Here's another Whateley fanfic that's been sitting around while I poke and prod at it, there's more to this one but I already have a chapter or two partitioned off, so here's the first one!

"This is fan fiction for the Whateley Academy series. It may or may not match the timeline, characters, and continuity, but since it's fan fiction, who cares? To see the canon Whateley Stories, check out Whateley Academy at ( http://www.crystalhall.org )"

Kudzu

Chapter 1: Herbology 101

By Angie "kitn" Hughes

-----

This is sort of my story. My dad said I should write this all down, to help me deal with the changes I'm going through. He says his journal really helped him, especially at first.

I guess I should start at the beginning. My name is Alyssa VanBuren, and my dad is Reginald VanBuren, He's not really my biological dad, he and Mom adopted me as a baby, after my birth mother left me at the hospital. But they are my real parents, even though I never got to know Mom, she died when I was two, from ovarian cancer. That's why they had to adopt, they couldn't have kids on their own, but by the time they knew why it was too late. Dad tells me I'm the reason he survived losing her, and sometimes he's still really sad about it.

So, anyway, I'm Alyssa, kind of a mousy girl, with brown hair and freckles, and I could pretty much disappear into any crowd. Look up "average" in the dictionary and you'll find my picture. Well, before anyway. But my dad, he's something special. He's a mage, he does real magic, he makes things that can do magical stuff, and fixes broken things like they'd never been touched. That's his job, he runs an antique restoration and repair service, with clients all over the world. We've always been pretty rich I guess, but I never really thought about it much.

We lived in a big house in the country, in Georgia, surrounded by forests and mountains, it's really beautiful. I had to ride a bus twenty minutes to school every day, but it was worth it to live there. I guess I was pretty normal in middle school and stuff, though I didn't really know a lot of people. I mean, people didn't notice me much, but I was okay with that. I did have a few friends, but I always felt a little distant from them. Maybe because my dad's kinda weird, and well, some people don't like mutants much, I don't really know.

But at home, I could do all sorts of things. Dad made fun stuff for me to play with, all kinds of magic things, but they never seemed to last very long. He thought maybe it was because he had so much magic stuff around the house, that it would get mixed together and kind of come apart or something. He tried to teach me a little bit, since he said everyone could use magic at least a little, but I never could make his spells work.

But best of all, were the forests. I've loved plants ever since I can remember. I used to walk for hours in the forest, and Dad always let me, he said he could find me no matter how I got lost, so I always felt safe. I can't remember how many times I was out until dark, only to find him standing over me with a lantern, ready to take me home. I even had him help me build a greenhouse in the back yard, so I could bring home some of the plants I found and collect them, grow them right there where I could see them any time. But no matter how I tried to take care of them, give them water and soil and plant food, they always died. So I decided to just keep visiting them where they grew.

Dad and I were really close, and I didn't spend all my time exploring the forest. He had friends of his own, more mutant friends, who would visit sometimes, and I got to meet them. He even knew some of the superheroes I saw on TV! I had a collection of autographs, and all of them were really nice to me. One of Dad's friends told him I was destined for something really special, that's when he started trying to teach me magic, but I didn't mind that I couldn't learn, I was happy the way I was.

So of course it all had to change.

It was June thirteenth, and it was really hot and sticky outside, but I went out anyway, because I wanted to explore some more of the forest. The sun shone down through the trees, just enough to be beautiful but still shady, and a slight breeze helped cut the heat some. If it got too hot there were tons of creeks to cool off in, I knew where to find them all.

No matter how many times I went out, I always found new places and things to see. I hadn't gotten lost in years, I could always find my way home, so I was free to go as far as I wanted. I was thirteen, old enough to not need Dad watching over me all the time anymore, but he still always knew how to find me, so I wasn't afraid of missing anything important.

About six miles away from the house, I found this amazing plant. It filled an entire clearing, everywhere the sun touched, with flowers of every color, vines climbing trees and covering the ground like a carpet. As I stepped into it, I could almost feel it filling me up with color, and it smelled so good, but so natural too, like soft moist soil with some sweet smell you can't quite place.

I kneeled down to smell one of the flowers up close, and it tickled the tip of my nose. It was so cool! I decided right then and there it had to be something new, something no one ever found before, because I knew my plants, and this was not one I'd ever read about. It had tiny trefoil leaves and climbing blossoms, and he vines looked like the kind that can grow faster than you'd ever expect, almost fast enough to see. It was like I could feel it growing around me, and it felt so good, so natural, I just tried to take it all in, the smell, the pretty colors, the feel of the leaves, the slight rustling of the wind blowing through everything, I could even almost taste that wonderful smell.

I carefully made sure I could find it again, and started running home to get Dad's camera and a notebook, maybe they'd name the flower after me! My nose was a little itchy, so I scratched it as I ran, but it didn't even occur to me it might be poisonous, I was just too excited. But after a while I was itching all over, and my throat and chest burned, and I couldn't run anymore. I was so scared, I was sure I'd die before making it home. Then just when I couldn't walk any more, I came out of the trees into our big yard. I itched so much, and burned like fire, and I couldn't even scratch. My skin felt like it was crawling all over, and my eyes were blurry, and I couldn't do anything but fall onto the lawn. I wanted to scream, but my throat was all tight and I couldn't breathe, then everything went dark.

-----

When I woke up again, I could still feel the itching, and for a minute I wanted to go back to sleep until it went away, but it wasn't so bad anymore, not really even itching so much as just that crawling feeling you get when you lay down too long. I wasn't entirely sure I wasn't dreaming, because I could see the ceiling even though the lights were off, but I figured if I could see then I could get to the bathroom, after all I just woke up.

Dad was next to me, sitting in a chair, and I realized I was in a hospital room. Everything felt weird, so I figured that plant must have been really poisonous. Dad looked really tired and kind of old, sleeping in the chair, but I didn't want to wake him yet, because he looked like he needed the sleep. He must have been really scared for me, it had to have been really bad then. I quietly sneaked to the bathroom and closed the door, then turned on the light, because it was weird walking around in the dark even if I could see clearly, and I wanted to see if the plant poison left any marks or scars. Then I saw the green girl and screamed a little.

