The girl earlier was right. This place was surrounded by somehow… gloomy forest. Echo stood in front of a big gate. The big entrance was connected by a high metal fence that surrounded everything it could cover. The trees were… kind of dead, with barely withering leaves still stuck on the branches. And the crows were also here. The caws could be heard quite loudly. But still, there was no building that looked anything like a dorm.

Echo was quite tired at this point. “Do I have to continue to walk more?” She was not physically weak or anything. However, since she was navigating here for the first time, she was bound to get lost and have to walk around. Now, she regretted not arriving earlier.

“It’s okay, Echo. Walking this much doesn’t matter.” Echo tried to lift her spirit by herself. “You used to climb and walk down mountains before this. You used to run away from a scary beast. You used to swim against the river current…”

“Hello?”

“Eekk!” A girl's voice suddenly barged in and sent a jolt to Echo. She quickly looked at her back in shock and saw a girl around her size looking at her. Her bob-brown hair was cut around her chin, and she was wearing what she assumed was a uniform with an extra black robe.

The girl asked her again. “Hello. What are you doing here?” There was a curiosity in her eyes.

Echo quickly put down her suitcase. “I’m trying to find Midwood Manor.” She glanced at the forest behind her and looked back at the girl. “Are you from here?”

The dazed look on that girl's face quickly changed into a bright smile. “Oh, you’re on your way to Midwood Manor? How lucky, I live there! Are you probably…” She observed Echo. “A new student?”

“Yes,” Echo admitted right away.

The girl immediately clapped her hands. “Really? I thought we were already done with new student entrances this year!”

“I arrived late actually. Due to…some unfortunate accidents.”

The short-haired girl walked close to Echo. “That’s unfortunate. But never mind. I’ll show you around here. Come follow me.” The girl waved her hand and asked Echo to follow her. Her voice singing in excitement. As if her mother had just given birth to her new little sibling.

Echo didn’t speak more. She followed the girl into the gloomy forest. The stone pavement was cracked yet still good enough to walk around on. Street lamps also stood along the road, which lit the way at night. But due to the surrounding forest, it would definitely look scary.

“So what’s your name?”

“Echo. Just Echo.”

“Oh hello, Echo. That’s a unique name. My name is Esme. A third year here.” Esme introduced herself as they walked on the path slowly. “Are you familiar with this school?”

“No. I come from a faraway land.”

Esme turned her head to Echo. “Oh? So you’re a foreigner. Hmm…” She surveyed Echo carefully. The dress that Echo wore, although plain, didn’t look like something a local would wear. “You do look like that. Are you here based on recommendation?”

“Yes. From Madame Constance.”

Esme’s face brightened up even brighter. “Madame Constance?”

“You know her?”

“Yes, she is very famous here. Notable for her magic research. She is an outstanding witch.”

“....Witch.”

Esme looked back to the front. “Are you a witch?”

“Yes.”

“Hehehe, me as well.” Esme giggled quietly. “The moment you are sent here, already shows who you are.”

Echo gazed at Esme’s back head. The weird feeling shrouded her heart. “So there are other people like me somewhere in the dorm?” It was an unusual situation for her.

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“Hehe, I’ll introduce you to our sisters when we arrive there.”

The word made Echo curious. “Sisters?”

“Yes. The sisters of us witches. We have a witch coven here.” Esme briefly explained the true nature of Midwood Manor. “Don’t worry. When we reach there, I’ll introduce you to this academy. This is my duty as your oldest senior.”

“Okay.” Echo didn’t consult more. Like Esme had said, she simply followed her until they reached the dorm. She lifted her chin and faced the sky. It looked gloomy here, very different from the bright sky at the other part of the academy ground. However, she didn’t feel isolated or displaced. Since it looked the same as the western forest at her home, which she frequented a lot with her master.

****

“So…..” Esme was standing between Echo and a few other girls. Not a lot in number, just seven of them only. It was quite a small number for a place as big as this dorm. “Let me introduce her.” Esme gestured at Echo while facing the rest of the girls. “This is Echo. She is new here. Supposed to come earlier with everyone else.”

