Raelia (The Medoran Chronicles Book 2) (7 page)

“What’s the story with you anyway, Alex?” Pipsqueak asked out of the blue. “I mean, you arrive halfway through last year looking like a lost sheep in the middle of a wolf-infested forest, you get potential-tested into some pretty hard-core subjects, you end up in the Med Ward more times than most students do in their entire stay at Akarnae, and then you disappear for the summer without a trace. What’s the deal with all that?”

Alex squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, noticing that many of the others around the table were nodding in agreement at what Pipsqueak had said.

“I didn’t realise my life was so interesting to you all,” Alex said, hoping that if she seemed unconcerned then they would as well. “Would you like a copy of my diary? Perhaps that’ll give you some insight into the boring life of yours truly?”

“Yo, sweet!” Blink said with a fist pump into the air. “Count me in!”

“Blink, man, I’m pretty sure she wasn’t being serious,” Connor said from across the table, with Mel shaking her head beside him.

“Oh,” Blink said, deflating. “No fair. You just killed my vibe.”

Alex watched the interactions of her classmates and turned back to Pipsqueak who was looking at her, waiting for an answer.

“I have nothing to say that you don’t already know,” Alex said vaguely. “I transferred here partway through last year, like you said, and I’m not sure why my potential test came back as it did. Believe me when I say I wish the results had been different. My numerous trips to the Med Ward are because of those
‘hard-core classes’—as you so appropriately named them. And didn’t everyone disappear over the summer when term finished for the year?”

Pipsqueak frowned but the truth of Alex’s answers rang clear, despite being somewhat evasive.

“You’re just mysterious,” the small girl said. “We were in the same classes for a good eight months, but none of us know who you are.”

Heads were nodding all around the table and Alex found herself on the defensive. “Is that entirely my fault?” she said to the group as a whole. “Did any of you make an effort to introduce yourselves to me?”

“Whoa, whoa.” Blink raised his hands in surrender. “What our Squeaking-Pippa is trying to say is that we want to get to know you better. Anyone who gets sliced and diced by a knife is, like, seriously awesome. We salute you.”

Alex was too surprised to react when he actually saluted her. She shifted nervously and repeated, “Sliced and diced?”

“Sure, sure,” Blink said. “Despite the bogus food poisoning rumour that went around, everyone knows you were, like, stabbed or something at the end of last year. That’s epic.”

Alex must have looked panicked because Jordan leaned towards her and whispered in her ear, “It’s okay, they don’t know what actually happened. But news travels fast and there was a lot of commotion that night with half the teaching staff running off and you coming back all bloodied and everything. Word spread quickly, but no one knows anything solid.”

She wasn’t sure what to say to all the curious faces staring at her, but thankfully she didn’t have to worry about a response because at that moment, lollipops appeared on the table in front of all her classmates. Alex picked up her own, knowing exactly what it was but still looking at it with curiosity.

“Why do we have to get potential-tested again?” she asked, copying her classmates and popping hers into her mouth. Just like the first one she’d tasted, it had a fruity flavour, changing from orange to apple to banana, then mango, passionfruit and pineapple. The taste continued to change as she swirled it around her mouth.

“It’s rare, but your potential can change after certain life experiences,” Bear answered.

“Does that happen much?” she asked around the lollipop stick.

“Nope, not often,” Jordan said. “Bear was bumped up from Delta Chemistry to Epsilon two years ago. Actually, most of the people who are currently in any Epsilon classes weren’t there to start with. It’s almost unheard of to start out at the academy and be put straight into Epsilon-level anything. Delta, too, sometimes. That’s why the harder classes tend to have mostly older students in them.”

“Which is why I’m such a freak of nature,” Alex mumbled.

Her friends grinned at her but none of them disagreed with her statement.

“Can potentials be downgraded?” Alex asked.

