Peculiaris - The Jewel of Delphine - Part1

 

 

Chapter 1:

Iris peeped out of the window. Her short locks of hair were gently swaying. Her large eyes met with a faint rainbow appearing on the horizon. She sighed with sorrow- most evident in her; and the reason why she had this sorrow was most confusing. She had everything, from materialistic objects to almost perfect traits. Her family was kind, and often very entertaining, while she was continuously surrounded by friends.

She held her hands together and recommenced her staring. What she awaited was most unequivocally not just the presence of company. Rather, what she awaited was, even if the tiniest bit, of change. Her exhilarating schedule was presumed to be invigorating, yet none would realize it wouldn’t remain as such as it was now becoming a quotidian one. As for her, she believed her daily life as very tedious, and perceived that something enchanting would come along sooner or later. Her thoughts were abruptly suspended, as she felt a different sensation course through her. She frantically clambered out of the nook she was formerly in and entered a majestic room. 

The walls were lined with a golden rose print wallpaper. Golden cabinets and cupboards were firmly attached, with various contents being displayed on the inside. Pictures of hers were in moss-green frames, and had intricate detailed carvings all over. Roses in small, but majestic vases appeared once in a while, often with trophies to go with them. At the end, there was a normal, most casual door, with a handmade sign saying ‘Iris’s Bedroom’.

She glided past the stairs, which were adorned in an opal white carpet, the edges with a rose patterned ribbon. She lightly tripped on the last step and held the railing to balance herself again.

“Mommy!” she yelled, “when is Ammerylis coming?”.

“Soon!” her mom bellowed back, “it’s about time you take a bath and get ready!” 

She scoffed in anger and indignantly tramped back up the stairs, her excitement now slightly extinguished. She quickly threw her bathroom door open and took a short shower, and changed into a black, grey and white plaid dress. The collar of her dress was white, and slightly curved, matching perfectly with her white stockings. Her eyes met with her own as she glared at herself. The dress went exquisitely with her caramel toned skin. Her short wavy tresses just reached her shoulders, and her long eyelashes suited her eyes admirably. Anyone would have called her beautiful, anyone would have been conceited if they looked like her, but she for one did not care even the littlest bit. The first thing she had been taught was to not pay attention to looks, and she made sure to follow that rule all the time. 

An elongating ringing sound filled the room, and she immediately followed it with a shriek of joy and sprinted down to the main door. Behind stood a girl who was beautiful just as she was. She gave a light smile, and seemed to be the most humble person yet.

Chapter 2:

“You’re here Ammerylis!” Iris squealed in delight. She did a tiny jump and gently wrapped her arms around her friend. Ammerylis reacted instantly by gingerly hugging her friend as well. She gave a giggle and both of them let go of one another. Delight was imprinted upon both their faces as they immediately began talking, without even bothering to move into the mansion, and realizing it only several minutes after.

“Why don’t we go inside now, so, you know, we can sit and talk.” Iris said.

“Right!” Ammerylis replied, feeling a bit forgetful, as in the midst of all the talking, this thought had never seemed to arrive to her.

They both raced up into Iris’s bedroom and settled down. Iris jumped on top of her bed, and leaned her head against the seashell white bed post. She pulled two golden pillows and began tugging on the tassels. Ammerylis sat on a golden bean bag, and undoubtedly began to look around. There was a long pause, as neither one of them knew where to start. Ammerylis quickly interrupted this pause and opened her mouth to speak.

            “Why don’t we start planning what to do for the get-together party. We can walk around your backyard and discuss ideas. That way, we can enjoy a bit of time outside, and calm ourselves down before we begin getting ready.” she nervously suggested. 

Iris bit her lip and responded, “Sure!”

They both pushed themselves up and slowly marched out the room. As they walked out the room Ammerylis stopped and stared at a picture of Iris. 

“You look so adorable as a baby!” she gushed, and picked up a picture of a newborn baby.

“I know right!” Iris jokes, and Ammerylis gave a slight laugh.

They threw a white door open and walked into what seemed to be a backyard. There were no decorations here, except for a white gate with a series of swirls carved on  it. The girls chatted party ideas and casually took a walk from side to side when a large bang was heard. Ammerylis and Iris put an end to their converse and stared at the side in which the front door was located,  from where the sound seemed to be heard.

