Sky walked very quickly to her father's waiting car. As soon as she got in, she gave a huge yawn. It was three thirty in the morning and more than enough times she almost fell asleep in class.

"So, how did it go?" he asked her with a worried glance in her direction.

"It was...okay." she told him with a little uncertainty.

He gave a sigh of relief that she didn't notice. "Nothing...unusual?" he asked her carefully as they started to drive away from the foreboding castle.

"Unusual? Dad the whole place and situation is unusual." she said incredulously

He gave off a nervous laugh. "It's not that unusual."

Sky gave her father a look that said he was out of his mind. "Oh no, of course not, it's completely normal for a high school to operate in the dead of night. The students to be superior to themselves, to be gorgeous in every way possible, or the simple fact that they all think I'm a walking disease ready to infect whoever dares to go near me, or I know! How about that the most important man in our country wanted me, out of all people, to go here in the first place!" she started out sarcastically, but ended up yelling instead.

She crossed her arms and slammed against the seat, staring stonily out of the car window.

"Okay, so not so good." Her father said a bit meekly.

They rode the rest of the way home in silence and when they arrived, she went straight to her room, ignoring her mother's question of how her first day was and slammed her door. Jessica looked at her husband and he just shook his head at her.

"That bad huh?" she asked in a whisper.

"Well, she's not happy that's for sure. I'm guessing they don't like a human in their mist and judging by what she said to me, they are staying clear of her. " he whispered back as they went to their own room and closed the door.

"Too tempting you think?" she asked worriedly.

"Most likely. She doesn't know yet, but she will soon enough. She's not stupid, she'll know something is wrong when they keep acting strange around her." he said pulling back their covers on the big giant bed.

"How would we know if one of them won't attack her?" she asked him. "How do we know Lord Sayles will keep his word that she'll not be harmed?"

"Because his word is law with them. If they don't obey, they know what he'll do to them." He went over to put his night clothes on.

He was so tired, him and his wife had stayed up until their daughter was safely home. Neither one of them could sleep knowing what they were forced to put their only child in. For the thousandth time he wondered what it was that the Duke really wanted Sky for. He knew the basics, thanks to the confinements of the folder, but that didn't tell him exactly what the Duke had in mind. He didn't question it though, he knew what the man would do to him if he defied him.

"What if one of them can't control themselves?" she asked as she slipped in beside him in the bed.

"Unfortunately, that's something we have to put our trust into the school my dear." he sighed out and turned the lights out, but it was awhile before either of them could fall asleep.

Sky laid in her bed staring at the ceiling thinking about her time in the new school. After she sat down next to that boy, which she later found out his name was Fulk, she had felt the whole class bore their eyes at her. They whispered behind her back as if she was immune to their voices or something.

Mr. Lasota was nice and very polite, but it was as if he was afraid to get too close to her. In fact, it seemed that way with everyone, even the Dean. But Fulk didn't seem to have any problem with being near her. He just seemed curious and maybe suspicious, but she wasn't sure.

When the lunch hour came, she was surprised to find that they didn't have a cafeteria in the school. They had a large lounge, but there was no food or drink vendors. They didn't even have water fountains in the hallways. She hadn't brought anything, figuring she would get something in the cafeteria at the school. She noticed some of the kids went in groups out into the dark forest, wasn't that against the rules, against school policy? If it was, no one bothered to stop them.

They were out in the open and hooting with laughter so loud everyone in the whole school could probably hear them. But Sky didn't see any of the security guards or faculty go after them. She found that strange and walked to a nearby bench in the lounge and sat down.

She was tired and hungry, and she still had another class to go to. She found it odd that she had only two classes. But then again, her first class assisted three subjects, Ancient History, Modern History and Old English, not an everyday school subject.

Shouldn't that stuff be taught in college? And what about this Ancient History and Old English stuff? Mr. Lasota was talking about the Christian Crusades for crying out loud! She wondered what would be in her next class.

She had looked around the area and saw that nobody was alone. They all had somebody with them to sit with and they were all peeping glances at her and whispering. This one group of girls were a lot bolder in their stares. They stared at her with such intensity and hostility that no one was talking.

There were four of them and what amazed her was they each had a different hair color, black, red, brunette, and blond. The red head was standing behind the other three, the black hair one was sitting on the table and the blond and brunette were sitting in chairs. The black haired one, sitting on the table, looked at her with curiosity. When Sky looked at the red headed one, she froze in place. She was staring at her with such hatred that her eyes shone as if she was ready to attack her.

She flinched at the look.

Why was she giving her such a heated look for? Sky couldn't seem to take her eyes away from her. Suddenly, she felt panicked and wanted to desperately get away from this place. She got up and rushed out the doors. She felt like she was suffocating as she rushed by people. She saw hated glances and eerie stares. She began to run a little faster and she heard laughter behind her.

