Caddie's POV:

Upon hearing the school bell ring the lunch festival promptly ended- much to my dismay. It was so exciting to bend the rules and not being caught for doing so. I had thought going to Nox Haven was going to be the end of my life but there was a chance it might be a new beginning.

Alix and I inconspicuously joined a large group of students and shuffled into the school, keeping her heads down low. Once the glass doors closed behind us we let out a few hysterical giggles. For the first time in my life I felt a feeling of elation overwhelm me. It was the most addictive feeling in the world and I desperately wanted it to last as long as possible.

"Maybe this royal thing will be fun," Alix suggested.

I gave her an incredulous look. Being imprisoned in a world filled with perfection and order did not sound like fun. Unlike most girls I didn't dream of sparkly dresses and tiaras; I knew that all of those flashy diamonds came with a price to pay. As a princess it was your job to care of a whole population, that sounded more overwhelming than exciting. If I could hardly take care of myself, how did they expect me to be responsible for everyone else?

"Well, it was fun hiding from everyone," She explained, "I really thought they going to send a search party for you."

"We almost did, until I spotted you," Ryder interjected, walking over to us.

His blue eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled mischievously. With his large muscles it was easy to be intimated by his presence but the joyous look on his angelic face made him look younger and more approachable.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks for not saying anything," I said awkwardly.

He smirked, "Don't worry about it blondie. I would have gotten up and joined you if I could have."

Glancing past his massive shoulder I noticed the other heirs spotted Ryder talking to me. Aleksander looked furious to say the least. He started to make his way over to us, when Alix unexpectedly grabbed my arm and pulled me down a crowded hallway.

We pushed a few people out of the way. They weren't too happy about it, but I would have dealt with their angry remarks than Aleksander's any day.

My breath came out in ragged pants as we finally began to slow down. The amount of people in the hall dramatically lessened as we stopped in front of a tall wooden door. Placing my hands on my knees, I panted like a dog before glancing up at the gold plated sign on the door.

"This is my next class?" I asked in puzzlement. "

"Yes, Lady Bose is going to teach you how to use your magic," Alix answered.

Sometimes it was nice to have a psychic as a friend, I never had to worry about getting lost. She was like a living GPS, without the annoying monotone voice.

"I'll meet you back in the dorm room. You'll do fine," She said encouragingly. I took a deep breath and entered the room.

Heidi was whispering furiously with the other council members. The door closed loudly behind me causing them all to look at me with surprise.

"Caddie?" Heidi stepped away and ran over to me, giving me a tight hug.

"Where have you been? The guard said you didn't show up to lunch." She seemed worried, but I couldn't tell if it was a facade or not.

The other council members watched us intently.

"I did show up to lunch," I told her, "But I didn't sit with the others."

"Miss Jones," The Head Minister interjected in his deep, gravelly voice, "You do not have a choice as to where you want to sit. We keep you all excluded from the other students to protect you."

I agreed and apologized to all of them for causing any worry. I said the words that needed saying, but never once did I believe a thing I said. Once the council members were satisfied, they left Heidi and I alone to start my training. 

"You didn't mean a word you said, did you?" Heidi asked, giving me a knowing look.

I forgot that she could sense my emotions as well. Damn it. "Well-um, In a way—"

She cut me off. "It's all right. Neither did I. I knew you were fine, but they're so finicky with the rules. Do you want to learn some magic?" As she said the word magic, I felt my stomach muscles tighten.

"It'll be fine. You were born to do it, but if any point in the lesson you feel like it's too much, just say stop and we'll end the class." Heidi gathered a few items. She placed a few tattered books and scrolls onto the desk. They looked very sinister.

"Magic is centered on your energy. You have to be in complete control of yourself. I want you to close your eyes and look inside yourself to see if there is something powerful hiding."

I closed my eyes, but I had no idea what I was looking for. Keeping myself calm, I tried to grab onto something in the dark. The odd thing was that something reached back. It took hold of me and sent chills down my spine.

I opened my eyes, and looked down at my hands as they tingled. An energy from deep inside of me flowed to my hands. The energy and I were no longer two separate forces trying to grab a hold of each other. It was tethered to my soul. I opened my eyes and called it forth. A dark, spiraling orb formed from my hand. And then I willed the orb to disappear.

I looked up at Heidi the excitement was clear on my face.

"That part is always fun," she agreed, smiling lightly. "Now comes the part I know you won't be so thrilled about."

I looked towards the books and scrolls. Goosebumps appeared on my arms. Who knew what kind of wicked things those scriptures held.

After the class, I felt mentally exhausted and scarred. The things I could do were not only unnatural, but they were also deadly. It scared myself what I was capable of, and yet I wanted to do more. My palms were aching from the magical marathon and most of my golden hair had fallen out of my ponytail, covering my blue eyes. Once I left, I started towards my dorm, running into someone almost immediately.

"Oh sorry!" I immediately apologized.

"Yes you should be sorry," I heard a person with a thick russian accent bellow. Slowly my eyes lifted from his solid chest to his strong square jaw and angular cheek bones. I flinched when my eyes collided with his hard, dark eyes. Why did Aleksander have to show up now? He was pissed, but somewhere deeper inside of him he was hurt. Why the hell should he be hurt?

"Where were you? We were all worried, I was worried. Especially after what I told you. You could have been hurt!"

I cringed as he scolded me. I felt the entire student body turn their attention on us. My anger began to slowly rise.

"I was eating lunch, like a normal person. And never once was I in any danger," I told him cynically, "You have no reason to worry about me. We don't know each other, as you and I are complete strangers."

He winced, the anger subdued and the hurt began to show.

