The Phantom Calling: Dragonwood/Chapters 16 - 20

Chapter 16

Tristan-
''Jayson turned to glare at me, crossing his arms. “This is all your fault,” He snapped, a scowl on his face. Narrowing my eyes, I kept my mouth shut out of fear for starting too much of an argument. “If you didn’t insist on coming with me and Princess Holly, none of this would’ve happened!”''

''Huffing, I rolled my eyes. “Of course, blame the native of Dragonwood Isle for your problems here. Yes, just blame the locals because they certainly have complete control over the entire freaking island!”''

''Flicking his hair, he snorted. “You live here. The locals wouldn’t exactly want anyone building any buildings on their land, right? If this school is here, you should know something.” For a second, I wanted to slap the snobbish expression off of his face- clearly he wasn’t used to the concept of Dragonwood Isle being completely unpredictable, and that’s not even counting the school!''

''“And why would I tell you anything? All you’ve done so far has just been being a jerk to me for no reason.” Jayson just ignored me, his face looking as if he was deciding to either kill me or to wait for the guards to finish me off. Sighing to myself, I figured it was best not to deal with Jayson for much longer- if we were going to be stuck here together, then I might as well get time to myself while I can.''

''Glancing out of the electric bars of the cell, Holly and that humanoid creature were still talking. After a few moments, everything went still. They must’ve been talking loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, seeing as Jayson noticed the eerie silence that echoed throughout the chamber. Holly gulped, her eyes wide with terror and tears beginning to form in her eyes. The girl chained to the floor -Rishi- held back a sob, her gaze on the ground. A cruel smirk spread across the humanoid creature’s face right before it took a step back, as if watching Holly in…amusement? Just what was it- oh, Bright Scar, no. I had my suspicions on what they’d do, but…not this.''

''As Holly took a few steps closer to Rishi, they shared a few hushed whispers- ones I couldn’t hear, but ones that seemed to hurt them both nonetheless. The talking between them ceased, with tears beginning to roll down Holly’s cheeks as she clamped her palms around Rishi’s neck, her grip tightening with every second that passed- she began to struggle, thrash about, but knew nothing could be done to change it. She fell completely silent once Holly removed her hands, with Rishi falling onto the ground. Blood was splattered on the floor and on Holly’s hands- she was a murderer, and nothing she could do now could change that fact. Jayson watched, absolute horror on his face as he saw his childhood friend pretty much murder a helpless person. There was outright fear in his eyes- fear that I had to assume came from memories of his past, presumably of King Brokenfire. A sob sounded in his throat, as Jayson whimpered to himself. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of Holly now- all I knew was that she was a murderer, and that she could do the same to any of us.''

“H-Holly’s-” I stuttered, murmuring softly.

''“A murderer, we know,” Jayson spat quietly with venom in his voice. Surprised by how angry he sounded, I turned to face him. “She promised that she wouldn’t ever be anything like her father. She said that she wouldn’t willingly kill. Her mother and I hoped she wouldn’t end up like him, but…now I’m not so sure. It’s been so long since we were kids. Is the Holly I know the same one I just saw today?”''

''Blinking slowly, I whispered, “I’m not so sure about this either. While I admittedly have my own reasons for not liking her, I can say that she probably wouldn’t want to kill anyone. Does she even want to be like her dad?”''

''Jayson shook his head, exhaling deeply. “No, but-”''

''Interrupting him, I continued, “Then who’s to say she might not be in absolute grief and turmoil because of this? Even if she’s the kind of person who resorts to love spells to dissolve a situation, she’s not a cruel monster. I refuse to believe it, and you should too, Jayson.”''

''He sighed once more, a tear falling onto the ground. “I know she’s not a cruel monster, Tristan,” Jayson managed to choke out. “She’s a sweet, kind, and gentle soul who has some of the most rotten of luck. I wish we could just go back to being young and innocent, back to living in a time where we didn’t have to worry when we’d get our next meal, whether our country would survive the next battle, or how long it would take until Brokenfire was overthrown. I…I miss those simpler days. Holly didn’t deserve any of this.”''

''As the moment of silence went on between us, like a waterfall, Jayson began pouring out tears. Wrapping my arms around him, I embraced him in a somewhat awkward hug, with Jayson bawling into my arm, while I gently rubbed his back. I wasn’t exactly the best at being a comforting person, but it was clear to me that Jayson needed someone’s shoulder to rest upon. Leaning against the walls where neither of us would get electrocuted, I felt myself drifting off, while Jayson had simply closed his eyes, though it did seem like he was a little tired.''

''He wasn’t wrong in what he said; I missed those days, too. Back when Dragonwood Acadamy didn’t exist, back when everyone else aside from my family was alive, back when Luke seemed to care. Why did everything have to be so complex and difficult? Why does the world hate those of us with powers so much? It’s stupid. We should’ve had a better fate than this. Me. Jayson. Holly. Violet. Stone. Silverfire. Twyla. Maybe even Luke. Did any of us truly deserve the torture of going to this school? Holding my breath for a brief moment, I sighed. There wasn’t any real way of knowing. Shutting my eyes, I let myself fall into a light sleep, hoping our containers wouldn’t kill us in our sleep.''

Groaning, I slowly blinked my eyes open, only to see Twyla and Stone watching over me. The both of them sighed, relieved; Twyla immediately rushed up to me, her eyes shining with love. She leaned into my face and kissed me on the lips, much to my dismay and annoyance. However, a strange tingling feeling coursed through my body as she kissed me- a good tingling feeling, at that. Oddly enough, I pressed my lips back onto hers, actually kissing her back. Pulling away, Twyla fluttered her eyelashes at me, giggling a little. Stone just rolled his eyes, blushing as he looked away. Was everything alright?

Twyla smiled at me in a moonstruck matter. “Tristie, you’re such an amazing kisser.”

Huffing, Stone glared at Twyla. “You should be more concerned on what happened to him, not how good of a kisser he is. Though I don’t have any doubts he’d be an amazing kisser.”

Looking in Stone’s direction, I murmured, “W-Where…?”

“T-Twyla and I carried you back to your dorm and on your bed.” Stone walked over to me, crouching on his knees. Giving Twyla a pointed glare, he muttered, “Someone over here had to be dragged away from you because she couldn’t help but keep sniveling about what happened. I know, I know, things happened but it’s annoying.”

Shaking my head, I sighed. “It’s…it’s alright. Is everyone else downstairs?”

Nodding, Twyla took my hands, tightening her grip on them. “Yeah. Silverfire told us that as soon as you woke up that you had to come downstairs to ‘explain yourself’, or so he said. He really seems to think that you know something about the school, based on what Holly told him.”

Flinching at the mention of their names, I got up and groaned. “Just my luck. Can’t wait for the suffering to begin.” Stone came over to help me to my feet as I almost fell down once more, with his arm draped over my shoulders. Blushing a little, I allowed him to support my weight.

Stone raised an eyebrow. “T-Tristan, I won’t lie, you…you are rather adorable when sleeping.” That seemed to tick off Twyla more than it really should’ve. She hissed at him, her tail lashing in outright anger. Almost at once Stone turned invisible, fear in his eyes.

Breathing in deeply, I snapped, “Twyla, Stone, knock it off. There’s more than enough of me to go around.” Twyla just groaned, while Stone stayed invisible, most likely out of terror that Twyla would try to attack him. “Come on, you guys said that the others were waiting for us, right? We should probably go downstairs.”

“I guess I can share…” Twyla mumbled, her arms crossed. Looking up at me, she awkwardly smiled, clearly not paying attention. “O-Oh, um…yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Tristan.”

Ignoring the both of them, I just walked out of the room and made my way down the stairs to the rest of my dormmates. Why can’t they just get along? I know that Twyla has a love spell cast on her to love me, but seriously! There’s a time and place for arguing, but I don’t think Twyla seems to understand that. The both of them came following me down the stairs, with Twyla glaring at Stone the entire way down. Once I reached the last step, I was greeted to with the sight of Silverfire, Holly, and another girl I hadn’t seen before fighting, Violet and Ivy in a private discussion (well I guessed it was; Ivy was crying and seemingly inconsolable while Violet tried to comfort her), while two other girls were chatting merrily like there was no tomorrow. Silverfire turned his attention to me, his eyes narrowed.

He growled. “Look, I’m not in the mood for any nonsense, so I recommend you spit out what happened right now.” His face was lined with stress, either from fighting with the other two or from something else. Glancing back at Holly, he sighed. “From what we already know, the school is preforming some kind of experiments on the people here and is actively killing students. Do you know anything about it? Holly said that Jayson suspected that you knew something.”

Everyone’s attention turned to me as Twyla and Stone finally made it down, with them also curious to see what I knew. Violet seemed to pity me, judging by her expression- I could’ve sworn that she was slightly angry with Silverfire for putting me on the spot, but didn’t say anything out loud. Dread crept into Holly’s gaze once she saw me, as if mentally begging me not to tell anyone about Rishi. Gulping, I knew that there wasn’t any way out of this situation but to tell the truth; Silverfire would make sure he gets the truth and Violet would know, anyhow.

