Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Slowly the carriage in which Freya was sitting approached the large, curved archway.

The closer she came to the school, the more queasy she became. Even from a distance, through the small window, she could see the large dome on which a building stood and was connected to others.

The other buildings floated in the air, which looked very beautiful, but at the same time very strange. For Freya, this was very unusual, as she had not had much experience with magic before. She did not understand how such a thing was possible.

Through the open carriage window, there were cheerful calls to be heard, probably coming from students. The volume and intensity made Freya wince. So many people at once didn't comfort her at all, and already she longed to return to her small village Narune.

Saying goodbye to her family was difficult for her, but her parents were very proud that she had been accepted at the academy.

Her father was not better yet, but the magician had promised her that her parents would be supported. This gave her hope that this would include the medical care he needed. Her family would never be able to pay for this alone.

As soon as the carriage door opened, she picked up her tiny suitcase and descended the narrow steps. She did not have much to take with her, since she did not have much. She wore her most beautiful dress, which was usually only taken out for festivities. It looked clean and had no patches, but it was very plain.

Her blue eyes widened when she saw the gigantic dimensions of the school. The dome, which had already looked big from afar, seemed even more gigantic.

Inside, it housed gardens and lakes that wanted to draw you into another world.

Even out here, the scent of flowers was clearly in the air and enchanted Freya. The impressions captured her so much that she did not hear the coachman say anything else. Besides, his words were lost in the voices of the other students. They came from inside the dome to her outside and blended into a kind of melody that made Freya more restless.

Hesitantly, she stepped towards the archway and handed the scroll to the guard who was guarding the gate. It was slightly open, but not in such a way that you could just walk in. So she had to wait for it to be opened for her.

The man took the scroll, looked at it, and handed it back to Freya before he pushed the giant door open for her.

The smell of flowers became stronger and a pleasant warmth came towards her. Formally overwhelmed by these impressions, she stopped for a moment to get over everything. In doing so, she blanked out everything to get used to the whole thing one after the other.

The smell of the plants, the warmth, the voices of the people, and the strange tingling on her skin. All that was unusual, new, and exciting. So exciting that her heart began to leap. Unfortunately, her legs also began to tremble slightly.

Freya took a deep breath, plucked up courage, and then slowly stepped off the grass onto a fine but natural-looking paved path. The path meandered through the flower beds, bushes, and trees. Even the chirping of birds could be heard slowly out of the maze of voices.

Carrying the small suitcase in front of her, she looked left and right to see as much as possible. She had never seen so many different flowers before. Where she came from, there was only a limited selection of wild-growing plants, because there were sometimes very high or very low temperatures. Here, however, there seemed to be a pleasant and probably even lasting warmth.

Freya was overtaken by laughing students who didn't even notice her. Some of them seemed to be older because they seemed sublime and elegant. Their long coats reminded Freya of those the magicians had worn, even though their colors did not quite match. The magicians who had brought them all wore red cloth, which had been decorated with a lot of gold. The coats of the students, however, were blue.

Freya continued to look around and could recognize a few younger ones who probably felt as lost as she did. These were easily recognized by the fact that they were also wearing simple dresses and not robes. Probably there was something like a uniform.

Their gaze was directed to one of the ponds. Attracted by it, she deviated from the paved path to take a closer look at it.

How beautiful the water was! Much clearer than the lakes and rivers she had seen before.

Surprised and excited, she beamed with joy before squatting down and letting her hand slide through the cool water.

A light shower covered her body and she smiled even more. It felt so pure that she had the feeling that it was not only water. Was it magic?

A fish jumped out of the lake and submerged again. It splashed Freya wet, which made her giggle.

She hoped that she would have time to come here outside of class. Since she often withdrew anyway, this would be the perfect place for her to be alone.

I wonder what it was like here. Freya still had no idea what the lessons would be like.

Sighing, she drove herself through her white-blonde hair and straightened up again to continue on her way. She would simply follow the other students, not knowing where to go. This was a survival tactic she had learned from an early age.

