The Aldean Chronicles: Hidden

I wake up to texts from the group chat. All my friends are awake and can't wait to go back to school. I wish I was as excited as them. I dress up in some of the new clothes I got this break. Lena wanted to make space in my closet for them, so she threw out all my old clothes. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to some sweatshirts.

The house is empty. Seb and Lilian are at work and Grey has some last-minute things to take care of. I decide to go to school around 10 am and get settled early. I call David and he's here in ten minutes.

I let Seb, Lilian and Grey know that I'm gone and load my bags into the car. David and I arrive at school and he helps me roll my bags to the front of my hostel.

Iris is setting up her table at the door. She spots me and stops. "Hey. You," She says with a smile. "People aren't usually this early, I'm still getting ready."

"Oh, sorry I'm too early, aren't I?" I apologize.

"Oh it's okay, it's not the first day of the year. Doesn't matter, I'll just hand you your key and you can go up to your room." She rifles through the cardboard box on the table.

"Do you need any help?"

The keys rattle violently. "Oh it's okay, I'll be fine. Aha." She retrieves my key and hands it to me. "Now all you have to do is sign in."

I turn back to Dave. "Thank you for the ride, I'm good now." He nods and silently leaves.

Iris hands me the form. "And you're all set. Have a nice semester." She says. I hand her back the clipboard, she's still staring at me. "So how was your break, I followed it on the news. Imagine my surprise when I saw you."

"Um, yeah," I say to her. "The whole thing was just crazy, it's been a hectic vacation."

She nods. "Yeah, at least you're all right. And I'm sure it was fun."

"It was, yeah. So much fun." I lie. "So just let me know if you need any help, I'll be up in my room."

"Of course, sorry for holding you up." She says. "Again, have a nice semester."

I wave bye before dragging my stuff up the stairs in batches. I unlock my room and am grateful to find it clean. I open the window to let in fresh air and begin to unpack my stuff. I put my jewelry case in a locked drawer and begin to hang some pictures and ornaments.

I'm done setting up around noon, that's when other students start to appear. I call my parents and give them a little tour.

"I love it, sweetie." My mom says. "But are you sure you're ready to go back? You can take a few days to yourself if you want."

"I don't want to look like a coward. I should stay and get the first-day jitters off." I say. "How are you and dad?"

"We're good, your father's at the bowling alley. He'll call you later." She promises. "If you need anything, tell me, I'm here for you."

I smile. "I know that mom. I'll talk to you tonight, okay." She nods and I blow a kiss. "Love you, bye."

"Love you too, Mija. Have a nice semester." She ends the call. I sit at my desk and whimper when I see my textbooks. I'm behind on my holiday reading, it was hard to squeeze time in with all my functions.

Sara arrives around 2 pm. "Hey, you," I say before awkwardly shoving my hands in my pocket. "Do you need help with your stuff?"

"I'm good, thanks. It's not much." She leaves to get the rest of her stuff. She tells me all about her break as she unpacks.

"So we're watching the news and you come up. And I'm like, crap that's my roommate." She laughs. "And my dad calls me a liar. So I show him pictures of us on my phone."

I cringe. "I don't want to talk about that night." So we don't.

Paisley and Michelle come to our room before dinner.

I hug them both excitedly. After pleasantries, they ask if I want to go to dinner with them and I decline. "Not ready for that, going to enjoy my last night of solitude before school officially starts. But bring me back some food, will you."

They agree and all leave to join Axel at the dining hall. I stay in bed and catch up on my syllabus for this year. I lay awake that night thinking of how I'm going to have to face everybody tomorrow. No more hiding.

I wake up early, have a shower and dress up in thick black leggings and a pink sweater. I pair the look with the diamond earrings Seb gave me and white and black sneakers. I sling my grey backpack over my shoulders and finally leave my room.

I intentionally leave early so I can skip breakfast and get some chips from the vending machine, I eat them in my room with Sara. "Just know this is the only time I'll do this." She says to me. "Skipping meals isn't healthy."

"Sorry, I won't do it again," I say to her. After eating, we leave our rooms and go to the grande hall. I get a lot of stares throughout. People are pointing and whispering, some laughing. I get to my seat without falling or vomiting, point for me.

I sit in Axel and Michelle's middle. "Don't listen to them," Michelle says, shooting me a sympathetic smile. "It's just gossip."