It took me a few seconds to figure out I was looking in the mirror. I reached out to touch the glass, and the green reflection reached back. I was all green, and scaly! I thought, no way, this couldn't be happening, it all had to be a dream, and then Dad pushed the door open.

"Honey? Are you okay?" He looked really scared, like I might be dying or something, so I turned around to face him in my crappy hospital gown that didn't close all the way in the back, and he grabbed me in a big hug.

"Shhhh, it's okay, sweetie. Don't cry, you're alive so everything's okay." And I was crying, I could feel tears running down my face... the face of that green scaly girl in the mirror. I wondered, what had that plant done to me?

"Daddy, what's going on? That vine, it did something to me, it poisoned me or something!" My voice was softer than before, breathier, but it still sounded like me at least.

"Alyssa, you're special. A mutant, like me. Ever since Cassandra told me you were special I thought you might change, and it's okay, honey. Still, I was really scared for a while there, we all thought... Well, I'm just glad you're..." Daddy was crying too, so I hugged him tighter. I don't know how long we stood there, but at least with him holding me, I thought maybe everything would be okay, somehow.

Some time later, Daddy put me back on the bed, he carried me there from the bathroom like I was a baby. I didn't mind at all, it made me feel safe. A man in white knocked before coming in the door, with a clipboard in his hand and one of those things to listen to people's hearts on his neck.

"Hello, Alyssa, I'm Doctor Robert Hudson. You gave us quite a scare there for a while. I'm very glad you're still with us young lady, you very nearly weren't. You've obviously noticed the change in your appearance, and it will take you some time to get used to, but we will do all we can to help you adapt It's been six days since you were admitted, you know. You went through what we call a burn out, do you know what that means?" I shook my head, it didn't sound like a good thing.

It's when your mutant side becomes active, and begins changing your body, but the change occurs too rapidly. Your body heats up very hot, and burns through all of its nutrients very quickly. People can go from healthy to the brink of death in minutes during a burnout. Your father saved your life when he brought you directly here seconds after he found you. This hospital is better equipped to handle burn out better than most, but your case was an unusual one. Halfway through, the nutrient solution we were giving you stopped helping, and we almost lost you before we found out you needed nitrate and potassium solutions instead, basically plant fertilizer." It was weird, I didn't understand much of it at all. Especially why I would need plant fertilizer.

"Can you tell me what happened before you started to change?"

"I... I was out in the forest near our house, about 6 miles southwest of home. I found this clearing with this perfect ivy in it, I think it's an undiscovered species. But maybe it's poisonous or something, because when I smelled the flowers, it made my nose itch, but I didn't think of that, I just ran home to get the camera and stuff. Then I got all itchy and it burned and I passed out near the house." I winced at remembering the itching, it was worse than anything ever.

"And this plant, it had leaves with three sections, and bright flowers in every color?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Great, I thought, not only am I a weird green scaly freak now, but apparently the plant I discovered isn't even a new species, if Doctor Hudson knows about it.

"I think you've turned into the plant, somehow. Why don't you get a better look in the mirror? I don't think you've really seen yourself." Shrugging, I went to the bathroom again to get a better look in the mirror. The green girl was still there, but on closer look the "scales" I'd seen in the quick glance earlier were tiny leaves! Not only that, but they were just like the leaves of the ivy I'd found! And my hair, that wild multicolored hair, was really tiny flowers, tons of them! The flowers trailed all the way down to the middle of my back! I didn't really feel much different, a little in a hard to explain way, but I sure *looked* different! I poked one of the leaves, and it felt just like I was poking myself before. The leaf was soft and smooth, and seemed somehow connected to the leaves around it. It was even warm, and had the faintest feeling of a pulse.

"Weird... Why did this happen to me? Damn it, I don't want to be a plant!" I heard a loud crack and looked down where my hand was gripping the porcelain sink, and several cracks grew quickly outward from my hands. I was so mad, I just squeezed harder, and the thing came apart in my hands. I stared in horrified fascination as little rooted vines writhed back into my hands, from where they'd been destroying the porcelain.

"Oh God... I'm sorry..." Doctor Hudson had come to check on me, followed by Dad, I guess when they heard the crack. "I didn't mean to... I should have left those vines alone."

Before I knew it Daddy was hugging me while I cried some more, all I could think was it was all my fault, and now everyone was going to hate me and be afraid of me because I was a freak.

"Please, God... I'll do anything, just fix this..." I gasped out between sobs, "Just make it all go back... the way it was!" I couldn't stop crying, and Daddy holding me was so warm and comforting, I guess I fell asleep.

-----

I spent several days in that room, not wanting to face anybody. At first I didn't want to open the window or anything, just sit in the dark, but after the first couple of days I started to feel a little sick, and my leaves... God I hated that word then... started to grow brown spots on the edges, so my "skin" looked kind of dirty. Sometimes I would wake up with little creeper vines growing out of me, and just after my leaves started turning brown, some of the vines creeped into the window and pulled open the curtains. After that I started to feel better.

Dad tried to cheer me up too, but I really wanted to wallow in my own depression right then. I mean, all I could think of was how much of a freak I was now and how I'd never fit in anywhere. Doctor Hudson told me to take as much time to adjust as I needed, though then I was pretty sure I'd never be happy again. Still, it turned out he was a pretty good judge of these kind of things, I guess he'd had more than a few mutant patients.

It had been almost a week since I woke up changed, and once again the creeper vines had gone to the window; now there were almost more of them in the room than there was me! I climbed out of the bed and grudgingly moved toward the window, and as I did, the vines crawled back into me. It's kind of a weird sensation at first, like skin crawling, but I guess you can get used to just about anything. When I stood in front of the window, and the sunlight just soaked in, and warmed me up, I just... felt better. I felt like maybe it wasn't so bad. Even if people couldn't accept me, Dad did, and that was always enough before. And dad's friends, the mutants and magic users and other weird people he knew, maybe they would accept me too. It was like turning on a light switch, almost.

