Chapter 4

"Will! if you're going to interrupt us at least introduce yourself," Azeph scolded his friend with an exasperated tone.

"My apologies.." said loosely the dark-skinned young man, he had light brown hair and forest green eyes that could alone speak of his lineage. he had the look of an outdoorsman, and with the matching carefree personality that goes with it, he seemed like someone who spent a lot of time horseback judging from his riding skills.

" No need to apologize, you must be the son of Viscount Marten" Elin responded amused by the surprised expression on his face.

"How did you know that? did we meet before?" he asked curiosity lightening his eyes

"No. But I've seen your father before, and you two have the same eye color. I've heard that your family has always been known for your unusual eye color."

"I'm impressed you noticed that," he said" Since usually, people see other things than my eye color when they see me," He added darkly, "Anyway, let me formally introduce myself, I'm William Marten. But everyone calls me Will except for Louis when he's in a bad mood. it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance,"

He said with a genuine smile that spread across his face. Elinor found herself smiling back at him a peaceful and fun atmosphere falling over them.

And she decided not to comment further on the eye color. That was a bad bet from the start and now she was sure it was a pretty tricky subject to bring up with William Markgraf.

"Nice to meet you, Will. I'm Elinor Pendragon, but you can call me Elin," She said shaking his hand to the shock of a hovering Azeph who apparently was against Will treating her as one of his mates.

Elin on the other hand wasn't bothered.

Because this was his way of acknowledging her as his equal, as his classmate. Since he offered her his hand to shake instead of bowing to her and kissing her hand like he would do when meeting a noble lady.

Apparently,Will was the childhood friend Azeph mentioned. And the two of them seemed to get along pretty well despite the wide difference in their personalities. While the first was an outdoorsy fun-loving jokester, the other was the perfect gentleman from his manners to his way of speaking. It was still fun to watch the two of them interact.

Will and Azeph took her to the greenhouse, as they decided to finish her tour with some introductions. Elin knew this was coming one way or another. She would have wished for her days in the academy to be as quiet as possible with minimum interactions, but it seems like the headmaster and all the people around her were thinking differently.

Just when she was pondering her way to get out of this predicament she heard her name being called

"Elin!" Then she was tackled into a bear hug by a young man who was about her height with platinum blond hair cut in a bob,

" it's wonderful to see you again!"He said as he leaned back to look at her with his soulful black eyes which Elinor had loved since he was a little boy.

"Noah! It's been a long time!" She said overjoyed at the sigh of the person she considered a little brother. 

Technically, She and Noah weren't relatives. He's Louis's cousin from his father's side. But since they'd spent a lot of time together as children, they considered themselves siblings.

"It has!" he said earnestly his platinum locks falling over his forehead, 

He was small for his age, since he was only seventeen, but he managed to be taller than Elin by a few inches. His snow-white complexion and clear blue eyes made him look like a porcelain doll. He was the type to get mistaken for a girl when they were children and although he outgrew it, he was still more beautiful than most girls, and could probably pass as one if he wears a dress and make up.

Noah's hands were suddenly holding hers, with strength she hadn't felt before, as if the precious boy she'd doted on and protected her whole life was now protecting her. 

His eyes met hers with unmasked guilt and sadness, there were so many feelings overflowing from them that she felt his stare strip her of her guards and look deep inside hers. Elinor felt the barely suppressed feelings within her fight against their restrain and she wanted to let go of his hand.

"I'm sorry for not visiting more often," he said squeezing her hands,

"There's no way you could have held on for longer than you did," Elin said with a reassuring smile, "I would have asked Louis to take you back home myself if he hadn't,"

Noah's health had always been delicate, and the fact that he held within him one of the most baffling mysteries in the world didn't help his condition at all. That was probably why Louis had decided from a young age to be Noah's guardian and protector. 

Ever since then the two were inseparable.

"How are you doing," He finally said

"I'm doing okay, Noah. It has been six months," Elinor finally declared ready to end this conversation.

If there was one person she couldn't lie tom it was Noah. One reason because he would always find out the truth. But, the other is because there was something in his eyes that played on her guilt too hard for her to be able to get away with it.

Even Louis had given up trying to lie to him.

"So you two already knew each other," Azeph said and Elin was eternally grateful for his intervention.

When she looked his way, he was already putting a hand on Noah's shoulder making him step away from her.

Did he do that on purpose?

And since when did cam become okay with other people touching him casually? He looked so comfortable with Azeph and Will.

"We knew each other since childhood through Louis," Noah said with a smile, "I was looking forward to this since Louis said that you would be joining the Academy. I'm so glad you're here Elin,"

"Me too. It's so good to see you doing well," Elin said and she soon was dragged into the depth of the greenhouse as Noah spoke about his flowers and how they seemed in a good mood today because they got to meet her.

At first, Elin was worried about the other guys' reactions, but, it seemed like they were accepting his gift pretty well. Then Elin realized that the overprotective Louis would never leave Noah with anyone he couldn't trust. He wouldn't leave Her with anyone he didn't trust. He probably suggested Azeph to the headmaster before she came to the Academy.

By the time they reached the garden tables, she realized that it was already occupied with someone. Then as if in slow motion, everything began to blurr in her vision and her heart was racing in her chest.

That's right. It had happened in a garden like this. She was approaching the table and then...

She thought she got over this... she thought that she was finally okay.

She wasn't. She was going to make a scene on her first day of school and prove that everyone's worry about her was right.

She was going to ruin everything.