Shrugging my shoulders, I sighed. “I suppose there’s no harm in sharing what happened.” Giving Silverfire a pointed glare, I added, “It isn’t like you would be fine with me saying nothing anyways.” Silverfire just snorted, but didn’t attack me for that statement. Doing so, I decided to get into what exactly happened with Jayson and I, seeing as it might prove acceptable to Silverfire.

''Jerking my head forwards, I was greeted with the sound of a door creaking open, with a gentle light shining in my eyes; surely enough, the iron cage’s entrance was wide open. Jayson was still asleep, resting on my shoulder. Glancing outside of the cage, I noticed the humanoid creature from before chatting with someone else- someone whose voice sounded…familiar. The young man was wearing silver plated armour, with an iron spear that had a frost-like glow in their hands, giving me the impression that they were planning on either torturing us or killing us while in here. Leaning forwards, I struggled to eavesdrop on the conversation, secretly hoping for any information if they would let me and Jayson go.''

''“So you let the heir to Vagushade’s throne escape,” He snapped, glowering the humanoid. Shaking his head, he went on, muttering, “Now she’ll probably warn her father, and he’ll demand for her to come back. Just great.”''

''The humanoid creature laughed. “Princess Holly doesn’t seem to like her father that much, she might even be an asset to our plan if done correctly. She’s more useful than the other two she brought with her, that girl she killed for me included. Those two can die for all I care- unless they prove that they might actually be worth playing around with.”''

''The guard exhaled shakily, as if hesitant to argue. “What use do any of these students have, in that case? We might as well kill all of them except for the mind-readers and the princess.”''

''“You’re no fun, and besides…depending on their usefulness and how quickly they might succumb, they could very well be useful.” After a fleeting moment of silence, it added, “Our boss wants another specimen too, don’t forget. Specifically the one he’s been raging on about ever since he decided to build this school. If he was serious about that nonsense he was rambling on about, then he should’ve built this place on Summercrest instead of Dragonwood Isle. Now it’s more likely that the specimen will regain more of their power from all those eons ago, or so the legends say…”''

''Blinking slowly, I had to think about that for a moment. What specimen does this boss of theirs want? There were several myths and legends about Dragonwood Isle- stories that have been passed down from each generation of people living here. My mother told me and Luke them whenever we asked- which was often, and I generally could recall the events of almost any single myth at this point. If this specimen was able to regain ‘lost power’ here, then I had to wonder if that was relating to the story of the Seer of the Phantoms, which related to two different ancient beings- ancient belongs who almost destroyed the nations and humanity itself. Of course, those were just myths of legend. If they were actually true, I’d be genuinely worried about the state of the world; it was said that eons afterwards, the two would one day return. Through possession, rebirth, or physical appearance, it never said- only that they would come back.''

''Jayson began to stir, mumbling to himself. “T-Tristan…? W-Who’s talking?”''

''Almost immediately the guard and the humanoid noticed, their gazes focused on us. Wincing, I held Jayson closer to me, mostly out of fear. He was bewildered, at first, but quickly realized that something was wrong. The guard came over to us, his dark green eyes narrowed. Once he stopped right in front of us, he pointed his spear at me and Jayson. A flash of recognition flashed in his eyes once he looked at me, but he shook it off as if it was nothing.''

''“So, I guess these two worms overheard our conversation. No matter, they are just as disposable as the others.” With a hiss at him, Jayson turned around to face him. The guard only sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “Look, I’m sorry, but we can’t let you go free while knowing parts of our plan, no?”''

''The guard aimed his spear for Jayson, trying to stab him in the chest. Jayson yelped, wincing away from the guard, seeming to hope that he was just joking. Right before the spear could hit him, I shot a small beam of ice at it, knocking the weapon out of his hands. Growling, the guard tackled me, prying Jayson off of me in the process. He outright smacked me in the face, getting me to grunt in pain. Whimpering to myself, I really wanted to think that he was just going to hit me a few more times and leave me alone. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The guard kept going, seeming enraged; he didn’t stop, right until a strange cloudy amber liquid leaped into his face, causing him to screech in pain. Glancing back at Jayson, I realized that he was the one who did it…who else could it had been? Jayson had a bit of the venom dripping onto the ground, his face twisted into a scowl.''

His gaze widened once he saw me, snapping softly, “Run!”

''Getting to my feet, I bolted out of the cell, pushing the guard to the side. I was hoping that Jayson was following me, but there wasn’t much time for me to dawdle; the humanoid creature noticed too. It lunged for me, attempting to dig its claws into my back. Fortunately, I managed to dodge, but only because of my ice manipulation; shooting another beam of ice, I managed to slow the humanoid down, enough so I could reach the iron door where we entered. Stopping momentarily, I caught sight of Jayson attempting to make a run for it too, only for the guard to catch him, putting him in a head lock. My heart skipped several beats as I watched. Could I save Jayson? He didn’t deserve to stay here all by himself- even if he’s irritating from time to time. They might not kill him, but…I dread to think of what they might do to him. Jayson seemed to notice this, but didn’t call out my name- instead he just mouthed the word “Go”. Feeling my heart tear in two, I simply ran out of the room, hoping to get back to my dorm. Hopefully Holly was okay. Hopefully Stone was too, along with Twyla. All I could do in that moment was keep running, hoping that no one would catch me…''

Once I finished up what had happened, Twyla immediately gave me a look full of pity, nuzzling my shoulder. Stone’s reaction was similar, though he didn’t touch me whatsoever- just a simple shared gaze was all. I could tell that Holly was downright terrified for Jayson’s life, and I couldn’t blame her- I was too. Violet and Ivy were shocked, though they didn’t seem to know Jayson as well- it made sense that they weren’t in complete despair, but were worried. The other three people I didn’t know had a similar reaction- though the black haired woman who was fighting with Holly and Silverfire was especially concerned. Silverfire reached for my shoulder, pity flashing in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry that had to happen to you,” He murmured softly, rubbing my shoulder with his hand. “I’ll do my best to make sure Jayson’s sacrifice isn’t in vain.”

Holly whipped her head to face Silverfire, anger in her face. “Jayson might’ve escaped, though! Right? …Right?” Holly was met with understanding looks of concern, ones of which she didn’t seem to appreciate that much. Instead, she just sat down onto the chair nearby, slumping down on it while a distraught expression laid upon her face as a tear rolled down her cheeks.

Violet glanced at me, her eyes damp. “T-Tristan, was there anything else about this plan that they mentioned?”

Shaking my head, I sighed. “Not really. They really wanted to find that specimen, though. It might’ve had something to do with the legend of the Seer of the Phantoms, which is one of the lesser known legends told on this island.”

Silverfire narrowed his eyes, as if he was remembering something- something important to him and to whatever was going on in the school. “Did- did they seem like they knew who this specimen was? And do they even believe in it? I-I sure don’t, for one.”

“They called it nonsense, so it doesn’t seem to be their greatest concern. For now, I’d think that their interest is more focused on Holly,” I replied, casting another glance at Holly, who still had tears running down her face. “Until we figure more out on their plan, I say we lay low for awhile so they don’t get suspicious and so it’s less likely to get captured. Namely, Violet and Holly because they seem to be of utmost interest, as Violet’s a mind-reader and Holly’s the current heir to Vagushade.”

Underneath her breath, Holly muttered, “I’m not supposed to be.” Nobody really was paying attention to her, but she made it loud enough for everyone to hear.

Ivy wiped away some of the tears from her own eyes, puffing out her chest. “I’ll protect them! Well, at least I’ll try…” Violet simply gave her a small smile, to which made Ivy purr softly in reply.

Rolling his eyes at her, Silverfire turned back towards me. “So we don’t try to blow up the school in the meanwhile? That sounds really boring, honestly. And does this mean I have to go to school?”

“I wouldn’t say you should, Silverfire- maybe you just should avoid it, since they really didn’t seem to care about you not showing up. Plus, they might get suspicious of you,” I answered, my gaze drifting off to Twyla, who was still nuzzling my arm. “And now that you mention it, Twyla probably shouldn’t go either. She could very well get in trouble for not showing up the first day and suddenly appearing the next.”

Groaning aloud, Silverfire crossed his arms. “I’ve gotta deal with her even longer? Ugh, give me a break!”

Scowling at him, I leaned in his face, whispering, “Would you like it if she had a love spell cast on her to obsess over you instead of me?”

His cheeks turning a bright red, he snapped, “Oh, Bright Scar no! I have my limits.”

“That’s what I thought.” Shifting my head back to the position it was in beforehand, I noticed that the visitors in our dorm seemed to be getting ready to leave.

Violet tilted her head in confusion. “Yasuko, are you leaving already?”

Yasuko, the black haired girl nodded. “Indeed. Ava and I need to go to sleep soon, as we share the same dorm. I have no clue about Columbia, but we’ll make sure she’s escorted.”

