Chapter 10

The next morning, Amber was woken by Starfire nibbling on her ear at precisely 7 o clock. She woke Azure up and they both prepared to go for breakfast.

After a hearty breakfast at the dining hall together with the rest of the academy, they walked to class again. With the same dramatic effects, Lady Dorothy appeared in the study hall.

“Class, today I will be telling thou about thy initiation test, in which thou will be tested on thy potential and whether or not thou art fit to enter the realm of magic.”

“What? We have to go on a test? A person of my standing and beauty is naturally fit to become an enchantress, a mistress of magic! I was born for the sole purpose of leading you useless fools!” wailed a dramatic SNOB.

“Hush, Ms Stella. Everyone is equal in the academy regardless of thy standing. Thou shalt be sent on a quest accompanied by thou mascots. Thou shalt start from different parts of the world, but can group together later if thou so wishes. Thou and thy mascot will discover new abilities and increase thy bond of friendship. Thou shalt be considered successful if thou returns with the magic cloak, and thou art only able to take along thy mascots, rulebook and some other basic necessities.

“What? We don’t even get a map? I don’t believe this!” exclaimed an outraged Stella. Dave and Nick immediately molded their faces into similar looks of dismay.

“Nay. Thou shalt have to listen to thy inner, magical calling, which, combined with faith and skill, shalt show thou the way to the cloak. Tis a dangerous and hazardous journey, wrought with unmentionable sorrow, heartbreak, terror and perils, from which thou may not return, perishing in the attempt. Tis our way of weeding out the weak. Do not worry, thou parents shalt not miss thou, for they art grieving over the loss of their beloved child that happened in the tragic fire which destroyed the castle and all its inhabitants.” Lady Dorothy grinned, seeming to be enjoying herself tremendously, and offered them a small consolation. “so, from another point of view, thou hath nothing to lose if thou deigns to fail, other than thy life.”

The entire study hall was silent, to the extent that even a drop of a pin could be heard. The students stared at Lady Dorothy with dumbstruck expressions, speechless. Suddenly, all hell broke lose and chaos erupted in the study hall.

“This journey will ruin my perfect beauty! I wont be able to look like a delicate flower anymore…” sobbed Stella.

A pillar of calm amidst the chaos, Lady Dorothy dropped the bombshell. Upon hearing the BOOM! The whole hall fell silent.

“Thou shalt be leaving this Saturday, 2 days from now. It is my suggestion that thou start preparing thyself mentally and emotionally.”

With an amazingly evil laugh, Lady Dorothy drifted from the room, leaving a hall of destruction and chaos behind her.

Chapter 9

“Mmm… one of the things I like about this place is the food. The cook is really good!” Azure exclaimed.

“I agree. This is great! Thank goodness we don’t have to share a table with Ms Stella-I-forgot-her-oh-so-long-name. I pity Sapphire her bad luck,” muttered Amber.

“Actually, I remember her as SNOB. You see, its Stella Natalie Opal Bartex, so it kinda spells out as SNOB. I didn’t mean to offend her,” said Azure.

They all looked over at Stella, who was sitting over at the Ring of Falcon table with Sapphire and Nick. Stella’s mascot was a black Darcmyste, while Sapphire and Nick were both accompanied by navy and grey Darcmystes. “Shadow, aren’t you just the cutest Darcmyste that ever lived…” Stella was crooning to her mascot, while Levi and Grey looked on.

“Grey’s such an imaginative name for a grey Darcmyste, don’t you think? That Nick really has brains. I mean, the name completely sums up the Darcmyste!” Azure said with a roll of her eyes. Star Angel, her Shieldbubble was eating from her plate.

“Hey, hey. Lets continue eating and stop being mean. I think Stella is really nice when you get to know her, right, Warrior?” Darren interrupted, one hand caressing the Shieldbubble beside him.

“Attention all students!” Lord Twinheads announced. “You will be given time after lunch to unpack your bags till 6pm. Then, I’ll give you time to bathe and come down for dinner at 7pm. At precisely 8pm, I want all the first years to gather here at the dining hall while the seniors can rest for the day.”

The hall was immediately filled with the screech of chairs being pushed back as all the students stood up to retire to their rooms respectively.

