On the morning of the first day, Ardwyn was already up before the sun rose. He had prepared everything the night before, setting out his mage clothes folded neatly over the arm of the desk chair. He had tried them on once before, but now was the day when he would wear them out in public.
As he put the mage clothes on, a sense of strangeness passed over him. He practiced walking across the room while wearing the mage robe, with the robe drifting in the air behind him. Normally he was used to just wearing plain T-shirts and jeans. He had to admit, the mage robe looked cool, like some kind of a wizard costume.
Ardwyn tried making a few different gestures with his hands to check if the mage outfit gave him any special magical powers, but nothing happened. He remembered the words the student Weston said earlier when he had made a magic shield — Aether Arcanum! Ardwyn shouted. Still, nothing happened.
Forgetting that Flynn was in the room, the shout woke him up. Flynn turned in his bed toward Ardwyn. “What —?” he mumbled, squinting at Ardwyn through sleepy eyes.
“Sorry,” Ardwyn said. “I was just trying something.”
Flynn rubbed his eyes, while an amused smile formed on his face, taking in the whole sight of Ardwyn in full mage attire, including the boots. “Getting into character already, huh?”
Ardwyn took a deep breath. He felt a tingling sensation, not from any sort of magic or spell, but from the sheer anticipation of the day ahead.
“Well,” Flynn said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, “if you’re done trying to blow up the room, maybe we should head down for breakfast? Classes start soon.”
The Academy dining hall buzzed with excited students. Ardwyn and Flynn pushed through the heavy oak doors, and a sea of black robes rippled before them. The hall reverberated with the clattering of plates and utensils. The air was filled with the scents of breakfast dishes — freshly baked bread along with other varieties were set out on long tables, along with cheese and fruit platters. Pitchers of juice of all kinds, including pumpkin juice, cranberry juice, and orange juice stood in the back beside the tables in what seemed like limitless quantities. The pitchers were full to the brim.
Ardwyn weaved through the crowd. He felt the curious glances of the other students. He heightened his back, trying to appear casual but a flash of self-consiousness came over him, wondering if the other students somehow suspected that he was not from here and he did not belong.
“Ardwyn! Flynn! Over here!” A voice called from the back. It was Myriel. Her hair looked extra neat today, brushed and parted to the sides. When she approached, Ardwyn noticed her eyes widening slightly at the sight of him in the mage robes.
“Well, don’t you look the part,” she said, a hint of admiration in her voice. “The robes suit you.”
Ardwyn felt his cheeks warm. “Thanks,” he mumbled, sliding onto the bench by the table beside her. Flynn, who seemed at ease, was already reaching for a platter of golden pastries. Around them, Ardwyn could feel the excitement of other students. He overhead some snippets of conversations, drawing his curiosity further.
“Remember last year when that one guy fell off while dragon riding?” an older student said. “I wonder whatever happened to him?” Another voice said, “I heard this year they are going to hold the dragon riding competition earlier than usual.”
The thoughts of riding a dragon made Ardwyn wonder what would happen in the case he fell off. Was there some sort of protective spell?
As Ardwyn was lost in various thoughts of his first day, he didn’t notice the imposing figure who paused near his table. The figure’s eyes scanned the room before settling down on Ardwyn, and then Flynn. “Ah, fresh blood”, the figure said looking at them.
Ardwyn tried to ignore the older student. Don’t look. Don’t turn around. Suddenly he felt the sounds of the dining hall quiet down awkwardly around him. The students at the next table started to sneak glances at the scene without trying to be obvious. Ardwyn tried to focus on his breakfast. He couldn’t help but to feel the student standing behind him. Reluctantly, he looked up, his eyes meeting the tall figure looming over him.
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The older student stood there with an air of arrogant confidence. He had a smirk on his face, part charming and part menacing.
“You —“ he said to Ardwyn, “I’m talking to you.”
Ardwyn wondered why he had picked him out. All of the students close by stopped in the middle of eating and looked their way.
“What’s your name?” the older student said.
Ardwyn swallowed hard. The silence seemed to stretch on forever.