Columbia was about to protest, until Avery let out a tiny whimper, probably wanting to spend more time with her. It seemed to just barely convince Columbia to go with them- though she was a little happy about spending more time with Avery. As the three of them walked over to the door to leave, I sighed. We couldn’t afford to let anyone else get captured while here. But what could we really do about it? Nothing much. Thinking back to Jayson as my gaze landed upon Holly once more, I blinked slowly, guilt rising up my throat as if it was bile. I would save Jayson for her. After all, who said I couldn’t return the favor to him?

Once the door shut all the way, Silverfire turned back to face Violet. “O-Oh, um, Violet. I forgot about what I mentioned yesterday…could we talk now, if that’s alright?”

Pondering whether to reject his offer, Violet replied, “Later, I’m really tired still. Is that okay with you, or is it something that I really need to know now?” Hurt flashed upon Silverfire’s face; I wondered if it was because he was really hoping to spend more time with Violet, which felt likely, or because of this secret that they were going on about. Probably both.

“I-I…it’s fine. We’ll talk about it when you’re rested, alright?” Silverfire exhaled, already walking upstairs. Turning around to give me one last glimpse, he muttered, “I’m going to sleep. If you’re sleeping up here tonight, knock before you come in, alright? Thanks.” Holly suddenly got up afterwards, also making her way to her room. She had bags underneath her eyes and the tear stains on her cheeks didn’t make it look any better. Once the two of them were gone, I shifted my sights to see Violet and Ivy still sitting together, with Violet starting to fall asleep on Ivy’s shoulder while Ivy rested her head on top of Violet’s.

Tilting my head in confusion, I asked, “Are you guys going back to your own dorm, or are you staying here for the night?”

Twyla chuckled softly, raising an eyebrow. “Those two look like they want to do more than just sleep together, if you get what I mean.” Stone immediately whipped his head around to face her, his cheeks flushed.

“Twyla, that’s gross!” He snapped, gaining Violet and Ivy’s attention. “W-We really should be leaving, though. I-I certainly don’t want anyone stealing my stuff…”

After some thought, Twyla sighed, nodding in agreement. “I suppose. I do have my art books to tend too.” Art books? Well, I guess that makes sense; after all, she looks like the kind of person to lose everything. Not to mention, I accidentally lost her art book and some of Stone’s books too after getting captured like that. I honestly don’t know what that creature did to them. Turning to face Ivy, she yawned, “Are you coming with us? If not, then should I do your bed once we get there, or no?”

With a glance back at Violet, Ivy nodded. “I’ll go with you, unless Violet doesn’t want me to leave…” She raised an eyebrow in a flirtatious matter, which made Violet blush more than I expected. “We could have a wonderful chat while you guys are gone, who knows?”

Violet yawned once more. “I don’t mind you staying if you want to, but it’s not like I’m going to be able to talk with you while I’m asleep, silly.”

Thinking on it some more, Ivy got up, helping Violet to her feet. “At the very least I could take you to your room.” The mind-reader didn’t argue; in fact, she willingly let Ivy guide her up the stairs, still sort of falling asleep on Ivy’s shoulder. I had to wonder if they were becoming friends that quickly, but my train of thought came to a sudden halt when Twyla poked me in the cheeks, trying to get my attention.

“H-Hey, um…Tristan?” She murmured, sounding shy for once, much to my surprise. Offering my attention to her, Twyla awkwardly smiled. “Since I probably won’t be going to the actual school and dealing with that idiot most of the time, is it okay if we spend some time together after school? Like, just the two of us? I’d really love to get to know you better.”

Rather hesitantly, I nodded. “Y-Yeah, sure. I’d like to get to know you better too.”

Twyla giggled back at me, kissing me on the lips. Drawing back, she muttered, “‘Night, Tristie. I love you.” Stone just rolled his eyes and exhaled, casting me a sympathetic glance before following her out the door, presumably to their own dorm. Sighing to myself, I just had to wonder why my life just got even more complicated. Violet and Holly were at potential risk of dying. Twyla’s love spell might get even stronger, depending on what happens. Jayson’s captured, and we can’t even rescue him right away. Not to mention, I have no clue what is going on between my relationship with Stone, specifically with Twyla around. All I know is that it probably won’t be a pleasant experience.

Chapter 17

Tristan-
I wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed since Jayson was captured. From what I could remember, it felt like it was about two months ago. Holly was still rather distraught about Jayson’s disappearance. Violet and Ivy were spending more time together as of late. Silverfire was growing more stressed in the past few weeks. Stone and I were trying to figure out something about the school, but to no avail. And I did actually keep my promise to Twyla- we usually just hung out at my mom’s house, since no one would genuinely leave us alone. Leaning back in my chair, I overheard Twyla grumbling to herself. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I wasn’t sure just what she was doing until I noticed her with one of her several artbooks, a pencil, and an eraser.

“You okay over there?” I called out to her as I got to my feet, walking over to where she was sitting. She was on my bed, resting on the edge of it.

Finally noticing me, she nodded. “Yeah, just trying to erase part of this sketch.” After a brief moment, she frowned at her pencil. “Maybe I need a better pencil. Or a better eraser. Either way, it looks really messy and like crap.”

Walking over to her, I peered at her drawing, which was a picture of a dragon, presumably of the same one that had attacked her and Silverfire, judging from what she told me. Why was she drawing it, though? I mean, I don’t understand how artists get the ideas for their art, but why? Wouldn’t it bring up bad memories? Sitting down next to her, I noticed how messy the lines seemed to be- I just barely managed to guess that she was trying to draw a dragon. Though I wouldn’t dare say that out loud- Twyla would probably kick my butt if I did.

Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I sighed. “I’m sure it doesn’t look like crap.”

“But it is!” She protested, exhaling greatly. Shaking her head, she shrugged her shoulders. “You can keep thinking that, though.”

Grinning back at her, I chuckled. “You’re a good artist, though! Well, much better than me, anyhow.” Smiling at me, she playfully punched me in the shoulder, but quickly went back to drawing. “So…is it that dragon you told me about?”

Rather hesitantly, she nodded. “Yeah. What about it?”

In an awkward fashion, I shrugged my shoulders. “I just was curious. Did ever it attack you and Silverfire again?”

“Almost, but no. We’ve been devising ways to avoid the dragons while he was figuring a way off of this island,” Twyla explained, exhaling deeply. “His sister was helping us too, since she’s training to be a dragon tamer, anyhow. Hazel, was it? She’s really sweet and brave and gorgeous, I wish I could be like her…”

Ignoring the odd twinge of envy in my chest, I murmured, “Has Silverfire found a way off of Dragonwood Isle, yet?”

Twyla shook her head, downcast. “Not at all. We thought of using a raft, but could you imagine how long it would take to get to the coast of Auberkpoint, let alone Draguirave? Then he had the idea of flight, but I outright told him that I wasn’t going to fly all that way, not to mention that it would take far too long! He also thought of stealing the ferry, but we came to the conclusion that it would be too much of a hassle to steal without help. So we’re stuck here until these people kill us or let us go.”

“Hmm, well…that’s not the best news, but I suppose it’s better than nothing. Was there anything else you guys found out? Maybe something about what the ringleader of these guys is looking for?”

After some thought, she opened her mouth, only for her to shake her head, going back to her drawing. It made my skin crawl just thinking about it; Jayson was still trapped by their boss, and depending on how useful he is to them, he might die or have something worse be done to him…not to mention, it’s my fault that he stayed behind. I should’ve fought back even more, went back to save him too- but I didn’t, and he could be dead. Holly hasn’t seemed to be blaming me for it- not from what it looked like, to me at least. I should be grateful that she isn’t being vocal about it if she truly does blame me- but I’m not. It was my fault; I deserve to be blamed for it. Not in front of Twyla, at least- she’d probably kill anyone who insults me, much to my dismay. Deciding to change the topic, I thought of bringing up her issues with Stone; the tiny feud that the both of them seemed to constantly have if I was around.

Breathing in deeply, I whispered, “What’s been going on with you and Stone as of late? Specifically around me?”

“Well, I…” Twyla began, her cheeks flushing a bright red. “You know how I feel about you, Tristan. Haven’t you even noticed how Stone acts around you? As in, all of his stuttering and blushing?”

Avoiding her gaze, I mumbled underneath my breath. “I thought he was just really shy…” Twyla just blinked slowly, a look of annoyance on her face. “What? I’m an emotionally dense person!”

She groaned in frustration. “He may be shy on his own, but if you haven’t realized it, then I don’t know what to tell you.” Sighing mainly to myself, I only shrugged my shoulders, keeping my mouth shut; did Stone actually like me in the way she’s suggesting? To be frank, I wasn’t sure if I was happy about that or disappointed- all I really cared about was figuring out my life and getting rid of this spell on Twyla. I only thought of Stone as someone who I’d know for the brief amount of time that he’d most likely be here- never like that, but…I’d have to think about this later. There’s more pressing matters, anyhow.

