Monsters Within

Chapter 10

"Good morning!" a fairy greeted the twins as she flew in the air towards the school gate like the others.

"Good morning, Ivy! Peach!" another one greeted with a huge smile on her face.

Ivy and Peach were famous amongst the students as the twin daughters of the King and Queen. And it was one of the many things that made everyone admire them. Even though they were from a prestigious family, that didn't stop them from going to school with the other fairies.

There were many wealthy families from the faerie Kingdom, and most of them were studying at home. Their parents would hire private professors for their children until the end of the year to compete with Lightford Academy's students. But one thing they had in common was the Aiderlan World Cup.

Treestan was walking with the twins. He was a childhood friend and a special person for Peach. They already shared so much that they knew each other up to the tips of their hair.

Treestan was a six-footer guy with dark green wings, while the twin had blue and orange. He was a fairy who could control trees and other plants that had twigs or woods. He could harden them and fire them without the use of a bow and arrow.

When they reached the school gate, they saw Gardo Vanguardia standing firmly at the side of the gateway. He was guarding the school gate for almost two decades already. He always wore a royal badge on his right chest, a butterfly badge for the first rank. He had the body of a bodybuilder, but he only stood almost five feet flat.

At the age of fifty, he managed to stay as healthy and robust as most students. He didn't let them do as they wished. He must control the student's immoral activities to a minimum. Since many of them were too powerful, he needed to train as hard as he already does.

"Welcome to Lightford Academy! How was your vacation?" he greeted the three enthusiastically. He saluted to the twins to show respect despite the age gap. The twins were royals, to begin with.

"We enjoyed it!" Ivy beamed, giving the guard a huge smile. "And you? I heard your son is also going to study here with us." She really loved it whenever she met new people and new friends, no matter their age.

"You will meet him soon enough. His name is Nite, and he is a fairy-elf race, so you will identify him as soon as you see him."

She gaped. "An elf? Wow! I never met a fairy-elf. Does he also have sharp ears? Is it true that elves are smaller than fairies?" Ivy couldn't hide her excitement, causing the three to laugh at her.

It was so early in the morning, and yet, her energy was unmatchable. Usually, fairies were still trying to wake up at eight o'clock. Some even needed coffee to focus on school, but Ivy seemed to have coffee somewhere inside her tiny body.

"Well, elves indeed have sharp ears, but I don't know about the height because he is tall. At least taller than me."

Ivy's eyes twinkled. Peach and Treestan laughed at her and made their way inside, waving their hands at the guard. Gardo greeted the other students and welcomed them back.

It was not a long flight for them before they reached their room. Inside, they saw their classmates and friends. Wizards and other races were attending this school. Since it was only the orientation, students were still hanging with people from the same kingdom.

The school was open to everyone interested in joining the World Cup. It was easy to access instead of studying in small schools in their kingdoms. Lightford Academy was one of the biggest schools in the whole Aiderlan.

"How are your vacations? I heard you visited the Giantess Kingdom?" asked Sean, one of the twins' closest friends.

He was also a fairy, like the three of them, and he had yellow wings. He had this rare ability to control lightning. Like his father, he wanted to become a student at Rank Dragoon.

"It's awesome! I've got to meet every one of them. They are all so tall. The smallest is almost at ten feet! Can you imagine that? I am only four feet and eight inches." Ivy beamed, so excited as if she could still see them.

Sean chuckled at her. "If only I could join you. The thing is I have so many things to do at our house. Being the eldest is kind of stressful but fun."

"Oh, you mean busy with Xanthe," she teased while wriggling her eyebrows.

Xanthe was his childhood friend, but Ivy knew that it was more than that for him. Sean shrugged his shoulder as an answer. He thought it was ridiculous, but there was no use in telling Ivy that. She could be so persistent at times.

"How is Shanty, by the way?"

"My little sister is doing fine," Sean answered. "Although her asthma is getting worse and worse every time. She needs someone to look after her from time to time." He smiled a little, still worried for her sister.

"Aw! Don't worry. She is strong. I will pay her a visit sometime."

"Thanks, Ivy." He ruffled her hair and went back to their seats.

Their conversation went to the two monsters that attacked the Kingdom of the Dwarves, but the twins and Treestan just laughed it off. They didn't believe the rumors because they knew that monsters were gone by now. It was impossible.

The three of them thought that they were just making fun of the dwarves because of their heights which were smaller than them. There was also no proof to support the attack that they were talking about. There was no video or something.

The conversation was only interrupted by a handsome guy who just entered the room with a full smile. His smile didn't falter as he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at everyone shyly as he stood at the side of the door.

"Hey, you must be the transferee, right? It is nice to meet you. I am Sean!" He shook his hand and smiled, too. As the ones nearest the door, Ivy, Peach, and Treestan greeted him as well.

"Nice to meet you all. I am Nite!" the guy introduced, smiling at each one of them.

"You must be Gardo's son, Nite Vanguardia, right?" The guy nodded at Peach as an answer. "Don't be shy now. Everyone here is nice," Peach said with an encouraging smile on her face.

"Yeah! Just beware of this one." Ivy pointed at Sean. "He can be greedy with food at times. He will also snatch some while you aren't looking, so make sure he won't eat with you later at lunch."

"Hey!" Sean immediately scolded her. "Don't say that. What if he believes you?"

"I am just telling the truth!"

Sean locked Ivy under his armpit and jokingly choke her. "Take back what you said, or I won't let go."

"Okay, fine! Just get off me. Your armpit stings."

"What did you say?" Instead of letting go, he let Ivy smell his armpit more closely, making her shriek in horror.

The whole class started laughing at the duo. Even though the class wasn't starting yet, they knew that it would be a fun year for all of them. Everyone seemed friendly and enthusiastic. All of them were not snobbish or arrogant, making it easier to be close with each other.

The classroom's enthusiastic atmosphere died down when another unfamiliar guy entered the room. The laughing, even the talking voices, went off, and all eyes were on him.

He was walking alone, head bowed down, and hands inside his pocket. He didn't bother to look or greet anyone on his way to an empty seat like he knew no one, or he just didn't care. He sat on the farthest chair at the back and bowed his head some more as if he was praying.

"Who was that?" asked Nite while looking at the guy. As one of the students who knew no one else before coming to school, he was curious about the same guy. But unlike Nate, the newcomer didn't even bother befriending anyone.

"I don't have any idea," Ivy answered, slightly shaking her head. "But he is also a new guy like you." Her eyes narrowed at the guy. It was the same guy he saw at the castle, the one talking to her mom, Queen Fae Sundust.

So, he is my classmate —what a strange guy.

Ivy looked at her friends again and saw Nite's ears. "Wow! So it looks like this from this view. It's really cool!" she beamed. And just like that, everyone went back to what they were doing and ignored the guy. The classroom was filled with noise once again.

Not Treestan, though. He seemed suspicious of the guy, mainly when the teacher didn't introduce him to the class. She saw the guy; he was sure of that, but she ignored him like the others.

Treestan and Ivy exchanged glances at each other and narrowed their eyes at the weird transferee. They were the only people inside the room who seemed to care and suspect the student.

Something's not right.