#~#~#~#

“Okay, there are 2 beds, separated by a bedside table with 3 drawers. A mini chandelier, air-conditioner, a connecting bathroom, 2 cupboards, a dressing table, and 2 study tables. Hmm… Not bad for a tower room,” said Amber appreciatively, taking in her surroundings back at their bedroom, having been too tired the night before to fully notice her room.

“Lets choose our beds and unpack. Time isn’t on our side,” said Azure practically.

4 hours later…

“I’m done! Oh yeah!” said Sapphire, jumping up and down in glee.

“Me too!” Amber said. “Now that we’re all nice and clean after that shower, lets check on Darren and Dave. We still have half an hour anyway.”

#~#~#~#

“Darren! Open up! It’s us!” Sapphire knocked on the door, shouting loudly. Starfire and Star Angel were hovering beside Sapphire, waiting for the door to open.

“Coming!” Darren replied hurriedly.

Having mistaken what Darren said for ‘come in’, Sapphire opened the door and they all stepped in. A startled Darren looked up from rummaging in his wardrobe, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Ready to go down yet?” Amber asked.

“Dave, don’t come out of the bathroom! We have visitors!” shouted Darren, a panicking expression on his face. “Uh, not just yet. I haven’t finished dressing yet. Could you wait a while?” asked Darren, a blush staining his face beet-red.

Amber, Azure, Starfire and Star Angel’s gaze slid downwards, and saw that he was only dressed in his boxers.

“Oh… Sorry, sorry!” Amber and Azure quickly backtracked and went out of the door, their face also as red.

“Thanks, guys,” Darren smiled.

#~#~#~#

“Dinner was great again,” Darren said, while Warrior nibbled at his leftovers.

“Look! The seniors are leaving. I wonder what the heads want.” mused Amber and Azure.

“Well, we will find out vewy thoon. Look! Hwere he comes. Boy, does he look sewious,” lisped Dave, accompanied by his yellow Shieldbubble, Sunshine at their side.

“Welcome, my dear students. I am Lord Twinheads, and I am the principal of Lotaholes Academy. As you all know, no school can function without rules. Well, here it is.”

With a poof, a thick leaflet appeared before them. The word ‘rules’ was emblazoned across the front page. The students turned their astonished gaze back to the principal with difficulty.

“Everyone got their copy? You are to memorize them and know them by heart, understand? Good, now will all of you please turn to the last page? That is our school song. We will sing it together before ending this gathering. So, a one, a two, a three, a one two three go!”

“Friends, friends, friends to the end,
Where will you be without friends?
You’re friends who will never smother,
Smack or stab one another,
You’re not a bunch of useless goners,
Let’s face it,
You’re not a bunch of sad losers,
So you had better befriend each other,
Because nobody would be such an idiot,
To have other morons as friends.”

“Except Thella, who ith pwepectly lovely,” muttered Dave, looking at Stella dreamily.

“Did they just lose their brains or what?” asked Amber.

“Well, they cant lose what they never had,” whispered Azure.

The two good friends sniggered. Then, they followed the crowd back to their respective towers and rooms for the night.

Chapter 8

“Oh look! Doesn’t that kid look weird?”

“Yeah! I don’t think she should be here at all! She doesn’t fit in.”

“You know, I heard that her mother sent her here just to get rid of her. What do you think?”

“Yeah! I heard that too. Such a pity, even her own mother doesn’t love her. She must have done something very wrong. Lets not stay too close to her. It might be contagious.”

“I agree. Ill warn everyone to not try and go near her.”

With a rustle of their skirts, the two gossiping girls walked away, not noticing that Amber was standing behind a pillar.
Amber clutched at the pillar with the words ‘strength’ inscribed on it in despair. Her worst nightmare was coming true. She was an outcast, and it was only her first day in school! With a heavy heart, she walked to a dark corner and sat down. Tears started streaming down her face. Then, through tear filled eyes, she saw Darren, Sapphire and Azure walk of, arm-in-arm, talking about her behind her back. Suddenly, a group of students surrounded her, pointing and laughing cruelly. Darren, Sapphire and Azure’s face stood out from the crowd. Her own mother stood mockingly in the front row in full view, laughing louder than anyone else. Azure walked up to her and started shaking her, calling her name.
_________________________________________________

Suddenly, Amber opened her eyes to see a pale, anxious face leaning over her in the semi-darkness of her room. The sound of the thunderstorm crashing outside could be heard clearly. The howling of the wind sounded in perfect symphony with the song of the thunderstorm, cresting a rock genre song of nature.