“Do you want to go and check what happened?” Iris asked, though it seemed more like she was asking herself.

Ammerylis took a minute, and dubiously nodded as she herself was questioning what they would have to do. They crept along the walls of the house and reached the front door, where they found two pink and teal glitter boxes. The boxes shook and let out strange cries spelling out their names. The two girls stared at each other, unaware of what to do. 

Chapter 3:

               Ammerylis inhaled a deep breath and reached out for the pink box, which was spelling out her name. She shuddered as her hand touched the box, and hoped Iris would stop her. She paused for a second, waiting for Iris to say something. She did nothing. Ammerylis grasped the box tightly and held it close to herself, the box ceased to move. The strange cries concluded as well, and her heartbeat grew faster. She warily pulled the purple silk ribbon, which came out effortlessly. The lid lay, motionless, waiting to be opened, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She was far too scared, what would happen if she opened it?

“Open me if you aren’t scared,” the box whispered, “you know you have the courage.” it continued.

Ammerylis gave a tiny shudder, “Iris, did you hear that?”.

Iris shook her head, she looked more scared than ever before.

Ammerylis tried to put the box down, but she didn’t want to, she had to open it, she felt like she needed to.

            “I have the courage,” she murmured as she lifted the lid. It was covered with what seemed to be real diamonds, and as she held it tighter, the diamonds almost pierced into her skin, making it hurt ever so much. But she wouldn’t let go, she couldn’t.

            

The lid finally came, Iris jumped back, expecting something surprising, but all there was was a ruby brooch in the shape of a flower. It was a simple design, except that it had Ammerylis’s name carved into it. She pulled the brooch out, then noticing something was underneath. She quickly tugged a block of gold out of it, which had something written on it.

            Dear Ammerylis,

            We hope you have had the most wonderful Summer so far! Now that the school year is to begin, we cordially invite you to Peculiari, a boarding school for magical students. We teach a variety of different students here, and you have been identified to be a princess. All your questions shall be answered after arriving here, and as it is a boarding school, it is entirely your choice to come here or not. Be sure to not tell this to anyone other than your closest family members, or else you will be immediately expelled. You may come here to buy your items for your classes. You will be guided here by this very letter. If you agree to come here, do not place this letter in the box again!

Chapter 4:

               Ammerylis held the box gingerly in her hands, quivering gently as she placed the box down in front of the door. The door steps began shimmering immediately as the box touched them, and she dropped the box quickly and took a few steps back, waiting for Iris to say something, though she just plainly stared skeptically at the boxes, She seemed to be uninviting of what was to happen, though it was evident on her face that if all that she had just heard was true, she would no doubt go to this strange school. 

            Ammerylis slowly began to understand that Iris for one, would begin no conversation, so she went ahead, “Should we go?” she stuttered on the last word, feeling unsure if even suggesting it was logical.

            “Let’s try this out, give it a chance, I guess?” Iris answered. She was feeling very curious.

            There was no answer, the rustling of the leaves  finally overtook the voices of the girls. There was pure tranquility in the area, and both Iris and Ammerylis were struggling to say anything. The atmosphere surrounding them intensified, and was soon extremely sickening. 

“Why don’t we... go inside,” Iris finally interrupted the silence.

“Yes, yes why don’t we,” Ammerylis replied feeling suspicious of what had just unfolded.

            The girls ran inside their house, feeling weird, and there was no word to describe this feeling but weird, and as childish as this word sounded, it represented a lot of what they were feeling, and what they were going to feel.

            They soon got into the house and agreed to begin decorating the house for the party. They brought out gold and silver streamers, signs, plates, cups, party hats, photo booth props, goody bags, and various other goodies, and at once set to work. For hours, they remained silent, incognizant of what to say. Soon, they got to the main sign, that was to be in the middle, and started placing streamers in front of the sign. Ammerylis pinned it on the top of the wall, and carefully pulled it down to the bottom. She let go, and it curled up again. She slightly leaned back and stared at it, admiring her work, and turned to see how many more of these she had to put up, but she quickly realized Iris was working to do the same job from the other side. 

