Chapter Text
I could hardly contain my excitement as the train slowed to a crawl. The train station was right outside my window and I couldn't wait to get off this train and onto Gedonelune Station. This was the start of my brand new life as a student at Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy. I had my backpack slung over my shoulders and my suitcase in hand. I'd seen the castle from the train, but right now, in the heart of downtown, I couldn't see it.
The train stopped and I jumped to my feet, rushing out of the train and onto the station. The air smelled different here than it did at home. There was a crispness that came with sea air and then of course the... train smell. Coal smell? I don't know.
Loads of people were walking around the station and suddenly, there was a knot in my stomach.
"Mr. Letter, what do I do now?"
The Acceptance Letter, who'd been asleep in my pocket, flew out of my pocket.
Acceptance Letter: "Didn't you read me thoroughly?"
"I haven't had the chance to read everything. You've either been flitting around or been asleep and I can't just grab you while you're sleeping."
Acceptance Letter: "Hmph. Well, since it's obviously my fault you didn't read me carefully, you need to go outside and find Rex."
"Rex?"
Acceptance Letter: "He's one of your prefects. Headmaster Randolph has assigned him to bring you to your part of campus."
(My part of campus…)
I wasn't going to be attending the "seen" part of the school. The part everyone knew about. I'd been selected for the secret student body of the Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy: the Night Class. It specialized in dark magic, but the elemental kind of dark magic. We weren’t doing blood magic or anything like that. But given how stigmatized any kind of dark magic was in Gedonelune, the Night Class had to be kept a secret from the general student body, which was called the Day Class.
Outside the station, the town of Gedonelune was bustling, even though it was pretty late. I’d never seen so many people in one place before. Even in the festivals my town held, the amount of people there didn’t compare to all the people wandering downtown Gedonelune. I felt like I was getting in everyone’s way just by existing. I went to stand by the Gedonelune Station sign, scanning the crowd for someone that looked around my age.
“What does Rex look like?”
Acceptance Letter: “He's got brown hair. I don't really remember him that well. Normally, the other prefect comes to pick students up, but this time he stayed behind.”
“How come?”
Acceptance Letter: “How should I know? I was just told who would pick you up and then sent to your house.”
(Wow. Thanks. So informative. And he calls me out not knowing things). I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind when a masculine voice called out my name. I turned towards the sound and saw a tall guy not too much older than me standing there, his long brown hair tied into a neat ponytail. He wasn’t dressed in the Night Class uniform, but the Acceptance Letter immediately hovered over to him, so I figured this was my ride.
Rex: “You must be the new student. I’m your prefect, Rex Blanc. It’s nice to meet you.” He stuck out his hand.
“Likewise!” I gave him a firm handshake. (Talk about formal.)
Rex: “We should get going. You’ve got a lot of things to do before classes tomorrow night.”
“Right.” With a spring in my step, I followed after Rex.
Rex: “How was the trip?”
“It was fine, thanks for asking.”
Rex: “I’m glad to hear it. Reitz is a long ways away, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. It was definitely a long train ride.”
I yawned.
“Sorry, it’s been a long day.”
Rex: “You better get used to being up all night or you’re going to be falling asleep in class.”
Already I liked Rex. He had such a sweet smile and he was making sure to ask lots of questions and make sure I was okay. This was a good sign that things were going to be okay.
“What are the timetables like?”
Rex: “Classes start around nine pm, lunch is around midnight, classes end around three am.”
“Oh, yikes. That’s pretty late.”
Rex laughed and gave me a pat on the head.
Rex: “Yeah, it’s pretty late. We share some professors with the Day Class so we need to have later times, but more importantly, we have to be active at night so the Day Class doesn’t see us.”
“Do we share the same facilities?”
Rex: “No. Our part of campus is hidden underground. Although you can get permission to go to the Day Class’ library, that's pretty rare. More likely Nox or I will just go get the book you want.”
“Nox?”
Rex: “The other prefect.”
His face clouded. (Did… Did I ask something bad?)
“Oh. The Acceptance Letter mentioned him.”
Rex: Yeah. You’ll meet him once we get to campus.”
Part of me wanted to ask when we’d get there, but I didn’t want to come off as rude. By now, we were on the outskirts of town and to my extreme relief, there was a carriage with the school’s emblem waiting. My legs felt like jello and I almost cried in relief as Rex walked towards it. He opened the door and helped me in.
