It's treason, then.

Thanks guys! :D

OoOOOooO

👏👏👏

Eeeeeeeee!!!!! Can't wait for more!!!

I have so many theories already about this man...

Chapter Two
(Before we begin, the narrator is briefly stepping in to explain a dragon sanctuary for a bit of context later on.Dragons have become an endangered species due to most soldiers and knights of Audranyth killing off dragons to show their strength, poaching for their skins, and the remaining dragons fighting each other for the small pockets of wild still left. To ensure their safety, some have collected dragon eggs and began raising the babies in little "zoos" where mankind hopes they will learn to become less aggressive towards others of their kind throughout infantry as they grow together. Later in life, they are released back to the wild or kept in the sanctuaries. There have been many disagreements about raising the dragons in captivity, but in the end, the king has ruled that preserving the dragons -- even if it means raising them in captivity where they may not learn important life skills -- is wiser than letting them possibly die out.)

Time hardly recognized how hungry he was until after he opened his sack lunch and sat down on the springy grass. Out from the paper sack he pulled a ham and cheese sandwich, an apple, a bag of fish crackers and a couple of cookies. 

Rune had gone off to buy her lunch from one of the cafés, leaving Time to find someone else to speak with for the time being. Looking around, he saw Thunderstorm taking a seat beneath a tree with a kennel, Astra and a new boy hurrying to a shop, and Rebel pulling out a book. The burly man who Time didn't recognize wandered over to a picnic bench and began eating whatever he had in a superhero lunchbox. 

I wonder who he is? Time thought to himself. He quickly ran through a list of all the teachers he knew. None of them had brought up having to leave. Then again, maybe one of them had decided to quit over the summer. I'll just have to find out tonight, I guess. Maybe someone else knows.

Just then, the man looked up and was taking a glance around. He froze, seemingly stunned when his eyes landed on Time, and slowly his eyes narrowed into slits. Time shifted uncomfortably. As suddenly as the man had glared at him, the man shifted his gaze back to his food. 

Ok...that was a little uncalled for. Time frowned. Stashing his food back into his bag, he decided to sit with Thunderstorm and talk with them. When he sat down, she looked over at him and nodded in greeting, stormy gray eyes relefting a slight nervousness despite knowing the boy for a year now. 

"Hey," she greeted. She then took a bite out of a cracker. "What are you up to?"

"Just eating, I guess." He took a seat next to his classmate. "Did you do anything much over the summer? And why do you have a kennel with you?"

"My family and I did take a trip to see the dragon sanctuary in Harten, though. I never knew so many dragons could be so small." Thunderstorm paused to open the kennel's door and pull out a chubby gray cat. "I also got a cat," she announced, pride evident in her voice.

"That's cool. I've never been to a dragon sanctuary before, but they sound very cool. It must be interesting to see dragons up close." Time glanced over at her cat and grinned. "He's cute! What did you name your cat?"

"Well, since he's a fuzzy gray cat, I named him Stormy. I'm bringing him with me to school, actually. You can pet him if you'd like." Thunderstorm set the cat on the ground. Slowly, the lazy animal waddled over to Time, who held a hand out. Curiously, the cat sniffed it. Seemingly satisfied, the gray cat rubbed his head against Time's hand. 

"So what did you do over the summer?" she continued, smiling proudly at her cat. 

Grinning, Time absentmindedly scratched him behind the ears. "I really like your cat. And I didn't do much over the summer, but it was peaceful, at least."

"Thanks. And really? I expected you to have said something like 'I travelled back in time and saw when man discovered fire'," she teased. The cat ran back over to Thunderstorm when she pulled out a small snack for him. Pulling the cat onto her lap, she fed the animal and gently stroked him. 

Time quickly shook his head. "Oh no. No time travelling for me this summer, thankfully."

Thunderstorm laughed, and silence fell over the two. Still, they still enjoyed each other's company. Time continued to eat, watching the few clouds in the sky. Thunderstorm allowed her cat to roam around until the bus honked its horn, telling students it would be leaving again soon. 

-----

Late that afternoon, the large, castle-like school looked into view. Perched on a cliffside, the stone palace looked as though it was ready to fall over at any moment. A small, grassy field surrounded the building, and flowing around it was a small river that tumbled over the edge of the cliff to create a breathtaking waterfall that pooled only momentarily at its base until a second, fiercer river continued down the mountain. 

People around Time steadily grew louder, and rightfully so. After being cooped up in a bus for most of the day, everyone was aching to find their dorms, unpack, and head to the much awaited dinner to reconnect with friends. 

