The swirling black portal disappeared. My stomach still felt a little queasy and when my head finally stopped spinning, I looked around. In front of me was a dense forest, an unfamiliar cool breeze played with my hair, and the smell of damp, dewy leaves tickled my nose. A sound behind me caught my attention and I spun around to find a few students talking to a petite girl with a short brown pixie-cut hairstyle. What drew my interest though were her irises, they were incredibly beautiful, a small part of them sky-blue and the rest hazel brown with specks of green. I had never seen eyes like that, she must be from one of the other realms. Besides her eyes, she seemed normal, like any other fae back in Leukós. Why did I expect them to look different? I pulled out my pocket mirror and fixed my hair. The other students left, and I walked forward, unsure where to go next.

  “Hi, I’m Zion. Welcome to house Ver. Your name please?”

  “Hi, Zion, lovely meeting you. I’m Oriel Aurora Donahue.” I gave her a sincere smile, but she ignored my attempt to be friendly and just pointed to an enormous tree behind her.

  “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what realm are you from?”

  She gave me an icy stare. “Equipoise.”

  I took a moment to inspect her irises. “An earth fae, beautiful eyes.”

  “Just stand in front of the door and say your name, it will give you a room number and enchant your room to only open for you. Your suitcases will be there when you arrive.”

  I gaped at the tree; how did I miss that? Its trunk was huge and there were windows embedded in the bark. The branches stretched out above the top row of windows, reaching over our heads, the leaves varying between the most beautiful pink and purple hues. Breathtaking. But the idea of me living in a tree? No way.

  “I’m sorry, Zion, but it must be a mistake. I don’t think living in a tree is my thing. Do you know how many bugs there are in trees?” Not to mention the size of the bugs that must live in a tree like that.

  Zion frowned. “This tree is bug-free. If you have any problems, you can take it up with the faculty later. We will give the students time to settle in today, there will be an official house meeting Wednesday night where we will discuss house rules, socials, and competitions with other houses. If you have any questions or need help, you can ask at the student information desk which you’ll see as soon as you enter the house.” She turned her attention to the portal that opened behind me.

  “Thank you, Zion. Erm, it is just that—?”

  “Not to be rude Oriel, but there are other students that would like to get to their rooms and settle in.” She gave a pointed look to the students behind me.

  And here I was expecting only the Tartarean to be openly rude. Weren’t Mesial from Equipoise supposed to be wise, calm, and collected?

  “Yeah, sure. I look forward to seeing you around Zion.” I started walking towards the tree but then turned on my heels. “Sorry Zion, how did you say I’ll get my room number?”

  “The door will tell you your room number when it opens.”

  “The door.”

  “Yeah, apparently each house has its own way of assigning room numbers,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  I shook my head and chuckled, then made my way to the tree. My feet came to rest before the heavy wooden doors. A frown settled on my forehead and I cleared my throat.

  “Oriel Aurora Donahue.” I smiled, feeling like a complete idiot. Spring blossom petals swirled around me, starting from my ankles and moving up around my body, lifting my hair high above my head. In a blink of an eye, the swirl was gone, and my hair fell on my face. I tried to tame the mess, but I was pretty sure I looked like a Manticore with a puffy tangled red mane. I sighed.

  The door opened with a groan and a croaky old voice came from nowhere. “Room 412.”

  I gaped at the door. Holy minotaur, that was crazy magic.

  The inside of the tree was nothing like I expected; clean, stylish and the decor mirrored the colors of the tree outside – browns with purples and pinks. To the left was the student information desk, to the right comfortable chairs, a fireplace, and right in front of me was a staircase framed by dark wooden banisters with small vines and flowers intertwined between the posts.

  Ascending the stairs, I walked past groups of students talking excitedly. I smiled and said ‘hello’ as I walked by, sometimes not receiving any response. However, no one appeared odd or out of place, and I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. No pointy ears or crazy weird hair, not even their clothes were unusual. Maybe they had funny-looking toes.

