Chapter: 2

"It is hurting!"

"I don't care!"

"I really cannot breath..."

"Whatever."

After saying that I pulled myself away from my crushing hug. Mike started to breath loudly.

"It wasn't that strong Mike." I rolled my eyes and a smile crept up on my face.

The kids had indulged themselves in eating the lunch which had arrived just after Mike had settled himself in the seat. The long dining table which was once empty was now filled with various dishes starting from Italian and ending at Pakistani food. The savory aroma had engulfed the huge dining room and the trucks rich of taste had hit our taste buds causing not only me but also other kids to moan, relishing the taste. In front of me was a simple yet delicious plate of Mac n Cheese. I know my choice was kind of simple out of a thousand options but couldn't help when a favorite dish was also among the options.

"Mike, I think you should start speaking now." I said sternly while wiping my mouth with a napkin.

"About what?" He asked with an innocent look on his face.

"You know what I am talking about. I won't explain myself so please get started or believe you me, the pressure will make my brain explode." I looked straight into his grey eyes which were looking back at my grey eyes.

"Cupcake," Mike let out a long breath before wiping his mouth with the napkin and started to fiddle with his fingers which made it crystal clear that he was nervous.

"You see, we are kind of....well.....kidnapped. But like in a good way..." Before he could finish, he stopped in the middle when he saw my serious expression turning into a shocked and panicked one.

"Easy cupcake!" Mike leaned forward and wrapped his right arm around my shoulder pulling me to his side. Few kids started to stare but ignoring them, I leaned into his touch.

"So the thing is, after the incident we went through, we were rescued by the rescue staff of this academy. But the turning point is that they didn't take us back to our families, they brought us here. And you know what?" He asked.

"What?" I asked back.

"They say that all these kids sitting here encountered the same incident although they were in the different parts of the world. You see that girl with strawberry blonde hair? She is from Canada while that boy with brown skin and black spectacles? He is from Pakistan." He said while pointing towards them.

That explains why they are wearing bandages. I thought to myself.

"When I woke up, I found myself in the same bedroom you were in. Mrs.Potter was already there doing your bandages while you were faint. I thanked her for taking care of you and asked her about everything. Although she didn't reply all the questions but she made few things clear which you also need to keep in your mind. Lady Hannah is the senior manager at the place and also a teacher. The way Mrs.Potter described her makes it clear that she is the last person on earth you might want to mess with."

"Mike, does this mean...." I couldn't let the words come out of my mouth. They were choking me.

"Yes. We are stuck here and cannot go back. And....." He was interrupted by a blaring sound of the door being banged.

On turning back towards the entrance door, I saw that there stood four women and four men standing on the left and right side of a lady who stood in the middle with all her might. What an entrance.

She had blackish grey hair which were cut into a short hair cut that reached the top of the neck. They were curly and seemed fluffy even from such a distance. Her eyes were a light hazel, a color which I had always admired, but at the same time they were bloodshot. She seemed to be in her early sixties. Dark red lipstick highlighted her thin and flat lips while earrings were hanging loosely on her ears. Despite all this, she had an attraction that made her look good.

Apart from the natural features, what might have caught everyone's attention was her dress. It had golden neck collar that was open from the middle and golden outline at the sleeves. The rest of the gown was a bright red with a golden belt.

Underneath this sleeveless gown was she wearing a white dress

reaching the floor with baggy sleeves but ones which were tightened at the wrists. Her dress felt like a costume from some old drama and to make it look even more dramatic, she held a long stick in her left hand with an orange colored marble at the top of the stick, while the rest of the body was of wood.

After standing there for like a few minutes and staring at all the poor kids, she marched towards the stage that was on the left side of mine. I was sitting, almost, at the beginning of the table and hence near to the stage. She had a very strong personality, one could tell.

"Speaking of the devil." Sighed Mike.

"You mean Lady Hannah?" I asked.

Mike simply nodded, his eyes glued to the lady. The whole room had turned dead silent. Not there were even any whispering sounds. After clearing her throat, Lady Hannah started to speak.

"My dear grown up kids!" She shouted. Her voice was so loud and strong that she didn't even need a mic to speak.

"It is time for you all to get the answers of your questions. So without wasting any time, let us begin. I am Lady Hannah and want you all to call me by this name. Not ma'am or miss. I would like to welcome you all to the Bounds Academy. First things first, this academy is a academy where we train hidden Diamonds  of the world. When I mention diamonds, I mean you. The truth is that none of you is an ordinary human being. Now listen carefully and never think of what is coming next. Just pay attention!" My heart started to race. What was she about to say? And what did she meant by not ordinary human beings?

"You all possess great powers which are unknown to you. Some of you got Dark Magic while some got Light Magic which will divide you into two groups. Students of Dorm A belong to Light Magic while those in Dorm B belong to Dark Magic."

This meant that I belonged to Light Magic while Mike belonged to Dark Magic. Felt like the world was playing with our fates really bad. Magic? Seriously? This sentence of hers was met by gasps from the kids. But Mike however remained calm throughout the time. Strange.

"Ahem!" She cleared her throat in order to get everyone's attention.

"However, I would like to add here a very important thing. Our book of Prophecy has mentioned of the coming of one person who will possess extraordinary powers and the one due to whom others will have power. I standing here got powers because of that person but its been ages since our academy came to existence. We haven't found that student, yet. If you think that person will be lucky to have such powers then let me conclude that no. That person will bring end to this magical world or will make everyone equal by giving powers."