Dad was not in the room at the moment, it was just me, so I stepped away from the sunlight, still full of energy, and opened the door. Outside the room, several nurses and doctors went about their work, but one of the nurses who'd checked in on me a few times waved and smiled at me. Then I knew things would be okay.

"Hey, looks like you're feeling a little better today, huh, Alyssa?" The nurse was Mary-Beth Connors, and she had been nice to me while I was moping around, so I figured it was time to start actually making friends.

"Yeah, I let a little sunshine in and I feel a lot better now."

"You sure look it, you look prettier than my garden at the height of the season!" I wasn't sure how to take that, but since I was on a roll with feeling good, I decided it was a compliment.

"Thank you! I'm sorry I've been such a sourpuss this last week, it's just taking some time to get used to." At this point, several doctors and nurses had stopped to pay me attention. They were all smiling at me, and while it felt good, it was starting to get a little overwhelming.

"Do you know where my dad is? I think I want to go home, now that I'm feeling better."

"Sure thing, you just sit tight and I'll give him a call. He said he had a little work to do, but to call him if anything changed. He'll just be tickled pink to know you're feeling better!" I thanked her and went back to my room, which looked much cozier with the sun shining in, and sat down to wait by the window. It still amazes me, how much a little sunshine can brighten my mood.

When Dad opened the door, I jumped a little; the warm sunlight felt so good I'd gone to sleep. A few vines had crept to the window and opened it, and the fresh air felt really nice too.

"Hey, honey, I'm glad you're feeling better. I brought you some of your clothes, if you're ready to go home. Doctor Hudson said you were free to go any time. He did want to see you before you go, though."

"Alright, Dad, thanks for putting up with my mood lately. You've been a big help keeping me cheered up." I took the bag he held out and went to change in the bathroom What's funny is, I hadn't been back in there since I broke the sink. Someone must have come and replaced it while I was sleeping or moping around. Then it occurred to me I hadn't had to *use* the bathroom since the change! At least I'd never have to wait in line for bathroom privileges again, though a shower seemed like a really good idea.

"Give me a little bit, Dad, I need to wash up. I'll be right out!" The shower was warm and the water made my "skin" all tingly. I felt very refreshed and, well, healthy afterward, and I didn't even have to dry off, my leaves just kind of soaked up the extra water. While I was in there, it occurred to me I'd grown a few cup sizes, and a few inches taller. It was kind of weird, but really nothing compared to being turned into a walking flower garden. I took it in stride, and quickly slipped into the panties and jeans, but the bra just wasn't going to work anymore. I tried the t-shirt, one that had been a bit baggy on me before, and now it was a little tight up top, too. Great, I though, no bra and a top that doesn't cover much.

"Ummm, Dad, could I get a sweater or something? My top doesn't fit me right anymore."

"Okay, honey. I'll see what they have in the gift shop." It turns out I was in a new wing of Atlanta General, so what Dad brought back was an oversize sweater with "ATLANTA" in big bold blue letters. At least it wouldn't make me "stick out" any worse than any other ivy-girl with flower hair.

People in the street stared as Dad walked me out to the car. I tried not to let it get to me, but I flinched a little when some kids in the parking lot started laughing at me. It seems Dad used up one of his more powerful items to get me there in a hurry, but the ride back could be at a regular car pace. That was fine with me, I loved watching the countryside coast by while we drove. At least the plants on the side of the road didn't judge me.

It took a couple of hours to reach home, and in that time, I kind of dozed off in the sunlight again. Something about it felt so warm and good. When I woke up, little creeper vines were hanging out the window, over the dashboard, into the back seat, and even onto Dad a little bit. I think that's why he woke me, they were starting to get in the way.

"Honey, can you maybe move your... vines? I can't change gears without damaging them, and I don't want to hurt you."

"Sorry, Dad. They have a mind of their own sometimes. If I'm not paying attention, or if I'm sleeping, they just sort of wander." It was true, they usually wandered to the window in the hospital, for sunlight probably, but they never seemed to sit still. They even did it when I was just daydreaming. Sometimes they didn't want to come back, either, like now. "Ummm, Dad, they're not coming back." One of them twined around the steering wheel, while another tightened on the gearshift.

"Damn, I better pull over." Dad hit the clutch and pushed on the brakes, and the engine roared as a vine pushed the gas. With a sigh he turned off the engine, and we coasted to a stop, but he had to wrestle a vine for the steering wheel to get us off the road.

By that time I was almost in tears. "I'm sorry, Dad, they don't always do what I want them to... I didn't mean to almost get us in a wreck!"

"I know honey. Believe me, it took me a while to get hold of my powers, and the stronger they are, the harder they can be to control. Just take your time, and try to make them behave." Dad was always like that, nothing ever made him lose it. I guess it helped that I always tried to be a good daughter, we never really fought.

"You know what? When we get home, I'm going to start you on some basic magic control exercises. You'd always had the ability for magic, though I can't tell how much potential. But maybe whatever's been blocking you from learning magic is gone now. Maybe the exercises will help you control your vines too. Sound like a plan?"

"Okay, I'll try Dad. But for now..." I slowly pried the vines off the steering wheel and other controls, and stuffed them in the foot area of my seat.

"I think we can go now, as long as I'm watching them they shouldn't bother you, I'll just have to stay awake." At least we were most of the way home.

-----

As soon as we got home, Dad had me lead him to where I found the vines, but when we reached the spot, all we found was a horrible mess that smelled even worse than it looked. The vines had withered up and died, apparently several days before, maybe right after I found them in the first place. They had leaked yellow sap all over everything, and the other plants and trees around them didn't look very healthy either, like they were as nauseated by the mess as Dad and I. I resolved to come back now and then, to be sure that whatever it was didn't spread.

The next couple of weeks were some of my most frustrating ever. Dad was always patient, trying to teach me magic, but for some reason I just couldn't get it. I couldn't even do the simplest spells, though some of the meditation stuff was interesting, and I could almost feel the... well, potential is the closest word I could think of.

It was like a dammed up river, no matter how I tried to go at it, I couldn't do anything with it. Before, there was nothing, but now, I knew it was there, I just couldn't figure out how to use it. Dad said it was progress, I was sure it was just frustration.

