Why did I think I liked this woman? She’s as frigid as a mountaintop and has the empathy of an angry bull.
***
Surely, I’ve seen all of Vail now.
Those terrifying and long helicopter rides have given me a bird's-eye view of our entire great nation. And I think I’ve seen enough. I never expected to leave my city, let alone Wrath.
The black town car that I’m sitting in pulls up to a large brass gate. The dean is sitting next to me, working on her phone. She hasn’t spoken a word to me since the Council offices. I have so many questions, but I will not push my luck.
After a brief stop, our driver pulls through the gates. I look through the window.
All I can see is green, so much green. How is the ground so green here? Where is the academy?
Five minutes later, I see some buildings in the distance. My nose is pasted to the window. The large castle-like building comes into view.
I expected the academy to be grey and drab, but the building in front of me is beautiful, colorful even. The academy sits high on a hill.
The front walls, painted a mustard yellow, climb over six stories and have open arched windows. At each end, rounded towers. Battlements top the high burnt red towers that are spread out behind courtyards with ivy climbing the walls. I’ve never seen a more beautiful building. So much green…
The car stops before a very steep path of stairs that leads to the entry.
“You will get out here,” Dean Bellows says, still looking at her phone. “You will meet me in my office tomorrow morning at 6:30 before breakfast.”
“Ok...” I say cautiously, remembering her comments about talking and questions from before.
I have no idea where her office is, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I step out of the car and start walking up the steep path. My hands are empty, and it feels strange. I’m still in this ridiculous skirt.
I see a girl walking towards me with a smile on her face. Her jeans are ripped at the knees, and her long sleeve shirt has a stretched out neck and frayed sleeves. She looks like a wrath. Her tight brown, shoulder length curls bounce with every step towards me.
“Hi, are you Arwen?” she walks right up to me and stops. She has a genuine smile on her face.
“Yeah, that’s me. Did the Dean send you?”
“The Dean?... erm, no. I received a notification on my phone from the Academy that my roommate would arrive today and that I should meet you outside the entrance. Most of us moved in yesterday and had a tour. I’m guessing they want me to show what you missed. Where are your bags?” She looks around confused.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” I say with a friendly smile and hold out my hand for a shake. Admitting I brought no belongings will bring up too many questions that I can not answer right now.
“Holly!” she says and shakes my hand, “Holly Summers. They tend to room factions together, but you don’t look like a wrath.” She blatantly stares at my stupid tight skirt. Holly doesn’t beat around the bush. I can live with that.
“Yeah… these aren’t my clothes, but I am from Wrath.”
She looks at me confused and silent, but when I refrain from speaking about it further, she changes the topic.
“Okay… well, let’s head up to the academy towards our room. I can show you some stuff on the way there.”
Holly doesn’t beat around the bush, but she also doesn’t pry. I’m liking this girl more and more.
We continue walking up the steep path, making our way closer to the academy. As we get closer, I see more students out walking around, talking, looking at books and pamphlets in little outdoor seating areas lining the path.
“This is the academy entrance.” She says as we get closer to the large doorway.
The metal gates of the door are open, allowing students to come and go as they please. “They told us on the tour yesterday that the curfew for freshmen is 11pm. If you need to be out after that time,you will need special permission from the faculty. They will punish anyone caught outside after 11. Apparently, this is for our safety.”
She cocks a brow and rolls her eyes, like she thinks this is the stupidest rule on the planet.
It seems stupid from a Wrath perspective. We have no curfew in Wrath. If you were out and looking for trouble, you’d find it. And you’d best be prepared because no rules were going to save your ass or protect you. I guess the academy takes a different approach to these things.
We walk through the entryway into the front hall. It’s beautiful. Once again, I'm proven wrong in my assumptions.