After what felt like ages, the bus rolled to a stop in the large courtyard. Students who stayed over the summer due to more deadly or powerful abilities poked their heads out of windows in the towers that held dorms or scurried out the front doors and waited on the steps to greet everyone. Students steadily climbed out of the bus with their luggage. 

Brushing off his dark blue jacket, Time got to his feet, heaved his bag off the top rack on the bus, and waited to exit. When he finally got out, the cool evening air felt refreshing against his face. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a girl with butterfly wings rush out of the bus to hug Rysun, who was waiting for her at the base of the stairs. He also noticed Rune greet a boy with dirty blond hair he knew as Travis by giving him a handshake. 

"Time!" Someone tugged on his jacket's arm. Jumping with surprise, he turned and saw Astra pointing an unfamiliar, black haired boy right next to her. "This is Aster! Aster, this is Time." She briefly motioned between the two. "Anyway, Aster transferred here this year, and he could use some help getting around! Could you help him out?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Time nodded, casting Aster a wary look. Where did he transfer from? I don't know of too many other schools like this one.

"Awesome!" She grinned widely and then began to hurry towards a few other girls clustered together nearby. "Thanks so much! I'll see you around!"

Reluctantly, Time began leading Aster inside. Nobody seemed to pay them much mind, which made it all the more easier to get to the boy's tower. They reached it in under ten minutes. The entire way, the two were silent. 

At the base of the castle tower stood a large, wooden door, and beside it was hung a bulletin board. Knowing exactly what he wanted, Time stopped and looked at the dorm list posted. Time already knew he was in Room 107, since once someone is assigned a dorm, they stay there until graduation. Rysun was the only other roommate he knew about; Tyler, a senior who had graduated right before summer, no longer attended. This left an empty bed. 

"Room 107," Aster mumbled, pointing to his name on the list. Surprised not to have noticed earlier, Time looked over at Aster. 

"I guess we're sharing a room then. Come on, we're only on the first floor. Let's hurry and unpack so we can go eat." Without saying anything else, Time pushed open the door and began climbing the twirling staircase. 

Soon, Time was walking down a very familiar corridor. The stairs stopped at each new level, but the twirling didn't, which left every floor a complete circle. Sunstained paintings lined the walls opposite the windows, and every now and then a light cleverly hidden somewhere above illuminated the wooden path.

The doors, which were to the left and on the same side as the paintings, counted by odds. Large, metal numbers marked each door. Finally, the numbers 107 came into view. After quickly knocking, no response came, and so Time opened the door and stepped inside. 

Due to having to pack everything up over the summer, there weren't any signs of Time having lived here the school year before. However, with Rysun having been there the entire summer, there were papers and posters everywhere. Books were scattered across his bedsheets, and a few posters for action movies were plastered onto his side of the room. Of the two desks pushed back to back in the middle of the room, one was entirely covered with papers from Rysun's hobby of writing. 

"You can have the top bunk," Time offered, setting his suitcase on the bottom half of the bunk bed. The bed was tucked away to one side of the room, and on the opposite side sat Ryun's bed. 

Time quickly showed Aster the basics of the room; where the bathroom was, where the two closets with rolling doors were, when lights out was, and lastly where he could put his things. He also informed him of Rysun and what he looked like, and assured him he'd point him out if they saw him on the way to dinner. 

"Thank you very much, Time," Aster told him, offering a small smile. "But if you don't mind, can we get going to dinner now?"

"I'm getting pretty hungry myself," Time agreed. With that, he stepped out the door and hurried down to the large cafeteria. All the way, the tantalizing smell of food drifted toward them, making Aster's mouth water. 

Before they could even get in the hallway that led to the cafeteria, students were drawn together like magnets, making a dense crowd. It seemed like ages until the two finally pushed their way to the open doors and entered the large room.

Split into two, small levels, the younger two grades sat at the higher half while the older students sat on the lower. Dozens of people sat at tables, already eating, while dozens more waited patiently at their tables to be dismissed by janitors or teachers to get their steamy stew.

Glancing over, Time noticed how antsy Aster looked. His wide eyes darted around everywhere. Time briefly followed his gaze and noticed the burly man from the bus was now dressed like the other janitors; he wore a pair of dark blue pants and a white shirt. Conveniently, Time noticed that Rysun sat at a table near the new janitor. 

"This way," Time instructed, snapping Aster out of his daze. His new roommate nodded and followed him as they headed to the table. 

"Hey, Time!" Grinning widely, Rysun waved to his friend as Time arrived with Aster. He had looked over and noticed the two boys as they were approaching. "Who's your friend?"

