Chapter 7
7
Only four weeks until the coronation.
Four weeks to figure out how to unlock my magic or else forfeit the throne and lose everything my parents worked for. Four weeks of looking over my shoulder, worrying about more assassins, even though supposedly I was safe here. The next morning, Elias assured me all the insurgents had been routed out of Biringan, and he had sent more patianaks to hunt the rest, who were hiding in the human realm. But since he still wasn’t completely sure who had sent them, I still felt uneasy. The one good piece of news was that he had also sent encantos to find out what had happened to my mother and to bring her back here safely as soon as they could.
Today was another first day of school, too.
The royal entourage, with me once more in the white-and-gold calesa blooming with flowers, surrounded by soldiers on horseback, approached the building from the main road that connected each of the courts to the middle of the island. I stared up at the towering structure. It was even bigger than the Sirena Palace, though it wasn’t exactly a castle—more like a series of spirals reaching up into the clouds, camouflaged among all the mountain peaks surrounding them. I couldn’t tell what they were made of. They almost looked metallic or, as I got closer, like the surface of glossy, wet pebbles or a sleek, smooth worry stone. There were no seams or cracks, as if the entire structure was made of one humongous piece of rock carved from the mountain. The school’s name was spelled out in huge, swirling letters over the wide entrance: biringan academy of noble arts .
I felt a little sick. Nerves. I clutched the amulet beneath my new uniform and took a deep breath. It felt like my mother was with me. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine her sitting right next to me, holding my hand. That helped.
One thing at a time. I took out the rolled-up parchment that had been delivered to my room that morning.
First hour: Introduction to History of Biringan, Room 421
Second hour: Pagkahari at Paggalang, Room 1123
Third hour: Astronomiya, Room 716
Fourth hour: Biringan Hayop at Halaman, Room 622
Fifth hour: Tanghalian, BANA Dining Hall
Maybe some of these classes would include the key to finding my magical power. If I had any. But I was happy to note that tanghalian—lunch—was on the schedule.
We pulled up to the circular drive. Others were being dropped off by calesas, too, which made for a very strange sight for a girl from California, but even in this surreal fantasy, my ride stood out. The other carriages were smaller and less ostentatious and weren’t accompanied by armed soldiers. There was definitely no chance of my showing up unnoticed.
My new classmates were whispering and craning their necks to get a look at the new princess. I’d never felt so exposed. It was like the bad dream where I showed up at school naked.
After exiting the carriage and making sure my encanto’s robe was settled around me properly—over my tunic and pants and not gathered into my waistband or something—I started for the doors, conscious of everyone’s eyes on me. Some took care to give me a wide berth and scurry by as fast as they could, but others were perfectly comfortable with openly staring.
While I was walking, another calesa pulled in. This one was more like mine, except decorated with palm leaves and braided with ylang-ylang and white hooded orchids. It was also flanked on the sides and back by guards, though fewer than mine had been.
I was curious but not enough to gape. The doors of the academy opened in front of me, and I walked inside. As in the palace, there was intricate woodwork everywhere, and remarkably high ceilings, but somehow, the space still had the familiar aura of school. Maybe it was the steady hum of voices in the background from students and staff talking and making their way from room to room, combined with the faint smell of books and paper—leather and ink and dust—because there were no lockers or worn-out linoleum floors. If anything, it was what I imagined the ancient Library of Alexandria had looked like, except even more beautiful. None of my old high schools had floral displays or hand-carved stair banisters or— I stopped in my tracks. A group of butterflies was flitting around one of the flowerpots. I’d never seen butterflies indoors, but I chalked that up to just one more example of what a different place I was in now. I got closer for a better look. Their wings were enormous and almost glittery. I stepped forward and leaned down.
One of the wings smacked my cheek. I flinched and heard a tiny voice scold, “Do you mind?”
“I’m... sorry?” I stepped back. Sprites. Or more accurately, lambanas. My mother had told me about them, but I’d never quite believed they were real.
“So rude,” I heard one of their tiny voices exclaim.
I backed away, a bit stunned by what had just happened, and tried to look for my first class instead. Lots of students paraded past, colorful robes swishing around their feet. Mine was purple and yellow, the official colors of the Court of Sirena. Those wearing blue and white, I knew, were residents of the Court of Sigbin, and Elias had told me green and pink were for the Lambana Court, and maroon and black for the Court of Tikbalang. I didn’t see many wearing the Sirena colors, which was fine by me, because then I’d feel obligated to introduce myself, and for now I was only interested in getting my bearings. Surprisingly, they weren’t paying much attention to me anymore. I guess away from the royal calesa and with nothing to identify me as the crown princess, I was just another anonymous newbie in the hall. That, at least, I was used to.