And worse, those vines were acting up more than ever. Every morning I woke up with my bedroom destroyed, vines knocking everything over, hanging out the window, even putting roots into the ground outside. My morning wake up ritual had a whole new time-consuming problem, untangling the things from everything! But I found out the hard way it was better to untangle them than to cut or break them off. I got frustrated with some of the vines hanging out the window and refusing to un-root from the dirt and just broke the creepers, and it hurt! Just for a second, it felt like breaking a leg or something. On the other hand, all the vines crawled back in on their own when I did it.

Oh, and Dad found out a little more about the vine that started the whole thing, too. One of his friends, Sparrow, came to visit. She's a devisor, which means she makes machines that no one else can figure out. She has this cool jetpack that runs on solar energy. Anyway, when I peeked in to find out what the shouting was about, I caught Dad in the middle of a big tirade.

"-can you be so irresponsible?! If you have some magical plant that you've souped up with your devisor lights, how could you just fly around with it? Plants drop seeds, there could be more of those things all over the place! They could change everyone in Georgia into plants! The whole state could be overrun by faerie kudzu!"

"Listen, I'm sorry, I admit that was a stupid move. But I've been trying for weeks, no matter what I do, they die after no more than a week. I just can't keep them alive, faerie plants don't thrive in our soil. And I've gotten their pollen all over me, but I'm not changing. It had to have been something special about Alyssa, some interaction of the magical plant with her own latent powers. But either way, I promise you, I'll destroy all my samples as soon as I get back, and I'll patrol for any sign of them in the forest, if they do start to spread somewhere, I'll catch them. I'm really sorry about Alyssa..." I guess she saw me poking my head in the door because she looked startled for a minute, then waved.

"Oh, hey, Alyssa, didn't see you there at the door. Come on in, how're you feeling?" She seemed worried, but I shrugged.

"I'm okay. These stupid vines are getting into everything though. Is it true, am I really some kind of faerie plant now? I mean, now that I'm kinda used to the idea, well, if I have to be a plant at least I'm a special one, right?" She smiled at me when I said that, and I looked at Dad. He still looked a little mad, but he was settling down some.

"It's not her fault, Dad, if it was just the plant that did this, she'd be like me. It was an accident, and if it weren't for these annoying vines, I think I might kind of like it. But I'm just not getting this magic stuff, I can feel it, but it's like I'm doing something wrong." Sparrow looked at me a little odd, then at Dad.

"Hey, Eric, aren't there a bunch of different ways to do magic? I mean, you're great with magical devices and things, but if I remember right, you had a lot of trouble at first, because regular spells didn't work right for you, or something. Maybe she just has a different way of doing it than you do, you know?"

It still makes me laugh to remember Dad's face, having a basic concept about magic explained to him by someone who didn't know anything about magic. It was even funnier because she was right. His eyes were wide and his mouth just hung open like a fish! I didn't know real people even made faces like that.

"Sparrow, you're completely right. I've been trying to teach her symbols and equations and rituals, but if she's a faerie plant now, she'll probably do a lot better with faerie magic, or nature-based spells, I can't believe that didn't even occur to me! But, Alyssa honey, I don't know the first thing about nature or faerie magic, I'll have to send you to Whateley if you want to learn that. That's the school I went to, when I was your age. They could help you learn to control your powers, too. But it is a boarding school, which means you'd be living there instead of here with me, except summer and holiday vacations." I was a little stunned, I'd never been away from home long.

"Ummm, let me think about it, okay, Dad? I mean, school doesn't start for a couple of weeks yet, and that's a pretty big decision."

"It's a great place, Alyssa, and you'll fit in there, a lot more than any of us could ever fit into a regular public school. If you do decide to go, I want to cover your tuition, since it was my project that caused all this."

-----

I went outside to think about it, walking in the forest. That had changed too, not only did I know Dad was keeping a closer eye on me whenever I went out now, but everything felt different. The smells, the light, the feel of the dirt under my bare feet... It was even better than before, walking in the woods. I found my favorite tree, with a little niche right between its roots just perfect for me to sit in and think.

Did I want to go to Whateley? Dad had told me stories about it, and it seemed a bit crazier than regular public school, but then, if everyone were mutants with special powers, that made sense. Some of the stories he told me *had* to be made up though, no way would teachers allow students to fight! The only really important thing though, was did I want to leave home, for a chance to learn to control my magic, and my vines?

I turned it over and over in my head, as the sun slowly moved across the sky, beams filtering in through the tree canopy to drift across the bark onto my leafy skin. I don't know if I dozed off or just spaced off, thinking about it, but when I became alert again, I realized I had vines climbing around the tree, up it, rooting in its bark, in the ground around me, and generally rooting me to the spot, unable to move.

I struggled for several seconds, desperately willing the damned things back into me, or at least to let go and let me get up, but they didn't budge. It wasn't uncomfortable, but I was starting to think they wanted me to spend the rest of my life there. Life as a rooted plant did *not* seem like much fun.

"Help! Dad! Anybody!!" I screamed at the top of my breathy voice, and in a few short seconds Dad was standing next to me, holding one of his little magical things, it looked kind of like a Rubik's Cube but with weird symbols instead of colors.

"Dad! These stupid vines rooted me to the tree and I can't move!" I was crying by then, it was so damn frustrating! He carefully peeled the vines off of the bark, and as he did the little roots in the bark pulled out, instead of breaking off. At least it didn't hurt. It was, however, horrendously embarrassing,

"Do you really think Whateley can help me... control these stupid vines?" I sniffled and forced out.

"Honey, if anyone can, they can." He hugged me tight, once all the vines were pulled off, and they finally started retreating back into me.

"Okay, I'll go. But you better keep in touch!" He just hugged me more.

-----

It took me a while to pack, I tried to take only the things I needed, but it was hard to tell what I did, anymore. I needed clothes, and shoes and stuff, but most of my tops didn't fit anymore. Dad took me shopping, and let me buy almost a whole new wardrobe, but my color sense was kind of skewed too. I mean, when your skin color goes from fair with freckles to green, it kind of changes the colors you want to wear. Earth tones looked best on me now, though I did get some brightly colored gypsy skirts and blouses. Okay, so I'm no fashion Nazi, but I do like to look good, and they were what worked for my body.

