Samara Shaw

Education was never my thing.

I always found studying a problem, even when it usually took about seven hours of my day. Since I was homeschooled all my life, I wouldn't consider mine like the other kids. I had no idea what it was in actual schools or what it felt like to learn with people my age. I would get new teachers each month and sometimes before the end of the month if he wasn't up to mother's taste. As I saw Accius sit on a chair with glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose, it reminded me of those days.

Vince stood next to his brother with veins popping out of his temples and his hands in tight fists. The look on his face and the anger radiating off him was like I'd never seen before. He was like a ticking bomb, seconds away from lunging on the other and tearing him in pieces. I could hear his fast breaths through the deafening silence as all four of us stood there, waiting for his next move.

With the way it looked, Accius was a second away from getting injured and he didn't look bothered, not the slightest bit. For someone who was skinnier and obviously not as strong as the other, he was calm. The chair he sat on was turned away from the table towards his brother with a bunch of papers scattered on him and the floor around him. I couldn't help but notice the wooden table and how it had been destroyed. Almost half of the top were broken to bits with pieces all around. I guessed it to be some of the havoc Vince caused before my arrival.

"You're trespassing" He calmly said, looking away from Vince to the door where I stood. A few seconds after, his looked back to his brother and let out a low chuckle. Whether it was directed to me or not, I didn't know. All I wanted was for the whole thing to end without any of them bleeding.

It seemed to be that something was holding him back from tearing his brother apart. I had never seen him violent but the anger in him was enough to turn any man to a completely different being. Still, he didn't raise a hand to the man in front of him. The table and books may have been destroyed but it didn't look like he went as far as touching a strand of Accius' hair. There had to be an advantage he had over Vince that made him confident enough to laugh in a situation like this. Anyone would be terrified or at least serious but he didn't looked moved, even with how much rage was radiating off Vince.

"Stay away from her"

"I'm sorry brother but in case you haven't noticed, you're not the king and you don't make rules. You're just as much of a prince as I am"

"You don't deserve to be called a prince"

"Neither do you. We both know you truly are behind the whole facade, you're just a boy thirsty for power. Listen I'm not here to fight you for" His eyes found me again and once again, he chuckled and said "a young naive princess. One of us has to be mature, obviously"

That was all it took for Vince to storm out of the room. I was still by the door when he angrily shoved past me, his shoulders hitting mine in the process. It was just all three of us left. I, Accius and the other boy sitting across the room. I guessed he was his roommate and I found that very unusual. I'd only spent a few days in Thorne but I knew he wasn't supposed to share a room. The other's could but he was a prince and comparing this to all Vince had, it was really small.

His room was just like mine, if not smaller. Two beds on each side, a window in the middle, a chair and desk, clothes scattered almost everywhere and the chandelier hanging from the top was a second away from falling. The paint on the wall was peeling off and there were some parts completely exposed, revealing the white beneath. There were books in every corner and computers arranged on the desk. The only thing about the room that wasn't in mine were the other doors. There were two and I could only guess one to be the bathroom but the other, I didn't know.

"Princess Samara Shaw, daughter of Queen Katherine, it's a pleasure to meet you" My attention was directed to the other boy, Accius' roommate. He knew my name and my mother's as well which was quite a surprise considering he was the only person I'd heard mention my name completely.

Out of all I'd seen within the walls of the school, he was the only person that looked completely normal. Brown skin, dark hair, average height and the sharpest pair of blue eyes I'd ever seen. He stood in front of me with a smile on his face and his hand out and that's when I noticed it, his veins were blue and very evident on his dark skin. One could only see it on his hands and wrists and faded down to his elbows. I couldn't help but wonder the why he had them. He noticed I was taking too long to respond and looked down to his hands but before he got the chance to withdraw it, I took it in mine.

"Nice to meet you too. If I may ask, who are you and how do you know my name?"

"I'm Justin and my mother worked in the palace when I was younger"

"Oh, you lived outside the school?"