            They would soon bump into each other, and Ammerylis knew this. She slowly turned to get down from the step stool she was standing on, but felt like she wanted to bump into Iris. She had to. It was the only way to figure out what Iris was going to do, and she did not feel like going by herself to this strange new place. Yet, Iris hadn’t even opened her box, and though she said they could try it, she didn’t seem so willing. 

            They both continued, hard at work. Both the girls straightened out the streamers, then allowing them to curl, and finally checking to see the gold and silver glistening more than ever.  Ammerylis attempted to check where Iris was, and matching her pace so that Iris wouldn’t just go after bumping into her, saying that Ammerylis could finish hanging the rest.

Soon both the girls met, and before Iris could leave,  Ammerylis quickly hung the last streamer and held Iris back.

“We’re done, Iris, let's talk now.” She said in the most confident and decisive tone she could.

            Iris bit her lip and began twirling her hair with her finger, she felt a tingly feeling go up her spine as she followed her friend to the sofa.

Chapter 5:

               Both the girls sat down reluctantly, uncomfortable with the situation. Iris placed her fingers on her lap and began to play around with them, apprehensive of what she was to say. She understood that Ammerylis wanted to go, and that she needed her, she would never do such a thing by herself. She also knew that she had herself suggested this action to Ammerylis. 

            Ammerylis’s stare was absurd, one like nothing she had ever used before. She was waiting for Iris to think about everything that had happened so far. Even if it had been only a few hours, much had happened in between. She waited for a minute or so, and then began to talk. Iris thought she wasn’t that serious, but now she heard her talking in earnest.

            “You are in no way compelled by me to attend this peculiar place. It is quite understandable if you wish to back off by now, but I feel obliged to inform you that I, most likely at least, will go.” Hesitation was found in her voice, but never had she talked so firmly, and confidently, and never had she spoken in such a manner.

            “I know you are not compelling me,” Iris tried to keep a cool tone but at the same time spoke in a cautious way. “Though I most certainly will be delighted to accompany you on this wondrous journey,  I now wonder if all of this is just a devious prank.” She continued to talk but immediately came to a halt after seeing the amount of hope seen in Ammerylis; she bit her lip and resumed, “anyway, we will just go to this place and check it out.”

            A slight sign of a smile was seen on both of their faces, and it quickly faded away. Iris tucked her hair behind her ear and grabbed her phone.

            “Should I call Ari?” Iris asked, finally ending the cautious way she was speaking.  Nothing would cheer Ammerylis more than her best friend. She casually remarked  “you might also want to wipe all that glitter off your face.”

            Ammerylis touched the side of her face with her hand and brought it back. She had apparently not been able to notice that her cheeks were now shimmering for the last four hours. She gave a hilarious nod and ran to the bathroom to wash it off.

            Meanwhile, Iris had called Ari and asked if she could come over to her house. Initially, she seemed unusually diffident, but had talked to her parents and arrived at the conclusion of coming over.

            Ammerylis came out from the bathroom and seemed just as anxious as she was in their previous conversation on the couch. 

            “Are you going to open that box? I mean, the invitation, so you can transport to the academy, you know.”

            Iris nodded her head, at least her shock was over, she knew what was going to happen anyway, she was prepared.

      She steadily ambled across the room to the front door where she found the teal box spewing out the glitter just as it did before. It occasionally shot out mists of water, and this is what seemed most peculiar about this box, as Ammerylis's box in no way had done the same.

      To add on, instead of calming down once held, the box shook with violent force, forcing Iris to  clasp it in her hands as firmly as possible.

As she tried to pull off the lid of the box, it shook more violently than before, prompting Ammerylis to join her in this perplexing task.

Iris and Ammerylis struggled, Ammerylis pulling Iris from the back. The shuddering kept getting worse, when suddenly the box burst.

 Water sprayed out, soaking both the girls until they were drenched in it. Iris coughed and sputtered, having accidentally swallowed a lot of water, and finally reached down.

       Ammerylis stared at the object Iris was reaching for, though all she could 

make out was a blurry white blob from all the water dripping in her face.

       As she tipped out the water from her ears she heard a squeaky, gruff voice attempting to convey something.

