when Calista finished. She turned to Nathan. “And you have no apology to make?”
He stared at her in obstinate refusal.
A wicked smile spread over Calypso’s face. “Your choice. Neglected as you neglect, Wetter than those you wet, Locked from your own, Is the punishment you get.” The shells on the bracelet glowed and a stream of blue light wrapped itself about him. A storm cloud appeared over his head, drenching him in seconds. “Don’t worry Calista, you’ll find your rugs as dry as ever. Enjoy the rain, Nathan.” With a laugh, she left and was soon seen walking through the thundershower outside.
“I suggest you go to the dormitories and get ready for supper, Nathan,” Calista said.
Soaked, he got up and walked away. He should have expected something like this. Oh well, it was worth it. He tried to wipe the raindrops away from his eyes so he could see where he was going, but it didn’t help. When he reached his dormitory, he couldn’t get the door open. He desperately tried to wipe his hand on his pants, thinking perhaps it was because his hand was wet. When he tried again, the door wouldn’t budge. He shrugged and walked down the stairs for supper; he was starving.
Nathan went through the serving line, ignoring the students around him; not that he needed to. They were avoiding him and his raincloud. By the time he reached his seat, his plate was drenched. He considered complaining and getting a new plate, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. He started eating, but found the more he ate, the hungrier he felt. He went up for seconds and then thirds with the same results. Panicking, he walked up to Calista. “I’m hungry.”
“Then get something to eat, Nathan,” Calista replied, as though this were obvious.
“I have been, but I’m still hungry.”
“You must not have fed your horse. You are now feeling the pangs of neglect.” When Nathan continued to stare at her, she continued, “Perhaps you should listen when people speak to you. I suppose next you’ll tell me that you can’t get into your room.”
He gaped at Calista. “But they can’t do that; they can’t lock me out!”
“Actually, it would appear that they can. The witches’ magic is extremely powerful and should not be taken lightly; especially not by our students,” Calista said.
Lucian and the others watched Nathan stalk away from the staff table. “That didn’t look pleasant.”
“No, but he deserves it,” Jacobi replied. “Half the class is sniffling and it’s only a matter of time before people get really sick.”
“Well, he couldn’t have chosen a worse time,” George moaned. “The princesses are still coming next week, even if we all sound like toads.”
“Maybe if we were all really sick they’d cancel,” Kaelen said. “After all, they wouldn’t want the ladies to get sick, right?”
“Yeah right,” Adrian snorted. “Calista would probably just ask the witches to put glass bubbles around our heads so we couldn’t breathe on them. Let’s face it, we’re going to see the princesses whether or not we’re healthy.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Jacobi said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like her well enough, I’d just rather be healthy when I see her.”
“You like her?” Lucian asked, his nose wrinkled.
Feeling very much like a fish out of water, Adrian sputtered, “Oh come on, Lucian. If I said I didn’t like her you’d have a conniption fit because she’s your sister. I say I like her well enough and you’re looking at me like I just confessed to writing love bonnets to her.” He paused as Jacobi snorted. “What’s so funny?”
“I think you meant to say love sonnets,” he replied as the others started to giggle.
“I said that, didn’t I?” Adrian asked.
“No, you said love bonnets,” George snickered. “A bonnet is something that girls wear to protect them from the sun. A sonnet is a poem, often romantic in nature.”
“Oh,” Adrian said with a sheepish grin. “Well, I don’t write those either.”
By the next Saturday, many of the boys had colds ranging from occasional coughing and sniffs to staying in the infirmary to recuperate. Tallia spent all her time running back and forth between the witches’ hovel and her office, brewing potions to help the boys recover faster. Most showed immediate improvement, although when Nathan came, he never got better. Tallia finally told him to stop coming. “Apparently this is part of your punishment. I’m wasting potion that I need for the other boys. I’m sorry, but you’re stuck like that until your punishment is over.”
As Adrian predicted, promptly at ten o’clock the princesses arrived from Fair Damsels, despite hopes that the meeting would be postponed. As Melantha and Calista got the first year students sorted out, the other princesses quickly found their princes.