I clutch the sides of my seat to keep my hands from shaking. I am so nervous, and it's only the first day. Lilian takes the stage to give her first day of school address.

"Welcome back students, I hope you all had nice breaks." She starts. "Nevertheless, the break is over and it's time to get back to your studies. Remember to give your classes your all. If you look around, you'll notice that some of your friends haven't returned. That's because we made good on our threat to expel the ones who simply weren't good enough. Slack off and you will join them." Nice to know she's brutal with everyone.

"As you all know, unity day will be coming up soon." She waits a few seconds for the chatter to die down. "Yes, yes. We all love unity day. But remember, it will be a great opportunity for you to show your skills and qualify for The Milton Match."

The Milton match is an annual competition held in Aldean at the beginning of summer. Some of the games are doubles with both Elementals and Combatants and some are singles. There are different age categories, the under 21 category is the one students usually sign up for. "You should have started preparing for that last May. And if you haven't, I don't see how you'll make it past our board. This year's board will consist of the head combatant trainer, some elemental professors and as usual me."

"Cass, you have to join my team," Paisley says.

I guffaw. "Oh, no way. I'll get murdered." I say. "And I legally can't." According to an old rule in the constitution, I couldn't participate in the competition without the head of the Royal family's approval. And my aunt already filled me in on my role for that day. "Sorry, Paise."

"It's alright, I would have backed out anyway." She says. Smart choice, killing is perfectly legal on the field. Illyria scares me. It's very developed but also very archaic and conservative.

"A special announcement for fourth-year combatants. You have a new trainer." She gestures to an average height woman on the first row. "That is Sienna Dormir, she is a retired army lieutenant and will be replacing your old teacher. I trust you will make her feel welcome." The teacher sits down. "Also by the end of the month, I expect all first-years to have joined at least one club or sports team. If you have not, our system will randomly select for you." She glances down at her tablet and a small smile appears on her lips. "Let's not forget the inter-school match with Grovehills next month." There are some snickers, nobody takes those seriously. It's a good school, just not as good as Brimstone. Lilian gives a few more announcements before ending the assembly.

I say goodbye to my friends and walk to class alone. I follow Kat's advice and keep my head held high. I ignore the stares and whispers as I make my way. I take my usual seat at the back and try to make myself as invisible as possible.

"Well if it isn't her royal highness, Princess Cassandra," Derek says, jogging up to me.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. "Hi, Derek," I say weakly to him.

"Her majesty remembers my name. I should consider myself lucky." He says this loudly and everybody turns to look at us. He takes the seat beside me. "So tell me, what does it feel like? Meeting all those important people, being related to the queen. Possessing that sweet, powerful dragoit."

I don't know how to respond to this, so I don't. Luckily, I'm saved by my teacher. He enters the class and everybody scrambles to their seat. He does a quick scan of the room and nods when he's done. "Good, the people I recommended aren't here." He places his leather briefcase on his desk "So who's been practicing this semester's work." Everybody's hand shoots up. I follow their lead, even though I barely studied. "Good."

He continues the class by telling us what to expect this year. "This is second semester, the first you learned the techniques, now you'll learn its history. At the end of the year, you're expected to have a new appreciation for them and also expected to be better than you were last semester." He stretches his finger and uses his powers to write something made of fire above his head. "Welcome to Fire 102." He reads. "Now burning paper is as old as well...paper. But the technique I taught you is about a lot more than that. It's about control, learning to decide what fire burns and what it doesn't. It was conceptualized a thousand years ago. King Xander of Ferona needed fire elementals for his personal guard.

"He devised a final test for them. He had assembled the strongest fire elementals in the kingdom. He knew how dangerous fire was, he wanted someone level-headed. Alas, we have this test." He pauses. "King Xander was a very wise man, he even devised tests for other elementals and combatants. You're more than welcome to do extra research and find out how the tests went." And in a rare instance, my professor chuckles. "If you're in for a laugh, I recommend reading about Daner the ferocious." The whole class begins laughing and I join them even though I don't know what they're talking about."I see you all studied this break, good. You'll need it, as you know our tests this semester will be both practical and written."

I suppress another whimper. This is just what I needed. How does Kat have time to study and do her duties? After this, I head to History. The professor goes over the course work and it's so overwhelming, I almost cry. This semester we're focusing more on Varronian history.

We're not doing partners this semester in Chemistry, I'm grateful for that. After class, I brace myself for lunch. My first time in the dining hall since I got back.

