I remember the rest of the week passing at a breakneck pace. I quickly built up a friendship with Shuri, and eventually began to get to know some of the other girls in my classes. All in all, the idea of a clique based student body began to dissipate from my mind, and I thought I would just enjoy my time here as I wanted. Then came Saturday.

I woke Saturday afternoon to the sound of a beep coming from my new bracelet PDA. I had almost forgotten I had actually agreed to this crazy tea party idea. The fact that I had not gotten anybody to say they would come with me made matters worse. I knew I had to woman up and deal with it, but a part of me really didn’t want to.

I got out of bed, showered, and took extra effort to make myself look appealing. Shaved legs, a thigh length skirt, knee high stockings, a blouse with ruffles on the front, and I pinned my thatch of red hair into a side pony. All in all, I felt I looked down right gorgeous. I quietly fled the room so my sleeping roommate could continue her resting in peace. She had her own agenda for the day, and I needed to face my own issues.

I followed the instructions Fianna had left me in her email attachment, so it was none too strenuous to find. The dusk that lit the corridors with gold and amber light cast a spell over the trip, and when I reached the room it felt almost like magic had guided me here. I rapped on the door, announcing my presence to those inside and waited.

After what felt like an eternity, the door opened. Fianna stood on the other side of the entrance to the office, her auburn hair positively glowed in the waning light and her eyes sparkled like gem stones. I took in the image of her standing there, light blouse under a black vest, a pair of black slacks, and a pair of wire glasses just holding onto her cute little nose etched itself into my mind.

She pushed up her glasses and smiled ever s gently. “Miss Sidhe, I appreciate you taking the time to visit on such short notice. Please do come in.” She said as she stepped back to allow me entry into the office. I took in the surroundings as I entered. The room was very Spartan; a series of bookshelves lined the walls, a desk made of cedar and redwood took up one corner, a heavy duty computer occupied half the desk while papers and folders took the other half. In the other corner was a small table and an electric kettle. I was waved into one of the two seats by the small table.

As Fianna began to pour us each a cup of tea, she asked about my first week at Avalon Girl’s Academy and if I felt welcome in my classes. The small talk bandied about until we reached our second cups of what tasted like camomile and bergamot tea, and then the room grew quiet. Fianna took another sip before becoming more serious.

“Miss Sidhe, or maybe just Lauren would be appropriate,” she started while removing her glasses, “I would like to discuss some things with you about your stay here at Avalon. Not just the rules, but what requirements exist for all the young women in attendance.” Her eyes hardened a little, but her gentle smile never faded.

“Women at Avalon are required to maintain a good grasp on themselves, their behaviour, and their grades. To promote social etiquette Mistress Black holds events year round that will range from dances to tea ceremony to unknown adventures. These are, unless otherwise stated, obligatory. Yes, you will need to attend these events.” She focused on my eyes and took a breath before continuing.

“Certain events will have you in close proximity to other young women, sometimes you will need to have a partner for the event, and sometimes you will be sent off alone to find yourself. During these events, we do ask that you refrain from... violating the space of other students with any parts of your body. The rules enforced here are harsh, and the discipline matches the seriousness of the crime. So I will say this once, do not make an enemy of the school’s system. I’ve had to be strict and stringent in my time as head girl, and I shall not make any exceptions.”

I affirmed that I understood in a terribly meek voice, and did my best not to let my eyes linger on any one part of her body for too long. This became more and more difficult when she would shift her posture or when she moved about. The true test of my ability to control myself came when she had to light an old fashioned oil lamp for us to continue our conversation as the sun faded into nothing.

The light flickered, giving her features an unearthly beauty. Her eyes seemed almost predatory in the light, those emerald spheres made my heart skip a beat. She motioned for me to speak my mind, but at the moment there was nothing. Her alabaster skin flickered with the light of the fire as I composed myself.

“I would like to apologize for the actions I took prior to entering this school, and I will take any action needed to prove that it isn’t the defining moment in my life.” I muttered before taking another sip of tea.

“I know it won’t be, the Sidhe women are always just a little overblown when seeking revenge.” She replied, a soft and toothy grin painting her face with more paleness.

I looked up at her, a confused expression blatant on my face. I wanted to ask what she meant by that, I wanted to know what she did about my family. Did she have some knowledge about my mother’s side?

