Chapter One.

Mornings were invariably my best part of the day even though I constantly had to remind myself about the exhausting classes I nevertheless had to go to whether I wanted to or not. In truth, I'd rather be found in a library than a classroom. In a library, I could read and learn without boring teachers droning on and on about boring histories or the bloody battles between races.

I transferred from my old school to Neutral Academy much to the disappointment of Vivian, my guardian, who had wanted me to remain near her.

There was no doubt whatsoever in my mind that Vivian loved me as if I was her child. She never missed my birthdays and never made me lack anything. She educated me on magic, even though I was an oddity in a community filled with witches.  I could only pull little stunts like growing a bed of flowers, like the one I was currently laying on. I could also make little things appear, unlike other witches who could control an element or two, along with other magic such as summoning bigger things and enhancing speed, sight, or hearing, among others. 

It was why I was here at N.A, Neutral Academy, to begin my Sophomore year. A school mixed with several species, learning under the same roof without the animosity and hatred that existed outside its walls. I was certain that no one cared about my flaws or my absent parents here.

Outside N.A, the various supernaturals that lived in MistWorld were not friendly to each other. This animosity began centuries ago when each race began to feel superior to other races. It had led to several bloody wars and needless deaths.

MistWorld was a small world inhabited by three supernatural species and magical creatures. It was also a world where magic was used to do almost everything, which included making clothes, cooking, sometimes communicating, and others.

Demons, as we had been taught, lived underneath MistWorld, and could only appear in Mistworld when summoned by witches. But here in Mistworld, there were werewolves, vampires, and witches.

The werewolves were spread across the Western side of Mistworld, divided into packs ruled by Alphas. The entire western area was sometimes still called Old Wood Hill, a name given to it centuries ago.

The witches inhabiting the Eastern side were ruled by two Elder Witches, usually sightless but were considered to be the most powerful among all witches. The Eastern side was known as the Coven Community.

And the Vampires living underground somewhere on the Southern side of MistWorld were ruled by three Elder Vampires. Their city was popularly called The City Of Blood. I had never gone there of course. It was a place where only vampires were allowed unless permitted by the elder vampires.

A was situated in the Northern area of MistWorld, a place called The Neutral Ground.

This was the place where the disputes of the different species were settled in peace. It was perhaps the only place in Mistworld that had not known the taste of blood. 

Only one community existed here. Known as The Mixed Community, it contained people from the three races who had had to drop centuries-old grudges between them and lived in peace with each other. Only the community and N. A occupied the Northern side.

There were tales of a world that existed above us. A place filled with non-magical creatures with cultures and languages very similar to ours. But they age, something impossible in MistWorld. No one knew what was out there in the universe and if those tales were true or not.

In MistWorld we never aged, but we could be killed, though not easily. It would have to be a very severe injury like cutting off the head or pulling out the heart. Although there was a day we call Kalghaeon when the sky went dark and we got drained of our magic.

At that moment, I heard the school bell ring in the distance, bringing me back to the present. I shouldn't have walked so far from the school. 

We had no security system apart from the ward set up by the elder witches themselves to keep the predators in the woods surrounding the school away.

The forest outside the school was inhabited by dangerous creatures compared to the little forest within the school which had none. It was why I always felt safe walking through the forest alone.  

I commenced my walk back to the school in a haste, dusting flowers from my uniform as I hurried.  I had wandered too far today. It was my first time getting this close to the ward.

I guess I wouldn't have had any need to walk alone into the woods if I had anyone to talk to. I didn't know my roommate yet because she hadn't resumed yet. So I was alone.

When I transferred to N. A from W.U, Witches' University, before the semester commenced, I had not seen many people in the academy until a week before school officially resumed. 

I arrived at the school entrance two minutes later and continued walking down the deserted hall of N.A, my shoe echoing throughout the walls. I was late for my first class. I sure hoped I wouldn't be humiliated in front of the whole class. It was one thing I was certain I wouldn't miss about W.A.

Luckily, I had a bag that contained everything I needed with me, so I didn't have to go back to my room to get it. I would certainly be late then.

I heard some voices coming from one of the empty classrooms in the hallway. Curiously, I gently pushed the door open and peeped through the open space. 

Three girls were standing over a tiny girl with dirty blond hair. She had big blue eyes and tiny pouting lips. I listened to what they were saying, too curious to do otherwise.

"What did you tell your brother about us? Did you rat us out you freak?" One of the girls asked, snarling. It was obvious that she was a wolf. A very mean wolf by the look of things. And it seemed she was the leader of the group judging by the way the other two girls stood behind her.