“Sure,” Bear said. “I started out as a Beta in Equestrian Skills, but in my second year I was dropped back to Alpha. Horses and I don’t mix well.”

“Hmm,” Alex hummed thoughtfully, mentally crossing her fingers.

She was down to the dregs of her lollipop when she absentmindedly crunched down on the candy to get rid of it faster. She then pulled the stick out of her mouth, wondering what she was supposed to do with it. As if reading her mind, a small plastic bag materialised out of nowhere and she dropped her stick into it. After sealing the bag, she placed it on the table where it blinked out of sight.

Within a few minutes everyone in the court had finished their lollipops and there was a hushed silence as they waited in anticipation to find out their results. Seconds later, the tension was broken as little slips of paper appeared on the tables in front of every student. Alex eagerly picked hers up, scanning her new class timetable.

She looked up to meet her friends’ eyes and sighed in disappointment, sending them a wry smile. “No change in my potential. Next year I want a different lollipop.”

It turned out that none of them had any changes either, which was both good and bad; bad because it meant Alex was stuck in Epsilon Combat without her friends again—she only hoped Kaiden and Declan would still be with her—but good because it meant she had their company in all of her other potential-based classes. D.C. was with her in Gamma Archery
and Epsilon Equestrian Skills, both D.C. and Jordan were with her in Gamma Chemistry, and both Jordan and Bear were with her in Delta PE. And they would all be together in their age-based classes.

“Whoa, they must be trying to kill you this year,” Jordan said as he looked over Alex’s shoulder.

Alex squinted at the paper, trying to make sense of his words. But then she noticed where he was pointing and groaned.

“PE, Archery, Equestrian Skills
and
Combat all in one day? And three times a week! Who did I kill to deserve that?” Alex grumbled. Starting any day with Finn and ending it with Karter was just not nice.

“At least Thursday will be easier,” Jordan observed. “Only age-based classes all day. And your Tuesday isn’t so bad.”

He was right, but that didn’t make her Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays any better. It was going to be a very long year.

“If I can have your attention for a moment,” Darrius called out, standing in the middle of the room. “After you’ve finished dinner, the rest of the night is yours to spend settling in. Feel free to leave here at your leisure, but do remember there’s a nine o’clock curfew for first through to third year students, and ten o’clock for fourth years and up.”

Alex looked at her timetable again and was excited by the change of curfew that she hadn’t noticed before.

“And one final thing,” Darrius announced. “Fourth year students, I’ll need you to remain behind after dinner to hear about one of your upcoming curriculum options. Thank you.”

Apparently that was all he had to say, since menus immediately appeared in front of everyone. Alex eagerly picked hers up and, after a brief glance, she touched the circle beside the lasagne with chips, deciding to treat herself with a glass of bubbly purple dillyberry juice as well.

Within seconds her food appeared and she dug in with relish. She hadn’t eaten since Mrs. Gribble’s, and after the day’s events she was starving.

After she’d swallowed a few mouthfuls, she turned to her friends.

“Why do you think Darri—um—Professor Marselle wants us to stay behind?” Alex asked, hoping no one else at the table had noticed her slip with the headmaster’s name.

“I’m presuming, and
hoping
, it’s about Hunter’s class,” Jordan said, cutting into his steak. “We’re meant to be able to take Stealth and Subterfuge this year.”

“Yeah, I think it’s that too,” Bear agreed after taking a sip of his drink. “But I guess we’ll see.”

They finished eating in silence, mostly because there was so much noise in the food court that it was difficult to maintain a conversation. When they were finished their meals, their dirty dishes were whisked away by the TCDs, leaving the table immaculate once more.

Eventually the other students started to leave until only the fourth years lingered. It was then that the headmaster walked over to their table, followed by a lone figure whose face was hidden by a hooded cape.

