The students opened the test packets. The twins nodded to each other and opened theirs. Immediately their senses were assaulted as the pages and the words twisted around like a kaleidoscope. Remilia rubbed her eyes while Schala pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“Sensory snap,” Remilia commented. 

“Yep. Remember what tauntine taught us.” 

Schala and Remilia pressed the corner of their pages, and simultaneously, they uttered a counter-curse that stopped the page’s twisting motion. It blurred into a normal written sheet but instead of sentences and answers, it presented hand motions and finger placements. 

“Rem, this is silent sorcery,” Schala uttered lowly. 

“I knew it looked familiar,” Remilia smiled. 

Angelique had instructed them a great deal, inserting secret lessons inside of her compulsory teachings. The twins were glad for the preparation; it felt like Angelique knew they’d one day end up on Scalefall’s doorsteps. 

Without hesitation, they wrote the answer for each spell and counter-spell. Some applicants stood and stormed out of the room in a huff, sweat prickling their brows or sheer frustration lacing their faces. 

Like sands on the wind, time ran out and the remaining applicants – fifteen – approached the front with their tests. The twins were the last; they took time to double-check their work and rephrase answers. 

“Please report to the room on your right for your final examination. Good luck,” Esper said to the applicants. 

The twins and the others walked through the door. Schala and Remilia looked around; they were in a room that resembled an office building’s conference section, but they were split up. Guildenstern and Esper sat at a long table with three other teachers – Boone, Edgars, and Monteaux – and they looked intently at each twin. 

“Where’s my sister?” they both said in their rooms. 

“You’ve just been given a test of your magical aptitude,” Guildenstern announced. “You and your sister passed with flying colors, but then again, what can we expect from students of Angelique Claymore?” 

“You know her?” they said. 

“One of our best alumni. A marvelous and powerful witch-class sorcerer. But she taught you two to rely on each other for everything. Therefore, we’ve separated you. We want to gauge how you react on your own,” Esper declared. 

Remilia sighed and cracked her neck. Schala took deep breaths and fought not to rub her hands. 

“I’m ready,” Schala announced. 

“Let’s go,” Remilia declared. 

“Tough one, aren’t you, blue hair?” Boone, a brown-hued man with a short mohawk and broad shoulders said. Only Remilia heard his comment. 

“Let’s see some magic. Show us what you’re good at,” Guildenstern said as she laid a pack of tarot cards on the table. 

Schala snapped her fingers and took control of the cards. Remilia clapped her palms, transforming the cards into a murder of crows that hovered around her like a bodyguard retinue. The cards fluttered above Schala in a small storm, covering the room in confetti. With a motion of her hand, the cards reassembled into a violent wave of paper that lifted Schala like a geyser. 

Remilia performed hand motions and the crows followed her command before morphing into three large wolves. Boone stood up quickly, his interest piqued. On Schala’s side, as she reformed the cards into their normal state and stacked them like a castle, he slapped them off the table. 

“Try to knock me down—” 

Schala wasted no time, blasting Boone with an explosion of paper. Remilia sicced one of the wolves on Boone, the other two attacking his sides. 

Both iterations of Boone smirked; Schala’s Boone flipped over the paper explosion, and Remilia’s Boone dove directly at Remilia, who wasted no time in meeting his cheek with a devastating roundhouse kick. 

Schala’s Boone pounced on her, pinning her arms to the ground. Remilia’s Boone fell on his back and swiped her legs out. Both sisters were on their backs, struggling to get up. 

“Show me some goddamn real sorcery!” 

The shouting reminded her of her father, of her mother. Of Sebastien. Something primal reached out of her, slapping Boone into a nearby bookcase with a harsh gust of wind. The teachers looked at each other while Esper watched in curiosity. 

Schala’s attack broke the spell separating the twins; Remilia faded into sight and once she saw Schala, she scrambled to her feet. Their tattoo blazed red and pulsated. 

“Oh damn, Schala!” 

Schala held her at bay with a hand gesture. “I’m fine. I just snapped a little, but I’m fine.” 

The teachers clapped, Esper especially. “All right. I can speak for us all when I say we’re pleasantly impressed.” 

Schala caught her breath and Remilia rubbed her shoulder. “It’s all right,” Remilia said. “We made it.” 

“Three-year program, graduate-level studies,” Guildenstern began. “Your program begins in a week. We will send you home to pack your things. Your friends and family will be given the exciting news of your early acceptance to this prestigious master’s program. You must return here to New Orleans before this time next week to begin your term.” 

Horror struck the twins. Their parents: what will they say? 

“Oh damn,” Schala said. 

“Did the spell really work?” Remilia questioned. 

“Like I told you in the void,” Guildenstern spoke up, “the spell makes your parents or anyone who’d have reservations about you coming to America more amenable to your desire to come here. Now, off you go.” 

The twins glanced at each other before they blinked, and they were back in their room. Their bodies tingled, and their stomachs felt slightly queasy, but it subsided as quick as a thought. 

“We’re back,” Schala said. “We did it.” 

“Somehow, I think you sealed the deal for us,” Remilia countered. “They’re going to have all eyes on us. So we'd better perform.” 

“We’d better put this time to good use. But first things first; how do we tell mom and dad?” Schala pondered. 

“Together,” Remilia assured. “We’re in this together, and we’ll be in school by next week, sis.” 

“Yeah. You’re right,” Schala smiled.