Chapter 3. Strange Familiarities

"And what are you still here for?" Ms. Merrigold asked with a frown at the insolence of the wolfblood that sat in front of her. She couldn't fathom where his whole prideful, stubborn and overly-confident attitude came from, perhaps, because he was an alpha? She had dismissed them and yet, he stayed.

"Merrigold is it? I'm not sorry and I won't apologize for what I've done. As an alpha, I cannot stand the insolence of a mere leech disrespecting me." Gregory scorned. "I forgive you for all the rude words you threatened me with earlier, and in return I want a favor from you. I'm not here to stay in your academia, rather, I'm only here to see my mate." 

Ms. Merrigold's deep frown conveyed how furious she was at Gregory who sat in front of him, at the moment. She felt like skinning him alive as to how he spoke without a hint, not even a single hint, of respect in his tone. However, she was more curious as to whom his mate was. As known, alphas were more violent when they were away from their Lunas and it was a more important matter that had to be taken care of, rather than being angry. She heaved a deep sigh, that was probably her twentieth today.

"Tell me, who is this... mate of yours?" Ms. Merrigold asked with furrowed brows. She leaned forward over the table with an obvious keen interest in the matter at hand. However, Gregory's silence only put her on edge and she could notice the glint of hatred in his eyes. She was surprised to see that Gregory wasn't here in Cromsvelth due to his possessive nature but had a problem with his so called mate, and as the suspense built up, her worry only grew along.

Just as Gregory blurted out the name of his supposed mate, almost growling, Ms. Merrigold was taken aback. It was surprising whom the popular alpha's mate was. And for a reason, she could understand Gregory's rage.

***

"Hey, where's Winnie?" Delphine asked with a furrowed brow. She stood clad in a low grade lamés with the black mask held to her side.

"I'm not her monitor... Uhh" Nova rolled her sky blue foxy eyes and flaunted her jet black hair as she removed her mask. She'd just finished sparring and the least she ever wanted was the mention of that worthless being.

"Aren't you friends?" 

"Grrr!" Nova hated being associated with the ugly creature. She never was her friend and will never be. That hairy thing had caused her nothing but shame and disgrace, if it weren't for her parents forcing her to be friends with Edwina.

"Delphine! You shall not cause a ruckus in my class, get on the stage!" Sir Pogarth yelled at the siren. He was a dragonkin with little to no patience at all.

"Tsk!" Delphine clicked her tongue and left to bid Sir Pogarth's demand, not without giving Nova a cold sneer. She could tell something was wrong with that hairy Winnie, she could have sworn that she saw someone peeking at her from the dorm this morning and it couldn't be none other than Winnie. 

'Its not like she is important anyway' she put the thought off her mind and assumed position on the piste after donning her mask. Facing Simeone, a gorgon classmate.

"The art of fencing is basically a double edged sword. Two people on opposing sides. And as a fencer, just as your sabre or your epeé, you need to be swift, precise and sharp with your movements..." the average looking man with short spooky gray hair that matched his heavy mustache, tutored the class with a stern expression. His gaze was off the stage and rather on the other students who observed as he rounded the parties on the sparring stage. 

"En guarde!" The sound of their sword clashing reverberated through the tense gymnasium immediately after Sir Pogarth's announcement and the other students dressed in uniform lamés were forced to shift their attention to the fight. 

"The rules are simple..." Sir Pogarth stopped on the other side of the piste and stared intently at the other students. 

"Each touch of the sword on different spot on the opponent is worth a point. The winner is determined by this point and obviously is the one leading with more points. However, that is only when you're sparring..." Sir Pogarth stopped rounding the stage and gestures towards the center of the piste where the spar took place.

"...in real life, it is sword fighting. One's mortality is at stake and all it takes is one mistake, which consequently leads to a fine chance of a clean strike." 

"Hyaaa!" Delphine managed to break into her opponent's defence and struck a touch on his torso with the tip of her sword. 

"And there you have your winner." Sir Pogarth declared. The whole gym was silent and just stared in veneration at Sir Pogarth's flawless demonstration, it never ceases to amaze them all. 

"Yasay, Delphine!!" The Siren's ever-cheerful lackey, Kalen, jumped up in rejoice as if it were her win.

Sir Pogarth didn't seem to mind Kalen's behavior as he simply turned to face Delphine "Excellent work Delphine, if only -"

Sir Pogarth was cut off his praise as the door to the gymnasium was suddenly pushed open and a fine young lady with striking ginger hair stepped in. The fencing class master was taken aback by the sudden appearance of this girl. He knew that the new students were being taken in along with the transfer students today, but the principal hadn't called to inform him of the coming of any more of these students yet. Moreso, the strange girl looked familiar, overly familiar. 

Just as Sir Pogarth pondered where he'd seen the ginger-haired girl that walked nervously into the gymnasium with her head hanging low, every other student in the class were of the same thought.

The whole gym became a graveyard as everyone stopped to observe the fidgety strange beauty that walked into the hall. The rustling sound of her lamés as she hastened her steps closer to the class could be heard in the sheer silence. The boys were without doubt appalled by her beauty and others felt strangely familiar to her. But no matter how hard they tried, it seemed impossible to recollect where they'd known or seen her from.

