6 ~5~

Most of my classes during the week were interesting enough,

First I had Mythical beasts with Mr. Anne. He was a short, beefy man with watery blue eyes and hardly any hair.

We learned about Cabin Trolls just as Selina had said we would. We even got to go to the edge of the woods and see one in person as well.

The Troll looked just like any normal girl, except her ears were slightly pointed and her skin was slightly grey. She had pretty curly hair the color of rain clouds and she wore a ragged brown dress and her feet were bare.

Mr. Anne had her wrists bound with thick vine before he brought us out to see her. It was a sad sight, but I knew the Possessors had a hard time trusting Trolls because of incidents in the past.

We learned about them.

Trolls used to have the power to bewitch your mind with a trick of their hands. They could make you do unforgivable things. And to them, it was all of good fun.

But a red-haired girl who was in Mr. Annes' first-period class with me explained that no one really knows if Trolls have that ability anymore. She said that the Trolls were capable of that sort of thing long ago when the queens were still around, but as time progressed and Possessors have driven them deeper and deeper into the great woods, they no longer had Possessor minds to possess.

Next, I had Nave History with Mrs. Higgs. She was even sterner than Mr. Anne. She gave me detention on my first day for not having a pencil before I made my way to class. I tried to explain to her that I didn't even know I would be stepping foot in Nave three days ago, but she didn't seem to hear.

In Mrs. Higgs's class, she spent the whole day talking about the four queens.

Their names were Ara, Adola, Dalena, and Ember.

They weren't really sisters, but they might as well been. Everyone agrees.

According to Mrs. Higgs, the Queens were the most powerful possessors who had ever lived. No one, not even now, could trigger that many abilities and live to tell the tale. Mrs. Higgs said that no one really knows how many abilities the Queens had mastered, and probably never know.

After that, I had a few other pointless classes, like Herbs and teas with Ms. Stull. She had told us that those sorts of things have their own abilities, and can help heal the wounded or cure the mad. I didn't understand how she could possibly think that, but I just decided to roll with it.

This is how my week went for a while, and before I knew it, I had already been at Headquarters for a whole month.

One afternoon I was sitting near the pond, reading a book I had borrowed from the library: The Early Life of Adora Dare.

It wasn't something you'd normally catch me reading during my free time, but Mrs. Higgs's class had an upcoming project that was due two weeks from then.

"Hey, partner!" Called a cheerful voice behind me.

I turned to see a red-haired girl making her way down the hill toward me. Turns out we had both first and second period together, and now she was my partner for the project.

"Hey Fraya," I said as she sat beside me in the grass.

Fraya glance down at my book.

"Did you learn anything new?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I learned a lot of things, but I can never be sure if it's true or not. There are so many stories and theory surrounding the Queens that I can never be sure which is true and which is mere fiction"

"Exciting isn't it!" Fraya smiled.

I nodded. "So exciting"

Fraya shoved me playfully, then reached for something glinting in the sun beside her in the grass.

"What is that?" I asked setting my book aside.

"I asked Mr. Wulsbury, the librarian if we could borrow it for our project. He said yes to me, of course, because I'm his favorite student. But he told us to make sure it's returned immediately. And to be sure it stays in perfect condition. 'Not. A. Scratch'. His words, not mine"

I took the beautiful white stone from her and examined it in the sun's crimson afternoon rays.

"It belonged to Queen Ember?" I asked.

Fraya shrugged. "Not sure, why? What makes you assume-"

"It says, right here," I said turning the stone toward her so she could see the tiny letters etched into its side.

The color suddenly drained from her normally flushed cheeks.

"You...You can read that?"

I nodded. "Cant you?"

Fraya shook her head.

she stood up, sort of dazed, and started back toward headquarters.

"Fraya, wait!" I called after her as I collected my book and my bad and darted up the hill after her. "Where are you going? You have to talk about the project!"

"You can read the Queen's hand" She muttered, half to herself, half to me.

"The what?"

"The Queen's hand," She said, finally breaking free from her trance-like state. "It's a secret language the Queens used to use with one another to keep information from the outside world"

"What does that have to do with me?"

Fraya finally whipped around to face me. "Tell me, Ivy. Be honest. How do you know how to read their sacred Hand? That is something no first worlder should be able to do"

I shrugged. "I- I don't know"

fraya nodded as if I had just confirmed her suspicions, then stormed off again.

We caught the attention of many others as we strutted through the hall.

"Fraya?" A familiar voice called after us. A tall green-eyed boy with messy unkempt black hair and light freckles across his nose and cheeks appeared by Fraya's side.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Not now Lucian"

"Your names Lucian?" I asked. The boy glared at me, then he turned back to Fraya.

"Fraya,"

"I said not now!"

She pushed him away, but he just appeared beside me instead. "What's going on?" He said.

"She's overreacting," I told him

"She can be known to do that from time to time" He paused and watched as she stormed on ahead. "But never like this. What's going on?"

"She's freaking out because, supposedly, I can read 'The Queens hand'. Heard of it? Yeah, well, now shes taking me to Ms. Stull"

Lucians' face suddenly went paler than Frayas had. He snatched us both by our arms (Harder than necessary) And steered us into an empty classroom.

He closed the door behind us as we all filled in.

"Are you insane!" He snapped at Fraya. "Taking her to Stull!"

"Who else then?" Fraya snapped back twice as fierce. "She can read their hand! The only one as far as we know!"

There was a long, suspenseful silence.

Lucian ran his fingers through his tangled hair as he spoke, "We should bring her to father"