  Halfway between the third floor, a group of fae ran past me, bumping me into the wall.

  “Do you mind?” I huffed.

  The boy at the back of the group turned around and glared at me with his earth eyes. Another rude Mesial.

  “Are you alright?”

  I glanced up into a pair of glittering red irises; a Tartarean. “I’m good, thanks.” The girl didn’t return the hesitant smile I gave her, but at least she wasn’t as heartless as everyone said Tartarean would be. She turned and walked away leaving me baffled. Were any of the rumors about other realmers true?

  Reaching the fourth floor, I followed the sign saying rooms 410 to 420 to the left. My fingers wiggled nervously as I stood in front of the door to my new room. The moment I touched the knob, the door swung open and I slowly stepped inside. It was much smaller than my room back home, but it would do. Two large windows let through plenty of light, there was a single bed and two bedside tables against the opposite wall, a comfortable chair in front of one of the windows, a desk with bookshelves, a reasonably sized dresser, and a bathroom with a shower and tub. The furniture was all dark wood, fitting in with the house décor, but the carpets and walls were neutral, allowing for each student to put their stamp on the room.

  A mountain of suitcases was neatly stacked in the middle of the room. My eyes rested on the gray suitcase on the left. That morning I had received a package from Zyron with the most beautiful winter jacket imported all the way from Mount Brumal in Tenebrous. I had no idea how he had managed that – the realms didn’t trade at all. Thinking of Zyron made my stomach turn. I never had the freedom to do what I wanted while growing up, and I wouldn’t have any freedom when I got back to Leukós, so I promised myself that I would do everything here. Join every party, club, and group. I felt like I had to cram an entire lifetime of living into the next five years. A heavy sigh escaped my lips.

  I walked over to the desk; a letter rested on top of two boxes.

  “Dear student,

  Welcome to Trigon Academy of the Arcane Arts. You are about to embark on one of the biggest adventures of your lives and the Faculty of Trigon would like to make this an experience unlike any other.

  You will find a ‘10th Element Smart Watch’ and ‘10th Element Notebook’ on your desk. Your devices will be linked to your room, and your profile will automatically be updated once you switch it on.

  Here at Trigon, your safety will be our priority, and therefore we will not allow any student to leave the campus or have contact with any fae from any realm outside the campus. Communication with parents will be allowed at predefined dates and times and these schedules will be distributed during your first week at Trigon.

  Your Smartwatch will have an interactive map of the campus, your daily schedule and will allow you to send short text messages to your peers at Trigon. Your Element Notebook will be your main study resource and must accompany you to all theoretical classes. It will also allow you to connect with friends, clubs, and study groups on various safe applications.

  You can now settle in and explore the campus at your own leisure for the rest of the day, dinner and snacks will be available at the cafeteria, The Zone, until 9 pm.

  Please study your schedule and ensure you’re in time for your first day of orientation tomorrow. School will officially only start next week.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Please read the rules and guidelines of the campus, attached, before wandering outside your allocated house.

  Reminder:

  All first-year students, are to attend their ascension in the Angeal?l Temple at midnight.

  Kind Regards

  The Faculty of Trigon Academy of the Arcane Arts”

  I turned the page to find a long list of rules. “Blah blah blah.” No time for rules, I threw the paper on the desk, pulled out the smartwatch, and made my way outside. The map opened on my watch; the main campus was surrounded by a moat with five bridges, four leading to the houses, Ver, Hiems, Aestas, and Autumnus, and the fifth to the faculty housing. One of the closest places to House Ver was the Magical Creature enclosures. My heart sank, I missed all the critters I had to leave behind. I hoped my father would remember to massage Ava’s front paw as I asked. She was past her prime and had been struggling with arthritis for a while, the poor lava bunny. Taking a deep breath, I set the enclosure as my destination and followed the device’s directions. The path went through a cluster of trees and reached a wooden bridge that went over the moat. The bridge was old, covered in moss, and creaked as I made my way over it.