“As I’m sure some of you have guessed, being in your fourth year means you have the opportunity to apply for Hunter’s Stealth and Subterfuge class,” Darrius said without preamble. “Since it’s an optional study extra, it’s held during your free time after dinner for two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are also mandatory classes held every alternate Saturday morning, along with the occasional whole-weekend assignment. It’s not an easy subject by any means, and I recommend you think long and hard before deciding to apply. Hunter, if you will?”

The caped figure raised his hands and pulled back his hood, revealing the darkly mysterious Hunter—or ‘Ghost’,
as Alex knew he was sometimes nicknamed. There was no doubting the man was dangerous, especially considering the cache of weapons strapped to his belt, not to mention those which were likely hidden on the rest of his body beneath the dark cape.

“I don’t accept new students lightly,” Hunter said quietly, as if knowing they were hanging onto his every word. He glanced around the group with disinterest. “In fact, I’ll be surprised if I accept more than a handful of you this year. At best.”

Alex’s eyes roamed the table and she saw twenty apprehensive and slightly disappointed faces. She wondered briefly why Hunter’s class was so highly regarded. All she knew was that
she
certainly didn’t want to be a part of it, not with a name like ‘Stealth and Subterfuge’.

“If you want to apply, sign your name on the paper and come along to a trial lesson this Saturday after lunch. Whoever is accepted into the class will join the current students the following Tuesday evening and continue lessons from there. It’s my belief that learning alongside those with more experience will encourage you to excel faster.”

That just sounded nasty. And it reminded Alex of her Combat class, where everyone else had years of experience and she was a complete novice. Not pleasant.

Jordan nudged Alex in the side and she saw that he’d slid her the paper. She noted that so far everyone had signed it, but she immediately passed it straight on.

“You didn’t write your name,” said D.C., as if Alex had forgotten.

“I know,” said Alex. “I think I have enough to worry about without adding more challenges to my life.”

D.C. looked at her with understanding and quickly scribbled her own name before passing the paper on to Bear.

Alex glanced up and was startled to find Hunter’s dark eyes on her. The corner of his mouth quirked slightly before he turned his gaze away.

What was that about?
she wondered.

When the paper reached him again, Hunter folded it up and pocketed it in his cloak.

“If you don’t receive a position in my class, you’ll have another chance to try out next year. That said, if you attend Saturday’s trial and you
are
offered a position, it’s mandatory for you to accept and you’ll be required to participate in classes just like any other subject. All successful candidates will be notified on Sunday evening. If you haven’t heard by then, presume that you didn’t make it this year.”

With those parting words, Hunter turned on his heel and walked away.

“All right, students, that’s all,” Darrius said. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Alex and her classmates rose from their seats.

“Miss Jennings, if I may have a word?” the headmaster called before she could leave with the others.

Alex felt her stomach drop when she realised what she would have to tell him.

D.C. sent her a sympathetic look. “We’ll meet you back in our room.”

Once the court was clear of people, Darrius remained silent, apparently waiting for Alex to speak first.

“What have you heard?” she asked, her voice resigned.

“King Aurileous contacted me to strongly advise that I speak with you about the events of the weekend,” Darrius answered. “Tell me, Alex, what reason could the ruling monarch of Medora possibly have to make such an obscure request?”

Alex shuffled her feet, feeling like a delinquent student.

“I, um, ran into some problems in Tryllin?” Alex said, as if it was a question.

“Did you now? And what might those problems be?”

Alex slumped back down onto one of the chairs, knowing that their conversation would likely not be short. Darrius followed her lead and sat down as well, though much more gracefully.

“To start with, I was accused of being an assassin and locked up in the palace dungeon after I attacked the king and queen during their waltz.” Alex winced at how that sounded, so quickly moved on. “Then after I was released, in the middle of Dix’s party, Marcus Sparker threatened to kidnap me, I think, but there were too many people around. So that was good. But then today I—um—kind of ran into Aven. Actually, ‘ran into’ isn’t really accurate, since he’d apparently been following me to catch me unawares, but… well…”