Created for war and forged in pain, dealing with demons within and without!

In this part:

Rohanna has her group bike ride and her first week in class! What a pain class can be at times!

This is the story of a man who finds a magic box that changes him into a Drow (a dark elf) and he has to deal with the sudden change. Then all the memories of a Drow that was 'made' for a long lost war. This new part of him, has the 40,000 years of memories of fighting that war. She has to deal with, all that pent up PTSD, her enemy is here, but she loves her. Her old Queen is here and she wants to kill, that Queen ohh so bad!

Shadowsblade here.

this story is the original, the first one I did.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods,
without the prior written permission of the Author, except in the case of
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noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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Saturday, March 3 5:25 am
Poe cottage---my room

The first rays of sunlight just shoot into my window and my eyes snap open with them hitting my face. My legs then spring me to standing up and the meditation mat I was just sitting on gets kicked back under the bed.

'Great it's finally Saturday, that ride I have been waiting for is here now!' are the only thoughts running through my brain.

After I had run down the hall, got a quick shower then came back to my room. I was dwelling over what to wear today. Way too many choices to make! I knew I was going to wear my new riding suit most of the day? But what to have under it was the question at hand.

Most of my clothes, were laid out all over my bed and my top choices were stacked in a small pile at the foot of the bed. What my current needs that had narrowed that list down was, fitting under my riding leathers, comfort and then me wanting to be a little 'nuts' in what I wore for today's fun!

With only minutes to spare before the bike meet began, I pulled on a set of tight gray workout shorts, and then a hot pink evil hello kitty belly top, to match the small 'evil' emblem showing on the shorts rear pocket. If I needed more to wear for some reason, a set of sweats was then tossed into my close at hand storage.

The leathers were pulled on top of my other clothes and then add the boots as a last step. I zip the top of the leathers most of the way up and port to the parking lot of Kane.

At the parking lot, I find most of the other riders busy pulling their bikes from the roll-up doors, that lead back to the labs garage down stairs.

As I walk across the lot to see what others are riding today, I can just see Skids rolling out her bike from the roll-up doors, it's a highly modified blood red Honda and she rolls it over toward me when she spots me "Hey ya made it, so go get that Italian bike of yours out!"

With her 'egging' me on, my bike pops from it's storage and I go to sit on it. My hand picks, my helmet that was resting on the tank, the helmet gets turned on, warmed up and synced to the bikes on-board computer.

"Well I am ready, so lets go ya slow pokes!"

"Aren't-cha going to check your fluids out?" she warns me.

"Did it all last night and my storage is in a null time bubble. So I can leave something there for nearly EVER and it will be good as the day I stored it!"

A rather tall nearly six foot four, lanky but built, girl with a milk chocolate complexion walks up to us both and I can see that she is more than interested in me by her staring at me?

"Hey Skids? she asks smiling at me, while not even looking AT 'Skids' "Who is this lovely elf you found?"

"This is Rohanna, one of the new kids in for this semester. She is going to be riding with us to Kent's for the fun!"

"Good to hear! The bike club needs new blood and new blood that can afford a great bike too!" she adds while looking over my bike with a little bit of drool forming on her words.

"Thanks, I just love the idea that I will have others to ride with?"

"I may not keep up on with all you 'sporties' on my 'hog' but not for my trying" the new girl adds.

"Hogs are great, I just like to go fast and stupid fast at that!" I giggle back at her.

"I heard some about you? You hang your hat at Poe and with Sara or Roz?" she drools out in a accent I am not sure of...Mid-west I think?

"Yep I do?....why?" I state then ask "And you are?"

"Ohh my goof....Dashboard or Bridgett."

"Nice to meet ya!"

"We will talk later....Ask Roz about me?"

"Can do!" I shot back to her, as she walks away back to her pack of Harley's.

Over the next few minutes I meet up with most of the group and find we number about fifteen so far? I am told more may come later. After all the bikes are checked and any issues taken care of, the mass group of leather covered kids heads to Crystal hall to eat.

When we get to Crystal, I notice that this early on a Saturday morning, we have most of the place to ourselves and the group takes over a set of tables as we eat. Dashboard is the leader for the ride and she goes over the rules for us all.

"We have to stay under the speed limits!" and the group laughs at that one! One voice is heard yelling "only if your going to get caught....That is!"

"Please have your MID's ready incase and you newbies?" she scans over the large group around her for them "Please team up with an older rider, so that when we get to Kent's your paperwork will go easier!"

After I hear that, I lean over to Skids across the table "What paperwork?"

"Kent's is a members only club, that is so we and they can keep out the MCO assholes!"

"Ohh...will my prelim card work?"

"Yep it's in the MCO database it will, I will getcha the rest when we get there."

"Okay?"

Dashboard gets my attention back to her with more on how this ride will go. We are to stay all together as a group on the way up, so us new riders are sure to get there safe and after the meet at the bar? That is up to us all!

Once everyone has eaten their breakfast fill, we all go back to the parking lot and suit up. As we do, I lean over to ask Skids, as I am not sure if I should wear my illusion charm now?

"Skids? When we get there, should I put on a disguise or something? As I know I really stick-out!" I say to her in a more than worried voice.

"NAW! this a mutants only bar on weekends. If anyone gave you problems...they get tossed out or worse!" she sings back to me over the revving of engines.

"Ohhh this is going to be fun. I finally get to be out and be ME for a change!" I smile back at her.

"Yep...acceptance that is what this is about! I may not know what you sorta GSD types go through? But we are in the same boat!"

After I grin back to her, the bikes file out into a long line. I am placed midway along the line of the group, so I can be led a bit and have someone behind me to help if needed.

As we roll slowly up the guard shack at the main gate, Violet ends her hovering next to me, flutters down to the bikes gauge pod and sits on it.

I lean down to her and warn her "Hang on, this will be fun and fast. Then add ya got the best seat there, just behind that windscreen!"

Violet yells back at me over the roar of motors "This might be the fastest I have ever gone!"

"Have fun my little one!" I smile down at her.

Skids rolls next to me and gives me a small kick to my leg, so that I notice her "Hey is that a real thing or a illusion?" she nods toward Violet on the gauge pack.

"Nope Violet is real. And she protects me!" I boast for her.

"Cool.... a ride mascot!"

"Ya I guess she could be one?" I say back to her, as we roll-up to the guard shack and the guard checks my pass to go off campus and my ID.

Just as the guard examines my ID, plus paperwork, Everheart walks out of the guard shack and takes the paperwork from his hands. That worries me greatly.....too greatly.

"Well Rohanna going for the ride today too?"

"Ahh yep if you let me...ma'am?"

"I am...but have fun...no blood please?"

"That depends on the outside world!" is the only answer I can give and not lie.

"Well try to do so and retreat instead of fighting....then?"

"Only if those with me are safe...as Carson said, one of my jobs was to protect the students?...was it not?"

"Yes it was...but have fun."

"I will!" I sing out and she hands me the papers back. I roll off to the rest of the pack, just outside the gates and wait for the rest of the group to clear the guard shack.

My tongue pops out to just touch a switch to close the visor on my helmet, as my eyes can't do it....I don't have pupils for the system to see me look at the right button and do that! The super dark visor closes and the heads-up display comes to life, then shows me the bikes gauges and a map to where we are going to.

Once that last bike clears the checkpoint, the leaders gun it hard and off the pack roars down the road. As we all hit the main road, the pack strings out to a single file line of bikes and only tops out at a speed of fifty or so?

As we all ride, one thing I am noticing is that we are taking a different path than the one Hardhead showed me yesterday. This one is a bit gentler on the curves, but is just as long as my ride the other day.

I hear over the roar of the bike, a small scream of excited joy and look down at the fairing over the bike's gauge pod. To see Violet howling in joy, she is loving every second of the ride and A smile comes over my face at seeing that.....sharing this fun with her!

The whole group finally pulls up to the bar's front after a good fun ride, I see the whole front parking lot is filled with bikes of various types. As we all come into the lot, our small pack of seventeen bikes is guided toward the rear of the bar, an area I had not even seen from my just barely seeing this place from the road yesterday.

This new parking lot in the bar's rear, is a fully fenced-gated one and has two guards at its entrances. One stands at where we come in from the road and he nods to each of us as we come in. The other watches over the walk-in gate to and from the bar.

As my bike leans on its kickstand, I notice that there are two parking lots like this one and the other one is for cars. As I look over to the other lot, I can just see a girl or guy I recognize from Whateley.

"Hey Skids? So we all come from Whateley...the bikes and cars?"

"Yep for the most part, some are grads and some are from around here. But anyone in this parking lot is a mutant...and boy that messes with the MCO, a gathering of us this big in one spot!" she giggles to me.

I zip my leathers down a bit, then as I am taking off my helmet, my long hair falls out of spell that holds it in tight and drops loosely onto my shoulders. I start placing my helmet on my tank when Skids stops me "Nope keep the helmet with ya, till you get your picture done!"

"Why?"

"You'll see and its too cool!"

As I walk with my helmet in hand to the gateway out to the bar, a handsome young man steps in front of me and surprises me by speaking in Elvish "Good re nessa Drow. lle i' yeste' Amin caela oio elee e' person, amin neice Constance nyare amin en' lle ar' lle older ways? amin naa Arl Qinceran."
(Good day young Drow. You're the first I have ever saw in person, My niece Constance told me of you and your older ways? I am Arl Qinceran.)

His using Elvish, instead of english, it nearly stuns me on the spot! As my eyes blink in some confusion at him, then I can just see his ears peeking out from his hair. He is one of US....A Sidhe.....too cool!

My almost stunned to silence voice is finally found by my brain and I introduce myself "Quel re a' lle. lle fiose amin ed' speakien Elvish! amin naa Rohanna Leigh ri' Shadowsblade, amin tanaka Constance nyare lle tanya?

(Good day to you. You surprised me by speaking Elvish! I am Rohanna Leigh or Shadowsblade, I am sure Constance told you that?)

"Why yes she did" he begins in english now "I had to come see you today when I heard you might take this ride to here today."

"May I ask your age and how many in your family?" as I am more than curious at how old he may be? And how large his family is.

"I am nearly five hundred and family size? We don't talk of such things in public" he winks at me.

"Ohh I understand that! So what did you want to talk about today with me?"

"I am here to show you...you're not alone here. We have some numbers. But sadly...so far...you're the only Drow that I know of?"

"Did your people want anything of me?"

"No anything you can do for us, it can wait till after you graduate...We have time on our side!"

I knew what that meant deep down, we Sidhe could make plans that could take hundreds of years to come true! Something humans could never do, with that limited life span of theirs.

"Well if anything is needed by you?"

"No please settle yourself and have a life before the world weighs in on you....We will talk much later...perhaps a year from now is good? I will tell you when or where, via Constance?"

"Fine by me...good day?" I say, he then nods back to me and fades back into the crowd going into the bar.

Skids saw me stop and talk for a bit with him. But now she drags me to the main doors and now I can really see this place, it's huge inside! The front we passed by has stone covered walls, for that 'old house' look, but the sides and this rear section. They are modern stucco covered walls, with modern accents to show a kind of art deco look?

At the main door she stops at a HUGE man there, who shakes her hand...or WHOLE arm! "Hey Ro...this is Dozer as in Bulldozer, he is cool and a teddy bear..." she beams up at him, while slapping his side in friendship "Well at least till some moron tries to hurt one of 'us'!" she then winks at me.

"Hiya Dozer...Rohanna, glad to meet ya!" I introduce myself.

"Glad to make your acquaintance my lady?" he says in a slight english accent "Nice to meet another Sidhe?"

"You know the right name for us? My kind.....Now that shows you're smart...indeed!"

Skids laughs at Dozer a little "He may be huge, but not dumb! This guy has three Harvard Doctorates to his name in physics!"

"Really? I might call you when I have math class soon?"

"That would be cheating and not cricket? So I will pass Miss?" he smiles at me a little evilly. Like he is saying ...'call me' anyhow?

Skids pulls me into the door and waves over the room to me "That section up front is for the tourists, they come here to see us mutants 'in our natural habitat'.. and pay for overpriced booze and snacks!" she laughs.

That room was very nice, with various motorcycle memorabilia all over the place and the general 'theme' seemed to be a roughhouse fifties bar style over all.

She turns me by dragging my free arm to the next room "Now this is our spot, you can go out with the morons. But most of us stay in here, it's safer and more fun!"

Now this room was nice! We had a one way mirror to watch the 'humans in their natural habitat' and the bar theme was more modern, fixed up, along the lines of true club.

I barely get my bearings in the room when she drags me to the next spot "Now this is Kent" she waves at a man standing behind a bar. Who is helping out another first time rider.

"This is his bar and he is one of us. He makes enough money via us and 'other' things on the side" she whispers to me.

That one new rider is done, she shoves me up to Kent and his bar "We have a new fish Kent...a Drow this time! This is Rohanna."

"Heya so let's see that MID please?"

"Why?"

Didn't she tell ya?" he sneers at Skids now.

"Nope?" my head shakes back to him.

"Well to keep the MCO out of the back side of the bar, we made it a private club and the list for getting a membership is....
A valid MID card...aka you're a mutant of some sort?
Some other member vouches for you?
You have to be part of one of our lists of potential members....Whateley or one of the other mutant schools or there are a few other ways?
Then we give you a new codename...just for use inside here.
A new MID style card for use here and your fee to get in?"

"What fee?"

Skids bumps into me "That will come later, just give him your MID and school ID?"

I slide the required cards to him and he slides them through his scanner, Once on his display, he hands them back to me "That is fine....and a code name?"

"Well at WA some called her Cuisinart?" she laughs at him "After a Sim run she did?"

"That name sucks!" Mr. Donner the vehicle lab teacher barks at us, as he stomps into this part of the bar. "I got a better one for her 'Ginsu!' like the knife! She slices, she dices, she carves them up! All for a low price of laughing while doing it!"

"What the heck is Ginsu?" I ask not even knowing at all!

"It's one of those weird commercials from the late seventies or early eighties? They sold a sharp knife on TV? You never heard of that?" Donner now asks me, like I lived under a rock and I did!

"Ahhh nope...I was out of it for the last 30 years. Cable TV, video tape, DVD, CD, Cell phones and the net is all new to me!"

"Okay...that's a new one?" Skids says, as her eyes roll at me and then pulls out her cell phone. She finds a video on the net for Ginsu and shows me the commercial.

When I see the spiel of the commercial, all I can do is laugh at it "Yep that fits me to a 'T'... I'll take it!"

"Okay it's yours! Now the membership fee...One hundred thou...please?" he grins to me.

"I DON'T have that!" I nearly shout back at him.

Skids jams me in the ribs and whispers into my ear very close "See the penny in the 'take a penny' tray by the register?"

"Ahh ya?"

"Give it to him." she says flatly.

"Okay?" I whisper back and take the only penny in the tray. It's a steel penny I am sure! I can tell by the slight 'buzz' the iron in it gives my fingers, when I grasp it. I hand it to him.

Kent now, looks it over in the light. Like it's worth something and says "That will do!" then he places it back in the tray with a clink.

"That penny was one of like ten ever made and is worth over one hundred thou easy!" Skids whispers to me "Kent uses it as a locked door to the MCO getting in...that high fee keeps the morons out. If they do pay in real money? He throws a party for us all, then finds a way to toss them out of the club with legal reasons!"

"Ohh that's cruel, But I like it!"

Kent waves me to the end of the bar and points to a set of little painted duck feet on the floor "Stand there please and place your helmet on your head?"

I do as he asks, my helmet goes on me and Skids zips up my jacket for the picture he takes. After I take all that off, he fishes out a MID like card from a slot on the computer and hands it to me.

It's a MID style ID, with my photo in helmet and leather on it. My code name at the top, with WA 2011....my class I guess?

"Well there ya go 'member' have fun and so ya know, all credit card uses here are untraceable. We keep who comes here in complete confidence!" Kent adds to me best he can, as Skids drags me off to a large room full of rowdy kids.

The new ID card goes quickly into that wallet Jade gave me and I zip the top part of my leathers off. Then roll them down, tie the arms around my waist and now my pink belly top shows that evil hello kitty logo proudly.

