Several days have passed and I was beginning to get used to living in Gedonelune Academy. The professors didn't mind that I would sit in during their lessons as long as I didn't interrupt them.

Learning about magic was so exciting and fun that I ended up spending a lot of time in the library. There were books about a whole variety of subjects like history and curses.

The other day, I found a picture book about a prince and a labyrinth. It reminded me of a similar tragic tale from my world... if I could only remember what it was even called.

"Oh, you're that girl..."

I was busy reading a book about unicorns when a familiar voice caught my attention. Looking up from the dusty pages, I saw a young man with green hair smiling down at me.

"I don't think I ever caught your name?" He tilted his head, emerald eyes studying my face.

"Oh! You can call me Nightingale," I extended my hand and gave him a brief handshake. "You're... Luca, yes?"

"That's right," Luca smirked and casually took a seat next to me. "You've got quite an interesting name. Are you related to the House of Nightingale?"

"Um, I've never heard of them... Are they supposed to be a famous wizarding family here or something?" I asked him, trying to ignore how close we were.

He laughed and shook his head as he slid down to lie comfortably on the floor. The afternoon bell hadn't rung yet so I assumed he was skipping his classes. Liz and Elias did mention he does that all the time.

"Nightingale is a pretty famous name from Queensblade, but that was from a really long time ago..." He opened his eyes to look up at me.

I held my breath as I stared into them, full of curiosity and wonder behind a glimmer of amusement and mischief. It's easy to forget that I'm completely normal compared to everyone else in this other world. I became incredibly envious of their magical lifestyle every single day since I've arrived here yet I miss what I've grown accustomed to in my own reality.

In response to my confused silence, Luca continued with his explanation.

"I guess it's not uncommon for people here to not have heard of it," he said, "I've only became recently aware because of some rumors I heard a couple months back. Apparently there's some kind of prophecy about an ancient dragon born into the House of Nightingale."

"Ancient dragon...?"

My thoughts immediately pictured the beautiful headmaster of the academy. He definitely resembled a dragon with his horns and tail, though he looked a lot like a human. He also mentioned about sensing a strong magic from me.

(I wonder if the headmaster actually knows more than he lets on...)

I began to wonder if there was a deeper meaning to the name Zeus gave me and I made a note to remind myself to ask him later.

"Hey, Luca, won't it affect your academic record if you keep skipping classes like this...?" I frowned at him.

For someone so knowledgeable and talented, it's a shame that he would get held back because of something like skipping. Liz mentioned several times that Luca would be a pretty amazing wizard if only he tried harder.

Luca smiled as if I said something very amusing. He poked my cheek gently and laughed when I began to pout.

"Aww! What a cute face you're making!" He grinned mischievously and poked my other cheek.

"I'll bite your fingers off," I grumbled.

"I'm just kidding!" He ruffled my hair playfully and went to lie down on his side. "I'm gonna take a nap here. Is that okay?"

"Sure," I rolled my eyes and went back to my book.

It took a few minutes until I heard Luca sleeping peacefully beside me. I tried not to disturb him as I flipped the pages, my eyes occasionally glancing over at him whenever the paper made a loud crinkling noise.

We stayed like that for what seemed like the entire afternoon. I hadn't even realized the sun setting until I heard the library doors burst open. Zeus strolled in with a frown as he scanned the aisles looking for something.

"There you are!" He exclaimed after spotting me on the floor.

When he saw Luca fast asleep next to me, his expression turned sour. With one brow raised, he tried to remain cool and collected.

"Who the hell is this guy?" He asked, walking closer to inspect Luca's face.

Zeus' loud voice must have finally pulled Luca out from his sleep because I heard him groaning. He sat up while rubbing his eyes and stared at Zeus quizzically.

"Uh, what's going on?" He asked, looking between me and Zeus.

"That's what I wanna know." I looked back at Zeus with curiosity. "Why were you looking for me, Zeus? Are your classes over already?"

Without so much as a reply to Luca, Zeus grabbed my hand and started dragging me out of the library.

"They were over hours ago! We're leaving now!" He said in irritation.

I hastily waved goodbye to Luca after tossing the book onto a table on my way out the doors.

Despite my confusion, I followed behind Zeus as he pulled me along. He seemed like he was in a rush to get somewhere, but I didn't understand why he had to drag me with him.

Our shadows glided through the stone walls as we walked in silence. Zeus continued to lead me down the hallways until we ended up at the courtyard.

At the center of the courtyard was Hiro spreading out a picnic blanket. A tray of snacks and tea were next to him.

"What's all this for, Hiro?" I asked Hiro for an explanation, but Zeus was quick to answer for him.

"We're gonna have a tea party!" Zeus declared with pride as he spread his arms out in gesture.

Hiro sighed and muttered something about Zeus being a nuisance under his breath. Zeus — either oblivious to Hiro's comment or just ignoring him completely — ordered me to sit down so we could get started.

Although a tea party sounded really nice, I wasn't expecting Zeus to do this with so much excitement. Plus, I don't think I've ever been in a tea party before.