Not bothering to say anything in reply, I remained silent, not really caring nor wanting to continue the conversation. Twyla only gave me a concerned glance, but she returned to drawing rather hesitantly when she realized that I really didn’t feel like talking about it any longer. As the silence between us seemed to drag on for an eternity or so, I almost leapt out of my skin when I heard the door creak open. My mom poked her head in, her sight locked on both me and Twyla.

“Just checking on the two of you, nothing to worry about,” She clarified, shrugging her shoulders. Glancing at Twyla, she added, “You both should be headed back soon. I’ll have to be heading to work in a few, and I can’t very well leave you two by yourselves…”

“Mom, I’m nineteen. An adult. I can take care of myself,” I put in, slightly frustrated that she would even suggest that I can’t handle being alone for a few hours.

Maple frowned. “You turned nineteen two months ago. That doesn’t make you more mature, it just means you’ve lived another year.”

Twyla seemed shocked by her statement, judging by her expression. “You’re nineteen?”

Blushing a little once I turned to her, I nodded meekly. “Y-Yeah. What about it?”

“Nothing. I just can’t believe you’re older than me.” She only awkwardly fiddled with her thumbs, her vision drifting off to the other side of my room. It felt like she wanted to say something else, but didn’t either because it might hurt me or my mom. Or maybe I’m just being oversensitive. Hopefully that was the case.

Facing my mom, I got up and exhaled deeply. “So…I assume you’re taking us with you? Or are you telling us that we should leave now?”

She hummed for a bit, and then replied, “Well, I would take you with me, but…I have to be there at a certain time. They could care less if two of their students were to just disappear for a while. How do you think Silverfire and your friend here managed to sneak out of there for so long? Not to mention how I was the one who kept the school off their backs.”

“You did?” Twyla murmured, tilting her head. Sighing, she glanced back at me. “I suppose she isn’t wrong, Tristie. Maybe we should go now. I need to see how Violet’s doing back at the dormitory anyways.”

“Oh yeah…I forgot about that. Wasn’t she hanging out with Silverfire when we left, or am I remembering wrong?” I inquired, hoping that I was right; if I was correct, then it meant we didn’t have to go searching all over the school for her.

Twyla thought about it for a moment before replying, “I think she was with Silverfire and Holly when we left. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if Ivy came over to see her…again.”

Maple raised an eyebrow. “If you’re worried about your friends, maybe you should leave now. We wouldn’t want you getting locked out of the dormitory, would we?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I nodded in defeat. “I suppose so. But if we end up locked out of the school, you’ll unlock the door for us, right?”

“I’ll try. You two go on ahead.” Almost at once she left, leaving me behind with Twyla. With a sigh, I glanced back at my shoes, shaking my head. My mother was right, after all- we really should be leaving. But what if something happens while we’re out there? What if something happens to Twyla?

Feeling Twyla’s hand rubbing against my shoulder, she gave me a small smile. “Don’t be so worried, Tristie. If it makes you feel better, I’ll protect you!” Laughing a little, I let her wrap her arms around my shoulders and neck, enjoying the warmth that her body gave. “I love you.”

As a lump grow in my throat, I replied, “I-I love you too.” But I really didn’t know how I even felt about her- it still felt awkward being around her, simply because of the spell. When would it end? She doesn’t even love me for real. “Come on, we should be going soon.”

“Alright then, Tristie. You can lead the way, if you want,” She murmured, nuzzling my shoulder.

Ducking my head as I trudged through the dense undergrowth, I could tell by Twyla’s constant fidgeting that she wasn’t enjoying the walk back- her wings were folded in protectively, her tail twitching as if the dragon was going to come back to pounce on her. Slowing down a little to let her catch up, she came over to me, anxiety clear as day on her face. My gaze darting around our surroundings, I took her palm into my hand, holding it willingly. Twyla blushed, shock in her eyes. Why did she seem so shocked? Was it because I initiated contact with her first, or…? Probably. After all, I almost never try to show affection to her- it doesn’t help that she has a spell cast on her and that flirting with her might make the effects longer or even worse.

Her lips slowly formed into the shape of a smile. “You - you actually want to hold my hand?” Not waiting for a reply, she rested one of her wings on top of my shoulders, wrapping it around me lovingly. “Why are you so sweet sometimes?”

Awkwardly resting my head on top of hers, I smiled back. “I have no clue. But maybe it’s because I suppose you might be growing more on me than I originally thought you were.” A glint of confusion flashed in her eyes, but she shrugged it off, brushing her lips against my cheeks.

“I for one can say that you’ve grown on me, maybe a bit too much,” Twyla giggled, her voice soft. “But Tristan, I’ve been wondering…I-I don’t know how to word this and have been dreading asking it, but…how exactly do you feel about me? As in, do you like me as a friend, or share my incredibly obvious feelings for you, or...I’ve just been wondering.”

Raising my eyebrow in suspicion, I asked, “What’s bringing this on all of a sudden?”

A heavy blush growing on her cheeks, Twyla muttered, “N-Nothing. Just curious.” The frightened expression she just barely tried to cover up told me everything I needed to know; someone must’ve accidentally told her about the love spell, or something similar.

Softening my gaze, I sighed. “Twyla, if Silverfire or anyone said anything like that…why are you listening to them? Especially if it’s Silverfire. You know how he is…” I kept my voice low, and I could tell it was cracking; whether it was from the awkwardness of the situation or my reluctance to answer, I really didn’t know. Not to mention that I couldn’t even properly answer her question. “Just…let’s make the most of our time together, right? We only live for so long.”

“Fair point. But you didn’t answer my question,” She added, her voice begging for me to be honest with her. Should I though? It might be better for the love spell to end on its own, or not telling her the truth in case of her possibly murdering me. And Holly too, I suppose, when I think about that incident when I kissed Holly…

Rustling her hair gently, I gave her a small smile. “Why else would I be spending time with you if at the very least I liked you as a friend? Twyla, use some common sense here. I really enjoy being around you.” For the most part, I wanted to add, but just couldn’t due to the love spell on her. Bright Scar, why does this have to be so difficult?

Twyla narrowed her eyes. “You still didn’t answer my question, but alright.” Continuing to walk back with her, I held my breath for a brief second before sighing. Just how long would I be able to keep the truth from her, before she realizes that loving me is a lie?

Chapter 18

Holly-
Laying down on the couch, I blinked slowly as Ivy and Violet chatted merrily among one another. They were talking about each other’s siblings, last I could remember. Silverfire was sitting by himself, quietly sipping on what I assumed to be soup. Groaning, I crossed my arms and rested my head on top of them. Why did Jayson have to sacrifice himself like that? How come everyone is acting like nothing ever happened to him? Was it in vain? Holding back the tears welling up in my eyes, I shut them, exhaling shakily. Jayson was gone. And I couldn’t do anything to save him. He could be dead by now.

“Holly?” Silverfire called for me across the room, lifting his head up from his soup. Not bothering to face him, I let out a frustrated groan. Just what did he want? “At least you haven’t died. Come over here, I need to talk with you about something.”

Begrudgingly getting up to my feet, I could tell by his expression that he was actually serious about this, and that he clearly didn’t want to talk about it with Violet, either. Though it didn’t make much sense since Violet, a mind-reader, would find out anyways. Glancing back at the two, Ivy was curious but didn’t say anything, almost immediately playfully flicking Violet with her feline tail. Violet yelped, dramatically falling over onto the rug on the floor. Scowling, I hated how close they seemed to be already. Me and Jayson were like that. Is everyone doing this on purpose just to spite me? Sitting down next to him, I laid my head down on the table, sighing to myself.

Grumbling underneath my breath, I snapped, “What do you want?”

Huffing, Silverfire narrowed his eyes. “You could at least try to care. But anyways, I needed to ask you something.”

“...Fine.”

“Well…uh, Twyla and the love spell?” Silverfire prompted, signaling me with his hand to answer. “How long will it be affecting her?”

Crossing my arms, I frowned. “That depends on how much of that one on one time she’s been spending with Tristan. Not to mention with you.”

Silverfire’s gaze widened, his cheeks red. “Why does it matter if I’m spending time with her? It’s Tristan’s problem!”

“There’s a very strong chance that she might start liking you instead if you aren’t careful. Of course, that would mean the spell is gone all on it’s own, but we’re not even talking about the side effects after it.” Shaking my head, I exhaled softly. “She could very well have the effects last until a whole year seeing as that spell I cast was mediocre in terms of power at best, but my point still stands. And I’d know from personal experience.”

He raised an eyebrow, curiousity gleaming in his eyes. “What do you mean by personal experience? And what even are these side effects?”

My gaze darting away from his, I sighed. “My father isn’t…Silverfire, you know that I’m technically a princess. I get my powers from my father’s side of the family, we’ll say. Meaning that his powers are similar to mine, but his are much stronger and better controlled.”