Anyway, Dad said to pack light because I wouldn't likely have a lot of dorm space, and would probably have a roommate. I really hoped it would be someone nice. Dad filled out the paperwork for me, and Sparrow paid for my tuition like she said, but Dad said I should think about a part time job on campus, to help build character. I kind of got it, but I was a little more interested in making some spending money. Yeah, I know, Dad could afford to give me spending money, but if he was suggesting the job, I assumed it meant he probably didn't want to. Still, maybe it was a good idea, and I knew he'd be there for me if I really needed it, so it was worth a shot.

Dad decided to drive me up to Whateley, a twenty hour drive, but I didn't really want to take a train and be alone in a private car for the trip. He wasn't too enthused about me going alone anyway, such a long distance, so he just locked everything up and we left. Dad planned to take a 3 day trip, so that any time I started to feel sleepy, we could ind a place and rest, to keep from causing trouble with my vines again.

It's surprisingly boring, watching the roadside, trying to concentrate to keep my vines from doing anything unhelpful. I counted license plates from twenty three different states, including Alaska, I read most of a fantasy novel I'd packed for the trip, and even spent some time trying to make vines crawl out of my palm and back in, to see if they'd do it (they didn't).

On the plus side, the ride was uneventful, and Dad and I had lots of time to talk, about Whateley and how I was adjusting and his work and stuff. It really helped ass the time and I think Dad and I bonded some more. I love having such a great dad! Anyway, we finally arrived at these big iron gates, with a sign over them proclaiming "Whateley Academy." These two really creepy gargoyles stood over the gate posts; it felt like they were staring at me, even though they didn't have faces!

Dad made a call on his cell phone, letting someone know he was at the gates to bring me for admitting, and the gate swung open. The place looked like every picture of a private school I'd ever seen, with brick buildings, ivy on some of the walls, and carefully tended grounds along the driveway.

I looked around at the place I was to call home for the next nine months, minus vacations. It looked nice enough, not like a chaotic place with fights and armed guards and old magic things. The admitting process was pretty simple, since Dad had already done the paperwork and knew some of the staff apparently. One woman, Mrs. Hart seemed like the always angry type, and I made a note to avoid her, but most of the staff seemed nice.

Dad showed me around, even though he said the official freshmen orientation wouldn't start until Monday afternoon. I'd been assigned to Whitman Cottage, a girls' dorm, on the ground floor. Apparently the upperclassmen were assigned the higher floors, by year, which made little sense to me. I figured the best floor is the ground floor, no walking up and down stairs!

The great thing about being there early was, I got to pick which side of the room was mine, so I claimed the bunk under the window. Hopefully my roommate would be okay with it, but I wanted the sunshine. Dan helped me carry my stuff in, and I unpacked my clothes an things. A few other kids walked around campus, and I could see the school flag and a yellow flag waving on the flagpole outside my window.

The Whitman House Mother, Mrs. Savage, was very friendly. She was big, almost like a wrestler, but just didn't have that threatening attitude some people get. She asked if I needed any special accommodations, but I told her I couldn't think of anything. We had a late lunch/early supper at giant crystal dome building called Crystal Hall (What a creative name!), but I didn't feel very hungry so I mostly just sat with Dad while he ate. That's another thing I've given up since the change, I don't eat, or use the bathroom, and I drink in the shower.

After that, dad had to leave, but it was really hard watching him walk away, I felt like a piece of me was leaving too. I know it sounds sappy, but I always have been very close to him. I spent a little more time walking around campus, and even checked out the library, it was surprisingly big, and I leafed through a few books I found on nature and faerie magic, but I wasn't really paying much attention. All I could think of was that Dad would be back on I-95 right about then, and I didn't know anyone here.

I wandered back to my dorm as the sky darkened, and tried to get some sleep. Several other students had moved in about the same time I did, but not my roommate, and I didn't happen across any of them, so the whole place felt empty. Eventually sleep overtook me.

-----

I hadn't thought to set my alarm, so by the time I woke up Monday morning, the whole school was alive. Kids were moving in, staff were busy, and I, well, I was climbing out my window so I could get my hands on the creepers and uproot them. During the night, they'd opened the window, climbed out and rooted in the dirt outside, as well as the brick wall. There had to be some way to make them stop, I just couldn't spend all year with my window open at night!

Mrs. Savage appeared around the corner of the building and shook her head.

"Miss VanBuren, I see you have a problem here." She joined me to help out, and gently plucked vines from the brick and ground. "We'll have to find some way to control these vines of yours, and you really shouldn't be outside in your nightgown."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Savage, I can't keep them out of trouble when I'm asleep, they want to crawl all over things and out windows. That's why I came here..." She nodded, and smiled at me.

"Have you considered the possibility that maybe they're searching for your sustenance? Plants need water, nutrient-rich soil and sunlight to thrive, and I imagine your vines are no different." It was such an obvious answer, I can't imagine why I didn't think of it myself before then.

"I'll have your bed replaced with something more suitable today, and we'll see how it works. I think you'll find that tonight your vines don't wander so much." I blushed, embarrassed now, because the vines had finally retreated, and I was standing there in nothing but a nightgown, covered with dirt from digging up creepers while my house mother assessed my sleeping habits.

"I better go inside and get a shower and clean clothes. Thank you, Mrs. Savage!" I wonder if I left those speed lines like some of the speedsters do?

-----

The shower was embarrassing, I looked like I'd been rolling in the dirt, and some of the other girls stared at me. It couldn't have been my looks, I mean, yeah I was a plant, but one girl was almost all huge snake! A lot of the other girls looked different than normal humans, but I was definitely drawing attention, so it had to be the dirt caked on.

After the shower, I felt much better, and I decided to start out on a bright note, with one of my multicolor gypsy skirt and blouse combos. I was a little embarrassed because some of the girls were still watching me, but I shrugged it off and hurried back to my room. I arrived just in time to meet my new roommate.