"What do people do in tea parties?" I lifted a teacup and examined the design. "And where did you get all these?"

"It was sitting in the Prefect office," Hiro said as he poured tea into my cup, "and the students from the Night Class helped out with the snacks so don't worry about the taste."

Taking a green macaron from the plate, I opened my mouth to take a bite–

"Hey, is that Gale?"

The three of us looked toward the sound of the voice and saw Caesar and Alfonse nearby.

"Hi, Gale!" Alfonse flashed a brilliant smile.

"Hi, Al!" I smiled back and waved them over. "Why don't you join us? Zeus is throwing a tea party!"

That made them stop and stare wide-eyed at Zeus.

"What?" Zeus frowned at their incredulous stares.

"You made all this, Zeus?" Caesar asked in disbelief.

"Is it going to rain cats and dogs next?" Alfonse's eyes lit up with mirth.

"Don't give him any more ideas..." Hiro grumbled.

After inviting Alfonse and Caesar to join our tea party, the group became livelier and full of mischief. The sun painted the sky in orange as we talked and laughed with one another.

Zeus offered us mini rainbow-colored cookies with chocolate chips and we all took one without thinking twice about it.

"Whoa! My skin's turning pink!" Caesar exclaimed after he ate one of the cookies.

We watched as the pinkness spread from his face throughout the rest of his body. Purple polka dots littered his skin, making Caesar look like he was infected with a weird case of the chicken pox.

Giggling beside pink Caesar was a hairy Alfonse who ate a cookie that caused his beautiful blond locks to rapidly grow.

"What in the world did the Night Class students put in those cookies?!"

After only a mere six minutes, our tea party was already heading into chaos.

"Why don't you try it, Gale?" The blond bush of hair said, reaching over to take another cookie from the plate. "It's only temporary anyway. Besides, it's a lot of fun!"

I watched as Alfonse ate the cookie with a smile and his hair began to sprout colorful flowers.

(From Goldilocks to Rapunzel. Alfonse could be a fairy tale princess in disguise.)

"Here goes nothing," I closed my eyes and threw the cookie in my mouth.

I opened my eyes and chewed carefully. The taste wasn't bad at all. If anything, it tasted like a normal chocolate chip cookie.

"Hey, your eyes are changing color!" Caesar exclaimed.

"No, she's shrinking!" Alfonse said, peeking through his wild hair.

I could feel my entire body changing and the fear injected into my system as an automatic response to my regret. A tingling sensation passed through my bones as I transformed.

White tufts of hair began to grow on my arms and my feet were growing larger by the second. The world around me was getting bigger and bigger.

"She's–" Zeus' eyes widened in shock as he stared down at me.

"...A bunny?" Hiro frowned.

Everyone gathered around my small form to get a good look at my full transformation. With cherry red eyes and a white cotton ball tail, the magic cookie turned me into pure fluffy cuteness.

"Aww! Look at her little paws!" Alfonse cooed, stroking under my chin that made my foot thump happily.

"And here I thought Gale couldn't get any cuter!" Caesar petted my soft fur. "Man, I wish I had a camera! This is too cute!"

I looked over at Hiro as he desperately tried to push Zeus away from him. Meanwhile, Zeus was trying to force Hiro to eat one of the peculiar cookies.

"Eat it, Hiro! That's an order!" Zeus laughed.

"Like hell I will! Get away from me, idiot!" Hiro growled in annoyance.

(As usual, Zeus manages to piss off at least someone...)

By some cursed luck, Zeus succeeded in shoving the cookie into Hiro's mouth. Aside from choking on a snack, Hiro was completely fine.

"Whaaat?" Zeus pouted and crossed his arms. "I wanted you to turn into a small animal too. How come nothing happened?!"

"Maybe because–" Hiro cut himself off as he was speaking, letting out a loud goose honk from his mouth.

The whole courtyard was silent as the sound echoed.

"What the f–*HONK*"

Zeus was the first to break into fits of laughter.

"Shut up–*HONK*–Zeus! This is all–*HONK*–your fault!" Hiro was furiously shaking Zeus by the collar.

"Pff–" Zeus hurriedly covered his mouth- "S-Stop talking! Haha! I can't take you seriously when you're– Hahaha!"

Out of sympathy for Hiro, the rest of us turned our backs and muffled our laughter as best as we could.

We spent the rest of the day having fun until the stars showed up in the sky. Our tea party finally came to an end, though I kind of wish it kept going for another hour more.

Everyone put away the empty plates and cups — except for me because I lost the ability to carry anything when my hands were replaced with paws — and folded up the picnic blanket.

"So, how long is she gonna stay like this?" Zeus asked while staring down at me.

"Liz is gonna be really mad if she doesn't turn back to normal..." Hiro said, picking me up gently.

I looked up at him, tilting my head and twitching my nose, wondering how long this confectionery spell will last. Everyone else seemed to turn back to normal except for me who was still stuck as a bunny.

"Maybe it just takes a little longer to wear off?" Alfonse theorized thoughtfully as he petted my ears. "Or maybe she turns back into a human after she kisses someone, kind of like you, Caesar."