She exited out the front doors and a blast of cool air hit her face. She was breathing heavily and felt the anxiety begin to calm down. Then she felt more like a complete moron and idiot to let a bunch of stares almost break her down. She was shaking slightly, never before had she experienced such animosity from anyone. She gave herself a huge breath and looked around the courtyard.

There were groups of kids everywhere and again she felt threatened, but she didn't understand why. She quickly walked around to the back of the school, wanting to get away and be alone. How was she ever going to make it here? She missed her friends, wishing they were here with her. If she had them, she wouldn't feel so alone.

She kept on walking, not knowing where she was going. She looked up ahead and realized she had come to the edge of the forest. If it weren't for the lighted torches along the way she would be in total darkness, other than the school having a lighted glow around it.

She stopped when she was right at the edge and stared in the darkness. She felt the unshed tears and hated herself for them. There were bushes and trees with undergrowth of all sorts of plants. Clearly this was the start of the unclaimed, untouched forest. It was pitch black on the other side and it started to freak her out.

She quickly turned away to run back to the safety of the school, but something stopped her. She was hearing a noise that sounded a little further away, a noise coming from the depths of the dark forest.

She inched closer trying to figure out what it was. Then she realized it was a tune. Someone was whistling. It was a melodic song, something that maybe a mother would sing to her child to sleep.

It sounded sad, yet soothing.

Curiosity overcame her fear, and she entered the forest cautiously. She could just barely see a small worn-out path and a very slight opening of the bushes to get through. She walked slowly on the path with the shadows that played from the torches and it was creeping her out a bit.

The tune was getting stronger the closer she got. She felt the branches graze her, giving her goose bumps. She walked right into a spider's web and she swiped at it frantically.

She stopped herself and whispered, "Get a grip on yourself Sky! You're only making this worse than it actually is."

She took a deep breath and exhale slowly, then continued walking. Finally, there was a break from the overgrown path to what seemed to be a large clearing. It seemed the tune was coming in that direction.

When she got to the opening, she froze. She crouched down on her heels and watched the person who was about twenty-five feet away from her. He was lying in a secluded meadow the size of half a football field, the grass was about a foot long and every now and then little white flowers were spread out. He had his arms behind his head looking up at the moon, which was shining brightly in the star filled sky. It illuminated the whole scene for her, making it catch her breath.

Somewhere in the distance she could hear water running, letting her know there was a nearby stream. A perfect place to be away from the world, to be at peace and collect your thoughts, too bad it was already taken.

She saw him sit up and put his arms on his knees. She couldn't tell who the person was. He was too far away and still too dark to really see his profile. What was he doing here all by himself? Maybe he needed his privacy to be alone.

She didn't know how long she sat there watching him and at some point, he stopped whistling the tune. He just sat there not really doing anything. Did he always come here? Sky's face suddenly heated realizing she was spying on this person who she didn't even know who he was. Not wanting to be caught being what seemed like a stalker, she slowly got up and tried not to make a sound.

She kept moving until she could no longer see him, then turned around and ran back to the school grounds. When she broke through the trees she came to a complete stop and stared at the scene now before her. There were people everywhere with lamps, walking around in a frenzy as if they were looking for something. She got about twenty feet when she heard her name.

"Sky!"

It was Mr. Lasota.

He ran up to her and grabbed both her arms in a firm grip. "Are you alright? Why did you run off like that?!" He stopped and let her go quickly when he realized he was shaking her.

She grabbed her head to try and stop her brain from swishing around in her skull. She had a slight pounding from the action.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean...it's just that...you shouldn't have run off like that, you had us really worried." he said, a bit put out.

"I'm okay, I just needed some air." She frowned at him.

Mr. Lasota looked behind her at the forest and then back at her. "You didn't encounter anything...did you?" he asked carefully.

He was looking at her intensely as if trying to figure something out. Immediately Sky thought of the meadow and the unidentified person. "No, I didn't." she said calmly.

He stared at her a few more moments, than seeming to be satisfied about something, he smiled. "Well, that's good. It's not safe to be in the wilderness in the middle of the night."

He turned around and yelled out that he had found her, so they could stop the search. Sighs of relief went all around, and they all gathered to them. At first Sky didn't hear the question, thinking it strange that they all got worked up over her being into the forest when they seemed not to notice or care that all the other students did the same thing. Maybe because they were in groups? Or was it because she was an important person to the Duke?

"Sky?" Mr. Lasota asked, looking at her in a strange way.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked, coming out of her wondering thoughts, seeing that they were all looking at her.

"I asked what on earth had made you run away like that?" A soft-spoken woman asked her.

She looked at this new person and saw she was quite young. Just like all the others, there was a sublime porcelain glow about her, not a single flaw on her. She looked young enough to be in her second year of college.

"I... I was just..." Sky couldn't seem to get her sentence straight.

"It doesn't matter why she ran Ms. Souza; the important thing is that she's safe and that she's back." Mr. Cane said loudly.

