where the parents and kids were starting to clear out. He frowned and looked down at his watch, letting out a deep breath. It was nearing dinner time, and he was supposed to go back and clean up while everyone was away.

  “It’s five already,” he grumped.

  “Is it? I told Ms. Berens I would meet her for dinner. Can we continue this story another time?”

  “Of course.”

  “Thanks, Horace, and thanks for talking.”

  Horace nodded and Izzie walked slowly back down the hill and toward the mansion. He grabbed the reins of the horse and walked it back over to the barn, put the animals and his tools away, and headed over to the school. He knew how it felt to be different too, but in the opposite way that Izzie did. It could get pretty lonely around here, and he hoped she wouldn’t have to go through it too.

  Izzie hurried through the mansion and to the dining hall to find Ms. Berens. She smiled when she found her and walked over the table.

  “I thought you were gonna stand me up.”

  Izzie smiled. “I wouldn’t do that. It’s kind of you to invite me. So, what’s for dinner?”

  “Anything you want. Just think it, and it appears.”

  Izzie looked down at the empty plate in front of her and closed her eyes, musing. When she opened them, there was a giant plate of fettuccine alfredo in front of her with small tomatoes cut up on top. She grinned and picked up her fork, taking a bite.

  Izzie and the headmistress spent the rest of the evening together. They ate and watched a movie, and Izzie went to bed before the other girls had gotten back. They knew if the lights were off they would be quiet when they entered, and Izzie wouldn’t have to hear all about their amazing days.

  As Izzie laid there waiting to fall asleep, she hoped the next day wouldn’t be so stressful.

  17

  The next day was a lot like the first, only everyone was a bit calmer. The parents went to different meetings with the instructors and the kids wandered around waiting for them to return. Izzie spent the day helping the headmistress, and Alison wandered the mansion on her own since Brownstone and Shay had left. She settled into the library to do some reading. Leo Decker approached with a scowl, ready to say something, but once he saw it was Alison he left her alone with a warning.

  “Just don’t take any books from here.” His bowler hat was tilted to the side, the flower steadily blowing raspberries and gritting its teeth. “I’ll know if you do.”

  “Promise.” Alison made a cross over her heart.

  Leo harrumphed and walked back to the vault where he was working. He probably hated weekends like those as much as she did. He didn’t really seem like a people person. Alison scanned the shelves of books, feeling the spines for the raised dots, pulling down different spell books and one on the history of magical beings. She figured if she was a Drow and not many people understood them, she should probably continue to research on her own. She took the books back to the table and opened the magical beings book, flipping through the pages until she found a picture of a man with silver hair just like her mother’s. The word “Drow” was written in fancy cursive at the top of the page.

  Alison read aloud to herself since there was no one else in th
e library to disturb.

  “’The name ‘Drow’ is a subtext of troll, which are distant relatives. The ancient Drow were seen as dark elves, some very talented in dark magic. They worked and lived in a system of underground caves and castles, and were especially well versed in working with metals. As the Drow became more skilled, they became feared by many in the light and ultimately dwindled in number. Current day Drow are hard to find, living and moving in the shadows.’ Interesting.”

  Alison turned the page, finding a picture of a queen Drow, her features similar to her mother’s.

  “’Drow tend to have darkened skin, though it starts out light like a Light Elf’s. Pigmentation increases with age. Their hair becomes fully white when they reach maturity, and some royal Drow have been known to have bright silvery wisps throughout their childhoods.’”

  Alison moved on from that section and flipped through, trying to find information on their magical abilities. She didn’t know what she was fully capable of. She had moved things around a room, but she knew that was just the tip of the iceberg. She flipped to another page and stopped, finding a short section on powers.

  “’The Drow’s powers were never fully known. They were capable of many things, including casting spells to confuse opponents.’ Confuse opponents? What does that mean?”

  That was all there was regarding the Drow. She closed the book and sighed, since whoever had written it didn’t know that much about the Drow either. She learned more than she knew before, but it only opened more questions for her.

  “Whatcha reading?”

  Alison jumped, grabbing her book and shoving it under a stack of magical spell books. Emma was behind her.

  “Oh, nothing, just passing the time. Where are your parents?”

  “They are finishing up a meeting with Ms. Berens. I saw you in here, so I figured I would come see how you are doing.”

  “I’m okay. Just getting through the rest of the weekend. I’m sad they left early, but it was great to see them. But now I’m ready to hit the books again.”

  Emma nodded, obviously wanting to ask but not wanting to upset her. Leo groaned in the background as he carried another book back to the vault. He grumbled something to himself as he walked.

  “Do you want to come see the new plants with me? Someone said they can sing.”

  Alison smiled. “Sure. Let me just put these away so the librarian doesn’t have me for lunch.”

  Emma giggled and helped Alison collect her books, ignoring the magical creatures book at the bottom. They hurried over and put each one back exactly where it was supposed to go, then looked up at the big clock over the doors. The day had raced by, and Alison was shocked by how long she had been there. It had felt like only an hour, but it was almost evening.

  “They put a spell on the library,” Emma explained. “It helps to keep you focused, but you can definitely lose time here. I heard about an upperclassman who missed his finals since he lost all track of time. They finally found him half-starved in the corner, reading through a potions book on the last day of school.”

  “Ugh…death by education.”

  The girls headed down the hallway to the main area as a crowd of students and parents walked toward the plants area. Emma wrinkled her nose and looked at Alison.

  “It’s busy.”

  “Yeah.” Alison scoffed. “Maybe I’ll catch them another time.”

