The Crown and The Rose
Chapter 11: S&E

Chapter 11: S&E

The Crown

"Our school grounds are vast, so please try not to lose your way," Seraphina says as she leads me toward the inner grounds of the academy. She is barely a few inches shorter than me and her black shiny hair is dancing behind her as a gust of hollow wind hits us.

Today, I tied my hair into a tight bun, only some strands in the front are hanging loose. They refuse to stay in place. And the horns Phillip has fixed on either side of my head are too small to notice. I don’t want to attract any unwanted attention that could be the death of me.

The sky is clearing up and the weather is getting chilly. It means that the night is closing in. I have never seen a night as beautiful as the night here in the human realm. It’s magical here -the night.

"Where are we going now?" I ask, masking my wariness with a bland look. Edward is quietly following me and sharply keeping his eyes on everything around us.

The hall we are passing through is dark and eerily silent. It is not that dark to blind you but it’s just enough to conjure some nonexistent shadows and make you mull over whether there is something there or not. Our footsteps are echoing through the hallway as we make our way through. There are different kinds of animal-designed curved pillars slithering up from the chest of the ground and molding onto the high ceiling by the sides of the hallway. Dragons, wolves, snakes, foxes, phoenixes etcetera.

"Night is about to fall, so for now I will show you two of your dormitories and you can explore the other areas tomorrow. The curfew starts at nine in the night after dinner."

We enter the inner grounds which are practically bustling with students. When we enter the grounds some of them notice but they treat us like air as we move through them. Everyone is talking with each other warily and their guards are up as if they relax even for a moment their throat will be sliced.

The three castles are linked together from the inside. The longest castle is almost I think ninety feet tall and the other two are seventy-five feet. Two old three-story buildings are standing at the end of the spacious ground. They are overshadowed by the main castles. We approach the buildings.

"These are the dormitories." Seraphina halts as she explains, "One of you will be staying here." She splays her hand toward the building standing on our left. "It’s the boys’ dormitory."

The two buildings look particularly the same but the boys’ seems a bit larger than the girls’ one. The huge entrance of the building is open and students are scattered around here chatting among themselves. Everyone’s body is wrapped in tight navy blue clothing. Everyone is barely wearing something to cover their body. Barely some of them are dressed properly. And Seraphina is one of them.

She is wearing black shorts and a navy blue pressed shirt, neatly tucked inside her shorts. Two golden tassels adore her shoulders and they are filled with stars. I wouldn’t expect any less from the student council president.

"And what about the other?" I ask, frowning slightly.

"As you already know," Seraphina spins around with a smile etched on her face, "there have been three students gone missing this month and nobody knows their whereabouts. So, their rooms have been sealed. Nobody is allowed to go there so we are short on rooms. This is why one of you will have to settle down at the girls’ dormitory with me for the time being."

"This is ridiculous." I retaliate, "A man cannot live among girls all by himself."

"You need not worry, Jonas." Seraphina reassures, "One of you will be my roommate and I will watch over your every movement and behavior. So which one of you will be staying with me?"

So she is already suspicious of us? She is sharper than she looks.

It’s maybe because of my magic. As a light magic user, I shouldn’t be surrounded by dark auras. It would just increase my possibility of being detected. I would have been detected already if Phillip hadn’t given me that potion and that earth magic stone.

The mana suppressant potion helps one to suppress their mana power. It dims and irregulates the flow of magic in our veins. And magic stones allow you to use different kinds of magic that you do not wield. The higher the magic ability the stone contains the more costly it becomes. And I’ve brought the earth magic stone which is common so that I won’t catch any attention.

The most costly magic stone is the ice magic stone which is a very rare attribute to find. Phillip suggested that I have it because it will increase my probability of survival here. But I refused because I knew it would only draw me more attention than I needed.

It will be good for me if I live in the boys’ dormitory. It will help me gather as much information as I need and I will be able to avoid Seraphina too. But the problem is, that Edward is very bad with women. He will die if I leave him there alone. So, I have to go and live with Seraphina.

"I will go and live with you." I step forward, and my resolve steeled.

"Your H-I mean Jonas..." Edward stutters, "If you are uncomfortable with it I can also stay there. You don’t have to push yourself."

"No I am fine, and who wouldn’t want to live among the girls?" I manage a strained smile, "It’s like a dream come true."

Seraphina takes me in with a sharp gaze before answering, "Very well. Edward, go inside. Your supervisor will show you your room and give you your schedule."

"Understood president." Edward nods his head strained and inhales deeply. He looks at me briefly before striding inside.

Now I am hella worried about him. I just hope he will be alright. Perhaps I should be more worried about myself, having willingly walked into the tigress’s den.

"Let us go now," Seraphina smiles, "Jonas." Her words pierce my soul, making me feel exposed like I am standing in direct sunlight. There is not even a single piece of clothing to cover myself. She is looking at me as though she can see directly through me.

"Of course." I smile back at her, definitely not letting her see how she is flashing torches underneath my skin.

I follow her inside the dark building. The candles by the walls barely illuminate the hallway, enough to make your mind play tricks on you. You can never differentiate your imagination or reality here.

Very few girls are making their way in and out of the building. Their eyes briefly stop over Seraphina before falling over me. Their eyes sparkle with amazement and greed as they observe me pass by. They think that I am their prey but little do they know that I already have a predator who will save me for himself.

We reach a spacious dull common room. The room is filled with chatter and cheers and round tables line the room. There is a staircase at the side of the common room that leads upstairs. Seraphina inclines her head a little, gesturing for me to follow her upstairs. I do as she indicates me to and climb up the stairs, dragging my heavy stack with me.

Several rooms are lining up here and a spacious polished marble corridor. The black marble floor is polished so brilliantly that I can even see my reflection here but somehow the black marble is only adding another layer of dread to the floor. There are numbers curved over the doors in black strokes. But Seraphina doesn’t stop and climbs higher. I follow her without complaining. We stop at the third floor. This floor is a bit different than the other floor. There is a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, making the floor illuminate with a reddish glow.

Seraphina approaches a door marked as S&E. She swings open the door with a tap of her finger.

"I have another roommate. Her name is Eliana." She walks into the room and I follow her inside.

The room is neither too small nor too big. It’s just the way it should be. There are two bunk beds, two on each side of the room. The room is lit by a small flickering hurricane set on the table. The sun has already set and the moon has taken dominance over the horizon of the sky. Gust wind is filtering in through the window by the table.

"She is currently out but she will be here soon." She walks to the window and shuts it off. "She and I are using the right side of the room. You can use the left side. And about your bathroom, you have to go to the boys’ building to do your stuff. And here is your schedule." She hands me a piece of yellowish paper, her smile is never fading and that smile is making my stomach scrunch.

"Thank you." I slide my stack down my shoulder and take the parchment from her hand.

I know I was in trouble the moment I agreed to share the room with her. She is a piece of bad news for my mission. Is this why Vermilion sent me here instead of Phillip to take care of her? I don’t know but I will know soon enough. The good thing is I have a chance to slip into the boys’ building without piquing anyone’s suspicion.

I take in a deep breath internally, calming my racing nerves. I have got this.