There’s a crisp knock at the door that makes me groan and shift. I feel oddly tired, my entire body heavy and limp. “Dad, five more minutes!”

The door clicks open. “Look who’s still dreaming. It’s time to get up.”

The unfamiliar voice makes me jolt up, the previous days’ events washing over me in cold waves. I was attacked by a Shadow. I was saved by a Faery. I’m half Faery. I’m in the Land of the Fay.

My heart is bruising against my ribs and a sudden headache forming.

I clutch at my head and groan.

I breathe in slowly, imaging my lungs filling like a balloon before I breathe out again, repeating this until I’ve calmed down.

I stare blankly at Zephen who’s leaning against the doorframe, a perfect eyebrow raised in amusement.

Nervously, I say, “Uh, good morning.” My eyes still feel a bit swollen from crying.

He nods. “Hurry and get dressed. There are clothes prepared in the closet and breakfast in the dining room.”

“Uh, late for what?”

“For school, of course.” He tilts his head at me.

Ah right. School.

I groan. My life just got turned upside down and I still don’t get to sleep in.

What’s the point of finding out I’m half-Faery if I can’t even sleep in?

Opening the ceiling-high wooden closet, I glance around, wondering what it is I should wear.

Is there perhaps a dress-code, or a uniform? It would be mortifying if I wore something weird to my first day of Faery school.

What do Faeries even wear?

To my relief, theres a stack of clothes folded neatly on top of the drawers, right in the middle so it’s hard to miss.

With my brilliant intuition, I believe I should wear them.

There’s a white cotton shirt at the top which I put on first, then a rather dull grey dress that falls to my ankles. I look at myself in the mirror. Well, it’s something.

I hurry to the dining room, getting lost a few times in the turns of the halls—no one needs such a big house, especially for one person—but I eventually find it.

Zephen is sitting at the head of the rectangular, wooden dining table. Plates and cutlery are set up neatly in the seat beside him, steam rising from the food prepared.

There are no food in front of him, so he probably ate already. Instead of food, a small bird stands before him.

“Oh, is that your pet?” I ask before I could think, my eyes trained on the curious animal who turns to look at me with green, beady eyes. Its body is nearly transparent, colorless—but it’s beautiful.

“Pet?” Zephen wrinkles his nose at the word, offended. “Of course not. It’s my Daemon.”

“Daemon?” I repeat, the word unfamiliar. “Like a…demon?”

“Day-mon.” He says. I feel like I heard this from him already when he explained Faeries to me last night, emphasizing each syllable as if talking to a child.

“Spelled with an A-E. It’s like a familiar. A servant, if you will. It’s a part of me, a partner I can always count on.”

The bird opens its wings, flapping and gaining altitude as it lifts itself off the table, circling around my head, its long tail feathers fanning out behind it. 

It chirps a few times before it turns and flies straight out the open window.

“Is that okay?” I ask.

“For what?”

“For it to fly out like that.” I continue staring out the window where the bird has long disappeared into the horizon.

“Of course.” He answers, giving me an odd look. “Birds are meant to fly.”

I feel small in front of the giant, domineering academy in front of me. Its walls are a brilliant white, so white it hurts to stare at it too long under the sunlight.

It doesn’t help that there are golden leaves that frame the walls, windows and doors.

The roofs are a gentler shade of mint green, plants once again growing in all directions, twisting and twirling around the structure like content snakes.

The academy’s name written in big, golden bold letters at the doorway spells: 

~ Encharmus: Academy of Magic ~

“What are you waiting for?” Zephen gives me a harsh nudge forward, making me almost lose my balance. “We haven’t got all day to stare.”

I hiss at him, rubbing my arm where he nudged me. Why can’t I have a friendly, warm Guardian instead?

He moves swiftly through the gates and to the building, with me having no choice but to follow. Or someone at least a little more patient.

Students loiter about, some of them giving me a weird look, whispering amongst themselves. So I suppose they’re not too different than humans after all.

I quicken my stride, standing close to Zephen.

He leads me to a room on the first floor, placed smack in the middle of the building. He knocks politely once, twice, thrice, before the door opens wide to reveal a kind looking middle-aged man who beams brightly upon seeing us.

He’s relatively short, hair a dark grey with occasional lighter grey strands, and bright blue eyes. He looks amiable, which makes me feel slightly more at ease.

“Welcome, welcome!” He gives Zephen a great big hug, which Zephen receives stiffly. Yeah, I didn’t think he was a hugger. He then turns to me, his smile becoming gentler and more warm.

“You must be Kay, the new student. I’m Professor Durney, the Headmaster of Encharmus. Please, come in, come in.”

“Professor Durney, I must inform you that she hasn’t shown any signs of magic yet.” Zephen tells the professor once the three of us are seated, the door closed.

Professor Durney seems surprised at this, turning towards me with wide eyes. “And how old are you, Kay?”

“Twenty.” I mumble, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip at the way he’s looking at me, as if he can’t believe what he’s hearing.

Why does everyone react this way? Is it weird to be twenty years old in the Faery world?

“My, it’s certainly rare for a Halfling to grow into adulthood and yet never show any signs of magic.” Professor Durney is thoughtful when he leans back in his chair.

“Queen Titania has asked to put her into a class of her age. I suppose that means you’ll have to skip the Magic classes, and will certainly need extra private lessons. Those students are almost out of school, so what they’re learning will be much too hard for a beginner like you.”

“Of course.” Zephen agrees with a nod. “Then I leave her to you.” He rises from his seat, giving me a final glance, before he strides out the room.

A heavy silence ensues once the door closes behind him, forcing me to look awkwardly at my hands as I wait for the professor to speak.

“Well, I suppose I should take you to your classroom.” Professor Durney gives me a warm smile, standing.

I follow him, letting him lead me to the highest floor of the building, to the classroom near the end of the hallway. 

The classroom is loud, the voices of students can be heard throughout the hallway. 

Professor Durney pushes open oak double-doors, revealing the scene of a normal classroom filled with college-aged students.

It looks so normal I am taken aback, overwhelmed by a sudden strange sense of nostalgia.

They all wear similar clothing as mine, but their colors differ.

Some students have the same color clothes, but none of them have the same grey as me.

I’ve only been in the Land of the Fay for barely a day, and yet the human world seems so far away already. I tug at my dress, wanting my old clothes back.

The classroom quiets down immediately when the doors open, all eyes trained on me, filled with curiosity and silent judgment, making me shrink under their scrutinizing gazes.

Professor Durney gives me a gentle nudge, encouraging me to walk in.

I don’t move though, so Professor Durney goes in first, allowing me to hide myself behind him, trying my best to avoid direct eye-contact and confrontation from the other students.