She noticed that they were approaching a gigantic spiral staircase. This was in the middle of the dome and seemed to lead up to the sky. Did she have to go there?

The stairs seemed like a collection of floating steps without any railings or brackets, so Freya was not exactly eager to go up. It didn't look like the structure was carrying anyone and yet she could see the students walking up normally.

„Hello, are you new here?", a friendly but rather deep voice sounded and Freya looked up in horror. She recognized a tall, young man with short, black-blue hair, storm grey eyes, and glasses that made him look somehow innocent. Yet his muscles and the fine cloth he was wearing did not exactly suggest that he was harmless.

This sight made Freya lower her head.

„Y-Yes?", she asked stutteringly instead of giving a correct answer and even blushed slightly because she had just stared at him. She was not used to being addressed by strangers. Especially not by her strangers.

„That's a good thing", said the young man and she couldn't see the smile he showed her. „Me too. So let's go together", he suggested and extended his hand to her. „My name is Elias de Lun."

Somewhat nervously, Freya nested at her little suitcase, which at that moment was the only thing she could hold on to. Elias looked older, so she was astonished that it was also new. But since he didn't wear a school uniform, that must have been the case.

Hesitantly, she took his warm but amazingly soft hand and shook it. Hers was, in contrast to his, very small and slender, perhaps even a little rough and strong due to all the work. „Freya Delacour", she murmured and avoided his gaze. Instead, she looked up the stairs, and so that they would not fall into embarrassing silence, she decided to ask a question. „Is this an illusion or do we have to go up to them", she asked cautiously. Since she hadn't had anything to do with magic before, she didn't know what corresponded to reality and what didn't.

Elias followed her gaze. „I guess we have to go up there", he said with a wry grin. His voice sounded as if he was unsure. „I must confess that this is new for me, too", he confessed and reached out his arm to her so she could hook on.

Surprised, she raised her head and gave him a suspicious look. Was he afraid that she would fall, or was the behavior on his part perhaps common where he came from?

His distinguished appearance irritated her somewhat, and her plain clothes made her feel untidy and unfitting. At least when she compared herself to him. He seemed neat and distinguished.

Did he come from a rich family? Then why would he want to be with her?

She did not know that strangers were courteous and polite. At least not to this extent.

Back home in her village, everyone had known each other and supported each other. Yet they had always been suspicious of strangers, just as they had always seemed very distant. At least when someone had once lost their way in her village. Which had not happened very often.

For a moment, Freya pondered. Maybe it was good if she at least had someone as new as she was.

A friendship would hopefully help her to find her way in a completely different and new world. Yet Elias had not said anything about friendship. Still, Freya hoped it would.

So she hesitantly took his arm but kept a small distance to him before they climbed the first steps of the stairs together. Uncertain, she set one foot after the other as she did not quite trust the construction.

The young man at her side was a great help. He seemed as if nothing could upset him.

That his gaze lay on her from time to time, she noticed only from the corners of her eyes. As if he was worried about her or was checking her out.

The spiral staircase stretched endlessly. It kept going up in circles and it seemed to want no end. Not even the sky came closer. No matter how far they went. It was the most strange.

Freya was afraid she would be pushed to the side if she walked too slowly. She had seen some of the students who had just pushed in front of her. So she hurried a little, but because of her nervousness, she missed a step and lost her balance.

Elias held her as if her weight did not matter. „Gently", he said gently and put her down again. He still held her in a supporting position so that she couldn't fall again right away.

The young woman sighed slightly trembling and tried to smile. „Thank you", Freya muttered with a beating heart and shaky legs from shock.

Again she took a deep breath, gave Elias a glance, and finally nodded in agreement that they could go on.

„Look", said Elias and groped to the side of the stairs. There was no railing there, and yet it looked as if he was somehow supported. Almost as if there was a wall there.

Freya's gaze followed his hand and she sighed in relief. She had thought that the stairs had no safety. Now she was reassured.

„How did you know that", Freya asked and put her hand next to his. She felt something that was not visible. It was stable and even slightly warm. Almost like an invisible, slightly rough stone wall.