NOT EDITED

The next day the dining hall was buzzing, gossip flowing around each table as they ate breakfast. Ava had no interest, but when Tova joined her at the table, she was bound to find out what was going on. Ava sat at the round table with Raven to her right, and Tempest to her left. Tova seated herself opposite of the girls. Placing her plated filled with fruits, sandwiches and her drink of coffee on the table, she took a deep breathe.

Ava could feel Raven stifle a laughter as she waited for Tova to spill the gossip, and Tempest was silently sitting next her, head on the table, staring at nothing in particular.

With the last peaceful second to her ears, she grabbed her last apple and motioned for Tova to speak, knowing she would no matter what the other three said.

"Okay okay," she started, almost bouncing in her seat. "So apparently someone saw the queen." Tova spoke fast, eagerness slipping off her in waves. Ava furrowed her eyebrows and felt Tempest stiffen next to her.

"What? No one even knows what her name is, let alone what she looks like." Ava didn't believe the rumour for even a second. Sure, it could've been the queen, but when no one knows what the girl looks like, there's no solid proof. Both Raven and Tempest sat up a little more straighter, finding the news slightly more interesting now.

"Who saw her?" Raven questioned, putting her hand under her chin and tapping her lips with a finger. "It can't be true." She concluded before anyone spoke.

"I agree." Ava said, no way in hell the queen, Nyx, would have slipped up now, she was too good.

"But, apparently a dude, who's name I don't recall, is friends with one of the servants in the castle, and says he saw a woman, the queen leave the castle last night." Tova said, seemingly not hearing herself.

"That doesn't even make sense Tova," Raven laughed. "He saw a woman leave the castle, cool, was probably another servant or a fucking maid." The table went silent, everyone eyeing their surroundings. No teachers were about. Foul language, along with relationships was one of the forbidden things at the school. Rules that were simply outdated.

"Did they say what she looked like?" Tempest questioned after being silent the whole time. A small frown playing on her lips.

"No," Tova began. "Just that they saw a woman, but look!" She gestured towards the other students in the hall that were still talking loudly about the so called queen. "Everyone believe it."

"That's because they're stupid." An unknown, male voice said. Ava snapped her eyes up, eyeing the new person at the table. A boy the same age as the rest, he wore the same clothes as the rest, though his top seemed a little too tight for comfort. With cloud-like curly black hair atop his grown, he had a comforting smile and warm brown eyes.

"You are?" Raven beat her to the question, giving him a once over before rolling her eyes.

"Oh this is Jonah, he's one of the best tinkering people in our team." Tova said, matter of factly.

"Tinkering people?" Ava laughed.

"Engineer, mechanic, builder, all of the above," Jonah said with a shy smile. "I like putting things together." He concluded with a bigger smile.

"Well, nice to meet you Jonah the tinkering person, wanna join us?" Ava said, gesturing for him to take the seat next to Tova. He eagerly accept, planking his ass down next to her, setting his tray on the table. Instantly, the smell of hot chocolate invaded Ava's nostrils and she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "You drink hot coco!"

Jonah let out a laugh, nodding. "It's the best. I don't understand how flamey here likes coffee." He faked gagged. Tova nudge her elbow into him, slightly flustered from the accusation or name, Ava didn't know.

"Flamey?" Tempest questioned, a smile had replaced her frown from earlier.

"Oh, inside joke, but between us, she accidentally lit my sofa on fire some months ago."

"Jon you weren't supposed to tell a soul!" Tova yelled, punching him a bit harder this time. Jonah rubbed his arm, laughing loudly at Tova's outburst, the rest of the girls couldn't help but join in.