“...I don’t think I get it.”

“Ugh, Silverfire, do you not realize that arranged marriges exist?” I snapped, gaining the attention of everyone else in the room, though I could’ve cared less. “He put me into an arranged marriage with a high ranked noble from another kingdom -a prince from Périlimar, I think- to make an allegiance. He didn’t know how I would take it, so he…he cast a love spell on me so I would be more agreeable. They stabbed us in the back in several different ways, and that’s what led to my father taking over Périlimar in a fit of vengeance. The love spell took years to wear off. I still get side effects from it, though it’s rare as of late.”

Silverfire’s gaze softened. “I-I didn’t know that your father was that bad to cast a love spell on you just to make things easier for himself. I mean, that’s just wrong! I suppose you were trying to protect Tristan from getting beaten up, which I respect, so I’ll tell you that you were not a horrible person for casting that spell. Your father was the horrible one to do that to you. I’m so sorry, Holly.”

Shaking my head, I mumbled, “My father was trying to be a good father, he just wasn’t good at showing it. He’s not a bad person, but…”

“He cast a love spell on you just to make things easier. He’s a tyrant. He’s most likely murdered several people since you’ve left.” Silverfire got up immediately, walking over to the door. “Your father is an entitled piece of trash, Holly. Stop trying to defend him for his crimes.”

Violet could only give me a look full of pity. “Silverfire, you might want to be at least a little more understanding.”

Scoffing, Silverfire rolled his eyes. “Why should I? Was no one paying attention to what she said? Her father forced her to love someone who she didn’t know via love spell, and didn’t even ask for her permission. It doesn’t deserve to be understood. It needs to be dealt with and not forgiven.”

“Silverfire, you don’t know what my father is like. The love spell was just one little thing that lasted for a couple of years,” I snapped, clenching my fists. “I felt a lot happier while under it, anyways.”

“Is this a way for you to say that the love spell on Twyla was just a little thing to make her feel happier? Because that’s disgusting if it is.”

Narrowing my eyes, I slammed my palm on the table. “Shut up! You weren’t around to see that either, so you have no right to go around making accusations!”

Ivy’s gaze awkwardly darted around the room before she murmured, “Hey, uh…I don’t really know the either of you all that well, but I do think the both of you could try to be more understanding towards the other. Holly should try to understand why Silverfire doesn’t think it’s excusable, while Silverfire should understand why Holly is reluctant to call out her dad.”

“I guess.” Silverfire shrugged his shoulders, opening the door. “I’m going to look for Tristan and Twyla. They’ve been gone longer than their usual alone time and I really don’t want to go on another rescue mission. If Hazel or Stargaze come by, tell them I went for a walk.”

Violet snorted. “They won’t believe me if I told them that! It’s just so unlike you to take a walk without doing something destructive.”

Chuckling, he nodded. “Fair point. Wanna come with? Make it easier for them to believe if someone is with me.”

Glancing back and forth between Ivy and Silverfire, Violet sighed. “Is this your way of saying that you want my attention?”

His cheeks turning a bright red, he stuttered, “W-Well I uh…no? Maybe?” Violet only shook her head and exhaled in frustration, getting to her feet. Ivy looked slightly disappointed that Violet was leaving, but didn’t seem to mind all that much; after all, she’d probably drop by tomorrow anyways.

“Alright, I’ll come with it makes you feel any better.”

She walked over to Silverfire, who was shocked that Violet even decided to part from Ivy today. Regardless, he seemed happy that she was coming with- dare I say a little overjoyed. Ivy just shot Silverfire a glare and curled up on the couch that I was laying down on- it had to make me wonder if she was just waiting for me to get up so she could sleep. Violet cast Ivy a sympathetic look before leaving with Silverfire, waving goodbye at her. Once they left, Ivy just growled softly, her tail tip flicking in annoyance. Just what is she doing, staying here, then? Violet's gone with Silverfire, Tristan and Twyla are still out and about the school- with Twyla probably mauling him with kisses by now, and Stone said he was going to catch up on his studies. I sure as heck don't want spend time with Ivy- nor am I in the mood. She can chase her tail and run in circles until she throws up for all I care. All I really wanted was to get Jayson back. Or to have peace and quiet. That also works.

Sighing, I turned around to face Ivy. “Aren’t you going back to your dorm?”

Ivy shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. “I really shouldn’t bother Stone. Nor do I want to. We…well, I should rephrase that. I’m still getting over our breakup. Every time I see him, especially when he’s with Tristan, it just really hurts. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to move on.”

“Couldn’t the two of you be just friends? I don’t see why you need to distance yourself from him.”

Getting up from the couch, Ivy blinked slowly. “I wish we could, but for now we need to be separate. Get used to not acting so lovey-dovey around the other. Stop depending on each other so much. Learning to recover from various trauma that developed from our relationship.”

Raising an eyebrow, I replied, “What trauma? Did Stone…do something to you? Did you do anything to him?”

“Bright Scar, no! It’s just…never mind.” Slinking back onto the couch, she added underneath her breath, “Besides, Stone doesn’t want anyone knowing anyways.”

Ignoring the urge to ask her about what trauma happened, I got up from my seat. I really shouldn’t pry; Ivy’s business is her business. Walking over to her, I sat down on the ground, right next to the couch. She opened one eye just to watch me, heavy bags underneath her eyes. Had she been sleeping lately?

Giving her an awkward smile, I mumbled, “You and Violet have been getting closer, hmm?”

Nodding, Ivy yawned. “Yeah. Nothing special about our relationship, though. She’s a good friend.” Holding back the urge to laugh, I had to admit that it was probably true, though they way they seem to act around one another suggests otherwise. Though if I’m being blunt, I never expected Ivy to follow through with visiting Violet.

“How’s Twyla, then?”

She grimaced, groaning aloud. “Still swooning over Tristan, last I checked. Aside from that? She’s such a pain in the butt to deal with! She snores like there’s no tomorrow, interrupts me when talking, is absolutely a slob, chews with her mouth open, and never cleans up her pencil shavings whenever she draws! My Bright Scar, I hate it so much!” Flicking her tail tip, she added, “At least she isn’t like Stone. He puts salt on almost everything without tasting it and I just-”

A knock on the door cut Ivy’s voice short. With a frustrated moan, I trudged over to the door, annoyed that it couldn’t wait for later. I just sat down. Can’t I get a break? Opening it up, I was surprised to see that it wasn’t Tristan or Twyla, not even Stone; it was Hazel, Silverfire’s sister, or so he said. She gave me an awkward and weak smile, her unruly hair put up in a messy bun.

“Sorry if I’m interrupting anything, but is Silverfire here?” She asked, adjusting her copper-framed glasses. Shaking my head, she groaned in frustration, clenching her fists. “Just my luck, the only person I need to talk to isn’t here. Great.”

Crossing my arms, I grinned at her. “Well, you could stay with us in the meanwhile. Silverfire and Violet should be back in a bit, they’re just looking for Tristan and Twyla.”

Hazel opened her mouth to disagree, but she shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose. So is it just you in here? Or is there someone else?”

Humming, I shrugged. “Just Ivy and I for the time being. We don’t bite- well, I don’t. I’m not so sure about Ivy, she’s just an acquaintance of mine.” Hazel just exhaled softly, grumbling underneath her breath as she walked inside the dorm room. Getting a closer look at her face, she had heavy bags sagging under her eyes, and a scowl on her face. “Uh…you alright? You look tense.”

“No kidding.” She plopped right onto the couch, resting next to Ivy. Ivy only raised an eyebrow, but didn’t protest. Instead she just let her tail fall onto Hazel’s lap, with it swishing side to side slowly. “Huh. I’ve never seen a human with feline traits before. Tell me, what’s it like?”

Ivy yawned, stretching her arms and legs. “Well, it’s probably just like being a human without feline abilities, just that I have a tail, whiskers, and cat ears. Maybe some other senses too, like enhanced vision in the dark or something like that, but other than that, there isn’t too much of a diff-” Immediately she stopped speaking, only to start gagging as if something was stuck in her throat.

Hazel’s gaze widened, with her practically leaping from the couch. “Are you alright?”

Rushing over to them, once I managed to get over there, Ivy was breathing heavily, a matted and wet ball of blue-gray fur on the floor. Grimacing, I groaned in disgust, while Hazel let out a sigh of relief that Ivy wasn’t choking to death. She rubbed Ivy’s back a little, resulting in the feline humanoid to grumble underneath her breath. Raising an eyebrow at her, I shook my head.

“You were saying? I don’t normally get hairballs, that’s a pretty big difference if you ask me.” Ivy just narrowed her eyes, turning away from me. Hazel shrugged her shoulders and went to cleaning up the damp bundle of fur, much to my shock and slight repulsion. Maybe I should’ve offered to go with Silverfire and Violet after all.

