“I think we should try and consider the fact that I’m the one who should be up for this type of labor,” I snapped.

“What do you speak of?” I cried, “We work as a team, remember?” I turned my head sharply to the right.

Then to the left, “Yes, but do you realize that both of us work differently?”

You may wonder why I am talking to myself but actually I’m not. (You may even think I am insane.) What I really am talking to are my sides. Unfortunately, they are complete opposites and rarely agree. I have a Light side and a Dark side. However logical this may seem is understandable. My name is Arum-Lumen and it means Dark-Light in Latin. As you discover my abilities you will also find exactly how the two of me work. Sometimes if I’m lucky, I can reason with them both so actually there are three sides of me.

It was my first day of school and I had just come from a different school, a school of people who were powerless. On the other hand this school was for the gifted at least, that is what Uncle tells me. The school isn’t all that large so I assumed that there weren’t so many “gifted” students. I didn’t look different at my other school and I couldn’t reveal what I really looked like. I had brown hair and brown eyes but without my illusion that concealed my identity, I have black and white streaked hair. I also have one red eye and one blue eye, so this basically shows someone my powers or an idea maybe.

I felt quite comfortable for an odd reason although I did have an anxious feeling in my stomach that was a bit nausea-like. It felt good though and I was less tired after using power only to conceal myself and my former classmates always noticed that I seemed a bit drowsy most of the time. I always seemed attentive in class and I appeared intelligent to my professors in class. I never raised my hand but the teacher usually called my name and was stunned to see I knew the answer. She also seemed disappointed by not catching me off guard.

But it was going to be different this year and strange. I would be compared like the others and I would be just like them. It wouldn’t be like being surrounded by people who had no powers. Praying to make friends wouldn’t be necessary anymore for friends because I may have been able to actually relate to them.

After all these thoughts I stood there with my small case of things, since Uncle said I would need them for class. I had my formal outfit on that my mother had passed down to me. After she died the powers were passed down, too. I didn’t like wearing it but Uncle said that I had better get used to it because it would be my uniform for the rest of the coming years. The outfit would apparently grow with me because of the charm on it. Before I left Uncle’s home he told me I looked just like my mother with tears in his eyes. I sighed as the image appeared in my mind of my mother who was beautiful and I stepped off the porch and into the portal that would take me to school.

I was there now and I stepped up the stairs. I never thought about how different they would look. Some of them had wings, animal ears or tails, brilliant colors of hair, unusual skin color, and some had utensils that they used for weapons I assumed. I saw a boy who summoned unusual creatures with his lights of florescent blue shooting from his palms. I felt dazzled and he noticed my glance. He had jet black hair that came down to his neck and shocking golden colored eyes that had met with my red and blue ones.

“Hello,” he said with a calming voice, “Are you the new kid?"

I could feel both of my consciences combating in my mind of what was to be said. I stuttered, “U-um, I guess… Y-yes.” I quickly glanced to the side.

“Oh,” he smiled gently, “My name is Sum-Missus.” He made an odd little bow and shook my hand.

“Well… it’s nice to meet you,” I tried to grin. It must have looked odd because he slightly tilted his head, smiled and walked away.

I walked inside the small building and I was astonished at what I saw. The building was huge in the inside it seemed to have consisted of more than a hundred rooms. I stood there wide-eyed in astonishment until someone realized that I had no idea what to do next since well, I was late in years that is. A girl finally noticed my gawked look.

“Uh, excuse me but are you lost?” she asked. She was beautiful looking in my eyes and I was jealous for a slight second. She had long blonde hair and bright violet eyes that looked as though they have seen everything. “I was just wondering since I have never seen you before and you looked slightly stunned…”

I nodded slightly and she smiled.

“I’ll help you find your way, alright?” she pointed throughout a hallway that was decorated in intricate framed pictures of supposedly important people. They framed each hallway and some shone when I looked at them and it was like I was being greeted.

“Thank you,” I said as I followed her down the marble floor the swirls seemed to be outlined of gold as I looked at the ground that reflected the floating candles.

“Not a problem at all,” the girl said once more, “My name is Felicity by the way.”

“That’s a pretty name I added, “My name is Arum-Lumen…” I didn’t think it was as pretty, not to mention it was long, too.

She grinned, “We’ll just make a right…” We turned into a door that was lined with the stages of the moon and at the top it said “BASE LEADER”. I was astonished at it and its beauty. Felicity knocked the door lightly, “Professor D'Actionné?”