Ava let her eyes wander away from the bickering two, finding herself watching Tempest with curious eyes. It had barely been twenty-fours since she came here and was already settling in nicely, though Tempest hadn't done anything supposedly wrong, Ava couldn't help but watch her from time to time, as if the blonde were to leap and attack her at any moment. On edge, that was what she was, among being nervous and stressed, but Tempest put her on edge. Tempest was leaned back against the chair, her blonde hair in a tight yet messy bun. She sported the same attire as Ava, only missing the teams symbol. Tempest caught her staring, but instead of looking away, Ava just smiled. Though Tempest didn't seem to be finished and leaned closer, close enough to whisper.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"I'm pretty sure they're together." Was all she said before leaning back, continuing to stare at the two.

Ava glanced back at them, they were now laughing at something Ava hadn't paid attention too, she could see the way Tova leaned into Jonah, clutching at his arm. Cute, she thought, but hopefully they were careful if they were a thing. However, their public display now could easily be taken as two best friends, which was not prohibited in the school, thankfully.

"Alright, you guys ready for training?" Ava questioned the two girls on either side of her. She didn't hear any answers but the both of them stood up, ready to follow her. "We'll see you guys later, nice meeting you Jonah." Ava waved at them before leaving. Behind her she heard Jonah yell.

"Lovely meeting you too!" Then, the two burst out into laughter again.

Ava rolled her eyes. Placing her dirty plate at the dishwasher before leaving with the two others as her tail. Outside only a few of her team were there, along with instructor Layla Lynch. Once Lynch noticed the girls she waved them over.

"I want you to test out Tempest today, you guys can take the eleventh ring." Lynch instructed, pointing towards the ring as if Ava didn't know where her favourite sparring ring was. With a nod, she dragged Tempest with her to the circle that was furthest away from anyone, with a decent view of the lake that wasn't too far away from them.

Tempest was bouncing on the balls of her feet, eager to finally get back into action. "It's been too long," she said, shrugging off her jacket.

"You used to sparring?" Ava questioned, stepping into the ring. Tempest nodded, giving her a quick smile. "Well, let's get to it."

Ava lifted her fists up, getting her footing in a steady position, Tempest copied, grinning. The girls started with dancing around each other, carefully examining the other. Calculating eyes, steady breaths. Ava made the first swing, stepping in close and jabbing at Temepst's right. She swiftly dodged, sending her own fist into Ava's side. Ava grunted, but nonetheless, a smile formed and she couldn't but get excited she had an opponent who wasn't afraid of her. They swirled around each other again. Ava made a move this time, faking a right, then throwing her fist to the left, successfully hitting Tempest, catching her off guard.

Ava didn't give Tempest any space to recover, throwing another punch to her gut. With a grin, she threw another, only this time Tempest caught hand mid jab, twisted it and pushed her back, making Ava lose her balance. She stumbled back, throwing her fists up again.

After that, the two went on like cat and dog. Throwing punch after punch, getting creative by grabbing each other, forcing the other to stumble and retreat. They danced around each other, eagerness in their steps as they got into a steady rythm. By the end of the hour, they both were sweating, torsos glistening in the sunlight as they had removed tops earlier. Water was handed out to them by one of the other students. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raven sparring against Timber, a boy of pure muscle Ava would assume. He was huge, strong but slow, so it came to no surprise that Raven came out on top, she was quick, hit where it hurt and didn't allow anyone to breathe. Though if Timber had been allow a blow, he would surely have won that match.

Later that evening, Ava had sent word to the squad, telling them to meet her at the edge of the forest. She needed a breath of fresh air and what better way to loosen up than to grab her friends and drink in the woods, after all, they didn't have training the next day. They all arrived one after one around the same time, Ava had already been waiting with Tempest, next was Raven, followed soon thereafter by Tova and Jonah, no surprise there. Mainly because Ava had told Tova to bring the boy with, they could use some diversity. Next thing she knew, they were making their way to the creek, walking a little further and ending up at a small pond, the trees stood far enough away to let the moon and stars grace them. They had all agreed it was a tad chilly, allowing Tova to take point and light the group a fire. They found discarded sticks, piled them up, surrounded the pile with rocks and then all sat, awaiting Tova to use her magic. None of the others had magic, most students weren't mages after all.