It was the first time I'd heard anyone say anything about the world outside Thorne. No wonder he looked so normal. Well, the closest to normal in all I'd seen so far. My mind immediately came up with questions and my curiosity rose to the top. I wanted to know how he got there. He couldn't have had men drive him all the way here, dump him and drive away like I was and the place was hours away from civilisation so how did he make it here if he lived in the city before? I kept all the questions to myself. Till I knew more about him, of course. It would be quite absurd to ask about his life after meeting him for the first time.

"Yes, about a year ago actually"

"Great"

"Have a seat" He hurriedly went over to his bed and pushed away all the clothes laying around. He took a seat on the first end and I on the other, making me just a few feet away from Accius. I stared at him for a second and my mind went back to what I saw that night. What he turned into right in front of my eyes. A creature I'd never seen before, huge and frightening, yet beautiful. He was the one who made me turn into what I became and also the reason why I passed out and woke up in the male's dorm.

I could feel my heart beats increase by just the mere thought of it. Whatever the school was, it was turning me to something else. My life, in just a few days, had turned into a fantasy. Turns out I wasn't normal either, I just looked like I was. Who knows the things I could do besides turning into a four legged creature. I could've asked but I didn't know if it was something Accius wanted Justin to know about so I kept quiet.

"Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Of course not" Accius spoke up "I'm sure my brother gave her more than enough food to feed the whole land, didn't he Samara?"

"I actually just woke up a few minutes ago so no, he didn't"

"Leave the poor girl alone. I'll go get us something to eat."

"Sounds great"

"Stay here, I'll be right back"

Justin walking out of the room was the best opportunity I'd received that day. It was just I and Accius and finally, I had the freedom to ask questions and satisfy my curiosity. At least for the few minutes he would spend getting the food.

Accius took off his glasses and gently placed them on the broken wooden desk. He proceeded to say "Why did you pass out?"

"Excuse me?"

"You passed out, why'd you do that?"

"I turned into a dog"

"Fox, you turned into a fox and a big one too" I didn't know the precise thing I turned into before then but hearing it was a fox didn't make it any better. "Even bigger than Astra, that's very impressive"

"I thought I was Astra"

"You wish"

"You're making me confused, you called me Astra yourself, remember?"

"Because I thought you were but turns out the whole thing is a lie. You're nothing like Astra"

"Am I supposed to feel insulted?"

"Listen, you better get going before he comes back searching for you"

"But the food_"

"You're not going to like it, he's terrible at cooking. Besides, I'm sure my brother has a grand table set for you already so please leave"

I didn't know what harsh words would come out of his mouth next so I did as he wanted and stood up to leave. "I'll see you by twelve"

I left the room quietly and closed the door behind me. He may have been a little too cold but what more could I expect from him after his brother came into the room and crashed the whole place? At least, the reason I rushed all the way down there was accomplished. None of them got injured and I was certain I would get some answers by midnight.

If I could, I would've left the dorm to my room but if there's one thing I learned about the school, it would be it's size and how complicated it was. I didn't know the way back and I could bet on the whole building that Accius wouldn't help if I asked. Knowing that, I found my way back upstairs.

Vince's room was at the bottom of the hallway. His door was different, perfectly carved with the best designs, while the others, although were beautiful too, were not like his. I noticed the rooms upstairs were fewer than the ones downstairs and the paintings and doors, they were very unique. The rooms downstairs were like the ones in the female's dorm, if not worse. It had to be that the people upstairs were related to Vince but what I didn't understand is why Accius was kept downstairs in probably one of the worst rooms in the whole school.

Vince sat at the edge of the bed with his head facing down. I could not tell if he was still as angry as earlier so without saying anything, I took a seat at the corner of the room and stayed there quietly. I was hoping to ask him to take me back as soon as he was back to normal and on the other hand, I was considering finding my way by myself.

"I'm sorry you saw me like that"

"I'd like to leave now"