"Oh hi! You must be my roommate! I guess you already picked the spot by the window? That's okay, as long as you don't mind me hanging out by it sometimes, it's a pretty nice view of the quad. My name's Sunny, what's yours?"

"Umm, hi, I'm Alyssa VanBuren. So, you're a freshman too, huh?" Yes, it was a lame bit of small talk, but she seemed like she could carry on the whole conversation by herself anyway. Not that I'd complain, she seemed really nice.

"Yeah, I'm new here. I can kind of control light, it's a pretty wild power, but I also glow like the sun all day and all night. So it's probably best that you get the window bed anyway, I'd just keep people awake. I hope it won't keep you awake. So how about you, can you do anything? I mean, the flower thing is cool, and you smell totally awesome, you could make a killing in the perfume market."

"Really? I mean, I guess I don't notice my flower scent, it's been with me ever since I woke up this way. And I supposedly have magic power, though I haven't been able to use it yet. And I have these vines that grow out of me, but they mostly just get into everything. Mrs. Savage is going to try something she thinks will help with that."

"That's cool, Mrs. Savage seems like a pretty nice, I asked her about my roommate before I met you, and she was all, 'I think you'll like her, she's very distinctive!' and I was like, 'Okay, cool, as long as she's not all pushy and stuff.' Mrs. Savage smiled, so I figure she's not gonna be a bitch like my stepmom. Anyway, I know we'll get along, you're a good listener, and I totally talk too much!"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. We chatted a little longer before Mrs Savage gathered all the freshmen together for orientation. She showed us this vault full of interesting stuff, apparently it was all gifts from people that graduated from Whateley and made it big. It kind of gave me a little more hope the school could really teach me to control my body and magic.

Mrs. Savage also showed us around campus, but I'd seen most of it yesterday when Dad showed me around, so it wasn't really anything new. But it was nice to be reminded where everything was, so I knew I wouldn't get lost. She warned us to stay away from the forest, but I was more curious than worried. It was just a forest right? Sure kids get lost, but I knew how to track myself well enough, and I really missed the forest back home already.

So, since classes wouldn't officially start until Tuesday, Sunny and I, along with maybe half of Whitman Cottage, just settled in and hung out in the large common room. Girls would filter in and out from their rooms or from outside, but I decided to just find a sunny spot next to a window and relax. Sunny was nearby, talking up a storm, and it was kind of like getting sun from both sides even. And surprisingly, a lot of girls came to talk to me.

"Hey, I love the flowers! What kinds of powers do you have? Those flowers smell wonderful! What classes are you in? Ooh, you're in my Magical Theory class! Can you do any magic yet? Do you read Harry Potter? Do you play GEO? How did you get your powers and stuff?" I was starting to get a little embarrassed by the attention, but it felt kind of good, too. No one called me a freak, or laughed at me, and they all seemed to want to know about me!

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't the center of attention really, but it was definitely more attention than I was used to. Not that I minded. I made more friends that first day than I ever had in my old school, and ones I didn't have to keep secrets from. It was a lot of fun, and before I knew it the trees started casting their shadows in the window and everyone began filtering out to the Crystal Hall for supper.

I was a little overwhelmed still, but in a good way, so I didn't follow everyone to supper. Instead I pulled back the vines that had climbed to the window from my shoulder and left for my room. Attention and excitement were great, but I wanted some peace and quiet too.

I spent a moment staring at what had replaced the bed under the window, it looked kind of like a waterbed frame, but inside it was a patch of what looked like potting soil. At first I thought maybe it was a prank, but then I remembered Mrs. Savage suggesting my vines wanted to root and get nutrients for soil, so I just shrugged and accepted it. Still, it seemed like an awful mess come morning.

I sat on my dirt bed and looked through my class schedule. The morning classes were all regular academics: Science, Algebra, History, English, and the like. After lunch came the weird ones: Magic Theory, Powers 101, Martial Arts and Costuming. Tuesday promised to be a whole new school experience.

I decided to go look in the mirror, I had kind of been avoiding it since waking up in the hospital. I know, going weeks without thinking about your appearance is maybe a little crazy, but it was still a bit of a shock, and I wasn't ready to deal with it. But not one person had thought I was a freak yet at Whateley, and I guess I wanted to know if I was as attractive as a lot of the girls seemed to think.

The first thing I noticed were the flowers. They bloomed like hair from my head, in every color I could ever imagine a flower being. Tiny little flowers, similar to foxglove but smaller and brighter. They hung down to the middle of my back, but they didn't look at all crushed from me leaning back on them when I was sitting earlier. My skin was tiny green leaves, three-pointed and fitting together almost like scales. My eyes were some sort of small fruit, sort of like an olive, but white, with green irises. They looked almost like they used to, except with tiny green veins instead of red, and I even had eyebrows, made up of tiny little vines growing like hair, arched higher and thinner than before. My lips were a little fuller than before, but not much, and my cheekbones a little higher. My ears were almost like elf ears, they stuck out from the flowers with high-swept lobes, but it just made me look somehow mystical.

If I'd had the same body shape, back before all this, I would definitely have been a lot more popular in school, no matter how much I pushed people away. I looked like a busty cheerleader, except for the green leafy look and elf ears. And apparently something about the way I smelled was attractive too, though I couldn't really tell. I mean, I knew I had a flowery smell, but I was used to it.

Sunny walked in while I was staring into her mirror, and waved.

"Hey, I didn't see you at supper, I guess you weren't hungry? Hey, neat new bed! Guess you needed a flower bed, huh?" she giggled and I couldn't help but smile, she seemed too friendly to be making fun of me.

"Yeah, well, as long as my vines don't go climbing out the window at night. Might not be much fun come winter. Still, it's gonna mean a lot more work keeping things clean." Sunny nodded then shrugged.

"Yeah, but no big deal. I mean, I'm not a neat freak. We can take turns vacuuming every day. Anyways, you should totally come to Crystal Hall for meals, even if you're not hungry, it's a great place to hang out and stuff. And there was already a fight today too, nobody was hurt or anything, but it was really exciting!"

"It's alright, Sunny, I'm a little worn and just wanted some time to myself. I'm not used to being the life of the party." I grinned at her sheepishly, and she laughed.

