I hate you.

Magical.

It is the most simplistic word for the type of world Hope lives in; some call it Witchcraft, and others call it Wizardry. Some even call it Enchantment and Enchanting.

It is everywhere, all around us.

And yet, in this world of magical wonder, here she was standing front and centre in front of elderly men who were either too busy arguing or staring at her to barely notice when the lights began to flicker and a strong aura filled the air.

But it only took one sentence before finally they all cast their eyes upon her as if remembering she existed, these disgusting men had torn her away from her life, and now wanted to ignore her? No.

Hope plastered on the sweetest smile she could muster and clearly spoke.

”Can someone, please, escort me to my chambers for the evening and fetch me when you’ve come to a conclusion?”

She hoped they hadn’t heard how hard the ‘please’ was made through gritting her teeth, but it seems thankfully, they accepted the request as someone was quickly summoned to lead her away with her bags.

And as soon as the door behind her shut, the lights above them went back as if never disturbed in the first place, as they resumed their bickering over whether to explain the reason the only other Spell Weaver known, Arrick, was outcast.

Not to mention, Hope’s future.

The moment her door was closed to her chambers, she collapsed into the silk sheets of her new bed; everything smelled fresh, as if it were recently decorated and made specially for her.

With rows of bookcases on the walls, surely to sweeten her up after being so rudely acquired.

Here she was, Artemisia, the school of Spell Casters, Spell Weavers and Magistry. The one place she had been hiding from for twenty years.

For as long as Hope could remember, she had imagined this place, brimming with magic and dragon’s but in the quiet of the night? It was as quiet and lifeless as any normal school.

Not that it mattered; in her mind, she was already crafting ways to make it out.

Shivers ran up her spine as suddenly the air felt cooler, as if a piercing gaze was chilling her to the bone, so raw she sat up and glanced around the empty room, only accompanied by shadows and moonlight.

”Hello?”

Even though deep in her mind she knew calling out to the silence would result in nothing, she felt the urge to try.

A quick paranoid thought crossed through her, what if the room was monitored?

Hope raised a hand and held still, focusing on the aura of magic and spells around her, looking for any of the naked to the eye threads, but nothing appeared, but she was sure something was there because even if she hadn’t seen it.

The feeling of being stared at quickly vanished.

Lowering her hand, she let out a sigh and eased into the bed, her thoughts racing until only one word was in her mind.

Dad.

Was he okay?

Would he be alright on his own?

Did they erase his memory?

Eventually, the hours passed on and Hope fell into a deep sleep for the rest of the night, mostly filled with dreams of her father and what felt like minutes suddenly became dawn, evident by the sun shining on her face through the grand windows of her room.

Normally, she’d be awake most of the night, but the events of the previous day must’ve drained her more than she considered in the carriage here.

Funny, the more she thought about it, the more a part of her wanted to reach out to all the invisible threads of magic in the air and tug on them until chaos rained down on the school.

But…

Part of her was also curious, especially for answers she couldn’t find or understand past the barrier of Artemisia.

So Hope got up and pulled out the few limited clothes she was able to grab and stuff into her bag before they hauled her out of her room back home, and found a comfortable dress with some boots in case she needed to make a run for it.

Quickly, she undid her braid and pulled her hair back into a low ponytail, allowing the curls to loosen into waves before opening the door of her room and seeing pods of students walking down the halls, just another day for them, but the bell hadn’t even rang, so…why were they all out so early?

There goes her chance to explore the school in the early dawn hours without eyes on her, which almost all of them were as whispers started to build in the hall.

”There she is…”

”She looks so normal.”

”What kind of spells do you think she weaves?”

Okay, I need to get out of here, now.

Quickly, without thought or an inkling of where to go, she started moving through the halls.

Despite being somewhere completely new, it felt as if part of her already knew which way to go, almost guided invisibly to the courtyard.

What now?

Even when finally escaping the whispers and stares, Hope felt her shoulders still rising in their tense state, her mind racing as she walked aimlessly, not caring how far she had to go until her heartbeat steadied. Slowly, her pace lessened as the greenery around her grew, even wildflowers coming into view.

