Piper hurried into her third class of the day; her arms were filled with books. Everyone had taken their seats. She spotted Simon leaning by the instructor's desk, surrounded by a group of girls laughing at something he said.
She didn't notice a foot extending from under a desk; her toe caught it. She quickly caught her balance by jumping over it, and turned to the culprit.
"Nice try, Curtis," she smirked. "Foot tripping is so last year."
Curtis Stellan scoffed in annoyance. "Who still carries a textbook? Never heard of a Scrollpad, Terran?"
The rest of the class snickered, while Piper rolled her eyes. She sat behind her desk, her eyes locked with Simon; she felt a flush of heat inside of her.
The noise died off when someone walked in; the girls hurried to their seats and activated their holographic scrolls.
"Sorry, students, apparently everyone's flying pegasi to work today," Sir Hamish Fairweather, our instructor on parazoology, said hurriedly. He set his briefcase down and smiled warmly at the class. "Like I always say, the old ways are essential."
"Piper gets it." Ember chimed in.
Piper simply stared forward as the others chuckled.
"Today, we study monsters," Hamish began, pacing back and forth. "Prince Simon is here to assist me in demonstrations and not merely for your perusal."
Piper opened her notebook to write.
"Now, while every creature is sacred, from the ant to magic folk, these monsters act on instinct; they do not feel empathy, are aggressive, and won't respond to emotional appeals. Monsters are far more dangerous than ordinary animals." Hamish stated. "They're divided into five classes. Class five: Gargantuan, otherwise known as Ogre."
A large creature in a loincloth, fangs holding a club, appeared on the hologram.
Hamish continued. "These creatures exhibit violence and limited intelligence. Anything else? Yes, Ember?"
"The Ogres were a catalyst for ending the Great War of the Realms; King Titus Valand the Second pardoned them and had them settled on Ogre Island." Ember stated. "Where they live secluded from the rest of Mytheria."
Hamish nodded with satisfaction. "Very good."
Piper could imagine Ember's smug expression.
Simon stepped up and continued. "Class four: Nyxian. As you can see, they mimic their appearance to suit their environment."
Piper lifted a brow at the thin black creature; it didn't look threatening.
The hologram switched to footage of a few knights fighting a giant creature, shooting dark blasts at them; it swallowed one of them whole. Piper's heart pounded, and everyone collectively gasped when the victim was blasted out of the Nxyian's body as a hollow, shriveled shell.
"Don't be fooled by its cute appearance;it feeds on your soul," Simon explained seriously. "Luckily, it has weaknesses..."
One of the knights, who was a fairy, blasted a ball of light at it; the creature dissolved in a shriek.
"Light." Piper murmured.
"Class three: Nocturni," Simon stretched out a palm to a holographic human male. "These feed on the blood of the living, extremely strong and fast."
"So, it's basically a vampire?" Piper asked.
Everyone stared at her.
"I mean, we sort of have those on Earth...not exactly real..." Piper trailed off. "Sure, there are books and movies and Transylvania..."
"Can you stop?" Simon asked.
Hamish stared at her with interest, and Piper shrunk back.
Simon said the Nocturni were weaker during the day, and the only way to kill them was to cut out their hearts or fire. The footage of the battle scene wasn't pleasant.
It was disappointing to learn garlic did not in fact ward off Vampires.
"Class two: Crawlers, also known as the Undead, are extremely hard to kill; they slaughtered tens of thousands in the Great War, so much the only way to exterminate them is decapitation." Simon continued.
Piper jotted down 'zombie' in her notes. Of all the creatures she dreaded, zombies just had to exist.
"Class one; Alpha." Simon spoke. "They call him the King of Monsters; he controls them with unparalleled powers, so much he's the only one with the abilities of all the classes."
The hologram displayed only a sketch of the Alpha. He was large with runes trailing his body; his black beady eyes could almost see into a person's soul.
"Why isn't there footage?" Someone asked.
Piper raised her hand. "Because the Alpha isn't just a king, he's immortal and completely unseen to technology. If they show the footage, it'll just be Knights fighting or dying by an invisible force."
When the class was over, Piper followed Simon as they walked down the corridor.
"Look, I didn't mean to interrupt your lecture, so if you're mad at me..." She paused when he stopped to gaze at her.
"Piper, I already told you not to get carried away with human lore," Simon advised with a warm smile. "It may be similar; you're going to keep getting confused."
She took a deep breath, relieved he was cool about it. "You're probably right."
How hard was it to control her emotions around Simon Valand? She'd begun to fall for him during their training sessions; she was getting better at sparring, and even her magic, still chaotic, was manageable.
Simon frowned and waved away a few swarms of butterflies that suddenly appeared between them.
Someone called Simon's name.
"I have to go," Simon told her.
Piper's lips parted; the words wouldn't flow out. He merely walked on.
Later, she met HollyAnn and Ivy for lunch. They decided to eat by the shimmering tree a few yards from the castle.
"He spends so much time with you." HollyAnn began. "I can definitely tell there's a spark between you two.
"Yeah, when we spar, it's roughly one day a week." Piper sighed and bit into her food.
"He has a girlfriend." Ivy flatly pointed out.
"Yes, but she's miles away in the Fairy Kingdom." HollyAnn replied. "Everyone knows long distance has a thirty percent chance of working out, even though she's a noble, and a rich celebrity."
Piper deflated. "Okay, she's hot, and I suck hard; let's move on."
Piper had met Raina Moon once at Simon's sixteenth birthday in the palace, where she came across as a bit of a snob — a far cry from the sweetheart Simon and her Scribe page had painted her to be.
"Why waste our Squire years on boys anyway? They're imbeciles." Ivy drawled. "We should have some real fun...in the city."
"Ivy," HollyAnn protested.
"What? If we come back before lockdown, we won't be breaking the rules." Ivy stated. "Besides, everyone has done it for generations, except Piper."
Piper raised her hands. "Oh no, no, don't drag me into this."
"Well, it is an unspeakable tradition, Piper," HollyAnn agreed. "I was scared at first, but when I got out, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Besides, you're fifteen-years-old, rebellion flows through your veins."
Piper thought about it and agreed.
A secret tunnel beneath the school provided a direct route to the woods, bypassing the security system. Piper was nervous about it. She'd worn a blue dress with a black corset and combat boots, and she curled her hair into waves, thanks to HollyAnn.
As they stepped into the tunnel, HollyAnn turned on a lamp, and Piper felt a wave wash over her. She shuddered.
"Guys?" She said in alarm. "Something's off."
"That's the magic dampeners to hide our aura; it feels like a migraine, but it'll be over once we exit the tunnel." Ivy said.
"I don't like this feeling." Piper rubbed her hands together, seeking some kind of warmth; her anxiety spiked and she felt her body weaken.
"Just a few more minutes." HollyAnn spoke with strain in her voice.
Piper stopped walking.
"We have to go back." Piper pleaded desperately. "I can't do this."
Ivy shot Piper and disapproving glance, and whispered to HollyAnn, "I told you she'd be a blight upon the merriment."
HollyAnn glared at Ivy and took Piper's hand. "Come on, we can—"
"I said no!" Piper yelled, dragging her hand away. A purple blast shot out from her body, sending HollyAnn flying back with a shriek, she crashed against the wall and fell.
"Holly!" Ivy and Piper cried out.
They hurried to her side; Ivy held HollyAnn's unconscious body. Piper's breath began to elevate.
"Oh Grimm!" Piper whispered, and her hands flew to her lips.
"What did you do?" Ivy snapped at Piper in accusation. "Piper, what did you do?"
That's when the alarms went off.