As I enter the room of kids, Dashboard and one other yells at the room "SHUT UP YA GOOFS!"

The room falls silent at her command.

"Here is the latest member of KENT'S...Ginsu! or Rohanna to us regulars! SO raise a soda or booze or slice of pizza to the newbie!" she shouts over the pack of mostly kids.

Most of the kids raise some item of food and scream "Ginsu!" at me, then shout "Hi" more often than not.

After shaking a few hands, Dashboard points out a table for me. "This is the 'kids' table for today and meet Brandon...he's a gadgeteer for optics and such?"

I take the thin boys hand already sitting there, as I greet him "Hey Brandon....Rohanna here. Nice meeting ya!"

He gives me a good shake in return, while trying to answer me through a slice of pizza in his mouth "Hey Rohanna...you're that elf with the crazy blades!"

"Yep....nuts and sharp pointy things! My specialties!"

He smiles at that line from me and starts laughing at the thoughts "Yep Nuts! And you sure crunched Truck's nuts the other day. I saw that!"

"Yep...I did."

No sooner than I got seated, when a waitress brought over to me a tray full of food piled high! Potato wedge fries drowned in cheese, cheese and veggie pizza, and a large salad.

"Who ordered this?" I ask the waitress, a little stunned at the vast pile of food.

She points across the room to Arl sitting at the table and he holds up a glass to me "Him! The other Elf, he wanted to be sure you had enough to eat? Said something about tradition? Elders make sure that the warriors always have food...or something?"

After she sets a glass of soda down for me, I raise it to Arl in salute and get a nod back from him.

Before the waitress can go, I stop her "Can I get something in a orange soda and a glass of ice?"

"Sure" and she is off.

Once she gets back with that soda and glass of ice. I take a quick sip of that soda, between gulps of food. Then pull that out bottle of great scotch I 'liberated' from Mr. Falk.

I start to pour a glass, when Bandon notices me doing the pour "Hey you can't do that here?"

"Are ya sure? As this is a private bar? And I brought my own!"

He watches on as I take a few slow sips from the glass "Awww good stuff that! And real smooth!"

Just as I finish that glass up, the waitress comes past me and notices my new drink with some shock "Hey honey? You can't drink that here!"

"Why not? It's not like I am doing it to get wasted? I can't get drunk, my body has a high....heck very high tolerance for poisons!"

"Well unless you're over twenty one that bottle has to go!" and as she reaches for it. I snatch it first and toss it back into my storage.

"Fine then, I will have it later!" I say in some victory and finish that glass off before she grabs that too!

Brandon laughs at my small issue and bangs the table a little "You tell her Rohanna! Some of us kids, need to be treated as adults!"

"Some of us 'were' adults!?" I say back as the waitress walks off in a huff.

He gasps at me "Nawww? Really?"

"Yep and in more ways than one!"

"Wow...now that kinda sucks?"

"A little...but I am so out of date, I might as well be a teen now a days?"

"I don't get it?"

"I lost the last thirty years...just plain skipped them. Then add to that, the Drow part in me is far older...kind of avatar style?"

"So how old are ya?"

"A girl never says!" I giggle at him.

When I have had some of my fill to eat, Skids grabs me and gives me the nickel tour. She shows me how this place stays in business. It has several rooms on the lower levels, that range in size of a room for five or six to meet in, all the way up to nearly two hundred in the biggest of them. Then add to that, all of them are 'bug' proofed by the latest tech and some spell wards!

Then she takes me out to were the 'tourists' are in the front main bar room. She points at the menu board "See they pay way more than we do!"

And she is right! My cheese pizza is like ten bucks, theirs is way over twenty! The beers are six each! For cheap ass domestic swill! IN a SMALL glass TOO! Imported beer ranges up to fifteen a glass... ooooch!

In shock I just had to ask her "They pay that...willingly?!"

"Yep...they do! Just so they can say they 'rubbed' elbows with dangerous mutants or sexy ones like you and me!" she says with a evil little smile and tilts at her waist to pose in a sexy manner.

As we both 'worm' our way through the pack of tourists, a hand grabs at my butt and pinches it hard! I spin toward what I think is a threat and meet eye to eye with a young guy standing there, he is dressed like a pretend biker "Hi babe, nice ass you got there and I love the ears!" he slurs a bit and he tilts his head to see my ears better "How bout you stay awhile?"

Then he makes a move to grab me once again and I slip away to gain a few feet in distance.

"HOW about?" I question him "How about?...I shove that arm up your ass! And then beat you to death with the other one!"

"Ohhh babe, no need for violence and I love the red eye glow you got there?"

I feel a hand on my shoulder and with a small glance I see that it's Skids. She yells at me "NO Rohanna you're in enough trouble at school now!" and she pulls me back a bit more from a fight that is about to start.

I go with her suggestion, as Everheart told and warned me "No blood!" So I have to try to heed her warning as best I can. This moron so far, has done no damage to me.

A new yell comes from just behind me where Skids is at "Curly need help here!" my head does not turn to see who yelled, as I don't dare take my eyes off this moron.

Within a second, a large PAW of a hand come from nowhere in the crowd, grabs that man and heaves him up into the air "Sir we don't do that here. You have to go!" then he gets tossed out of the now open front doors of the bar, via a large bald man.

The man who grabbed me! He rolls to a stop in a cloud of dust, from his short flight into the lot and he barks back at the still open bar doors "I am going to sue you!"

"Go ahead SIR, we have tape of you molesting a girl under fifteen or under and in this state, that is a felony charge" the bald man states in a very calm voice, then tosses a business card to the man "And there is the attorney to call...he's on retainer."

The doors close, now the bald man goes to that man's table and warns the rest of his group "Any more trouble out of you all and OUT YA GO! got it!" he gets nods from the four other young men there.

Curly comes over to us both standing there watching the show and smiles at me "If you need any more help? Just call me and all your soda is free today for having to listen to that moron!"

"Thanks...but I think I can take him?" Then I toss a dagger across the room behind me, to the dartboard forty feet off and bull's-eye it. The crowd sees that and mostly cringes at that action on my part.

As the dagger fades to smoke with a wave of my hand at it, the four guys left at that table just look away from my harsh stare. One whispers to the rest of his group "Charlie is lucky...she would have killed him!"

One other at the table whispers back to him "Nice way to die though? She is an exotic cutie."

Curly leans over to me, as he laughs "Hey I got them handled and chalk outlines are hard on our business here!"

"I would not know about that?" I smile at him "...No one has ever found a body from when I get nasty!" I start to laugh back at him, as the 'fangs' pop out.

He laughs with me, then takes note of my evil grin of fangs and stops "Ohh you're serious? Maybe you should come by on recruitment week? We have recruiters from all the alphabets, CIA, NSA, and others like the Syndicate."

"I'll think on that? But thanks for the hand thou."

A hand from Skids grabs me again and we go back to calm her nerves. Me, I am eating like a pig! Just wolfing down this great food, Crystal hall is good....But this place is great!

After a few hour of great fun, hanging out, chatting about bikes I have never heard of, and classes at school to come. I meander out to the lot with a few of the other riders, I was going to leave alone? But I am told "Not on the first day, there are too many nuts that try to get at one of us!"

As I hop up on the bike, get it warmed up and my helmet on. Violet takes her place behind the windscreen and she gives me a very human thumbs up! The pack of us roars out of the parking lot at high speed. The run back to Whateley is not going to be a slow one!

Along the way back, one of the guys who knows this road better takes the lead and we start hitting curves at his direction at over one hundred all the way back. Hardhead, gives us all locations to all the local cops, by way of who has spotted them!

Gaea I love this sneaky pack of kids!

Several times on the way back, Violet folds her wings down real far and sticks her head up into the winds to scream like a maniac. She is loving every second of this ride back and I am glad she is having fun. The last few days, they were rough on her and me.

Not long before dinner time, the group rolls into Whateley's long driveway and then passes the Guard gate with a quick check. When I pass those Nightgaunts, man that spooks me every time....I used to hunt those damned things and I am sure they know it!

One of the guys shows me where the fuel fill station is at and it's nice...it takes credit cards! Then add, they have race gasoline in several flavors! After the bike is full, the fluids checked and all the bikes parts checked out. I slide the bike into storage with a wave of my arm. The guys that are still there filling up, they wave to me as I port off to Poe for a shower.

~o~O~o~

Sunday, March 4 6:15 am
Poe cottage---my room

When all the fun was over and had dinner. I turned in early to mediate. My mind was trying hard to ready myself for a week of school to come. After midnight came, I ported out to the Grove and spent five hours with Aunghadhail tutoring me in the old Sidhe spellcrafting ways.

When she had to leave to be with Nikki for a little, I left for my room and began that meditation yet again.

Now my ears hear a pounding at my door, when morning came and my eyes snap open to the nasty sound. "WHO is banging on my door this early!" I yell at the closed door.

"It's me Everheart!"

'Oh...shit Everheart, what did I do now!' is my only thought!

I slowly cross my room as I listen for how many others are in the hallway and I find it's only her? Some of the other Poe kids are in the hallway, but she is alone?

My door opens a just crack to her "What is this early morning call for Miss Everheart?"

"Well it's Sunday, I am off and that shooting range we wanted to make is done! So, let's go use it!" she beams at me.

"Okay...let me get dressed then?"

"Be quick!"

"Want to come in and sit? While I do that?"

"Sure...why not?"

She comes in my now opened door and I show her over to the far bed to sit on. "So all's good?" I ask her, as I kick my meditation mat back under the bed. She leans her large rifle bag by the door and sits.

"Yes the school is fine...how was the ride yesterday?"

"Great! had lots of fun and great food!"

"Anything else?"

"Met another Sidhe...an older one, who was related to Constance" I add as my closet opens, to grab a shirt and jeans from it.

"Now that is good news!"

"I hope so? I have no idea why a older Sidhe would even care I am here...unless?"

"Unless?" she asks in a voice that shows concern at my words.

"They...like all Sidhe of the past...see a Drow to use?"

"Ohh I understand a little? You're worried they will abuse you like in the past?"

"Yes...there are reasons why Drow and the dark court. They never mixed with Aunghadhail and her court of light or bright some call it" I mumble to her, as my shoes get tied on my feet.

"Can you explain that to me? As there are very few real books on that subject?"

"I would bet, No I am sure? I actually own more books on that subject, then are available to you humans to read over. But telling you the whole story would take days!"

"Well you are here for four or more years! So let's start today shall we? Just give me the basics, then I will ask you to fill in the rest as I need it?"

"I am not sure that's a good idea Everheart, but please let's go outside and try out this new range of yours or should I say ours" I now giggle to her.

"You're sure you don't want to talk over the differences between the courts?"

"It's kind of hard to talk about things like that Everheart, it's just that the two never mixed really and you have to realize I did not really volunteer for what happened to me" I sigh as I more than stare at my own feet instead of face her.

Sam glances out the window away from me, as she asks "So was it them taking you or something else?"

After I pause to think about it a little and sigh heavily. All I can do is mumble in reply to her "Well all the human memories I have? They are all there and for the most part, they seem to keep me grounded somewhat? Even though at times they fade or slip away, when I am stressed out."

"And the Drow part?" she encourages me.

"Well all the memories from when I was young...." I sigh "a small child.....they are gone? Why I don't know? The only ones I have, are of mom singing and that's it? My father.... zero ....all totally erased?"

"Hummm sounds bad?"

"I guess...they...Aunghadhail's sisters, they got me and my mates somehow? In trade or sale, who knows? All I am really sure of, is that Drow know how to fight far better than regular Sidhe, like Nikki and Gwen are and we are built sturdier to begin with."

"Sounds like a experiment in making a better weapon or soldier out of a Sidhe...." she looks me over while thinking about the subject "to me anyway? Not unheard of here in human and modern times.....Look at Jobe and his DNA mixing crap! Then all that it got him.. " she laughs at the new thoughts "...now her into!"

"So I really was never told why the court of Dark never mixed with the Bright one? It was a mostly....differences on viewpoints. They just did not? And it was not a evil verses good thing? As Aunghadhail and the evil she did to me and others shows that alone!"

"Well you can chat with me on that as we go? But for now, lets shoot up that range and see who is the better shot!" she grins evilly at me her challenge.

Everheart takes the lead and drags me from my room out of Poe. She shows me a nice new path across from Poe just south of Melville, as it goes on for a bit, a clearing comes into view and she waves her arm at it. "Here we go!"

"What? there is nothing here?" I state to her, as I start asking the 'earth' and the plants what maybe hidden to view?

Everheart goes to stand over a small rock in the clearing, then waves a hand over it with ID card showing and it rises up on a pole. That shows a small control panel when it flips open. She pushes a few buttons and a very large rock next to it. Shifts its shape via grinding and sliding parts of it about into a shooting bench with extra seats.

At the large rock, now a bench. She lays her rifle case down and opens a new panel with her ID card. Once it opens and powers up. Everheart points to the large hill over a mile off "Up there is the range...I am sure you see it. Even though, I asked to keep it looking more natural and blend into the site?"

I easily spot what she is talking about, over a mile up the hill nearly at the top, as the rocks up there are all wrong for the area. What is can see is a long, large, very fake to me? Fallen tree, that is over fifty feet long and about five feet tall and it must be hiding some of the mechanics of the range. Then add the sand and pebbles area just behind it, make it stand out a bit more.

Next she goes over how it works with me. "What we have here is a magnetic launching and holding system. It can toss a target into the air or hold one rock still at nearly thirty feet in the air and the sizes range from a dime...to a pizza pie plate!"

The next list she goes over with me, makes me grin at the challenge!

The system can toss a target over two hundred feet up and very fast! Or dozens the same way. Then it can move them, side to side...shooting gallery style. Or skeet style arch's. The size can vary up or down, as we go and randomly. If a metal plate gets tossed off the range area, a small bot goes to 'fetch' it and recycle it for later use.

The plates themselves, can be very thick to simulate armor and take a large hit! Or thin to show where you hit....so you can train a person better. It can even 'paint' a hard light 3D target of a person, or object and tell us a 'score' via the built in system.

The whole system is heavily armored, to stand up to my magical blasts and Everheart's large bore rifle shots! There is even a camera system that shows down here on the video panel for those that can't see that far!

"How much did this cost?"

"Lots! But most of it was moved from us paying for all of it? To the schools training budget. As I needed a new place to train and the school needed a better one for the students" she grins at me.

"So what's the damage on my part?"

"A little over ten K? As most of this was paid for, then add the kids who built it, they did it for a grade too and that kept the cost down!"

"Well I guess I pay my share of that?"

"It can wait...." she waves at me nonchalantly "just toss in about five k for now, the rest can wait for later."

I give my credit card to Everheart and her internal computer links to the card. Then transfers the amount off it. She warns me "You're getting a little low in funds there, You might want to get up to ARC and give those guys something to chew on?"

"Ya I guess so?" my eyes go down at the thoughts of that place and I pace a bit in my nervousness at them.

"Hey it's good, go when ya want to....the money can wait for a long time to come!"

Everhart sets up the range for us both, as she opens that case of her's and pulls out a really highly customized fifty caliber rifle. As she does that, My best bow snaps into this world with a flip of my hand.

She smiles at that and nods "One day I have to learn how to do that 'poof from nowhere' stuff?"

"I am not sure ya can? But we can try?" I suggest to her.

"So what to try out first as a challenge?"

"Your deal....you dragged me here!"

"Okay target size first!'

She starts a chain of targets going down in size from a pie plate to a dime, then adds after that phase is done by both of us speed to the equation. At a very fast left to right slide of the targets, Everheart's rifle starts to show its limits and starts to miss.

Then we switch to a pop up target style and after some time, the rifle and its inherent mechanical slowness shows again "Everheart you're good, but you really need a machine gun to keep up!" I tease her.

"Hey let me try that bow out then?"

"This bow? Ahh no way would I ever do that, the string is....how can I say this" I smirk to her "... bad for the human techy stuff you're made out of. It might hurt you with a spell or worse?"

"Humm?"

"I do have a smaller one you can try?"

"Okay!" she yelps "Let me try it!"

After my main bow is back in storage, the smaller one is pulled out and I hand it to her.

"Hey this is heavy as heck!'

"Yep eighty pounds!"

