Moving day

The trip was shorter than Maria expected. It was just a short walk to the mossy door of a dilapidated house. Her dad rung the doorbell, said "Aetheria Academy" and the door swung open, revealing a colorful plaza, filled with an assortment of people and creatures of all shapes and sizes, some bipedal, some on a leash, some in cages, some with saddles. The place was vibrant and breathtaking, but the strange thing was that it was soundless.

Her mom, who had helped bring the luggage, gave Maria one big hug, reminding her to come back home as often as she could. And even though her mom tried to hide it, she could see tears forming at the edges of her eyes. Then her mom gave her dad a big kiss. Afterwards, Maria and her dad stepped trough the door.

It was a striking difference to go from the empty street to the center of the bustling capital. It was a true feast for the senses: vibrant colors floating over with the sounds of hundreds of voices, each attending to their morning chores, the nice summer wind breezing through and the smell of fresh air mingled with the smell of dust, freshly baked bread and the perfumed smell of juicy fruits and blossomed flowers. A truly perfect way to kick off the summer vacation.

Her dad took her hand and said: "Let's go." He seemed a bit more tense now that he was on the other side of the portal.

And on they went through the plaza, through a maze of cobbled streets, lined with flower pots, banners, lights and, a little bit further away from the plaza, clothing lines with colorful garments floating in the wind.

He stopped in front of a door. Unlike the last one, mossy and in disrepair, this one was big and sturdy. Plant motifs had been sculpted on the sides and around the door frame. The bronze handle almost sparkled in the sun and was just as ornate as the rest of the door.

Her dad opened the door and inside was a spacious courtyard. Clothing lines were hung up in here as well. In one corner, there was a snug little coop with chickens. On the opposite wall, 4 doors lined up, each with an ornate number. He headed for door no. 3 and Maria followed, carrying her luggage.

Her dad stopped in front of the door for a moment, before finally unlocking and opening the door, which opened with an audible creak.

The inside was quaint. A double bed and a single one in the bedroom, a stove and a sink for cooking, a little bathroom with a shower.

"It's... just like I remember it."

Maria looked at her dad. He seemed lost in thought.

"Dad?"

He didn't answer.

He looked around the small house, ignoring her. She grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt. "Dad!"

That seemed to wake him up. "I'm sorry. It's just... this was our old home." He pet the single bed. "This was where... we put the crib. For you."

"Oh..." Maria let go of the sleeve. Then jumped on the bed, ruffling up the blanket. "Well... I think I needed something my size anyway, right?" She tried a cheeky smile and her dad smiled as well. It didn't reach his eyes though.

"Well, we should probably start unpacking. I have a lot to tell you." He ruffled her hair and then went to bring the luggage inside.

They started unpacking and as the bags and suitcases got more and more empty, her dad told her more and more about what she'd need to know now that she was here. Maria interjected with an "I know" and "You told me that already!" from time to time.

In essence, the Academy worked with the students in order to teach them 7 elements: water, earth, fire, air, light, dark and nature along with some vital skills for a fantasy world, such as sewing, agriculture and other knick knacks. They'd start with the student's element and after 2 years the student had to prove himself in battle in order to be considered a master of his element. The student could continue studying another element, but it would take more time than mastering his innate element, but her dad didn't go into much detail with that, as he wouldn't let Maria do that anyway.

Her dad also told her that her mom is a dark element and he himself is a light element. He and her mom managed to master one more element (hence dad's fire powers and her mom's air powers) and were working on the third when they decided it was safer to leave.

Yet, when Maria asked, he still wouldn't tell her more about the threat. Mumbling some excuse about her not being ready.

At dinner, they had a guest. A water teacher had come from the Academy to see how well she handled her element. "We don't get a lot of Earthens coming here to learn at the Academy. You must be very proud!" She said.

The smile she was offering was covered in wrinkles. Her clothes were quite interesting as well, ornate and laced with silver, and she wore a pair of old fashioned silver round glasses with a chain.

She started prodding her, commenting on Maria's "peculiar earthen clothes", asking questions about her powers and what she could and couldn't do, what she had trouble with. Unfortunately, she found Maria's skills lacking. Despite her mom's best efforts, feeling something strongly could literally change the air and the weather around Maria.

"Don't worry, I'll be able to help with that! You don't need to overthink it, dear. You just have to go with the flow." Mrs. Cloud pinched her cheek. "With that adorable face, I'm sure you'll master water in no time at all!"

The dinner was strange, to say the least, and it wasn't just because of the guest. It seemed that, just like Elementum had some animals and creatures that were different from Earth, it also had different fruits and veggies and sometimes different weather too. But whatever was on the plate, it was delicious.

Their guest left after eating seconds, but not before making an appointment with Maria to meet on the grounds of the Academy for some hands-on training.

After she left, her dad delivered some extra news: in the morning they were going to be visited by some old family friends of dad's and they were bringing two girls, one of them about her age, one of them being a tad younger.

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Maria tossed and shifted in the new blanket. She couldn't fall asleep. For the first time since she came to Elementum, she wasn't happy to be here. Everything felt a little off. She looked over at the double bed, from which she could hear soft snoring, then quietly got out of bed.

She opened the door, trying to do it fast to avoid the creaking, and stepped outside.

The air was thick and heavy and the grass in the courtyard was already covered in dew. The sky was filled with glimmering stars, not covered by the usual light pollution. Crickets sent their saddening song up to the sky.

And for a heartbeat, everything was beautiful. Heartbreakingly so.

The voices raised in volume, but their words were so conflicted. Some screamed of sadness, others of the injustice of being alone again, others responded with fury. Confused and hurt, Maria wept. Wept on the day that she had been so anxiously awaiting for 2 whole months. She didn't fully understand why herself. And, of course, rain started falling down on her, completely drenching her hair, her face, her clothes. The pitter patter of rain was accompanied by the senseless whispers of the voices. Their volume had dropped from shouting to whispers, as if afraid to disturb her crying. As if they knew she wanted to be alone.

After a few minutes, the tears stopped and the rain turned into a drizzle, then stopped too. A deep moment of silence followed. Then she took a deep breath, went back inside, took a warm shower, changed her drenched pajamas and put them by the fireplace. She also wrapped her wet hair in a towel, too tired to figure out a way to dry it and then she went back to sleep.

"Tomorrow is going to be better." she whispered to myself, gripping the blanket. "And, I mean, it's not like I won't be able to go home once dad shows me how the teleporter thing in the plaza works. Besides, I'm in a magical world! The literal magical world that I heard stories about all of my childhood. And tomorrow, I'm going to explore it with some girls my age and-"

A groan from her dad stopped her train of thought. She hadn't realized she was speaking out loud! Maria waited with bated breath and, to her relief, the snores continued. "And I'm going to learn to control these magical powers so it won't rain on me every time I have an emotional breakdown." She added, this time just thinking it. "I can do this."

Then she closed her weary eyes and enjoyed a few more hours of dreamless sleep.

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Edit: I changed mom's element for plot purposes. You'll find out in a few weeks ;)