While I was looking for room numbers, I heard a tinkling sound, like small bells or a wind chime. A few students started walking faster down one of the hallways. That must be the bell system, I thought. I saw a stairwell and decided to go up and hopefully find the fourth floor, the logical place for room 421.
The stairs only went up one flight, though. Hmm. I regretted not getting a map of the building, but I was so used to being able to access things like that on my phone that I hadn’t even thought of it. First day and already falling behind.
“Are you lost?”
It was a student who was obviously from the Sigbin Court standing there in her blue robes. Elias had warned me that the Sigbin kingdom was the most resentful of having to bow to the Sirena Court, and that he suspected the insurgents were from that kingdom, but without concrete evidence, he couldn’t make a formal accusation. Regardless, I was immediately on the defensive. First thing I noticed was the moon-shaped silver tiara perched on top of her jet-black hair streaked with midnight-blue highlights, which was pulled up into one of those complicated updos I admired but was never able to master. My ponytail felt really childish all of a sudden. I regretted turning down Jinky’s offer to do my hair and to wear the golden circlet traditionally worn by diwatas on their brow. “Uh...” I said, unsure if I wanted this person’s help.
“What room are you looking for?” She walked over to me and snatched the schedule out of my hands to study it. “Oh, wow, you have to take Hayop at Halaman? That’s a remediary fauna-and-flora class for first-years.”
“You mean ‘remedial’?” I corrected her. Normally I wouldn’t, but who comments on someone being behind in school to begin with?
She screwed up her face with distaste. “What? No. It’s definitely ‘remediary.’?” She shook her head and pushed the paper back at me. “You’ll have to go upstairs for Intro to History.”
“Yeah, I figured. Thanks.” I began to walk away from her. She clearly didn’t know who I was, and that was fine. Hopefully our paths wouldn’t cross again.
“Don’t you want to know where it is?” she called, as if she was the one who was insulted by this whole interaction.
I turned around, just to avoid any more bad blood, and forced a smile. “Sure.”
“Left at the next hall, all the way down, then left again,” she said sweetly. “There’s a door that leads to the fourth-floor stairs.”
“Thanks,” I said, and walked away again.
“No problem,” she crooned.
I rolled my eyes as soon as she couldn’t see me.
At the next hall, I went left, and then left again, as she’d said. There were no other students around, so I was really lost this time. Finally, I saw the door she was talking about. There was a gold plaque that said To Fourth Floor with arrows pointing up. Relieved, I reached out to open it.
Next thing I knew, I was falling forward, with nothing but vast darkness underneath me. I held on to the door handle, but I was losing my grip fast, and I knew I was about to drop into whatever that void was.
Someone grabbed on to my cloak just in time and yanked me back. We both stumbled and collapsed into a heap on the floor.
I jumped up quickly and looked to see who’d saved me. A mousy little thing with glasses perched on the end of her nose stood up. She wore a Lambana gown, with silver flats poking out beneath it.
She curtsied stiffly, pushed her thin shoulder-length hair behind her ears, and said, “Hello, Your Highness. Um, I heard your conversation back there, and, maybe it’s not my place to interfere, but, um, Lady Oscura was lying to you. She sent you to the refuse shaft. It’s for waste incineration and experiments gone wrong.”
I should have known.
“Lady Oscura doesn’t like hapcantos,” she added, grimacing. “You know, half-human and half-encanto?”
Oh. I guess I needed to add bigotry to the list of things to deal with in Biringan. That also meant the girl—Lady Oscura— did know who I was when she was talking to me like that. And if this girl hadn’t been around, what might’ve happened to me? I felt like such a fool. A fool who almost got incinerated. Was this just a prank, or another attempt on my life?
She pointed to the door. The plaque now read plainly: Refuse room. Do not enter.
That’s what I got for trusting a bully in magic school. “Thank you,” I told her, and I really meant it. “What’s your name?”
“Fortunada, Your Highness. From Bagobos.” She made a quick curtsy.
“Beautiful name. Also, just call me MJ. How did you know who I was?”
She blushed. “Everyone knows who you are. It’s all anyone can talk about—how the princess has returned. Where’s your first class? I can help you get there, if you’d like.”
Even though I knew, I looked down at the parchment to double-check. Maybe that had been changed somehow, too. “History of Biringan, room 421.” Still the same. A small relief.
“Oh, Professor Borromeo. I had her. She’s really nice. It’s down this way.”