"I don't think our situation is the same thing," Caesar frowned at his roommate suspiciously.

"We won't know until we try, right?" Alfonse smiled, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Hearing the suggestion of kissing me made me feel embarrassed, so I buried my face in Hiro's palms and curled up.

"Why the hell would a kiss turn her back to human after she ate a cookie?" Zeus grumbled, glaring at Alfonse.

"Don't you think it's like something out of a fairy tale?" Alfonse hummed.

"Not in my case..." Caesar sighed helplessly.

Suddenly, I felt someone holding me by the skin of my back and lifting me into the air.

Unable to process that Alfonse was carrying me toward Caesar and away from Hiro, I made no attempt to struggle and just looked up at him in puzzlement.

Next thing I knew... I felt a pair of lips touching my nose.

(What?!)

"Hey! What are you–?!" Zeus started to yell, but stopped short when a puff of white smoke appeared around us.

Blinded and bewildered by what was happening around me, my ears fold back when I found myself staring face to face with a piglet.

By the time the smoke dissipated, there were two small animals on the ground instead of one.

"Damn it!" Caesar cursed when he looked down at his body. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

We all stared at the Piggy Caesar as he started kicking Alfonse's shoe in indignation. Although Alfonse apologized to him, Caesar only became more upset.

"Change me back already!" Caesar squealed in fury.

He sat on the ground in front of Alfonse and glared. Seeing him act like this as a cute piglet made me want to glomp him.

(He's so cute!)

"A bunny and a pig," Zeus snorted. "Looks like you can run a farm with these two, Alfonse!"

Zeus' insensitive comment earned death glares from me and Caesar. Though because we were such small animals, we probably looked as threatening as a cupcake and a marshmallow.

Ignoring Zeus' roaring laughter at our failed attempts to look menacing, I hopped over to Caesar and gently tapped his arm. He turned to me, eyes full of sadness.

"Sorry, Gale..." Caesar sighed, bowing his head.

"It's okay, Caesar! We can get back at him for this later." I reassured him. "For now, how do we turn you back to human?"

"I'll turn back after I get kissed again, but..."

"Oh. Are you okay with me doing it, again?"

Zeus, Hiro, and Alfonse watched silently as Caesar and Gale discuss about something they couldn't understand. To the three of them, it sounded like Caesar kept saying "oink" while Gale was producing a sort of cry or whimper.

"Does anyone understand them?" Zeus huffed.

"Liz probably would," Hiro replied.

"Yeah, Liz definitely would..." Alfonse nodded.

After a few hesitant nods, I leaned in and touched Caesar's snout against hers. Zeus looked like his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. White smoke burst from our bodies and we both turned back to normal people.

"Hey I'm human!" I laughed, curling and uncurling my fingers. "I'll never take opposable thumbs for granted ever again!"

"Ugh, Alfonse I can't believe you would betray me like that," Caesar pouted at his roommate.

"Sorry, Caesar, but at least you two are finally back to normal." Alfonse replied with a smile.

With the magic having fully worn off, Alfonse and Caesar said goodbye as they headed back to their dorms. Meanwhile, I was being escorted by a grumpy Zeus and an annoyed Hiro back to the girl's dorm.

Hiro sighed as Zeus continued to grumble but did nothing to make him feel better.

(I feel like I should at least thank him for the wonderful tea party...)

Once we reached the front door of the girl's dorm, I did my best to show my appreciation for what they did. Although Zeus probably did it out of guilt for his actions or because it's his responsibility, we all had a lot of fun in the end and I think I should show him that I acknowledge his efforts.

"What are you–" Hiro stared at me in bewilderment as I bowed my head.

"Thank you very much for the tea party," I ignored their confused stares and smiled, "I really enjoyed it!"

Zeus took a moment for his brain to process everything before he smirked and proudly puffed out his chest like he did something amazing. Hiro and I looked at each other and we both knew what was coming, but made this silent agreement to just let him own it.

"Of course! What did you expect from someone as incredible as I am?" Zeus was practically glowing with self-confidence. "Next time I'll make it even more fun! So much that you'll never forget it!"

"I mean I'm pretty sure today was wild enough for me to remember, but sure?" I laughed nervously, already worried about the future.

"See you tomorrow, Gale." Hiro waved goodbye and was ready to drag Zeus away before he wakes up the entire dorm.

(Gale... The House of Nightingale–)

"Wait!" I yelled without thinking and they looked back at me with curiosity.

"What is it?" Zeus asked, raising a brow and crossing his arms.

Lucas's words in the library repeated inside my head. He mentioned a prophecy and a famous wizarding house from ancient times.

Surely, this may have a connection to my summon here, right?

"Do you know anything about the House of Nightingale, Zeus?" I looked at him straight in the eyes as I asked, determined to finally get some answers about why I was brought here to Gedonelune.

My question seemed to have caught him off guard because, for once, the boisterous Zeus Brundle was stunned speechless. Even Hiro seemed to be surprised by the fact that Zeus could be silenced at all.

"How..." Zeus looked at me, unsure if he heard me correctly. "How did you know about that?"