"I didn't tell him anything. I have more important things to talk about than spending time on a topic that pertains to the three of you." The tiny girl was trying to sound brave despite her trembling frame. I admired that. 

"Liar. I know she's fibbing. Why else would he threaten us?" One of the girls inquired, disbelieving.

The tiny girl shrugged, "I don't know Kim. I'm very late for class now." She retorted and tried to step around them to probably head off to class but the leader of the group halted her movement and shoved her roughly against the wall. The girl whimpered in fear as if expecting something to happen just then.

"Come on, Hillary. I'll be in trouble for coming late." The little girl begged, her big eyes wide in fear, not able to retain her brave pretense for long.

Hillary, the leader of the group, leaned close to her and whispered something I couldn't catch from my position at the door, but I had seen enough to know that I had to do something now.

I didn't need to close my eyes or do any hand gestures to perform magic. I just needed to imagine what I wanted and summon it into being. I couldn't summon big objects, I'd tried to no avail. So instead, I conjured several tiny gravels over the heads of the clique of mean girls. 

They shrieked in surprise and fear, trying to avoid them, but that didn't help because the rain of stones moved with them. The small girl didn't wait for them to pay attention to her again, she ran to the door where I was. 

I waited for her to step out of the room. When she noticed me, she smiled at me in gratitude and grabbed my hand, surprising me. "What…" I began to ask but she didn't wait for me to complete my question before running, with me following behind her.

After we were a long distance away from the girls, she stopped, breathing a little heavily. 

"Sorry about that. I had to take you away from there so they wouldn't see you. It would have put you in trouble with them. Thanks for helping me."

I nodded as I patted my red hair which I knew would be looking rough by now.  "You are welcome," I responded and frowned when I realized we were late.

"We are tardy for class, aren't we?" She asked, reading my mind, leaning against the wall, looking like she had nowhere to go even as she talked about being late for her class.

"Yes. Ten more minutes before the end of the first period, so I guess I'll just have to miss this class." I replied to her, mirroring her action by leaning against the wall.

She stepped away from the wall, "we can't stay here. Mr. Filch is going to take us to the principal's office for not going to class." She motioned for me to follow her, and I did.

We walked down the hallway towards the females' dorm, situated three hallways away. Most of the rooms here were empty, that was how big N. A was from the inside. Magic may be at work here. The school would never get too small if it truly was magic at work.

The male dorm was located down a different hallway opposite the females'. "I haven't seen you here before so I'm guessing you are new?" She inquired as we walked up the stairs.

I nodded. N. A was a big medieval-looking school that could occupy over two hundred people. There were several portions of the schools that I hadn't explored, but I planned to rectify that as soon as I got used to life here.

"Where did you come from? She asked.

"Transferred from Witches' Academy," I replied, wondering where the scared, whimpering girl I saw being bullied disappeared to. The girl talking to me now was confident and was smiling as if the last few minutes never happened. I guessed being surrounded by mean wolves, stronger than you would scare anyone…well, not me though.

"Okay. I'm Adalyn." She introduced herself, offering her hand.

"I'm Reggy, short for Regina," I replied, taking her hand and giving it a firm shake.

"It's nice to meet you, Regina." She said and dropped her hand.

She opened one of the rooms on the second floor where my room was located. I followed her into the room and looked around in amazement.

Her side of the room was beautifully designed in baby pink. A beautiful pink floral bed sheet covered her bed, and a pink and white duvet was draped over the bottom part of her bed.

The other part was the same as mine, the walls were white, and the bed was covered in a plain white bed sheet. Adalyn's roommate was absent. She was probably in class as we should have been.

"Wow," I murmured.

She smiled brightly at me. "Too girlie, huh?"

Just then, the alarm for the next period blared. "Well, at least I know your room now. What class do you have now?" I asked as we began our walk out of the room and towards our classes.

"Dangerous Beasts In MistWorld. It's in Evreaux Hallway. What about you?" She asked. We were approaching the intersection where we would have to part ways. I knew the school so well by now because I had explored it when I first arrived with the aid of the map provided to every new student. 

I knew there were five lecture hallways, the Evreaux, Essex, Apollon, Gaeon, and Varys Hallways. They were the founders of Neutral Academy.

"Boundaries and Territories," I responded as we arrived at the intersection leading to our different classrooms. "This is where we part ways. See you at lunch?" I asked her.

I smiled when her eyes got as big as saucers before she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, please." She grinned and skipped down Gaeon Hallway towards her classroom.

I smiled and shook my head in amusement before walking down to mine.