The Phantom Calling: Dragonwood/Chapters 11 - 15

Chapter 11

Violet-
Walking next to Holly, I sighed as we went to go get some food at the lunch counter. It was midday already, and I was still pretty worried about Twyla and Silverfire. Were they alright? I really hoped that nothing got to them while they were out in the wild- or maybe that’s just me hoping they didn’t kill each other first. Holly was wearing a black and gold dress made of what I assumed to be tussar silk. I wanted to question why she was wearing a dress in the first place, but seeing as she was still in a bad mood from earlier, I thought it was best not to ask. Still, I did think she looked really pretty in that dress- not like I would say it out loud, of course. Or that I even could in the first place. Once we got our food, Holly immediately nudged my shoulder, as if to get my attention. Glancing over in her direction, she looked semi excited.

“What is it?” I asked, genuinely curious as to why Holly was sort of excited in the first place. Holly’s gaze turned to a table where a few people were sitting; Tristan, who was already eating, talking with Stone, and two others who I didn’t know.

She had a wide grin on her face. “Jayson.” Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I followed her over to the table, noticing that the two people seemed to be actively ignoring each other, as if they didn’t like the other. From my own assumptions, I could only guess the young man on the right was Jayson. He had ash-blond hair that seemed to fade into a dark gray, and had pale blue eyes- for a second I could’ve sworn that they were pure white. Once the two of us sat down, Holly took a seat next to Jayson, a small smile on her face. He turned around to face her.

“Oh, Holly,” Jayson greeted her, looking pleased to see her. “You finally managed to get here.”

Holly giggled softly. “Yeah, I know…there were too many idiots in the way.” With a small sigh, I decided to sit down nearby the other person I still didn’t know. At least they didn’t seem like they had anything better to do. “Jayson, I haven’t seen you since yesterday. Did something happen?”

Jayson shrugged his shoulders. “That depends on how you view it: One of our roommates go missing and we look for them for most of the evening, to eventually assume they’re dead. Besides that, no, nothing really happened.”

Tristan looked over in Holly’s direction. “That was Twyla,” He mentioned before going back to talking with Stone. Holly’s gaze widened for a brief moment before she simply sighed and shook her head, looking back in Jayson’s direction.

“She’s still alive and well, it’s just that…well, we kind of found her almost dead in a closet yesterday.” Right after Holly said that, Jayson, Stone, and the other person just looked at her with shock.

Stone glared at Tristan. “You could’ve told me this earlier!”

“Stone, did you really want that potions teacher to overhear us? She was creepy,” He defended himself, irritation in his gaze. Stone just rolled his eyes and sighed, as if he was in agreement but also pretty annoyed with Tristan. Not that I could blame him; I was pretty annoyed with him too.

That was when the person next to me spoke up. “You just found her like that, huh? What’s preventing us from assuming you didn’t do that to her yourselves?”

Glancing at her, I mumbled, “Well, Twyla’s my sister and I wouldn’t hurt her like that. Even if I really want to smack her sometimes, I usually don’t.” The woman looked back at me, confusion in her dark blue eyes. “We’re twins.”

“Ivy, I doubt they did it,” Jayson snapped, irate with the woman already. “Holly may be…violent sometimes, but she certainly isn’t that bad. And I don’t know about the other two, but…it’s more likely some of the staff did it instead.”

Stone yelped, just a little. “K-Keep your voice down, do you want the teachers to overhear you? Man, you can be stupid, sometimes, Jayson…” Holly just shot Stone a death glare for saying that, but she said nothing.

Tristan rolled his eyes at Holly, huffing a bit. “Holly, he has a point.” While Holly begrudgingly kept her mouth shut, it caught my eye that Jayson really didn’t seem to care that Stone had just called him stupid. At first I thought that Jayson didn’t seem to care, but that was before a flood of colorful language came rushing into my head, making me grimace. Why aren’t I surprised? After all, this happened with Twyla a lot as well…

Tugging gently on Holly’s dress, I muttered, “Your friend has a really vivid vocabulary.” I was about to add more, but to my surprise, Holly was more into talking with her friend than me. Sighing, I turned to see Tristan and Stone talking, with Stone seemingly listening to Tristan’s every word. Getting the hint that no one seemed to want to talk with me, I decided to turn to Ivy, who was busy trying to eat her grilled fish. I hadn’t even touched my food yet; I’d gotten some lightly salted chicken noodle soup, but that was about it.

I can’t believe Stone’s already gotten over me so quickly, She thought, a slight hint of longing in her voice. ''Was I just a fling to him, or…? No, he’s probably upset about it as well.'' After listening to some more thoughts on accident, I was a little baffled; for one, I couldn’t get how anyone would just want to go on a simple fling with her. She had long ash-blonde hair, dark blue eyes, tan skin, rather delicate facial features, or at least in my personal opinion, and cat like features such as her blue-gray cat ears and whiskers- I couldn’t help but gawk at her, just a little bit.

Ivy glanced up at me, suddenly noticing my presence. “See something you like?” She had a slight smirk on her face, as if she was liking the attention I was giving her. To make matters worse, I could feel my cheeks flushing a bright red. Did she have to make it even harder, trying to interact with her?

“I-I um…well, I…yes…?” I answered, feeling my palms begin to heat up. To be blunt, I somewhat was enjoying being around Ivy- I just didn’t want to talk all that much. Unfortunately, Ivy seemed to take this as another sign to continue the conversation. She gently touched my white jacket, purring a little.

Drawing back a smidge, she murmured, “Your jacket’s really nice and smooth. Where’d you get it? I’d love to have a jacket like that.”

Smiling, I replied, “T-Thanks, my sister got it for me.”

“Your sister, huh? I want to assume it was Twyla?” Ivy questioned, her whiskers twitching. Nodding in response, I began to take a sip out of my soup, seeing as it was beginning to cool down. “Hmm, she must be a good sister then.” After a brief, awkward silence between the two of us, she added, “So…how’s that soup?”

Taking a small break from eating, I mumbled, “It’s good, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. How’s your…uh, grilled fish?” In all honesty, I wasn’t sure on what to think of the fact that Ivy was eating fish, while having cat like features. She didn’t seem like the type who would eat fish, but maybe that’s just me. Or maybe the school gave her fish on purpose.

Ivy chuckled a little. “If you’re questioning why I’m eating fish, don’t worry- it’s all me, not the cat traits. Surprisingly, the fish here isn’t half bad; I thought it was poison when I first came in, but apparently not. It looks like they don’t want to kill us all in one go, it seems.”

Glancing back at her, I laughed softly. “I’d guess so, but it really isn’t a good idea to joke about death, especially in a place like this.” Ivy just rolled her eyes, though it seemed like she was genuinely considering my advice. “And besides, it’d be smarter to do it one by one, or something like that. Strikes fear into the others.”

“How would you know about that?” Ivy queried, raising an eyebrow. Purposefully shifting my eyes away from meeting her’s, I sighed.

Shrugging my shoulders, I mumbled, “You learn a lot when living with bad people.” Before speaking any further, I took a brief moment to take a glimpse at Holly and her friend, both of which were still chatting. When would Holly finally take notice of me? Even though talking with Ivy wasn’t that bad, I’d like to get to know my roommates a little better. My gaze lingered on them for a bit, right before a tap on my shoulder snapped me out of it. Turning to face Ivy, I noticed the bored expression on her face.

“You wanna go do something else? For example, get out of this mind numbing cafeteria and do something exciting?” Ivy suggested, a sly smirk on her face. Glancing back at my roommates, I hesitated. While they seemed to be busy talking, there was still a chance that they would pay attention to me, right? After delaying following Ivy a little more, I gave up. They’ll notice when I’m gone later. Whirling around to face Ivy, I nodded. “Good choice, let’s go.”

Following Ivy out the doors that me and Holly had came in, nobody seemed to bat an eye that the two of us were making a brief escape for the moment. Not even the teachers. My stomach began to churn with an intense blow full of dubiety. Was this a smart idea after all? Glancing at Ivy, she seemed deadset on going anyways, even if it was by herself. Even though she could probably take care of herself, I didn’t want her to be all on her lonesome…

Walking through the hallways of the school, I had to admit, they did do a good job with designing and such. The school looked like a deathly pitch black from the outside, but after glancing at the hallways, it was a gentle white with gold and blue stripes running along the sides. At the top the lights were in a circular shape, and there was a faint glow to them that made me wary of them, which resulted in me tearing my eyes away from the lights. As I walked beside Ivy, I noticed that in addition to Ivy’s other cat like features, she had a long, slender blue-gray tail with a white tail tip, as well as some bits of similarly colored fur sticking up from her palms. I had to wonder how she managed to make it through the day being partially feline.

Ivy yawned a little, but said nothing. ''I wish Stone were with me, but…he’d never want to go exploring the school with me anyways. He’s more into science and studying than hanging out with me.'' A pang of pity tugged at my chest for Ivy. Was she in love with Stone, then? It felt like it to me, but I decided not to assume so quickly. ''Maybe it’s for the best that we stay apart. After all, it still really hurts to be reminded of the fact that we aren’t together anymore…''

Maybe I should’ve said something to her, but I didn’t. Then Ivy would know that I’m a mind-reader, and would probably ditch me in here all by myself. But then again, I didn’t want her to be feeling so upset, especially after losing someone important in her life. Should I tell her about my powers? No, that wouldn’t be smart at all…I hardly know her…but then again, I hardly know Silverfire, Holly, and Tristan and they know about my powers already. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful about this. As we continued walking down the hallway, I spotted a young man who was decked out in silver plated armour, guarding an exit out of the school. Ivy seemed to notice as well, and yanked me backwards so he wouldn’t see us.

“...why would they be placing guards in the school like we’re some kind of prisoners…?” She murmured softly, her eyes wide with concern. Spinning around to face me, Ivy’s tail tip twitched anxiously. “...this wasn’t such a good idea after all.”

Overhearing footsteps coming in our direction, I held back a whimper. Who was that? Was it that guard we saw? Feeling sick to my stomach, I leaned into Ivy’s shoulder, not caring whether I knew her or not. Ivy blinked in surprise, blushing a little, but said nothing about it. As the footsteps grew louder, my heart’s pace began to hasten. Were we going to be found out? Once they came to a sudden stop, I shifted my gaze upwards to see that very same guard. He had messy black hair and dark green eyes- almost the same shade as Tristan’s. Are they related? They both seemed to have the same body frame as well, so it wasn’t entirely implausible.

