Chapter Twelve

A broken friendship it was indeed.

It was hard to believe that two souls, separated by two schools, had once been friends. Best friends.

Silvia, perhaps, felt a small twinge of guilt and longing as she glanced across the dining hall to the pale, stony faced Christie who not at all felt anything towards Silvia except for betrayal and prejudice. And slowly, as the weeks went by, the girl was growing more and more absent and spiteful. Perhaps it was due to the time spent under the influential supervision of Madam Crow and the several other villainous teachers who taught the most foulest lessons. Certainly, Ashlyn had not warmed up towards her quite yet, nor had the pitiful scar on Lamia's arms faded completely, reminding Christie of Ashlyn's quick, flaring temper and staying away from her at nearly all times.

But for Silvia, the words, 'Christie' and 'moral enemies' had gifted her Emily's friendship because Emily, who like everyone else, heard of the icy barrier between Silvia and Christie, found in her heart, forgiveness and regret. And for Silvia, this made up a portion of the loss of Christie's trust. Besides, she'd also begun to discover the world of-

"Boys." Sighed Charlotte, tossing her pink hair over her shoulders as she gazed dreamily at the broad backs of the several boys that took up half the class.

"Is that what you only think about?" Silvia teased. "Boys?"

Charlotte shrugged, unashamed. "Of course."

Silvia, Emily and Estelle laughed. Unsurprisingly, Katie remained mute and sorrowful. Each of the roommates had attempted to lessen her grief, but every time she'd shown sign of even a small smile, something had always caused her to quickly return to her misery. They'd all given up after a few tries.

"Richard is simply amazing, you have to admit." Sighed Estelle, gazing at the burly chap who sat only two rows in front of her. "And he doesn't like anyone else." She added in a satisfied manner.

"He's okay." Said Emily. "But no one's as good as Jack." She stared wistfully at the handsome bloke who much to her disappointment had expressed keen interest towards their classmate, Rilla.

"What about you?" Charlotte asked Silvia who had been listening politely with no particular fascination. "Who do you like?"

"Me?" Silvia shrugged, looking around at the small crowd of boys. "I don't know." She said, turning back. "None of them catches my eyes."

"High expectations?" Emily snickered.

Silvia rolled her eyes, smiling with amusement. "It's not like that!"

"Oh really?" Estelle arched an eyebrow. It was clear that she, or any of them, did not believe her.

And before Silvia could profusely deny again, she was interrupted by Professor Sector who taught the subject of 'Identification.'

"You girls!" She jabbed her finger at their direction. "Have you finished your essays on 'how to identify false and real identity?'"

Heads bowed, they murmured in unison, "no, Professor."

"Then less chattering and more work!"

"Yes, Professor."

"God," Emily muttered once the teacher was out of their earshot. "I've never wanted to learn magic more than now."

"We're starting tomorrow." Silvia whispered. "But why, may I ask, do you want it so bad?"

"So I can magic this lady's ears deaf."

"Stop talking!" Professor Sector hissed.

So they waited in silence until they were sure she had her back turned at the front of the classroom.

"You do realize she can probably reverse the spell?" Silvia breathed, quieter than before.

"I was only saying." Emily snorted.

"Just put a sleep spell on her." Said Estelle in an enthused tone.

"Surely, she can't reverse that while she's asleep." Agreed Charlotte.

"Is there even such spell?" Silvia wondered.

"THAT'S IT!" This time, the whole class jumped. "DETENTION! DETENTION! DETENTION! DETENTION!"

***

"She must be mad."

Estelle, Silvia, Charlotte and Emily stretched and groaned as they trudged up the steep hill from the school garden towards the castle.

"Digging up carrots and lettuce?" Emily slouched. "No thank you."

"And they are definitely not the normal size." Silvia rubbed her heavy eyes, yawning.

The others stared at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" Asked Charlotte. "They are the normal size."

"How big are they in your world?" Estelle wondered.

"I hate to think how heavy they are." Said Emily.

Silvia laughed. Was this how the magical, fantasy world worked? "No. They're not at all big. In fact, a carrot is about the length of half my arm."

The girls stared. Was this girl, this girl who came from an ordinary unmagical village joking? She wasn't, each decided as Silvia glanced stared back, evidently confused. "Is something the matter?"

"How much carrots do you have at a time then?" Asked Emily warily.

"About three."

Three! The girls stared even harder, almost as if they were glaring (though they weren't). Three carrots, big or small, was an awfully huge amount to eat at a time. Silvia, no longer able to contain her laughter, began to chortle loudly and wildly, clapping her hands.

"Why do you look like that?" She giggled. Emily and Charlotte quickly joined in the laughing. Estelle remained silent.

"Well, we do look silly, don't we?" Murmured Charlotte.

"Let's go inside." Said Estelle, abruptly changing the subject. She was suddenly stiff and reluctant to speak much as they staggered inside the school. No one, except Silvia, perceived this. But, she reflected, they'd spent the past hour digging up heavy vegetables, and made sense for Estelle to be a little mute. After all, they were exhausted.

Yet as she lay in bed that evening, somehow unable to sleep, she couldn't help but sense someone awake. Someone who was clearly waiting for something. What could it be? Who could it be? As horrid as the thought was, as selfish as it was, Silvia was convinced that Estelle was somehow part of it all. Traitor, betrayal, deception. She was used to it all. So, really, all she had to do was be wary, and cautious, right? Watchful and vigilant?

Far away, in the crumbling, old fortress, in a large room of five sleeping girls, one also lay awake. Her beady, blue eyes glistened with pure malice in the silver moonlight. She bit her nails in anticipation. Would her daring, selfish plan work? Would using the girl who hurt her, turned her back on her, made new friends, succeed?

Christie didn't need any assurances. She just knew. Oh, yes she knew, that everything was possible. Including uniting with someone who was meant to be her enemy.