Chapter 19

Violet-
''Rubbing my eyelids, I yawned; it was another day at Dragonwood. Glancing over in the direction of Holly’s bed, I wasn’t surprised to see that she was still asleep. After all, it’d only been a few days since Jayson’s sacrifice…she was devastated. She really needs time to herself to recover for now, if anyone were to ask me. Besides, I wouldn’t leave without her unless Tristan isn’t walking to class with Stone. Slowly dragging myself out of bed, I groaned as I felt a pain in my head- another headache most likely, probably because someone else just woke up. Trudging over to my drawer, I only took out a pair of jeggings and slipped them on over my pajamas; what, can you blame me? It’s way too early for this!''

''Walking out the door, I cast one last glance at Holly before closing it; she was still out for the count, and I didn’t like grumpy Holly on the first day of school- I certainly don’t want to find out what she’s like when grumpy and hurting from losing a close friend! Practically rushing down the stairs, I was surprised to see Silverfire already up, just laying down on the couch as he read a book- I thought it was Tristan’s workbook for magic class. He glanced up at me, giving me a warm smile.''

''“Hey, Vi.” He waved at me, gesturing for me to come over to him. Albeit rather hesitant, I obliged, sitting down next to him as he sat up straight on the couch.''

''Returning the smile, I tilted my head. “You’re certainly up early. I mean, you refuse to go to school anyways, so isn’t it bit too much to be up at this time?”''

''Silverfire snorted. “I know. It’s just that you always wake up first if Tristan doesn’t, and I really needed to talk to you. Aside from wanting to spend time with you before you head to school.”''

''Shrugging my shoulders, I sighed. “Fair. What exactly did you want to talk to me about?”''

''“M-My curse, powers, whatever you want to call it,” Silverfire replied, his mouth curling into a grotesque looking frown. “I promised to tell you, after all; I try to keep my promises. L-Look, you won’t out me to anyone, right? The only ones who know besides me and my family...well, maybe I should count the remaining villagers in my hometown but anyways, we’re the only ones who know and we’d like to keep it that way unless something horrible happens.”''

''Placing my hand onto his lap, I murmured, “I know you wouldn’t purposefully out my mind-reading abilities to anyone. I wouldn’t dare do that to you. I’ll still be your friend no matter what you tell me.”''

''He blushed, his gaze wide. “I-I…I really appreciate that, Vi. Thanks.”''

“No problem.”

''“So, erm…you presumably know about my anger issues. Well, that’s just scratching the surface when keeping my powers in mind. I-I don’t know how to explain it, but whenever I get extremely enraged and it becomes too much for me to handle, I just…snap. And not as in just losing my temper- I mean as in my sanity, even if it’s for a short while. The last time it happened, I blanked out…I don’t remember much, but it happened a year ago. All I remember is that I gave into some kind of darkness, and, well…most of the villagers in my hometown were dead. The survivors wanted me cast out of the village or dead, preferably the latter. Hazel and Stargaze know what happened, I just know it- they just won’t tell me. They never looked at me in the same way ever again.”''

''Blinking slowly, I wrapped my arms around him. “Silverfire, I won’t pretend that I know what you’re going through or that I know what your powers are- but I can say that I do still think of you as a friend, and will help you figure out your powers if it boils down to it.”''

''Almost in utter shock, Silverfire wiped a tear away from his face. “Even after everything I just told you, you’d still be my friend? Why?”''

''“Despite us just meeting a few days ago, I’m not one to hate people for something they can’t control. I’d be a giant hypocrite for that, anyways,” I sighed. “And besides, if we’re going to be actual, genuine friends, then we should be supportive of one another, even if we don’t agree sometimes. It’s just common sense to me, honestly.”''

''Holding back a sob, Silverfire grinned at me, a few more tears rolling down his cheeks. “Thanks again, Vi.”''

Feeling a faint breeze brush against my cheeks, I glanced at Silverfire, who still had a scowl on his face since we left. It had been a whole twenty minutes looking for Tristan and Twyla- I couldn’t blame him, I was getting rather irate myself. Still, they probably are still walking back to the dorm, since Tristan explicitly stated that he was going to his house today. We were outside of the dormitory, now looking around in the school courtyards.

Silverfire huffed, crossing his arms. “Just what exactly were they doing that would take them this long?”

Shrugging my shoulders, I put my hands in my jacket’s pockets. “No clue, but it’s almost December. You’d think that they would hurry it up getting home, especially considering how it might snow sooner or later…”

“Hmm. Snow sounds nice,” He murmured absentmindedly. Glancing up at the sky, he sighed. “I really hope that they didn’t get attacked by a dragon…I know Hazel’s been teaching us tips on how to handle the dragons when they…ahem, ‘are out of control’, as she puts it; it doesn’t mean Twyla was genuinely listening to her.”

Raising an eyebrow at him, I asked, “How do you know that?”

He groaned. “Okay, maybe she picked up on a few things. But she really seems…how do I put it? She seems more interested in Hazel instead of staying safe from dragons.”

“Even under the love spell? Man, you’d think that Twyla’s heavy romantic side would be saved just for Tristan, but it appears I was wrong. Wonder how Hazel feels about that.”

Silverfire rubbed his forehead, grimacing. “To be fair, Twyla was only flirting with Hazel just a tiny bit, though it was kind of just her teasing. I doubt she’ll leave Tristan alone just for Hazel, as long as that spell lasts…” Shaking his head, he sighed as we kept walking. “I think we can all agree that most of us if not all of us will be relieved when the spell wears off.”

Inhaling sharply, I mumbled, “Well, if she isn’t in a murderous rage after it wears off, then yes. Let’s hope she doesn’t try to kill Tristan or Holly after it.”

Not bothering to keep the conversation going, the both of us continued to walk towards the front of the school grounds, close to where we got off of the ferry all those days ago. Silverfire halted suddenly, narrowing his eyes. Turning to face what he was glaring at, I tilted my head in utter bewilderment; there was a somewhat small boat docked right by the shore, a few unrecognizable people in it. Squinting my eyes, I caught sight of a teenager getting off of the boat, his long white hair flying in the breeze; alongside him was an older looking boy, seeming to be around Tristan’s age or so. Just what were they doing at the docks? Following Silverfire over to them, their thoughts grew louder and louder as I came closer, much to my dismay.

''So this is Dragonwood Academy? I mean, I know looks can be deceiving, but…this place seems like a complete nightmare.'' The voice sounded rather young yet feminine, and after some thought, I decided this was probably best to assume that this was the teenager. ''Never mind that, though. I can’t wait to meet everyone here! Maybe Delmar might let me make some friends here after all…or maybe I’m just being too hopeful.''

Silverfire leaned into whisper in my ear, saying, “I don’t trust either of them.”

“Me neither, but we can’t just make assumptions right away,” I retorted, shooting him a frustrated glare. Glancing back at the people getting off of the boat, I turned to see the white haired boy bounding over to us, glee on his face. Silverfire just groaned in annoyance.

He smiled at us. “Hi! Are you guys students? Teachers? Our dormmates? Oh, what are your powers- wait, that might be a bit insensitive of me to ask. Do you have powers? What are your names? Are you friends with each other? Are you dating?”

Almost immediately my cheeks turned hot at his last sentence. Dating? I mean, I like Silverfire and all, but…I don’t think I can like him in that way. It just feels weird to imagine, just like with the other guys that I’ve been friends with. Silverfire’s reaction was just confusion, and he made it clear that he didn’t know what the concept of dating someone was with his body language, if not for his own thoughts. The white-haired boy seemed to pick up on this, now awkwardly fiddling with his fingers.

“S-Sorry, am I being annoying? I’m probably being annoying. I’ll shut up now,” He muttered, frowning a little. Giving him a small grin, I patted his shoulders.

Laughing a little, I shook my head. “I-It’s alright, no harm done. What brings you here?”

Silverfire frowned, glaring at him. “If you’re working with the school or trying to find a ‘specimen’ your boss told you to find, then you can drop dead.” Elbowing Silverfire, I scowled at him. Does he have to make it even worse than it already is? I find it embarrassing enough that this kid asked if the both of us were in a relationship, and I don’t want him feeling even worse about this misunderstanding!

Blinking in shock, the boy whimpered. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about! All I know is that my brother was going to fix things here and go back to Vagushade. He forced me to come with…I don’t know why though.”

Rustling his white hair as I caressed him in my arms, I sighed. “It’s alright, don’t get all upset.” Shooting Silverfire one last lour, the auburn-haired teen just crossed his arms, huffing. “Ignore Silverfire over there, he’s just been paranoid around strangers, ever since…things happened. Anyways, what’s your name?”

“My sis- my brother’s name is of none of your concern. What you should be telling us is where that throne stealing vermin is hiding,” The brown-haired man snapped, his eyes glinting with rage. He turned to Silverfire, narrowing his eyes. “You, tell me where she is right now. Maybe then I won’t have to resort to more serious measures.”

Raising an eyebrow, I muttered, “Jeez, you’d think that he’d know some respect.”