"Arrows?" she asks.

"Ohhh my mistake....making arrows and storing them, is the first lesson you learn... before you even notch an arrow in my class! So I expected you to already have them?" I smile to her.

As she watches me, ten arrows come from my quiver storage on my leg's side and I place them on the bench for her. "Don't drop one on your foot! It might go right through! They are very sharp!" I warn her next.

After she picks one up from the table she says surprised "Hey even this is heavy?" she weighs it in her hands a little "..Like nearly three pounds?"

"Yep heavier metal and a spell to make it even more so. Basic physics! The heavier the projectile, the more amour it bashes through!"

Everhart goes to notch the arrow and after she is done, she notices me shaking my head at her "What?" she asks.

"You're doing it wrong" I say flatly and to the point.

"This is how I learned? What is wrong about it?"

"Let me guess you learned archery in the scouts or at some summer camp?"

"Scouts...of course!"

"Well they taught you to hit a target....Where as, I teach you how to KILL one and several real fast!"

"So what's wrong with what I am doing?"

"Notching up an arrow on the left side of a bow, it adds several unneeded steps to the action. So try the right side of the bow and you will lose the step of having to tilt the bow and crossing over it....trust me it's faster!"

She gives it a few tries and I give her a few points on how to get faster, Then she draws the string back as she asks me "What is the draw weight on this...its insane!"

"Ohhh about five hundred or so? My main bow is even more!"

"Sheeesh that's nuts!"

"And how else should I get an arrow to fly that far, without that kind of power on the drawstring" I test her.

"I thought you used some sort of magic, to get all that distance and power?"

"Magic is detectable! But a arrow in fight rarely is.... till it hits the target anyway!"

"That makes sense to me" she draws the bow fully and loses the arrow.

I watch as it goes several hundred yards, but comes nowhere near the targets at the top of the hill. "Good try?" I praise the effort "Maybe with some work you can make the targets?"

"You try now? I want to see if this bow can even make it up there!"

"Okay?" I say as she hands me the bow back and I take an arrow off the bench. One quick motion, the arrow is gone......and the target falls.

"Not the bow...it's all you?" I play with her.

The scowl I get back is priceless and comes with a dare "Now try my rifle! show off!"

I shrug to her and sit at the bench, just behind that BEAST of a rifle. A cartridge gets pulled from her box of them and placed in the rifle's action, just as I had watched her do. I line up one of the larger targets on the hill and fire.

My shot lands over thirty feet off, but at least I got close!

She nods to me "Not bad for a first shot? You have some firearm experience?"

"Yes...my human part has lots!" I boast to her.

"Well keep trying!"

"Okay!" I say as new magazine of cartridges is rammed into the rifle. On the next shot I take my time, feel the wind out more and breath slower...... both my hearts stop and the rifle bucks as the trigger is pulled slowly home.

This time I was ten feet closer! The next shot was almost on top of that, then the next five feet closer to target and with five more shots the magazine ran dry. But I was almost hitting the large plate, as I was only off now by three feet on the last one!

A huff comes from me as the rifle leaves my shoulder "I will stick with my bow! Your way has too many variables and is LOUD!"

"Well it is how us humans do the job?"

"That darn thing is too loud...I can kill off twenty targets and the last one will not know that I have been shooting and killing its friends...till its dead!"

"Well let me get some more time on that rifle, I have got a little rusty and need sometime practicing!" She asks me as she regains her spot.

"Fine by me" I say as I stand-up to give her the spot back and my bow comes out. So I can shoot at the far end of the target range, from where she chooses to start shooting at.

As Everheart gets set and starts to blast away. I feel something watching me? Something all too interested? My free hand waves a small signal to Violet via it's fingers and I hear a bird chirp that tells me she is off.

Violet flies straight up, as her magical invisibility takes hold over her and she starts to fly circles around me. She spots something off to my rear and zooms toward it. When she gets close, it spots her...somehow? Then she sees a small teen boy, who runs off at very high speed from her. She tries to keep up, but can't and after a good try at it. She gives up and flies back to my shoulder.

Violet whispers in my ear, as Everheart fires her rifle yet again "I spotted a boy, but he saw me somehow and ran off. Boy he was fast! Faster than I can fly and he lost me at the main quad in a pack of other students. One thing though...he had a long bag on his back? Like a guitar case, I think humans call them?"

"Humm maybe a boy spotted two beautiful girls walking out here and thought to see what we were up too? It's probably nothing?" I say to her.

"I shall keep watch nonetheless!" she states and flies off at speed to start her circling us.

After Violet leaves me, my mind thinks this over. That one thing she said 'He spotted her? How does a kid here spot my Pixie? As I know Violet is too good to have some 'kid' spot her?'

I watch on as Everheart keeps to her shooting and think even more 'Maybe he had a mutation that made Violet stick out? That makes some sense to me...lots of strange kids do go here?'

~o~O~o~

Monday, March 5 3:25 am
The Grove

Most of Sunday was spent gathering my books and supplies for the next week. Making sure I had the right books, the right programs on my laptop and knew how to use it better.

As I sit on Monday morning and study what Aung has been showing me, she stops her teaching to stare at me "Something is bothering you? I can feel it....Even Nikki felt it all day yesterday, what is it?"

All I can do is keep to my book and not look up at her. I feel so embarrassed at what is on my mind.

"Please tell me? Avoiding this maybe a bad idea?" she asks me, as she sits next to me on the large stump.

"It's that today is the first day of classes. I am more than worried?"

"Why are you worried? The other students already know of you...good or bad" she giggles at me.

"I just am is all." I mumble out softly.

"Well going to school this time will be like no other in your past? In your human days, you were expected to pass a class, to graduate, on a path to get a job later? That is already set. You have the promise of Carson, that you will graduate...one way or another?"

"I don't know?"

"Then it must be that Drow in you worrying! DO NOT!" she almost orders me "This time for a change, it is not pass or fail! Live or die! You just do the class and move on with what you learn or do not learn?"

"That might be the issue then, but I am not sure?"

"Well we will find out then, shall we? You have others here that care and with that...support!"

"Yes...I do."

"Then add the fun this week!" Aung beams at me.

I look at her more than puzzled "What is that?"

"You get to show these human 'teachers' what real archery is!"

I laugh back at her "Yes I do!"

Aunghadhail takes my book from my lap of my crossed legs and closes it for me "Maybe you should go to your room and rest a little. Then get ready for this day? As your mind is most certainly, not on this book now, or my teachings?" she smiles at me.

"You're right, it is not. I am off, I will cya in class!"

"Yes you will, first class 'Intro to Magical Arts' and Nikki is the TA for it...So do well!" she waves to me as I fade off into the Groves surroundings.

~o~O~o~

Monday, March 5 4:45 am
Poe cottage

After a short hour's meditation to gather my thoughts, I trudge down the hallway to the showers and inside I find Bunny, along with Rip just getting finished up showering.

"Hey there...morning!" I grin at both of them.

"Hey girl!" Rip sounds out to me "First day! and you just know I am going to force you to go get me a double double burger fix, from cali come Friday!"

"Sure why not? You're buying anyway!"

"Gladly!" she smiles back at me.

I pick a stall to shower up in and get it warmed up a bit. When it's ready I jump in, but this time the Hydroflux is turned on! I need what it gives me badly!

When I am done with that and almost stumble out of the stall. Bunny is still there, getting her hair set into her trademark twin pony tails. She grins at me when she notices my pink hued glowing eyes "Well that should get ya going!"

"That it does!" I say to her with a sloppy grin on my face.

Once I get a spot at one of the many sinks, my morning ritual begins. The long hair is dried, then brushed out and then the 'fangs' get their cleaning.

As I grin into the mirror after brushing, Bunny leans over and stares at my teeth as she asks "You ever bite yourself with those choppers?"

"Nope...but I do leave a mean hickey!"

"Ahh yep! Ever thought about more make-up?"

"Nope...the color would just wash out on my dark skin?"

"Try pink?"

"AND look like a Jobe clone! No thank you!" I shriek at her idea.

When all that is done, I speed back to my room and pull out the outfit of today. A full blown Whateley uniform, with long skirt, white shirt, long tie, then a dark blazer with school patch and lay it out on my bed. The last I add to that, is the now hated 'UV' armband.

Once it's all laid out and my underwear is on me. I just stand there.....staring at it...my uniform and the skirt. Then look over shoulder, at the mirror on the doors back. That mirror is now showing me, my profile and it hits me like on Saturday at Nikki's house.

Three weeks ago....I was a guy...a human. Now I am a Drow, teen girl and I am going to school.

Dressing like one...a girl, being one? As a Drow, I never had to! That was not allowed, the Drow never had nice clothes...really? Never had a dress? Make-up...what's that! Long term relationships...why? The other Drow....like me, will be either dead soon or reassigned!

All changed in three short weeks.

My head is shaken out of the dark thoughts with a toss of my head and I get back to my chore...getting ready for this day.

The uniform is pulled on me, piece by piece and soon a new student looks back at herself in that door mirror. My body just stands there again...thinking.

A bunch of banging hits on my door, that startles me a little and Gwen opens the door to see me standing there. "LET'S GET GOING! You will be late!" she shouts at me.

"Ya I guess?" I sigh.

She closes the door very fast and comes over to me "Is it like Saturday again? Nikki told me, you had...issues when you wore that dress for the first time and then add Josh acted like a moron!"

"Ya, three weeks" is all I say.

"I know I was there, it was only three weeks ago. But it gets better, trust me!" Gwen smiled at me "Remember my change, only took a few days to happen. So I know the feeling!" she states to me with a funny smirk.

"Ya! If you got through this...I can do this! Let's get to class then!" I almost shout and grab my backpack off the desk.

Soon enough, Gwen and I are walking into that first magic class. She grabs a spot at a large lab table, that another Sidhe is already sitting at and she happens to be one that I have yet to meet!

The lab table itself it huge! It has space for four students and a large slab of black marble is its top. Carved into it, is a place for a bowl or cauldron to go and a large sink with several taps?

As Gwen hops on a tall lab chair to sit and tosses her bag to the tabletop, she introduces me "Rohanna, this is Rhiannon Warrensby....or Sanctuary. Rhia, this is Rohanna Leigh or Shadowsblade. She is new this term to Poe."

We both exchange 'hi's' then she asks me "So do you know magic well?"

"Ahhh Sidhe magic....yes...to a point? Human style...not at all?"

"Well that's fine, between me and Gwen. We will get you up to speed soon enough."

"Bree is still coming! I will introduce you to her, then Rhia!" Gwen broke in with a grin.

"So we are getting TWO! new elves this term! How neat!"

"Yep, we might have to look into forming a training team of all elves soon!"

"For the finals?" I ask.

"Maybe? then add, we all can use the time together and have you train us too?"

"I can do that!"

"Train us?" Rhia ask me as she looks me over.

Gwen answers for me "Yep! Ro, has lots of ancient knowledge on how to fight and some magic. Kind of like Nikki has in a way?"

"That's nice! I need some help with that. As all I can do well, is heal and make several shields at the same time?"

"Humm healing is always a good thing to have?"

I was going to say more but Gwen jumps in and smacks my thigh to show a point "Ro will need you a lot! She seems to attract trouble!"

"Yep I do! But making more than one magic shield at a time, that is very rare. You have to have the talent to do that, it's very hard to learn it!"

"Nan' Rhia, lle're goien cael- yanw- i' esta en' lye ten' y' pizza party, amin veste Constance um- rato!"
(But Rhia, you're going to have to join the rest of us for a pizza party, I promised Constance to do soon!)

The look on Rhia's face is one of pure puzzlement as she asks me "What was that? I don't understand a word you said?"

"Well then! We have found the first thing that needs to be taught! All us Sidhe should be able to speak our own language, shouldn't we?"

"That was Elvin?" she asks me.

"Yes it was and the correct term is Sidhe....not elf. I will and have learned to accept elf from most others....for now? But you should use the correct term from now on...as you are one?" I say back to her, as my voice carries a little anger in it.

"Okay?" she tones out slowly, unsure of my tone at her now.

"You have to understand Ro...Rhia?" Gwen jumps in "She is for the 'old' ways and does not really like the new styles so much?"

"New styles?" I say almost offended "Is it wrong to want to be MORE of what you are and covet that long history?"

"Hey Ro! No need to get offended?" Gwen waves me off with both her hands up, showing surrender at the subject.

"I was pointing out we three, are different from humans in so many ways....that we should learn the 'old ways' as you put them. So we can each share in that rich history we all have in common?"

Rhia laughs a little at me "I don't think I am really that different from a human?"

"Really?" I ask her "Then what do you think of this?" and I take out a large block of my stashed Mithril. Then place it in front of her.

Her eyes all but glaze over at the sight of it, as the pull that 'metal' has on all Sidhe. It pulls on her now, she wants it bad, to hold it, to caress it and own it! And she starts to reach for it! I snatch it away from her reaching grasp quickly and smile at her "So you're not different from a human?" I finally ask her.

"Can I have that?" she asks me stuck in a daze.

"Why? No other human in the room, wants this simple metal so bad? Why if you're not 'different' from them, do you want it?" I wave the block in front of her face...enticing her with its presence "Crave it do you? Lust.....after this simple block of metal then?"

"I just neeeeed it?" she drones out, enthralled by it mere presence.

"Of course you do? We are creatures of magic, you and I...." I wave it about even more in front of her "and this metal is a solid part of magic..." teaser her with it even more, just keeping out of her grasp "that is why you want it. You have to touch it....feel it?" and I put it away from her sight.

"Awww?" she sighs when it's gone.

"I will let you play with it later!" I give in to her.

"Please? and now I understand what you're saying a little more? We are different!"

As Rhia whines a little at me for taking the Mithril away from her, Bree just comes flying in the classroom door in a run and Mrs. Grimes is right behind her "You almost missed your first day? That is not a way to impress me Miss Peters!" she warns.

"Sorry ma'am. I got a little lost is all?"

"Well then tour the grounds more on your time off and come early till you know the school better?"

"Yes ma'am, I will."

"Have a seat then."

Gwen takes that cue and waves Bree over to us. When she spots Gwen's wave, she rushes over and takes the last chair of four at our lab table.

"Humm I see that my Sidhe have formed a coven?" Mrs. Grimes says to the class at large.

We at our small table of four, all start laughing and giggling back at her statement, as we quickly look at one another.

Gwen speaks up for us at the table, as she shows her leadership "I guess so ma'am...we have?"

"Well then Miss Wylann, with you being the one who has the most class time of mine. You're that lab table's leader now."

"Yes ma'am."

"And since we are on the subject of Sidhe and your group?" she says as her desk-podium gets opened up and Nikki comes into the room via the teachers entrance at the front "Since Rohanna is there with you all, the lab final for your lab group, shall not have a charm or magic item as its shared goal."

"Ma'am why?" Gwen questions her.

"Miss Leigh is far too good and quick at making them, so unfortunately for you? That challenge has to be dropped for your group effort, but you can do them as a single student effort...as long as she does not help any of you?"

"Yes ma'am" Gwen pouts at what I am sure she thought would be an easy grade, was just snatched from her grasp!

"You still have the choices of potion, scroll, minor spell, and others? So work within the new guide lines...please."

"Ma'am." she nods to her.

"Then add Miss Leigh, I expect a class day or two? Of you teaching Sidhe style magic to the class?"

"Ma'am I am not sure I should?"

Aunghadhail's voice comes from Nikki, as she readies a few books for Mrs. Grimes class use "I will ensure that Miss Leigh is ready to teach that class myself....instructor."

"Thank you Aunghadhail, I am sure you will" Mrs. Grimes smiles to her.

"Jora!" I whisper (rats!) "more work!" And Gwen giggles at my pain.

Mrs. Grimes then goes to the main lectern and the class video screen shows us all a list of books to read. "Well class this is your list to read, it will be in your inboxes soon and with it, is the main subjects of this term. To the new students here, this class runs with several levels of students within it, ranging from the very new, all the way to those about to be moved on to the more advanced classes. I expect all the more trained members of the class to help move the new students along!"

As she begins, my notebooks come out and I start writing. Grimes lectures on what is to be covered for the first two hours of class, then changes to showing us the basics of spell crafting 'human style' and this is a review for some in class. But for me, its all new!