"He or she won't be able to control his or her powers and might even lead to the deaths of half of the population of the 'Diamonds'. Lets see if we will be lucky enough this year to find that person or maybe this year again we won't be able to find that person. Actually it would be very good if that person isn't here. I don't want the world of magic to end so soon." She said with a proud smile on her face.

"Anyways, entering the more important things. You, every individual sitting here will be taught how to use your powers and how to awaken them, at the very first place. None of you here is less than 17 and none older than 18. Which means sooner or later, your powers will be awakened. You will be trained to protect yourselves and others and also to fight your enemies."

"Enemies!?" A shrieking voice rang through the room.

Everyone turned their heads towards the source of the voice and my eyes soon met the face. The owner of the voice seemed to be of my age, 17, and was very pretty or shall I say cute. She had an A line Bob with orangish caramel colored hair. Her eyes seemed to be in a blue color. Cuteness and beauty was overloaded.

"Yes! Enemies!" Lady Hannah caught the attention of everybody.

"They might be in the form of blood drinking, flesh eating monsters or in the form of normal people lying behind the shadows, ready to attack you at any time. But however, you must stay assure that you will be protected from them, as long as you remain loyal to the Bounds Academy of course." My heart reached my throat and I felt like I might start crying. There was so much danger in this life. The life she wanted us to live.

"There are qualified teachers here to train you and I must add now that the rules of the Bounds Academy are very strict. Few of them are; not to go to floor no 5 and in the basement. Second, not to interfere in any matter, can do so if you are asked to and thirdly, not to hide anything from us. Stay loyal, share every thing with us so that we might help you."

"And yes! You all are now restricted to this academy. You can never meet your parents, at least not until you fully gain control over your powers and get matured and strong enough to keep your self hidden and protected. Remember, for the Bounds Academy loyalty is the first priority. Anyone found guilty under this charge shall get ready for getting hanged till death!" I am sure by now I was not only the one whose eyes were filled with tears but there were also other people.

"Let us end this meeting here and get ready for a tour of the academy. Till then, have a good day my Diamonds."

She concluded her speech with a smirk and hopped off the stage and left with the batch of four men and women. The remaining four men and women remained there. Mike looked towards me, his expression was incomprehensible.

"I am going to the bathroom. Take care cupcake. Will meet you tomorrow." He said while kissing my forehead.

"Aren't you going to join the tour?"I asked.

"Umm, no. I don't want to. Like, I have seen enough of it with Sir Willowk."

"Willowk?! What kind of name is that?" I said with a little smile on my face as I tried to get rid of the tense mood.

"He is a worker here. Anyways. Take care, huh." He said while pulling me into a tight embrace. I don't know why but my heart was sinking at the feeling of him leaving me. I didn't want him to leave me.

"Okay. See ya tomorrow bro. Love ya." I replied with a tight knot at my heart.

He gave me a heart warming smile which showed off his dimples on both the cheeks and caused his grey eyes to glisten. He ran a hand through his curly hair and left without uttering another word, after asking one of the teachers there for permission to leave.

"Okay diamonds! Get yourself ready. The first row of the Diamonds sitting kindly come out and make a line here in front of me."

No one made a move apart from me. Seriously? Okay yeah I know I was one of the most obedient students back at school but I wasn't expecting the same behavior from people here. I was shortly followed after the girl with an A line Bob who offered me a very bright smile as she stood behind me.

Sir stood in front of me. He was shirtless and was wearing a cape which was in black color and it flowed to the ground, followed by black trousers. His dark brown blonde hair were sleeked back and not even one strand of the hair was out of place. He wore two golden bracelets. He seemed to be in his mid thirties.

"You can call me Lord Higgins, Diamonds!" He said but practically he was looking at me. Seems like he saw me staring at him for a little too long. Great job Cressida!

"Kid, my costume seems to be quite amusing for you, huh?" He asked in pure British accent, laced with amusement.

"Not amusing but yeah, quite out of the place." I replied honestly. This earned me a smile.

"Everyone does kid!" He chuckled.

Soon, two long lines parallel to each other were formed and there we went out the dining room. Both the lines were being led by a teacher. However, both the lines went in the opposite directions. I was leading the line with the rest of the kids high on my tracks. Soon we reached a stair case.

The whole academy was lightly

lit and was really horrifying. There were paintings hanging on the walls of the staircase and most of the artifacts were made up wood. The whole floor was stratified with carpet of different colors at different places.

After climbing the stairs, immediately to our left was a door with a console on the right side of the door. The walls were of a shade of dark burnt green; lending a hand in creating a more dark environment. Seems like this academy really needed an interior decorator.

"Kids this is the library. There are altogether two libraries in the academy. This one is smaller compared to the other one but don't worry we will soon...." He kept on speaking until he opened the door and stopped in his mid tracks.

I was right behind him hence could see what made him stop.

"Damn shit!" He cursed in a low voice.

But that is not what mattered at the moment. It was what laid in front of me. It felt like my heart had stopped beating and my breath got caught in my throat. I pushed Lord Higgins to the side and stumbled into the room. Soon I fell to my knees and then something wet fell onto my hands and lap. I noticed they were tears. But what had caused all this?

A head which was ripped from a body laid on the console table which was right in the middle of the library. While his body was ripped into pieces and no place in the library was free of blood.

"Mike." I said barely above a whisper while tears kept on falling from eyes. My whole world had shattered into pieces and dust.

***

Keep reading the book for more awaited fun especially in the next chapter.

Love,

 EemanFaisal25