Silverfire didn’t pay me any mind; he just growled at him. “Look bub, I’m not sharing anything about my friends for you or whatever cause you have. No matter what ‘serious measures’ you might have.”

The brown-haired man chuckled, folding his arms. “Well, then. Spiritmask, be a dear and convince these two pheasants to tell us where that faux royalty is hiding.”

Spiritmask grimaced, yelping, “But Delmar-!” A harsh dagger seemed to shut him up quickly. “Forgive me for this.” Confused, I backed away slowly, not sure what to think of this. Just what should we forgive him for? Hesitant to start speaking once more, instead Spiritmask just sung to himself, which immediately grabbed Silverfire’s attention, to my shock. It was almost as if…Silverfire couldn’t help but listen to his singing, like it wasn’t himself at all. His eyes were widened, and he seemed to have a flash of resistance in them as well- only for him to seem completely enraptured with Spiritmask’s voice.

“What are you doing to him?” I snapped, clenching my fists. Delmar smirked, his eyes gleaming with a cruel sense of curiosity.

He laughed. “Spiritmask’s power here is quite useful in dealing with stubborn idiots who don’t know how to respect true royalty; works on everyone we’ve met so far. Until you came along. Just why aren’t you swooning over his singing, hmm? He isn’t called a siren for nothing.” Spiritmask, a siren? I guess it should’ve clicked sooner when he started singing, but why isn’t it affecting me, then? Could it be because I’m a mind-reader, or…?

Narrowing my eyes, I grimaced at him. “So you’re trying to control my friend to make him do whatever you want? That’s just sick.”

“You misunderstand. Spiritmask is simply making your friend here much more agreeable to contribute to our cause,” Delmar shot back, frowning at Silverfire, who was still seemingly enthralled by the singing. “We simply want to finish what we came here for and leave. That’s all you need to know.”

Huffing, I crossed my arms. “You’re basically controlling Silverfire’s actions and I’m not letting him be by himself all alone, while under…whatever this is.”

Delmar scoffed. “It’s a form of hypnotism, you twit. As long as it isn’t against his moral beliefs or isn’t something he doesn’t want to do, he won’t do anything that he would hate.”

Glowering him some more, I grumbled, “Well, whatever it is, I’m not letting you do anything to him without me around. Either you’re staying here for the rest of the day, or I’m coming with.”

Spiritmask quickly wrapped up his singing, with Silverfire’s gaze fixated on him. The white-haired boy shot me a sympathetic look, his red eyes shimmering with guilt. Silverfire didn’t seem to be paying attention to me- almost as if he was ignoring me, which I shamefully have to admit that it hurt me. Delmar chuckled, a cruel glint in his eyes.

“Spiritmask. You know what to do.”

Shooting his brother a short-lived dagger, Spiritmask sighed in defeat. Straightening himself up, he commanded, “Silverfire, tell us everything you know about Holly Crowe.”

Chapter 20

Tristan -
Letting go of Twyla's hand, I blinked slowly as we arrived at the door to her dorm- it was room 105, last I recalled. It was a good distance away from my dorm, but not so far as to make me just feel like dragging her with me to mine instead. She couldn't help but dreamily coo over me some more, seemingly forgetting the conversation we had earlier. But being honest, I'm glad she forgot it. After all, I really didn't enjoy trying to avoid mentioning the love spell- talking about again would just make it more obvious to her that I'm lying.

Twyla sighed, giggling a bit. "Today was amazing, Tristie. Next time could we go explore the island? I'd love to learn about this place from a native, after all~"

Laughing a bit, I nodded. "We'll see what I can do. For now, you should probably go to sleep or do something by yourself for a bit. I know being in my presence can be…intoxicating for you, but everyone needs time to themselves."

Playfully swatting at my shoulder, Twyla chuckled. "I think I'll be fine staying around such a handsome man for a wee bit longer." Letting out a huff of amusement, I smiled at her. Even if she's under a spell, there's no denying that Twyla is rather sweet at times. Though I wish that it was her own doing, of course…

Knocking on the door, I was hoping that someone was there- of course, I was secretly hoping Stone was there, but I suppose I wouldn't mind if Ivy was here instead. After all, both of them are pretty decent on their good days, though Stone is my friend. Ivy's just an acquaintance. To my pleasure, Stone was the one who opened the door. He gave me an awkward grin, which seemed to make Twyla's blood boil, if the scowl on her face wasn't enough to tell me how she felt.

"Hey, Stone," I greeted him as I walked in, with Twyla at my side. Stone waved at me before closing the door, sighing. "Something up?"

He shook his head, shrugging his shoulders. "Tired. Losing sleep over school and worry. Just the usual." While it was normal for Stone to be lacking in sleep these days (despite me telling him not to do that), it wasn't normal for him to just speak in such sort sentences after school. He usually liked explaining himself in the most through matter possible.

Walking over to him, I patted his back. "Agustin, you know that I'm your friend. I'm always here to help." His cheeks flushing a bright red, Stone's gaze awkwardly darted around the room, as if he was trying to look at me directly, but just couldn't.

"I-I um…thanks for the reminder, Trist." Stone yawned to himself, stretching his arms as he bit his lips. "I-I've just been trying to keep up and everything with school and figuring out the reasoning behind this ancient specimen and the island and-"

"Stone. Calm down."

Shaking a little, Stone gulped, nodding. "T-Trist, I've just been overwhelmed as of late. Silverfire asked me to look into the history of this ancient specimen you mentioned, and it's really hard considering how the school's library is already suspicious of me since I keep looking at the books there and checking out the ones relating to this island and love spells!"

Twyla quizzically tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. "Why would you want to learn about love spells?" Almost immediately she frowned, glaring at Stone. "Wait, are you trying to take my darling Tristie away from me?"

Blinking in shock, I exhaled in frustration. "Twyla, Stone wouldn't dare do that. I don't think anyone here actually knows how to pull off a love spell with ease aside from Holly and maybe Mrs. Crackle, our magic teacher. But she's really ditzy and forgetful, so I'd doubt it…when was the last time she remembered to assign us homework again?"

Stone shrugged his shoulders. "I-I honestly don't know." Turning to Twyla, he snapped, "If you could pull your head out of the clouds for once and stop thinking of your precious Tristie, you'd realize that not everything revolves around the both of you!"

"Shut up, Agustin! You're just jealous that Tristie loves me and not you!"

Flinching, Stone just glowered her. "I think you're just paranoid that Tristan might not share your feelings, aren't you? You're darn lucky that Tristan is in here right now, otherwise I'd kick your butt again!"

Have they…seriously been beating each other up on occasion just because of me? Why am I someone worth fighting over? What did I ever do that was so important that they had to fight over it so much? Shifting my feet, I lowered my gaze to the floor. Was I just cursed to make everyone's life miserable or what? Twyla's under a love spell, Stone may or may not have crush on me and has to deal with Twyla, Holly has to deal with my nagging of her removing the love spell, Jayson's still captured and I can't do anything about it…

Spitting at him, Twyla reared back, unfolding her wings. "Stone, you obviously don't know anything about how true our love is! Besides, all you ever do is just read those stupid books of yours and never pay attention to anyone else. No wonder why Ivy dumped you."

As Stone shut his eyes, sighing to himself as a tear rolled down his cheeks, my heart tore in two for him. I know Twyla's under a spell and is doing things out of her control, but she has no excuse for saying that. Whipping my head around to face her, I loured her, much to her surprise.

"Twyla, that was just uncalled for!" I snapped, clenching my fists. She glared at me, her gaze burning with malice. Twyla didn't seem to care about anything but attacking someone- Stone, if we're being specific. She leapt for him, trying to tackle him to the ground; the only thing Stone did in response was immediately turn invisible, his whole body seeming to quake in her presence. "Twyla!"

She flat out ignored me, or just didn't hear- Twyla rammed into Stone head first, causing him to become visible once more. He yelped as he flew into a table behind himself, one of his books falling right on top of his head. Latching onto Twyla's shoulders, I made an attempt to pry her off of him, though she resisted me just a little. Swiping at me a few times, Twyla hissed in my face, only for me to accidentally shoot a small beam of ice in her eyes.

Screaming in agony, Twyla lashed out at me before landing on her side, crying in pain. "Tristan! Do you hate me or something? Ow!"

"T-Twyla! I-I didn't mean…I'm so sorry!" I wailed, feeling hot tears run down my cheeks. As I tried to help her to her feet, she swatted at me, as if the love spell was temporarily halted for the time being. Stone just got up and sighed, walking over to the kitchenette to grab a towel to douse it with water, presumably. "A-Are you alright?"

Breathing heavily, she whimpered. "You- you hurt me. I thought you loved me. Loved ones don't hurt other loved ones, right?"

Stroking her hair with my hand, I mumbled softly, "Twyla, I didn't mean to hurt you at all. I just wanted you to stop attacking Stone. Can you forgive me?"

She exhaled softly. "I'll have to think on it." Once Stone came over to us, he threw the towel at Twyla, a scowl on his face. Looking up at Stone, she murmured, "Did…did I hurt you…?"