"Well, get used to it, you're hot, you smell like *totally* awesome, and you're my roomie, and I *love* to party. We're gonna bring this school to life!"

"I better get some sleep then, if you're gonna keep me that busy!"

 
"This is fan fiction for the Whateley Academy series. It may or may not match the timeline, characters, and continuity, but since it's fan fiction, who cares? To see the canon Whateley Stories, check out Whateley Academy at ( http://www.crystalhall.org )"

---

 
Chapter 2: Alyssa in Wonderland
 
 
I woke up feeling brighter and more energetic than ever before. Mrs. Savage was right, the vines never left the window. The soil was full of creepers, and several vines spilled over the side and crawled over to bask in Sunny's light, but the window was closed. A few vines had however pulled the curtains open, and I decided sleeping nude was not likely to be a good idea. Not that I ever did, but definitely not time to start.

Sunny was a little startled at first, waking up to find vines looming over her, in fact her little screech is what woke me up. But they immediately pulled away from her and back into me, sliding under the leaves all over my body, and she settled down.

"Sorry, Sunny, I didn't mean to scare you. They have a mind of their own, and I guess they liked the light."

"Yeah, it's okay, I just wasn't expecting it. Like an old B-movie, you know? But you're totally *not* a movie monster, so no big. But I gotta get ready, I have English first thing. See you later!" With that she was off to the showers, while I carefully dusted all the loose potting soil back into my bed. It wasn't perfect, but it was a big improvement.

I reached the showers just as Sunny was leaving, and today several of the other girls waved and talked while we cleaned up for class. One of them, Melanie (who's power had something to do with tones and sounds) asked if I was sleeping outside in the dirt, but I just laughed and told her, "Something like that." and she laughed too, so apparently it wasn't mean-spirited.

The morning classes were boring, and even seemed a little easier than usual. At lunch time I sat with Sunny and a bunch of other girls, but only to talk with them. It was actually pretty fun, being included in things, though the girls got pretty graphic, talking about boys. I mean, I've talked with girls at school about guys that were hot before, but this was a whole different level, and they just got raunchier and raunchier after a while. Everybody at the table was blushing, I felt like I definitely was, but it didn't stop them. Thankfully they were pretty quiet about it, and in the noise of the cafeteria, I didn't think anyone else could hear.

When the bell rang, I was pretty sure everyone was a little weirded out about it. All of us were almost panting, even me, and I hadn't been contributing to the discussion! Still, it was naughty and exciting stuff, and I guess it got everybody worked up. At least everybody seemed to cool off when we left the Crystal Hall.

My next class was Powers Theory. It was really interesting, the first day we discussed the broad classifications of powers and abilities. I mean, I already knew I was a mage, but there are so many other classifications, and you can be several at once. I figured I was an exemplar, because my body was conforming to a shape I wasn't born with, and that made me wonder if I could regenerate, or had super strength. Those traits tend to go hand in hand with exemplars. I wasn't ready to go hurting myself to see if I heal up fast or anything, but I did break that sink in the hospital right after I changed...

There were also warpers, who can well, warp things, like energy, matter or space. Psychics, whose powers were based on altering physical force by willpower alone or sensing the thoughts and emotions of others. Energizers, who produce energy of some sort from their bodies. Sunny was a pretty good example of that. We didn't have time to go into detail that first day; there were way too many possibilities and unique cases to talk about. Most of the class seemed really excited to try and classify their own powers, and the teacher had to call order several times.

Then came Principles of Magic. Mrs. Ophelia Tenant, also known as Caduceus, taught the class with a bright cheeriness that seemed to grab everyone's attention and hold it. All the boys nearby seemed especially interested in her, the desks did little to hide the fact that several were shifting around in their seats and setting textbooks in their laps as she talked facing the class, her long blonde hair writing notes on the blackboard in chalk. It was funny, watching them squirm, I couldn't blame them, either; she was a very beautiful woman. I tried to pay attention because this was the subject I wanted to learn most, but the hair kept drawing my attention. It seemed almost to have a life completely its own!

Still, Principles was a really good class for magic, we started out with basic ideas, things Dad taught me years before. Magic is simply forcing your will onto the fabric of reality. Really, anyone can learn some magic, we use it every day, simply by believing in things. But to do it intentionally, noticeably and control it, takes a lot of concentration, practice, and usually a certain amount of talent. Some types of magic are actually part of your being, like faerie magic, only those born with it can use those types. According to Dad, I had something like that, and if my body was any example, it was likely something to do with nature, or faerie.

After Principles of Magic came Martial Arts. Not something I'd ever tried, but it was either that or some survival class that Sunny had told me was the same as declaring yourself a victim. The teacher had us call him Sensei Ito, and he was actually nice, in a pinch-faced kind of way. He had us all show him what we know, and I was one of a small few that didn't know anything. I'd never been in a fight at all, but some of the things some of the other kids could do... There were kids dressed up as ninjas, and others who looked like extras on one of those martial arts movies. Most of them moved really fast, and did things I couldn't even see clearly. There was a bouncy black girl who almost nobody could even touch, and this tiny little girl who had to be twelve at the most, who did moves I know would have thrown me around like nothing. It was kind of depressing, because I was way behind most of the class.

Sensei Ito paired up the more experienced kids and told them to spar, and had another teacher start showing us some basic stances and breathing exercises. I did my best to follow along, and the breathing stuff really was pretty relaxing. The class was almost boring, and it seemed to last forever, by the time it was over the other newbies were mostly sweating and breathing hard, but I didn't feel winded or tired at all. Obviously my plant body had different needs, and I started to wonder, what exactly might help me grow. I mean, I knew the science of how to make plants grow, even if they always seemed to die at my hands. Would I need special plant foods, or soil nutrients? I didn't think I'd need pesticides, unlike most plants I could just brush bugs off of me if they bothered me. But still, it was something to think about, as I stood, feet shoulder-width apart, making punching movements, breathing evenly. Of course, by the time the sensei stopped us, I had several creepers crawling across the floor, thankfully none of them had taken root in the wood of the floor, they might have expected me to fix the damage.

