by CN Thornton
This was nice. I wasn’t even at the Island yet and I was already making friends. I could only imagine who else I would soon meet.
The remainder of the ride to the Island was the same, in a general manner. Dean told jokes and we laughed together. When the ferry docked, we got off and made our trek to the gates surrounding the massive grounds of Endeavour Academy.
The gates stretched as far as I could see, wrought iron twisted and warped into a beautiful intricate design. It looked ancient and majestic.
As we approached, the gates opened, allowing us entrance onto the immaculately pruned grounds. Trees, bushes, flower beds, all trimmed and pruned to perfection. Butterflies fluttered in and out of the bushes while hummingbirds flitted about.
“Nice, huh?” Dean asked as we ventured further inside.
“It’s perfect. Really perfect. Better than I could have imagined.” But, of course, my response was premature. We hadn’t even reached the general area. There was more to see.
We continued walking, wherever it was we were supposed to go. As we passed, Dean pointed to a large pond decorated with aquatic plants. “That’s where water training is held.” I nodded my head, and then he pointed to a large blackened area on the opposite side of campus. “And that’s where fire training is held.”
I imagined the girl named B occupying that class. Would I have to see her regularly, or were we classed together by year?
“In the back of the school, there are several large acres where we have weather training.” Dean tucked his hands into his front pockets and we took a left as the path branched off. “Weather training is my favorite class—the only class I actually made an effort to sit in on. It’s pretty neat, really.”
Finally, we managed to make our way onto the main campus, where students flooded the quad. As I looked around, I noticed a pattern. Those that were new seemed to stand off to the side by themselves while those that were returning for another year stood in groups.
The eldest seemed to be those absorbed in their powers.
Water faeries sat around a koi pond, forming water balls in their hands and tossing them to each other. It seemed like a game, in which they each had to catch the ball before it soaked them and then toss it to another person.
A group of fire faeries stood in a circle, making designs from flames they conjured. And air faeries were grouped together, using their powers to blow a paper ball back and forth to each other. It all seemed really fun.
“Seniors,” Dean muttered. “Part of gaining your wings is learning control over your powers. Those games are supposed to help. Silly, right?” He grinned.
He stopped suddenly as his eyes fell on a girl with shoulder-length dark hair that curtained her face. She looked beautiful, even with her pained facial expression. She seemed to be on the verge of having a breakdown. I wondered what was wrong with her. What had to have happened to put this beautiful girl in such distress?
“That’s Hannah.” Dean nodded in her direction. “She has… issues.”
“Issues?” I repeated.
Dean nodded as he stared at her. I could see a look of pity in his eyes.
“Some parents start teaching their children how to control their powers young, to give them a head start for Endeavour. Well, her parents did that and things got out of control and well, she accidentally killed them.”
I brought my hand up to my mouth as I felt tears well up in my eyes. “Wow...”
“I know. Imagine living with that guilt. It’d tear anyone apart.”
I glanced once more at Hannah. Her head snapped from right to left and then back again, as if she was seeing things.
“This is the dining facility. Or, Douglas Halls.” Dean gestured towards the massive building before us, as we continued.
The majority of its exterior consisted of beautiful logs whose color reminded me of maple syrup.
“Like the Douglas fir tree?” I grinned as we walked through the massive wooden doors.
“Exactly like the Douglas fir trees. Those trees gave their lives so we could have this amazing dining facility.” He waved his hands at the room set before us. “The least we could do was name this building after the trees that unwillingly sacrificed themselves.” He smirked.
I smiled at him, then gave my full attention to the room, which appeared rustic. Five rows of tables and benches ran the length of the room.
“So, what do we do?” I asked Dean as we stood off to the side. “Can we sit just anywhere?”
He seemed to be observing the tables, looking from one to the next. Then he took my hand and started towards the one the furthest to the right. We quickly took a seat and waited while students continued to file in.
It took me a few minutes to realize each table had a pattern. The one on the opposite side of the room, the very first table, filled with students dressed in red uniforms. The next held students wearing blue, then green, then purple. Our table was full of students in personal clothes. We had no assigned table, yet.
A few more minutes passed, and finally it seemed all the students had arrived and settled into the appropriate tables. I had become restless and decided to put my head down, only to sit up straight when I heard a female speak.
“Welcome, welcome!” her overly enthusiastic voice called out.
Dean groaned and mumbled, “There’s my mom.”
I craned my head and sure enough, a woman who resembled Dean stood at the front of the room.
“When I call your name, you will come to the front and stand in the center of the orbs to wait for your calling.”
I assumed she meant the calling of our dominant element.
“When your element has called you, you will join your house. Green for Tamarack.” She paused and sure enough, the table with the green-uniformed students began to cheer. “Purple for Zephyr.” Another slight pause. “Red for Pyre.” Pause. “And blue for Sol Duc.” More cheering. “But, on the off-chance your elements are balanced and the white orb glows, you’ll have the opportunity to choose which home you would like to call your own for the next four years.”