For a school carriage, it looked pretty nice, but honestly I was just glad I could sit down. I hauled my suitcase in and sank into the thick padding of the seat. Rex climbed in after me, hanging out of the door as he tapped the driver’s seat with his wand. As Rex got in, the carriage lurched forward.
“Wait, where’s the driver or the horses?!”
I leaned out the window, but just like when we’d walked up to it, there wasn’t a driver or horse in sight.
Rex: “This is a magic carriage. It doesn’t need those.”
I felt him tug at the back of my jacket and my face flared with color. (Way to out myself as a country bumpkin.)
“Sorry.”
I sat back down, hands folded in my lap. But Rex didn’t look judgemental; if anything, he looked amused.
Rex: “You don’t need to look so mortified. I had the same reaction when I saw them for the first time.”
Well, that was some kind of condolence.
The carriage ride was jovial, Rex and I talking about ourselves. He told me he was from the country of Maya and going to work for the Ministry of Wizardry once he graduated. The ride felt like it only lasted a couple of minutes, the scenery changing from the lone bridge that led to the peninsula the academy was on to the campus grounds to a winding dirt road closed in by trees on all sides. Suddenly. the carriage came to a stop and Rex stood up.
Rex: “We’re almost there.”
I wasn’t fond of the idea of standing up, but Rex helped me out of the carriage and he led me into a graveyard.
“Hey, uh, I have a question.”
Rex: “I’m pretty sure I already know what it is, but go ahead.”
“Why is there a cemetery on campus?”
Rex: “It’s fake. No one’s actually buried here. This is the entrance to the Night Class’ campus. The Headmaster thought this would be a good way to keep people away. Although…”
His face clouded over again, but this time, there was a slight blush on his face.
Rex: “There’s been a few times Nox and I have had our resident ‘ghost’ come scare Day Class students who think this is a good place to have sex.”
“Ghost?!”
Rex just laughed as he opened the door to the mausoleum.
Rex: “She’s not actually a ghost. One of the Night Class students just has a messed up sense of humor and likes to pretend to be a ghost to scare people. She’s good at it, too. A little too good. But Aika keeps the Day Class students terrified of the cemetery and that’s all we need.”
Rex approached a coffin and slid the lid off. A green light emanated from the inside and through the hazy fog I could see a set of stairs.
Rex: “Careful now.”
Rex grabbed my arm and helped me down the dark stairs. At the foot of the stairs was a large foyer-like space. Candles in wrought iron chandeliers and sconces lit the whole area and what I could assume were fake windows let in pale moonlight. I didn’t get a chance to look around, since Rex kept walking down the hallway. I scurried after him. He stopped in front of a door with a tiny plaque labelling it as the Prefect’s Office.
The room seemed fairly big, but the fireplace was roaring and the warm colors that decorated the room made it seem much cozier.
???: “There you guys are! I thought you got lost for a moment there!”
A very handsome guy with midnight-black hair spoke up from his place on the couch. Rex huffed and hung up his coat.
Rex: “It takes time to travel to town, Nox.”
Nox: “I know, I know. I’m just glad you got here safely.”
He was looking at me and me alone when he said it. He waved me over and I sat down next to him. It was only then did I realize someone was sitting at the desk.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!”
The beautiful woman behind the desk simply laughed and waved her hand as if to wave my worries away.
???: “It’s nothing. This must be a little overwhelming for you.”
Rex came and sat next to me.
Randolph: “Welcome to the Gedonelune Royal Magic Academy’s Night Class. I’m Headmaster Randolph.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Randolph: “Before you go settle into your dorm room, I need to go over some rules. You may not enter the Day Class’ part of campus or interact with any Day Class students. The only time you will be allowed to enter Day Class territory is during your Judgement or during public festivals. Going into the East Forest and the land surrounding the Tower of Sorrow is also forbidden. There is no curfew, but please be considerate if you’re going to stay out late and don’t be noisy when you come back. If you want to go into town, you have to sign out with Nox or Rex first and then check back in with them once you return, but keep in mind students are only allowed to go out on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, we -”
The headmaster suddenly stopped talking as a Magic Note flew into the office. She grabbed it and quickly read it, her brow furrowing and a frown on her face.
Randolph: “Oh dear. I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this short. I’m needed with the Day Class students. Nox, Rex, please continue telling our newest student about the rules and get them to their dorm.
She stood up and gave me a warm smile.
Randolph: “I look forward to seeing you in class.”