I followed Fortunada through the halls. “I like your bracelet,” I said. It was gold, with luminescent pearls and sparkling diamonds. Didn’t really match with her understated vibe, though.
“Thank you.” She touched it. “It belonged to my grandmother.”
That explained it. “It’s beautiful.”
“It was a gift from her brother,” Fortunada said, almost as an aside. She pointed to a door in front of us. “Here it is.”
On the complete opposite end from where I’d been sent, of course. “See you around,” I told her. “And thanks for saving me.”
She waved her hand shyly and hurried away, her hair falling back over her face.
Class had already begun. I felt bad because that meant Fortunada was late for hers, too. Hopefully I didn’t get her in trouble or anything.
“Princess, we were getting worried about you,” Professor Borromeo said as I walked into the room. “Please, have a seat.” She held her hand out at the empty desks. There weren’t many other students—maybe half a dozen. The desks were large and sturdy, made of the same shiny, knotted wood as so many other things around the school, and the chairs were big and comfortable.
As I sat, I looked to my right and saw the girl who sent me to the refuse room. Lady Oscura herself. She smirked at me ever so slightly.
“Coronation plans delay you this morning? I’m sure it’s well under way by now, with so little time to spare,” Professor Borromeo said.
Lady Oscura squirmed in her seat and looked away. I could’ve ratted her out. Instead, I said, “Yes, I’m so sorry to keep you waiting. It won’t happen again.”
“Quite all right.” There was a book the size of an old dictionary on the desk in front of her. She flipped it open and said, “Now that we’re all here, we can begin. Please open your texts to page one.”
I watched everyone pull a book from a shelf under their desk. I reached under my own and found a deckle-edged, brown leather tome with gold-foiled letters embossed on the front: biringan: a history .
Lady Oscura leaned into the girl next to her. “Of course we have to review for her,” she whispered. “We all know this already.”
Professor Borromeo began reading from the intro: “Nobody knows exactly when the fairy realms were founded, but we know it predates the human world by at least several hundred thousand years...” I knew all that, along with the fact that Biringan was only one of the fairy realms. There were others—Avalon, of course, as well as Valhalla, Narnia, the Grey Havens, and Jade Mountain, just to name a few.
I shouldn’t have tuned out the lecture, but I couldn’t help it. I figured I could always read the book later. At the moment I was too distracted by Lady Oscura and her attempted prank. Too angry, really. The entire class I thought of ways to get back at her. I could prank her back, but I didn’t know enough about this world yet to pull that off. I could confront her. Or I could pretend nothing ever happened. That one didn’t sound too appealing when all I wanted was to get back at her, but it would probably annoy her the most, since a reaction was exactly what she wanted.
I got my chance the next hour when I arrived at room 1123 for Pagkahari at Paggalang (Royal Etiquette and Governance), this time with some directions assistance from Professor Borromeo.
Lady Oscura was sitting right up front alongside a tall, impossibly handsome boy in matching Court of Sigbin regalia. She had her hands clasped delicately in her lap, back straight against the chair, her perfection on display for all to see. I caught her companion’s eye as I walked to an empty desk, though I quickly looked away.
“Do you smell something?” she asked him. She’d obviously been waiting for that moment.
“No, actually, I don’t,” he responded.
Lady Oscura tried to look at me discreetly without turning her head, as if I wouldn’t notice. “Are you sure?” she pressed. “It’s something... earthy. Almost like... trash?”
“Quite sure,” he said. He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
She crossed her arms. Her foot began to tap. On the inside, I was laughing. Her little scheme to embarrass me was falling flat.
Another student walked in. She had Chinese features, with pale skin and dark eyes. Most of the encantos in Biringan had the same features as their human counterparts in the Philippines—a mix of Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish heritage. Her hair was up in a braided bun, and she wore the pink-and-green Lambana robes. I noticed the hem was stained and fraying, and some of the seams were coming undone. She plopped down in the seat next to me, out of breath. “Phew!” she exclaimed. “Didn’t think I was going to make it.” She looked at me. “Oh, hey! You’re the newbie. King Vivencio’s daughter.”
I nodded. “That’s me.”
She held out her hand. “I’m Phoenix Xing. But people I like call me Nix.”
I shook her hand. It was nice to be treated somewhat normally after the last couple days. “I’m MJ,” I told her. “Your name sounds really familiar.”
“So. Is it true you’re half-human?” she asked.