He chuckled, a crooked grin on his face. “Well, what are you two lovely ladies doing out here all on your lonesome? Are you lost?”

Ivy narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, but didn’t show too much malice towards him, which was surprising, to me at least. “We were just on our way from the bathroom, now if you could so kindly let us by…” Does this school even have bathrooms? She added mentally, almost in a panic.

“And where would you be going in that case?” He asked once more, raising his eyebrow. Attempting to look into his mind, I held my breath once I realized that once again, I couldn’t read someone’s mind. All I could really hear was this fuzzy, static sound- similar to the screeching noise I heard when I tried reading Ms. Crackle’s mind. As the silence grew between us, I noticed that his gaze was boring into me. Yelping a little, I exhaled shakily. He couldn’t have figured out my powers, right?

Just what is he getting at, trying to threaten er…I really should’ve asked for her name, shouldn’t I? She pondered for a brief moment, her breathing heavy. ''Either way, I’ve gotta make sure she doesn’t get scared off by him, I’m probably the stronger out of the two of us…he looks pretty tough and hardened. While I’m pretty formidable and practically indestructible, I don’t want to risk too much here…'' Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I wasn’t sure whether I found it cute that she had a little ego of her own or frustrating that she was thinking so much about herself at a time like this.

Growling viciously at him, Ivy unsheathed retractable claws, which sprouted from her fingers. She winced a little for a split second, but regained her fierce stance. Did it hurt for her to unsheath them? Maybe she shouldn’t have done that- I’m not really worth protecting, in my opinion, at least. Ivy should be more worried about herself; we did just meet, after all. That and I’m a mind-reader, someone who you shouldn’t want around and someone who you should leave to die. The black-haired man took out the sword in hi scabbard strapped around his back, glowering Ivy viciously.

Ivy hissed at him threateningly. “Leave us alone, we don’t need your help.”

“Oh, but the two of you do. Especially her,” He snapped, his glare boring into my eyes. Whimpering, backed away, standing behind Ivy. “Don’t make this job more difficult than it already is…it’s bad enough that they’re involved.”

Lunging for him, Ivy aimed her claws at the guard. “Who’s involved? Answer me!” As she was about the swipe at the guard once more, a sudden blast of ice was shot at her, knocking her backwards and into me. Yelping, the both of us tumbled to the ground, with Ivy wincing in pain. A small spike of ice was sticking from where her stomach was, though it didn’t go through her; it just seemed that the fall had put Ivy in pain.

The man chuckled cruelly, a hint of guilt in his eyes. “I wish I didn’t have to do this to you, but…I have my orders.”

“Who’s giving you orders? Why do you have to do this? What are you going to do to us?” Ivy shot out almost all at once, her tail twitching anxiously. She shifted her sights towards me, her gaze dark. “Do…do you have something to do with this?”

“I-” Before I could answer her question, a sharp jolt of pain took over my body, causing me to screech in agony. My muscles began to tense up, starting to throb violently. Ivy blinked, absolutely terrified, not knowing what to do. I couldn’t blame her; I didn’t know what to do either. Feeling a stinging thrum in my head, my heart’s pulse was going at a brisk pace; my breathing was beginning to fade away from me, just as my vision was going black. Ivy screamed for me to get up, her eyes wide with terror.

She whipped her head around to face the guard. “What did you do to her?” He had a strange device in his hands that was in some sort of rectangle shape of a bluish-gray hue. It had these strange yellow lights on it that seemed to be growing stronger the more I screamed in anguish.

Ivy whimpered softly, her whiskers brushing up against my cheeks. Don’t die, please…I don’t even know what’s wrong or why you’re hurting so much but you can’t leave me here on my own. Her eyes were wet, and she seemed ready to start bawling. Bright Scar, I’m terrified and I never should’ve tried to explore the school, and I’m such a stupid dimwit- The rest of her thoughts turned into the equivalent of an illegible scrawl full of self depreciation. I wanted to tell her that she wasn’t worthless or halfwitted, and that she didn’t know what would happen- but I couldn’t, due to the searing pain shooting through my mouth, the possibility of revealing my powers- I just couldn’t risk it.

He shook his head, his laugh coated in distress. “Meant to torture those born on the night of a Blood Moon. You should be grateful you weren’t, though we can’t let you go completely free after this little mishap…” Ivy looked back and forth between me and the guard before she shrunk back in fear.

“A-Are you saying-” She began, right before the man lunged for her, the tips of his gloves glowing a light, icy blue.

“You’ll just have to come with us, then,” He replied, a twisted grin on his face. As I attempted to help Ivy out, my vision began to struggle to stay clear; that was when everything went black.

Chapter 12

Holly-
It had been several hours since I last saw Violet or that girl she went out the lunch room with, and I was more than just “worried sick”. Was it my fault that they left? Did I tick off Violet by not replying to her at all? Probably. She and Ivy could be dead because of me, and it’s all my fault… Feeling someone’s hand rest on my shoulder, I swiveled my head around to face Jayson, who had a somber expression.

“Holly, I know you’re worried; I am too. But we can’t just go looking for Violet and Ivy during school hours. We might go missing too,” He sighed, shaking his head. Sometimes I wish Jayson didn’t make so much sense. But couldn’t he see that it was my fault? I should’ve stopped them; then they wouldn’t have disappeared like that.

I sniffed, feeling a tear well up in my eyes. “I-I…just feel really bad about it.”

Jayson narrowed his eyes. “Holly, it is not your fault. Come on, we have battle training with Mrs. Quincy.”

“I was supposed to be in that class with Violet-” I began to wail, choking up again already. Jayson just held onto my hands, his gaze stern as his grip grew firmer. Dropping my voice to a whisper, I mumbled, “It was my fault.” Jayson just sighed once more, patting my back.

He murmured, “Look, it wasn’t just you. Blame yourself all you want, though I would prefer you not doing that because I hate seeing you upset- but I’m also kind of at fault here, just like Tristan and Stone. Hopefully Violet and Ivy will be okay and alive, but-”

“How is that supposed to make me feel better? They could be dead because of me!”

With a suppressed grumble, Jayson gave me a forced smile. “Stop thinking about it over and over, that’s not going to help you feel better either.” I glanced down at my feet, a tear falling to the floor. He wasn’t wrong; I really should stop thinking about it so much, but I can’t help it- it was my fault, at the very least partially my fault they left us alone.

“Fine, let’s just go,” I snapped, now walking through the hallways alongside Jayson. We were headed towards the battle grounds outside of the school, which we assumed were behind the main building. Jayson gave me a glance full of worry- I could tell it was both for Violet and Ivy, as well as me, for some reason. “Don’t you even think of trying to convince me that I did nothing wrong.”

He shrugged his shoulders, looking rather solemn. “I wasn’t thinking of it, but…if you want to talk about it or need a shoulder to cry on, I’m here.” Rolling my eyes, I looked away from him, feeling more tears fall down my checks. I don’t deserve any pity at all; I haven’t done much good since I got here. On the ferry, I beat up Tristan. Then I cast the spell on Twyla, which made her less unbearable, but Tristan had a point; it wasn’t morally right to do. I probably could’v cast a calming spell on her, but what good would it do now? I messed up and Tristan hates me for ruining Twyla’s genuine perspective of him- even if it wan’t good. I’m not a good person at all; just like my father.

Keeping my mouth shut, I decided not to speak anymore, at least in the presence in of Jayson. I shouldn’t worry him more than he already is; after all, his roommate and someone who kind was becoming a friend to me just disappeared, making me the one who was at fault for it because I ignored them. My gaze still locked onto the ground, I noticed some drops of blood scattered on the floor, slightly dried out. Tugging onto Jayson’s shirt, as soon as he was facing me, I pointed down at the floor, hoping he’d get that I was trying to get his attention. Sometimes he wasn’t the best at understanding social cues. He tilted his head in confusion.

“There’s blood on the floor, you dolt!” I hissed, my gaze darting around the halls in case if anyone overheard. Once Jayson looked down, he then noticed them, his pale blue gaze wide. Groaning inwardly, I exhaled softly. Jayson’s purblind; how could I have let myself forget that? He’s been my friend longer than anyone else- I should remember this kind of stuff. I wanted to apologize for snapping, but I decided not to, my cheeks beginning to heat up. I already made two mistakes today, I don’t want to increase it to three.

Jayson nodded, still rather shocked. “Where do you think this came from, then?”

Huffing a little, I grumbled, “The question we should be asking is who it belongs to.” Hearing some footsteps rushing over to us, I looked up to see Tristan and Stone running in our direction. I just had to wonder why Stone was hanging around Tristan so much, but then again- I keep hanging around Jayson, so that does make me a little bit of a hypocrite. Tristan glanced at me, his gaze full of bewilderment.

“Why aren’t you both in class already? Do you really want to find out what they do to students who are late?” Tristan fretted, his eyes darting around the hallways. Jayson seemed to overhear him, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.

He muttered, “And how would you know that?”

My roommate’s sight was glued to the floor, hesitant to answer. “Well, I um…I don’t know, but…”

Jayson narrowed his eyes. “You’re lying,” He snapped, getting to his feet.

Stone glared at him, his books still in his hands. “Leave Tristan alone, Jay. I doubt he has any real reason to lie to us.” That may be true, but should we really be all that sure? Tristan just sighed to himself, avoiding everyone’s gaze. Almost immediately Stone turned to face me. “H-He isn’t wrong, though. What are you guys doing in the middle of the hallway?”

“None of your business-” Jayson began, only for me to shut him up by smacking him on the shoulder. He whipped his head to face me, completely shocked. “But Princess, they have no right to be getting in your business!”

Sighing to myself, I replied, “Jay-Jay, I appreciate the effort, but I guess it’s okay to accept their help. And don’t call me ‘Princess’ here, we’ve been over this already. Some people might be touchy about…about Vagushade.” Jayson opened his mouth to argue, but I managed to interrupt him before he could speak. “Rineheart. Don’t.”

Jayson grumbled to himself, resisting the urge to smile at me. “Sometimes you make me wish I didn’t hold so much respect for you.”

