CHAPTER ONE - THE BEGINNING OF THE END

I’ve been having the same dream almost every night. In it, I’m in a fantastical land where everything is a bit more colorful and brighter than real life. I can run for miles and miles and not feel tired at all, and I feel graceful for once– I don’t stumble or fall no matter how fast I run. No matter which direction I go, I eventually end up at the edge of an impossibly tall cliffside. Beneath it is a huge void, it’s pulling everything around inside it and even I feel drawn toward it. There’s a nice breeze, and I’m tempted to take out my wings and soar through it, since taking out my feathers doesn’t hurt like it usually does in real life.

Everything feels nice, of course, but that void is impossible to ignore and it’s growing bigger. And I feel uneased deep down, like this is all too good to be true. Despite that voice in the back of my head telling me something’s wrong, this dream is still better than the typical nightmares I usually have. If I had my way, I’d stay in this place forever, but…

“Hong, wake up,” an all-too familiar voice echoes from reality, tearing me away from my dream.

I open my eyes; the source of this voice is Anton, my mentor. A wizard about five years older than me, he’s supposed to be teaching me about magic, but I think he takes his job a little bit too seriously. He was a very powerful healing mage at one time, however, due to some bad circumstances, his powers aren’t what they once were and he compensates for his weakness with discipline and austerity.

I turn over and pull my blanket over my head, pretending to ignore him. All I want is to go back to sleep and go back to that fantastic place in my dreams.

“Hong,” he groans, his tone growing irritated as he runs his hands through his long, blonde hair and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, “We have someone important to meet today, you can’t sleep in.”

Oh, right, I’d forgotten all about that! Yesterday morning, Anton had told me he was getting an assistant to help him out with his teaching and I’d get to meet her.

I get up, yawning and stretching. I realize some of my wing feathers are still poking out of my bandaged left arm, I awkwardly push them back under the skin and gauze. I wince a bit at the sensation. I was injured terribly last winter, and although the wounds are no longer fresh, the skin is still quite sensitive.

Anton watches me curiously the entire time, leaning against the doorframe of my bedroom.

“…Over a year of us knowing each other and I still can’t get used to those strange wings of yours,” he mutters uneasily, raising an eyebrow, “You were dreaming about flying, hm?”

“Yeah,” I sigh sadly, feeling wistful, “I miss being able to fly. I mean, the only thing that’s stopping me is the fact my injury’s still healing. That makes taking out my wings a huge pain in the cloaca.”

He grimaces, his face turning slightly pink for a moment.

“Right, um, anyway, please get ready quickly. You wouldn’t want to keep her waiting, would you now?”

“Your assistant… Who is she, anyway?”

“A woman named Jodie.”

“Oh. Is she important? Do I have to wear my uniform for this?”

“Yes.”

I frown.

“But this school’s uniform is so stupid! Why can’t I wear something cool, like my Count Duckula shirt? It’s not like I’m meeting the president or Jesus or anything!”

“Don’t you dare piss me off. It’s too early for these little games of yours,” Anton glares at me, “You should value your education. If you don’t take it seriously enough, you could very well be kicked out. If that happened, you’d have nowhere else to go.”

There he goes, catastrophizing as usual. Classic Anton, making mountains out of molehills. I roll my eyes and flip him off.

“It’s not fair, I mean, you’re not dressing up at all! You’re always wearing your sweaty band shirts everywhere and–”

“Do you value your education? Yes or no.”

“Oh my God, whatever,” I huff, getting out of bed and figuring it’s not worth it to argue with him, “At least help me with the jacket buttons when I’m done getting dressed. It’s hard for me to button them myself on account of my dyspraxia and stuff.”

“You didn’t even say ‘please’. Don’t expect me to be charitable with that horrid attitude,” Anton replies coolly, slinking away and closing the door behind him.

I mutter a bunch of curses directed towards him under my breath as I get up and grab all the components of my uniform. A turtleneck sweater, shorts, a coat, a beret, a belt, and one of the boots. I can’t find the other one, but I figure I’ll look for it after I’ve got everything else on.

This school’s uniform genuinely is really fucking stupid, I think to myself as I put on the beret, whoever thought red and green looked good together? I mean, those are my favorite colors individually, but together they’re so ugly… And all these damn buttons! Buttons are so hard! I guess I should be glad that the boots aren’t lace-up, too. It’s embarrassing to admit this, but despite being nineteen, I only learned how to tie shoelaces last year, and I still really struggle with it because, you know, dyspraxia.