“Ardwyn,” he managed to finally say.
“Ardwyn?” the older student said as if tasting the name. “Ardwyn, you’re not from here, are you? Where are you from?”
Ardwyn wondered what gave it away. The older student must have noticed he was different in some way. Perhaps it was some kind of magical aura thing.
“Where I’m from?” Ardwyn repeated, buying time as he considered his response. “I’m from a small village called Elmbrook. It’s not really on most maps.”
“Elmbrook?” The older student said and narrowed his eyes, studying Ardwyn carefully. After another moment of reflection, he said, “Well, let’s just say I’m someone you’ll want to remember.” With a final, mischievous smile, the student turned and walked away, leaving a wave of whispers at the table behind.
Ardwyn released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Gradually the noise at the table returned to normal.
After the older student had left and was well out of hearing distance, Flynn turned to Ardwyn, “You’re not really from Elmbrook, are you?”
“No,” Ardwyn said.
“I mean,” Flynn said, “I know you mentioned you crossed over through a portal from another world.”
Myriel cut in. “We’re not going to spread that information around,” she said in a low whisper so that the nearby students couldn’t hear her. “Your secret is safe with us, Ardwyn. And for what it’s worth, I think it’s amazing that you’ve come all this way from another world, to enroll here in the Academy. That takes a lot of courage.”
Whenever Myriel complimented Ardwyn something inside of him jumped for joy, as if he had scored a point in a game of some sort. He felt a growing sense of attraction to Myriel. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but something about the way she moved, the way she spoke, was elegant and charming.
He tried to act cool in front of Myriel. After getting a plate of food from the front area, Ardwyn came back and ate slowly, casually. He didn’t want to appear anxious in front of Myriel, especially after what had happened. Don’t feel intimidated. Don’t feel shy. He told himself silently.
Flynn on the other hand seemed to be enjoying himself, without the slightest care in the world of how he looked in front of others. His cheeks were full, enjoyably chewing on the food with his mouth open, and gulping down the orange juice in one large swig. “This is delicious!” Flynn exclaimed. “I could get used to this!”
The school seemed to spare no expense in the food choices available, which was a stark contrast compared to the world where Ardwyn had come from, where on most days he usually skipped breakfast, and even many times lunch as well, due to his lack of money. Here money seemed to be of no concern.
Ardwyn walked back up to the food counter, and grabbed another baguette with butter, along with some fruit. He sat back down at the table and buttered the baguette with care in case Myriel might notice his technique. He wanted to appear in control of even the finer details in front of Myriel. On the side of the plate, he loaded a pile of fresh raspberries and strawberries. The berries looked bigger than any berries he had ever seen back home, juicier and more vivid in some way. The colors were alive as if painted. Myriel had also taken a side of fruit and sat down next to him.
For some reason, Ardwyn felt incredibly lucky to be sitting next to Myriel. A girl with her type of looks would have been hugely popular back at his old high school. Ardwyn felt his status around the hall elevated as a result. Maybe all this time the other students gave him quizzical looks not because he seemed different, but rather because he was the lucky one who sat next to one of the prettiest girls in the dining hall.
I should say something to her. Ardwyn thought. Something flirty, something that would make her smile. His heart started to race faster at the thought of trying to flirt. What could he possibly say? Maybe he could just be straightforward, and compliment her on her looks, give her a hint that he was attracted to her. His heart started to beat even faster than before.
When he turned to Myriel, she seemed to be lost in space, staring off into some point beyond the dining hall. The surrounding chatter did not seem to bother her.
“Myriel —,” Ardwyn said, starting to feel awkward already. His voice came out softer than he had intended. He cleared his throat and raised his voice louder. “I just wanted to say that —,”
Myriel stared back at him with an expression of horror. Her mouth opened and her eyes widened.
“Myriel?” Ardwyn asked. “What’s wrong?”
She placed both hands over her mouth and gasped in shock. “Ardwyn! Your ears! What happened to them?”
Ardwyn felt his ears. They were long and hairy like the ears of some monstrous creature.