“And sometimes I wish I didn’t enjoy your infuriating presence,” I retorted, crossing my arms; though there wasn’t a hint of seriousness in my voice. Tristan and Stone were befuddled by our conversation, with Tristan just wanting it to be over with while Stone was attempting to get more information, though that’s what I thought due to his more serious expression. “Don’t worry about it, it’s-”

“A part of our friendship.” Jayson just rolled his eyes at me, though there was a gleam of amusement in his eyes. Strangely enough, that was an actual part of our friendship, or so he liked to call it. We would occasionally bicker, but somehow we managed to get on fine despite it. Even I don’t know how I do it, as Jayson’s a stubborn idiot at times.

Stone smiled a little, murmuring, “Well it’s a little cute and funny to watch.” Jayson just held back a snort of laughter, while I rolled my eyes. “Anyways, what happened?”

I glanced down at the dry patches of blood on the ground. “If it isn’t obvious enough, there’s blood on the ground!” Once Stone and Tristan looked, sure enough, they were just as shocked as me and Jayson were to see it. “And to make matters worse, it’s nearby the lunchroom, meaning that it could belong to…belong to Violet and…what’s her name?”

“I-Ivy,” Stone answered, his voice shaky just from mentioning her name, not to mention the fact that he was blushing, just a little. It made me wonder if something personal went down between the two of them, but there wasn’t any time to think about that at the current moment.

Tristan inhaled deeply. “So, you’re saying that the both of them could very well be dead. That is not good at all.”

Jayson nodded. “While I dislike Ivy, I never would want her to end up dead. Though that stupid ego of her’s will get her killed if she isn’t dead already…”

“S-She’s really not that bad, even with her slight arrogance,” butted in Stone, who was rather meek about stepping in. Jayson glared at him, though Stone seemingly was ignoring him. “Ivy’s actually very sweet and loving when you get to know her.”

“Didn’t you both say that you broke up?” Jayson queried, suspicion in his voice. Stone awkwardly and shyly avoided staring directly at Jayson, his face a bright red.

He nodded. “Y-Yes, well…things just weren’t working out and we grew out of our initial infatuation with one another, aside from the obvious…”

Tristan was starting to get curious, or that was what I was assuming. “What was ‘the obvious’, if you don’t mind answering?”

“Isn’t our main concern meant to be on Violet and Ivy, not my love life?” Stone snapped, slapping his forehead with his hand. Rather awkwardly, we all made a silent agreement not to talk about Stone’s love life, at least until we figure this out. Though that might’ve been just me.

Jayson nodded, though he was also rather curious in what ‘the obvious’ was too, like the rest of us. “Let’s just keep going to class. We can investigate later. Besides, the school would catch us sneaking around anyways, which would make it likely for us to get caught. Unless someone would like to volunteer?”

Tristan shrugged his shoulders. “Look I’d love to go search for them as much as the next guy, but I only have this ice manipulation. It’s not really going to help me at all, and besides, I’m worried about Silverfire and Twyla. The school day should be ending soon, so hopefully I’ll be able to find them.” He turned to me, raising an eyebrow. “Do you have any other magical abilities that could help us, aside from love spells?”

Wincing, I responded, “You’re still upset about that? I told you, Twyla will eventually return to normal, she’ll just…still remember everything that happened during it and be extremely confused.”

“That doesn’t make it morally right. You should’ve just let Twyla beat me up instead,” Tristan shot back, earning a look of confusion from Jayson. Right, he doesn’t know about that yet…at this point the entire school will know what I did. “And how do you know what will happen by the end, anyways?”

Avoiding his harsh gaze, I muttered, “Sometimes my dad tries to be a good person, but he isn’t the greatest at being understanding.”

Stone chimed into the conversation with a cough. “S-Sorry for interrupting, but I want to volunteer to try and find them.” Tristan looked shocked by his sudden declaration, and to be frank, so was I. However, Tristan seemed reluctant to let Stone go all by himself.

“B-But you might get captured!” Tristan meekly protested, genuine concern in his voice. Stone nodded and sighed, handing his books to Tristan. Although rather reluctantly, Tristan took them, letting out grunt once Stone let go of them. Looking down at one of the books, Tristan asked, “You draw?”

He shook his head. “No, this is Twyla’s. She forced- I mean, kindly asked me to take care of it yesterday, but since she didn’t come back for it, I’ve been holding onto it. I’m only hoping she took her glasses with her…”

Tristan’s gaze widened. “She wears glasses? I bet she looks even cuter with glasses on…I hate you, Holly.” Not looking at Tristan, I instead focused on Stone; at least he was more focused on the task at hand instead of complaining about things I can’t fix at the moment, or even can fix.

I sighed. “And what makes you think you can do that?”

“This.” Stone outstretched his hand, presumably to shake someone’s hand. Instead, his hand began to fade into the background, ultimately ending up completely invisible. In shock, I yelped, while Jayson seemed indifferent; Tristan was absolutely amazed, to my surprise and confusion. Just what is up with their relationship? Didn’t they meet just today? “I-I know, I know, I probably should’ve said something sooner, but…”

Tristan shook his head, relief in his eyes. “Are you kidding? I’m glad you even trusted us enough to tell us! This is great!” Stone blushed at Tristan’s praise, but he didn’t say anything else “But…you’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

Stone nodded, patting Tristan’s back. “E-Erm, yeah, but…I promise once I find anything out, I’ll tell you first and we can go looking together.”

“I’m sorry, but Violet is my friend too,” I interrupted, a growl rising in my throat. Glaring at Stone, I snapped, “Thanks for telling us this hours after they disappeared. They could be dead now, because you decided to wait to tell us this information. So thank you Stone, thank you for nothing.” Walking away from them, I decided to just head to my next class. The bell had probably rung earlier, but I wasn’t paying attention to it. Now I’m going to be late because of all of this.

Jayson glanced back and forth between me and them before uttering, “I’m so sorry about her, she’s just…Princess Holly!” He came rushing over to me, worry on his face. Resting his hand on my shoulder, he murmured, “Princess, I know that you’re angry, but this might just be the only way to find Violet and Ivy.”

Exhaling shakily, I relied, “It doesn’t mean he can just keep the information to himself hours after they disappear. I’m going to class, Jayson- you should too.” After that, I stomped off in the direction of my last class for the day- it wasn’t just my fault after all, then. It was also Stone’s.

It took some time getting there, but I eventually made it to battle training. Of course, I was extremely late, with Jayson trailing behind me. Right before we entered, I turned to Jayson, who was out of breath from following me and frustrated with me running off like that.

“Princess Holly, did you have to rush off like that?” He demanded, clenching his fists.

Avoiding sharing his gaze, I bit my lip. “Why do you care? Violet and Ivy never meant anything to you, and they’re probably dead.”

Jayson narrowed his eyes, albeit he was rather hurt by my remark. “Holly, don’t even. I hardly know them, and the same applies to you. We shouldn’t care, but even then, it was our only chance of finding them.”

Crossing my arms, I huffed. “Doesn’t mean I can’t be upset over it.”

“I never said you couldn’t- you know what? It is not worth it.” Jayson padded over to me, his expression was rather dire, which made me sick to my stomach. “Tristan and Stone argued over whether he should go or not, but Stone decided to go anyways. Because of what you said, you may have just made things worse; not that I’m saying you were in the wrong, but…nevermind. Tristan should be with us shortly.” Yeah, thanks Jayson, that really made me feel better about this whole situation- that it was my fault that Violet and Ivy left, and my fault that Stone went to go find them.

As we waited outside the doors, eventually Tristan came running over to us, seemingly worried sick, presumably over Stone. His brown T-shirt had some strands of the fabric hanging off of it, which bugged me more than I’d care to admit, and his brown hair was rather messy and unkempt. Sweat rolled down his cheeks as he came to a stop in front of us.

He exhaled deeply. “Had to run all the way here, I decided to at least have the decency to walk Stone to the doors to the lunchroom, make things easier for him.” Jayson bristled at his commentary.

“And how would you know if it ‘made things easier for him’?” Jayson snapped, his gaze sharp. Would Tristan really have any reason to lie to us? Frankly, I’m not sure- I wouldn’t trust Tristan as far as I can throw him, but he seems more reasonable than most people I know.

Tristan shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. “Holly, can you tell your friend here to shut it? I don’t know what he has against me, but seriously, it’s getting annoying really quick.” Simply ignoring them, I groaned inwardly. Couldn’t these two just get along? There wasn’t any time for this.

Jayson glowered him. “First off, that’s Princess Holly to a commoner like yourself. Secondly, get over the fact that I have a voice box too.” Grabbing my hand, Jayson snapped, “Come on, let’s just go to class.”

Walking into the steel doors in front of us, I could tell Tristan was following behind us. Once we came out, we were greeted with the slamming of the heavy, metal doors, which caused me to hold back a yelp. The room was rather large, but also extremely murky- dust particles fluttered in the air; broken lights flickered a soft, gentle yellow; and the air was bitter and unpleasant- enough for me to wish I had worn a sweater. At first I thought no one was in the room, until a saw a few figures roaming around the room, haste on there expressions, if I was seeing correctly. In the middle of the room there was a human figure in the room, with chains attached to their arms and legs, blood dripping from their body into a small crimson red puddle. Almost instantly a twinge of pity tightened in my chest for the person. What did they do to her? Was this the school’s doing? Jayson and Tristan were right by my side, their breathing short and kept as soft as possible.

After a few moments of silence, I thought nothing else would happen. That was when the bright, blinding lights overhead began flashing in an almost unbearably strong way- but not as in you wanted to look away. Almost more of an urge to stare the lights and never move your gaze from them. The person in the middle of the room was more clear- she had short black hair and gray eyes, with cuts and bruises scattered all over her face. Was that…Rishima? I remembered Violet pointing her out to me this morning, I think in a passing period. Even though Violet didn’t seem to like her much, I couldn’t help but feel bad for her; she had a feverish look to her eyes, screaming in complete agony.

Yelping a little, Jayson held onto my arm, his body quivering. Tristan looked absolutely terrified, his whole body practically alert. Closing my eyes, I whimpered gently. What was this? Once the light died away, I opened my eyes, only to see the lights back to normal, giving out illumination like they were supposed to. Inhaling deeply, I whined a little. Something was definitely off about this school. As we stared helplessly at Rishima, I felt something -or someone- push me onto the ground.