Azure leaned away from her. “Wake up already. Its morning, and we are going to be late. Why don’t you go freshen up while I make up your bed?”

Amber grunted, which Azure took as approval and ushered her to the bathroom. “Don’t take too long, Darren’s waiting for us to go for breakfast.” Azure shut the door after her and went back into the room.

‘Breakfast? That’s right! I’m in Lotaholes Academy and today is the first day! Oh my gosh! I’m late! Darren and Azure are going to be fuming!’

Jolted out of her half-awake state, Amber washed and dressed in frenzy, all the while keeping an anxious eye on the hands of the clock.

“I’m here!” Amber exclaimed as she burst through the door leading through the common room.

“Just in time,” said Darren with a smile. The second hand of the grandfather clock in the common room ticked to 12, showing the time as 720. Next to Darren stood Azure and a pale, dark haired, short boy with puppy eyes. “This is Dave, he’s my roommate,and he just LOVES my War Zone figurines!” Darren informed Amber and Azure.

They exchanged the customary greetings and went down for breakfast together. When they reached the dining hall, they stopped in shock.

“These are all the students there are in the academy?” asked a surprised Azure.

The hall was divided into 2 parts, the first years and the seniors. The two parts were then divided into 4 smaller parts, one for each Ring. The first year section was full of students, and the number exceeded even the number of students over at the seniors section.

“Well, if we don’t hurry, we won’t get a place anymore. Let’s go!”

Realizing the truth of Darren’s words, the other three hurried to the remaining spaces at the first year Merlin table. Just then, breakfast appeared on the table accompanied by the soft pealing of bells. Breakfast consisted of toast, hot chocolate, milk, cereal and various kinds of pudding.

Suddenly, Azure started waving to someone at another table. “Sapphire! We’re over here!”

Sapphire was seated next to a girl with blonde hair, pink polished long nails, blue eyes and an air of aristocracy around her. The girl whispered something to Sapphire, and Sapphire gave a wave back, then turned her back and continued eating.

“Jeez, she’s unfriendly. I don’t recall her being like this yesterday. What happened to change her attitude so drastically?” asked Azure.

“Well, we’ll know soon enough. Its lesson time! Let’s follow the rest of them to the study hall.” announced Amber.

They got up and followed the crowd to the study hall. Halfway along the route, the seniors broke away from the crowd and went into the smaller hall. The rest of them then trooped up the 7 flights of stairs and filed into the bigger Study Hall. They each took their seats in the classroom and looked around them with interest. The classroom was filled with the nervous chatter of students on the first day of class.

Suddenly, a thick veil of smoke enveloped them. When the smoke cleared, they saw the strangest sight. A lady dressed in a long black robe stared piercingly at them with her green eyes. The class immediately fell silent, correctly assuming that this was their teacher. The teacher scrutinized them for a while longer them began to speak in a melodious voice.

“Welcome, class. I am thy class teacher, Lady Dorothy Andreas. As thou should know by now, thou art students in this revered academy of magic. Today, I will be assisting thou in the art of creating a mascot. Pray tell me, doth thou know what the mascots of thy Ring be?”

A chorus of yeses filled the room. Then, Lady Dorothy continued talking.

“Good. Thou hath not disappointed me. Now, concentrate, calm thy feelings and clear your mind of random thoughts. Then, imagine the
Image of the mascot down to every detail, and move thy hands in a gesture as if trying to pluck thy mascot out of thin air.”

The classroom became quiet as everyone tried their best to create their mascot. The silence was only punctuated by groans and cries of frustration as their classmate’s hand hit them. Soon, beads of sweat appeared on the student’s forehead as they concentrated hard.

All of a sudden, Amber’s shriek of delight filled the air.