I hesitated. After what Fortunada said before, I wasn’t sure how to answer that. In those few short seconds since we met, I already wanted Nix to like me. I liked her casual, no-nonsense style right away. “Yes,” I said. If she wasn’t going to like me for that, then she wasn’t going to be a good friend anyway.
“Yeah, me too,” she said, like it was no big deal. “I lived in the human world until last year.” She lowered her voice and leaned closer. “It’s bananas, though, right? All of this?”
I nodded emphatically. “Totally.”
“I’ll help you out.” She winked. “Us hapas, or hapcantos, have to have each other’s backs.” She gestured at Lady Oscura with her pen. “Especially with those types. I didn’t even know girls like that existed anymore. Didn’t she hear bullying is out of style?”
“She tried to send me to the refuse room,” I told Nix. Her eyes widened.
At that, an elderly man with a long white beard glided into the room.
“Here comes Gandalf,” Nix whispered to me. I stifled a laugh, but it snuck out as a snort. Lady Oscura turned and curled her lip at me.
The professor stood at the front of the room and surveyed us. It seemed like he didn’t like what he saw. Aside from the Court of Sigbin menace and her boyfriend, there were me, Nix, and a few other students from the various courts.
“You have found yourself enrolled in Pagkahari at Paggalang, an exclusive course of study only for court heirs and future rulers that replaces your former second-hour classes. If that is not you, please exit quietly.” He waited a second. No one stood. He grunted. “Excellent. In that case, we can begin. My name, as most of you know, is Professor Manatubay. It is not ‘Manatubay.’ Nor is it ‘Prof.’ It is ‘Professor Manatubay.’ Now that we’ve established that I am your instructor and not your friend, we can move on to our first line of business: You are all expected to come prepared to work on a daily basis. Our first unit will focus exclusively on those skills which are of utmost benefit in light of the impending coronation of our new queen.”
Everyone looked at me again. I smiled weakly and shrugged. I was not used to being the center of attention like this. I was no one in the human realm—forever the new kid, always out of place. Here, I was a princess, but mostly I felt like a fraud.
At least I managed to stay awake this time, not because Professor Manatubay was catering to me, but because of Nix’s entertaining commentary, which she slipped across our desks on tiny pieces of paper. He’s actually older than Gandalf, I think, said one, and the next was a hastily drawn sketch of Lady Oscura and the boy she was next to, with a leash around his neck. Underneath his portrait Nix had written Sir Lucas the Loyal . So that was her boyfriend’s name: Lucas.
Professor Manatubay snatched the paper off Nix’s desk. “What is this?” He stared at it. “Mocking our classmates, are we? Is that conduct worthy of royalty?”
“But, sir, Amador tried to kill the princess,” Nix said sweetly.
A series of gasps erupted around the room. Even Professor Manatubay was shocked. He stammered before managing to say, “Don’t make baseless accusations against—”
“It’s not baseless,” Nix insisted. “She sent the princess to the refuse room.”
Professor Manatubay looked at Lady Oscura, who had her hand over her heart and her mouth hanging open. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked her.
“Professor, I, for one, am floored. Of course I wouldn’t do something like that. It was a simple mistake. Why would I want to hurt our princess?” She locked eyes with me. I refused to look away first.
The professor stepped between us. “There will be no more nonsense like this at our school. Is that understood?”
He glanced around while everyone murmured, “Yes.”
“Good,” he continued. “Perhaps it needs to be reiterated: Biringan faces an uncertain future. These are dire times. We must all play our part in keeping the realm in balance, or else everyone suffers. I will not tolerate destructive behavior unbecoming of our future rulers. Each of you carries great responsibility; do not squander it. Or you squander us all.”
Everyone remained silent while he walked back to the front of the room, crumpling Nix’s drawing along the way.
***
At the end of class, Nix asked me where I was going next, so she could give me real directions. I pulled out the parchment again. “By the way, what do we do in the afternoon?”
“Oh. We leave after lunch.”
“Really?” I was stunned. School here was only a half day?
“I know, right? Isn’t it great? When I got here and found out about the short school day, I was so excited. And for real, kind of mad that I didn’t get here earlier.”
It was definitely a perk. One of the few so far without strings attached. “Is there somewhere else—a library, maybe—where I could go during lunch? Like, if I have something I need to do.”
“There is,” she said slowly. “You know, I have to meet with my adviser today. But if you want, meet me at lunch tomorrow, and we’ll sit together, okay? Unless you have other plans already,” she added quickly.
“Yeah, no. I... don’t know anyone.”
“Say no more. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She waved as she took off down the hallway.
That had never happened to me before. On my first day at a new school, I might have managed to make a friend.