Now that I’m done with everything else, I decide it’s time to go on the hunt for my missing shoe. I crouch, looking under my bed. Nope, not here. I crawl over to my desk next, but there’s nothing under it save for half an orange crayon with some teeth marks in it. I put it in the breastpocket of my coat for safekeeping (and in case I wanna chew on it later, haha) and rise back to my feet, disappointed. I give a final cursory glance around, but I still don’t see it. I’m getting quite frustrated (and also sweaty, from crawling around), so I decide it’s time to enlist Anton’s help before I become too enraged at this stupid situation.

And so with only one boot on, I hurriedly hobble out of my room and down the hallway to the living room where Anton is sitting on the couch reading a book. He peers at me over his glasses, a befuddled expression falling across his face.

“ANTOOON!” I shout, “I AM IN NEED OF YOUR ASSISTANCE!”

“The hell? What have you gotten yourself into this time? And please refrain from yelling like that indoors, you’ll give me a headache.”

I take a deep breath to calm myself.

“I can’t find my other shoe! Do you know where it is?”

He closes his book and takes off his glasses, massaging his temples.

“It should be in your room, no?” He sighs, putting his glasses back on, “Try looking for it with your eyes and not your mouth next time.”

“Ugh!” I exclaim, throwing my arms in the air in exasperation, “But I already did look! I looked everywhere! It’s straight-up gone!”

“Let me guess, mischievous fairies spirited it away?” Anton asks sarcastically.

“That’s not very funny… Can’t you at least help me look for it?” I pout.

“Fine. I will, but only because we’re meant to be leaving soon.”

He brushes past me, and I follow him back to my room, nearly stumbling the whole while. He scans the space briefly, then turns to me, a sour expression on his face.

“Are you blind? It’s in the little space between your bed and nightstand.”

I look, and indeed it is there. How could I have missed it?

“Oh,” I smile sheepishly, my cheeks burning with embarrassment as I go to pick it up, “…Umm, thanks for helping me.”

“Sure. We must leave soon, so I expect there to be no more fooling around from you.”

“Urgh, ‘fooling around’? You’re acting like I lost it on purpose!” I sigh, collecting myself enough to put on my boot, “…Is there at least enough time to eat before we go?”

“No.”

“Awww, but I’m really hungry!”

“Then you should’ve woken up earlier. If you did, you’d have enough time to make something,” Anton thinks for a moment, “Well, I suppose you could get a piece of bread with some butter and run with it in your mouth like an anime girl.” He smirks to himself at the idea.

“Sounds lame. I’ll just eat when we get back,” I reply, unamused, “I am gonna brush my teeth though. I can do that quickly!”

“Fine. I’ll be waiting for you in the hallway.”

As I brush my teeth– with great haste, mind you, per Anton’s instruction– I briefly consider combing my hair since it’s becoming really tangled again. I decide not to, though, as I spit out all the toothpaste and rinse my mouth with sink water. The last time I tried to comb my hair, the comb got stuck in a stubborn knot, and I really don’t want to deal with that again.

Before I leave to join Anton, I give myself a quick look-over in the bathroom mirror. I adjust my beret a final time, which had become crooked, and grin a winning smile at my reflection. My eyebags aren’t as puffy as usual today, and although I’m quite small and skinny, I’m really not half-bad looking if I do say so myself!

I fumble with the buttons on my jacket as I meet Anton outside our dorm, managing to button one before giving up as we make our way down the hallway and out to the campus courtyard.

“Um, so you’ve met this Jodie lady before, right?” I ask, looking up at Anton and struggling to keep up with his brisk walking pace.

“Yes, but only briefly.”

“What’s she like? Is she nice?”

“Well,” Anton exhales deeply, “She’s, um, how do I put this… I thought you were unparalleled in the art of aimless chatter until the day I met her.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” I raise an eyebrow.

“Alright, let me quit bullshitting. She talks. A lot. About everything and anything. Bring up the most mundane of subjects and she’ll prattle on and on about them for all eternity. I think you’ll get along with her just fine in that regard. I imagine you two will never run out of things to speak of.”