“So, we’ve some waifs and strays that managed to find their way in here, eh?” A snake like, drawn out voice chuckled, growing louder as the resonating footsteps echoed throughout the iron-like chamber. “I must say, this one was getting rather boring with her frustrating stubborn hide. Maybe it’ll be much easier to break one of you, hmm?”

Rishi shook her head and cried out in pain, staring directly at me. “Y-You never should’ve came here,” She managed to choke out, right before collapsing into a coughing fit where her very own blood began to bubble up from her throat, spilling onto the ground. As the footsteps belonging to the voice grew closer, a strange, human like figure came near us, completely masked in silver plated armour with some sort of horn-like appendages jutting out of its body.

The creature grinned cruelly. “She’s right, as much as I hate to admit it.” Feeling another push in the back, I fell to my feet, Tristan and Jayson falling down in a similar matter. “While I would normally kill such annoying pests, I am feeling rather considerate today. Put them in the cell with the others.”

Growling to myself, I snapped, albeit rather frightened, “What did you do to Violet and Ivy?”

“And why would I tell a worm like you?”

Jayson grumbled indignantly. “You have no right to call Princess Holly that!” Wincing, I hoped this creature- human or not wouldn’t pay him any mind. If my luck is down the drain, then they will know who I am, what my father has done, and all the crimes I’ve committed simply by being born.

A smirk spread on its face. “Princess Holly, you say? As in, daughter of King Brokenfire? Interesting…” At once the creature’s neck snapped up, a wild gleam in its eyes. “Guards, throw the unimportant ones into the cell! This one might just be entertaining to play with after all.” I felt my insides churning with rage; did Jayson have to speak out like that? Now they might be the next to face Rishi’s fate, all because of him. But then again, I rushed off like that, and we’re in this mess because of me…Violet and Ivy might not be in here, and Stone is all on his own…I don’t even know what happened to Silverfire and Twyla.

I felt a rush of wind flow beside me as I watched them drag Tristan and Jayson away, anguish on their faces. Tristan was in outright pain as he was being dragged away with a tight chain around his neck, his violent screeching being amplified within the empty walls of the room. Jayson was being dragged away in a similar manner- however, he seemed full of concern not just for himself, but me- which was confusing, as I shouldn’t be his top priority in this situation. Once they were out of sight, I felt a shiver run up my spine- just what did they want with me?

“I never expected that your foolish father would ever consider sending you here, but here we are. Now, don’t worry, I’m well aware of your innocence regarding Brokenfire- I will not stoop so low as to outright murder you for your father’s crimes. As we don’t want to send too much alarm to our location, we’ll let you go. However,” The creature spoke, hints of laughter in its voice. “You’ll have to do something for me first.”

Gulping, I squeaked, “And that is…?”

“Kill her, and you’ll be able to leave. Refuse, and well…I won’t spoil the surprise.”

Glancing back at Rishi, I shuddered. The idea of this school killing its students wasn’t completely out the window, but…the thought that the one doing some of the killing would be me? Somehow the idea didn’t sit right with me, even though I’m the daughter of the tyrant who killed multiple innocents just for the throne. My gut felt as if it was going to come gushing out of my mouth. I didn’t want to kill her. I didn’t want to kill anyone. And I sure didn’t have any obligation to listen to that creature in the first place. But it was her life or mine. A flash of pity shone in Rishi’s eyes, and I couldn’t see why; I was just ordered to kill her.

Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I shouldn’t do this. Jayson wouldn’t approve of this. My mother wouldn’t approve of this. Even I don’t approve of this. But do I have a choice? Technically, yes, but what did that matter? My life was at stake. But does that make me selfish? I…I don’t know anymore. Muttering some ancient words underneath my breath, strength began to course through my veins. Rishi only lowered her head, knowing what was come. Placing my hands on her throat, I clamped them around her neck, dreading every single second that ticked on the clock, time seemingly slowing down all around us.

“I’m so sorry,” I managed to croak out, as softly as I could.

Inhaling deeply, she whispered, “I know.” Tightening my grip, blood began to rise and splatter all over my hands. And after what seemed to be an eternity, Rishi fell silent, her body cold and numb. All I understood was one thing:

I was just like my father after all.

Chapter 13

Silverfire-
With a grunt, I opened my eyes to see Twyla and this strange older woman who I didn’t know standing over me. Holding back a yelp, instead I simply blinked in surprise, not wanting to say anything. Draped over my body was a somewhat medium sized blanket, it being a soft, pale yellow. My head was resting on a rather fluffy pillow- not wanting to lay down anymore, I got up, only for a splitting pain to sear into my skull. I groaned outloud, falling back onto the pillow.

“Yep, he’s awake. The medicine I applied should help,” The older woman commented, glancing at Twyla. “You should probably rest a little as well, we don’t want you stretching those wounds, now do we? Tristan might be good at administering herbs, but he still has a lot to learn.”

Twyla giggled, her eyes lighting up with joy at the mention of her victim’s- I mean, acquaintance’s name. “Tristan saved my life, he’s so amazing! I can see where he gets his talents from.” This old woman has to be Tristan’s mother; I don’t remember seeing any other locals before…

Tristan’s mother chuckled. “Oh, you flatter me, Twyla. Go find yourself something to eat, you walked all this way, after all. I’ll see if I can try and strike up a chat with this little fella.”

“I am not a ‘little fella’. I am a teenager,” I blurted out, already feeling quite fed up. “An irate one at that.”

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Son, you look like a fourteen or fifteen year old at best. Just because you’re taller than me, it doesn’t mean you’re older than me or close to my age.”

Huffing, I rolled my eyes. “Of course I know that, my brother is extremely short, and he’s in his twenties. Well, he’s supposed to turn twenty soon, anyways. And I’m fifteen, not fourteen. But my point still stands!”

“Alright, alright. Just cool it, will ya?” She sighed, her voice a mixture of laughter and annoyance. “I’m Maple Leighton. Most call me Ms. Leighton, but I’m pretty fine with you calling me Maple, if you wish. And you…?”

“Silverfire. Silverfire Rowe, don’t ask for my real name.” It was tempting to add ‘Don’t ask why’ to that sentence, but I wasn’t that mean. Crossing my arms, I hated to admit it, but Maple was rather nice. Why couldn’t my actual mother be like her? Judging from how Tristan seemed to view his mother, Maple never beat her kids. Or call them names. Maybe something was wrong with me, Hazel, and Stargaze. Or maybe something was wrong with our mom. “So you’re Tristan’s mother, huh?”

Maple nodded, shrugging her shoulders. “Yep. Don’t see why the girl who dragged you all the way over here is so smitten with him despite it just being the first day of school, but hey, infatuation is strange, am I right?”

Narrowing my eyes, I snapped, “I don’t know what an ‘infatuation’ is, but I’m assuming you’re talking about Twyla’s crush on Tristan. That was a love spell, she doesn’t really love him.”

“A love spell, eh? Isn’t that against the school’s policy of no using any spell outside of class?” She replied, completely baffled.

Staring her straight in the eye, I uttered, “I’m not going to that stupid school of theirs, so don’t even.”

Laughing a little, Maple exhaled deeply. “I don’t blame you, but my reasons are probably much, much different than yours. Back on topic, I’m serious when I say that. Whoever did that can get a serious…punishment, we’ll say, and to say the least, I hope my son isn’t the one who did that to her, poor gal…”

I almost wheezed at that. Tristan using a spell? Please, I bet he’d get himself killed on the first day. Or he’d just give up, I wouldn’t be surprised with either. And besides, Twyla was a touch aggressive when I first met her- I dread to think of what Tristan had to deal with, though watching him getting beat up would’ve been funny, to me at least. Tristan probably would never show any interest in her anyways- not with the way she was acting earlier. Then again, it makes me wonder why she’s so…energetic and a lot more tolerable than before. Was it the love spell? I doubt it, mainly because she was forced to fall in love with Tristan, not me (and frankly, I’m glad it wasn’t me; I hate clingy people and spells). So she would’ve been just as cruel as she was before if not more towards me. Then just what did Holly do to her…?

Stifling a chuckle, I replied, “It wasn’t him, I’ll tell you that much. He absolutely hates that she has a spell cast on her to love him. Though he did admit she is kind of cute while under it, though.”

With a sigh of relief, Maple smiled a little. “Well, at least it wasn’t him. Hopefully it wears off soon before something bad happens…”

“What kind of bad, besides her being even more annoying now than what she used to be?” I asked, genuinely curious about the love spell. Hey, if I’m stuck with her having that stupid obsessive crush on my roommate, then I at least want to know some more about it.

“Well…there’s a reason some people call love spells and love potions names like lust spells and similar names. Horrible things can happen. And in other cases, it might result in the death of one or more people. They’re dangerous things to be wary of, and aren’t morally right. There’s a reason why those things are illegal in places like Drytide, Silegueux, Draguirave, you get the point.”

Frowning, I hummed to myself. “So love spells actually are dangerous? Man, and I thought Tristan was just being a worrywart.” After I had spoken, an awkward, empty silence betwen us filled the air, seemingly having nothin more to say. Starting to grow bored, I rested my head back on the pillow, my body still craving sleep. As soon as I laid back down, Twyla came rushing back over to us, her green bat-like wings folded behind her back rather neatly. From what it seemed like, I guessed that she had practiced folding them like that for several years.

Maple glanced over in her direction. “Hmm? What is it, dearie?”

“I see people leaving the school and going to the dormatory from here. Does that mean that the day’s over already?” She asked, tilting her head. Maple’s gaze widened in shock, with her practically rushing over to the nearest window.

After a short, brief moment of Maple staring out the window, she nodded. “Unfortunately, you’re correct. Meaning you have to get out of here and back to your dorms before they notice that you didn’t go to school, and I have to get to work before I’m late.”

Whipping my head in her direction, I glowered her. “So you’re working with them, are you? Well, I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised. After all, Tristan was really hesitant to mention you to me. I guess he has more secrets than I gave the potato couch credit for.”

With a grimace, Maple frowned at me. “Silverfire, you misunderstand completely. If you were in Tristan’s shoes, you’d understand better.”