       "Come to Peculiari to learn more. You are a mermaid. DON'T CLOSE ME IF YOU WANT TO COME!" a clamshell, which was the object Iris was holding, screeched as Iris quickly began to push down on both sides, she thought she was prepared, she most certainly was not, "Don't tell anyone you are here except your family. You can go to this academy by jumping in when...it's the day!", It said the last few words in a really shrill voice.

Chapter 6:

               “Ugh! This is absolutely ridiculous! Sure you could screech like a monster but an attempt to drown and drench us in water is despicable. Well, at the very least I have you to rely on throughout this entire year. I do not know why I still even want to attend this place, it is nothing but my odd curiousity that is urging me to do this idiotic thing I tell you!” Ammerylis fumed relentlessly, but slowly observed that Iris was nowhere nearly as mad as her, “What happened?” she asked dubiously.

            “Ammerylis, did you even hear what the box said? It said I was a mermaid, not a princess, did you hear that! I’M NOT GOING TO BE WITH YOU!” saying that, Iris burst into tears,  with a choked voice, gasping. She did not wish to  go so bad, as she wouldn’t be able to go without Ammerylis, that too,  a whole year without their family and unknown strangers they were talking about.

            Just then a loud knocking was heard from the back door, interrupting the havoc that was being wrecked. The door was slammed open, and a high-pitched voice echoed through the majestic walls. It was Ari. 

            Iris wiped her tears away and signaled for Amaryllis to follow her, hunkering along the walls. AS they reached the living room, they could see a girl with straight black hair strutting down the hallway with Iris’s mom. She had big lips, and large eyes with black eyelashes that hung over her black pupils. Her nose was small and there was a distinct smirk on her face.

            Both the girls crept away from the walls and confronted Ari. Ammerylis felt a tingling sensation run through her stomach. She had just noticed something that had changed everything. Though this thing made her happy, she felt terrible for Iris, it was not going well for her.

            Ammerylis quickly approached Ari and patiently waited for Iris’s mom to complete talking to her. The same smile remained on her face throughout the whole conversation, and when her mom stopped for a second, she grasped both Ari and Iris and sprinted into Iris’s room.

            Ammerylis stopped when they reached Iris's room and took a second to breathe. Ari pulled her hand from Ammerylis’s reach and flung herself on Iris’s bed. As she squished the pillows she continued to vent her fury  at Ammerylis for how rude she was to pull her up like this.

      "Are you crazy or what! Your behavior was mad, and crazy, and ugh! What type of greeting is this supposed!" her face flushed red with anger and disgust.

      "You're a princess. I know you are. There is pink glitter on your cheek. I don't know if you noticed it or not, but it's there, and it's exactly the same glitter I had on my face." Ammerylis tried to talk calmly as she ended.

      Iris got up from her bean bag that she had calmly settled down in and bent over to see the glitter. It was there, shimmering in the light, a beautiful rose pink. "You're right," she finally said, astounded.

      "Oh, um...so," Ari paused and said after a long time, "you're a princess too...Iris! WE both are going to have so much fun!" she pulled Iris closer to her and put her hand around her shoulder.

       Amaryllis felt a sudden jolt of anger and rage rush through her, and she felt herself talking something completely unexpected, "Iris isn't even a princess! She is a mermaid!" she quickly paused and realized how rude she was  and continued, "we should obviously give her all the company she needs in this academy,".

       Ari's smile slightly began to fade, but she brought it back immediately, " Looks like we're a trio!". 

      "Aren't you guys going to change?" she sounded sarcastic, but you could see she meant it as a question.

      Iris and Amaryllis got up immediately and left the room to change, and so did Ari. As confident as they felt about their situation right now, though they were equally confident and expecting the unexpected. Nothing  really stays the same everyday-- who said this would? At the same time, all things have an end, perhaps this might be too. There was no way of knowing, and this was what seemed to concern them.

Chapter 7:

Amaryllis felt the atmosphere get increasingly peculiar. Both her friends were voiceless, whilst just a second ago, they were conversing most normally, with Ari being in fact, loquacious. She tugged on the baby pink hem of her dress, which was connected to a skirt with a rose printed fabric that was filled with shades of pink and red. She wore silver bracelets, and a red rose printed watch. Her hair was tied back at a high ponytail with a metallic red hair tie, and red flowers were placed on the top decorating the exterior of it, making her look absolutely refined and elegant. Although, she knew that now was not the time to be attentive towards clothing, there should have been so much more going through her mind at this point, but she didn’t want anything to change; for her, change was detestable. 