"I do not care if you're new. I would not condone this lateness in my class from you henceforth" Sir Pogarth was the first to grab hold of himself, being the one in charge.

"Y-yes sir!" Everyone thought that the voice was familiar. They would have recognized if only she spoke frequent in class and if she'd spoken a little louder.

Edwina, on the other hand, wasn't too surprised that no one actually recognized her. This was only so because when she walked through the school hallway earlier, none of the other students recognized her as she walked past them. All she received was even more surprisingly, only looks of awe and stares of admiration. However, her own classmates not recognizing her was somehow... amusing. She was used to being a plague and standing out most in the school and it was only now that she truly realized what she had been missing on to be normal like everyone else. She didn't know whether to jump in rejoice or cry in sorrow right now.

Nonetheless, she hurried to join the rest and stood behind. Subconsciously, she moved her gaze towards Delphine on the piste and she shivered at the cold gaze on her face. She quickly moved her gaze away, her previous encounters with the vicious siren still fresh in her mind. However, what she didn't expect was to meet Nova's gaze. 

Edwina's eyes constricted and her facial expression bittered at the familiar scorn of her once closest friend. She didn't know how they'd become enemies nor why Nova suddenly hated her so much but all that didn't matter anymore, as even when she's become normal, the fire of hatred in Nova for her would never die out. If anything it only seemed to have even grown stronger. 

More was how convinced she was that Nova definitely recognized her by her scent, without doubt, she would. And so did Delphine, and Edwina had an itching premonition that something bad was coming.

"Hello beautiful, new here too?" A charming and friendly voice resounded behind Edwina and she couldn't help but turn around to face the intruder. However, the sweet scent of Almond hit her nostril and quickly corroded her nasal system, taking her breath away. Her green eyes glowed dimly at the sight of the angular face of the intruder and his green braided hair that reflected his sharp facial features. Edwina found herself speechless at the overwhelming feeling of awe that enshrouded her. 

"That's the new guy"

"Oh...He's so handsome"

"Hey why is she speaking to her, I thought he liked me when he eyed me earlier"

"That dude.. what's his deal, and what race is he?"

Edwina's pupils glowed golden at the edges and she subconsciously tucked her hair behind her ears as she picked up the whispers of all around with her newfound increased sense of hearing. She heard both positive and negative comments about the handsome guy in front of her. She could quickly deduce a little about him from all she heard and she had to admit, it was a convenient ability to possess at moments like this.

"Not really" she managed to say in an intended meek voice that strangely sounded more like a coquettish purr. She didn't understand her strange behaviors and didn't know why she felt so nervous around him.

'Probably not him, I'm just afraid to be seen around someone already so popular. Yes, that's it...' she tried to convince herself whilst she couldn't stop staring at a loss in his hazel eyes.

"Sir Pogarth, may I spar the new student?" Delphine asked with a 'kind' smile that ticked the dragonkin tutor off. Everyone knew of Delphine's dominant nature and that she bullied anyone whom she regarded has 'talent' above her, bringing them under her 'scales'. And this new girl surpassed her in beauty, so, it would take no genius to understand what Delphine was doing. Plus...

'That attention you're getting belongs to me...' despite everyone in the class acting as though they were less concerned, Delphine could notice their interest in Edwina.

"Very well, but I shall not condone any violence" Sir Pogarth warned sternly after a few minute of silence, which was spent obviously in deep contemplation, considering Delphine's nature.

"Of course, Sir Pogarth!" Delphine nodded with a stiff smile. 

Sir Pogarth narrowed his eyes, hesitating to let the fight take place but then, he decided otherwise. He would put a stop to everything as soon as he notices anything going wrong. Hence, he gave the new student a reaffirming gaze and gestured that she move towards the piste.

Edwina, ever since she heard Delphine's challenge, had an anxiety attack. She just froze in place and prayed that Sir Pogarth would decide against the idea. However, as that didn't happen, she had no choice but to step forward on the piste. Edwina wouldn't say she wasn't scared, it was Delphine that she was facing off with after all. But something inside her kept her confident of herself. She didn't know where this confidence came from but somehow, her whole being felt rather excited to face her enemy. It was as though her fear and anxiety weren't necessary at all.

"Take care" she heard the new guy say but his voice seemed too distant for her to react to in any way. She was too focused on fighting Delphine. Despite how reluctant she was at first, something in her made her take a step forward and soon she was on the stage. A sabre was thrown to her by Sir Pogarth and she caught it quite instinctively. It was like the most natural thing she could have ever done. She readied herself on the stage as the image of all she'd suffered in the hands of the siren before her replayed in her mind. All she wanted now was to defeat her, she had no idea where the thought came from but, she just wanted to beat her in fencing so badly right now.

Unbeknownst to Edwina, her wolf was slowly gaining control over her.

"You do not need your mask on, it's just a spar after all. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you" Delphine said with a devilish grin. The new girl's appearance irritated her and she would stop at nothing to see to it that the beauty she looked up to so much was ruined in this fight. It was only then that she would be satisfied.

"You shall accept this challenge" Delphine deliberately used her siren song to compel Edwina when she saw her still putting on her mask, not caring about the consequences it might bring upon her later.