I gave myself a once over in the mirror, admiring the dark black and gray tartan skirt, white button-up long-sleeve blouse, and black blazer with the Hiems crescent emblazoned on the right breast pocket. I was surprised by how much I liked the uniform, giving a final pull on my black tie to tighten it around my neck and pulling up my knee-high black socks. I grabbed my black leather backpack, stuffing my notebook in it.
I reread the text on my smartwatch.
Trigon Academy: Aries Vygros, please meet your assigned orientation partner in the lobby of Hiems main building at 7:45 AM.
The silence of my room faded away as soon as I joined the other students buzzing around the first-year dorm hallways, making their way to their various meeting spots.
“I was given a 10 AM slot with my orientation partner, what time is yours?” A girl asked her friend as they walked ahead of me.
“3:30.”
I frowned, realizing that we were all given different times and I had no idea who my partner would be. Once I got out of the first-year dorm and made my way through the frosty air into the main building, I was surprised to find Eros standing against the wall, doing something on his watch.
“Hey,” I waved awkwardly, making him look up.
“Aries, you’re early!”
I frowned, “You’re my orientation partner?”
“You look disappointed?”
“Not at all,” I said, shaking my head, feeling relieved that I didn't have to introduce myself to anyone new.
“I actually divided my group over the course of the day.”
“Your group?”
“Each tour guide gets assigned a group of five.”
“Who are the tour guides?” I asked, curiously.
“Basically, any third or fourth-year fae from Equipoise,” Eros informed me.
“Right,” I nodded.
“Any other questions before we start our tour?” Eros questioned, visibly amused by my sudden interest.
“Actually yes, one more,” I said, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. “How long is the tour?”
“I’ve assigned two hours per student, over the next three days,” Eros informed me, his curly brown hair and earthy eyes scanning me for approval.
My tense shoulders eased a little; only two hours of making conversation with another realmer. Two hours of having to socialize outside of my father’s approved circle.
“You ready?” Eros asked.
“Yup, where do we start?”
“I was thinking we could start at the Hiems Snowy Owl Atrium?”
“Sounds good.”
I followed closely behind Eros as he led us across the icy stones, towards the forest behind the student dorms. Passing students closely grouped, wearing different accent-colored uniforms.
“Why do they have purple and black skirts?” I asked curiously, admiring one of the groups standing with their tour guide.
“It's to tell the different houses apart,” Eros started, still leading the way. “Hiems is dark grey, Aestas green, Autumnus orange, and Ver is purple.”
Eros led me up the side of steep steps overlooking the Hiems grounds. Thick green and snowy trees lined the path all around us.
“It’s so quiet here…” I stated, unable to hear the student groups or the sound of anything but the wind brushing against the trees around us.
“It's magical, isn't it?”
“It is, it reminds me of home.”
“The snow?” Eros asked.
“The quiet...” I confessed.
“There it is,” Eros said, stepping aside to reveal a large glass building with spectacular blue birds carved all along the large dome.
My eyes widened as we stepped inside, magical frosty snow-covered trees and lush green plants were scattered throughout in a modern design. White, black, and grey owls, sat and peered curiously at me.
“Do you want to hold one?”
“Hold what?”
“An owl?” Eros frowned.
“Could I?”
“Of course, let’s go to the back, you can meet Gully.”
“Who’s Gully?”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“You’ll see.”
Eros smiled at me, signaling for me to follow him through the lush atrium and into a beautiful, wooded section with small and large boxes up in the trees.
“Did you know, the tiniest owl in all of the realms is the Elfish Owl, which only grows to be around 5 - 6 inches tall?”
“That's so tiny.”
“Yeah, which makes them easy prey for other owls.”
“Owls eat other owls?”
“Correct, they are predator birds, however here in the atrium, they have somehow adapted to beautiful serenity and peaceful behavior among the species.”
“Why are they here?” I asked.
“All our owls are injured or in recovery,” Eros said, his eyes softening. “Students in Magical Creatures class will take care of them until they can be released.”
“That's incredible,” I said, unable to hide my awe.
“This is Gully,” Eros said proudly, holding the fluffiest white owl with a burnt-orange ring around his face.
“He’s so—”
“Adorable?” Eros interjected.
“Yup, that covers it.”
Eros walked closer, placing the small fluffy owl in my palms, softly brushing his hand over mine as he released it.
“He’s a baby barn owl, his mother was hunted and killed.”
“By what?” I asked, still captivated by the fluffy creature peering at me.
“No idea.” Eros shrugged. “If you put him down, he will walk around on his two legs. Baby owls work on developing their muscles by walking first, before flying.”