“Yeah! I created a Shieldbubble! Aww… its so cute…”

A light yellow coloured Shieldbubble had appeared shoulder level with Amber and was focusing its eyes on Amber, as if trying to identify her. Then, it gave a delighted yelp and jumped into Amber’s outstretched arms. Green looks of envy was thrown Amber’s way as the other students saw the Shieldbubble.

“Excellent! Ms. Glassfire, thou hath succeeded in thy attempt. Thy classmates should learn from thou. Prithee tell us thy Shieldbubble’s name,” Lady Dorothy said.

“Starfire,” Amber said simply.

“Well, how come none of us could do it? I’m like, the most popular girl in school and I don’t get it? Why can a major loser do it? You don’t even have the bling, this must be some kind of deception!” the girl whom they had seen with Sapphire earlier burst out.

“Erm… pardon me, but who are you?” Amber asked.

“I’m Stella Natalie Opal Bartex. Duh! Anyone knows that right, Nick?” she said with a flip of her hair.

“Yeah,” agreed the boy, presumably Nick, who stood by her side said.

“Now, prithee tell me, what appears to be the problem?” enquired Lady Dorothy.

“Nothing, Lady Dorothy,” said Stella with a sweet smile.

“Then, pray continue creating thy mascots.”

With a last contemptuous glance, Stella strode back to her table.

At the end of the lesson, every student was accompanied by either a Shieldbubble, Harlin, Pile-O-Bones, or Darcmyste. Darren had created a red Shieldbubble, while Azure’s Shieldbubble was purple in colour.

“Class, thy books will be in thy rooms. Pray keep to the timetable and attend every class as thy magical education art very important to thy quest. I extend my sincere thanks to thy for thy attention. Class dismiss, thy may go for lunch now.” Lady Dorothy announced.

“Thank goodness that class is over! I almost died of boredom there!” a voice exclaimed as they were walking out of class.

Amber, Azure, Darren and a flustered Sapphire looked at the owner of the voice.

“Well, aren’t you going to join me anymore, Sapphire? Don’t tell me you’d rather hang out with those losers?” Stella said.

“Yeah! Thella ith wight ath alwayth, although Dawwen’th okay,” said Dave, who was trailing behind Stella together with Nick.

The four of them stared at Dave. This was the first time they had heard him speak and they hadn’t even known he had a lisp.

“What?” asked Dave defensively.

They only shook their heads mutely and continued to lunch. With a whispered ‘I’ll see you later’ and an apologetic glance, Sapphire traded places with Dave to go for lunch.

Chapter 7

A split second after she left the room, Matron Splitsplat returned.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, your friend Sapphire has been assigned to the Ring of Falcon and is currently residing in the Tower. Each house has its own species of mascots. Your mascots will accompany you on your quest. Look at the pile of brochures on the table for further details. You two girls will be sharing a room, while Darren will be sharing with Dave. You will be responsible for the cleanliness and deco of the room.”

With that parting repartee, Matron Splitsplat marched out of the room.

“Huh? What quest?” asked a puzzled Azure.

“Who’s Dave? Will he like my War Zone toys?” asked an increasingly worried Darren.

“Well, we’ll find out sooner or later. Lets go check out those brochures.” Said Amber.

Amber picked up the stack of brochures with the title “A GUIDE TO LOTAHOLES ACADEMY” and started reading.

Mascots
Ring of Merlin: Shieldbubble – Shieldbubbles come in a variety of colours. The colour they are when conjured reflects on the creator’s personality. If the owner experiences a major personality twist and changes in nature, the colour of the Shieldbubble will also change accordingly. They are often friendly, but can become a dangerous opponent if its owner is faced with danger as they can assist in casting spells and hexes.
Matron: Bloodie Splitsplat

Ring of Vulture: Pile-o-bones – pile-o-bones come in 4 colours: grey, black, white and light blue. They are in the shape of the skeletons of various animals, and can use any bone from their bodies as swords or boomerangs. Some of the smaller bones are also used as toothpicks when out in the wilderness away from civilization.
Matron: Beady Mac Ice

Ring of Eagle: Harlin – Harlins are miniature guardian angels. They are white in colour, the only difference between them being the colour of their hair. Their abilities include sharp eyesight, good sense of direction, healing minor cuts and stunning victims for 10 seconds.
Matron: Goldie von Clawwe