“You know,” Fianna began, “in Ireland we have stories about the Sidhe. Fairy stories, passed through the ages, and often we hear about the Sidhe being mischievous. I do hope you do not emulate these tales.”

My thoughts began to muddle as she told me about the Sidhe of legends. These fey were always up to something, and apparently covered a large part of mythology. Did my mother’s family take that name as a joke... or was there something more to it? I blinked as I looked up at Fianna and for a second her eyes seemed to be bright silver, not emerald green.

“I think I should be getting on, my mind seems to be playing tricks on me.” I said as I got up and rubbed my eyes.

“I should love to have another of these quaint little talks in the future. Please feel free to stop in whenever you get the chance.” Fianna replied, walking me to the door of her office.

I made my way back to my room, all the while feeling a bit groggy. The instant I reached my door I felt a sudden and overpowering sleepiness that didn’t make any sense for how long I had been awake. I opened the door and greeted my roommate as she started to get up. When she yawned a greeting back to me, I could swear I saw fangs in her mouth and her skin had a bluish tinge like she had been dead for a while. I blinked again and she was back to normal.

“I think I’m going to turn in early. I’m seeing things. Like weird and unexplainable things. Maybe I ate a bad mushroom or something. Anyway, have a good evening.” I said and plunked myself down onto my oh-so-soft bed. Mere moments later I fell into a dreamless slumber.

I awoke Sunday evening just as the sun began to set. I knew I should have been up hours before, but they don’t call them lazy Sundays for no reason. I saw a stirring from the next bed over, my roommate started to get up but was having some difficulty. I sat up and looked over, my eyes capturing an image that seemed off. My rather slim roommate looked suddenly rather large under her covers. She then ripped them off with great force and to my surprise there was Kryssia. Val looked rather perturbed as well, but everyone still had clothes on, which I felt jilted the event I saw before me.

Val raised her fist into the air and brought it down on Kryssia’s head with a resounding thump. Krys jumped awake immediately, clutching the bump on her head and looking like she had been betrayed.

“You stole my room key again while I wasn’t looking, didn’t you?” Val hissed at her friend.

Krys looked over at me for help, as if I could get her out of this mess. “I was asleep, I didn’t help you get in here.” I said, watching her bright eyes watering.

Krys then pulled out the key she had swiped and set it on the counter. Her nightgown fell at just such a tantalizing angle, showing off her collar and a little bit of shoulder. She looked just like a child who was about to be punished, a very sexy child... wait, that came out wrong.

Val glanced at me, “She does this regularly, and my punishments never seem to make it stick. What do you think; no desserts for a week? I think that should learn her some manners.”

I looked at her with abject horror. Someone threatening my desserts would make me reconsider all of my behaviour, not just the minor infraction of sneaking into someone’s bed. Val seemed to take my reaction as confirmation that this should teach our little comrade a lesson and sentenced her.

The rest of the day went on uneventfully, and as we moved into Monday, I began to look more at the prospect of getting normalized in my classes. This was all well and good, but then I checked my email after classes and saw a notice went out to all the girls telling us of an upcoming social event. The event in question was to be a dance, which I thought was odd since there were no males to dance with, but then I saw that upper grade students would act as the other gender.

I looked over at Val and asked where she fell on the scale. Apparently she was in the middle grades so they could act as both asking the girls and being recipients of older girls. She also noted that she and Kryssia, who waved at me as she was mentioned, acted as a couple during dances and buddy events, so I was out of luck there. I remember Shuri said she was like me, a first year. So then it dawned on me that I have no idea who was older than me in my classes that I had left any impression on.

Luckily, I received an email as I started to freak from the one other girl in school who I knew was in an upper class. It read as such:

Lauren,

I noticed that Mistress Black just put out an announcement for a dance. I know this may be sudden, but I fear you may not have had time to get to know others in the upper grades, so I felt it was my duty to invite you as my companion. If you would do me the honour of accompanying me, I would be ever so pleased.

Should you actually have someone to attend with, I will most assuredly understand. You need not get back to me immediately, but please do let me know before Wednesday evening.

Yours,

Fianna Bás

Head Girl, Avalon Girl’s Academy

Well that was fortuitous, almost like deus ex machina in real life. I should probably take her up on that offer. So I typed back a swift reply that told her I was most likely going to take her up on her offer unless something else happened.