Gwen notes a very strange thing as I make my notes, she then leans over and whispers to me "Hey Ro? Did you notice you're writing I think in Drow?" she warns me.

I suddenly stop and look down at the page at my pens tip. All the words I have written on the page, they all look to me? Like english? "Are you pranking me?" I whisper back.

"Never on that stuff! I will never do that to ya! I promise!" she swears to me.

"Ohh shit, I guess I am? I wonder if I will do that all day? Or only with magic classes?"

"Try this out, write me a note on what's' for lunch?" she suggests.

After a page of my note book is torn from it, I write out....I want the pizza and cookies.... and hand it to her.

"Well?" I ask a little more than worried, that I am slipping again and that Drow is taking over!

"This is in english! Maybe your magic, has to translate new things within that subject to Drow? Or you don't understand it?....You only learned it one way? Didn't you?"

I am about to answer her, when Mrs. Grimes shouts at us both "Miss Wylann and Leigh! Why are you talking during lesson time and passing notes!"

"Sorry ma'am" I cringe at the chewing out.

"Mrs. Grimes? I was only helping Rohanna out with something?" Gwen tries to explain back to her.

"What is it that you're helping her with?" she questions with a little concern showing in her voice now.

"She is having issues sometimes? But in this case...she was writing all her notes in Drow...not english and that worried me a little for her?"

"Why is that?"

"Can we talk in private about this?" I now ask her.

She waves us all toward the teachers door, as we walk over to her and Nikki joins us at her insistence also.

"Well Mrs. Grimes" Gwen begins "Rohanna sometimes loses herself all to that Drow part of her and forgets how to even speak english?"

"Humm that is a new one for elves? But not unheard of among avatars."

"Yes Mrs. Grimes I can confirm that, Rohanna and I have worked on this issue before. We seem for the most part have it cured, but it may raise again?" Aunghadhail's regal tone adds to Gwen's explanation.

"Please let me see this notebook of yours? I want to see what written Drow is like. As I have never seen any before?"

At her insistence, I hand over my notebook from today's class. As she studies it, she uses a few small spells on it and then closes it very quickly in shock.

"Rohanna did you know some of your spell notations are in Mythos or GOO style magical notes?"

"Yes I did, Sara noticed that a week or so ago and Aung confirmed it too?"

"Maybe you should pick another way to make spell notes? As if the lower experienced students read that? Their minds could get corrupted by it?"

"I don't know any other style? That is what I was taught in and it's all I know?"

"I find it strange that you know the advanced spell casting and some of the making of the same level of spells....But none of the basics of lower level spells? Can Aunghadhail tell me why please Nikki?"

"Mrs. Grimes with respect, that subject is between Rohanna and me. We try not to talk of the dark past too much. As it is done and we must move on?" Nikki answers in Aunghadhail's tone of authority.

"Fine, we can fix this another way" Grimes turns to me and places a soft hand on my shoulder to guide me "Rohanna, please do not let the other students, ever read your notes from this class?"

"I can do that. As it seems I only write my notes like this, when magic is involved?"

"Okay! all settled then, off ya go! Back to work!" she shoos at us all.

~o~O~o~

Monday, March 5 5:45 pm
Poe cottage

My body flops onto my bed like a rag doll, as Is sigh out "That powers theory class has to be the most boring class ever! Then add to that! The lab part! How can a human tell me how to be a better Drow!"

The class for the most part was a waste of time, but it show me one thing 'what the other mutants around me can do!' And with that new knowledge, attackers like 'TK' will not get the upper hand on me again! As I now know what to do in some small way!

But the most important thing I found out during class was! My writing did indeed switch back to english on another subject that was not Magic! That made me very happy indeed!

After my brain returned from being 'mush' from the slow pain lecture, I just went through. I leapt off the bed and went to Crystal to grab a quick dinner and then came back to my room.

With being recharged and fed! I cracked my books and started studying hard! As the way human magic was being shown to me, it made very little sense and I had to study hard to even grasp it!

~o~O~o~

Tuesday, March 6 9:35 am
Archery practice range

Normally at this time of the week, I would be with Sir Wallace and Nikki learning magic, but he gave me this time off to tryout with the Archery instructor and see if I could 'TA' Teachers assistant this class.

He did say "I will see you on Thursday! And we will work even harder!" sigh, my work never ends! Then add to that, I am helping Nikki on some days with Mrs. Hagarty, her martial arts teacher!

The teacher told me to be here at 9:30 and I have been here for over twenty minutes? She has not said a word to me or even cared I was there? What I have done, is watch how she handles the class and how the students are being taught.

The teacher herself, is Japanese by her looks and clothing choices for this class. Being she is wearing a traditional uniform of that style. Then she seems to be teaching most students that form of Japanese archery?

I myself am wearing my school uniform, not knowing what she likes for the class to wear? And that subject seems to range from the Japanese uniform she has on...all the way down to regular workout wear in the student's attire.

As She goes about her starting the class, I watch on and pay close attention to everything she does. Most of the class flows into a set routine and goes into practicing at the range. She pulls the ones that seem to need further attention aside and helps them.

The style or form she is teaching is more of a Asian based one? I am sure it's more along what Japan might teach? Too unyielding for beginning students and far from useful in real combat!

When it looks like the class is moving along well, she finally comes over to me "I am Kasai Tetsuko the teacher of this class. I was asked to let you try out for a TA in my class. So do you see anything you can do so far?"

"Rohanna Leigh ma'am" I bow to her my respect. In the old days, I would be on the ground with a knee down, but that maybe going too far theses days?

"Well there is one thing ma'am?" she nods to me to go on "The class should practice to get warmed up, then the more advanced students should work with the newer students. As I my class time, I found that when you teach someone? You see your own mistakes too and correct them faster?"

"Anything else?"

"The forms you're using are too strict and rigid. A form has to mold to the body, not the body to the form? This makes allowances for differences in types of students, height, size, limb length and strength?"

"Okay let's see if that will work with one of my newer students...shall we? Mary was new middle of last term, but has not done too well, even with more attention from me?"

"Yes ma'am...at your lead?"

She nods to me and leads me to the end of the line to a student standing there "Mary?" she asks her, while taping on her shoulder to get her attention "This is Rohanna, she is her to tryout for a TA spot. I want her to try to teach you for this class session and see what she can do?"

Mary nods to her "Okay?" she says very unsure.

"Well Mary let's start at the basics shall we? What do you want out of this class?"

"I don't know?"

"Is it the exercise, the challenge, or the simple peace that doing this may bring to you? Or do you really want to use this as a fighting style!" I grin at her.

"I think it will relax me? Then I need a good PE class?"

"Okay then? Let's start with the basics, shall we. What's your power set on your MID?"

"I am a gadgeteer....I work with making fabrics and I am a exemplar One? Is that what you need to know?"

"Yes that is just fine. So you are more than fit! That is good."

My uniform shifts, from the school's, to my training and teaching armor. Then I ask her "Please pull on my hand, like you would do a bow string?"

She does it a few times at my insistence and I test her bow out for the 'draw' to see how far off it is. When I have both in my mind, the both of them are far from perfect! She has more power to pull, than the bow has to resist! A bad match is the reason why she is doing so poorly.

Next step is, seeing how tall she is and her arm reach. Both of those are found to be off as well! Now I lead her over to the large display of bows set up and I start going through them all. First by length, then by the bend or strength of the bow itself. The last part is choosing a new string for her to match the rest.

Now that the bow is done! The arrows are next to do. I move onto the bin of machine made arrows and find most of them are utter crap! After several minutes of searching through them, I find the twenty best so far? And then take her back to the slot, she was shooting from.

"Now Marry, take off the quiver and get into the stance you were shown for me?"

She does as asked and I see even more issues. Her stance is off and the way she holds the bow is really off from how her hand is made. I can hear and see it in her! By the muscles bunching under her skin and the sound they make.

"Let's try this out?" I then shift her feet about a little and the bow in her hand "Is that better...more comfortable for you?"

"Yes, but that is not what she showed us or me?"

"Well this is what you need to hit the target. We can work on how it looks like later? After we have some fun!"

I hand her one arrow "Now aim at the target and just try to hit it? No need to aim for dead center, just aim for the target. We are trying to see how best to help you...okay?"

The first arrow she lets off is on the target at least, so I hand her another one "Keep trying and let's see how far we get. Just keep aiming at the target for now. We can work on the small part, where it hits on it later!" I encourage her.

After she lets four more fly, she is hitting constantly in the near the same spot. At the targets lower right side.

"Now Mary spin that foot one small inch to the left and wiggle that grip a tiny bit higher for me."

She does as I ask and I hand her an arrow, she lets it fly and the near the center is hit. "VERY good!" I shout! "Now one more for me?"

And that arrow lands next to that last one.

"GREAT! now we are cooking! Next try it with your eyes closed? You know where the target is and what you felt like when you shot last....duplicate that feeling for me. AND there is no failing this! We are only trying? Understand me?"

She nods to me, takes an arrow from my hand. Her eyes close and she does the steps slowly. The arrow flies and hits real close to where she did before.

Her eyes snap open and she shouts at me "I did that!? I hit that with my eyes shut?"

"Yes...." I nod to her "once your stance is set and the movements of shooting are set. The hard part is done, now we actually do the small part...the aim?"

I hand her another arrow "Now with this shot, try to slow your breath and aim a little more. Then try to close your eyes, feel the breeze out, the winds change and wait till they are good for you? Shoot when you feel it's right...not when you feel its expected?"

She does as asked and hits just a little closer, I hand her another arrow "Please keep on going? We have all the time in the world."

Marry shoots several more times and I have to refill on arrows for her. As she goes on with the lessons, I show her a better way to notch the arrow and she gets even better! As on her last shot, it hits the center and so does the next!

On the next shot, the arrow misses the whole target and she gets mad "SHIT I missed?" she hissed at the target.

"NO that was not you, the arrow was bad. I could hear the fletching fail as it left your string. The arrow failed...not you. So please keep trying...for me?"

With some more time till the class broke session for the day, Marry improved fairly well and seemed to be hitting the target regularly where she wanted to! At the end of class, she thanked me and hoped I would be the class 'TA' from now on.

After I helped the students stow the equipment for the next class and cleaned the targets up of loose arrows. The instructor came over to me "Well I have decided, you have the job! You really know how to get more out of a student."

"Thanks ma'am I will try harder to get them all up in skills?"

"Very good, your TA for Tuesdays for the next class period? Does that fit your schedule?"

"Yes it shall and can I suggest? That Mary is moved to that class, so I can help her?"

"I will, see you next week?"

"Ma'am!" I smile back to her.

~o~O~o~

Tuesday, March 6 12:55 pm
Eastman annex, Ito's class

Well it's the first class of the one I might come to dread! Martial arts with Ito san. I hope this goes well! So far I was allowed to choose a body stocking, over that stupid Karate Gi! That made me feel lots better!

You should practice in what you fight in! That is how I was taught!

The class itself is lined up along the sides of the practice mat, while kneeling and waiting for Ito to call on them. At first he has a few new students spare with older, more experienced match-ups.

But soon enough, he gets to me and points me out "Rohanna to the center!" he barks at me.

I spring up, bow to him, walk quickly to the center of the mat and wait for orders.

"Hipp! You're up!" comes the next shout.

She jumps up and runs to the center in front of me. Ito stand between us, at the ready "Now I want a match, no powers other than skills, speed and strength. This match is till someone is pinned and can not move...or my stopping it!...Understood?"

Hipp nods to him "Yes sensei."

"Yes understood Ito Sensei" I add next.

Before we break apart I ask "Can I say something first Sensei?"

"Yes...you may?"

"Hipp....if there is a problem and I say...'do you trust me?' Pleases do whatever I ask? No matter how stupid or painful it sounds?"

"Why?" she questions me.

"It will make me feel safer...like a safe word...just incase?"

Hipp glances at Ito "Sensei?" she questions him.

"It makes Rohanna feel better and I trust it! It's there just incase she loses control and does something bad? Am I correct in that assumption Rohanna?"

"Yes Ito Sensei, that is correct" I sigh.

"Well if we are ready......" he stands back, as we nod to him "Hajime!"

At that shout, I leap forward and then spin a low kick at both of the legs of the huge six foot six plus girl of muscle. She falls back from the tripping blow, but lands almost at the ready.

She in this match has me, with her brute strength, size and ability to soak up damage! I have speed and I hope better skills, on my side...if I can use them without killing her?

As she lands almost on her backside, I roll off my foot to land on her and try and roll her over with her leg as the lever. She just flips me off that leg with a kick, with that kick I fly up and over her to land in a crouch at the ready.

She leaps back to her feet and swings at me. The shot misses me by an inch! But I spin under it and kick her side several times, all to no avail. She tries to chop me hard, but only gives me a glancing hit....but it still hurt like heck!

My next move is a small leap with a elbow to her face, that does nothing and followed by a fury of my fists at her side, as I try and hurt her there....I find that did not work on her!

She wraps a arm around mine and slams me down to the mat. But before she can leap onto me and finish the move. I roll off and regain my feet. Once standing again, I send a series of hard kicks her way, to her legs and arms. That attack backed her off me in defense.

She then steps into my fury of blows and weathers the storm with a few grunts of pain. I have the speed on her, but since I can't use my best blows without killing her? I have nothing to slow her down too well?

As she tries to keep up with me in close, I get a few blows in and hurt her a little. But she finally sneaks in, to land two fierce blows on my head that nearly stuns me and I fall back from that assault.

Hipp ups her game and steps up to me swinging all the time. I am trying hard to find a weak spot on her to aim at, while I block her blows. I give those legs of her's a few more shots at the knees and make her stumble. But she never falls!

She is walking me back into a corner with a series of savage blows, when I slip I think? And I fall back on my old habits with one of those blows to her shoulder.

When I am sure? Or almost sure I did that...I leap off the mat and raise my hand quickly to show I give up.

"What?" Ito and Hipp shout at me in chorus.

I try to listen to Hipp's body for that mistake, if I did do it or not! But the room is too noisy to hear! "Quiet DAMN YOU ALL! I need silence!" I shout in anger at myself.

Ito follows what I say to the letter and raises his hand at the students in the room "Shush students!" and the room falls quiet.

Next, my ears can hear that tell-tale sound coming from Hipp and I leap at her. When I land, I rip her legs out from under her and she falls to the mat with a yelp of surprise!

"What gives Ro?!" she shouts at me and tries to stand up.

"Do you trust me!" is all I yell out and try to pin her.

She gives in instantly and lets me pin her down. Now I can get to her shoulder and listen.

As I do, Hipp starts to squirm under me as the pain in her grows. I goofed for sure, I hit her 'just so' in my old habits of fighting and started her whole skeleton on its way to shattering! Only her high healing rate is saving her now. But sooner or later my blow will win that fight!....It always has!

"Ohhh shit that hurts! What in the fuck did you do to me!" she shouts at my face.

"Hold still darn it! So I can find the spot to stop this! Or in five minute I will not be able to!"

She tries to stop moving, but the pain is growing too fast and everyone now can hear those bones grinding away!

"Hank! Come here and hold her still!" I order the only one student I know by name, that can hold her down.

Hank bounds from his spot and moves fast to do as I asked. Ito joins him in trying to help. With Hipp starting to scream out, I listen as best I can for that spot and feel with my fingers to find it! Once I have it locked, my hand snaps out fast and strikes the spot with a hard blow of two fingers.

My hand lays on that spot after the blow and I feel all over to see if I was done. I find I am and roll off her to lay on the mat "I got it!" I sigh out "In a few hours your healing should fix you up and you'll be fine! Sorry Hipp! I goofed!" I start to cry, as I curl up into a knot of sadness at my action.

Hipp is helped to her feet by Hank and lead off by another teacher to Doyle to get checked out. I just get up and walk off from the class, trapped within my embarrassment.

All I can do while they help her out, is cry to myself in Drow "Usstan tekhus phor! Usstan della mina nindol zhahus natha myar ul'hyrr! Usstan della mina! Nau uss Voks ulu uns'aa!"

(I messed up! I told them this was a bad idea! I told them! No one listens to me!)