“Yeah, give him a break! I’m sure he’s trying his best and doing all he can, and he’s doing an amazing job, considering he has to put up with you!” Twyla added, her slender green tail lashing around wildly. Maple was about to argue, but decided not to. She simply grabbed a dark red jacket and began rushing out the door.

Getting out of the bed, I glanced back at Twyla, who was now staring out of the window in a daze. Probably thinking about Tristan, I’d say. Drool dribbled down her chin and onto the floor as her sights were set on the school. She giggled softly a few times, but otherwise, she was rather quiet, to my surprise. Rolling my eyes in frustration, I groaned. We needed to make it back to the school, at least just so they think we were in school. And I couldn’t believe that simple love spell made her act like this- I really hope I don’t end up mooning over anyone, it looks awful.

Seeing as my shirt had to be taken off to tend to my wounds, I glanced over at the blanket and wrapped it around my torso, not wanting to show both the bandages or my skin to anyone. Twyla seemed to notice just before I covered myself up with the blanket, groaning to herself.

She exhaled deeply. “Why can’t you be Tristan instead?”

“Twyla, I can tell you this much- neither of us would ever consider putting on a show for you.” Almost immediately I spotted my red sweatshirt, which I grabbed and squeezed into, throwing the blanket back onto the bed. Twyla tilted her head in confusion, thinking it over before her eyes widened suddenly. “I’m genuinely surprised you didn’t get that right away, considering your…ahem, circumstances.”

Twyla raised an eyebrow, wiping the drool off of her mouth. “What do you mean by that?”

Rolling my eyes a little, I snapped, “I mean that you’re-”

“Silverfire, come here!” Maple interrupted, her gaze stern and enraged. Glaring at Twyla one last time, I stomped over to Maple, who was just about ready to leave for the school. “Look, Silverfire, you might want to tell her now about the love spell, but trust me, it’s best that you let it wear off on it’s own.”

With a sigh, I nodded in partial agreement. Even though it made sense, it would slip out of me eventually. And besides that, it just doesn’t sit right with me to leave her like that, under a spell without her knowing. Twyla came running over to us, stretching her wings. As she came by, that was when I noticed two things about Twyla- she had a few scars on her face that didn’t seem recent at all, and the fact that while she was rushing over to us, she consistently kept barging into objects that she could’ve easily dodged. Did she need glasses or something? Because that’s what happens with Hazel- she just forgets to wear them sometimes.

Twyla rubbed her head, muttering to herself. “Dang it, I should’ve brought my glasses…I can hardly see anything properly.”

“I don’t know, you probably would’ve broken them while you were running away from that dragon.” Twyla looked slightly offended, but I shrugged it off; I didn’t really care if she didn’t like that remark, since it was true. Something was off about that dragon’s behavior and a silly pair of glasses wouldn’t have made that situation any better.

She rolled her eyes in an attempt to ignore me. “I know how to take care of my glasses. Anyways, how are we supposed to get to Dragonwood Academy without another dragon trying to kill us?”

Maple raised her eyebrow, staring Twyla straight in the eye. “You’ve got wings of your own, don’t you? Isn’t that your power?”

“Do you want to be technical with the powers? Because my power technically isn’t mine, but it is. It’s…it’s confusing and hurts my head.” Glancing back at me, she loured in my direction. “And I’m not carrying him all the way there. My back still hurts and I’m not about to let him break it!”

“Twyla, Twyla- look at me. Does this look like the face of someone who wants to deal with him for a thirty minute walk?” Maple retorted, a scowl on her face. Do they really dislike me that much? I mean, I could just walk there on my own…I doubt it’ll be quick, but it could work.

After a brief moment of silence, Twyla pouted, nodding in agreement. She simply grabbed me by the wrist, dragging me out the door. Resisting the strong urge to protest, I simply let her take me outside, all the while she was occasionally squeezing her grip on my wrist, making me wince in pain. As much as I wanted to call her out for the behavior, I wasn’t quite ready to meet my maker. Maple followed the both of us out of the door, her expression dark. Was there something else off about this place that she could sense as well?

Once Twyla finally let go of my wrist, she spread her wings out, her gaze locked on the sky. Was she actually going to try and fly us over there? Will she actually be able to do it? I highly doubt it; she looks more like she’s going to drop me to the ground halfway there. Maple glanced at us, shaking her head.

“You both might want to hurry. I’ve got a mighty awful feeling about today going sour real fast…” Maple muttered, mainly to herself, though it seemed like she was talking to us too, or at least trying to. She looked up at me and Twyla, genuine concern in her eyes. “Please, if Tristan is in any trouble at all, don’t let him die. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle the stress if he…don’t let him get hurt, alright?”

Twyla turned to face Maple, giving her a curt nod. “I won’t let anyone hurt my Tristan. If they do, then they’ll be getting it alright…” Immediately she faced me, her expression full of determination. “Let’s go, then. Hop on my back, I won’t be able to carry you in my arms at all.”

Rather hesitantly, I climbed onto Twyla’s back, albeit in the most awkward way possible. Her wings were large, so I ended up attempting to wrap my arms around her neck. That was when she yelped that I was choking her, which forced me to figure something else out. Placing my hands on her shoulder and tightening my grip, Twyla simply let out a tiny grumble, but said nothing. Wrapping my legs around her waist, Twyla looked as if she wanted to smack me, but she thankfully didn’t. After some more awkward positions, Twyla stretched her wings and rather reluctantly pushed herself up in the air, her whole body shaking.

Feeling a strange twinge of pity for her, I asked, “You okay?”

“I-I’m fine,” She snapped, out of breath. “We’re wasting time talking. Let’s go.” It surprised me in the first place that she was being so serious about this, but then again, if Tristan is involved, I feel like she’ll actually take something slightly more serious than usual. Taking a deep breath, I shut my eyes. I wasn’t prepared for whatever was to come when we got to the school, and I definitely wasn’t prepared for my impending death depending on how Twyla’s mood fares this entire trip there.

Chapter 14

Silverfire-
“Finally, that took forever!” I breathed, hopping off of Twyla’s back. She groaned, folding in her wings once more. It was tempting to ask if she was okay, but I decided not to, seeing as she was still in a sour mood. Glancing around, we landed in front of the dormitory- nothing really seemed off, for now. People were still heading inside, most of them looking tired out. None of them really stood out to me- that was until I spotted Stargaze and that one girl he was arguing with yesterday going at each other’s throats again. Tugging on Twyla’s hand (okay, more like yanking on her hand), I padded over to them, wanting to see what was up.

Stargaze scowled at her. “Columbia, what do you expect me to do about it? I can’t go back into the school to look for her!”

Columbia huffed, crossing her arms. “Ivy could be in danger, and I’ll just get lost in there! Besides, the teachers are still angry with us for accidentally setting off that explosion, though it was mainly me, so you should go instead.”

“Is that your way of saying you want me dead?” He shot back, stomping his foot on the ground. “Either way, I’m not looking for your sister. If she was stupid enough to get in trouble or get lost, then it’s on her.”

Clearing her throat, Twyla glared at the both of them. “You said something about Ivy disappearing? Tell me more.” At first I didn’t get why Twyla was interested in learning about this Ivy, until I remembered that Twyla was in a different dorm than me, which made it reasonable that they would be roommates if Twyla seemed slightly concerned.

Stargaze paid her no mind, his gaze drifting over to me. “Silverfire, I can’t believe you actually skipped school. You’re lucky that this was just the first day- the school doesn’t tolerate people who skip. At all.”

“I know, and I could care less. My business is my business, and I have things to do here. Example being: Getting off of this accursed island and setting it to flames,” I growled, my sights set on the main school building. “Anyways, back to the conversation- you said this Ivy disappeared?”

The silver-haired woman nodded. “Yeah, Ivy’s my twin. Even though we fight a lot more than siblings usually do, according to most people, we still care about each other. Or maybe I just care about her. I don’t know, but apparently rumors spread around schools fast, because people have been talking about it.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. Apparently that friend of yours -Violet, was it?- went missing at the same time as Ivy. Not to mention the three other disappearances that happened about an hour ago,” Stargaze sighed, shrugging his shoulders. Violet was captured…? No, he’s lying. Violet must be smart enough to escape, and even then, I’m sure she wouldn’t go missing without a good reason. He’s lying. He has to be. “Frankly, I’m worried about them but there isn’t much I can do. Not to mention things would be rather bleak if I went with.”

Columbia rolled her eyes. “He just doesn’t want to go with because he’s a coward.”

Whipping his head around to face her, Stargaze glowered her. “Columbia, I’m not in the mood for it! Just because your powers are decorative at best, it doesn’t mean I’m the one at fault because let’s face it- I’m much stronger than you mentally and physically.”

Twyla tilted her head. “What’s wrong with her powers, then?” Columbia just crossed her arms and pouted, avoiding everyone else’s gaze.

Stargaze chuckled. “Oh, nothing. She’s just upset that the only thing she can really do is play with ribbons, which is pretty useless, honestly.”

“I hate you,” Columbia snapped, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Stargaze didn’t seem fazed by her remark, but he made it clear the feeling was mutual. Instead he glanced at me, his gaze not entirely focused; Twyla glowered him, her eyes burning with rage. Not like I could blame her- it was rather mean of Stargaze to say that about her.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Stargaze exhaled deeply. “Silverfire, you need to go save them. You and…whoever she is should go inside the school. Trust me when I say that it’s possible, but will be difficult if you don’t work together.”

Twyla spat at him. “And why should we trust you?”

“Because if you don’t get out my business, it’s more likely that your…ahem, lover will end up being dead by the time you get there.” That managed to catch Twyla’s attention, her eyes now wide with terror. A gut wrenching twinge of fright poked at my stomach. Just what was happening inside the school?

Columbia frowned. “I don’t know what you mean by that; the school wouldn’t kill anyone. …Would they?” Stargaze just glared at her, a look that asked if she was actually serious. Granted, I had the exact same reaction too- a school built on Dragonwood Isle, a place far off from the mainland and full of dangerous creatures? Yep, of course you would think the school was safe- if you were an idiot.

Twyla grabbed my hand glowered me. “Silverfire, we’re going into the school. Now. My darling Tristan could die at any minute, and Ms. Leighton said make sure he doesn’t die.”

Ignoring her, I turned to Stargaze once more. “So what are you going to tell Hazel, hmm? You know how she is about me breaking rules.”