“Good morning, Moira,” Lucian rasped as she curtsied properly.
“You sound terrible,” she said, looking down at him. Much to Lucian’s chagrin, she had grown a few more inches over summer break.
“I’m getting over a cold, but don’t worry it’s not contagious.”
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond.
The silence didn’t last long as Allegra eagerly embraced her brother. “I’m so glad to see you,” she said. “Thanks for writing to me. It makes me feel less homesick.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you’ve been writing back. I’ve…” He was interrupted by a coughing spasm.
“Wow, you really sound awful. Maybe you should be in bed,” she said, looking at him with a mix of concern for him and fear of catching it.
“No, I’m fine, really,” he replied. “I’m just recovering from a cold.”
When they heard another bout of coughing, Moira asked, “Is everyone here getting over a cold?”
“Just second years,” Adrian replied. “Someone thought it’d be funny to lock us out in the rain.”
“Oh,” Clarissa said, appearing with Jacobi. “That explains the raincloud following Leticia’s prince.”
Eleanor and George arrived shortly after and Eleanor looked with concern at her sister who was trying to engage Nathan in conversation. “It’s just not fair,” she whispered.
“What was that?” George asked.
Eleanor smiled, “Oh, nothing. It’s nothing.” When George looked like he didn’t believe her, she laughed and took his hand. “Don’t worry so much. I’m fine.”
He was prevented from pursuing the subject when Melantha stood. “Now that we’re all organized, we’ll tell you what we’ll be doing today. Since the weather prevents our usual picnic, we’ll be doing an indoor activity. Now, normally we don’t do things like this, but Calista and I agreed this would be most beneficial. The fairies will be recreating some of the most famous fairy tales for you. We’ll adjourn to the dragon fighting room and you will be seated. Some of you may recognize the stories from your parents or grandparents. Follow me.”
Lucian offered Moira his arm. She hesitated only a moment before gingerly placing her hand on his arm and allowing him to escort her to the dragon fighting classroom. Lucian had never been in this room before and was shocked at the immensity of it. The walls were riddled with windows which made the huge room seem even larger. What surprised him most was that the room was built like an arena. There was a huge sand pit at the bottom surrounded by arena seats. Lucian allowed Moira to sit first before taking his place next to her. Soon large drapes were pulled across the windows before Calista pointed her wand at the ceiling and a spotlight appeared in the center, shining down into the pit where she was standing. “We’ll begin shortly. Understand that you are in absolutely no danger. We have everything under control, so don’t be afraid. Enjoy the show!”
The spotlight disappeared and when it reappeared a fairy was standing in the center. They began the show, fairies taking the places of princes who had gone before. There were occasional whispers as students recognized the stories they’d heard throughout their childhood. Lucian sat in rapt attention. He watched as one by one, the fairy princes defeated their foes. He w
atched as Russett struggled through a forest of magical thorns. He recognized Raphael dueling. At one point he saw Honoria lying silently as though dead until Raphael’s magic kiss brought her back to her feet. He gasped with everyone else when a huge dragon came into the arena. He watched as a fairy he knew only by name began the epic battle. Hearing a choking sound next to him, he looked over at Moira. Silent tears were coursing down her cheeks. He turned to his other side where Adrian was sitting and saw his friend struggling to restrain his emotions. Understanding dawned on him as he watched Vulcan battle the ferocious dragon under a magical starry sky. They were watching their father’s story. Wanting to comfort his princess, Lucian gently placed his hand over hers. She started and pulled at her hand, but Lucian squeezed her hand and whispered, “It’s okay. I’m just trying to help.”
Moira stared at him, not sure what to feel. Rather than draw attention to herself, she turned back to the defeated dragon and watched the unknown fairy kiss his waiting princess. When Lucian moved his hand back to his own lap as the next act began, she was surprised at the disappointment she felt. She shook her head; she couldn’t think that way. Returning her attention to the show, she tried to pretend nothing had happened.
After the fairies finished their performance, the students clapped and then followed them to the dining hall where lunch, delicious steaming soup in toasted bread bowls, was waiting for