When Ito is finished helping Hipp go to medical, he walks over to me slowly. As I am sure he is being careful not to surprise me and upset me even more "Rohanna? Hipp is going to be fine. Please, lets find you another partner and continue?"

"NO!" I shout at him, as I wipe the tears off my eyes "Let's not do that! I warned you that I don't know this! I warned YOU!" I shout even harder at him.

"We have to start somewhere? If there is any blame today, it's mine? I made a mistake in matching you with Hipp at the start of your lessons, I was sure her healing would keep up with any damage you can do, I was wrong?" he explains to me, in a low tone of voice.

I am so worked up, that I am breathing hard and fast. All I can do is shout back at him in my anger in myself "What did you think? You actually thought a kid, could stand up to my training to kill a GOO! That's nuts!"

"Please Rohanna? Be calm, show me that training you have within you and overcome this small thing?"

"SMALL THING! you say!" I shout again and the tears flow hard now "I almost killed a kid! Us Drow NEVER DO THAT!"

"But it did not end that way? Your training won out, you stopped yourself and fixed the issue....all is good now?" he consoles me.

"So what! She still got hurt!"

"Yes she did and many of my students do? I blame no one, unless it's on purpose and you did not do that on purpose....did you?" he asks me.

"No," I sniff trying to clean off those tears more off my face with my sleeves.

"Then the only thing we can do is try again? This time I will match you with Hank? Do your fighting techniques get through his TK field?" he asks me.

"No they don't. I have to attack his TK field 'joints' or use magic to blast him. Or finally a weapon or maybe a poison, that can get past it? Like I did with Truck last week."

"Then we have a match in him, that can teach you how to do holds? Correct?"

"Yes...I suppose we do?"

"Well...back to the mat and ready yourself!"

"Yes Sensei....I am so sorry I shouted at you?"

He bows his words to me "No...that was my mistake and I earned it, you did warn me this could happen and I should have planned better for it!"

"Thank you!" and I run off, to wait at my spot.

"Hank! your next against Rohanna!" he shouts at the students waiting.

He stand up and walks over to the mats circle with Ito. When both finally get there, Ito explains the match to us both "All powers are to be used here, BUT weapons and magic! The goal is to get your opponent into that cage" he points at a cage in the middle of the mats far side "Then close the door. Doing that wins the match! Understood?"

We both nod back, he steps back from us and shouts "Hajime!"

At that howl, Hanks jumps at me and goes to grab my arm. I slide out of the way and port behind him and give him a hard kick to the back. The hard blow of mine...it does nothing against his TK field.

He turns on me and smashes a arm bar across my chest and that sends me flying back a few feet. Instantly I port while flying and port that energy into smashing at his backside again...I use his strength against him!

My new hit, lands on him with my elbow and arm, with the help of his toss. Nearly knocks him down, as he falters. He takes to flight and hovers out of my reach.

I sigh at him "Now that is not fair! I am not a flyer!"

"So?" he sasses back at me with a laugh.

Now I form a plan and port up to him. Then wrap my arms around his neck, then squeeze hard! He flies up fast to try and toss me off. But as he rises fast, I port us to the floor aimed upside down and his energy spent going up! Is now transferred into, his smashing into the mat very hard!

Hanks shakes off his hard landing and leaps at me. I port away with a giggle at him! A new plan forms in my head....an evil one!

At the plans start, I go to port onto his back again and wrap both arms around that neck again. He struggles to get free with brute strength and almost has his way. But at that last second, I port with him, then port, then port, then port! And I port us both well over two dozen times all over the mat, up, down and all over.

At that last port, we both stand in front of the cage and I let him go. He just stands there, his sense of where he is or what end is up! Is totally shot now!

I just give him a firm shove into the cage and slam the door. When the door clangs shut, I port off and back to grab a small trash can. Which I hand to him, just as that freshly eaten lunch comes up out of him, in a vast hurl of foul puke!

"Sorry Hank?" I laugh out an apology and point at Ito "He made me do it?"

Ito yells "Yamete! Well done Rohanna! He is surly out action for awhile, with that attack of yours!"

All Hank can do for now, is try not to fill that trash can! He just cracks a half smile at me "That was a good one!....." he grimaces, then tries to keep that dessert down as his face keeps changing to a very nice 'green' color.

"Thank you both!" I say back.

~o~O~o~

Tuesday, March 6 5:55 pm
Crystal hall

Gwen is showing that clip she filmed of the match I had with Hank, for the hundredth time to those at the table. She just laughs like a crazy person at it "Look at that volume of the puke! What in the heck did you eat for lunch Hank!?" she asks him.

Hank just grins back at her "LOTS of meat and a medium pizza?"

"What was the dessert? As that really smelled bad!" I ask him, as I laugh with Gwen.

"Apple pie?" he grins at me and keeps eating soup. As that soup is all his poor stomach can take!

"Hank....I am still sorry to do that...it was only practice?"

"I know....we have to train hard. Because someday it will be real and you're one of the few here that understand that. So please don't be 'easy' on me, just because we are friends?"

"I will help you guys out as best I can!"

~o~O~o~

Wednesday, March 7 7:55 am
Poe cottage

Since I think I might be running late, I rush toward my door and open it to a shock! My whole door is blocked by a brick wall! A very thick one I can tell by tapping on it!

My hand glides over the bricks and finds they are not 'stone'...but magically made. Next I reach out my feelings into the spell that made them and find they are made of ectoplasm not any Sidhe magic. So that leaves out Gwen and Nikki as the pranker on me this morning!

The next thing I notice in the rooms change, is a new temporary ward all around my room and it's one that may take hours to wiggle my way through or bust down!

I figure out who it is suddenly "BELLE you limey! This will not end well!" I shout at the wall in vain.

All I hear is giggling from beyond the wall, out in the hallway.

"Ohhh well" I sigh "I have to do this the hard way!" Now my sword comes out, a spell slides down it at my will and the blade crackles with magic fire.

Out in the hallway, Gwen and Beltane laugh it up at my pain. Both of them hear my shouts from behind Belle's ectoplasmic brick wall. Belle giggles like mad "She will take sometime to get out of that room!"

A Blade shoves suddenly through all of Belle's bricks, to her and Gwen's shock and dismay! Then it slices downward towards the floor in one clean slice, like the whole wall is merely made of butter to the blade and the ectoplasm bricks turn into goo at it's passing!

The whole wall slumps into a large flow of Goo all over the hallway, as she watches a laughing Drow walk out of her room and then the Drow glares at her. Rohanna has a large sword in her hand, that crackles with power that lights up the hallway in eldritch glow and that magical glow lights up a evil smile covering the Drow's face.

My blade vanishes with a spin of my hand and my fang filled smile is aimed at Belle "GIRL you just started a prank war with a porter! I suggest you add a blanket to your bed tonight, for when you wake up on the south face of the Matterhorn or the Antarctic!" I warn her.

"You wouldn't!" she barks at me.

Gwen hits her in the ribs to get her attention "Don't challenge her...she'll do it just to spite you!"

"Challenge accepted!" is my only words to her with a evil grin, as I walk down the hallway. Then at Poe's doors I turn back to her and say coldly over my shoulder "You might want to clean that mess up in front of my door....because I won't Do it! And I know Horton will get mad at ya, if you don't!"

~o~O~o~

Wednesday, March 7 8:55 am
Laird Hall, Special topics Weapons class

When I look over the rest of the class I find that, Erin or Boudacia is here, I trained with her one morning last week, with Nikki and Chou. Then I spot the one, that I will hurt sooner or later!

Sarah Gardner or Nightbane the leader of the 'Goobers' Rev Englund's little troop of kids! She was the one who stabbed Sara and hurt her. Then chased her through the woods trying to kill her! That girl will know pain soon enough!

Most of the class time so far is spent with getting me as a new student, all checked out with what I am going to wear during class time and the teacher checking out my blades. Mrs. Beaumont is checking those blades, so she can match me better to other students.

Sarah whispers to the other students "Who is the new Elf?" while the instructors examine the six blades I have chosen for use in this class.

"That's Rohanna, she came in a few weeks back. Didn't you hear of the Boston fight or the TNT fight she had?" Erin asks back.

"Yes I heard of some kid getting her ass handed to her by TNT. The Boston stuff? I thought that was some lone super or something?"

"The Boston rumor is wrong...it was her. And the TNT fight she had...she let them hurt her...so I am told? Because, she does not want to fight anymore and get into trouble!"

"She any good?" Sarah asks trying to pry info out of Erin, on a new opponent.

"She spared with Chou and it was a draw?"

"Humm sounds like she is a challenge?"

Chou bumps into Sarah from behind, to get her attention "She is too much for you!" she warns "She has the experience, strength and speed on her side. Then add, she has better weapons than you!"

"I will still try her!"

"Good luck with that. I will even admit to you, that in a true fight with her? I would have to call on the Tao, along with Destiny's wave to win that fight and best her or kill her?"

Mrs. Beaumont claps her hands to get the classes attention "Now students! For today we do slow practice and loosen up, then in the weeks to come. We will speed up the sparing and have match ups! Now to your places!" she shouts in a French accent at the class.

At her sudden prompting, I wave my hand over my blades left on the table and they fade away. Now Erin waves at me, to come over to her and stand at a spot she points at on the floor. Once there she smiles at me "There ya go " she nods and smiles welcomingly to me "a nice spot next to someone you already know!"

"Thanks, I guess it was either you or Chou?"

"Yep and I am sure that you did not want to practice next to someone you did not know?"

"Thanks..."

As we spoke Mrs. Beaumont claps her hands yet again "Now students please practice your regular daily forms and we will watch over you. We will correct any issues we see and go from there. In a few weeks, we may teach you other forms as we go?"

With her orders set, I flow into my timeworn forms like always. Each one is set for defending a different style or fighting a different opponent. Most of the days class dragged on into this.

~o~O~o~

Thursday, March 8 3:25 am
Poe cottage

With all my best invisibility and concealing magic on me. I stalk slowly up to Belle's floor and to her very door. Once at the door frame, a slight glow of a magic ward is seen by my well trained eyes, but it's a simple one! And easy to get by!

But I just stop myself with a thought "Belle is no untrained moron! She knows magic or she would not be my TA in my class today!"

Now with even more purpose on my mind I feel out and search for more....tricks and traps that she might lay out for me! With several minutes of standing there, unseen, unheard and in deep concentration. I find three more wards on the room "Clever girl! You set up a ward aimed at just us Sidhe only, the other two are just incase!"

Those extra two, fall after some work on my part and that leaves the last. Too bad she made it only for Sidhe? She based it on someone like Gwen or Nikki....not a Drow! So to pass by it unnoticed, I gather and pull all the magic a Sidhe radiates in life into me and boy does that hurt! Now the ward is fooled and I can just walk past it!

Then I slip her door lock open and walk into her dorm room.

A laugh almost comes from me, but I hold it back! Then I go with tried and true steps to my plan! A silence spell covers the room and I move to blow a small amount of sleeping dust over Belle's roommate.... Jaqueline. A person I have only met in passing, she is a electrical energizer...no real threat?

Over to Belle's bed is my next step and I dust her the same way. She will be out for an hour for sure! One the next step, so I don't wake her up with a port. I only port her and her bed an inch. Then repeat it several times, to make sure she gets used to the feeling!

The last item on the list! I drop a spell on her and the bed. That will surely keep her from simply magically levitating the bed back to Poe! That should keep her busy!

My hand grabs one extra blanket off the floor next to her bed, then I place a weather-warmth spell on her to be sure and I port with her...bed and all!

~o~O~o~

Thursday, March 8 6:15 am
Crystal hall, Sunrise

The first beams of sunlight hit Belle in the face and her eyes pop open at the sudden light 'Who left the curtain open?' she wonders out.

Then a bird chirps out, as it flies by her head that is buried in her pillow 'And who let a bird into my room!' is her next rather strange thought.

She springs up her head at the strange thoughts and finally sees where she is! She is on top of Crystal hall's dome at its very peak...outside!

Belle screams as loud as she can "Rohannnnnnaaaaa I will get even for this!"

All I do is snicker at her from far below, as I stand on the grass of the quad and surrounded by several other students who are all laughing at her pain. My cell phone comes out and I calmly snap a picture to remember this day by. Then walk away from the growing crowd, laughing to go get my breakfast.

~o~O~o~

Thursday, March 8 8:15 am
Kirby Hall Principles of Magic

As I get seated in class, a familiar face walks in via the teacher's door... Dr. Tenent and she smiles a little my way, when she sees me.

A new notebook gets pulled from my backpack and I set out a few thing to write with. Dr. Tenent, she scans the room looking for someone "Have any of you seen Beltane?"

I speak up, as it's only proper "Yes ma'am" I smirked to her "she might be a bit late. She was having an issue with her bed and room this morning" my calm voice says to her.

"Okay? But anyway class. Please get out your laptops and open the textbook to the chapter listing. Then we can start!"

With nearly an hour of class time passed, a very disheveled Belle runs into the class. Her hair is very messy and still a bit wet? In a rush, She tosses her books onto a table down at the front and runs over to Dr Tenent.

"I am very Sorry Dr Tenent, I had a small issue with my bed this morning?"

"I heard....via Rohanna and a text today. And how does one's bed get on top of Crystal hall....then how did it get back down? If I can ask?"

The class can barely contain the laughter....it lingers just below the surface, ready to burst out at any moment. Snickers are heard all over the class, as she begins to explain the morning and her being late to class

"Well, how it got there...with me on it! I am not sure? As that is where I woke up at! But getting down, was to be a simple levitation spell or so I thought? But whoever did this, they are no amateur! NOPE! They placed a spell on the bed to block that. So I had to pay a flier, to move my bed and me back to POE! I am now out twenty bucks, for that short trip!"

That did it! The lose of twenty bucks! And the dam holding the laughter fell hard! The whole class fell over themselves laughing at the whole thing.

All Belle did was glare my way, as daggers shoot from her eyes at me!

"Rohanna do you know anything about this?" Tenent asks me, in a voice of authority.

"Ma'am? This is the first I have heard of her issues with getting the bed down?"

"Do you know who put her and the bed up there?" she asks me and her eyes narrow at me.

"Yes."

"And who is that?"

"Belle."

"Belle? She did not place her bed up there herself?" and she glances at Belle to make sure. Belle shakes her head back to her.

"No, she did not. But something she did, surely set her on the path to waking up there?"

"Ohh I understand now. Belle pranked someone and this was payback?"

I just shrug back to her, in answer to her question.

"Well then, If the score is one and one? Then maybe it's best to 'call' this one off? Before it gets out of hand?"

"That might be a good idea? If that is what she does?" now it's all up to Belle! The when and if, this little prank war ends.

~o~O~o~

Thursday, March 8 12:15 pm
Crystal hall

Lunch time! After I wander my way up to the usual table and find no one there? 'must still be in classes?' I think to myself.

But I spot Jericho and Razorback just sitting at a far table. Away from most of the other kids all bust eating and chatting. I said I would talk to them later? Now is a great time for that.

As I grab a seat across from both of them, I say quietly to both "Hey guys been a long time? So what's up?"

Jericho just laughs at me "Nothing, just school, And you?"

"Just trying hard to blend in and get to a happy place?"

Razorback's arms wave about wildly at me for a few seconds, then nods to me. "I hope that was 'hi'? As I have not had time to go grab a book from the library on sign language yet?"

"It was...." Jericho adds for his buddy "He says...."You all good after the TNT morons bashed ya?".....As we both hate those bullies!"

"I am fine and I got just what I wanted.....empathy from the staff. They now see I mean business and want this 'UV' tag off me!"

"Razor...he gets that!"

Razor nods to us and keeps filling up with food at a horrendous rate!

"Just keep your hands and arms away from his plate...and you will survive this feeding" Jericho laughs and warns me playfully.

While I get a few bites of my food into me, a student comes up to us. A girl that looks very much the Medusa should be, with human torso up top and a huge snake for a lower half...but very cute indeed! Jericho yelps out "Hey Sandra! Meet Rohanna...she's new this term."

"I have already seen her."

My fork lands on my plate as I ask back "Really? I think...heck hope, I would have noticed a nice girl like you?"

