Book 1, Chapter: 25

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"…To survive as a slave, I had to be able to read people. To know if they were violent and angry, or calm and passive, or even if they were like me, and could be whatever depending on the situation and with who they were interacting. Masters, slaves, or workers. Otherwise, I wouldn't have survived the beatings, the cold nights and hot days, the little food we received, the physical, and verbal abuse, and the harsh work. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to kill my master and escape.

I lived my entire life within the confines of a farm, an orphan without any known relatives, in a place in which people were constantly dying and being replaced, and where I couldn't even trust the other slaves, for all that they cared about was themselves, and they would first steal food from the weaker than showing kindness. I learned my place as a worker. I learned to be cruel to the slaves, and obedient to the masters.

Then, one day, everything changed.

After my master fell from a cliff and broke his legs, in my eyes, he didn't behave like a master anymore. As he screamed in pain and agony, I couldn't help but see him as a slave. So, I treated him like one. I was cruel to him.

I cut his heart out and ran away.

I've run for days, and weeks, I wandered through jungles, swamps, and deserts, and before I knew it, I ended up in the village outside. Without even knowing what was going on, once I entered the forest near this mountain, the rotting heart of my master vanished from my bag, and then I just followed everyone, and… well, I ended up in this school. I had a place to sleep and eat, but I was still lost, so I fell onto my old habits, and clung onto the first 'master' I saw", Ninebark hesitated in continuing her story, throwing me a glance before resuming it: "And then to the next master, as the previous one also turned out to be a slave. That's how I ended up here… and with those guys."

My history teacher, Grace, the tree-lady, sighed, patting the ugly girl's head with her gnarled hand and fingers.

"You're safe now, child", she commented with pity. Then she turned to Spruce, Ike and I with everything but pity in her eyes. "But you… You have some explanations to give."

"We're sorry, elder Grace, we know we may have gone too far… but it was those guys who put Ninebark in that state to begging with! We just wanted to help her!", Ike explained, pointing at Hook and his goons on the other side of the room.

"L- Lies! He jus beas us for no season!", Hook rebuked, barely able to speak with his face all swollen up.

"It doesn't matter! Such ruthless behavior is inadmissible in these grounds! If the other apprentices hadn't noticed your 'game' going so wildly… I don't even want to know what could have happened!", Grace frowned and pointed her index finger to Hook one moment, and to Ike the other. "This is a serious misdemeanor, and it will have equally serious consequences! This school house thousands of apprentices, from many different cultures and places, many of which are influential people within their tribe! Such unsightly behavior could even result in a war, and as a representative of this institution, I-"

"BAM!", the bone doors opened with violence, and to everyone's surprise, Council Member Tanka walked in with a big smile on his face and hands in his pockets.

"Hey, hey, let's calm down, will we, grandma?", he said, getting in between the two piles of pillows that snuggled our opposing groups in that room, and right in the middle of the argument. "They are young, full of power, and need to vent out a little. Relax, old woman, such behavior should be expected from this promising youth", he said, patting Ike and Hook's heads violently while not breaking eye contact with the tree-lady.

"…These grounds are what keeps the world connected and prospering after the disappearance of the gods. We cannot allow fights within this place."

"This is the generation that will lead newborn nations, and command entire hunts. A little bit of heat is a good thing for them" the man with silver hair talked back, smiling wide and showing disproportionally long canines.

"There's more to this world than fighting. There's more to the Bear Mountain than teaching violence!", Grace, held onto her green rat amulet tightly, and seemed to look at her superior with disgust.

"That's right! So, as the responsible adults around, we shouldn't go overboard with punishments, right?"

"Look who's talking. You're the one who's been turning the Bear Mountain into a barbarous training camp."

Turning around, and ignoring the old tree-lady, Tanka opened his arms and declared: "As one of the Council Members, I declare: you shall have an extra lesson during your resting day for the following week. Which class you'll take is of your own choice", almost with a comical smile, he concluded winking at us: "That's all, kids! Now, get out there, and don't do such nasty things again, alright?"

"At least we didn't get ourselves expelled", I said, sighing and sagging down on the bone handrail of the vertebrae tower we had been taken to by teacher Grace. "Heck, that was scary."

"Hphm! All according to my plans", Spruce said, smugly holding his chin as he stared at the sunset in the distance.

"Your plan my a- I bet! You're the one who got us into trouble to begging with!", Ike screamed at the little person, pointing his index finger at him.

As my two friends were discussing with one another, I turned around, and to Ninebark. She was near the door to the balcony, looking down, holding one of her arms. I walked closer to her and stopped right by her side.

"You and I, we're not friends. We can't be friends anymore, honestly. But I don't wish you harm anymore", I said. She nodded. "…What happened to Ursus?"

"I don't know. After that, he just… vanished. Wasn't it you?"

"No, it wasn't me", I shrugged. "He must have gotten too embarrassed and left the school."

"Hey, Ninebark!", Ike called, approaching the two of us with excitement. "Where're you sleeping?"

"I was living with Hook and his gang…"

"Well, you can't stay there", Ike crossed his arms, pensive.

"Hey, my bedroom is already full. It's a tiny place!", I said, raising both hands to stop Ike.

"I know! Come with me."

After we collected Ninebark's stuff from Hook's bedroom, surprisingly, Ike guided us to his old roommates: "P- Please, take care of her, Hawthorn!", Ike said with a nervous smile on his face.

"Ike… I thought you were angry at us for some reason", a shirtless man with red hair that reminded me of the Thorn Lady wiped away a falling tear. "Come here, man, we missed you!", Hawthorn hugged Ike, who awkwardly hugged him back. "Don't you want to come back with us again? We still have room for you!"

"No, I'm fine. But, please, take care of Ninebark. She needs good friends right now."

"Alright", Hawthorn nodded at the ugly girl, who nodded back. "And can't you be her good friend?"

"No", Ike said. And Ninebark's shoulders immediately sagged down, and her stare turned to her own feet. Then, turning as red as a tomato, Ike delicately took her hand, and answered back: "I-I-I want to be… more than just her friend."

"Wow!", Hawthorn and his friends all covered their mouths and jumped from one leg to another.

"Hu. What a stupid movement. To get into a relationship is to share power, something that only idiots do", Spruce crossed his arms, smug. "Right, buddy?"

I just shrugged.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm biologically female", Ike said, sending his old roommates into an even more frenzied state.

Well, at least everything ended up well.

*

"How's the plan going, kid?", I asked the sleepy boy who was laying down on the many cushions of my room.

"Hhm…", he slowly opened his eyes. Was he really sleeping before? "Alright, I guess. Everyone is ready, but I'll still need some more time to undo the protections of the teleporting spell."

"Do it quicker."

"You know, that is basically divine magic, it's not like I can just 'do it quicker'. No one even knows how teleporting works."

"Do. It. Quicker", I repeated myself, bearing my fangs at the boy.

"…Alright, alright", He simply agreed, as he should have done from the beginning, and then left my bedroom in one of The Bear Mountain's vertebrae, basically dragging his feet across the ground, and almost falling forwards.

He stole one of my cushions as well.

"Hmhp", whatever. The only thing that mattered, was that my pack was coming. Mayhem would break loose in the Bear Mountain. And I could barely stop wiggling my tail from excitement.