I took my seat and waited for the first bell to ring. As my classmates filed in, my mind kept returning to Aiden’s apology. What was he sorry about? Daren? The tiara?

A shadow appeared across my desk and I looked up. “Why the icy stare, Gwen?” Dawn smiled down at me. She’d gotten a tan over her vacation, making her pale blond hair stand out even more. Thought, not quite as much when she was standing next to me.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow?” I smiled back. “But I’m glad you’re here.”

Her smile morphed into a wide grin as she sat on my desk. “The plane got in at 1:00AM. My parents wanted me to take another day off, for the get lag. But, as always, I was up with the sun.”

I laughed. Dawn had been my best friend since the second grade. For as long as I’d known her, she’d be up as soon as there was light in the sky. It was cool to see her mutant power could also eliminate jet lag.

“So, what did I miss?” She asked, hopping off my desk. She pulled the chair away from the desk in front of mine and sat down. “Not that I’m expecting much. Does anything ever happen around here?” She started pulling books from her bag. “It’s so quiet. Unless Ignis is involved, then you almost need ear plugs.”

I laughed. Still a chatterbox. I filled her in on everything I couldn’t say in emails. “And yesterday…” I trailed off, the memory leaving a sour taste in my mouth. “We got a new classmate. Daren Sanders.”

“Sounds cool.” Dawn twirled her mechanical pencil absentmindedly. “What’s he like?”

“Quiet.” I said, thinking carefully. “Ashley seems to like him.”

She gave me a sidelong glance. “Ashley likes anything if you say it’s male.”

We laughed quietly and talked about what Dawn did in Spain until class started. As she turned her attention to the front of the room, I noticed that Daren hadn’t come back. When first period ended and he still wasn’t back, I breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like he wouldn’t be attending classes today.

As second period drew to a close and nothing out of the ordinary had happened, I gave another sigh and lay my head down on my desk. The last five minutes before lunch were always the best for catching a few Zs.

However, shortly after the bell rang, Dawn shook me awake. “Gwen, wake up. You’ll never guess who’s here!”

I jumped in my seat, instantly awake. Had Daren come back? But, no, it wasn’t my new neighbor. Standing in the doorway was Aiden, smiling politely at the girls who had swarmed around him.

“What’s Ignis doing here?” Dawn hissed at me. “What did I miss?”

I turned my head and stared at the glass in the window. Go away. I pleaded silently. There were so many people still in the classroom. If they knew why Aiden was here, they’d never let me have some peace and quiet. I’d already been branded the freak with white hair. I didn’t need to be the girl who stole the school’s idol.

Reflected in the window, I could see Aiden walk through the throng of girls and toward me. “Welcome back Dawn.” He greeted her, because of course he knew who she was and that she’d been away. “Gwyneira, can I borrow your time?”

I sighed and turned to look at him. “Sure.” I conceded. I got up, grabbed my bag and followed him out of the classroom, head down to avoid the jealous stares of the girls still milling around the door.

I followed Aiden without really paying attention to where we were going, so I was genuinely surprised when he opened the door to the roof.

“No one comes up here.” He explained. “And I’m pretty sure you have a lot of questions.”

I looked around. The roof was bordered by a tall fence to prevent people from walking off. There were a few benches around the perimeter and some picnic tables on the open tiling. Whoever designed it had clearly intended it to be a hangout spot for students.

I returned my attention to Aiden. “Question number one, can you be burned?”

He looked a little surprised, but laughed. “Not by the flames I create, no. But by normal fires, yes.” He gestured to my bag. “And now that you have the fire gem, the same applies to you.” He knelt on one knee. “My power is your power, Princess Gwyneira. You are the reincarnation of Lucia, the Ice Princess. And I am one of your six guardians.”

I just stared at him, not knowing what to say. Eventually, I held up two fingers. “Question number two, what are you talking about?”