In an attempt to break the silence, she began to talk about their friends coming over, “It’s been an awful long time, hasn’t it? ” she said cheerfully, “wonder what's taking them so long.”.

Ari scuffed, “Honestly, them coming here is only going to make me feel more odd,” she got up and took a deep breath, “I’m gonna go and get water.”, and she left in a mad manner.

Ammerylis glared at Iris and wondered about the sudden change in their behavior, she felt the urge to question her, but didn’t want to seem rude while doing so. She opened her mouth to speak but was suprisingly stopped by Iris.

“You know Aura, Jasmine, Devi, Eva, and Rose,” Iris muttered.

“Uhh, they called and told me that well, they got the same invitation, to the same academy as us, and Ari’s disappointed that ‘it’s not just us anymore’.” Iris continued.

Ameryliss gave an exaggerated sigh, “Of course Ari feels, THEY ARE WHAT!” she felt suprise creep into her again, but she knew it was coming this time, “I guess that’s great, what are they?” she asked, now interested.

“Aura and Rose are fairies, Eva and Devi are canats or something , and Jasmine is a mermaid!” she said excitedly. 

Amaryllis made an effort to smile, and though it came out wonky, she meant a part of it, and was happy Iris wasn’t going to be lonely at the very least. But she also felt a part inside of her understanding what Ari felt, she wanted it to be their thing, the more people that were included, the less special it would feel. Thank goodness they weren’t all princesses!

Ari finally returned, a glass of lemonade in one hand, “I just made lemonade while I was there, I felt bored here anyway so...I have something to tell you guys, about our friends,” she said cautiously.

“We know.” Amaryllis replied in a monotonous tone.

“Wait, but how did you-” Iris interrupted her.

“They called me, and you, they didn’t know you were here, all of them got to know as they were coming together, but since you weren’t coming with them, they assumed you were at home or whatever, and they were going to call Ameryllis but I told them she was here, apparently they all didn’t care much as they told us, risking expulsion before even enrolling.” She ended by biting her lip to prevent hersef from saying much more.

            “So, how much more time will they need to come?” Ammerylis said in an irritated tone, this time she wouldn’t cover up her irritation, she was irritated and wanted everyone to know what she was.

            “A half hour more.” Iris replied instantly, she didn’t want to try Ammerylis’s patience, she felt rather fine without it.

            Twenty minutes passed in silence. The girls were not confused anymore, but perplexed at the oddness they were facing. They began to notice they were all acting like lunatics right, and Iris still did not understand why she cried before when she told Ammerylis about her being a mermaid; she never cried, and that was hardly a matter to act so dramatic and emotional about. In fact, now everything that had happened before seemed to be a laughable matter. It was now their time to show how responsible they were, they were to keep their emotions in check, especially since she and Ammerylis hadn’t told their parents yet, as for Ari, she wasn’t certain.

            She finally ended the silence by speaking, “Did you guys tell your parents about all...this?” her mind was going crazy just thinking about it all.

            Iris suddenly remembered about this and felt completely idiotic, these plans she was making, her parents had to agree with it first.

            “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Ari said obviously confused, there was nothing to be confused about.

            Iris let out a great sigh and walked to the living room where she picked up her mom’s phone and called Ammerylis’s mom. She gave it to her and soon she finished the entire discussion, while Iris told her mom about the prior events.

            “That was certainly a lot easier than expected!” she said enthusiastically and immediately walked back and sat down on the couch. The three girls sat dumbfounded, as there was nothing to speak about. While a lot did happen in the last few hours, they all seemed to fancy thinking about what was to happen, rather than to actually discuss their thoughts as they were very much reluctant to have their opinions proven wrong; they wanted to savor the thoughts of it, after all, the mystery gave way to their hopes. An  hour passed by in complete silence, and it was the most calming thing to happen so far, unlike the previous times, where the silence was unwanted. It was finally half past six, and the doorbell rang in the same ringing sound as it did for the entrance of Ari and Ammerylis. Iris steadily walked over to the door and tenderly unlocked it. The door burst open and all their friends came, chatting deafeningly. All tranquility was gone.