Ring of Falcon: Darcmyste – Darcmystes are tiny figures shrouded in darkness and mystery. When seen, they are generally wearing dark coloured cloaks covering their body. No one knows their true identities and looks for certain except their owners. They can create and clear fog, proving their worth in hazy surroundings. They can also shield their owners from sight for a period of 10 seconds.
Matron: Misty de Haste

#all students must get their books, badges, name tag and ring symbol from their respective matrons.
~The End~

Underneath the brochures were 3 parcels, one addressed to each of them. Amber immediately ripped open her parcel, noticing that the others did so too. Inside was a badge made in the shape of the merlin, the namesake bird of their Ring, name tags, books, a badge in the shape of a silver star and a note.
The note read “Lessons start tomorrow at 9 sharp, you are required to gather at the study hall after breakfast. Breakfast starts at 7.30 in the dining hall. One of your peers will guide you to the study hall after breakfast.”

Darren stifled a yawn and said: “Well, I guess its time to meet Dave, I hope he’s nice. Why don’t we meet here again at 720 tomorrow morning?”

“Fine by me,” chorused the two girls.

“G’night”

“Good night”

Chapter 6

With wobbling steps, they followed Lady Radeyes down the corridor leading to the headmasters’ office. All too soon, they arrived at a door with a shiny gold plaque reading: Headmasters.

“Do you think there are two of them?” whispered Sapphire.

“You will remain silent outside while I inform the headmasters of your arrival,” said Lady Radeyes, all the while glaring at Sapphire with her piercing red eyes.

They stood in a straight line, discussing all the strange things that they had seen that day in a whisper, making a futile attempt at being quiet. Suddenly, Lady Radeyes was at their sides once more, saying “Amber, the heads would like to see you first.”

Amber nervously crossed the stretch of brightly polished floor leading into the office, knocked softly, and entered. Once inside, she stopped walking abruptly and her mouth dropped open, literally, for on the chair sat a genuine, two-headed person drinking ribena. Or was it blood? Anything was possible, considering his four pointed canine teeth. Suddenly, he took out a Gummy Worm… Wait a minute, was that a piece of dried meat?!?! And began eating it.

“Aah… Ms. Glassfire I presume? You must forgive my eating habits, I find it hard to control my hunger sometimes. Now, would you kindly sign your name here?” said the two heads simultaneously.

Amber took the quill nervously. “but… but… where’s the ink?”

“Nevermind… just write your name in the student record book. The ink is in the bowl.”
Amber dipped the tip of her quill into the bowl of rusty brown ink and began to write. The moment the quill touched the page, a piercing pain shot through her arm. It felt as though a hundred knives were slicing through her arm, making mincemeat of it. Droplets of blood appeared on her wrist, like dew on the leaves after a storm. An image of the meat pie she had just eaten rose unbidden into her mind, and she had to stifle a scream.

“Is there any problem, Ms. Glassfire?” enquired the headmasters, Lord Twinheads.

“N-no.” Amber resumed writing, gritting her teeth in an effort to ignore the pain. As soon as the letters of her name were formed in the book, the blood on her wrist mysteriously vanished, reappearing gleaming fresh on the pages of the book. Amber glanced at the names of other students written before her, now already faded a dark brown, and shuddered.

“Thank you, Ms. Glassfire. You can go now.”

Having been dismissed, Amber bowed and retreated to the common room through another door. Before long, the Darren and Azure joined her. They recounted similar stories about the blood. However, they were distracted by the dulcet tones of Matron Splitsplat’s voice as she entered the room.

“Hiya, new students! Welcome to the Tower of Merlin. Did you know that there are four different towers, each housing a different ring. We are called the Ring of Merlin, and you have the honour of joining us. The other Towers and Rings are called Vulture, Eagle and Falcon. I proudly announce that I, Matron Bloodie Splitsplat, am the matron of Tower of Merlin and the Guardian of the Ring of Merlin.
Puffing out her chest proudly, Matron Splitsplat left the room.