"I am in your magic lab class...the last section at the back. I watched all you elves up front and the 'coven' you sort of formed up?"

"Well that tells me, I have to spin that silly head of mine around more and see people?"

"Considering how hard Grimes came down on ya first day, with all the rules she set out for your group and that issue you had with a notebook?"

"Yep, she wants to challenge me and see me grow. The book issue? It's because how I write my notes? I learned to do them in a mixed written form of mythos and Sidhe magic? So now I can't share them with anyone but Nikki, or I get into trouble!"

"Now I know not to copy off ya! I like being sane!" she laughs back at me.

"Mythos? Like Sara and her kind?" Jericho asks me.

"Yep, That's me...just being weird, as usual! And how is that 'dog' I smacked in the forest doing?" I laugh now at the thoughts of that fight.

"Ohhh him! I heard he is fine now and will...well may?...get better? Smarter...no! But better!"

As we both laugh it up and I get back to eating my fill.

A girl walks up to the table with her tray, she is all dressed in black and has runes sewn into her clothes....they look familiar? Once I see her face...those eyes....the white marble stone skin of her's All covered in blue tattoos. I NOW KNOW why!

She sits at the table in a fluid grace and laughs at the table "Hi guys! Who is the Elf chick?"

"Well Cat, this is Rohanna. She is new this term?" Jericho introduces me.

"Well Hi, I'm Caitlin. Let me guess you're studying magic?" she smiles at me.

When she speaks, all I can do is stare at her, as my mind goes back to that dark time of Before!

I am laying on a black marble table, in a vast lab filled with magic and I lay there with four others who were trained with me. We used to be eight, now we are five and the other three are dead....they failed. The magic spells were placed on us all, that tested us and that brought us to this room...they killed them.

The eldest of Sidhe mages, levitate a table with a woman strapped down to it and move her near us all. Then one mage, he slices my left arm open from hand to shoulder. The pain from that open wound is incredible! But no scream comes from me...I was ordered not scream...silence!

Another mage makes a long slice into that women and now that I am closer to her. I can see that she is a Artificer, by her blue stone skin and tattoos. I was guarding her type for the last hundred years, while these very same mages placed spell after spell on my group.

With that slice, he takes out a long thin part of her and waves magic over it to concentrate it even more to a smaller size. Then he hands it on a silver tray to his master, who places it into my gash and then he ladles her strange blood into the wound by the pint!

The wound starts to close on its own, as one of four other mages place a Diamond of Tuatha De' Danann' on my arm at my elbow and this stone is the size of a baseball! The magic essence flows from the gem storage, at their commands and I scream inwardly in agony! The diamond is used up by the spell and falls to nothing but dust on my freshly closed skin.

Now they move on to my friends! And repeat the same.

That inner scream shocks me back to her and I see that face of her's staring back at me "You okay?" she asks me.

And now I know why Aung asked me if someone named, Caitlin had helped me with making that illusion charm of mine! She was a Artificer!

My tears start to flow from me, as my fork drops from my hand and clatters loudly on my plate. Bile now grows fast in my throat "You're a Artificer? You have free will?" I gulp out loud to her.

Cat's eyes now burn with fire and the runes on her irises glow within that fire as she glares at me "Who told you that!" she asks and orders me at the same time.

"I....I...I...they told us, you all were constructs? THEY lied to us! Gaea I am sorry! I did not know! You were like us...slaves...free will...gone" My voice shakes, then stutters and the tears really flow out, as I think about what was done! Now the bile comes up again in my throat.

"What are you talking about!? And who told you about me!" she demands from me again.

I shove off from the table and stand up fast, as my voice shakes to her "I am so sorry...Gaea so sorry!" and run off to a nearby garbage can to throw up!

As I try to empty my stomach, most of the other Poe kids just arrive on this level and watch me fill the trash can with what I just ate!

When I find a break to my stomach revolting on me, I leap down the stairs crying like a baby and shouting "I am sorry!" over and over. At the door, I have to stop one last time and leave even more spent food in the trash can. Then continue my running out.

Gwen and Nikki drop their trays on a empty table, then quickly run over to the table where Jericho and Caitlin sit "What happened!" Gwen shouts at the small group of students seated at the table.

Caitlin looks up from the tabletop she was just staring at...'wondering how such a new student would know her past?'.... to look up at Gwen and Nikki, then she whispers out "She knows what I am? Then said she was sorry about something?"

Aung's voice comes from the redheaded teen, with a hint of regret in it "I had hoped she would take this far better! But she has not!"

"What Aung...what did you do!" Gwen's eyes narrow in her anger, at the old Fae Queen within Nikki.

"It was war? I made mistakes and others paid for them" is her too short answer to Gwen.

"Damn you! You messed me up back then! Now her...when does this crap end!" Gwen shouts out back at her in anger.

"Let us go out and find her, before she does something rash!" Aung asks the others at table.

Gwen does not even wait for those words, she is already running down the stairs towards the main doors.

Caitlin interrupts Aung's appeal for help "I will not go with you all. Something about me set her off? But I want answers on that subject soon!"

"Only if Rohanna says it is alright?" Aung states and she runs off to join in the search.

Just outside, Gwen looks about for a trail, or anything that might tell her where I went too! But there are far too many paths in the snow and then add to that, she knows I can port to anywhere!

As Gwen spins about searching the area, Jamie walks up to her when Jamie spots that Gwen is looking for something "You are not hiding for Rohanna?" she asks in her strange way.

"Jamie! tell me where!" Gwen pleas.

"She did not walk off to the garden of forgetting, all happy and smiling?"

Gwen flips what Jamie just said in her mind, finds the answers she needs and runs off.

In that Garden of Remembrance well hidden by a large hedge, my body shakes with my sobbing and falls onto a bench. One of my daggers flashes into my hand and hovers over where the mage placed....her into me! "She was a person! Not a statue! Something living!" I shout out to the whole world in anger.

"I feel like a cannibal!" I cry out even harder now.

I so want to rip my arm apart and pull all that out of me. But I know fully, that she is part of me...all the way down to my very DNA. My blood even shows that deep strange red she had, streaked within it's silver!

Gwen runs into the Garden and spots me, far across the Remembrance Garden.

The blade hovers over my arm and most times. I would not be able to hurt myself, but this time....the blade is shoved into it deep! And a slice is started down my arm.

Gwen spots what I am doing and runs over to slap that blade from my hand "Stop that! What ever happened, it was then! Not now!"

"Then! NOW! all the same! It happened to me and is still part of me!" I shout back at her.

At our combined shouting, Nikki easily finds us both and runs into the garden with us.

When I spot her, my anger at Aunghadhail within her knows no bounds!

"Vel'bol dos xunus ulu uns'aa! Ulu ussta abbilen xuil nindel experiment lu'l'Artificers! Ele! XSA DOS!"
(What you did to me! To my friends, with that experiment and the Artificers! Why! DAMN YOU!) I shout at her.

"Ol zhahus thalack, dos zhaun nindel?"
(It was war, you know that?) Aung explains, to me while her eyes fall down away from my angry glare.

As we both yelled at one another in Drow, Sara just now runs into the garden with Bree close behind her. I am sure Bree was having lunch with Nikki and Gwen...just about to eat. Then she saw the whole episode of mine, so she called Sara knowing she cared for me...in more than one way!

"Lu'nindel excuses vel'bol dosst dalninil xunus ulu udossa....l'aphyonin! Xunus dos zhaun?"
(And that excuses what your sister did to us....the deaths! Did you know?) I ask her, as I shake a fist in anger in her face.

"Siyo, d'heen Usstan zhaunau! Usstan zhahus Valsharess, naubol zhahus draeval p'los ussta zhaunil!"
(Yes, of course I knew! I was Queen, nothing was past my knowledge!)

"Dos s'ck FAE! Nindel zhahus tu'jol l'ilstaren d'dro, vel'bol dos xunus ulu udossa! Vel'bol ph'dos, olath court nin?"
(You sick FAE! That was beyond the rules of life what you did to us! What are you, dark court now?) I growl and turn my back on her. To show my utter disdain of her actions.

"Neitar nindel! Ol zhahus fridj thalack, udos inbalus ulu nez? Xunus udos naut?"
(Never that! It was just war, we had to win? Did we not?) she pleads with me.

"A nindel obok valzu?"
(At that high cost?) I shout loudly, from my even wanting to glance back at the sight her standing there.

"Siyo, lu'nindel valzu paid tir. Jal dosst abbilen lu'dos? Nind xal naut inbal tlus natha juba wynthe? Jhal jal d'dos xxizz'a doeb ji mzilt, udos nearly nezmuth!"
(Yes, and that cost paid off. All your friends and you? They might not have been a total success? But all of you helped out so much, we nearly won!)

"Jal Usstan xunus zhahus dajakk klezn? Xor xxizz morfeth fol? Xor lastly dryss'ho l'kirma whol mina? Nindel xxizz'a?"
(All I did was fix things? Or help make some? Or lastly gather the parts for them? That helped?) I give in and fall down, to sit on the bench again. Sara sees an opening and runs over to give me comfort.

"Siyo, udos inbalus hoped ulu morfeth retlah Artificers d'jal d'dos. Jhal udos aslu er'griff parthal ussen? Dos xunus q'elak phor vel'bol l'byrren morfel a leaps lu'bounds. Nindel saved dron.....whol l'mzilst aglust?"
(Yes, we had hoped to make full Artificers of all of you. But we got only partial ones? You did speed up what the others made by leaps and bounds. That saved lives.....for the most part?) she explains on.

"What is this all about?" Sara asks Aunghadhail in a very angry voice.

"This is between Rohanna and me" the old Queen answers her.

"No it's not! Tell her now!" I shout back.

"No" she almost growls at me "this is our business not her's!"

"Tell her, I give you permission!"

"No that would be a bad idea Rohanna...dear. That knowledge can come back and hurt us all?"

Sara rubs on my cheek, comforting me as she asks me "What is it? Can you tell me?"

"I...it...they...I....we!" is the only thing I can stutter out! That be damned book holds me back from saying....and saying something might help me now!

Nikki shouts in her shared mind at Aunghadhail ~"Tell them now! She wants it! Say it!"~

~"No my child....I can not. It is for the better....for now anyway?"~

Nikki cries out to Sara and the group around her "I tried...I begged her! She does not want to talk!"

I glance up from Sara's caring "I don't blame you Nikki, we are both trapped by chance and are slaves to another!"

"I understand you!" Nikki shouts.

I am so mad I forget myself and leap again to my feet. My book of 'Command' snaps into being in my hand and I shake it in Nikki's or Aunghadhail's face.

"Duul'sso uns'aa d'nindol cha'kohkev klez nin! Dos zhaun lu'oh!"
(Free me of this cursed thing now! You know how!) I huff out in my growing anger at her.

"Nau, l'pages d'l'voiry lu'vel'bol nind xun ph'jal nindel zhah serin dos ul'naus ditronw nin. Xuileb mina? Dos orn'la mzilst ves'aph valm l'verve elghinyrr xuil natha rash ssiggrin lu'mora!"
(No, the pages of the book and what they do, are all that is keeping you together right now. Without them? You would most likely join the long dead, with a rash thought and act!)

"Fine then! I will try my way yet again!"

With that said to her and her not even responding to my pleas! I walk over to one of the many small monuments and clear the snow off its flat top as I whisper to it and the person who it represents "I don't know you? But help me with this?"

That very sharp dagger of mine appears in my hand and when Sara sees it, she runs to me shouting all the way "NO don't!"

I don't hear her or care right now, this must be done? I have not tried this since the change and maybe now? I can be free of this cursed thing!

The book gets placed on it's flat surface and my arm holding that blade goes up over it.

Aunghadhail shouts via Nikki at me "No don't do it! That will hurt you!" she warns.

The blade falls hard and goes to pierce the book's cover. But does not? The blade flows into a glowing circle, at the book's surface and disappears from sight. When the blades motion stops with my thrust, my free hand grabs at my stomach and I fold to the snow bleeding from a fresh large wound there.

The blade falls from the book, to land in the snow next to me.

As fresh blood covers my shirt, I don't even gasp in pain and I try to stand back up. As I yell "This must be done!"

I reach a shaky hand for that blade again when Sara stops me, by going to hold me close. "No don't you're hurt!" she yells to me, as her hand covers up that wound in my gut to help stop the flow of blood. But finds that strangely, there is no hole in my shirt?

"I have to do this...must be free!" I groaned out in pain and try to move again to the blade.

When I say that, Sara now knows! The book and I are connected in some way? "What gives Aung with the book?" she asks the old Queen.

"I will tell you soon enough Sara? But that is not today?" the old Fae answers her.

I stutter out past my pain, both the wound and the pain inside me "Tell her now!" my voice insists.

Aunghadhail, shakes her head in answer to me.

I go more than mad at her refusal to do as I asked and start to recite 'The black hand' curse at her in retaliation. Sara hears me starting it, she knows it's words all too well and slaps a hand over my mouth to stop me "You don't mean that! It would hurt Nikki!" she warns me.

My head shakes in embarrassment of what I almost did! My arm shoves Sara off me and I port away in my shame. The book and dagger soon fade from sight with me now gone.

Now that I am gone, Sara gets to her feet in the snow and glares at Nikki "Well are you going to tell me!"

"No I must not, that what binds her. Is the only thing I fear keeping her here with us and sane...for now?"

"Ohh you silly fairy! You will tell all of this to me soon! Or I will find out a way myself!" Sara swears and shakes a fist in Nikki's face.

"Sara?" Nikki cries now to her "if I knew? I would tell you both. But she keeps this from me? Why I have no idea?" and she goes to hug Sara.

Sara hugs Nikki close now and rubs her back in support "I know....I know! When I shout at her...just know, it's only her I am talking to!"

~o~O~o~

Thursday, March 8 1:15 pm
The Grove

After I had ported to here, one of the many water Nymphs that are always in the pool by the large stump I sat on. She noticed me and came over quickly to see what I may need. When she saw my blood and my wound. She called to her sisters to come and help.

What almost amazed me about the wound, as they tended to it. It was a very clean wound and my ribs should have stopped the blade easily? But the magic of that book, cut through them all like butter and made the wound deep into me...but not fatally so!

Soon enough, I was sitting on that stump, my wound cleaned and healed up. Then one of the Nymphs brought over my now clean shirt and blazer. She laid them quietly at my side, so as not to disturb me more.

Violet was perched in a nearby tree, watching over me and yet she had not asked me one single question of....why?

Once and awhile I peered up at her sitting there, I so wanted to tell her as my fingers ran through my hair nervously. But I was held back from telling her for now? By that cursed book!

I could change that all with a single binding spell....binding her to me. But I am SO reluctant to do that, as joining can be painful to both and one's death afterward even worse still! I did not want to put her through that yet.

When I thought about what I had almost done to Nikki! The anger at myself rose up even higher and almost eclipsed the embarrassment I now feel! Calling a 'black hand curse' on Nikki, with Aunghadhail within her! That would have killed Nikki, as the 'black hand' sends the cursed back three times, what they did in karma damage! That meant all the lives Aunghadhail took or enslaved would come after her! Then that spell, would have to kill Nikki to end Aunghadhail!

'How could I be that stupid and vain to do that!' I innerly berated myself 'I hope she forgives me...and I mean NIKKI!'

But then there was something? An old law deep in my head....something had changed? But I could not grasp what it was?

'Enough of this!' my mind shouts at me 'We have class to attend too' Now that I am a little finished in berating myself? Those now clean clothes are pulled onto me and I straighten them up, to look correct and perfect again.

~o~O~o~

Thursday, March 8 1:35 pm
Kirby Hall Circe's class

More than thirty minutes late, I open the door to the classroom and see Circe staring at me harshly "Sorry ma'am about being late? I had an issue?" I yield to her stare.

"Yes Miss Leigh, Gwen told me you might be late or absent today? I hope it's all cleared up?"

"As best it can be for now...ma'am?" I shrug back to her.

"Well then, please take a seat. I think Gwen has one saved for you, next to her?" she waves a hand to point at Gwen on the far side of the room for me.

Circe continues her lecture on class goals for this term, as I gain that seat next to Gwen. Once I am seated and my things are on the table for use. Gwen quietly passes me her notebook, so I know the small part of class I had missed.

