Ravenfire

Prof. Alice Philomela, our instructor for Divination and Dreams class, was a curious person. She was Prof. Hermia Philomela’s younger sister, but she was much taller and her red hair darker. Compared to her prim and proper sister, she behaved like a boorish country girl who cared more about berry pies than other people’s opinions. When she spoke, she sounded calm, serious, drunk, and stoned all at the same time. Sometimes, she sounded like a five year old. Other times, she sounded more clever than the other professors. It’s difficult to tell whether she was being serious at all or was just playing a joke on all of us with her silly questions during her lectures.

“I’m Prof. Alice Philomela, but just call me Alice. We already have a Prof. Philomela. We can’t have two. That would be very confusing.” She talked in a rather casual manner as she walked around the room. “We’re not here to learn the conventional ways of divination. No. That’s all too subjective. Your tea leaves may look like a fish, but what if it’s actually just a literal bag of rubbish? Then your prediction becomes rubbish too. Nobody likes a smelly future.”

Eventually, she returned to the front and stopped walking. “Winter students know this very well. Dreams are seeing the world using a completely different pair of eyes. But how do we dream when we’re not asleep? And how do we see with our eyes closed? And when we see in a dream, whose eyes are we actually using?”

“To find out more about this, we will have an exercise.” She removed a bunch of blindfolds from a box and placed them on her desk. “Get a blindfold and pick a partner, preferably someone you barely know.”

Everyone began to form pairs. I looked around for anyone I could pair up with. Elliot was the only one left without a partner. He was still too afraid to look me in the eyes and even approach me despite it being painfully obvious that there was no other student in the room without a partner.

I walked to the front to grab two blindfolds and handed one to him without a word. I’m sure he got the message.

“Alright. Everyone, sit down facing your partner. Decide among yourselves who should wear a blindfold first. When you’re ready, hold each other’s hands. Touch is an important requirement when you’re attempting this. Now, it doesn’t matter where you touch as long as you have contact with the target’s skin. You may choose to touch somewhere else, but remember that this is a family friendly divination class, not a secret date in the castle’s hedge maze… Nice place by the way.” She winked.

I volunteered to put on the blindfold first, thinking that Elliot would be uncomfortable not being able to see temporarily. I felt his soft hands. They were cold and trembling. I almost felt sorry for him.

“Those without blindfolds, relax yourselves while your partner does all the hard work this round. Those with blindfolds on, concentrate on the point of contact. In this case, your hands. Imagine yourselves a gentle stream flowing towards a river. You want to synchronise with its flow. And then, you can attempt to grasp at the fallen petals floating on its surface and peer into each one,” Prof. Alice spoke in a different tone, more hypnotising and soothing to help the process.

I saw nothing at first, as if the river was doing everything it can to reject the intrusion. Elliot was probably doing it consciously or unconsciously. But that didn’t stop me from forcing my way in and seeing fragmented memories.

First, I saw a great fire engulfing a wooden shack. I could somewhat sense a strong emotional pain associated with this memory that cut like knives.

Then, it all faded to black until I found myself in a dark and empty wooden room. All alone. Just silence, a lot of empty space, and the biting cold.

For some time, I was just stuck in that same memory with no way out. I began to get worried. I felt the walls for any doors until I found one and tried to open it. Locked. My spells weren’t working either. I continually attempted to kick the door open, but it was futile.

Great. Am I stuck here until Prof. Alice pulls me out?

I was about to make another attempt when I heard footsteps behind me and noticed a light source gradually drawing nearer. I turned around apprehensively.

I saw myself. Or rather, someone who looked almost exactly like me. She was standing alone, dressed in simple winter clothing and holding an oil lamp. I stepped forward to approach her.

“Get away from me! I’m warning you!” She shouted in fear and anger, carrying a dagger.

Suddenly, I was pulled out of the memory and into another. The next thing I saw was her screaming and lying on the snow bleeding. Her throat had been cut. She mouthed the words, “I’ll never… forgive you…”

Suddenly, I felt Elliot’s hands draw back. I removed my blindfold and saw him sweating with a bewildered look. He was staring directly at me, deathly terrified. He immediately stood up and ran out of the classroom without a word of explanation.

“Elliot! Wait!” I also stood up. The other students in the room were startled by the sudden commotion.

“Ah. Probably saw something you shouldn’t have. Don’t worry. It happens. You should probably go chase after him though,” Prof. Alice said with a calm and straight face. She handed me a note. “If any professor catches you, show them this. And don’t come back without him.”

I received the note and hurried outside to find Elliot. I saw no sign of the direction where he ran. The castle was large. There are so many places he could have gone.

What was that? Why is there someone who looks like me in those memories? Was that why Elliot is always afraid of me?

“Elliot?” I called as I walked through the hallways searching for him. I remembered the first time he ran away from me. How nostalgic.