Chapter 8: 

               “This looks beautiful, you guys did a really good job decorating.” Devi said in a way of complimenting, yet, the only response she got was a slight nod.

            “I can’t wait to have some fun talking about all this academy stuff!” Aura stated, but as was expected, all except the three girls nodded, they had already realized talking would not further excite them, but they felt obliged to listen to what their friends had to say, obviously for the sake of respecting them, but then again, to see how their way of thinking compared with their own. They all seated themselves on the couch and began talking.

            “I absolutely want to have powers like talking to animals, or like, instantly growing flowers or something! I hope the dorm is nature themed, like not just flowers but also critters, I mean, their cuteness would keep me awake all night!” Aura said.

            “Yeah! And for the classes what if we spent like the whole time playing with cute animals and stuff. That would be so adorable! Oh! And the food could be served on GIANT flowers!” Rose snickered at the last part herself.

            “Being a mermaid must be so much fun!” Jasmine squealed, “I’m pretty sure that we’ll just be swimming in pools the whole time, or better yet, the ocean! And what if we all had, like, pet animals, I would have a little baby sea turtle!”

            “Oh yeah! I am a fairy, so I would love to have a bunny, or are we going to be small fairies, like pixies. Then I would have a hummingbird.” Rose continued.

            And so the conversation went on and on, and they eventually ended the discussion after finishing up a fight about the best mythical creature. “Let’s see when we reach the magical academy.” Eva said at last. The odd thing was Iris, Ammerylis, and Ari hadn’t even said a word in the last one and a half hours, which was abnormal as they were usually the most loquacious out of all. Finally it was time for dinner, and Iris’s dad called them to the dinner table, where they had pizza and slices of cake served. The cake was black forest, and all the girls immediately finished it up, it being their favorite flavor.

            Finally, they left each to their own homes after a sorrowful farewell. None seemed dejected apart from Ammerylis and Ari; it was just too much of change for them, even Iris started feeling better after talking, but they didn’t dare utter any words.    

Chapter 9:

Ammerylis threw herself upon her bed. Her room was nothing like Irises, it was far from regal, and this is what confused her most. She was given the option of becoming a princess, yet, nothing in her room was royal, rather Iris had everything royal. She supposed she always loved the way Iris’s room looked way more than hers, but her parents always thought a fresh and modern look would be far more suitable for her than a lavish and rich look. Perhaps it was just what she thought that counted, she wasn’t quite sure what to think.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when her mom came in. She smiled and sat next to her.

“Are you feeling afraid of living away from us for a whole year?” she asked seriously.

“No way!” Ammerylis snorted, “Ari and literally all my friends are going to be there, besides, I’ll write a letter or something,” she smiled, “besides, we’ll still meet during vacation and stuff.” She hated it when her parents acted sappy and dramatic, she always liked to think they were the comical type.

Her mom got the message and laughed, “Anyway, you’ll still be making us spend our money on ‘back to school items’, so I guess it really makes no difference!” she got up and left the room, reaching out to turn off the light. Ammerylis shook her head, and her mom stopped and closed the door.

She bit her lip and stared at her room, which was seafoam green themed, with beach themed decor hung all over the walls. A scented candle was placed, she never checked out what scent it was, but it was fresh, her whole room felt fresh. No wonder Iris loved it, she was after all a mermaid, and the beach goes very well with mermaids.

She finally got off the bed to grab a book, but immediately came to a halt, she didn’t want to read, she didn't want to sleep either. She was unsure of what to do, not only in this situation but others as well. Going to Peculiaris or whatever was going to be hard, it was too different. Too hard to believe, why were her parents even okay with this, it could most likely be a scam. ”No, it can’t be,” she thought, “I saw it myself, that had to have been magic, and Ari’s mom must have seen it too, she must have told my mom.” she walked back to her bed and turned off the lights. She slept soundly.