I walk in alone and make my way to the counter. As usual, I'm gawked at. "This really is brutal," Kat says, appearing behind me. She turns back and offers the line she just cut a smile. "Sorry, really need to talk to my cousin." She turns back to me and laughs. "Can't believe I just said that."

"You seem chirpy," I comment, moving along the line. "Did Jamie get crushed by a collapsing building and is therefore unable to come to school?"

"Oh, Cassie. You think so little of me." She coos. "I actually have seen Jamie today. Don't worry, we're fine. And that girl he was with, he's not dating her. I mean, it was a date but it's nothing serious. She doesn't even go to our school." She scoffs. "And I'm supposed to be threatened by her."

"No, you're not. You're supposed to be nothing by her." I say. "Kat, you and Jamie are broken up, remember. You're not supposed to care."

"And we're not getting back together." She picks up a fruit bowl as the line moves forward. "Speaking of relationships, how are you and Tristan?"

I blush. "We're not in a relationship, I don't even know what we are. Can we not talk about that in public."

"Sorry." She sounds anything but. "You know what, you should sit with us." She offers. "Me, Mika, Tristan, some of our friends."

I bite my lip and decline. "Sorry, eating with my friends today."

She frowns. "That's still going on?" She asks. "Oh well, good for you then." She picks up a cutlery bundle from a big red tray and drops it on hers. "If you change your mind, you know where to find us."

She walks away. I pick my bundle and walk to my table, I glance at hers as I'm passing. I see Tristan seating besides the wall, there's a girl beside him chatting excitedly. He notices me and raises a hand in greeting.

My eyes sto at the girl openly flirting with him, I offer a stiff smile in return. I go straight to my table and sit with my friends.

"Hey guys, Axel." I keep glancing back at Tristan's table.

"Why do you keep looking back," Michelle asks. "Are you looking for your haters?"

"What," I ask. "No, just looking for someone. Not important." I groan. "Today feels like the first day of school all over again. I need to catch up on my studying."

"I do too, I mean I wasn't doing anything this break. I just didn't want to study." Axel says.

"I need to focus my mind on school and nothing else," I say. "I refuse to let my mind be caught up in gossip."

"Speaking of gossip." Paisley brightens. "Let's see what's on the school website." She already has her phone out and is scrolling through it viciously. "Oh, you know that girl Jamie dated. Some people are saying they know her."

"I heard that. They're probably lying." Sara says. "Oh did you hear about Nari Hunter, she's a third-year combatant."

"I did," Axel says and turns to me. "You're friends with him, what did you hear?"

I frown. "I'm sorry, who?"

"Tristan, I heard they're dating." He says and I feel my heart drop to my stomach.

I clear my throat. "First I'm hearing of this."

"I saw them sitting next to each other just now. She's so pretty." Paisley sighs.

"Yeah, and her grandfather was a Liege," Sara adds. "Money attracts money, I guess."

I toss my salad. "Good for them, I'll be sure to congratulate him." This is what happens when you let Tristan Oisin into your heart, you get disappointed. Why do I keep doing this?

After this, I head to Illyrian Languages with Michelle. Then Geography, no matter how sad I am, I can always count on my geography teacher's chummy attitude to make me feel better. He doesn't pressure his students as much as the other teachers at this school. His classes are easy to follow and he doesn't make jokes when you ask questions. "Now some of you did a little below average last year." At this school, average is 90%. "But I fought for you against Director Lilian, try and do better this year. I doubt she'll be as forgiving next time." He really is a gem.

I have biology next, it's my final class of the day. Jace jogs to the back and points at the seat on my left. "You mind if I crash here for this class."

"Sure, it's not my seat." I look back down at my textbook.

"Good to know you're also avoiding me to my face." He sighs. "Want to talk about it?"

"What's to talk about, we're pissed at each other. Neither of us is about to admit they're wrong."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You were right, it was your secret and you didn't have to tell anybody if you didn't want to."

"Was not expecting that," I announce. "Thank you for apologizing."

"You're welcome. Do you have anything to say to me?" He asks.

I rack my brain. "Nope, nothing." I turn back to my book. He stares at me till I give in. "Fine, I'm sorry for lying and losing my temper on you a few months ago. We could have been friends but I spoiled our chances with that. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." He says. "Now tell me, how have you been."

At that moment, the teacher enters and we all face the board. He welcomes us back and goes over the syllabus.