Chapter Text
Whispers were coming from the mirror again, calling for her.
No… Go away… Claire struggled to resist, but the pull was just as strong as last time, dragging her closer and closer. As she slipped into the mirror, she felt something grazing her cheek. It was light and shapeless.
Was that the wind? When she opened her eyes, she was standing in the grasslands where hundreds of elephants, giraffes, antelopes, zebras, monkeys, rhinos, and other savanna creatures congregated and stood side-by-side. They were all staring intently upwards just as dawn was breaking through the thick clouds.
She followed their gaze and noticed a giant rock formation with a section jutting outward like a diving board. It was the only structure for miles on end.
Pride Rock… The same voice from before whispered to her.
The chatter among the animals immediately quelled as they spotted a giant male lion coming up to the edge of Pride Rock. He stared off into the distance as if he was waiting for something – or rather someone.
Almost on cue, a small bird with a large bill flew through the sky before landing in front of the male lion. To Claire’s surprise, the bird bowed down low to the ground with its wings stretched out before quickly flying off. Although the lion gave a warm smile, he merely gave a quick nod and looked back out into the horizon where a large monkey slowly made its way to Pride Rock. It was unlike any Claire had seen. It stood as tall as the lion and had a white beard that surrounded his blue-and-red face. In its hand, it carried a wooden walking stick with fruit tied at the top. All the animals nearby quickly gave way and bowed as it passed them.
The monkey slowly and methodically came to see the lion by the more old fashion way - climbing all the way up Pride Rock. To Claire's surprise, once it reached the top, it immediately opened its arms wide for the lion, and the two unlikely animals embraced each other like dear old friends before walking off, away from view. The two came back quickly with the monkey taking the lead this time. He carried something small in his arms, and even though it was too far to make out what it was, the animals around her tremble with excitement.
With a nod of approval, the monkey raised the bundle up into the sky for all to see – a small lion cub. Instantly, as if on cue, the sun broke through the clouds and shined onto Pride Rock. The animals roared in approval and stomped their hooves and feet in approval and excitement. They spoke in a tongue that Claire didn’t understand, but the voice inside her head did.
Simba… The next king…
Sunlight peaked through the curtains and cast a subtle warmth inside the room. Claire slowly opened her eyes as Grim continued to snore next to her. As her only roommate and living residence in the Ramshackle Dorm, he was a rather large gray cat-raccoon hybrid monster who can shoot out blue fireballs and almost burnt down the building once. The two had met under unusual (and fiery) circumstances and now started their lives as joint students at Night Raven College – a prestigious all-boys institution for the magically gifted. Even that situation itself was unusual because not only were Grim and Claire, respectively, the only monster and only female enrolled here, but Claire is also the only one ever in the history of this college to be accepted without a single drop of magic in her blood.
The situation was unheard of and quite peculiar, but then again, Claire’s circumstances were peculiar.
“Take that,” Grim mumbled as he punched the air and smacked his lips, “Do you understand the Great Grim’s power?”
Claire shrugged off the blankets and sat up on her bed. She glanced over at the mirror that hung above the mantle. Although it wasn’t foreboding, she hadn’t dreamed like that since that incident with Heartslabyul concluded. Was this one warning her of something else to come? Or was her mind just messing with her?
Animals celebrating the birth of their new king didn’t feel like a warning – more like something to be happy about.
“I showed that Riddle…” Grim mumbled from the blankets.
Shaking her head, Claire decided to push her worries aside and reached over to wake up her roommate.
“What?” he mumbled as he slowly opened his bright blue eyes. “Oh, it was a dream? I thought I defeated Riddle and became the greatest mage ever…” He looked so disappointed now.
“We’ve been through a lot already. I say you’re already one step closer,” Claire said as she got ready. She combed through her brown hair and tied it into a loose wavy ponytail before heading to the bathroom. After doing her daily cleansing, she changed into an old-fashioned Victorian pleated dress with a high-collared frilly white blouse.
Even though there wasn't technically a rule that females couldn't come to this school, Claire was the first in sixty-odd years, and the outdated uniform the headmaster had given her was in dire need of an upgrade, especially after going through a magical duel where she was almost burned and drowned to death. The hems had frays and the rips and tears were poorly sewed up by her amateurish hands, but she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to talk with the headmaster about getting a new set of clothes.
“You got your homework, Grim?” Claire asked as she fumbled to form a bow around her neck.
“Yup!” Grim said, shoving his hastily written schoolwork into Claire’s secondhand bookbag, “Let’s hurry and go get breakfast!”