Tova stood grinning next to the small firepit they had made, then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her hands bawling into fists. She opened her eyes, a red and orange glint now replaced her usually blue eyes. She opened her palms, and a small flame emitted in each hand. With a shake of her head, she threw the small flames into the sticks, lighting them up. It was instantly lit on fire, crackling and heating up the others around.

Jonah started clapping his hands as Tova sat down next to him, "bravo flamey!" He clapped her on the back, grinning like a madman. Raven let out a laugh, agreeing with Jonah.

"That was so cool," Tempest commented, a look of awe on her face. Tova flushed red, a small smile gracing them.

"Thanks, I've been working a ton on controlling the flames." She admitted, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"It has paid off," Ava spoke, a chuckle stuck in her throat. Ava had seen Tova lose control of the flame plenty of times, almost killing them both. Though, in the end, it had always ended in laughter. Tova looked up at Ava, instantly remembering the times she'd set either Ava or herself on fire by accident. Or that she had apaprently lit poor Jonah's sofa on fire.

"I brought booze!" Raven announced, pushing her bag next to the fire, interrupting Ava's thoughts. The group instantly opened it, passing around drinks to the rest. It wasn't strong, not that they needed anything strong, it was more than enough for a couple of students to get a bit tipsy on.

Tempest picked hers up, glancing at the bottle, her face scrunshing up. "What is this?"

"Never had mead before Temp?" Raven questioned. Ava didn't question the nickname, nor did the others.

"I mean yeah, but this?" She held the bottle higher, reading the name. "Jolly Roger's Grand Mead?"

"Don't diss it, it's the best mead around." Tova butt in, squinting her eyes at Tempest.

"I'm not, I've just never heard of it... Sounds good?" Tempest didn't sound sure of herself, Ava let out a laugh at that.

"It's from Windor, the town closest to the Academy, we tend to call it Jolly Mead instead of its full name." Ava hoped to have cleared up her questions, opening her bottle and taking a swig. The familiar taste of honey and blueberries attacked her taste buds. Jonah sat silently watching them, seeming content in just being around the girls, Ava did notice he had slung his arm around Tova, pulling her closer to him. All she hoped was that they'd be careful, neither of them deserved to be punished for falling in love. Ava couldn't help but let her mind wander, what was love? What did it feel like? What did it do? What did it cost? There was only one thing Ava was sure of when it came to love, it came at a cost, how dear that cost would be she had yet to find out. Not that she had any time to romace herself with anyone, she enjoyed her simple flings, scarce and few, as to not get caught. That was it though, no attachments, only friends, and even those had been few. But as she looked over the group, she couldn't help but realize she was making more, which could end in disaster or not.

The moon was still high and the fire crackling when the mead really hit. They had been giggling at Tova for about ten minutes now, who had simply stood up to dance. No music, only the sound of the fire and the group laughing as her music, but she continued, laughing herself and dragging Jonah up to dance with her. He didn't even protest. Ava could feel that her body was flushed red from the alcohol, a soothing buzz setting deep within her, she never drank much, or often, and she would continue to do so, only indulging in moments like this, when they were safe, happy and no training in the morning. A moment of normality, away from the academy and all its old ways. A moment to let go.

Ava was torn away from her drunken thoughts, as the sound of a twig snapping caught her attention. She sat silently and alert, laughter no longer escaping her. A moment passed, and not another sound was heard, until a low, animalistic growl sounded behind her. Ava was up in a second, dropping the bottle she had in her hand, reaching for her sword that was not on her back. She grabbed onto thin air and internally screamed. As she was face to face with a foe. The rest of the group joined her quickly, standing up to get a better look at the intruder.

A being on two, long, skin and bone legs stood glaring at them with white eyes. He was covered in what Ava could only describe as a black goo that seemingly made up its form, it towered over them, long yellowing fangs dripping with froth snarled at them. It seemed to have tiny horns on its head, made of the same black goo. Ava knew they were outmatched, they had nothing to protect themselves with, so, she said the only logical thing that came to mind.

"Run!"