Chapter 10 - Breakfast and the Bonfire

Moxarth was a lot bigger and… different than what Matilda had expected but she loved every inch of it. Novrug had shown her some of the places such as the Ballroom, Dining Room, Lavatory, and the Amphitheater after meeting Orae. Last night was a journey and somehow ended with a dream of her mother, or so she thought. A woman with wide wings but a blurry face was hovering in the sky, absorbing what seemed to be magic from somewhere, but that was all Matilda saw until the woman snapped her gaze towards her, causing her to jolt out of bed.

This morning was awakened by Alde, the coachman who rang the school's bell. Students gathered together, making their way towards the Dining Room where Orae, Novrug, and three other professors waited. "You seem a little nervous, I suspect it's your first time being at Moxarth?" A voice behind Matilda startled her. She hated how a simple small voice would startle her. Turning, she saw a boy about six feet tall and blonde hair that reached over his forehead. He had green eyes but it was darker than hers. "Does my body language actually give it away?"

He chuckled. "You'd be surprised how quickly I can tell the emotion of others." He stepped next to her once they'd reached the doors where Orae waited. "How fabulous it is to see such wonderful faces at the crack of dawn. Some of you are new to Moxarth but I sure hope you know what the Dining Room is. If not, then you've got a lot to learn." Orae pushed open the door, smiling to herself as she heard the students gasp. Matilda was one of them. The Dining Room was huge, if you'd compare this room to the size of Matilda's room back in Wigston, you wouldn't even dare call it a room.

Within a few feet from each other were large round tables and ten chairs surrounding it. Though Matilda wasn't quite sure how many students were attending Moxarth this year, she was sure everyone would have a seat in the Dining Room. "Hey, I don't know if you know anyone here but you can have a seat with me." The blonde boy offered, which Matilda didn't turn down. He led her to a round table that was near a wall with a wide window. "I always pick this table because of the best view it has." He says, taking a seat. "People get jealous but they know better than to take this seat." He adds as he watches Matilda glance out of the window.

The view from the window was mesmerizing. It faced over the Floral Arch, some land, and the ocean. There were white clouds along with orange clouds, which Matilda was awed by. "Now that everyone is seated, I must start the feasting!" Orae's voice boomed throughout the room as chefs barged through the door, holding long plates of breakfast. On Matilda's table, a chef placed a tray that had bowls of fruits, piles of waffles and pancakes, a pile of bacon, eggs, toast, and ten cups of orange juice along with coffee. She had never seen this much breakfast on one table.

All of the students grabbed what they wanted as the chefs left the room. "Students may rise and talk among friends and meet the new students. But please, keep your voices down for our sake." A professor called out. "I'm Alaric." The blonde boy spoke. "Matilda." They shook hands as they ate their breakfast. "I know this is your first year but you're extremely nervous," Alaric spoke, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, of course, I'd be nervous. When I got the acceptance letter, I didn't think Moxarth was real. But being here and seeing that magic does exist, I wonder why exactly they gave me a spot, I mean, from what Novrug mentioned, I don't think I could be as good as everyone." Matilda didn't expect herself to be straightforward with Alaric but she wanted someone to talk to. "Everyone is unique in their own way, Matilda. We're meant to be special."

She remembered Novrug using the word, Medians so she asked Alaric what it meant. "Medians are what we use to describe non-magical persons."

"Is there a name for magical people?"

"There is. We're called Miscreants," Alaric glanced over at Matilda who was confused, more than she was when Novrug first visited her, "I thought Novrug would explain it to you by now." She sighed as she took a bite of her bacon, "Seems like he forgot." She looked over at another table to see a girl who looked like Carla, but she wasn't sure if it was her. Standing up, she took a closer look and realized that it was Carla and she was sitting at a table with Bria along with a few other girls.

She felt hurt, disappointed, and betrayed. If Carla and Bria were here, then it meant they were Miscreants? Everything Matilda mentioned to Carla was in fact true but Carla turned her down, making her think she was crazy. But why? She made her way towards the table, watching Bria turn, eyes widening. Carla then turned and gulped. "You lied to me?" Matilda asked, stopping behind their seats. "No! I didn't!" Carla cried out.

"You knew Moxarth existed and magic is real but you told me that I was crazy for thinking that. Yet, you're here with Bria," Matilda points at Bria who was slouched in her seat, "Why would you lie to me?"

Orae glanced over at the table to see what was happening, realizing that between the three of them, the conversation didn't look so good. "Lying was the only way to protect me, my sister, and my family. I wasn't sure if you were one of us." Carla stood up, sadness pooled in her eyes. "Did you forget about the man who cured that flower, or the boy who vanished in a blink of an eye, or when I saw that white creature, or when I would hear people talk but they actually didn't?"

Matilda looked down at Bria whose back was facing them. "And you! I mentioned Moxarth to you but you told me you never heard of it!" By now, she was furious. Carla couldn't say anything to make Matilda feel better. She fiddled with her fingers while Matilda huffed. "Is there anything else you kept from me?"