He just ignored her, already storming upstairs. Should I go and speak with Stone? He clearly needed someone to talk to right now. But Twyla might also need someone to comfort her…Bright Scar, do they enjoy making things so difficult for me on purpose? With a sigh, Twyla just rubbed the towel against her eye, trying to get the ice out. Pulling her closer to my chest, she just let herself lean on me. I really should spend more time with Stone, shouldn't I? It feels like I've just been neglecting him for the past few weeks in favour of shutting Twyla up.

After a brief moment of silence, Twyla whispered, "I don't exactly remember what I did, but I think I really hurt Stone. I don't think he wants to see me. Could you just talk to him instead, Tristie?"

"Yeah, I'll do that." I nodded at her, already getting to my feet. Padding over to the stairs, I placed my hand on the rail before heading up. Bright Scar, I should've stuck up for Stone more, or maybe I should've stopped the fight sooner…or maybe I should've just left Twyla with Holly after all.

"And uh…Tristan? Please tell Stone that I'm sorry for whatever I said."

Giving her a curt nod, I made my way upstairs, my chest feeling heavy. What would Stone say to me for it? 'You should've just spoken up sooner' and 'There were better ways to end that situation' seemed incredibly likely. Once I reached his room, I knocked on the door, simply for privacy. Waiting for a bit, I curled my lips, folding my arms. Maybe I shouldn't have done this…maybe Stone doesn't want anyone bugging him right now. After all, he's rather reclusive at times, and usually just deals with his problems by having peace and quiet. Maybe he wouldn't answer it after all. Maybe-

"Tristan?" Stone was peeking his head out of the door, his cheeks lined with tears.

Nodding, I walked in as he closed the door. "You alright? Twyla wanted to apologize for what she said, but wasn't sure if you wanted to see her or not."

Stone just sat down on his bed, shaking his head. "I wish. I don't hate her, I suppose- it's just…bringing Ivy into this was the last thing I needed to hear. Tristan, I'm looking into love spells for your sake, and partially mine. Clearly Twyla isn't the most stable under it, though she wasn't a very nice person to begin with. We need to do something about it."

Plopping down next to him, I sighed. "I know, but Holly doesn't want to do anything about it. She's still mourning Jayson, and she said that removing it takes up too much energy anyways." Patting his back, I shrugged. "Thanks for doing so much for me, Agustin. If there's anything I can do to repay you, just let me know."

Blushing, Stone smiled a little. "Y-You're welcome, Trist. I do genuinely care about you, and you've been a good friend to me in the past couple months…trying to help lower your stress was one way."

"You shouldn't have to put yourself through stress while doing it, though." Fiddling with my fingers, I laid my head on Stone's shoulder. "Will you be alright, though? After what Twyla said about Ivy dumping you, I mean."

Shrugging, he exhaled deeply. "She doesn't even know why we broke up to begin with, so I really shouldn't be hurt over it but…it really does remind me of how I screwed up. Granted, both me and Ivy were responsible but-"

I blinked slowly, a pang of sympathy twisting my heart. "Stone, if it really hurts that much to keep it to yourself, you can tell me about it. I won't judge you. You'll always be my friend."

"I-I guess you can know. You won't go blabbing it around to everyone, will you?"

"Of course not!"

Raising an eyebrow in suspicion, Stone just sighed. "I hope you don't, anyways. So, uh...me and Ivy. To be completely real with you, I have no clue what she even saw in me, but…we sort of met on accident and, well…we weren't supposed to even know each other in person yet."

"Why's that? If you're comfortable telling me, of course." I had my arm wrapped around Stone's shoulders, with his face turning red as I rubbed his back. Maybe Twyla wasn't wrong about him having a crush on me after all…

"We were put in an arranged marriage, Tristan. Ivy was the daughter- well, technically adopted daughter of a minor noble of Autumnwick and the reason she was betrothed to me was…actually, I really shouldn't say it. You'll find out for yourself if you ever go to Drytide."

Just what couldn't he say to me regarding that? I mean, I get it if he's uncomfortable regarding the arranged marriage…but just what is he trying to imply? Judging from what I've learned so far (or what Holly's told me, anyways) about arranged marriages in the mainland is that they usually are between people of high social class. It might seem really low of me to assume Stone was in the lower class…but he definitely doesn't act like how Holly described it. Maybe it's just a regional thing. I really wanted to ask if he was of a high social rank in Drytide, but honestly? That was his business to begin with. Still, it did bug me that I didn't know.

"We saw each other for a couple years, and eventually started dating. I wasn't sure about it, honestly- after all, it was wrong for us to meet in the first place, not to mention I didn't want to get extremely intimate with anyone so soon. And looking back on it, I don't think I actually felt any romantic feelings for her- not that I would dare tell her that now. But we started getting more serious as the years went on, and her sister was getting suspicious of what was going on. But Columbia never found out until…until Naomi."

Tilting my head in confusion, I mumbled, "Who's that?"

Stone rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Getting to that. T-Tristan, please don't judge me for this, but would you believe me if I told you I've been a father for the past five years?"

Gulping, I glanced at my feet. "I'm not judging, but how old are you again?"

"I just turned nineteen back in October, don't you remember that?" Sighing, he shook his head in frustration. "But yes, I've been a father since the age of fourteen if that's what you're asking. Or trying to ask."

Holding in my breath, I inhaled sharply. "Naomi is your child, I assume?"

Stone nodded, groaning in slight irritation. "Wasn't that obvious from the moment I mentioned I was a father?"

"Sorry."

"But yeah, Naomi's my daughter. It just got complicated for me and Ivy to maintain our relationship while having to raise her, since both of us had an agreement that we both had to help out with her whenever we had the time. It escalated into a lot of fights and, well…that was kind of why we broke up. Not to mention it was really hard seeing Ivy in a romantic light and forcing myself to want to do…certain things with her, to say the least."

Scratching the back of my head, I muttered, "I didn't think Ivy was that bad."

Stone's gaze widened in shock. "For the love of Nature, no! We had the decency to ask first before talking about it in the first place."

Folding my arms, I shrugged. "Sorry for jumping to…that."

"It's alright. Almost everyone who knows about it does at first," He chuckled, though the somber glimmer in his eyes said otherwise. "I-I uh…thanks, Trist. Thanks for listening. I'm surprised you even tolerated my rambling on for so long…"

Patting his back once more, I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Stone. You actually think I'd just leave you in the lurch like that?" Stone just smiled at me, laughing a bit more. "Really though, I'm shocked you decided to share something so personal with me to begin with. Have you told anyone else outside of Autumnwick yet?"

He shook his head, his expression shifting into mere fright at the idea of sharing it with anyone. Smirking, I chuckled, wrapping my arm around his shoulders even tighter that before.

"Then maybe I should share something personal with you. I'm not sure what, though."

"If you don't know what, then maybe you shouldn't share it at all."

Pouting in a mocking way, I snorted. "Okay, okay. I won't. But I want to make it worth your while for dumping me with all of this information. A walk outside? Specifically away from Twyla?"

Stone rolled his eyes. "I don't care if Twyla is with us or not." After a brief moment of silence, he added, "A walk sounds nice. But haven't we done that constantly for…what? The past few weeks we've been hanging out? I don't know about you, but it's getting a little bland. And that's coming from me. Is there anything else on this island that we haven't seen yet? Don't try to hide it from me, I know you're a native of Dragonwood."

"Fine. There's several places on here that aren't really well known by anyone except for the locals here, of course. Which is only me and my family, but there used to be more of us. We used to have a village, and-" Stopping myself suddenly, I chuckled once I saw Stone's expression of awe; probably because I've never even mentioned much of the backstory or lore to him to begin with. "You're so adorable when you're excited."

His cheeks flushing a hot red, he crossed his arms. "I am not excited, I'm merely…anticipating the idea of learning about your culture here. And learning about you."

Smiling at Stone, I snickered. "You definitely aren't excited at all." He just rolled his eyes, though he was still grinning widely- a rush of warmth squeezed my chest just hearing from his laugh. "But seriously though. Maybe I could take you on an island tour? And hey, here's the best part- we might even be able to find something about that ancient specimen that the school is looking for. After all, if they're connected to the Seer of the Phantoms myth…we'd find something here. Silverfire will get off of my back for a bit too, it's a win win all around."

Chuckling, Stone nodded. "That'd be great, Tristan." Sighing, I glanced back at the door, grimacing. How would Twyla feel about it, though? "If it's alright with you, could we go now? I mean, it is the weekend after tomorrow. I'm sure things will be alright as long as we aren't gone too long. And besides, we don't know what the school might do if we just wait."

"Fine by me, but Twyla might try to tag along with if we go now. You're sure?"

"Yep. As long as you remind her that she needs to share, I'm cool with it." Stone got up from the bed, picking up the auburn jacket lying down on the nightstand. He gave me a small smile, chuckling. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go, come on!"