When I was close to giving up, I heard the faint sound of a piano and followed it. The sad melody led me to the music room where he was.

“So this is where you ran off to,” I said as I stood at the doorway.

He stopped playing when he saw me, obviously still looking shaken. “I… I’m sorry, but could you please stay away from me? Please,” he begged. The desperate tone of his voice easily evoked feelings of pity. I couldn’t blame him when the memories he carried were like nightmares.

I spoke gently, “Alright, but Prof. Alice expects me to bring you back to class, so I can’t go back empty handed. I’ll wait for you outside.”

He nodded without making eye contact.

I went outside and found a cushioned seat nearby to loiter while waiting. I closed my eyes and listened to the melancholic tune Elliot was playing in the music room. He had a remarkable talent for piano. Every note carried its emotional weight, reminding me of the things I’d seen. His past was concerning, but for now, I decided to leave it as it is until Elliot was ready to open up and face it.

Eventually, he was calm enough to leave the room. We both walked silently back to the classroom.

That night, I stayed up late trying to finish up all the assignments while Emma was already fast asleep in her own bed. I stretched in my seat. All that was left to complete was the essay I had to do with Rose, but that could wait later when we met up. I yawned and checked the clock.

3 am. Shit. I guess I’ll be a zombie tomorrow… I mean, later.

I climbed into my bed and collapsed from exhaustion.

“Remina.”

I could hear the voice clearly. I found myself standing in the courtyard, even though I was completely aware that I was in bed. Was I dreaming while half-awake?

A black-haired man dressed like the academy professors appeared before me. “We finally meet, Ms. Ravenfire,” he said. There was something about him that was so familiar.

“Wait. I recognize you. You’re Emrys Blackthorn, the first headmaster,” I figured out his identity. “You look exactly like your statue. Whoever you hired to sculpt that deserves a raise.”

“Good. That saves my time. I don’t have much of it to spare so I must get to the point: The academy is in danger and I need your help to put a stop to it.”

“How do I do that?” I asked.

“Locate the source and destroy it completely. A simple, but dangerous task.”

“Is there any specific reason why you chose to contact me instead of somebody else?”

“You’re the one in possession of my Focus.”

“The snake necklace?” I guessed.

“Precisely. But we can’t maintain correspondence for long. Soon, my residual energy in the necklace will fade and the connection will be severed.” He sounded like he was in a rush. “Find my journal. That is your utmost priority.”

He faded from the dream before I could ask anymore questions. Why do they always have to be so cryptic?

I woke up feeling disoriented. Only half an hour had passed and now I couldn’t even go back to sleep anymore. I sighed.

“Eugh. Those are some terrible looking eye bags. Couldn’t sleep a wink?” Salamander reacted when I entered the classroom the next morning.

“Shut up, Salamander.” I proceeded to ignore him and went to my seat.

I noticed Elliot stealing glances at me from his seat across the room. He seemed to be desperately trying to avoid me. I suppose he still hadn’t recovered from that incident during Dreams and Divination class.

When the last class of the day finally ended, I was terribly exhausted. All I wanted was to go directly to my room and sleep, but Rose and I agreed to meet today at the library. It was the last thing on my to-do list and I was eager to get it done quickly.

I sat at a table in the library and reviewed my notes while waiting. Minutes later, Toad walked by and noticed me. He sat in front of me uninvited, asking for clarifications about one of the class assignments. After helping him, he thanked me and lingered at my table.

“Why do people call you Toad, anyway?” I asked out of curiosity.

“People keep saying my name wrong and it’s annoying, so I gave them something easier to pronounce,” he explained.

“But why Toad?”

“They are cute little critters.”

“Huh. Interesting.” I felt my throat getting a little dry. “I might have to go get some water.”

“Thirsty? Here. Drink this.” Toad passed me a canteen he pulled out of his bag.

“Are you sure it’s fine for me to drink from here?”

“Go ahead.”

I took his offer and drank thirstily. Only, it wasn’t water at all. It tasted strong and alcoholic. I nearly choked.

“This isn’t water! What the hell is this?” I exclaimed while also trying to keep my voice down.

He looked rather proud of himself. “No, my friend. That is rakija.”

“Alcohol? Where did you even get this?” I was shocked to find out that it was possible to sneak alcohol inside the academy.

“I made it myself in my room, but that’s a secret.” He grinned.

“I’m surprised Salamander even let you make this in your room. He would have complained.” I took another sip anyway. “You know, this isn’t so bad.”

“Oh, he complained alright, but he can’t stop me.”

At that very moment, I gained respect for Toad. I placed a hand on his arm. “You know what, I think we’ll get along.”

Toad and I passed the time talking shit about Salamander because our beautiful friendship is built on complaints about the prickly snake boy.

Toad checked the time. “Ah. I have to go. Leslie wants me to help her with some spells.”

“Alright. See you around, Toad.” I waved him goodbye and continued to wait for Rose until I closed my eyes.