"Ladies, I hope breakfast is treating you right?" Matilda and Carla turned to see a woman in a red dress standing in front of them. The look on the woman's face looked familiar and flashbacks started to pool in Matilda's mind. A woman going through her garbage, red dress, black sun hat, eyes that shimmered, and the same vanishing technique as the Mysterious Boy. "You! You were in my garbage!" Matilda exclaimed. The woman didn't look fazed.

"Novrug said your name's Octave," Matilda adds. Carla and Bria were giving each other looks. Then she smiled. "So he has mentioned me. I hope it was for a good cause." She says before returning the conversation back to breakfast. "Any questions or concerns, you're to reach out to me, Orae, or any of the other professors. Alde works too but it's best to leave the questions to us." Octave grins before turning on her heels and walking towards the professor's table.

Matilda turned to Carla who was trying to avoid eye contact. "Before I go, I'd like to let you know that you could've told me the truth. If you trusted me or really wanted to help, you'd be there for me as a friend rather than blowing it off." She could barely look at Carla or Bria so she made her way back to Alaric, who was twirling his finger in a circular motion, flames escaping his finger.

"That's awesome, how is that possible?" Matilda asked, taking a seat.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, one of my magic consists of Inflammation which means with a swoosh of my hand," Alaric spun his hand in a circle and rested his palm open, a ball of fire appeared and then turned into a tornado. Matilda was amazed at what Alaric just conjured. He closed his palm and leaned forward, "It took me a while to finally understand how to control my magic. It takes almost everyone months to learn theirs, there's a story about a student who attended Moxarth years ago, couldn't bother conjuring up their magic and the Headmistress at the time pushed him to the Forbidden Dungeon. No one's seen or heard of him after that." He sunk back into his seat, watching Matilda's eyes widen.

Then he laughed. "Part of that story is true but I don't need you to fret. The Forbidden Dungeon can't be accessed by anyone other than Orae."

"Students! Now that breakfast is finally over! I must bring your attention to our next activity. Please make your way down the hall and into the backyard. Professor Viola will direct you to our famous Bonfire. Make sure none of your clothing catches on fire, you'll be short of clothes then." Orae shouts as she steps away, into the back door. A lady who was dressed in all purple led a long file of students through the narrow hallways, which Matilda was already sick of seeing, then into the backyard and the same pathway towards the Bonfire.

"It seems as though you know some people here but it doesn't seem like a good idea to hang out with them," Alaric spoke from behind Matilda. She'd thought she was over being startled but everyone at Moxarth proved her wrong. "No, I can't even look at them right now. Do you mind if I sit with you?" He shook his head and led her to a spot that was three rows away from the pile of branches on the floor. "Every time we come down to the Bonfire, Orae wants me to use my magic to burn the branches. My second year and I'm clearly the favorite Inflammation student."

"Is that even a thing? Favorite Inflammation student?" Matilda asked, letting a small smile take over her face. He stood up, leaned down, and spoke, "No, but there definitely should be. I'm the best." He walked down the steps and stopped in front of the branches. Orae and the others were standing on the other side of the Bonfire, waiting for Alaric to spark the flame, and honestly, Matilda was on edge too. He hovered his hand over a branch and within seconds, it caught on flames. It didn't take long for the other branches to catch the flames and now, the fire was higher than the base of the land.

He returned to his seat and saw that Matilda was smiling in amazement. He chuckled softly and responded, "What?"

"That was astounding. I don't think I'd ever get bored of seeing that."

"Good cause you'll be seeing me for the rest of the school years," His eyes got darker and his grin got wider, "You can't get rid of me, love." Matilda felt a chill run down her spine and Alaric seemed to feel it as well. "Nervous?" She shook her head, although he knew she was lying. The thing about Alaric was that it was easy for him to pick up the emotions of others but Matilda didn't quite get that. She just thought he was being sly and using his charms to woo her over. She had quite a lot to learn.

"Now that the Bonfire is lit, I will let you all know that the purpose for today's activity is to simply befriend anyone at Moxarth. Befriending as people as you wish will overcome the feeling of being homesick. It works the charm on quite a few people." Viola called out. She had clapped her hands, raised her arms to her sides as her cape opened up. Silence filled around them as luminous purple butterflies flew from Viola's cape and into the sky, bursting into a rain of shimmer.

Matilda heard a small grunt near her foot and glanced down. It purred as it rubbed against her shoe. Its skin was black with incandescent orange lines all around its body. The wings were black with pointy horns and its eyes were bright orange. It grunted as a small amount of smoke escaped its nose. Matilda would've been extremely scared right now but the size and how it looked was too adorable. "Mozus! You're supposed to be in bed, resting." Alaric muttered, picking the pet up.

"This is Mozus, my fire dragon." Mozus crawled in a circle before settling down in Alaric's lap. "He's usually fired up, pun intended, and tries to blow fire at people. But he seemed to like you."

"Well, I guess that's the beginning."