Thank Gaea, most of what was said is in her notes and even more on a e-mail she sends me. Most of that info, only covered the books needed to be read this term and details of the term papers to come.

As I copy those notes Circe clears her throat and looks over to me. I being totally unaware of that keep on writing as fast as I can. "Miss Leigh, since you were late today? Perhaps you should tell the class, how the Drow fuel their magic and make spells?"

"Ma'am?" I question her and my head tilts in sudden wonderment at the idea.

She sighs a little, then asks again and this time more firmly "Please tell us how Drow work their spells.....example, the way you told me the larger ones are done?"

"Ma'am" My eyes stare at her in shock "bad idea? Or so I was told?"

"Go ahead, this class will not be at that level for years to even think of that" she insisted to me, as she sits at her large desk.

"Okay?" I shrug back to her and bite my lip in my anxiety at the thoughts.

After I stand to see the class better, I begin "Well what I think Circe wants me to say to you all is? That we Drow...or at least me? We tap the ley lines around us and on the larger ones. This is so we go unnoticed while we craft or use spells. Then add to that, most of us have a larger essence well to call from to fuel our spells longer."

I am about to regain my seat when she stops me "Continue Miss Leigh? With how best to gather from large ley lines?"

"MA'AM?" I almost shout back in shock, that she wants me to go that far in discussing this!

She just tilts, then waves a pencil to me and shows me she is serious. That small wave tells me to stand back up.

"Well I am sure Circe is asking me to speak about ley lines, the larger ones?" she nods to me "Well those can be tapped for spells too, in a bit different way?"

One student's hand shoots up and he says "Ahhh you can't tap a large ley line! You get fried!"

"Yes you can....I do it all the time. You have to see it as a river, so don't stand in the middle and drown? Stand at its edge and only take what you need to feed the spell. That style may take longer? But that is the reason behind some of the long worded, near poetic chats that make up some spell casting....they let the spell build slowly. Instead of suddenly!"

"Very good Miss Leigh, that is what I was asking for. But tell them the cost of that?"

"Do a spell wrong that high....you die! Simple and plain death!"

"But you're here?"

"In my past life I did most of those spells only in training, once or twice and a few others only when needed greatly."

"Why only in training, a few times? Not in the real world?" he asks again.

"Those few I know....you die when you use them. Think last chance spell?" I shrug to him.

"Miss Leigh...thanks for your time, please have a seat?" she tells me and regains her spot at the podium "this class will have lab time in the next weeks at night for enchanting under the moonlight, then we will also gather and make Mithril in small quantities."

"Ma'am?" one girl chirps up.

Circe stops the student with a raised hand, before they begin "I know, we have a source for Mithril on campus. One that is fairly cheap? But that will not last all your lives? So you have to learn how to gather, or make at least some on your own."

For the next hour, Circe goes over what is needed to complete the nighttime labs and the objective of each.

~o~O~o~

Thursday, March 8 5:25 pm
Poe cottage

Instead of eating at Crystal hall, I just grabbed two large to-go boxes and went back to my room with them. The idea of even seeing Nikki right now, as mad as I was at Aunghadhail! Was a very bad idea! I might be embarrassed at the curse I almost did on her? But it was outshone by my growing anger with Aunghadhail.

Aunghadhail knew! She knew it all! Then add to that. I am now sure she must know somehow to get this BLASTED book unbound from me!

Then add that 'thing' that was bugging me? I was still having issue at tracking down what it was?

As I sit crossed legged on my bed, just picking at my food in a vain attempt at trying to eat something? Someone knocks on my door? Since I barely heard them, it can only be Sara?

"WHAT!" I shout in anger at the door.

"Can I come in?" she asks in a nearly silent voice.

I think about it for a second and look up to Violet. Who had jumped up from her relaxing on her pillow, to standing and fully alert when she heard Sara's call at the door "Well small one? should I let her in?" I ask her softly.

"That is up to you....I still do not trust that one fully? And I may never trust her! But maybe, you need to talk a little...with someone tonight at the least?"

"Come on in Sara?" I say as I still stared at my box of food and as I picked at it even more.

"Well how are you?" she grins at me from the door and closed it softly.

"Okay?....I guess?"

Sara saunters over to kneel in front of me at my bed, then she looks up at me over my food from down there on the floor and she is trying hard to get me to look at her. My eyes never leave my food that I pick at, but don't take a bite from.

She playfully snatches a cheery tomato from my salad , then quickly pops it into her mouth and then suggestively plays with it before swallowing it.

As I watch her do that, I can't help not to chuckle just a little at her.

"Well at least I know you can still see me?" she jests me.

"Yes, of course I can."

"So what's the plan for tonight?" she winks at me and raises a eyebrow...suggesting even more "Sleep, study...or my fave...sex!"

"The other 'S's"

"What are they?" she winks again.

"Stay in and sulk" I tell her and my food I am staring at.

"Not on the list!" she says proudly and raises three fingers to count off "You have only the three I listed, sleep...study...or the sex" her husky voice now asks again.

Since I sit there in silence, she begins again "So let me guess? you're still very mad at Aung?"

"Really?" I quip her "how did you guess that?"

She starts to stand up and goes to my desk. There she opens my 'stash' drawer of snacks and starts snatching out the small bags in it "You know what you need!"

I glance up at her, but say nothing.

"Chocolate!" she nearly shouts, then snatched my box of salad from me and rains down a hail of bags of candy in my lap. Then she tosses a tube of mini M&M's at Violet. I had been saving them and hiding them from her. Till I was ready to show her the new candy... that was in her smaller size....but the cat was out of the candy bag now!

Violet tears into the tube and starts munching away. As Sara jumps onto my bed behind me and pulls me down to laying my head on her lap. Where she opens a bar of chocolate and pops a chunk into my mouth.

"There all set!" she says and takes a bite herself "This might not do anything for me sex wise? But they still taste heavenly!"

As the candy slowly melts in my mouth and I stay silent yet again. She whispers to me "So are ya still mad at Aung now?"

I nod.

"Well I just know it's that damn book I bet! But what is the thing with Cat? That one I do not understand?"

"It's just the dark past again."

"Well if she will not get that thing off your back...I will!"

"No...please. If you do it wrong....I'm dead. You saw what a dagger did?"

"I will ask daddy then? He will know?"

"I really doubt that! I am sure that the Sidhe royals, they did not hand the blueprints to my kind to a GOO!"

"Hum I will work on that...But what else has you so troubled?" she asks and pops more candy into my mouth.

"I am embarrassed. The 'black hand'...I almost placed that curse on Nikki."

"Well you did not?"

"You had to stop me, But worst of all...for a second it felt good, right! I was free to get even with Aunghadhail and was DOING it!"

"Okay? That is to be expected. She messed you up and today you found out yet one more thing that she did and hid from you!"

"Yes, she did hide it. She could have said what Caitlin was to me earlier?"

"So what surprised you about her? If you can talk about it?"

"She had free will darn it! They lied to us...me! We were told, they were constructs... magic robots of stone, making magic items. NOT SLAVES LIKE US!"

"Humm and the rest is the more upsetting part? Then maybe the reason why you tried to slice your arm open?"

I don't even budge an inch, saying one or the other is out...forbidden to me by the Geas.
Then my mind wanders as she speaks to me, I feel so 'dirty' in away. Someone put another being IN me! Tore both of us apart, like a puzzle to see what pieces would work best!

"That answered my question" she sighs.

Sara carefully unwraps a chocolate drop and pops it into my mouth. Then repeats the same for her "So you have class with Nikki tomorrow? Is that going to be an issue?"

"No, I may not like seeing Aung via her, but I have to go to class nonetheless?"

"Yes you do?" Sara whispers to me, as she starts playing with my hair.

~o~O~o~

Friday, March 9 8:25 am
Kirby hall

As I enter the large classroom and spot Sir Wallace. My head nods to him, as I say "Good morning Sir?"

"Yes, a very good morning Rohanna" he says back to me looking up from a stack of papers, in that english accent I so love of his.

I grab a front row seat near him and pull out a notebook. But this one, I have covered the front with runes to keep any Mythos magic 'inside' it, just incase! Because of Grimes warnings to me just the other day.

When Nikki comes in and smiles my direction, she sings out "Hi Rohanna? Did you have a better night?"

My head just shakes to her "No," all I had done last night was stew and talk to Sara as best I could, with the Geas holding back most of my words.

"Well, we will have to help you with that!" the now regal voice of Aunghadhail makes it appearance.

"That is help I do not want this week.....from you Aung."

"What is going on here you two? Why all the anger and rage? Tell me please?" Wallace's more than calm voice asks us both, as he stands up.

"Ask that ghost of a imperious Queen bitch that question!" I howl in rage and anger at Nikki.

"I will not be talked to in that tone of voice or addressed by those terms....SERVANT!" Aunghadhail growls, while losing that face of normal pleasantness when she speaks to me.

When Sir Wallace heard that 'servant' remark from Aunghadhail, he knew that was bad....very bad indeed! Even the present Queen of England, she never used that term...ever! As it was beyond proper!

Then bad...it went straight to worse...and fast!

He watched as 'worse' came out.

The Drow in front of him is suddenly covered, in that all metal armor she had reluctantly showed him a few weeks back and twin blades came into her hands with a spin from nothing. When they slice the air in twin threats of violence to come, the vary air screams at their passing.....a sound he will not forget soon.

Nikki took a step back at the show of violence, knowing now I really meant it! "Whoa! Rohanna! That was her not me!" she warns.

Aunghadhail's voice takes over once again after the teen's last plea "Calm yourself...you are a trained warrior and a teacher of Sidhe. Maybe you should remember that!...I have been far too gentle with you. Maybe...Perhaps? I should have told you of Caitlin and her type? But you are and always will be a warrior...act like one!" she nearly orders me.

"Be damned you! I am far from being what you said! I am a person...that used to be man only four shorts weeks ago...plus thirty lost years! NOW I am a TEEN girl Drow, shoved into an all new world...that is all human, NOT Sidhe! And I am trying to figure it all out!" I bark at her again.

Aunghadhail ponders that she may have passed a line, with the last few thoughts she just said. As the stare she garnered from Sir Wallace at the word...servant. Was not a good one! And now she is staring down a very mad Drow! One that Nikki with her guidance, can win a fight with, but the chance of being hurt bad or slain during that fight is too high!

So she falls back on one thing, that might help this situation or make it worse....far worse!

She recites the command phase that only royals have over the Drow, she whispers it so quietly that only Drow ears can really hear it.

When I hear those ancient words from her, I laugh at her! "I knew it!....I just knew it! You know more about my Geas!" I laugh and shout at her even more now "You actually think that reciting the words of the 'command Geas' that only royals had. It would actually still work on me! You are DEAD! and I know that.....so the Geas KNOWS that! Even those old words can't save you! ALL THE QUEENS ARE DEAD!" I now laugh evilly at her.

Sir Wallace sees what is coming next, when my hair vanishes up into my helmet as it snaps shut. And he runs to stand between us both. Nikki sees that red glow from my eyes and it's the very same hue she saw four weeks back. So she takes a step back, to give me room and maybe...pause?

"LADIES!" he shouts "please be civil!"

"Time for that is past!" I warn the both of them.

"No...it is not! Please let's talk this over?" he asks me.

"Aunghadhail willing violated 'the rules of life'! She did something that is not to be done...ever! She admitted so yesterday!" That thought and the sudden realization of what had been bugging me all night. It freed me now and most of my oaths.... they fell away with it. That simple law....Rules of life....was the basis of what my race stood for! And those who willingly cross its lines, are due it's justice!

"My Queen? What does she speak of?"

"None of your business or need to worry about?" she says in a most calm and almost charming voice.

"See! She cares not for the serfs under her will or beneath her notice!"

Sir Wallace, being a man from a nation that still holds a royal court of a type to this vary day and knows what I am saying. He knows how to temper my rage. "Rohanna? Does Aunghadhail still order you?"

"No! She has no power...with her death...so long ago!"

"Then just plain and simple" he stops to sigh out "don't listen to her. And whatever law she broke in the far past, is so old and those it affected...except for you? They are long dead?"

He presented a simple answer to my mind....one that was what I needed...black and white in its answers! One that I could grasp!

I stand up from my aggressive crouching, as I ponder that "Humm....That does make sense to me...the things she did do, they were long ago and I can't punish Nikki for her shame!"

"What in the heck did Aung do!" Nikki asks more than confused.

"Rohanna stated.... Rules of life.....were violated? They are the ancient rules all Sidhe lived by. They are very simple in their context. No killing children...no willing torture of the innocent....protect the 'Wood'....there are others within them....you know, the things we mostly call human rights now?" Sir Wallace told the teen.

Then Sir Wallace glares at me "Rohanna...you almost violated them yourself! The most ancient of laws and two of them! As your anger held you in its sway!"

"Yes I did..." I flatly admit "That is how badly she violated the law...punishment was warranted by it!"

"Okay...you feel that you personally, were one of the victims?"

"YES!" I shout back.

"What would make amends then? Because we can't punish Aunghadhail...without hurting Nikki?"

"I want to be free of that cursed GEAS on me! She knows about it! She knows it's words...so she must know how to rid me of it!"

"My Queen?" Sir Wallace searches for an answer from her.

"Mentor of my Nikki? Please heed my words and you Rohanna? That Geas, is the only thing holding you together and its binding is what helps you without you even knowing it? Please....lets us keep it? You need more time to balance, before being released from it's grasp?"

"How do I know you are not 'leading' me on? Till when after you have finished your sharpening me as a weapon...to use me again?"

Aunghadhail knew she was trapped now, her many plans for years to come, hundreds of years maybe. Those that dealt with this Drow....all gone in a flash! She was found out! Saying the wrong thing now...would turn Rohanna against Nikki forever! That was a certain outcome now.

"Do you wish a oath on not using you in that way...unless you will it yourself?"

"That I 'wish' for, you're not giving me, What I want for now...is your oath on never using me as a tool a weapon or influencing Nikki to do so" I growl though my closed helmet.

'That was bad' Aunghadhail now thought 'I am trapped not to us Rohanna in any way now! I can not even call on her via Nikki! From now on she is blocked from me or my use of her!

"Yes I give that oath in my true name" she almost sulks back to me in defeat "I hope that is good enough for you?"

"It is," I say in a whisper and my armor falls away back to my school uniform "Sorry once again Nikki to do that to you? What Aunghadhail did...that I found out only yesterday when I meet Caitlin, it was bad....very bad. The weight of that...will burden me for some time."

"Should we call class off for today?" Sir Wallace asks me.

"Please no, Class time, will get my mind off thinking or dwelling on this even more....for now away?"

"Fine take your seat, then lets start on seeing what Sidhe magic you do know and then what human style magic you understand?" he smiles at me.

~o~O~o~

As we restarted class.

A very angry and upset small girl, sat down on a small bench in the quad. When she settled down, she opened a satchel and pulled out a book. She then tried to play at reading a it, while watching the doors of one of the buildings near her and as she did, her mind wondered.

'Damn Drow! My chance at collecting that full bounty on her head almost ruined! Those silly boys nearly killed her Friday!'

'I arrived on Saturday with the influx of new kids coming in" she thought on 'And then I blended in with the bunch of them. I had hoped to kill her that very day! But no! She HAD to be out riding a bike! If I had known that, she would have been slain at the bar she visited!.... Damn the laws of fate!'

'Then Sunday...ruined again! Almost had her! She walked out into the far woods with that other teen girl, easy prey those two girls would have been out there...that far and well hidden from view. AND then I noticed the second blonde girl, was the second in charge of the security detail here! Then add to that! If my attack had indeed worked, she would have blasted me with that HUGE rifle of her's and before I had a chance to even run ten feet!'

A heavy sigh comes from her now, with her thoughts 'At least now? After stalking her for nearly a week and having to take on the disguise of a boy, another girl and even a temp teacher! AND that teacher role failed me, when I found trying to impersonate a magic teacher was a bad idea. I still have no idea, where that DAMNED door to the magic building is!'

'Now I have the Drow's habits working for me! She may use that teleport of her's, to move about all the time. But this is the one place, she has to come more than once a day! All I have to do is wait and have patience!'

