‘Dear fairies and fairies-to-be, my name is Elowen Faewood and as headmistress of this school I welcome you all to Arthyrell Academy for fairies and Magic.’ was the opening line to the lady’s speech.

The entire Hall had filled itself with chattering young fairies at that point, but the noises soon faded as Faewood began her speech. Admittedly, I was very glad not to have to stand in the crowd since my hands had already been trembling as we arrived- though almost imperceptibly- and it had only gotten worse as more students gathered.

Anthea took my hand and squeezed it softly. ‘You’re doing great, sweetie.’ She whispered.

Faewood waited for the buzz to fade. She cleared her throat and continued:

‘Ahum- In order to graduate from the Academy, one must follow a course we call the “Path of Blossoming”. Now, I know what you are thinking- you’ve only just arrived and this weird lady here calling herself the headmistress is already talking about your graduation, but let me just run you through some important things.-

‘The journey towards becoming a Major Fairy takes up the first three years of your Path. These three years are subsequently divided by Determination, Courage and Reflection, whereas the years that follow, although optional, focus on Guidance and Sacrifice. They lead you down the road to become an Ethereal Fairy- though I do realize that’s something I shouldn’t keep you busy with right now, as I’m sure you’ll find out about all of this soon enough.’ A half suppressed laugh followed, I believe she found it all quite amusing.

‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘what I really want to be talking about is the very first year- the year of Determination- since that is the year you’ll be entering now.-

‘Over the course of the past few weeks, you have all received your Invitations to enter the Path of Blossoming. However, in order to do so you must pass an event we call “the Initiation”.’ Another wave of chatter forced her to take a short break. ‘Now, I know this may sound scary to some of you, but believe me when I tell you this is only to get you acquainted with your fairy partner. You need not worry about potential dangers, this is not an exam and Stirling and I will be monitoring you every step along the way.-

‘Now, enough with the boring talk. Please follow us outside.’ She made a small gesture Stirling’s way and let her take over.

‘All right, if you all would be so kind as to place your luggage here and follow me-’

✿

Before long, we had all gathered in a half-round circle that stretched itself from the edge of the forest, around the professors in front of us and back to the edge.

I held on to Anthea’s hand, standing as close to her as possible in the midst of the group. I wanted to take a look around, but my eyes were fixed to the ground. I took a few deep breaths, only able to snap out of it when Faewood started speaking again.

‘As I said earlier, the first year is all about Determination. This is the year where you look deep into yourself and ask yourself the question: “Why do I want to become a fairy?” What is your reason? Your drive? The very cause for which you want to risk- for going down this road might be more dangerous than you realize right now- your life, your spirit- and the very concept of who you are?-

‘Are you ready for this journey? Have you thought about how long it will take? Are you planning to follow only the first three courses or do you want to take all five- even if it may take you the full extent of seven- ten- fifteen years to do so?’ Faewood waited, the weight of the questions circling around like sudden clouds on a sunny day. Silence was all she was met with.

I was stunned. Of course I’d thought about most of this- the dangers, being so far from home for so long and why I want to be a fairy- but hearing it like this? Did she really expect us to have all of these answers prepared?

Faewood grinned. ‘I don’t expect you to have the answers to all of these questions right now, hex, not even ‘till the end of this year- or later, if you need more time. But now that I’ve got your full attention, let’s just start small.-

Today, all I’m really asking of you, is to find someone among these now still strangers to share your Path with. We’ve prepared a- task- of sorts- to help you find your fairy partner. Stirling?’

The Head of Discipline gladly took over from Faewood. ‘The goal is to magically save yourself as we-’, she stopped to look for the right word, ‘drop- you into the forest. The first person you come across in the woods will be your fairy partner and roommate for the first three years- but first you’ll have to make your way back to the Academy together.’

One of the fairies raised her hand. ‘Professor, what exactly do you mean by “dropped” into the forest?’

Stirling smirked. ‘Exactly that. Most of you are able to fly, they’ll be fine. As for the others, well, it’s not forbidden to help one out.’

My heart skipped a beat. Were they really about to drop us like that? What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t even get in touch with my Magic if I concentrated long enough, let alone when I was falling about somewhere in midair. Not to mention my fear of-

A poke in my rib made me look sideways. ‘We’re uneven.’ Someone hissed.

I squeezed my eyes in surprise and raised my eyebrows. ‘What?’

Some girl with pitch black hair and funky glasses was looking at me. ‘We’re uneven.’ She repeated. ‘Ab here just counted.’

‘Who now? Wait, she counted the lot of-?’ My sentence broke midway as I found my balance thrown off by a sudden shift in grounds. The dirt and leaves I had stood on seconds before had made way for a bright, almost golden platform of kinds, shaped like a star, that lifted me off the ground. In a flash, I caught a glimpse of a magically glowing Stirling. I wanted to clamp on to Anthea’s arm but soon discovered she wasn’t by my side anymore. ‘An?’

‘Please keep your calm, girls.’ Sounded Stirling’s voice. ‘Faewood and I will be surveilling everything from down here. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Enjoy the ride.’