She continued on about the white orb, how choices can’t be unchosen due to the paperwork and hassle of having uniforms fitted. Then she went into a short tirade about something called the Welcome Back party week before picking up a clipboard off the table behind her I hadn’t noticed until now.
She called the first name. “Ixi Ackerman.”
A blond girl from my table wearing a simple jeans-and-shirt combo rose to her feet and made her way to the front of the room. I watched eagerly as she stood in the center of the orbs and waited for her calling.
The headmistress spoke, “Water, Sol Duc,” and Ixi joined the table of those dressed in blue.
Then came the next name. A girl named Callie Anderson, another blonde, only her hair was shorter—shoulder length. She stood in the circle of the orbs and then made her way to Zephyr House, the air faeries.
“Maximilian Bordeaux,” the headmistress called next.
A boy with bronze-colored skin and chin-length wavy black hair rose to his feet and made the same walk as those before him. He stood at the front and then joined Callie Anderson at the Zephyr’s table.
A boy name Silas and a girl named Florence were next. Silas was the first to have the white orb glow. He chose Tamarack house. Florence joined him shortly after as the green orb glowed.
Then I froze when I heard my name. “Neenah Fynn,” she called.
I took a deep breath and counted to three before rising to my feet. As I walked to the front of the room, I could feel all eyes on me. It made me nervous.
What if I stood in the center of the orbs and none lit up for me? What would happen? Would I get sent home? I felt my throat dry, like I might choke. I needed a glass of water, tea, anything to wet it.
Finally, I stood at the front of the room, inside the circle of orbs. They were fascinating to look at—clear presumably, made of glass. Each bore a sign—fire, earth, wind, water—and then the four to
gether were etched into the white orb.
I stood in the center of the orbs for what felt like an eternity before the white orb lit up. Only it didn’t just light up—it radiated a bright light so strong I had to turn away. Then it went out.
The Headmistress was at my side a moment later, her clipboard in hand, and she said, “What House?” It seemed like she was the serious, strictly business, no-fun type. She didn’t beat around the bush with wasted words and meaningless sentences. She didn’t even bother with a proper “Welcome back.”
I looked at the four orbs. Red, blue, green and purple. I could choose any because I dominated all. But which should I choose?
Pyre was definitely out, because of that girl I’d run into on the ferry. I didn’t want to deal with her for four years. And purple wasn’t a color I would choose to wear for four years if I could help it, so Zephyr was a no-go.
I was left to choose between Sol Duc and Tamarack House. Green and Blue.
Blue was my favorite color, but I loved the earth more… so it was settled. I chose Tamarack House and joined the boy Silas and the girl Florence, taking a seat between the two at the far end of the table and giving my attention back to the front.
Two more people went after myself, and then it was Dean’s turn. He made the same walk as I had to the front of the room and stood inside the circle. Several seconds later his mother announced he would be joining Zephyr House.
I was kind of bummed we weren’t in the same house. That meant, for the most part, I would be on my own until I made another friend.
Several more went, including the girl named Hannah we’d seen earlier, who was one of the first to be placed in Pyre.
A few more joined Tamarack, including two girls, Quinn and Aeronica, and three boys named Garrett, Cole and Theo.
The last to be called was a boy named Axel Winters, who joined Sol Duc. When we were finished, the orbs were removed from their small indentations at the front of the room and placed into an ancient-looking wooden box.
The headmistress told us what the rest of our day would be like, then set us free to get our lunch.
Lining the windows at the very back of the room, the buffet tables were adorned with many varieties of fresh foods and drinks. I grabbed a tray, plate and utensils—which were all amusingly carved from wood—and filled it modestly with my favorite fruits.
Star apple, dragon fruit, star fruit, passion fruit, rambutan, persimmon and pomegranate were among the many exotic fruits that decorated my plate. As I passed the table with quail, duck, ostrich, venison and a few other meats, I didn’t even glance twice. I was what humans called a vegetarian, and meat made me sick.
I stopped at the next table to spoon a serving of some flower salad onto my plate. It was a decent mix of dianthus, bee balm, calendula and borage. I loved dianthus. After I grabbed a cup of tea, I headed back to my table and began eating.
A few minutes into my meal, the boy I recognized as Silas took a seat beside me. After a minute or two, he spoke. “Where is your protein?” He speared a piece of meat with his fork and popped it into his mouth.
While I chewed my mouthful of salad, I picked up an almond and gave him a tight-lipped smile. After I swallowed my food, I said, “I don’t eat meat,” then popped the nut into my mouth.
“Why not?” he asked before taking another bite.
“I have two reasons. First of all,” I began, holding up my index finger. “I was raised to eat only fish—”
“But I don’t see any fish,” Silas cut me off.
I smiled and said, “I was about to get to that.” I paused to take a drink of my tea, then continued, “My father tried on several occasions to get me to eat fish, but I couldn’t. Whenever I ate it my stomach started hurting, so I just gave it up.”
“Oh,” Silas said.