Chapter 5

On the third knock, a woman with a stern looking face, hooked nose, weird eyes, rake-thin figure and hair pulled back into a knot at the back of her head looked at them.

“Welcome to Lotaholes Castle. You four are the new students, I presume?” said the woman in a clipped, no nonsense voice.

“Y-yes, m-ma’am…” stuttered Darren, the bravest of them all.

“Good! I’m Lady Radeyes, the assistant principal of Lotaholes Academy. Have a seat in the main hall while I instruct Cook to prepare some food. You just missed dinner,” said the woman, walking through an open door at the other side of the room as Sapphire turned beet-red with embarrassment when her stomach rumbled.

The four of them sat on the chairs in silence, waiting for Cook to come. Before long, a squeaking sound was heard. An amply proportioned woman entered, pushing a trolley laden with cakes, sandwiches, fruits and drinks. The woman’s round face was beaming, and wisps of hair had escaped from her hair-net to fall around her face, forming a contrast to the assistant principal.

“Eat up, my dears, it isn’t often I get to show off my culinary skills in this school.”

The trolley was put in front of them, and having missed lunch, they devoured the food hungrily, manners thrown out of the window for the moment.

When they had all eaten their fill, the trolley was wheeled away. Then, they started discussing all the weird happenings of the day.

“Have you noticed that, even though the walls are full of holes, its not in the least droughty in here?” asked Amber.

“Yeah, notice what the cook said. She doesn’t get to cook that often in this school. Don’t you think its weird? I mean, in a school this size, the students have to eat a lot…” said Sapphire.

“That’s not the worst of it. The assistant principal’s name is Lady Radeyes, but in my opinion, Lady REDeyes would suit her more. Have you noticed? Her eyes are red, and I don’t think they are contact lenses!” exclaimed Azure.

“Don’t get your knickers all in a bother, I wouldn’t be surprised if the headmaster has two heads,” said Darren drowsily.

“Hey, don’t jinx it!” said Sapphire indignantly. “I wouldn’t like to meet anyone with two heads.”

Just then, Lady Radeyes entered.

“Amber, Azure, Darren and Sapphire, the headmasters would like to see you now.”

Chapter 4

Finally, the much-awaited day arrived. The instructions that came with her uniform stated that she was to don her uniform and wait at the Town Square for her transport. She put on her uniform absent-mindedly, all the while imagining what her new school would be like.

After that, Amber strode to the Town Square with the air of someone shaking the dust of the town and most of its inhabitants off her feet. “So long now, people,” she thought, “Bet you never thought I would turn out to be better than the whole posh lot of you.” This was true, in a way, as the other children had often bullied and taunted her for her lack of spending money and finery.

The first thing Amber noticed when Amber got her first glimpse of the Town Square was the group of townspeople gathered there. Then, she saw what the townspeople were gaping at. A group of two girls and a boy were standing together, dressed in the same school uniform as her. The boy was wearing a white cowboy hat, blue and white checked shirt, white pants and black calfskin boots.

“Amber Glassfire, is that you?” called out a classmate unbelievingly as she strode up to join them.

“Where are you going, Ms Glassfire, dressed in so much finery?” asked a teacher.

“Can you really afford it, or did you nick it from someone else’s wardrobe?” jeered another schoolmate.

Amber resisted the urge to poke out her tongue at them, instead trying her utmost to cool her rising anger by thinking, “I will not lower myself to their level by acting childishly to get back at them. I am a cut above them and when the transport comes, I will be free of this town and all his inhabitants.”
Amber’s reverie was cut short by a voice saying, “they can be so cruel and thoughtless sometimes, right?”

Before Amber could deign to reply, a horse-drawn carriage bearing the name Lotaholes Academy arrived at the square. With mixed feeling, Amber followed the other three onto the carriage. All they had with them was a small backpack as their luggage had already been sent to the academy a few days earlier. For a few moments they all looked out of the window, watching the scenery stream past at an astonishing speed.

“Hi, I’m Amber Glassfire. The letter said that this was a school that gave free education. What do you think?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sapphire Clearwater. My letter sais this was a very expansive Swiss Finishing School for refined and talented young ladies. You see, I’m the heir to the county of Rocky Mountains, and my parents want to groom me into a lady fit to be a Countess,” said a blue eyed, blonde haired, fragile looking girl.