“I’ll spin some yarn to her about you heading back to your dorm, or something. Just go!” Stargaze snapped, his eyes drifting off to Columbia’s direction. “Did you want to go with them, or no? I know you don’t want to deal with me in our dorm, don’t try to hide it.”

She simply let out a suppressed growl at him before stomping over to me and Twyla, to my surprise. “I don’t understand why you hate me so much. I never did anything to you.”

Stargaze just rolled his eyes and began walking away. “Hypocrite,” He muttered underneath his breath. I had to wonder just what exactly went down between the two of them to make the both of them hate each other so much; Stargaze really wasn’t that bad of a guy- he just isn’t that talkative and is actually pretty shy at times. Columbia was scowling in Stargaze’s direction, while Twyla was anxious to leave already.

Shaking my head in defeat, I sighed. “Let’s go.”

As I made my way towards the school’s entrance, I groaned inwardly in frustration as Twyla and Columbia began nipping at each other again. They had been fighting the entire way to the main building- several times I had to yell at them to shut up, but unfortunately, the both of them didn’t seem to get the hint. At this point I didn’t know what they were arguing about- not that I wanted to know, honestly. All I really cared about was saving Violet, maybe helping Holly and Tristan. Once I made it to the main entrance, I scowled. I knew this school was up to no good. Slamming my fist into the main doors, they came flying open, much to my surprise.

“Why wouldn’t they lock the doors- you know what? Forget it, I’m not in the mood for this nonsense,” I mumbled, walking into the school. Being greeted with a bright flash of lights, I yelped; being blinded wasn’t the first thing I thought of when imagining the school. Eventually the lights wore off, and Twyla began rubbing her head, while Columbia just blankly stared off into space. Her pupils had dilated- they were rather large compared to earlier. Her eyes seemed to be glassy, and her gaze was boring into the lights.

Twyla raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Is she dead?” Poking Columbia’s cheeks, Twyla seemed downright disturbed by Columbia’s reaction; the silver-haired woman didn’t notice her at all, her empty gaze still set on the lights above our heads. “Well, not dead but…extremely unresponsive? …Dude, that’s honestly terrifying. I don’t know if it’s safe for me to be going with you, but my darling Tristan and Violet are trapped in here. So I’ll keep at it, but you’re responsible if something happens, Silverfire.”

Rolling my eyes, I took a closer look at Columbia, who still wouldn’t respond to Twyla consistently poking her. She seemed to be mouthing something underneath her breath, but no words were coming from her mouth. Growing agitated, I frowned. We had to save Violet! …And Ivy, Holly, and Tristan too, I guess…but still! There wasn’t any time to waste with whatever this nonsense was.

Rearing my palm back, I outright slapped Columbia in the face, finally fed up with this vexation. Twyla’s gaze widened, but she said nothing, much to my relief. Giving Columbia a few moments to get herself together, she simply glared at me, though it seemed that her gaze was still rather blank, which frightened me more than I’d want to admit. She grabbed me by the collar, tightening her grip as I held back a yelp. Closing my eyes, I whimpered as she raised her fist to presumably punch me in the face. As I was ready to be hit in the head repeatedly, all of a sudden I felt something -or someone- slamming right into my side, knocking me over and into the tiled floor. Lifting my head up to see what had happened, I didn’t get why I hadn’t realized it was Twyla who tackled me earlier.

“Dude, I really need to stop saving your hide so often,” Twyla snapped, though she seemed a little amused by her statement. Glancing back at Columbia, she loured her in a frustrated matter. “We need to do something about her, if she’s going to attack you like that- I dislike you too, but I’m not that bad!”

Getting to my feet, I nodded in agreement. “Something seems off about her, though. Hopefully another slap in the face works, otherwise I’m out of ideas.”

Twyla huffed. “What is it with you and violence? But anyways, I guess it doesn’t hurt to try. I’ll hold her down, and you…well, you do you, buddy.” Ignoring her commentary, I watched as Twyla tackled Columbia, somehow having the energy to knock someone else over beside me.

Walking over to Columbia, I glowered her; she wasn’t like this before entering the school. Was it those lights? Maybe; though I don’t know for sure, the school did something to her. As Twyla held her down, I crouched down nearby her, getting ready to slap her again. Staring her down, a slight blush grew on my cheeks; Columbia was actually kind of cute, despite her frustrating behavior as of late. Ignoring that, I once again smacked her in the face, causing Columbia to yelp in pain. Drawing away from her, she tried to smack me back, but Twyla pressed harder onto her arms, keeping her from attacking me.

Raising an eyebrow, I remarked, “Well, someone’s finally come back to their senses. Care to explain why you were about to punch me?”

Columbia sighed, shaking her head. “I-I…don’t remember what just happened or what I did, all I know is that you smacked me and that ticked me off…I still want to get you back for that, though.”

“She’s back to normal, thankfully. I don’t know what that was, but we should see if any other students are still here. We could use some help saving them, as much as I hate to admit it,” Twyla confessed, folding her wings in awkwardly. Glancing down the halls, Twyla pouted a little. “Might be a little hard, though. Would anyone be here after school ended, beside teachers?”

Crossing my arms, I huffed quietly to myself. “The people who disappeared, obviously.”

Twyla whipped her head around to scowl at me. “Did I ask for your ‘all-knowing’ input?” Rolling my eyes, I began to make my way down the hallway to the right. Hopefully we’d find someone here. And hopefully, we wouldn’t die.

It had been a couple of minutes walking around the school, but thankfully, Twyla and Columbia hadn’t fought yet. Or maybe they were holding it off until we leave- they kept shooting daggers at each other constantly. Columbia hadn’t blanked out like she had earlier, which was both surprising and relieving. She still couldn’t remember much, but she constantly complained that her head hurt, either because of whatever happened earlier, or because of me slapping her in the face twice; I suspected it being both or the latter, but that was just me.

Columbia grumbled to herself. “Maybe I should’ve stayed with Stargaze after all. I’m already sick of trudging around the school, and I’m not comfortable doing it after it ends.”

Twyla snorted in laughter. “So the both of you could end up killing each other? Yeah, right. Like that would work out well. Honestly, I don’t know what happened, but I doubt the either of you have a valid reason to hate each other.”

“N-No! I do have a valid reason to be angry with him- during potions class today, he kept distracting me and the potion blew up! We have to repay that debt to the teacher, you know,” Columbia piped up, her voice weak. Something told me that Columbia was just sprouting out the first negative interactions with Stargaze that came to mind, but I decided not to mention it out loud.

After some thought, I spoke up. “You both seemed to hate each other before the school year started, though. And anyways, Stargaze is actually a pretty nice guy if you take the time to get to know him. Otherwise he’s not going to tolerate you at all; trust me, I know from personal experience.” Columbia didn’t seem to want to hear what I said, but she also seemed to be considering taking my words in mind, which was rather shocking, to me at least. “Back on the topic of the school, maybe we should try looking around the lunchroom? That’s where the disappearances of Violet and Ivy took place, after all.”

A pang of guilt hit my heart when I thought about it. I promised to tell Violet about my curse after school, and then this happens. Violet was the first friend I actually made. The first person I met here that I genuinely liked and was comfortable around, to a degree. Well, aside from her being a mind-reader, I really did like her. All because of me not wanting to go to school this happened…maybe I should’ve went to school, at least on the first day? Would that have prevented Violet getting captured? Maybe I could’ve protected her. If she’s dead…no, I really shouldn’t think like that.

“Yeah, that does make sense, I suppose,” Twyla sighed, exhausted from walking already. “This school is huge, though. Will we even make it on time in case if…if…” She was on the verge of tears, and quickly took off her glasses to wipe her tears away, shaking her head. “I won’t say it, but you all should know what I’m thinking could’ve happened.”

Although rather out of it, Columbia nodded. “I really hope Ivy isn’t gone…Mr. Stanford, Naomi, and the others would be so upset…Bright Scar, please don’t let Ivy die…” As she kept walking she accidentally ran into something, though that something wasn’t visible. She fell on her bottom, groaning to herself. “Ouch…what was that?”

Rather suspicious of what happened myself, I decided to swat at whatever Columbia apparently walked into. I expected nothing to be there- however, I almost yelped in absolute shock once I felt human flesh right in front of me, feeling the cloth of some type of shirt. What got to me even more was what happened right after- right before my very eyes, someone began to fade into visibility, allowing me to see them. At first I wanted to think it was an illusion, but it wasn’t, much to my dismay. The person right in front of me was a young man with black braided hair, red eyes, and pale, sickly skin. He had on a black and green shirt, also wearing brown pants with it. He seemed worried sick, his breath short and strained.

“Stone!” Columbia and Twyla both gasped at the same time- which confused me. Was there something that I missed earlier, or did this come out of nowhere? Either way, I was rather suspicious about this strange ‘Stone’ guy.

Stone nodded. “I-I overheard some v-voices around here, so I d-decided to investigate, since I was staying here d-doing some…extra curricular w-work. I didn’t expect t-to find anyone in h-here besides t-the teachers and those s-scary guards…”

Twyla’s harsh gaze softened, just a little. “I don’t think there were any extra curricular activities here, though. Is everything alright?” Stone seemed to consider telling them for a moment, but remembered I was with them. Twyla noticed this, shaking her head. “Silverfire is okay- you can tell him, he’s with us.” To be frank, I was a little touched that Twyla said I was okay, but I felt like she was just saying that to get information out of Stone.

“A-Alright, w-well…don’t freak out t-to much. T-The guards might overhear us.” Once Stone took a moment to look around the surroundings, he exhaled softly. “I don’t know how to start this, but…if you haven’t heard, Violet and Ivy went missing. Me, Holly, Tristan, and Jayson went to find them, but eventually gave up. The other three went to class, but none of them returned. W-Well, Holly’s a different case and technically isn’t missing, but- oh, never mind. Anyways, I was trying to figure out what happened to Violet and Ivy for most of the school day, since I can turn invisible.”

My heart skipping a few beats, I murmured, “Did you find out where Violet is?”

Inhaling deeply, Stone nodded. “Yes,” He whispered hoarsely, his eyes dark.

