A Feeling Of Dread

The next day, Jayne headed out to the academy without eating anything for breakfast. She would be taking the semi-quarter exams today and she had to produce top results to save Charlotte from punishment. Though she felt a bit fatigued from her hungry stomach, she still powered through it and walked down the hallway to her classroom.

There was a tap on her shoulder and Jayne looked up to see her childhood friend Grayson Von Wendell. They had met when they had attended grade school together through the academy program and had become friends ever since.

Grayson didn't know about the things that Jayne's parents had done to her and Jayne had no intention of telling him. She knew that he would try to save her from them, but she didn't want him to get hurt so she continued to act like everything was fine. He was sporting his normal carefree attitude and wore a playful smirk with his messy brown hair.

"Morning Jay, ready for the exams today?"

"Good morning Gray. Usually I would be pretty confident about exams, but today not so much." Jayne stumbled on the stair for a second but was caught by Grayson.

Holding her in his arms, Grayson gave her a slightly worried look, "Jayne you look kinda pale, are you okay? Will you be able to take the exams? Should I accompany you to the nurse?"

Jayne gave him a small smile and shook her head. "I'll be fine, thanks Gray. See you at lunch!" Jayne walked away from him and towards her the entrance to her class.

While the exams were being taken, Jayne noticed that she had a hard time focusing on what to write. She felt light headed throughout the whole exam and after class, she staggered as she made her way to the nurse's office.

This time, she felt her vision fading away as she fell forward; but she didn't meet the hard, cold, surface of the ground. Instead, she felt the warmth of a broad and strong chest and she could smell the refreshing aroma of pine coming from the person. She looked up and saw two beautiful and bright golden eyes staring down at her before completely blacking out.

When Jayne awoke, she was in a bed in the nurse's office and sitting by her side was Grayson.

Grayson spoke with a concerned voice. "Jayne, I heard that you had fainted after the exams and I rushed over here. The nurse said that you didn't have proper nutrients and that you just needed to eat something and rest a little bit. Why didn't you tell me that you weren't feeling well?"

"I uh-, didn't want to worry you too much Gray. It's not that big of a deal. By the way, did you see who carried me into the nurse's office?" Jayne looked up at Grayson with hopeful eyes.

"No, I didn't, sorry. I asked the nurse and she said that it was a student that she didn't know and that he didn't seem to be a native citizen. Anyways, make sure to get some rest and take care of yourself okay? I'm sure your parents are gonna be worried about you Jay." Grayson patted Jayne on the head before leaving the nurse's office to attend class.

Jayne watched as Grayson left while many thoughts pondered through her head. Who was it that saved her and why did she feel that she had met him before? But there were more pressing matters to be concerned about at the moment. What if she gets a bad score on the exam and her parents find out? What was going to happen to her and Charlotte?

Jayne shivered at the memory of the consequences she had received after not doing well on another exam when she was six. Her parents had locked her in her room for days and only fed her one meal per day. Fortunately she had Charlotte, who would sneak into the room to accompany her and coax her into sleep. She prayed that her results wouldn't be terrible. For the rest of the day, Jayne couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

When Jayne returned home, she saw her parents sitting by the fireplace with stern looks on their faces. In her father's hand was a letter with the seal from the royal academy. After every exam, results would be mailed home immediately and Jayne could tell from the faces of her parents that she had not met their expectations.

Her dad's eyes looked at her with a cold fury as he approached her and slapped her across the face and threw the letter on the ground. He yelled at her in a loud voice, "WHAT IS THIS?"

Jayne, still recovering from the burning sensation from the slap on her cheek, looked at the letter on the ground and slowly picked it up. As she read the contents of the letter, her hands shook with fear and a feeling of impending doom enveloped her.

'Jayne Clarke-fifth place.'