"Our new roommate, actually." Time took a seat across from Rysun, and motioned to each person as he stated their names. 

"Cool! It's nice to meet you, Aster!" Rysun offered him a wave. 

Aster curtly nodded. "And it's nice to meet you too, Rysun."

"Hey, don't you find it funny that we all have black hair?" Rysun pointed to himself, Time then Aster and laughed. Surprised, Aster and Time exchanged a look. 

"I... suppose we do," Aster slowly said, surprised. 

Just then, a girl with a blonde ponytail and butterfly wings took a seat next to Rysun. Rysun perked up and turned to her. "Joy! How are you doing?"

"Great now that you're here!" she chirped, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "How was your summer?"

"Not bad!" Rysun exclaimed, giving her a quick hug. "What about yours?"

Time didn't care much to listen to what the two lovebirds had to say. He let his eyes wander the room. Several times, he caught the new janitor casting him wary, uncertain glances. Each time, a frown tugged at Time's lips, until eventually he concluded his power had something to do with it. 

Time's ability was unlike anyone's he had ever heard of before, dead or alive. He had the ability to manipulate time. Of course, it mostly seemed like time was manipulating him. Not once was he able to control when he travelled back or forward in time, and often, people around him would miraculously speed up or slow down. Fortunately, his power rarely activated. 

As he ate, Time narrowed his eyes and looked down at his stew. He dragged a spoon through it, wondering when and how he had met the strange janitor, and what he had done to him to make the other so wary of him. 


(I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I really hope this chapter isn't a disappoinment either. Hope you liked it!)

Last edited by Rune01 (7/20/2020 9:35 pm)

*adds janitor to "people that i dont trust in this story" list*
also stormy!! a good cat i love him

keep up the good work!

:D thanks guys! I'm glad you liked Stormy so much XD

It's amazing so far!! :D

Chapter Three
The first day of school loomed before Fallon before she knew what hit her. 

The past three months had passed in a blur. The end of May and the full months of June and July now passed as one unfocused memory, and trying to figure out which memories came from which month felt like trying to separate sugar and salt -- impossible.

Fallon would've opted to forget all about her summer if the first day of school didn't start with the much dreaded physics class. It wasn't even the class that was so bad. Instead, it was the teacher. 

There had been countless stories about Mrs. Tallip, and not a single one of them ended well for the student. Some people say she purposely failed students she disliked, and others claimed she taught so poorly, they had to reteach themselves the lessons every night while working on homework -- the typically hour-long homework that was assigned each and every single night. 

Still, there wasn't anything Fallon could do to avoid the class unless by some miracle her power triggered and she rampaged around as a dragon, but chances of that were slim. She hoped that maybe somehow she'd end up in a class where at least the other students were bearable. Shouldering her backpack, Fallon stepped into the classroom and looked around. 

It looked like her physics class was small; there were only six, tall, black-topped tables with two stools at each. Most of the seats towards the back of the classroom were already filled up. Out of the four people in the back row, Fallon recognized Bartholomew, a tall boy with neatly combed brown hair, sitting next to Rebel, a girl with striking blue eyes only a little shorter than he was. Though she knew they were both responsible, competent people and ideal table partners, she knew that with only the front row of tables with open seats, there was no chance she would sit next to either of them. Sighing, she took a seat and slung her backpack onto the ground beside the table. Nobody sat next to her. 

Mrs. Tallip stood behind the counter at the front of the room and practically glared down every student. Fallon shifted uncomfortably in her seat as the woman's eyes met hers, but just at that moment the bell rang. Not wasting a second, Mrs. Tallip began calling out people's names for attendance. Everyone was there. Swiftly, the unusually skinny teacher turned to the whiteboard and began scribbling down the definition of physics. But just as Fallon pulled out a piece of paper to start taking notes, something hit her shoulder.

Fallon jumped in surprise, but luckily Mrs. Tallip didn't look away from the board as she vehemently spoke while writing. Turning to look around, Fallon noticed everyone focusing on the lesson. Forehead furrowed with confusion, she picked up a note that fell onto the floor. 

Did u hear? it began. The handwriting was neat, but also small, making it a little difficult to read. Fallon and to squint to make out the next sentence. Prince of Audranyth is supposed to be going to this school this year. -Rebel

With wide eyes, Fallon had to reread the note twice. The Prince of Audranyth was attending their school? And more surprisingly, Rebel Starwings was talking to her? She seemed so aloof, it was almost harder to believe the note was written by her than it was to believe the prince was attending their school!