  “Oh, look, two little freshmen without their mommies and daddies,” Scarlett called from the side with a laugh, putting her fingers to her lips. “Now, let me see. I saw you and your chubby little parents. It makes so much sense why you eat carrots at every meal.”

  “Shut up,” Emma growled.

  “Just ignore her. She’s insecure,” Alison whispered.

  Scarlett’s face dropped for a moment, wondering how she could possibly know something like that. She regained her composure just as fast and clenched her fists. She stared at the silver tips of Alison’s hair, her frown turning into a smirk.

  “That’s rich coming from the lonely one with no mommy and daddy.”

  Alison narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth, trying to ignore her.

  “Rumor has it you don’t even have a family. Maybe you are the one who should be ignored. Pathetic girl. No one will want a nasty dark troll working for them. This is all a waste of your time.”

  The group laughed and Alison turned toward Scarlett, her eyes almost glowing with anger. As she stepped forward there was a surge of energy inside of her.

  Emma’s eyes dropped to Alison’s rolled-up pant legs, where purple flames began to spark and shimmer, slowly rising upward. She was the only one who had noticed, and they didn’t seem to hurt Alison at all.

  “What is this?” The headmistress barreled toward the girls, putting one hand on Alison’s shoulder.

  Immediately Alison snapped out of it and the flames disappeared. Ms. Berens looked at Alison and then at Scarlett, obviously irritated, but concerned after seeing the flames rushing up Alison’s legs.

  “Scarlett, why does it not surprise me that you would be involved in this? Go…shoo! Your mother and father will be moved up in my conference schedule. I don’t want any more trouble out of you.”

  Scarlett rolled her eyes and glanced one last time at Alison before marching off with the others. Ms. Berens turned to Alison and put her hands on her shoulders.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” Alison stepped back with tears burning in her eyes. “I just want to be alone.”

  Alison headed for the front door and Emma reached out to her.

  “Alison, wait!”

  Alison shut the front door behind her with a slam.

  Miss Berens looked at Emma with a kind smile. “She will be all right, just give her some space. She will come around, I promise.”

  “Edgar,” Horace yelled at the brown hound that was running ahead of him.

  The other dogs searched the ground below, following different scents. Horace held a bright lantern in his hand and was roving the grounds, making sure no one was where they weren’t supposed to be. He did it every night, sometimes finding kids, but usually just finding some weird creature or plant that had escaped from one of the classrooms. It wasn’t like Edgar to run off so Horace picked up the pace, heading for the small garden building ahead. He rounded the corner and stopped when he found Edgar busy licking Izzie’s face and she was chuckling.

  “Edgar, let the girl breath.” Horace reached down and helped Izzie to her feet.

  “Thanks.”

  “What are you doing out here in the dark? It’s not always safe.”

  “I know.” Izzie sighed and her smile faded. “I just needed some air and some time to walk around. I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to interrupt the girls.”

  “Well, I do this roving watch. You’re welcome to walk along with me. I’d prefer that over you wandering around on your own.”

  Izzie nodded her thanks and started walking next to Horace, Edgar pacing close to her legs. She had been warned about the possible dangers of being out at night, but for some reason, she felt more comfort in the dark than the light. On top of that, she didn’t sleep well anymore. She ended up tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling until she finally just gave up and wandered around.

  “So what happened to that student you were telling me about?”

  “Oh, well a lot actually.” Horace helped Izzie down over a fallen tree stump. “This student hated being teased for being different, but instead of toning it down, they went to great lengths to prove their individuality. I think this student thought if people thought the student was special instead of different things would go differently for them. The student studied and studied, trying different spells, different potions, and anything else they could do. The student actually got pretty talented at potion making, but the results were never light; they were always a bit on the revenge side.”

  “Like what?”

  “Spells to make people do poo
rly on tests, ones that incapacitated other students so they didn’t enjoy an event or field trip, and other malicious stuff.”

  “Did the students deserve it?”

  “They were the bullies, but at the same time it wasn’t that student’s place to dole out punishments and every time that others completed a spell, watched it unfold, and received praise and worship for the work they did, the student grew darker and darker.”

  Horace walked Izzie to the edge of the front steps, looking up at the window he remembered the student standing in late at night. He turned back to Izzie and took Edgar’s leash from her.

  “Eventually, rumors started to spread that this student had turned to dark magic, the kind that we don’t even allow anywhere near our school. It’s true that there needs to be a balance between dark and light in order for magic to survive, but they said that this person had dived in head first.”

  “I don’t understand why?” Izzie replied. “I mean, just walk away, or transfer to another school. Anything, really.”

  “Not everyone can see that.” Horace looked up as the front doors opened, The headmistress stood there with a lamp in her hand, dressed in a robe. Horace nodded at her.

  “She couldn’t sleep and started wandering around, so she tagged along with me and the dogs.”

  Izzie looked at the headmistress.

  “Sorry, I just wanted some air and to be away from the others.”

  “Well, I hope you got what you needed, and now you can go back to bed, dear. Come on.”

  Izzie smiled at Horace, thankful that she had run into him. “Finish the story another time?”

  “Of course. Good night.”

  Mara stepped to the side as Izzie walked inside and went up the stairs. She turned back to Horace with a concerned look on her face.

  “She will be okay,” Horace told her. “Just give it some time.”

  Mara nodded, thinking about her granddaughter Leira and how strange everyone had thought she was. It hadn’t been until she had understood her heritage and her powers that she had learned to accept herself. She could only hope the same went for Izzie.