He pushed his way through the crowd and put his hand upon her shoulder. They started walking away towards the school. After that, none of the teachers questioned her, but she was sure they were keeping a close eye on her.

The bell rang stating that lunch was over. Mr. Cane never left her side while escorting her to her next class.

"Why is everyone so worried about me Mr. Cane?" she asked him, looking back to see some of the teachers talking close together.

Mr. Lasota and the young woman, known as Ms. Souza, were talking feverishly to one another. The woman looked in her direction and Sky felt a chill go up her back. She turned back around when Mr. Cane replied,

"Well, you're a new student, which we don't receive very often, and Mr. Lasota saw you run off. He was very concerned and wanted to see if you were alright, but when he couldn't find you..." he trailed off and his face became grim.

He looked over to her and gave her a smile. "Lord Sayles wouldn't appreciate it if we lost you on your first day here at the academy."

She didn't say anything to that. It seemed to her that they weren't worried for her, but worried about the Duke's anger towards them. Again, she felt confused and unwanted here on the Island.

"Now! For your next class!" he said brightly. He quickly dropped his hand from her shoulder and wiped his forehead of perspiration. He looked like he had just run a mile.

"Are you alright Mr. Cane?" she asked.

"Yes, yes I'm fine." he said with a hint of difficulty "This time your classroom is in one of the towers." And he turned to the right, to a hallway that had a wooden door.

"A tower!" she said with some excitement.

The one thing she would have to admit was she had always wanted to be in a tower of a castle. She followed him up the spiral stone stairs. About halfway up was an open window that was only big enough for her upper body to fit through. She looked out and saw the grounds below. They were a good forty feet up. She smiled, looked across the sky and, in the distance, she saw the same mansion on the cliff from when she first arrived, only this time it was a lot closer.

"This way Ms. Contour!" Mr. Cane called from above.

Sky left the window and took the steps two at a time until she reached him. In another few minutes they came to another wooden door. Mr. Cane knocked and waited. Silently the door opened, and Sky was surprised to see the woman standing there in front of the class. They walked in and Sky looked around.

This room was just as a tower was to look like. No white walls, but stone ones. Sky was also surprised to find the exact same group of students from her first class, but just as surprised as she was, so were they. The only one who didn't seem be to be shocked at all was Fulk. He looked quite bored in fact.

"Hello Ms. Contour, and welcome to my class." Ms. Souza said to her softly. "Please have a seat anywhere you like, they're not assigned." She said nicely with a smile and that unnerved her even more.

Mr. Cane smiled at her. "Well, here you go Ms. Contour, this here is Ms. Souza, you've just met her on the field and well you know these guys." He gave her a wink and left the room.

She kind of wished he hadn't left, but she wasn't a little child. So she looked back around and took in the room instead of looking at any of the others. In this room there wasn't desks or chairs, they had sofas, recliners, bean bags, gigantic pillows that could easily swallow your whole body up and it was all in modern style. They were in all sorts of colors, ranging from a dark purple to a bright pink, there were oranges, yellows, greens, and blues.

She didn't know where to sit. The sofa was taken up by the twins, known as Troy and Trevor, and the one recliner was occupied by the dark red headed boy named McRaven. She didn't know why they only called him by his last name, but they did, even Mr. Lasota did. She didn't want to sit in any of the bean bags that were all being occupied by the four girls, who were Mei, Lucy, Rose, and Vivian.

The big pillows however, looked so soft and comfortable she was almost afraid that once she sunk down, she'll fall asleep. Fulk was in one of them now, with other little ones laid about him that it seemed to be his signature spot. He was well away from the others, just like before. Was he an outcast or something? Somehow, she didn't think so. They all seemed to be intimidated by his presence.

The other pillow happened to be right by him. That made her feel irritated and annoyed, yet again she was to sit by the arrogant guy. He looked at her, then saw her dilemma and started to laugh. It was such a rich sound and so rarely heard that the whole class looked at him with wonder and surprise, even the teacher was shocked.

Fulk clearly understood her situation and what she was feeling at this predicament. In the first class she was brave enough to sit next to him, even though she didn't understand who he was, but that was beside the point, she wanted the spot. But unfortunately, it was right next to him and it seemed the same went for this classroom as well.

She seemed to find it all coincidental, but maybe the others won't, and it bothered her if they didn't. She didn't want any more gossips going around the school on her first day than there already were. Her eyes drooped a bit and at that point she didn't care anymore. She was tired, and she wanted to sit down. She took her chances and sat on the pillow next his.

As soon as she sat down, she was in complete heaven. She heard the teacher begin the lesson, but didn't pay any attention. She almost fell asleep when she heard the teacher say,

"Um Sky don't-", but she stopped and right before Sky's eyes closed, she saw Fulk raise his hand to stop the teacher and shake his head at her.

Ms. Souza didn't say another word about it and continued on. Sky wondered on it for only a second before she went into a moon filled dream.