The air around her felt lighter as the sun glazed across the field before her, the school building facing her back and seemingly cut off from the brush.

Hope felt her shoulders fall as her hand reached out to touch the leaves of the trees, to hear the rustle whenever the breeze slightly picked up.

“Peaceful, isn’t it?”

Her eyes snapped open. She hadn’t even realised she had closed and latched onto the figure in the shade.

“It was.”

Either he didn’t hear the blunt disdain in her voice or was choosing to ignore it, stepping closer towards her with a grin.

“Cut off from the school. Most don’t usually go far unless they wanna hide or get away. Which one are you?”

Hope raised an eyebrow, her lips narrowing into a thin line.

“Why would I tell a stranger that?”

His grin faltered for a second before he rubbed the back of his head and laughed loudly,

“I almost forgot! Forgive me, my name’s Rick and this,”

He gestured to the field, which was flowing with wildflowers of all sorts in full bloom, and looked at her with a full, welcoming warmth.

“Is my secret place.”

The goofy smile, along with the sun shining onto his golden hair, made him look...well, words couldn’t really describe it.

But there was a sense of ease around him, as if he was radiating all the things that Hope was missing. Not to mention the wisps of magic that flowed near him, calmer than others she had seen, even her father.

So she gave a little trust, choosing to believe in the magic around him.

“Hope, forgive me for intruding, and I suppose you could say both.”

“Ah, Hope, the infamous Spell Weaver. Well, when choosing a place to hide, you’ve chosen the best so far. Pretty much no one comes here or even knows this place exists.”

So my name has spread quickly overnight...

Rick lowered himself onto the patch of half-shaded grass, taking a blade and twisting it around his fingers as Hope soon followed his lead, brushing her fingers against the petals of a Morning Glory. Leaning her head back as she mused aloud,

“I suppose they’ll start looking for me soon.”

Can’t have their prized pig out of its pen after all...

Rick chimed in, his eyes on her face as she kept it aimed up at the nearly cloudless sky.

“Well, you can stay here as long as you’d like; they won’t be able to find you, and I wouldn’t mind the company. All I ask is you don’t tell them about this place.”

That seemed like a more reasonable request than she figured he would’ve asked and one she was more than happy to grant.

The grass felt warm, even within the shade and soft, which was an odd sensation since usually grass would feel prickly, sometimes even itchy, but this was just as welcoming as the blooming flowers. You could even hear crickets if you focused on the stillness of the world, allowing the ease from Hope’s shoulders to transcend through her body. She could think clearly, although her mind was mostly consumed with thoughts of returning to her father.

“You okay?”

Rick’s voice broke her from the turmoil within; her voice softened a little, if by defeat or surrender, she wasn’t sure.

“As well as I can be, I suppose...”

It must’ve sounded more pathetic than Hope planned, ’cause just then he leaned over so she could see the reassuring grin spread across his face and reach his eyes, for her.

“This place isn’t the best, trust me...I know, but you will be okay, I know you will.”

“How would you know?”

She tried to stop the cheerfulness leak from her voice, which failed miserably because his eyes practically glittered in response.

“Because now I’ll be there.”

“I don’t even know you.”

Laughter spilt from Hope. This guy was ridiculous, but his easiness and warm energy lifted her spirits. But his grin didn’t falter despite growing a slight bit more serious,

“Well, who else is gonna be your guide to surviving this place?”

“I suppose it would be nice...so, where are the dragons?”

It must not have been a common question because his eyebrows knitted together as his head tilted towards her, pursing his lips.

“Dragons?”

Sitting up to meet his eyes while rubbing the bracelet around her wrist that she’d cosen to wear that day, a small pit in the bottom of her stomach as if she already knew the answer.

“Yeah? My mother used to tell me stories of this place, dragons that roamed the skies above the school grounds and fairies that lurked in the woods at night that would trick you into deals with fancy words...”

Rick’s lips twitched as she spoke, as he reached up to scratch the back of his head and gave the answer she had hoped would never be said.

“Ah, I see. Um...Well, the thing is...”

He took a deep breath in, making his chest puff out before finally saying in a hushed tone as if the very breeze around them could hear and spread the word,

“There are no dragons, not anymore.”