“You think you’ve got it bad? I’m Azure Aquawing. They told me this was an orphanage that offered free education and boarding. You see, my parents didn’t like me,” said the pretty girl with green eyes and auburn hair sitting by the window, sadness colouring her voice.

“The name is Darren Lance. They told me this was a martial arts school. All my relatives are world class fencers and samurais. They think I’m a wimp because I can’t fight well,” the black-haired, black-eyed boy said.

They looked at each other with confusion. “why are the stories all different?” asked Amber. “they cheated us!”

Just at that moment, the carriage door was opened and a voice was heard saying, “we have arrived at Lotaholes Station. Kindly disembark within seven minutes.”

They hurriedly scrambled off the carriage and onto the platform. A whole group of butterflies were currently taking up residence in Amber’s stomach, and many more kept arriving.

On the platform, a heavily scarred and deformed man was waiting, bearing a sign that said: Lotaholes Academy. He only had tufts of hair, six fingers on each hand and one ear. At his feet was a dog with a linage as mixed as a bowl of mixed fruits put in the blender. It was impossible to tell what breed of dog it had been descended from. One thing was clear: this was no pedigree.

They adverted their gaze to avoid looking at him, until he said “My name is Gregor and this ‘ere dog’s name is Mix. Don’t worry about staring, I’m used to it. Used to give my poor old dam the heebie-jeebies, I did. I believe it was the sight of me by her death bed that finally sent her into the arms of Hades.”

It was a very quiet ride to the castle in Gregor’s wagon. They passed by plenty of marshes, rivers and overgrown, untended wasteland. Finally, a castle reared up in the distance. When they reached it, the saw that it had more holes in the walls than a block of cheddar cheese. That alone was enough to let them know that this was indeed their new school. Sapphire let out a high pitched, hysterical giggle as the crossed the drawbridge.

“I’ll be leaving you here, I’m only the caretaker,” said Gregor as they reached the front door. “don’t go missing me now.” The main entrance was adorned with two gruesome looking gargoyles with their mouths wide open and fangs as long as their arms. On the door was a knocker in the shape of a lion’s head, so highly polished until they could have admired their reflections, had they not been so nervous.

The four of them looked at each other, until Darren built up the courage to raise the brass knocker and knock loudly on the wooden door.

Chapter 3

Preparations were being made as Amber was leaving for Lotaholes Castle the following day. Her mother was in quite a state. Towels, books, pens and clothes were sent flying everywhere. No doubt, every mother wants the best for her child.

Now, Amber had received a parcel on her doorstep a few days ago. She had rushed to pick it up, to find that it simply said:
Amber Glassfire----Lotaholes Academy

Amber had it torn apart before you could say “Diddledoo”. Inside lay a light blue and white checked blouse, a white skirt and a pair of shiny white leather shoes. It will be a great school, thought Amber, even the uniform is prettier than most schools I’ve attended. It will be great, except for the fact that there will be a lot of holes in there, which will totally explain the namesake of her new school. (Well, not exactly a new, new school, more like a new, old school. Ancient, in fact.)

While packing her bag in her bedroom, Amber felt a strange, unexplainable urge to wear her locket. She retrieved her locket from the little oak treasure chest under her bed and hung it around her neck. Instantly, a warm, comforting feeling overcame her. She felt something magical about this delicate, gold-wrought locket that carried the gem of her namesake. “Oh well, I could use some luck at Lotaholes Academy”, Amber decided. “It will be nice to make some new friends, maybe we will even have adventures together. Who knows?”

Chapter 2 - An unexpected christmas present

The sound of Christmas bells could be heard jingling everywhere. A bleary eyed Amber stumbled down the stairs on Christmas morning, humming something that sounded distinctly like this:

Joy to the world,
the school is gone.
Lala-lala-lala
Jingle bell,
school is gone,
bombing it away...

At the sound of her voice, a few glasses shattered into fragments, a shadow of what they once were. She reached into her bulging sock, expecting at least a few christmas parcels, instead-all that was in her stocking was a thick envelope. She sat down on a chair and opened the letter.

