CHAPTER 1
The morning sun warmed my face as it crept in through the open window closest to my bed.
I opened my eyes and was greeted by the same blank, white ceiling that had said 'Good morning' to me for the last two years.
You would think I would be used to seeing the dull, infinite, endless nothingness every morning, but each day when I woke, a heavy feeling settled in my chest, knowing that I was still stuck here.
A shadow moved out of the corner of my eye. WHACK! A pillow slammed into my face.
“Get up, dingle dork!” The pillow was heading straight for my head again, but at the last second, I rolled off my bed and onto the floor, making my assailant lose their balance and crash headfirst into my bed.
“Not today, Maya!” I quickly hopped to my feet and grabbed my pillow, swinging it around to land a finishing blow to her back.
Muffled laughter filled the air, and I could hear the light-heartedness in it even though it was being smothered by my bedding.
Maya had been my best friend since coming to this hellhole.
She was taken from another village, Sylvarik, before they came to mine, and ever since that day, we have been inseparable.
Lying down beside her, we were both laughing, and I watched her silken, golden braids flip around as she turned towards me.
Propping herself up on one arm, she asked, “Last day of classes today, are you excited to finally be done with this place?”
This place, The Academy, was a soul-draining, life-crushing, spirit-shattering school.
Once a girl had their eighteenth birthday, guards would take them away from their home, and they would come here to train to be a servant to the rich of the Kingdom of Drycartha.
I had only heard rumors about how beautiful the land was there.
Stories about trees that lined stone roads, houses that were bigger than you could imagine, lush gardens everywhere, and all the food you could eat.
I was always saddened by the thought of the villagers of Vryndhal, the small village where I grew up.
They struggled each day to put one meal on the table.
The rich had an overwhelming amount of food, and they probably fed the leftovers to their dogs.
“As excited as a ticking clock,” I replied while absently fidgeting with one of her braids between my fingers, looking at the small, fly-away hairs escaping from the bottom.
Maya rolled her eyes at me and sighed. “You are always so pessimistic.” She scrunched her freckled-covered nose at me, “Well, we'd better head to breakfast before all the good food is gone and we are left with sticky, slimy porridge.” She said, followed by a gagging sound.
Tossing a pillow in my face, she hopped off the bed and got to her feet, moving towards the doorway, and I watched as her braids swung back and forth as she walked away from me.
I took a long, deep breath and closed my eyes to let the sun warm my face one last time before getting out of bed.
I quickly dressed in my uniform and glanced out the window towards the graveyard.
Not everyone survived The Academy, and when a student greeted death with open arms, their bodies wound up buried in the cold, hard ground.
The staff here would always make up some story about why the person died, but we all knew the real reasons.
They dealt out punishments like they were candy, even for the smallest infraction, or if you looked at them the wrong way.
They broke our very souls here; some would succumb to their injuries, others just gave up on living and would wither away.
I always felt a pull towards the graveyard, and made a point of visiting the lonely tombstones when I could.
Who else was going to visit them? Their families were never informed when their child had passed away.
I shook my head and tore my gaze away from the outside world.
As we entered the dining hall, the smell of food and bleach rushed up my nose.
The custodians here were always on top of keeping everything spotless; as soon as someone finished eating, they swooped in to wipe everything down.
The irony was not lost on me, knowing that one day it would be me swooping in to clean a table.
I often wondered if they were stricter here because they had to set a good example for us in training.
Maya and I were lucky enough to grab the last of the hard-boiled eggs and a piece of bread each, though we missed out on the butter.
Looking around for a place to sit, we spotted two chairs at a table on the farthest side of the room.
We hurried over to claim them before any of the other stragglers who decided to sleep in longer did.
“Whoever fucking designed this place must have hated color,” I said, raising my eyebrows while looking around at the sea of white surrounding me, slowly drowning the last bits of my soul in these final days.
White. Everything was white. The only color difference was our school uniforms. We had to wear white tunics, grey wool skirts that reached our knees, and white stockings.
The material of the skirts drove me insane for the first couple of weeks; they were so itchy, and anytime I asked for a different one, Madam would always tell me it was a lesson in self-restraint and to be thankful that we had such ‘wonderful’ clothes.
I would have preferred the dress I wore back in my village, filled with moth holes, and barely enough fabric left to offer any warmth on those bitter winter days.
They made us burn the clothes we came here in on the day we arrived at The Academy to make sure no bugs snuck in with us, or that’s what Madam told us.
Although I highly doubt any bug or living creature would want to call this place their home for more than a second.
I remembered staring into the fire as it slowly devoured the threads of my dress, watching the last fragments of who I used to be fade away into flames.
I should have run. Right then and there, I should have run.
Death would have been a better ending than this eternal hell.
Madam was just as cold, if not colder, than this place.
She could always be found staring, watching, making sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to.
She stood straight and proper, never slouching, and her dark grey outfit was always immaculate, not a wrinkle or a thread out of place.
I glanced over at the door, and she was in her usual spot, making sure that everyone ate a balanced breakfast before classes started for the day.
“You’re so dramatic, Avyn.” Maya rolled her eyes at me while taking another bite of boiled egg. “After today, we will see what the world has to offer.”
Maya had always been positive and tried to find the good in everyone. “I hope we can stay together for our placements.” Her hopeful hazel eyes looked up at me, and I could see the worry that veiled her face.
I had to say something to ease her worry, but deep down, I knew that after today, we most likely would not see each other again. “Don’t think that way, stay positive, if you start showing doubt, then we are all doomed.” I laughed and offered her a smile, which she gladly returned.
“You’re right, I am sure they will see that we make a great team, and it would be a disaster to separate us.” She said, laughing while taking the last bite of her food.
Madam’s gaze settled on me, and she realized I had not taken a single bite of food.
Her left eyebrow shot up towards the sky, and she took a couple of steps towards us, so I quickly shoved an entire egg into my mouth, chewing as daintily as I could.
This seemed to appease her, although she pursed her lips at the large bite I took.
She stepped back to where she always stood, surveying each table with scrutiny.
Normally, I wouldn’t have dared to do something so brazen out of fear of punishment, but today was the last day of classes, and any fucks that I could have given drifted away on the morning breeze.
Suddenly, a young guard walked up to her and handed her a note.
I wasn’t the only one intrigued by this unusual exchange.
The guards normally waited outside each room, keeping watch and making sure we did not try to ‘wander off,’ as Madam called it, but we all knew many had tried to run away from here.
She opened the note and quickly read it, her eyes darting back and forth as she read each word carefully.
A small smile spread across her lips as she reached for the whistle hanging around her neck, bringing it to her mouth. The whistle screeched as she blew it.
“LADIES!” Her voice boomed throughout the room, echoing off the blank walls.
We all quieted down, and confusion filled the room.
She never addressed the entire room during a meal; she would address each person individually, usually to make sure that we were eating and didn’t decide to wither away and die. “Classes will be canceled today.”
Anxious murmurs filled the room, and curious and confused looks appeared on everyone’s faces.
“LADIES!” The room went instantly quiet, and everyone turned towards her again.
“Today, we will be joined by the advisors from each manor. After breakfast, I want each of you to wash up and dress in your best outfits.” She patted the front of her own, fluffing the fold that had appeared when she moved.
“Please remember your lessons from your appearance and attire classes and put your best foot forward.” She said the last word with a curt nod, picked up her whistle, and blew it again, signaling that she was done and that we had been dismissed.
“I thought this wasn’t supposed to be for another week!?” Maya said anxiously, biting her pinky nail.