"Is that all we are? Strangers." He asked, his voice low.

I nodded. "We don't know each other, therefore we can't be anything more."

I left him standing there and continued to my dorm. My heart contracted. It was silly. I knew him for how long? Two days tops. Sure, he was cute and charming, but there was no reason for him to be able to hurt me.

I slammed the door behind me and Alix looked up from whatever she was doing. "You know I always thought Prince Charming was too much of a brat for Cinderella," She told me and I snorted at the metaphor.

"Here," she said picking up the black cat she was petting and placed her in my hands. I scratched Ebony's tiny head and some of the stress melted away.

"When I came back she was pacing around the room looking for someone. So I fed her for you," Alix explained. I mouthed a thank you to her and sunk onto my bed.

"So this girl in my elemental class invited me to a bonfire they're having later this evening. The royals aren't allowed to attend since it's off of school grounds, so I was wondering if you wanted to come?"

I stopped petting Ebony and gave the cat a thoughtful look. "What's my other option?" I asked Alix.

"You could always stay here and think about Prince Charming," She offered.

I pulled myself from the bed and grabbed some normal clothing from my dresser. "Bonfire it is," I decided.

I wore a plain sweatshirt and ratty jeans, whereas Alix wore a fishnet sweater—you could clearly see her black bra—,dark formfitting jeans, and pumps.

There was a hidden door in the dormitories that was supposed to be used for emergencies, but it worked for sneaking out of the school as well. Alix and I followed the other girls outside of the school. We met up with the guys and made a beeline for the forest. Several of the girls wore heels like Alix, but had no trouble with keeping up.

We broke through the trees and stumbled into a clearing. Large logs were already stacked up in a pyramid for the bonfire. Two people emerged from the crowd and pointed towards the logs. Flames erupted from their hands and began to eat away and the wood. It was truly magnificent to watch.

Cheers echoed throughout the forest. People passed around the drinks and began to blast music. Alix disappeared from my side and slid back by the trees, observing the partygoers.

"You have a problem with following the rules, don't you?" I took a step back, hitting my head against the tree. "Shit. Cam stop appearing out of nowhere," I held the back of my head.

He chuckled, "You didn't answer my question."

I narrowed my eyes. "I follow the rules when they're not absurd," I muttered.

"You're a teenager. All rules are absurd," Cam said taking a swig from his beer.

"You speak as if you aren't one," I said giving him a suspicious eye.

"I'm a more seasoned teenager. You learn more once you turn 17."

"Really?" I asked in disbelief.

He shook his head, an impish grin on his face, "No."

A moment of silence passed; it was comfortable. I managed to spot Alix. She was grinding to the dirty lyrics on some random girl. I didn't know her preferences, but that was a clear sign. The rest of the people were doing the same thing, except for a few over-excited teenagers who had already started to make out. The song changed. It had more innocent lyrics.

Cam pulled on my arm.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he pulled me into the crowd.

"Let's dance," He yelled over the music. He began to twist and turn into several complicated dance moves that I couldn't even hope to replicate.

"I can't dance," I yelled, leaning in towards him.

He gave me a funny look, "Everyone can dance. You don't have to dance well."

He pulled me against him, just like when we were in the Magicry. He spun me around and I fell against his hard chest. We both broke out into laughter when the song ended.

"See, you can dance," He said.

I was acutely aware that he was still holding onto my waist. I slipped away from his reach and replied, "Or I can have you do all the work."

He started to smile until a dark guy rested a meaty hand on his shoulder. "Who's your little friend, Ross?" The guy addressed Cam but kept his golden eyes on me.

My skin began to crawl at the hungry look he was giving me. I felt like I was staring at the Big Bad Wolf and I was Little Red Riding Hood.

"I don't know," Cam said, giving the other guy a stern look, "I just met her."

The guy began to step towards me but Cam was quicker. "This is so unlike you," The guy said with a mocking gleam to his eyes, "You never go for witches."

"There's a first time for everything," Cam murmured, but the guy payed no attention to him.

"What makes you so special, darlin,"He asked with a southern drawl.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alix said, popping out of thin air. "And fortunately for us, you won't know." She took my hand.

"Not so fast," the guy said grabbing my shoulder.

Cam growled. The look he gave the guy made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The guy let go of me and almost looked shocked before crouching down and giving Cam a challenging stare. Alix pulled me away from the group, and at the edge of the forest, I heard two roars from the clashing wolves.

ALIX's POV:

Later that night when Caddie was fast asleep, I slipped away from our room. I put my uniform back on and went to Lady Bose's office. I went the book case and pulled back a book that seemed out of place. A secret passageway unveiled itself. I followed the stairs down into a stone tunnel. At the end of the tunnel there was a circular room, which broke off into three other tunnels. The torches that hung on the walls were my only source of light. Lady Bose appeared from the shadows carrying a single scroll. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled tightly away from her face, there was no distraction from dark and mysterious eyes. I wondered what kind of secrets she hid behind those eyes. Her face was thin and withered from aging. She vaguely resembled Caddie.

"I guess you already know why you're here," She said.

I nodded. "My niece needs someone to protect her from all causes. She trusts you and that is why I trust you."

I nodded again. She pulled a small knife from behind and handed it to me. Unrolling the scroll, she pointed towards the dotted line. I knew what I had to do. It was never really my choice, but after getting to know Caddie today, I wouldn't have decided otherwise. This was my chance to do something with my life. I cut my hand and squeezed the blood onto the scroll. The blood turned into my elegant signature. Lady Bose rolled up the scroll and walked away into the shadows.

It was done. I was Caddie's protector. It was my job to protect her in battle, from the dark, and from herself.

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