  I walked straight until I reached The Zone, turned right, and walked past the Herbology building. The Magical Creature enclosure’s walls were high, and I couldn't see anything beyond it. Even the gate was solid. Urgh, this sucked.

  Turning around, I studied the Herbology building. It was glass from top to bottom, the rooms filled with plants of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I studied some of the odd-looking plants as I wandered down the path.

  My watch beeped.

  “No. Stupid watch.”

  There was a blinking battery on it, and due to the low battery, I could not access the map. I should have charged it for a while before switching it on. “Oh, Griffin shit.”

  The campus didn’t appear too big, so I was sure I would be able to find my way back. In front of me was a wooden sign; did I want to go left to Hiems or right to The Main Building? I turned left. As I crossed over the moat bridge, the landscape in front of my eyes transformed into a white wonderland. Snow fluttered around, ice crystals draped off the tree branches and although the air was crisper and the wind much cooler than what I was used to back in Leukós, it wasn’t cold at all. Leukós was always humid and unpleasantly hot, so this weather left me feeling refreshed and alive. I wandered off the path, touching everything and, before I knew it, I was lost. I couldn’t see past the tall frosty trees. The snow obviously wasn’t real because my feet didn’t leave any footprints behind, so I couldn’t even retrace my steps. I bounced around in frustration and kicked at a tree. Who gets lost on their first day? I am such an idiot.

  A rustle behind me made me jump and I turned to find a girl standing between the trees. She had long, straight blackberry-colored hair, tanned skin, and her eyes were blue and purple with light turquoise watermarks. We stood eye to eye, and she glared at me like I’d just eaten the last sugar cookie at the Fire Fae Baking Fair. I smiled warmly and let out the breath that was stuck in my lungs.

  “Holy elements, you scared me.”

  “Sorry,” she focused on her watch and walked away.

  “Hey, wait up,” I shouted and hurried after her. “So, are you a water fae from Tenebrous?”

  She made a growling sound. Not used to reactions like that from fae, I frowned.

  I continued. “Does the growl mean you are not a water fae or that you’re not from Tenebrous?”

  Still, nothing.

  “My name is Oriel, and I’m a fire fae from Leukós. Are you in Hiems?”

  Silence.

  “I’m in house Ver, and I’m living in a huge tree. An actual tree. Weird right?” I smiled at her and walked a little closer so that I could see her reaction. She growled again and I started to giggle.

  “You remind me of Fozzie, my puppy from back home. He is a furball with an attitude and growls at everything.”

  Her eyes widened, and she sped up, even more, to put some distance between us. I jumped over some shrubs and ducked under a branch to keep up with her. “Is it a Tartarean thing? I mean should I growl if someone from Tenebrous asks me something?”

  She mumbled something and then said a little louder over her shoulder. “I’m tired, can you leave me alone now?”

  I ducked under another branch, and said, this time sounding more serious. “I like you. Where I’m from, everyone is overly friendly and you never know if they are sincere or plotting your demise behind their friendly facade. At least you're open about your feelings. I’m sure we’ll end up being good friends.”

  This time I got an eye roll and she started tapping something on her watch. Oh, her battery lasted this long. Why do I always get the shit piece of tech? As she swiped over her watch, I saw her profile name. Aries. We reached a path and she turned left to where I could see a few snow-covered buildings that must have been Hiems. If I went right, I should find the main campus.

  As she sped down the path, I shouted extra loud “It was nice to meet you, Aries, I look forward to our next walk, perhaps we can play fetch then? I give good belly rubs too!” I laughed. A part of me liked how angry she got when I teased her about the growling, but if I had to be completely honest, I felt a connection towards her, like maybe I knew her in a past life or something. Strange.

  The tension left my shoulders as the snow started to lessen and the moat bridge came into view in front of me. I followed some of the signs to the Zone, got some, food, and headed back to House Ver. The stairs were busy, and I had to stand to the side to let some fae walk past. On the third floor’s landing, three fae were blocking the way. There was a tall guy with golden blond hair standing with his back to me, and two girls giggling and blushing at whatever he was saying.