“Come in…” replied a female voice. Felicity opened the door and a young woman with graceful long silver hair was sitting at an ebony desk layered with papers and gadgets I had never seen before. There were utensils that had an unknown use in my mind. The woman was wearing a long black dress that draped the floor with black frills at the end accompanying the drapes. She held a pen that had a dashing unusual feather at the top. “Oh I see… well I guess your assigned alliance is either absent or forgot. Oh well, Felicity you will be assigned to her for the day… I will transfer her to your schedule instead.” Professor D'Actionné scribbled something on a note and a statue that was depicted as a small dragon suddenly cracked and the cement melted off the creature.

I had never seen a dragon before let alone one becoming alive so I must have looked astonished. Abruptly, it plunged onto the desk and it surprisingly took the parchment gently and dashed out of the room.

“Alright,” she said, “You both may go,” and we both left the room back into the hallway. Felicity then described her classes and which ones she liked or disliked. I nodded my head even though I had never heard of most of these subjects. Mathematics was still there unfortunately…

I soon learned that she had been going to this school since she was very young and I kind of felt sad because maybe I would have enjoyed the beginning of my life better but at this point I didn’t know. I soon realized that it was because my mother died I had received these powers and the two guardians. But

I still didn’t know Felicity’s powers yet. I didn’t bother to assume, yet I was still curious. While heading to the next class, History of Medieval Creatures, she chatted about random things a regular 14 year old would talk about and I just listened.

We soon arrived in the classroom with hardly any breath to spare considering the long walk. I saw that my classmates were just as different as the ones I saw outside and I became just as excited, too. My first class consisted of the teacher Professor Memoria who seemed a bit older than Professor D'Actionné, like maybe in her late 30s. She had forest green hair clipped with a realistic-looking flower and crimson red eyes tinted with orange-yellow. She wore a Celtic outfit, brown and outlined with green. She had a slender figure and pointed ears so basically she was of the elf race.

“Class,” she declared wearily, “We have a new student. Miss Yin-Yang?” She motioned me to stand up with graceful fingers tipped with green finger nails matching her hair.

“Hello…” I stammered, staring at the ground, “My first name is Arum-Lumen.” A few girls giggled and most of the class wasn’t paying attention. I just sat down slowly next to the empty seat by a light-blue skinned girl who smiled and had very sharp teeth. She was writing something on a sheet of paper with purple ink. Strangely enough the ink looked odd to me… like it really wasn’t ink.

She noticed my glance, “Ah… so you’ve noticed,” she stared at me with a wry smile and silvery eyes, “It’s Barghest blood.” She wrote a line and ran her hand across it. “It dries a lot faster than regular ink –my father bought it for me from Iceland.”

I nodded, “I see…” I didn’t even know a “Barghest” existed or what it was, for that matter. I took out a sheet of paper too and a regular pen also and so that I could catch up a little. I would just have to see what we were really studying and I knew that it was totally out of the ordinary. She told the class that we needed to take out our “History of Medieval Creatures” Dictionary –which of course I did not have. I just sat though, looking a little agitated and confused.

Luckily, Professor Memoria noticed the frantic look and summoned a book with a flick of the wrist and there on my desk, lay two books; a dictionary and a text book.

“Do not lose those,” she warned, “They’re irreplaceable.” She copied a phrase from her book on to the board.

I nodded obediently.

~* * *~

It was a long day as the pattern continued of my missing books and meetings of new people who looked different every time. Some beautiful others ugly and it made me wonder whether their powers were gifts or curses. In a way they were all gifts and curses. Every room was unique, too as I saw all the teachers and they all were different furthermore. There was Professor Bestiarius, who taught of Mythical beasts that turned out to be real; Professor Aenigma, who taught Mathematics and Sciences –those who were thought to be myth and those that weren’t; Professor Hyacinthus who taught of strange and unusual plants; Professor Magicus who taught magic with either weapons or our bare hands; Professor Adludo who was going to teach us how to fly or basic sports that I had never heard of; and finally Professor Integritas who was to teach us about healing.

They were all different looking and I already knew what subjects I would like most. I thought Magic was going to be the most interesting at that matter. I had some power –I knew that but I just didn’t really know how to use it and I couldn’t control Yin or Yang, my sides.

That day, I went home astonished and stunned at what I saw. I was too gawked for words and Felicity walked to the portal with me. She had an accent and when I asked where she was from, she said England. I was so stunned I dropped my book bag.

Felicity giggled, “Well, of course… you wouldn’t know…” she smiled, “The portal leads every where…”

“Oh…” I said, “So they all learned English too?” I asked this tilting my head.

“No,” she said, “There’s a language barrier so we can all understand each other. Someone from India can hear you speak their language along with everyone else with different backgrounds.” I wasn’t aware of this at all and I was bewildered.

Everything seemed so much more alluring at this school and I predicted it was going to be a good year. Cursor by www.Soup-Faerie.Com