[https://img.wattpad.com/009406871c95a4f0c922b2f2ee9346e6b3552eb0/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f3073684d4862536b5962415138413d3d2d313235363530303839382e313732616465326662323964343838623937383737363139303535342e706e67]

The door led into an oval room. Along most of the walls were bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling. On the floor were painted arrows pointing towards North, South, East and West. The room was lit by a large window in the opposite end of the room, which took up a third of the back wall and through which she could see a view of the forest. In front of the window stood a carved wooden table, and behind the table sat a blue lion. The lion was wearing a black vest with a grey shirt underneath.

As Sophie stepped into the room, the lion got up from its seat. It walked on two legs, and it was at least twice as big and muscular as a regular lion. Sophie was convinced that if it wanted to, it could snap her in half with the flick of a single paw.

With slow and heavy footsteps, the lion stepped closer [https://img.wattpad.com/9b2cc3dfcec13905e9d1f5efa7e8ac512045761a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6a51594a424a44597876567373513d3d2d313235363439383632302e313730633234653034363533643836373839323838323838373930392e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

With slow and heavy footsteps, the lion stepped closer. Sophie took an involuntary step backwards. It stood in front of her, bent forwards and squinted its eyes a bit as it looked at her.

"Sophie Somera?" The lion's voice was deep and powerful. It could send shivers down the spine of even the bravest man.

Sophie nodded nervously.

The lion threw his arms around her and excitedly lifted her up into the air.

"Sophie! It's so great to finally meet you!" The blue lion was grinning from ear to ear. "We've been looking forward to your arrival for so long!"

"You- You knew I was coming?" Sophie couldn't keep up at all. Suddenly the big, intimidating lion was acting like a kindly grandpa who had known her all her life.

"Certainly! It's rare for humans to attend this school, and I'm sorry to say that right now there is nary a one. So, when a human child is accepted, it is always a cause for celebration."

"Accepted?" Sophie repeated.

The lion put her back down.

"Yes, it is unfortunately rare. But as for you, we've been expecting you ever since the time when you would have joined the first grade. But due to the important work that your parents were doing on behalf of our world and their own, we were forced to delay that. So it wasn't until now, at the age of 12, that you were finally able to join us."

Sophie was starting to feel dizzy. Way too many questions were flying through her head, and she felt like it was going to explode. The lion seemed to notice her bewildered look and turned down his own excitement.

"Ah, I suppose my enthusiasm was a bit much there, right? I just always get so excited when we get a new student from a totally different culture, a different world, even! But allow me to start over. My name is Marro, and I am the principal of this school. I bid you welcome, Sophie."

Marro extended a paw and shook hands with Sophie. Her thoughts were still all over the place, but she managed to spit out a question.

"Did- Did my parents really go to this school?"

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"Why, certainly," Marro answered. "I was also the principal when they attended the school, so I know them well. Though I suppose that Nimum would be the one who knows your parents best. They were all classmates together, after all."

Marro walked over to one of his bookshelves and pulled out a small piece of paper which he handed to Sophie. It was a class photo.

"They shouldn't be hard to spot. They're the only two humans in the photo."

He was right. Among the many and varied other beings, Sophie saw two kids that looked like her mom and dad. A single person was standing between them – she looked like some type of elf girl with big, frizzy hair. Marro pointed to her.

"That would be Nimum. Have your parents told you about her?"

Sophie shook her head. She couldn't remember her parents ever even mentioning the name Nimum. Another question burst out of her: "But why wouldn't they have told me about all this?"

Why would her parents ever hide something this huge from her?

Marro looked at her with compassion and understanding. "Well, knowing your parents as I do, I suspect the answer is simple: They probably wanted you to feel the same surprise and joy of discovery that they felt when they first arrived here."

Sophie thought back to her mother refusing to tell her more about the school, saying it had to be a surprise.

"They could still have told me some of it..."

"I'm sure they could have. But then again, there was always the risk that their work would need to go on indefinitely, and then you'd never get to see the school at all. If that were the case, it would almost be cruel to let you know ahead of time, before they were certain that you would get to attend. But in any case, their reasons are not for me to say."

Marro gave her a pat on the shoulder and a smile [https://img.wattpad.com/4aeb042ba0d017aeb3815924896421ad94453f2a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f47775746786832326c675f5434673d3d2d313235363439383632302e313730396237323964313332386131313131313633373035323235312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Marro gave her a pat on the shoulder and a smile. Sophie smiled back, finding some comfort in the explanation.

"So how was the bus ride to school?" Marro asked. "It's been a while since we've had that route open, so I wonder if there's any maintenance that we need to take care of."

"Um... It was very different... At least from what I'm used to..." Sophie's face broke into a big grin. "But it was the best bus ride I've ever had!"

Marro laughed.

"I'm glad to hear it. We do want our new students to have as smooth a bus ride as possible. It's no use scaring them off right off the bat!"

"Well, there was one thing that was a bit scary..."

"Oh? What's that then? Was it the flying?" Marro scratched at his nose with a claw. "Hmm... I suppose it is a bit intense to drive the bus directly off a ledge, but it's such a rush! And very efficient."

"No, it was actually a dark shape that I saw behind the trees."

For a moment, Marro froze completely. His face grew serious, and he leaned down closer to Sophie.

"A dark shape... Could you describe what it looked like?"

Sophie shook her head.

"All I could see was that it had a pair of glowy red eyes."

Marro straightened back up.

"I don't suppose it could be..." he muttered to himself. Worry was showing in his face as he looked at Sophie, but when he noticed her discomfort, he reverted to a smile.

"Don't you worry. I'll make sure to handle all that. See, the boundary between the human world and the magical world is usually closed, and is only ever opened when human beings are admitted to the school." As Marro explained, he pointed to a map that was hanging on the wall behind Sophie.

On the map were drawn two planets. One of them Sophie recognized immediately. That one was Earth. The other planet she'd never seen before. Connecting the two planets were some odd, glowing threads, but she couldn't figure out what those were supposed to be.

"When that happens, it's not uncommon for beings from the magical world to attempt to sneak into the human world. But none of them have ever succeeded," Marro said in a reassuring tone. "But now I won't take up any more of your time, Sophie! You have plenty of things to do. You haven't even met your classmates yet. Sad, really – you should have met them years ago. But before all that, you need to get to the school library and pick up your books. And then you can meet your classmates. Normally I would take you there myself, but I'm afraid there's something I'll have to investigate personally. So, if you'll listen very closely, I'll tell you how to get to the school library."

Sophie was lying in her bed with the duvet pulled up over her head [https://img.wattpad.com/8c8906bfb2eff326a3f9cd52b86ce8ec6d8acc52/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f767862706948304a73664a7570673d3d2d313235333934313835302e313733663230616534623765333861363936343636313337343032322e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

- Next chapter Friday the 2th of December