With that, she was out the door and Nox stood up, clapping his hands.
Nox: “All right, I’ll take you to your dorm. Rex, man the fort.”
Rex: “I have to go teach a class…”
Nox: “Whatever.”
He turned to me.
Nox: “Let’s go.”
I quickly stood up, saying goodbye to Rex before grabbing my things and hurrying after Nox. He led me down the hallway and towards a large archway. It was as if gray gauze was covering the inside of it. Nox linked his arm with mine and led me through the archway. In a second, we were in the middle of a forest, and before us was a huge, elegant building.
“What.”
I didn’t even mean to say it out loud, it just came out. Nox chuckled and kept leading me forward.
Nox: “It’s a portal. We use a lot of them in the Night Class. That shed over there leads back to the classrooms.”
“So I can’t just go through that arch to get to the classrooms?”
Nox: “Nope.”
(Weird flex, but okay.) Nox entered the building and a large common room filled with various chairs and tables and sofas crowded the area. We walked over to an elevator, Nox sliding the grate open and grandly gesturing for me to enter. I couldn’t help but giggle a bit. He closed the grate after himself, pressed the button labelled “two,” and turned the hand crank.
Nox: “Turn the crank to the left to go down and right to go up. Or you can just take the stars at the far end of the building.”
The elevator whirred as we went to the second level. Nox let go of the crank and opened the grate again for me.
Nox: “All right, so our dorms are suites. You’ll share a bathroom and kitchen with others, but you’ll get your own room and your suitemates will have their own rooms. You’re in charge of keeping your spaces clean.”
A lot of doors were just propped open, showing off the hallways that suites shared. The one Nox turned into was open as well.
Nox: “That’s your kitchen, that’s your bathroom, that room is your suitemate Isabelle’s, that one belongs to Dorian and Aika, and this one is yours. Take out your wand and tap it to the door handle.”
I did as he said and when the wand touched the doorknob, it faintly glowed for a moment before subsiding.
Nox: “Your wand acts as your key. The doors automatically lock after themselves, so if you forget your wand, you’re kind of screwed. Well, you can come get me or Rex and we can open it for you since we have emergency access to the rooms, but it’s kind of a hassle.”
“Got it.”
I turned the knob and walked into my room. It was an average-sized room with average furniture. A bed in one corner, a desk with a shelf for books, an armoire, a nightstand. That was it. Even though I knew I should stay up to try and get myself used to being nocturnal, all I wanted was to go to bed. I’d been awake since six this morning and I was really starting to feel it.
Nox: “If you need anything, mine and Rex’s suite is on the bottom floor right next to the common room.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
Nox: “It’s nothing. Get settled in and tomorrow, you’ll start classes. Or later tonight, I guess, since it’s two in the morning. You know what I mean.”
“I do. I’ll see you later, Nox.”
Nox: “See you.”
He closed the door behind him and I sighed. Finally, it felt like I could have a break. I’d been going all day long. I put my suitcase on my bed and started to unpack. Despite my exhaustion, butterflies were in my stomach. This was the beginning of a new chapter in my life! Once I passed the Judgement, I’d be an official student! I just needed to work hard and prove I had what it took.
“This is it, Mr. Letter! The moment I’d been dreaming of!”
There was only silence. Confused, I opened my pocket for him to come out, but he didn’t. Although I didn’t want to, I took him out and noticed he was completely inanimate. Even more, the page didn’t have that slight glow to it like it did when it arrived. (Had he gone dormant?)
“... I’m sorry I didn’t get to say good bye.”
I placed the letter in the top drawer of my desk and quickly got to unpacking my things. I really just threw things into drawers and sloppily hung things up. I really wanted a nap. And as soon as I set my alarm clock on my nightstand, I set it for an hour and got on my bed. Fatigue settled in and yet it felt good to just lie down. I turned the lights off and closed my eyes. Just a quick nap was all I needed.
Knocking on my door woke me up from my nap far too soon. My eyes were burning, but I trudged out of bed so the musical knocking would stop. I turned on the lights and opened the door. In front of me was a girl with lots of curly purple hair and striking magenta eyes. The smile on her face could’ve put the sun to shame and she bounced into my room like it was nothing.
Isabelle: “Welcome to the academy! I’m Isabelle, I’m in the room over to your right.”
She placed a platter of cupcakes in her hands on my nightstand. I introduced myself and she came over to shake my hand. Her skin was soft like silk and her nails were neatly manicured and short.
