She stopped at two wooden oak doors and pried the one opened. We slipped through.
Hallways and more staircases leading to an upper level appeared on the other side of the door.
Micha walked past the staircase and I followed her into the open grounds. We walked past plenty of tables outside on the left and on the right a dark hallway appeared with plenty of closed doors, which I assumed were class rooms.
Micha waved toward the tables. “The dining hall or cafeteria, as we used to call it back in the day. It was my home away from home.” She twirled with her hands in the air. I smiled as I watched her twirl care free to wherever she was leading me.
I looked at the closed doors.
“Breakfast is served at six to seven during orientation. It’s the only week that you need to make sure that you get your breakfast at that time. Dragonia is packed during orientation week.”
I nodded.
We were on another path that walked next to the building, which was the cafeteria, and to another door by a long sleek gray wall.
She opened the door and loads of stone steps ran down to open ground.
Shadow figures and woods stood in the distance.
A spotlight shone from a building in front of us, and the path led toward it.
Tall pillars sat next to the entrance.
“Dragonia’s training court. It’s called the Parthenon Dome, and down there,” she pointed to the far left, “is the colosseum.” I could only make out an enormous structure in the shadows. We reached the smaller, domed building with a glass roof.
The pillars weren’t pillars but two huge stone dragons that guarded the entrance. A low grumble came from the one, and I jumped slightly as I stared at it. Scales moved and its stone head bowed down to mine and it took a big sniff.
“Grimdoe, stop it,” Micha said, and laughed. She laid her hands on his body and spoke Latin, and the statue moved back into its original place. “Even the statues know when royalty is near.”
We walked into the building, and she put on the lights.
It was an enormous area that looked a lot like the training courts at the castle. Bleachers lined the one side, and mats covered the floor. Weapons lined the walls. Some of them were bigger than me. How did anyone in their right mind wield them?
We walked to the middle of the room and did our morning Tai Chi, followed by a few laps of running to warm my muscles. Then the fighting began.
Daylight seeped through the windows and glass roof. Micha looked at her watch and threw a bottle of water in my direction. I gulped half of the content down.
“Go eat. I’ll see you this afternoon, okay?”
I nodded. “Thanks again for making this possible.”
“You deserve it.”
I walked back and went to the cafeteria. Everyone stared at me. I hated looking like King Albert.
The tables inside the cafeteria had big fluffy pillows lined up on either side instead of chairs. Chinese balloon lanterns floated from the ceiling. The sun streamed through the windows, lighting up the cafeteria. The buffet line sat in the front and I walked past the tables, with students sitting on the fully pillows. Fresh fruit, milk, root beer, and other major soda brands, with scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausages, cereals, granola, and yogurt, made my choice difficult.
“Oh, we have a new face. Welcome to Dragonia,” the man with a round stomach and a chef uniform standing behind the buffet line said.
“Thank you.”
I dished up a bowl of oats and blueberries. I grabbed a glass of OJ and sat on the nearest open seat.
I plopped into the pillow and dug into my breakfast.
A hyena laugh pierced through the dining hall. I looked up and my eyes landed on a crowded table. The laughter belonged to a girl with long auburn hair and hazel eyes. Everyone laughed at her jokes and hung on the words that escaped a full pair of lips. She was stunning, and she carried the same aura as the doctor. I struggled to look away from her.
I carried on eating my breakfast. The laughter and chatter coming from the tables made me slightly envious, because I was late. Everyone already made friends. I was the odd one out.