Echo observed the people gathering in front of her. They were all wearing the same uniform as Esme as well. A cedar-coloured dress that reached the knee. Some of them also wore the same black robe as Esme. “Hello, I’m Echo. Nice to meet all of you.” She barely hid the nervousness inside the voice.

“Hi, there! I’m Bethe. The same year as Esme. There is also Morgana but she isn’t here right now. We are the only last years here. You can consult me if you want to ask anything about this school. About this country even. I’m the most knowledgeable you know.” The tall girl with hair reached her waist and approached Echo. The aura of friendliness seeped from her as she took Echo’s hand and shook it.

Bethe then turned to her fellow dorm mates. She pointed at them one by one. “The ones here are your fellow first years, Ursa, Marigold and Azula. Then… The second year, Jade and Denise. There is also Fortuna as well but she also isn’t here.”

In response, the girls said hello in their way. Some of them were high-spirited and there were low voices as well. Echo saw that they all have multiple different personalities. So she made a notice in her mind to acquaint with them properly later.

BANGG!!!

The loud banging door surprised everyone there. Each head turned to see the source.

“Everyoneeee, I have news here.” A redhead woman with glasses suddenly rushed in. “We have a new…Uh?” Her eyes stopped at the unfamiliar face in front of her. It took her a few seconds to sink in. “Oh, I see. So you’re already here.” Her eyes then followed up on the rest of the girls. “And I can see you are all acquainted?”

Esme barged in and raised her hand. “I met her in front of the gate.”

“All right then. Thank you for your assistance.” The lady finally got the whole thing. “I’ll introduce myself. I’m Miss Rowan. The warden of Midwood Manor. You are the new student who just arrived right? I rushed here after the Headmaster informed me.”

“Hello, Miss Rowan. I’m Echo.” She introduced herself for the nth time today.

“Okay, girl. You arrived quite late here so I’ll brief you quickly but clearly.” Rowan clapped her hands as she looked at the rest of the girls. “Okay, girls. Please continue whatever you need to do today. I’ll take over from here. She needs to catch up with everything.”

“Okay!” The girls responded and dispersed away. One by one leaving the main hall.

Esme tapped Echo’s shoulder and winked. “We will have a party for you later.” The senior girl then walked away and went upstairs.

Now only two of them were left in the large space. Echo turned to Rowan after everyone left.

“Okay, follow me. I’ll show you the room.”

The student dorm was medium in size, with a classical design carved all over the building. There were three floors together, with a large hall at the main door. The large spiralling staircase was connected from the main hall to the second floor. Echo followed Rowan to the third floor and headed to the room on the right wing.

“I just notified about you arriving here just now. So, I have to rush the preparation.” She stopped at the wooden door and opened it. “This is your room.”

Echo went inside to see the room. The room was medium size with a small living room in the front. Then she saw two connected open rooms and a hallway.

“This is supposed to be shared by two students here. But unfortunately, you have to be a little~ alone this year. I hope you won't mind.”

Each open room was decorated with a bed and some furniture. And a window that led to outside.

“You can choose which bed you want. It’s a little dusty so you need to clean a little more~. But I assure you everything here is in the right condition to use. After all, not many students used this dorm.”

Echo became curious. “Are there other dorms, Miss Rowan?”

“There are five others. Each is quite different from the other, based on what groups of students live there. If you have a chance, maybe you can visit them. Midwood Manor accepted students that practised magic that are different from the rest.”

Echo’s mind spoke to herself. ‘So it is not a familiar thing here as well.’

“Before you came here, the staff gave you some things, right?”

Echo nodded in response.

“There is supposed to be your class schedule in there. Along with some academy notes. I recommend you just stick with the rest of the first years here. They will show you around. Although they are probably still not familiar with this place yet. This is a very large school ground after all.”

“It’s okay. I learn quite fast.”

“I’m glad. Tonight I’ll bring you your uniform. For now, just clean your things here and rest up for a bit. I’m pretty sure the other girls are probably already heading to their classes.”

“I will. Thank you, Miss Rowan.”

The older lady nodded in acceptance. “Sure. Now as a warden, I’ll officially welcome you to the Midwood Manor. Welcome to the house, young witch.”