  My lip curled. “If my food gets cold, you’re buying me new food.”

  They moved aside and, without looking their way, I squeezed past them and turned to take the next flight of stairs.

  “Hello, Oriel.” I recognized the voice and spun around with a huge smile on my face.

  “Troy!” I marched over and hugged him, he patted my back uncomfortably and stepped back as soon as he could, raking his hand through his hair. I laughed. “Don’t tell me you still hate hugs?”

  “Yes, I do.” His blue swirling energy eyes avoided mine. He was taller than me now, but he was still my childhood friend, same old Troy. He said goodbye to the two girls and walked up the stairs with me.

  “I haven’t seen you in, has it been three years?”

  “Yeah, three years. You all stopped coming to the get-together.”

  My father and his four high school besties used to spend three weeks together each summer, and the tradition continued after they got married and had children. Although there were other siblings in the families, five of us – me, Troy, Aliya, Ziya, and Ash – were around the same age and spent those three weeks together every year.

  “Yeah, my mother told me about the get-togethers stopping. I was heartbroken.”

  Troy frowned. “No, we still meet every year.”

  “Oh.” My brow furrowed.

  “Maybe your mother didn’t want you and your sister to be influenced by common folk?”

  I snorted. “I am not surprised by that, are the four of you still close?”

  “No. Well, Ziya, Ayla, and Ash are still inseparable, but because I only see them once a year, we drifted apart.”

  Leukós had four sectors; Mount Allerrane, The Whispering Winds, the Vows, and Grimcroft Cove. I resided in the Mount Allerrane region, Troy from the Vows and Alya, Ziya, and Ash from the Whispering Winds.

  I pointed at the food in Troy’s hand. “Do you want to catch up over dinner?”

  “Yes, which floor are you on?

  “This one,” I said as the 4th-floor landing came into view.

  “Lead the way, Ms. Donahue.”

  The suitcases still took up most of the floor space in my room, so I settled on the bed and he went to sit on the chair, using the pile of suitcases to rest his feet on. He tapped his heel against one of the suitcases.

  “Oriel, you know we are going to wear school uniforms most of the time, why do you need so many things?”

  “Because, you have to be prepared, and every outfit needs a pair of shoes and accessories.”

  “Some things never change; I remember when we went on holiday, we would all have one suitcase and you would have three and an extra bag.”

  “I wasn’t that bad.” I giggled as the flashbacks of me trying to carry all those suitcases came rushing back to me. “Do you remember that one year when my suitcase flew down the stairs and crashed into Ash? He was angry for days.”

  “Ash was always angry at us over something.”

  “We were a good team. I guess the three of them were probably happy when I didn’t show up anymore.”

  “Yup.” He dangled a French fry between his fingers. “But I missed you. It just wasn’t the same without you.”

  “I missed you too, Troy.” Silence fell over the room. “At least we have five years to make up for it.”

  He finished his food and stood up to throw the empty container away, then came to take mine which I threw on the bedside table.

  “Are you still so messy?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I was never messy.”

  “Yes, you were.”

  “You’re a neat freak.”

  “Oriel, there were more clothes on your floor than in your suitcase.”

  “Oh yeah, and I remember it bothering you so much that you never came into my room.” I smiled at the memory.

  Unzipping one of my bags, I took out a few pairs of pants and threw them on the floor. His eyes roamed over the pants and his left eye twitched slightly. “Does it bother you, Troy?”

  “No.” He leaned back on the bed, a few seconds ticked by, and then he jumped up. “Ok, fine. It bothers me. Just pick it up, it’s going to get wrinkled.”

  As he picked it up, I threw more out, laughing. Troy playfully tackled me, making the whole suitcase flip open, sending clothes flying in every direction. It was only my first night at Trigon, and I had already laughed more than I had in the past three years combined.