In a fluid motion, Fallon flipped the note over and wrote a response: The Prince? Really? Nobody has seen him in years! Who is he? -Fallon. Checking to make sure the teacher wasn't looking, Fallon leaned over and told someone from the row in the middle of the class to hand the note to Rebel. It felt like ages until a reply was sent.

Nobody knows. But he should have silver hair, right? The royal family always has silver hair. -R

True, but I haven't seen anyone here with silver hair. -F

Maybe he dyed it. We can talk more after class. I think Mrs. Tallip might catch us if we keep this up. -R.

For the rest of class, Fallon could hardly focus. The idea of the prince being at the same school as she attended was thrilling! He hadn't been seen by the public for ten years! She was certain that a millenia had passed before the bell rang and Mrs. Tallip let them leave, but not before reminding them all about their homework. Fallon was first out of the classroom, and outside the door she impatiently tapped her foot and she waited for Rebel to arrive. Finally, the redheaded girl stepped out the door. 

"Hey," she greeted with a slight, jerky wave. Judging by how stiffly she stood, it was easy for Fallon to piece together just how nervous she was. 

"Hello!" Fallon said back. "Are you serious about the prince joining our school?"

Rebel nodded, and in a low voice continued, "I overheard Mrs. Tallip and Mrs. Davis talking about it outside the Teachers Lounge this morning. The students aren't supposed to know."

Fallon grinned, unable to contain her excitement. "Thanks for telling me! I'll do my best to keep this quiet."

In response, the older girl smiled. "Thanks." She paused, looking like she was going to say something else, and then shook her head just the slightest. "Well, I should get going to my next class. Don't want to be late." 

"Alright, see you tomorrow I guess." Fallon waved, a small frown on her face as Rebel turned down the hallway and left. With nothing else to do, Fallon hurried to her next class, searching for any students who had any traces of silver hair. 

---

Rysun was trying to focus on his tutor's mind, hoping to see if he could finally control his power of being able to find out someone's secret. With luck, he would be able to find the secret of where his tutor had hidden a chocolate bar in the gym. 

It was the period just before lunch break, and like every year, Rysun had ability training. To prevent the classes from getting very big, only two dorms would be training at a time, and each had their own teacher to help them individually. Inside a small gym, Rysun knew that Aster was trying to do...well, whatever his power could do on one side of the gym while Time was sitting on the bleachers. His tutor showed pictures of different time periods as well as described them to see if Time could resist the instinct to travel backward or forward in time. (Time had several exciting history classes where he figured one of the ways his power could be triggered.) On the other half of the gym, Rysun noticed three other students training, but he had no idea who any of them were. 

"I don't hear anything," Rysun said with a sigh, opening his eyes again. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Aster's hand turning to shiny ice. Just then, clear as the ice on Aster's hand, Rysun heard a voice whispering a secret. 

I'm the Prince of Audranyth.

Stunned, Rysun took a step back. His eyes darted around the room. Whose secret was that? The voice associated with the secret sounded vaguely familiar, but Rysun couldn't pinpoint who it belonged to, though it had to belong to someone from nearby, right? Surely his power couldn't pick up someone's secret from across the school. 

Ok, Rysun thought, taking a deep breath. So it's got to be someone within this gym. But nobody here has the trademark silver hair. Craning his neck, the black haired boy tried to see if any of the people he didn't recognize could be a possible candidate. However, he did notice how awesome it was that someone across the room could run at alarming speeds. 

"Rysun? Is something wrong?" Rysun's patient teacher asked, reminding Rysun that he still had class.

Slowly, Rysun nodded and looked back at his mentor. "No, everything's fine. I just heard a weird secret from someone, and I'm not sure who."

His teacher -- who Rysun knew to be a telepath -- winced in sympathy. "I know a thing or two about hearing unwanted thoughts. Now, let's try again."

Rysun nodded and raised his fingers to his temples in an effort to better focus, but he struggled to concentrate after the surprising secret. This school year will definitely be strange.



(Sorry my releasing schedule is so spontaneous! I'm going to try on writing more often, especially with how I intend for the plot to pick up soon. 

I do actually have an announcement! I'm temporarily reopening character submissions! The link to the sign ups is here: https://scholastic.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=226

I don't know if anyone else will want to sign up -- and that's fine if you don't! -- but the submissions will stay open for give or take a week. Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!)

Last edited by Rune01 (7/29/2020 9:06 pm)

Oooh very interesting OwO.
 I thought the girls were gonna be found out passing the notes xD good thing that didn't happen.
I wasn't expecting that secret to be shown in that way 👀 I wonder who the prince is.