Although this was likely a thinly-veiled insult, I can’t help but smile a bit. I hope he’s right and we really do hit it off well.

When we get to the courtyard, there’s a ginger-haired woman sitting on one of the benches. Once she sees us, she rushes over. That must be her! I feel my heart pound slightly as she comes closer, she’s tall and honestly way prettier than I’d imagined in my head. She looks the both of us up and down, and it is only then I catch a glimpse of her eyes. The pupils are enormous, and blue, and they’re shaped really strangely; almost like flowers. It’s honestly kind of off-putting, but I can’t help but find it lovely at the same time.

“Oh, Mr. Giles! It’s so nice to see you again!” She smiles, addressing Anton cordially and sticking out her hand for him to shake.

He stares at her hand and shakes his head. His hands remain deep in his pants pockets.

“Please, I already told you you may call me Anton. Formality is pointless in this profession,” he sighs, glancing at me briefly, “I apologize sincerely for keeping you waiting. My protégé here had a bit of a rough morning.”

I squint at him annoyedly, but try not to make a big fuss in front of Jodie. I don’t want to start a childish argument with Anton in front of someone I’ve only just met.

“Oh, um, right! It’s no big deal!” Jodie’s smile fades for a split second, but returns, “And you must be Hong! I’ve heard so much about you! Well, only good things, that is! Mr. Gi– I mean, Anton, speaks of you really highly, and I’ve been excited to get to know you! Fire magic’s been an interest of mine for ages, so it’s really nice that I’ll be able to work with you!”

Anton’s been saying nice things about me? That’s rather uncharacteristic of him, I think to myself, blushing slightly at the thought of him praising me. Jodie sticks out her hand for me to shake, and unlike Anton, I do indeed shake it because I am a polite person with excellent manners.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jodie. I-I mean, I can call you that, can’t I?” I ask, shaking her hand firmly.

“Well, I guess Anton’s opposition to formality has rubbed off on you. You can call me Jodie if you want to. Or Miss Poppins. That’s my last name, after all!”

“Like Mary Poppins?”

“I get that a lot,” she says, tucking some of her hair behind her ears and crossing her arms, “Oh, who am I kidding? Maybe it really is better if you call me Jodie.”

“Alright, well, now that you both are sufficiently acquainted, I think that it’s time for a mock evaluation,” Anton interrupts, “I’d like to show Jodie how things are done on this campus, and I think it would be beneficial for her to see a demonstration of your magical abilities.”

And so with that I demonstrate the full extent of powers to Jodie, who takes notes and converses with Anton all the while. I can’t help but feel special when she tells me that she’s never seen someone with such talent as me. She even tells me that I’ll probably end up teaching her more about magic! Anton rolls his eyes, but he can’t exactly disagree with that statement.

After some time, Jodie leaves and Anton and I go back to our dorm. It’s only noon, but I’m already feeling exhausted. I figure it might be because I hadn’t eaten anything at all, so I decided to make myself a ham sandwich. I yawn and rub my eyes all the while.

“Tired, hm?” Anton asks, a tinge of concern in his voice.

“A little,” I say, taking a bite of my sandwich and trying not to fall asleep right then and there.

“Be honest with me. How late did you stay up last night?”

“Umm…” I rack my brain, “I actually went to bed earlier than usual.”

“Knowing you, that could mean anywhere from midnight to three o’clock.”

“Well, I think I went to bed at around ten if I’m being totally honest. I don’t think I should be feeling this tired having slept for as long as I did. You got me up at eight, right?”

“I did,” Anton replies, “Hmm, if the source of your exhaustion isn’t from poor sleep, perhaps it’s from overexertion of your magic? I mean, it has been some time since you’ve done anything as impressive as you did earlier.”

I glare at him, my ego slightly bruised. I think my exhaustion is making me a bit crabbier than usual.

“Gee, thanks Anton. And Jodie said you always speak so very highly of me,” I reply sarcastically, “Whatever. I think I’m gonna take a nap.”

And before he can even come up with a rebuttal, I’m already trudging to my room, so exhausted that every step feels like walking through quicksand. I leave out my plate and half-eaten sandwich for him to clean too, for good measure.

When I get to my room, I peel off my uniform and throw on a big t-shirt to sleep in. I don’t even bother to find shorts to wear. I fall into a deep sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.