Chapter 15

Violet-
Groaning to myself, I slowly blinked my eyes open to feel something -or someone, I wasn’t sure- curled up around me. Sure enough, something was- in fact, it was Ivy, who was looking bored out of her mind and outright worried. Once she noticed me shifting around next to her, her dark blue eyes lightened up with joy and relief. My arms and legs feeling stiff and tired, I attempted to get up, only for me to realize that something was wrapped around my leg- of course, whoever put me here had chained my right ankle to the floor. The ground was disgusting- soot blanketed the soil, leaving a layer of dust and grim to drift around when a small breeze flew in. Coughing a little, I whimpered; just where in Bright Scar’s name was I?

“Y-You finally woke up,” Ivy mumbled, a hint of a purr rumbling in her throat. She rested her head on her hands and arms, sighing softly. “I-I’m overjoyed, but…I…I don’t know where we are, or how much time passed. You were out for a really long time- they tried to do some kind of tests on me, but I couldn’t leave you all alone.”

Admittedly, she was taking a long time, I was about ready to give in… Ivy confessed to herself, seemingly forgetting I was born during the Blood Moon. ''But those tests looked scary. Weren’t they sticking needles into some others? Some of them weren’t acting right after them, were they? I…I have family to get back to; I can’t let something happen to me.'' I shuddered at the idea of having anything stuck in me; needles with strange substances included.

Shaking my head, I whined softly. “I-It’s okay. We’re alive, a-aren’t we?” Ivy seemed to acknowledge that, though it felt like she didn’t really care. “A-Anyways, what happened after I passed out earlier? D-Do you remember?”

“I-I…not really. But that guard…he had some kind of device that he said tortures those born on the Blood Moon. I-Is…is it true? Are you a mind-reader?” Ivy whispered, shifting her head around awkwardly in her arms. Should I confirm her concerns? Maybe. But what if she wants me dead just for something I can’t control? I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised- after all, mind-readers aren’t well liked where I came from, at least. There wasn’t much of a choice, anyhow. Ivy would know all too well that I’d be lying.

Nodding, my gaze drifted away from her’s. “I-It’s true, I’m a mind-reader. I wouldn’t blame you if you hate me for keeping this from you or just by existing. Mind-readers aren’t very popular from where I’m from.”

Ivy shook her head, her tail twitching. “What? No, I don’t hate you, I just…I’m just surprised. The last Blood Moon was…what? Somewhere around seventeen years ago? Those only happen every one thousand years or so. Of course, no one knows why they’re called that unless you believe those myths, but even then it isn’t clear. I just never expected…is Twyla a mind-reader too?”

“N-No, she isn’t. Her powers kind of came out of nowhere; I asked her what happened and she flat out refused to tell me. ‘Too frightening to recount’, she said. Though our sister said she might’ve gotten some of the light of the Blood Moon when we were born, so it could be possible that her potential children could be mind-readers. It’s a mess regarding family trees from there.”

After a brief moment of silence, Ivy exhaled softly. “I wish you weren’t born on the Blood Moon. Not because of you being a mind-reader, but because…I, well…I absolutely hated having to watch you be in pain back there. I know, I know, we hardly know each other but-”

Bringing my finger up to Ivy’s mouth, I murmured, “It’s okay, Ivy. I understand, you tried your best to help. For now, we should just figure out how to get out of here…”

A smug laugh from the corner caught my attention. “There is no way out of here. We’re being kept her as playthings until they deduce…whatever it is they’re trying to find out about us.” Glancing behind myself, I noticed a bruised young man sitting nearby us, along with a girl around his age sitting next to him with a chain wrapped around her leg, glowering him intensely. As well as that, there was a girl on the far right from them, scooting away to the corner.

The girl next to him scowled. “Zachary, don’t say that. I’m sure there’s a way out of here.”

Zachary snorted. “Might as well tell them that, since the ones doing those experiments aren’t getting much sorted out. And until they’re done, we’re not leaving this place, unless you die. Yasuko, I don’t get why you want to make it seem like we aren’t suffering.”

“I’m not, I just-” Yasuko protested, only for Zachary to quiet her with a threatening glare. She folded her arms, glancing back at me and Ivy, sighing to herself. “Zach’s been really moody today, don’t listen to him. Anyways, you are…?”

Ivy pointed towards herself, forming a fake grin on her face. “Ivy Thornhill.” At first I didn’t understand why Ivy was trying to act happy- she definitely didn’t seem very joyous when I woke up. But after some thinking, it occured to me that Ivy might be even more complex than I originally thought. Maybe Ivy just wanted to seem brave to make me feel better. Maybe she was trying to convince herself that everything would be fine. I wasn’t exactly sure, but Ivy seemed to be trying extremely hard to make sure I wouldn’t hear her thoughts about why she was doing it. Regardless, I decided to try to stay out of her mind out of respect.

Lifting my head up to face Yasuko, I replied, “Violet Haynes.” Yasuko nodded at the both of us, a slightly friendly gleam in her warm-copper eyes. Aside from that, she seemed rather nervous- she wouldn’t stop fiddling with her wavy hair, which I assumed was pitch black as I could just barely see the strands of her locks. She kept sitting in different positions too, but the chain on her leg prevented her from doing much, anyways. Ivy purred at the sound of my voice.

“Violet? That’s a beautiful name for someone like you,” Ivy mumbled, her tail rubbing against my back. Resisting the urge to yelp, I simply allowed Ivy to continue stroking my back with her tail, not bothering to say a word in protest. Instead, I just rested my head on my arms, blinking slowly. How long was I out? And how long would me and Ivy be stuck in here? “Violet, you alright?”

Realizing that Ivy was talking to me, I sighed. “Yeah, I just…sorry for making you go through this. It’s my fault.”

Ivy’s gaze widened almost immediately. “What do you mean by that? I’m the one who suggested leaving the lunchroom, it’s my fault. I should’ve stepped in sooner, tried to attack that guard more, or…or something! Violet, you could’v gotten killed because of me. It wasn’t your fault at all.”

“Ivy, don’t. I was the one who couldn’t help but gawk at you-”

“Wait, you’re admitting that you did see something you liked?” Ivy asked with a teasing smirk, her whiskers twitching. With a roll of my eyes and a stifled chuckle, I only lightly hit her shoulder, earning a playful purr from Ivy. “But seriously, Vi. It’s my fault.”

Zachary groaned in frustration. “You can save all this sappy nonsense for later. Right now I want some peace and quiet. Especially considering I had to deal with those two the entire day, and I’m not in the mood to deal with two more idiots.”

Yasuko frowned, curling her lip just a little. “They just got thrown in here, Zach, can’t you try to be a little more understanding? Avery and I haven’t done a thing to you, either. Right, Ava?” The only response from this Avery girl was a simple rattling of a chain, which made me surprised. Did this girl just not want to speak? It seemed like it- she was clearly capable of talking, judging by the soft growling sound she made. Waiting for a few seconds, eventually I could hear her thoughts, though they were hard to understand.

Stupid black-haired man, he’d know nothing about peace and quiet even if it bit him on the back! She hissed inside her mind, her pinkish-blue eyes narrowed as she glowered him down. Her hair was dyed a neon green, and it draped down her shoulders- she constantly kept nipping at it, trying to get it out of her line of sight. Speaking of which, if I could I would bite him so many times, he deserves it!

After some more thought, Zachary huffed. “You only ‘understand’ them because you also are a mind-reader. Learn some decency and stay out of our minds, will you?” Yasuko only looked away from him, hurt flashing in her gaze. She was a mind-reader too? Wouldn’t that mean she was also born on the same day as me? Bright Scar, that’s weird to imagine… Zachary turned to me, his eyes coated with ice. “Anyways, I assume you’re that other mind-reader they found. Stay out of my thoughts as well, as long as you know what’s good for you.”

Ivy hissed at him, unsheathing her claws. “How do you know if she can control her powers? Why don’t you shut it and bug someone else?”

“Ivy, wasn’t it? Don’t even try it- I hate mind-readers with a bloody passion, it’ll never change,” Zachary snapped, clenching his fists. His gaze turned over to Yasuko, curling his lip. “Especially that one.” He flopped onto his side, scowling at the rest of us in the cell. “I’m going to sleep, don’t wake me up. If you’re smart, you’d go to sleep too- those people are going to make sure that no one can find us before going crazy with their experiments on us, so take the peace and quiet as you will.”

Yasuko shook her head, sighing. “Well, that’s Zach for you. Anyways, like Zach said, I’m a mind-reader. Violet, wasn’t it? I assume you share the same powers as I do.”

Lashing her tail, Ivy frowned. “How would we know if you’re telling the truth? Mind-reading isn’t a physical power; it’d be easier for you to show that you weren’t lying if you had some sort of marking, but…”

“You have a valid question, but I’m not lying. In fact, I know what you’re thinking of at this very second,” replied Yasuko, shrugging her shoulders. Ivy blushed ferociously, her gaze drifting down to the floor. Casting a brief glance at me, Yasuko chuckled a little. “It’s okay, I don’t blame you.”

I don’t think I like the fact that Yasuko is a mind-reader too…I mean, I like Violet, but… Ivy thought, curling back up next to me, blinking slowly. ''Two mind-readers is a bit too much, for me at least. If I knew of some way to block my thoughts, sure, but…'' Ignoring how Ivy felt about my powers, I simply just laid back down beside Ivy, allowing her to rest her head on my shoulder, though it was rather awkward, considering we’ve only known each other today.

Ivy grumbled softly. “Bright Scar, Violet, I’m sorry about this…if I could, I’d love to get my paws on that guard who found us, but…unfortunately, that’s not the case here.” Dropping her voice to a whisper, she muttered in my ear, “I’ll try to make this up to you, I promise. I don’t care what you think- this was my fault at your expense.”

My cheeks began to flush red just a bit, but I disregarded it. “Ivy, this isn’t your fault-”

“Yes it is!” She snapped, covering her cat ears with her hands. “Stop trying to convince me otherwise, I’m a stupid idiot who doesn’t deserve your pity. I almost got us killed, Violet. I almost got you killed. Do you think I could live with the guilt of almost leading someone straight to their death, even if I didn’t know them that well? Because I can’t.” After a brief moment of silence between us, she mewed, “I’m going to take a catnap, alright? Get some rest, too, Violet.”