The morning lights poured through the windows. Ammerylis groaned and got up, she apparently didn’t shut the blinds. She pushed herself up and went to shut them so she could go back to sleep, she did not want to get up so early, it was still seven o’clock. As she pulled them together, she noticed they were resisting her. She pulled again, and the blinds pushed away from each other. Something was wrong. As she tried to take another go at it, she realized the box  was emitting something , something that was causing the blinds to unravel. She stared at it and pursed her lips, it was spitting out glitter, just like when she first saw it. Maybe this was the way it was trying to communicate with her?

She picked it up and opened it, there was another gold bar, she started seeing  a bit of repetition. She pulled the gold bar out and read the letter encrypted in it. 

Dear Ammerylis,

            It is finally time to transport into Peculiari, be sure to bring your guardian as we will be explaining much that is needed to be known. This meeting is intended for pure humans only, so you will understand much more about our academy.  This is also when you will be buying items when school begins, therefore we request for you to bring a form of payment. To transport into our academy, drop this block into water, you will see a portal open up, and all you will need to do is simply enter the portal. You will be expected to come in by noon.

            Ammerylis pushed her hair back and called to her parents. She impatiently played with her fingers when finally her bedroom door opened. She quickly explained what had happened to her parents. Her mom seemed unsure of it, and so did her dad.

            “Since you are being told this, Ari should be too, right?” she asked questioningly, “I think I’ll call her mom and ask.” she walked away in search of her phone.

            Her dad left as well after telling her she could only go if Ari  was going, and her friends. She squeezed the gold bar with both her hands and felt her palms getting sweaty. This was going to be an odd day alright.

            Ammerylis got up and grabbed a book. She quickly thrust herself upon her bed and began reading immediately. Honestly, her mind couldn’t at the very least comprehend what she was reading, let alone that, she had no idea what book she was reading. Her eyes darted from page to page, much like how she would have normally, though she felt tired and was in no mood for much physical movement. Finally she gave up and rushed down the stairs. She could see her reflection appearing in the mirrors that covered the railing, and was for a moment, surprised at how tense she looked. She could not believe so much about her had changed in one day, she had to calm down. Her steps finally began to slow down, and her expression began to form into one more serene. She peered down into the living room and could hear her mom confirming whether any of her friends would attend and eventually agreeing with their decisions. In other words, it was a yes. 

            “So, can I go?” she asked, filled to the brim with hope.

            “Yeah, you can. Still, are you sure you’re sure you want to go?” her dad said, unconvinced that she could manage without the two of them being there for her.

            “ Yep.” she ended her sentence quickly.

            She took some time to get ready, but finally finished. She didn’t want to wear anything grand, and just wore a normal shirt and skirt. Her hair was left loose, and though she was irritated by it, she was far too excited to do much more. She took the gold block and went to the hot tub in her bathroom. Her parents came up and looked at her questioningly.

            “Your plan is to drop a gold bar in a hot tub and jump in.” her mom wasn’t so convinced.

            Her dad didn’t say anything, and rather had a blank stare, the type he usually had when he didn’t approve of something, but was curious to see what would happen.

            Ammerylis hastily dropped the block inside the water, expecting to be drenched or even drowned, but the gold bar simply dissolved in the water. Then, the thick gold mixture  began to whirl around quickly, shimmering under the bright lights. Finally, it stopped, and a large circle was left, that looked just like a diamond, and Ammerylis felt as if she would deeply injure herself if she went in. She felt a cold shiver pass through her body, it just looked so amazingly solid, yet, liquid.  Ammerylis quickly came out of her delusions, she couldn’t fathom why she was acting so anxious. With no hesitation or though, she quickly dropped into the hot tub. Suddenly, she could feel an odd type of force practically tugging at her. It sucked her in and she felt a disturbing amount of bright light blind her. She felt like she was swimming in a thick syrup, she could breath, but sensed that she had to try extremely hard to do so. At last, her eyes steadily began to adjust to the light. At first, she thought she was the one moving, now she could see that whatever she was in was moving her. Ammerylis tried to turn her head to see if her parents were there, but could notice a restriction in movement, as she was moving quite slowly. She eventually gave up, and could gradually see a large diamond like object on the other side. As she passed through it an extreme amount of light came again, and suddenly she found herself sprawled on the ground, panting, and with a strong headache.

To Be Continued ...