???: “Isabelle, you can’t just barge into people’s rooms.”
I looked over at the doorway and saw a guy and girl standing there. Isabelle just laughed.
Isabelle: “Right, right, my bad.”
She turned to me.
Isabelle: “But for real, welcome!”
“Thank you.”
The girl in the doorway sighed and stepped inside my room. Her blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun and even though she had a smile on her face when she looked at me, the dark circles under her eyes told me she was probably just as tired as I was.
Aika: “I’m Aika and this is Dorian.”
(Aika… Isn’t that the “ghost” girl Rex mentioned earlier?)
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Isabelle: “Dorian, come on in!”
She said, mouth full of cupcake. Dorian rolled his eyes and stepped inside. Isabelle came over to me and shoved a cupcake into my hands.
Isabelle: “I made them just for you, our brand new transfer student! Have as many as you like!”
“Thank you, Isabelle.”
I unwrapped the treat and took a bite. The chocolate taste was sweet and strong and the cupcake melted in my mouth.
“This is great!”
Isabelle: “Thanks! I was up all morning making them!”
Dorian: “We know.”
Despite his tone, he was digging into a cupcake too. Isabelle made herself at home, sitting at the foot of my bed.
Isabelle: “So, how do you like the academy so far?”
“It’s really big, but I’m glad our part of campus is pretty small. And Rex seems really nice.”
Aika: “Good. If you get along with Rex, then you’re gonna be fine. He’s the strict prefect. Nox will basically let you do anything.”
“Oh, thank goodness…”
Yeah, that really summed them up from what I’d seen of them. I had the last bite of the cupcake and tossed the paper cup into the trash bin. I didn’t even hesitate to go for a second one.
“So what years are you guys?”
Isabelle: “I’m a second year, but Aika and Dorian are third years.”
“Oh, so you guys are almost done.”
Aika nodded.
Aika: “We’ll be free soon enough. Just one more year.”
She didn’t sound that happy about it.
Dorian: “We’ll be free if you actually pass your classes.”
Aika: “What can I say? Isabelle and I share a brain cell and she has it ninety percent of the time.”
Even though I was cringing because holy crap dude, you can’t speak to someone like that, Aika didn’t seem fazed.
Isabelle: “I don’t have the braincell, Dorian always has it.”
Dorian: “I’m going back to our room, Aika.”
He didn’t even say goodbye to me, he just walked out the door.
Aika: “Okay, I’ll be back in a few to get ready for the party.”
“Party?”
Isabelle: “Your welcoming party, of course!”
The bed creaked as she bounced up and down with excitement.
“Welcoming party?”
Isabelle: “Everyone here likes to celebrate and I personally can’t think of a better way to welcome someone into our little family than by having a party!”
I must’ve looked confused, because Aika gave me a knowing look.
Aika: “The Night Class likes to party. But Isabelle’s right. We hardly ever get new students, and getting a transfer student like you is super rare. So it’s a good reason to go get drunk on a school night.”
“We can drink alcohol?!”
Isabelle: “Well, we’re not technically supposed to. But the Night Cafe - that’s our campus’ cafeteria - serves alcohol and it’s not like Nox and Rex can check every drink.”
Aika: “Rex tries though, so if you’re around him I would really suggest not drinking around him.”
“Noted.”
Isabelle: “Well, I’ll come pick you up in an hour and we can go over to the Night Cafe together.”
Aika: “An hour? You never take that long to get ready.”
Isabelle: “I gotta call Felicity first. I promised her I’d call tonight.”
“Felicity?”
Isabelle: “My little sister. I wasn’t able to call her yesterday so I need to call home tonight and check in on her and my dad.”
It was pretty late for a phone call. Even Aika looked a little weirded out, but she didn’t say anything about it.
Aika: “Oh, right. Dorian and I might head down early, so don’t wait on us.”
She turned to me.
Aika: “It was great meeting you. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“See you.”
She left the room and Isabelle and I were alone. She got off my bed and gave me another warm smile.
Isabelle: “An hour. Until then.”
She gave me a friendly wave and went to her room. Already, the Night Class seemed so different from what I expected. My excitement was still there, but I had to admit, there was something a bit off-putting about the lack of rules. Maybe it’s just because we’re all adults here and that’s why there’s not too many rules. But still. At the very least, I knew my time here would never be boring if I kept Isabelle and her friends around.