I nodded my head. “Secondly…” I held up my index and middle finger. “Animals have feelings and people kill them to sustain their bodies when there are other, healthier alternatives. You see, I just don’t agree with the killing of a living, breathing creature. It’s selfish, you know? Regardless, that lifestyle choice never really appealed to me.”
“Hmm…”
“Yeah.” I lifted my cup of tea to my mouth and sipped slowly.
Silas continued to attack the meat on his plate, and we ate in silence. When he finished, he pressed on, “So you eat only vegetables and fruits?”
I took another sip of my tea and gave him a slight nod as I set my glass back on the table. “Only the ones I like, though.” I picked up a pomegranate seed and held it out, offering it to him.
“What is it?” He stared, uncertain, at the seed between my fingers.
Without speaking a word, I reached out and took his hand into my own before turning his palm face up. I placed the pomegranate seed into the center of his hand, then popped another into my mouth.
“Try it; they are good.”
Silas stared at the seed in his hand for the longest time before finally bringing his palm up to meet his mouth. I kept my eyes firmly on his expression, watching as he hesitantly began to chew. At first it seemed unpleasant, but then I could tell he began to enjoy the taste. After he swallowed the seed, he glanced up at me.
“These are actually pretty good. The texture threw me off a bit, but it was decent.”
“So you like them?” I raised my eyebrows.
A smile crept onto his face and he reached his hand across the table to pluck a few more seeds from my plate.
“I plead the fifth.” He smirked before he ate them.
“Like I said, my alternative way of eating isn’t as bad as you make it seem.”
He took a sip of his drink. “I still enjoy my bacon and beef products.”
I rolled my eyes. After I finished the remainder of my tea, everyone from our table stood up.
“I think it’s time to go?” I said as I watched them dump their trays one by one and head out the door.
“Should we follow?” Silas asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders and then stood, with Silas following suit. We both quickly followed the rest of our house. As we pushed through the front doors, I glanced over my shoulder at the Zephyr table and managed to get a glimpse of Dean watching me before the doors closed behind us.
CHAPTER TWO
We caught up with the rest of Tamarack House outside of Douglas Hall, where a woman dressed formally in a fitted green suit stood at the head of the crowd.
"Welcome," she began. "I am your house mother, Caroline. And as you may already know, that building is the dining hall. The most important thing you need to know for the time being is to never be late to a meal—because when I am done eating, so is everyone else."
That explained why everyone had risen to their feet and dumped their trays simultaneously.
"Second most important thing to know is your prefects. Asherah Norewood and Caledon Nobel." A male with dirty-blond hair cropped close to his skull stepped forward, along with a chocolate-brown-haired girl. "If you ever have any questions and I am not around, they are the ones to talk to. They are basically my understudies, meaning they have the same disciplinary powers as myself," our house mother said. She exchanged a few words with our house prefects, then turned and walked off.
The male prefect stepped forward and cleared his throat before speaking. "Okay, now if you will all follow me, I will show you to Tamarack House." He turned and started off, leading us in the direction of the main gate. I was puzzled for a moment, until he turned right at a fork in the pathway, taking us in the direction of a massive tree line.
As we got closer to the trees, every plant around seemed to become more vibrant in color.
About twenty yards from the tree line, the path branched off again and we stopped.
"If you continue down this path, you will find your way into Tamarack Forest," Caledon said.
"Unfortunately, you won't get to see that today. Today you will be going to Tamarack House." Prefect Asherah gestured down the second branch
, and then we all started walking again.
"As you have noticed, the plants around Tamarack are healthier and more alive," Asherah continued.
"I noticed," I quickly said. "It is because of the abundance of Earth faeries. They radiate an essence that cause plants to look their best."
The trail ended at an ornate fence, where Asherah turned around to face us again.
"Who said that?" she called.
I glanced to Silas and then told her it was me. One by one, everyone parted to the side until there was no one standing between Asherah and myself.
"What is your name?" she asked me.
"Neenah Fynn."
She grinned at me. "You are a white-walker."
"A what?"
She shook her head. "It's just a nickname we give to the faeries who wear white uniforms."
"I wear green; I'm Tamarack... I chose Tamarack House."
"You will still wear white. Any Balancer will wear a white uniform. The only difference is that you will have the house pin and a cape in the color green."
Asherah then led us beyond the gates to the Tamarack Estate. The front lawns stretched for several yards, every inch covered in brilliant flowers that ranged in colors all across the spectrum. It was like a rainbow.
And at the end of the rainbow sat a massive three-story house made of red bricks. As we got closer to the house, I saw the bottom story had green vines covering the brick. There were several windows, all framed in white.
When we finally stopped in front of the door, the prefects welcomed us to Tamarack House and then we split up—the boys with Caledon and the girls with Asherah.
She led us inside and in an instant, my breath had left me. It was like I'd walked into a faerie book written by humans—everything was completely cliché, but I loved it.
"You've got to be kidding me," I breathed.
Instead of carpet, the floor was covered in moss. And the walls were made of tree bark. The chandelier hanging in the foyer was a mystical tree branch, its natural design so convoluted that somehow water was managing to cascade down from its center and collect in a beautifully carved wooden basin.