Dear Miss Glassfire,
You are invited to join us here at Lotaholes Castle to complete your education. It would be a complete new experience for you as it is nothing like any other school you have ever attended. Here at Lotaholes Castle, we favour a more challenging course of education. Anyway, details later. Please reply this letter and drop it back into the stocking. We will give you your uniform F.O.C.
Yours sincerely,
Batty Redeye-Assistant principle

Amber was overjoyed. Needless to say, she had accepted the offer. Anything had got to be better than the Brutus Finishing School for the Mentally Impaired and Spiritually Challenged her mother was preparing to send her to. Amber hurried off to tell her mother the good news. She did not bother that the letter was written in a type of ink that looked suspiciously like blood type B negative, and it was written on a smelly yellow parchment. Now this was the type of Christmas present she truly deserved.

Chapter 1... Amber Glassfire

"Oh no! I'm late for school!" cried Amber, throwing open the covers and rushing to the bathroom. Hurriedly, she washed up and was ready in less than a minute. She ran downstairs while mumbling something about the alarm clock being spoiled.

"Mum!" Amber screamed. Almost at once, a glass fell to the ground and broke. Amber's mum, Ruby Glassfire, replied her softly, "Yes, Amber?"

"Mum, I'm late for school, why didn't you wake me up?" Amber questioned.

Amber's mum chuckled to herself, "It's the Christmas Holidays, dear."

"Oh." Amber could have slapped herself for being so careless. She went out of the room, not another word more, with her face as red as beetroot.

Amber went to her room and read her favourite book, Artemis Fowl. She said to herself, "I'm not a genius like Artemis, how ever can i have an interesting life? My brothers and sisters, well they don't even care about me. Goodness knows where in the world they are now?"

"Sometimes i think i don't even belong in this family." Amber sighed to herself.

Amber's life was like any ordinary kid. Waking up early, going to school, studying, reading, helping out in chores... Nothing unusual ever happens. The most unusual thing that probably ever happened to her was when her butter melted when she dropped it on her dog, penny, which was a golden retriever. Well, she considered her dog as a "hot dog".

Amber went to her drawer and took out a locket. She still could not fathom what the locket was for. It was made of pure gold and on it was an amber jewel not larger than your eye. Certain symbols and carvings were carved on the outer layer of the locket, making it look extraordinary and powerful. Her grandmother had pressed it into her hands on her deathbed and whispered to her, "Magic... Secret..." Then passed away. Amber recalled what her grandmother had said, "Oh well, who knows? Maybe she was trying to tell me that magic is real and this locket was a secret?" Amber thought out loud.

"Oh well. Since it's magic, then... Here goes nothing..."

"I wish my life would be more interesting!" Amber wished with all her might, her fingers enclosed around the locket.

Still, she expected nothing to happen. So she kept it into her little oak treasure chest and skipped downstairs to feed her dog.

Yet little did she know, that her entire life was about to change.

Prologue

In the headmaster's office...

An old fat man with pale skin and two heads sat behind a desk, drinking something that looked suspiciously like blood, type A positive.

A red-eyed young woman entered the room and bowed to the old man.
"Good evening, Headmaster Twoheads."
"Has the target been identified?"
"Yes. Her name is Amber Glassfire."
"What is her background?"
"She came from a poor family. Her ancestors were once rich but became poor because of her great-great grandmother. A spell for stealing more gold got wildly out of control and backfired. All her money disappeared instantly. Her mother, grandmother, great grand mother and great-great grandmother were all seventh daughters of seventh daughters. She is also the seventh daughter of her mother, indicating an ability to cast great magic."
"What about her siblings?"
"All good-for-nothing fools who became non-magic users, choosing to instead spend their time doing nothing after getting various degrees and diplomas."
"Good. I want the target brought here within seven days."
"Your wish is my command."

The woman left the room and began planning her task.

Elsewhere, a flame-haired, fair skinned, green-eyed girl awoke with a start.

Introduction

HI everyone...
Here's my first post in this new blog...
Me n Yin Jun r proud to introduce u our book...

AMBER GLASSFIRE

Stay tuned every week for a brand new chapter...

For now, u can read the prologue...

Enjoy...