Holding back the urge to argue that it wasn’t her fault, I just crossed my arms in front of me, laying down on top of them. Maybe Ivy was right about the sleep, but she was wrong to think that she was the only one guilty. I guess Ivy might be partially right, but I’m also at fault- I could’ve and should’ve done more to stop that guard. I could’ve told Ivy leaving the lunchroom wasn’t a good idea. It was on me as well, can’t Ivy understand that? Shutting my eyes, I sighed to myself- I probably should get some rest, like she said. But it doesn’t mean that she isn’t wrong.

I let out a groan of frustration when I felt someone shaking my body wildly- I wasn’t in the mood to wake up, regardless of how short my nap was. Opening my eyes, all I could tell was that Ivy had woken up and so had the rest of the people in the cell. My vision was still rather hazy- however, I could hear grunts and screams coming from some others- other people I couldn’t recognize at the moment, though it was probably because of just waking up. My vision finally beginning to clear up, I caught Zachary in my line of sight, with him trying to yank off the chain attached to his leg; Yasuko was simply sitting down, an anxious expression on her face; Avery was gnawing on her chain, and suddenly I noticed that her pinkish-blue eyes were glowing a more agitated red, which made me a little worried for her, though the glare she gave me said otherwise; Ivy was wide eyed and fearful, the bits of fur on her palms sticking up, as she had her hands on my shoulders. What was happening?

You finally woke up, it seems, A voice entered into my head. In confusion, I realized it was Yasuko after remembering she was a mind-reader too. I can only wonder how much longer you would’ve slept through the chaos if Ivy hadn’t woken you up. Blinking slowly in absolute bewilderment, I decided to try my hand at sending my thoughts back to her. I mean, if it works for her, it must work for me, right? Hopefully, otherwise I’d be an idiot for even trying.

With some hesitance, I answered, ''Well, I was rather tired to begin with. Anyways, what’s happening? Did Zachary do something to tick off the guards or whoever is watching over us?''

After a brief moment of silence, Yasuko shook her head. ''No, as surprising as that is. A group of people -students, I think- came barging into here, taking out the ones who were performing the experiments on everyone in here.'' Shocked, I had to admit that whoever was in the group of people were rather brave for trying something like that. Then I thought about it some more, and suddenly the idea that Silverfire probably came to rescue me and Ivy (most likely just me, sadly) seemed much more plausible than I had realized.

Was anyone of them thinking of how much they hate the school and how much they want to blow it up? I asked, hoping that my answer wouldn’t make Yasuko suspicious.

Raising an eyebrow, she nodded. ''Oh, yes. He was thinking about you too, Violet, though he seemed more intent on ‘making the school pay’ at the moment. The guy was rather handsome, I’ll admit, but…he’s kind of scary, honestly.''

I was about to reply, but the sound of the metal bars in front of us creaking open caught my attention, almost making me jump out of my skin. Ivy seemed to notice, with her protectively draping her tail on my back. Not questioning why she wanted to constantly share physical contact with me at a time like this (though I wasn’t entirely put off on the idea of asking her later), I glanced up to see a figure staring down at us, their face bruised. Once they stepped into the faint, flickering light above themselves, I widened my gaze, still shocked; Silverfire actually had come to our rescue. But why? We hardly know each other- and two mind-readers gone is a good thing, I’d say. Ivy narrowed her eyes, though I shook my head, signalling to her that he could be trusted. Or at least tried to.

“My Bright Scar, I skip one day of school and they throw you into a prison? Is this some kind of karma, or something?” Silverfire remarked, walking into the cell to help take off the chains on our feet. He wandered over to Zachary, grabbing his chain. Zachary simply scowled at him, like he was warning Silverfire to mind his own business. “Do you want to leave this place or no? Yes? Then let me take off this chain, idiot.”

Much to my consternation, Zachary let him take off the chain- I soon noticed that Silverfire had a key in his hands, which I guessed that was what the thing that had locked us in these chains in the first place. Almost immediately Zachary made a run for it, pushing Silverfire to the side. Scowling, Silverfire ignored it and went on to unlock Yasuko and Avery’s chains without much resistance- though Avery did swipe at him a bit. After taking them off, they didn’t run off like Zachary- instead they waited for Silverfire to take off the chains on my feet and Ivy’s feet. Ivy yanked her leg away from him once he took it off, which confused me- until I saw that Silverfire had a slight glint of resentment in his eyes. Why was Silverfire upset with Ivy? Was it because of me? I hoped not; I wasn’t anything to be angry about. Once he unlocked my chains, I gave him a small, awkward smile, which made him smile just a little bit. Getting to my feet, I sighed, shaking my head.

“You…you actually came. I’m surprised,” I whispered softly, only so he could hear. He chuckled a little, raising an eyebrow.

Silverfire shrugged his shoulders. “You’re my friend. Friends are supposed to help each other, right?” Patting my back, he leaned in to murmur, “Who’s that cat girl who was curled up next to you? Did she do anything?”

Almost immediately Ivy butted in, scowling at him. “I can hear you, idiot. No, I did not do anything to her. In fact, I tried to protect her. Of course, this is all my fault, but-”

“This was your fault that Violet got captured…?” Silverfire interrupted, a hint of rage in his voice. After a short moment of silence, he grabbed my hand, pulling me away from Ivy. “Then stay away from her. I don’t want anything happening to my friends while I’m figuring out how to get off of this island. Violet would’ve been safe had you stayed away.”

Glaring at Silverfire, I yanked my hand away from his. “Silverfire, it wasn’t Ivy’s fault, it was mine. Just leave it be, we can discuss this in our dorm.”

He mumbled in my ear, “Violet, I appreciate the advice, but you’re a mind-reader in a place where they could do several harmful things to you because those powers are so rare. Not to mention, you’re my friend. If Ivy’s been dragging you into things like this, then you could possibly die. You understand, right?”

“I do, but…I can have friends outside of you.” A flash of hurt glimmered in his eyes, and almost immediately I wanted to console him, tell him that I still saw him as a friend, but he didn’t seem all that interested in hearing it. Glancing back at the others, they seemed ready to leave. “Are you guys alright, then?”

Yasuko nodded. “Ava and I will follow you guys out. Silverfire, was it? What did you and the others do with the guards and the people in here?”

Silverfire glanced behind himself, stating, “If you’re worried about me killing anyone, then you’ll be relieved to know I didn’t. Twyla and Holly are making sure the ones doing those experiments stay knocked out; Stone and Columbia are trying to figure out what kind of info they’ve been gathering.” Holly and Twyla came here to help me as well? Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to think…they really should’ve just left us here. Really.

''Violet, don’t think like that. I’m grateful to finally be out of this filthy cage,'' Yasuko retorted, crossing her arms. ''Even though I’ll have Zach to deal with later, he’ll be fine. I hope. Anyways, Ava and I will be going to your dorm or whatever so we can discuss this in there.''

Sighing, I glanced back at Ivy, who was still rather hurt by Silverfire’s harsh commentary towards her. “H-Hey, Ivy? Will you be alright going back with us?”

Ivy’s tail was drooped, her ears flattened against her head. “I…y-yeah. Don’t worry about me, Violet.” She padded up to me, opening her mouth to say something else, but clearly thought better of it, seeing as Silverfire was giving her the stink eye still. She shut her jaws, her gaze trailing down to the floor in guilt.

Overhearing footsteps, I turned around to see Twyla, Holly, Stone, and Columbia coming over to us, relief on their faces. Avery seemed to notice Columbia first out of all of them, her gaze beaming like swaths of sunshine. Columbia seemed to notice Avery’s moonstruck reaction to her; in turn, she winked in a flirty matter back at her, making Avery blush a bright red. I just had to wonder what was so great about Columbia- until I remembered that I was rather flustered in front of her when helping her clean Mrs. Crackle’s room, which basically makes me a hypocrite, now that I think about it. Twyla’s face lit up with joy once she saw me; likewise, the same happened with Holly was well. Silverfire arched an eyebrow at Stone.

“Did you figure anything out?” He asked, tilting his head. As if debating it, Stone gave him a curt nod, his body constantly flickering in anxiety. Ivy seemed to notice this, a hint of pity in her eyes for him; though it was clear she didn’t want to say anything out loud. “Good, we can go back to my dorm to discuss it. I don’t want to stay here too long, those people you knocked out might wake up before then.”

At once Silverfire gestured for us to follow him, with him already walking out of the cell. Yasuko helped Avery to her feet, who I just noticed had a limp while trying to move. Ivy just sighed, padding up to me, an expression full of sorrow on her face. I really wanted to make her feel better- I really did. But would she listen to me now? Maybe I should’ve said something else to Silverfire about it. Maybe I shouldn’t have talked at all. Why is it that I seem to screw up almost everything with people I actively want to make friends with? As we made our way out of the grimy room that we’d been locked in, I stayed close to Ivy, not wanting to leave her behind; she was trailing behind the group, her gaze stuck on the ground. Poor Ivy- she wasn’t the one at fault at all, even if she says she is. Couldn’t Silverfire see that? Or maybe it’s just me wanting to make excuses for her; or maybe it isn’t. Walking out of the door, I almost ran into Holly suddenly when she stopped, her gaze on the ground.

Craning my neck to see, I whispered, “What is it?” Holly didn’t answer- she just moved aside for me to see for myself. Ivy stayed with me, not wanting to be all by herself. I held back a gasp once my eyes laid upon what had happened; Tristan laying down the ground, just about to pass out. Twyla seemed to notice immediately, with her rushing over to him, a frightful expression on her face. A pang of pity twisted in my chest for her- even if she’s under a spell to love him, she probably would be worried sick about him regardless; Twyla doesn’t like seeing anyone hurt at all, even if she hates that person.

Stone whimpered, his eyes wide. Getting on his knees, he murmured, “Oh, Bright Scar, Tristan…what happened?”

Rather shakily, Tristan opened his mouth, only for him to suddenly collapse with a grunt. Tears began to form in Twyla’s eyes as she shook him wildly, begging for him to get up. Stone’s reaction was similar, though he didn’t shake Tristan like she had- instead he grabbed Tristan by his arms and torso, attempting to carry him back to the dorm. At first Twyla scowled at him, jealousy flaring in her eyes, but she either forgot all about it or pushed it aside for later, deciding to help Stone out, slinging Tristan’s right arm over her shoulders. Silverfire sighed, casting a glance back at me, his gaze full of worry. Just what happened to Tristan while we were gone?