Her eyes now narrow at the building she watches, hoping that the prey will come soon! The students of the vast campus pass her without even noting her presence. She is not 'cute' enough to garner a boy's attention or a girl's. This was planned, to blend is far better, when you are trying to kill someone!

------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, March 9 11:55 am
Kirby hall

Even with the long class time and the fact that the class subject truly intrigued me. My anger was still very real in its depth with Aunghadhail. I was seriously considering cutting her fully off, even the night tutoring! Those skills maybe needed by me over the vast years to come, but learning from her...it hurt now to even think about it! She had crossed a line so long ago, one that should never be crossed.

Nikki came up at a quick run up to my side and grinned at me "I am sorry for what Aung did."

"Not your place to do that for her."

"I have too, she is me."

I stop my walking, on my way to go eat at that sentence coming from her "No she is not you, just like you told me. I am not that Drow? right?" I question her logic.

"Yes you're right."

As I start walking again and she has to do some fast steps to keep up with my longer strides "Well? if you're going to Crystal? Lets port?" she asks me.

"Please, let's walk and talk a little?" I ask her and keep to my fast walking pace.

"Okay? but did you want to talk about, that?"

"No, its best to leave that alone for me to process for awhile. But lets talk over that last spell Sir showed us? He lost me on it, human magic is so strange to me? It's so chaotic at best!"

"I know what you mean! What Aung teaches me is one thing, then Sir shows me something else? What I have found so far? Is that they are the same, just a different road to the same spot."

"Humm makes sense....I guess?"

"Let that human part of you take over once an awhile. Then it will dawn on ya much faster, doing it that way? It worked for me!" she beams at me.

When we get to Crystals doors, we are deep into that last classes subject and barely take time to even get our food. After both our trays are filled with food and I got a large cup of hot coco for Violet at her insistence. We find a spot near where all the Poe kids usually gather at.

My stack of notebooks comes out as I sit and try to eat. But for the most part, instead of eating, I make several notes on what Nikki is saying to me. Then add new spell notations to the pages from class in that human style she suggested and now some of them are making sense now at her prompting.

Gwen quickly grabs a chair near us both, when she overhears what we are talking about and jumps right in with her helping me. "What Nikki is saying" she pauses to gulp down some of her food "It even works on my illusions, it gives them more....substance....almost real now...you can feel them!"

"That sounds kind of 'kinky' Gwen?" I jest her.

"Ohh you hang out with Sara far too much! That brain of yours is rolling into the gutter!" Gwen mocks me.

"That gutter is a fun place!"

"Sure it is.....sure it is" she warns me.

"Maybe I should show that boyfriend of yours some...'tricks' and lure you into it?" I play with her.

"Ohhh don't you even DARE!" she now threatens me, with a spoon covered in potatoes and gravy.

When she stops waving that spoon at me, then takes a bite. I notice Hank taking a seat at the table with us all "Hey Hank, how's the stomach today?" I greet him.

"Just fine...can't ya tell!?" he asks me, while waving at his tray stacked with food.

Nikki grins at his arrival and then chastises me "Ro what you did to him in Ito's class, that was low" she warns me.

"All's fair in war...Hank said he was good with training hard?"

"But that?" Nikki questions my technique.

"It surprised him...the whole class and Ito! So I did my job, I fought to the limit and won."

Hank laughs at my description to Nikki "Yep! she did surprise me and she did indeed win fairly."

After that Nikki lead, ad hoc class on magic, most of us all filed our way out the nearby doors and outside. My backpack got dropped onto a nearby bench as we talked even more about this week.

Violet was 'buzzing' around me like a bee on her liquid chocolate fix! I grinned up at her madness "So what's your next class?" I asked Nikki when I glanced down to her.

"Sucky math! God I hate that class!" she whines at me "What's yours?"

"I have a 'ethics in magic' course that Carson added late to my list....I think it was for that nastiness in Boston?"

"Nope, the darn thing is standard. Just be glad, you don't have to do the empath one too! Like I do!" she warns me.

~o~O~o~

Violet on one of her large flying loops around her charge, is venting off all that yummy sugar! But she spots on her wide swing flying, something heading towards the pack of kids below her at high speed......'is that Go-Go? I can't tell' her mind ponders.

When the girl charging at the kids below her, takes a long black blade from off her back. That more than alarms her 'that is not Go-Go!' and her spear comes out, ready for a fight. She flies, as fast as she can toward Rohanna screaming in warning.

~o~O~o~

As I giggle at Nikki's last statement on her math class and I am about to tell her 'its not that bad?'

Something hits me hard in the back and it's very fast! It is gone before I can even notice it. I stumble forward from the blow to my backside and I am thinking to spin around to yell at that kid for bumping into me.

But the stares and looks of shock on all the people standing around me stops me cold. Then I spot via my wider vision, Violet...She is crying at me, as she hovers near me "What?" I Question them all, then find it suddenly hard to breathe in.

When a smell of something burning, invades my foggy mind. A glance down to my chest, finds something there...that should not be there!

My glance down, finds a black blade covered in my now smoking blood. That is sticking out over two feet from my chest. That blood of mine, covers the blades surface and burns as it changes from my strange silver with red and black swirls in it...blood, to a burnt black mud, that flows onto my shirt and blazer.

Both of my hands wrap around the sharp blade and are cut badly from the sharp edge. Then a burning pain sets in my hands, as the blade burns them both like fire.

"That one is not one of my blades? I don't remember it, funny? How did I put that there?" I say out, in my mental fog.

Then my knees finally give out on me and my falling to the pathway below me starts. Hank speeds over to me and wraps a large arm of his around me, trying to keep me upright.

"DO NOT TOUCH THE HILT! IT IS A TRAP!" Aunghadhail warns at him, in the most loud and commanding voice she can muster.

But it's far too late, Hank already wrapped a hand around it and the hilt spins under his grasp to make one click. That sound made, makes him sick to hear it.....he just knows it's bad!

With that click, something deep in my chest happens and I cough up a virtual gout of burnt black blood from my open mouth. Then pass out from the pain.

"We need a doctor!" Hank shouts at the Quad filled with students.

Aunghadhail is sick with the knowledge of what that blade is and does. That oncoming sadness, transfers into Nikki. Who via her power over emotions, showers all near her in it for several seconds. Then a deep rage from Aunghadhail and Nikki fill that spot of emotion just as fast.

Most of the others near her, they almost start to cry....but a rage fills past that sadness fast! One to find who did this!

Aunghadhail takes over Nikki's body with her permission and moves closer to Hank holding the stricken Drow "Do not touch the hilt anymore! The trap held within it, will make the blade grow and tear her apart!"

"What is this thing?" he shouts, as he watches blackened blood flow around the blade and smoke come from the wound with a sizzling sound.

"That blade is the bane of all Sidhe! Made by we guess, the GOO who fought us back then? As none of us Sidhe were that cruel to create such a blade!.... I hoped so?"

Gwen reaches out one of her hands toward it, as she comes near to touching the blade, it makes her sick to even get close to the fowl black thing "It feels like that punishment baton, we got from Boston...a little?"

"It is made of the purest cold iron, forged in cold fire and then evil foul spells then are sewn into it" Aunghadhail informs the youth.

"What spells?" Gwen and Hank ask Aung, at the same time.

"The blade can grow in size many ways, when a trap in the hilt is set and then it splits the target in half" Aung says simply again.

Just as the medical van shows up, Hank looks up from the wound in the Drow "I made this worse when I touched her!"

"No child....you did not know, how could you? Even I have only seen one such blade in my long life! They are that rare....but who could even get their hands on one theses days?" Aung ponders out loud.

The assembled medics have an issue on their hands, how does one get an elf onto the stretcher with a long blade stuck in her! Hank and Gwen, just blast past both men standing there and take action. They place the Drow on the stretcher, on her side and shove it into the waiting van.

Gwen barks at both of them standing there "WELL! get in and drive this thing!"

~o~O~o~

When the stretcher rolls into the 'ER' of Doyle, Dr. Tenent runs over while hissing out "What is it with her! Is this world trying to kill this one kid!"

Both Nikki and Gwen stay back from the treatment area, but they both want dearly to be closer to their friend. But that cursed blade and its cold iron keeps them at bay.

Dr. Tenent makes a move to the hilt of the blade to remove it, but Hanks stops her with a harsh shove away "NO! don't touch it, the hilt has a trap on it, tell her Aung."

Few several long minutes, Aunghadhail goes over the known history of such weapons and after hearing that long explanation. Dr. Tenent stares harshly at the blade "Who would make such a sick thing! That is something that should never be made!"

Tenent examines the large video screen of the scans on her patent and can see that the blade is firmly in her. The blade must have went in thin and narrow. But after the trap sprung, it grew thicker and wider. The blade is starting to cut the Drow slowly in half.

Both lungs are cut badly, one heart is almost cut fully into two parts and the other is threatened with the same damage.

Then on top of all that damage, the cold iron of the blade is literally 'cooking' her from within! Burning her and poisoning her as it goes. Tenent makes mental note, on how much more this Drow is allergic to cold iron, than the other elves under her care, far worse!

Tenent questions out while cupping her chin in her hand in thought "Aunghadhail? how about cutting it out of her?"

"We tried that in the past, when the blade senses her being pulled away or cut away from it. It will grow in size, till that contact is regained."

"The darn thing can tell, she is moving away from it!"

"Yes, the spells contained in that blade are most foul, most cases we think Mythos made? And with that an intelligent spell!"

"How do you make a 'smart' spell?"

"Healer, do you really want to know such dark knowledge?" Aung asks coldly.

"No, but how do we get that damn thing out of her?"

"I can only think of one way, Caitlin might be able too?"

"How?"

"She dismantles the blade, while it is within Rohanna?"

"That might take time, we don't have?" As she says that, her patient coughs up another huge gout of blackened blood and wheezes in what air that she can.

"That or death?" is Aung's only answer, while her eyes cloud over from the tears of Nikki's growing sadness within her.

~o~O~o~

Several minutes later.

A very confused Caitlin is nearly dragged into the 'ER' ward "What in the heck can I do? I am not a surgeon!" she complains to Everheart.

Dr. Tenent points at the Drow on the large 'ER' gurney, as Caitlin comes into the room and hears her complaining "You can do that! I have been told what you are and the only one's in this room...they already know that, in one way or another! SO can you get that out of her and not kill her?"

"Ohh shit!" is all Cat says, then stands there pondering the issue.

"Well?" the doc urges her.

"My kind did not make this, I think? At least not a normal one of us! God! I have no memories of that! But I can try?"

"So? Anything you need as tools?"

"Ya, but no one has them! Maybe a set a watchmakers tools can work? Or something that small from the magic labs?"

Gwen smacks her head hard in sudden realization "The only person who might have those kind of tools, she is the one laying on the table!"

With that same thought in her mind, Gwen spots Violet perched on one of the nearby medical cabinets and walks over to her "Violet? Can you pull her belongings out of storage?"

"No, That I am sure of. I am also told that when she dies, all that she owns...may just simply be lost forever...to float off into the voids between the worlds."

"Shoot! Well I am dry for ideas!" Gwen yells.

"I will gather what I can!" Everheart says, then taps into the radio net via her internal computer. Now she sends out a call over it, for all the guards to gather what they can and BE FAST about it!

Not soon enough, Caitlin looks over a set of trays with the best small tools the school has, they range from old school watch maker tools, to new age divisor made ones and even some from the magic classes. All she added was large stack of silk cloths to the pile.

Her mind quickly makes a small selection almost on instinct of what is needed for this job. She looks to Nikki and the old Queen in her for guidance "Any idea's where to start?"

"In my time, I never watched over this. I was sadly above the pain of my soldiers like Rohanna. Then add this blade was so rare, I only ever saw one in all that time."

"So, I am going to give the hilt a try, as my internal 'feeling' says that is the right path?"

"Makes sense to me?"

"You sure you want to stay in the room with this much cold iron if I am wrong?" she has to ask, as this in some ways is like defusing a bomb, just no explosives ...only magic! and that's a lot worse!

"I am sure."

Gwen yelps "I am too, we stick together!"

But Caitlin did have both Sidhe, at least stay beyond a line on the floor and that line represented the closest she wanted them to come. As the spell on the blade could 'sense' them get any closer.

Caitlin begins with finding out what pins that hold the hilt together, seem to be traps and the ones that will remove the Mithril cover. With several minutes of study, she taps out a few and pulls out one via a tool she quickly made in haste.

With the cover now off, she can see the 'guts' of the hilt and the gems containing most of the essence of the spells at work. The etchings of the spells inside the hilt, 'glow' in warning of danger contained within.

A few more small gems, join the ones on the tray next to Caitlin and when she is about to knock one loose and finish that section of this complex puzzle. The Drow she is working on coughs a fit and spews up more dark blood. Dr. Tenent at the gurneys head, cleans the mess from her mouth and gives more oxygen to the Drow.

"She is okay...for now. I want to say go faster...but I know better" the doc, tries to giggle away the tension of the room.

Caitlin just nods and goes back to her work.

The last large cover is being pulled off from the inside by yet another tool that Cat had to make on the spot, when the runes all start to glow in anger. She scans the room looking for why and spots Sara trying to get into the room at the double doors.

"Stay out Sara! This darn thing knows who or what you are and either hates that! Or wants to go boom! To show you, it's doing it's job!" Caitlin yells at the teen demon at the room's door.

When Sara moves off down the hallway in a now bad mood at not seeing her friend, the runes lose that angry glow and Cat would wipe the sweat from her brow....if she still sweated!

The last small cover comes loose and shows her three gems under it "Well one of these has the last keeper pin under it. The other two are traps for sure! Anyone want to choose a color, My bet is on the green one?"

Even Aunghadhail gulps a little at the gallows humor "You're the Artificer, that is your choice? I have no idea?"

Gwen smiles her answer to Cat "Well green is my color! And it shows!"

Doc Tenent nods at Cat's glance to her "Your patient, Doctor."

Caitlin pries that last gem free slowly and reveals the pin beneath it, once she places yet more part of this puzzle in that tray. She examines that last part and finds it needs to be spun free, not unlike a small bolt.

After some changes to tools and the techniques she is using. The pin now rests on the tray. She takes a sheet of silk off the tray offering them, and covers her hand. Most magic users, see silk as a natural insulator of the flow of essence and with that magic.

With her hands covered twice in the silken cloth, she slowly takes the large gem pommel stone from the blades end off and slides out a long blade 'tang' with it.

When it's finally free, she breathes again, places it on the tray and wraps it tightly in even more silk.

"All done, the blade should shrink back to normal size and come free cleanly. Now it's up to you Ophelia!" Caitlin says, as she moves out of the way and the tray of her tools off to a waiting corner.

When the doctor hears that, she waves in her vast team of healers and technicians.

For the next hour, Tenent works on getting the blade lose, by cutting some of the smoking flesh of the Drow away from it. When the blade appears nearly free. She has Caitlin come back in and take the now loosened blade out slowly. While Tenent packs the wound closed and keeps the blood loss down.

When the blades tip clears the last of the Drow's skin, the sound of frying flesh stops and the smoking from the wound dies down. Then Caitlin moves the blade cradled in her arms, off to another table and lays it in a long tray covered in silk. Once laid down in the tray, she wraps the blade carefully and tightly in the silk layers, just like the other parts have been.

As the rest of the room works on the Drow patient, one nurse watching the vital signs for Tenant as she works, takes notice of a change "Ophelia...her temp has gone up two....in the last minute!"

"Damn it Ro...don't do that now!" she hisses through her facemask "You going into burnout, is not what we need now!"

"Add two more!" the nurse warns, not five minutes later.

"Get the cold packs ready! I think she is going into burnout on us!" Ophelia orders the room.

As the room worked on the growing issue of body temperature, Tenent worked on cleaning the large wound of burnt blood and flesh. Then sewing the wounds inside and out closed with silk thread. As using the divisor made thread. Even though it was better, would not work with a elves allergies.

When she was done, the body temperature was spiking yet again. That showed to her a full blown mutant burnout was happening. She hoped this was the Drow's body fighting to live and heal faster!

------------------------------------------------------------
END

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