“How do you know so much about owls?”
“I read a lot,” Eros admitted bashfully.
I smiled nervously, petting the little owl's head, and allowing it to climb up my shoulder and nestle under my purple ponytail. Well aware that I was feeling happier, and more unguarded than I should be.
Eros glanced down at his smartwatch. “We have an hour and fifteen minutes left, which means we should probably head towards the temple, hit the Tranquil Gardens, and finish off at Autumnus House.”
I nodded again, holding in the urge to giggle from Gully’s fluffy feathers tickling my neck. Eros walked over, gently reaching under my ponytail to grab Gully, placing him back into the small wooden box.
“Bye Gully,” I waved at him, peeking out of his box.
“This is the Angela? Temple, right?”
“You’ve been here?” Eros asked, surprised.
“This is where we ascended,” I said, looking around the marble statues and taking in the beauty of the temple again.
“How was it?”
“Intense, scary.” I shook my head, before smiling. “Yet, peaceful.”
Eros’ watch started buzzing, pulling him from our conversation. My eyes danced over his face as he typed furiously on the small screen, scowling deeply.
“I guess you’re stuck with me for another two hours if you want?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious.
“My 10:00 AM ate something she wasn't supposed to, so I guess she tapped out of my tour. You can say no?”
I could feel the urge to say no rise up within my body, wanting to avoid any more time with other realmers, but a part of me also liked hanging out with someone that seemed really nice and didn't judge me for being a Vygros.
“I’d like that, thank you.”
Eros shrugged. “Awesome. Well, seeing as you’ve been here, do you want to move on to the Tranquil gardens?”
“Yeah, but I have to tell you that all first-year students went there last night as well.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, but it would be good to see it in the daylight.”
Eros led us down the marble stairs towards the back of the Temple.
“Well, if it isn't Ms. I’m-too-good-for-anyone, Vygros,” Mara said, heading in the opposite direction Eros and I were.
“Mara, right?” Eros asked in a friendly tone, but she ignored him, not shifting her eyes from me.
I frowned, uncomfortable in my own skin.
“Hope the Mesial’s tour is suitable for a princess,” she taunted, rolling her eyes.
I stayed quiet, not wanting to get into it with her, especially not knowing all the details of how my family treated others in our realm.
Eros was about to say something when I shook my head subtly. “Leave it.”
Mara shifted past us, “Awww, the princess already has a protector, imagine that, a filthy Mesial.”
Eros opened his mouth, but I pulled on his arm. “Let’s head inside,” I suggested, walking past him, crossing a thick green threshold of hedges. The Tranquil Gardens were lush and vibrant, exuding fresh spring colors. Tall hedges cut off the gardens from the rest of the school, allowing silence to fall, as though we were in the middle of nowhere. The colors and greenery popped in the sunlight.
“What was that about?” Eros asked.
“Nothing.”
I could see Eros didn’t believe me but chose to leave it.
“It’s so quiet,” I murmured.
“There are silence shields around the gardens, creating the tranquility that you are experiencing right now.”
I gazed around, the floral smells filling my senses. Everything about the gardens was incredible, the smell, the green, the silence that enveloped me.
“I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Really?” Eros asked.
“We have a lot of ice where I'm from.”
“Right,” Eros smirked, looking embarrassed. “I should've remembered.”
I could feel my expression softening. Eros was sweet, and kind in a way I never expected fae from other realms to be.
“Do you want to head to Autumnus?” I suggested.
“Let’s do it. If you liked this, you’re going to love Autumnus.”
I gave Eros a genuine smile. We took a left out of the back exit at the Tranquil gardens, and headed over a stone bridge, entering a kaleidoscope of oranges, reds, greens, and browns.
“This is…” I stuttered, unable to say another word as my eyes shot from one thing to the next. The Autumnus dorms were large wooden cabins on stilts. Red, orange, and brown trees scattered across the terrain, amplifying the wind dancing through the trees, sweeping through piles of dead leaves and lifting them into the air.
“This is my favorite season,” Eros whispered, allowing me to stay in my moment of awe.
“It's so vibrant.”
Eros sighed. “It is. I also like to think that it signifies that even if something is dying and reaching the end of its life, it can still be beautiful until its last moment.”
“That's beautiful,” I whispered, making eye contact with Eros.
The wind danced around Eros’s brown curls, bouncing them lightly as the leaves swirled around us. Even though Eros was a Mesial, I felt at peace around him. My guard was dwindling at the thought of making a friend, as wrong as it seemed. If my father found out, it would have dire consequences.