After classes, I started walking back to Whitman cottage. Powers Theory and Principles of Magic had already given me a lot to think about, and I really wanted to get the vines under better control. Sometimes they did what I wanted, so there had to be some trick to controlling them. I was so engrossed in thought, I didn't see the big guy in heavy metal armor, like some kind of medieval knight. It didn't exactly hurt when I bounced off him, but it definitely surprised me.

"What manner of creature art thou?" He said it sort of curiously, not with a mean tone, and offered a gauntlet to me, so I let him help me back up.

"Umm, I'm Alyssa." I wasn't about to try and clarify what I was, on the one hand that should be obvious, but on the other hand I wasn't sure of the details myself. Either way, it seemed rude of him to ask.

"Ah, I see." He said it in a voice which plainly told me he did *not* see, but continued. "I am called Ironstar. I apologize for my rudeness just now, I did not mean to be so insensitive. You simply caught me by surprise."

"Don't worry about it. I have to... um, go. Bye!" Okay, so I wasn't exactly a social butterfly. But he was tall, and strong, and had those chiseled features, and I kind of felt like I should be bowing or kissing his ring or something. It was embarrassing and I guess I bolted.

I wasn't really paying much attention where I was going though, just trying to get away before I embarrassed myself any more, and I almost ran into someone else. I think I mumbled something like, "Excuse me" to the tall elf-looking girl, and kept moving. I was almost starting to get used to the fact that a large number of kids around here looked like supermodels, but that girl with the elf ears made even them look plain and boring.

That's when I realized I'd gone completely the wrong way, and was near Poe Cottage. I didn't know much about the other dorms, but I was pretty sure Poe was coed, and I didn't really want to run into any more Adonis types right then. Or supermodel elf-girls, really. So I ducked off the path and into the bushes, then just started walking. My homework would wait, I needed to get away from people for a while, and I could see the trees, looming in front of me just like the ones back home.

The trees seemed almost to part, like they were letting me in, and close up behind me, but the forest back home felt a lot like that too, so I barely noticed. It was wonderful, the smells of the forest, so similar, yet colder, crisper. I could feel it all around me, welcoming me, urging me to explore. I felt none of the confusion other people stirred in me. At least the forest was simple, yet so very alive.

There were flowers, vines, ferns and all sorts of plant life around the bases of the monstrous ancient trees, almost like a carpet, a path laid out to welcome a celebrity. It felt intoxicating, and I think I kind of lost myself for a while. Suddenly I was standing in in front of an especially ancient tree, so huge I felt like an ant in its presence.

I felt a sense of welcome, like finding home again, much more intense than anything before. Almost as if the tree, or the forest itself (it seemed wrong somehow to think of the ideas as separate) were inviting me to stay.

"Are you... talking to me?" It seemed a silly thing to say, but no one was around, so I didn't care. Several branches swayed in the wind, almost as if nodding.

"Did you lead me here? What is this place?" Suddenly I felt overwhelmed by a staggering sense of age, a feeling like watching the first generations of humankind swing in my branches only recently. Then I felt a really nice sensation of welcome, like I was already part of the forest, or the tree, or both.

"You want me to stay here? Well, I'll be going to Whateley nearby, I'd love to come out here every day... I love the feel o..." I trailed off because the feeling slowly changed as I spoke. It was getting more intense, almost suffocating now. I felt like I was drowning in the forest's mind, it was crushing me under the weight of its age. It wanted to keep me forever!

I tried to run, stumbling back the direction I'd come in, but the soft wide path was gone, choked by underbrush so thick I couldn't even see between the leaves. It was like a brick wall!

"I... can't! You can't... keep me here!" It was a struggle to think, to speak with that huge consciousness crushing me. I felt like I was going to black out, but I knew if I did, I'd never wake up, I'd just be another part of the forest, a new vine growing amongst its collective life. I *had* to fight!

Then I felt a weird sort of slithering like my skin was crawling but a hundred times more creepy, and suddenly I could see that huge tree, looming, from every side, like I was all around it. It pushed at me and I squeezed around it. I can't describe the feeling, but thorns grew from me, and they felt like tiny bits of rage, writhing and twisting, digging into the bark of the tree, peeling it back to expose the wood flesh underneath.

The forest crushed down harder, tinged with anger and confusion, and I just squeezed harder, squeezing like I was holding onto the last tuft of grass on the edge of a cliff. My thorns dug further in, twisting and burrowing like tiny drills. It seemed nonsensical, but I was sure those tiny little thorns were actually doing damage!

That crushing weight lifted suddenly, replaced by wariness edged with respect, and as it lifted I stopped squeezing. The thorns seemed to pull back though I could feel them, still wriggling, almost grasping. But now I was pissed off. It was bad enough my entire life being fucked up by turning into a plant, but no way was I going to let some forest try to suck me in forever. It was a violation, and I wanted to make damn sure it wasn't gonna happen again.

"You can't have me! You think you're tough, but I'm fucking kudzu and I'll choke this whole damn forest to death if you try that shit!" The big tree seemed to loom over me, and the path back was still blocked, but the crushing feeling did not return and that sense of respect didn't go away. I noticed at that point I was actually in the air, held up by an explosion of my vines, still wrapped around trees and brush, ready to squeeze again.

The forest was resolute; it wanted something from me, but was asking instead of trying to take this time, though that sense of confusion still lingered. I wasn't sure, but I could kind of guess it didn't understand why I wouldn't want to be part of it forever. But I was way too mad to care about the feelings of the tree-slash-forest. I was just about to ask what the hell it wanted from me, when the image seemed to grow in my mind, a clearing full of my vines, and me walking out of the forest easily.

"I don't know how to give you my vines, and even if I did, you haven't earned *my* respect yet. What do *I* get in return?" Indignation grew all around me, but I just tightened my grip, not squeezing but reminding that I could, and I was pretty sure it was ready to compromise, but I had no idea what it could give me in return. I mean, it was a forest!

Then the welcoming feeling came back, not crushing, but comfortable, like home. A pleasant feeling like thinking about Dad, or maybe a friend, but bigger, filled me. It was offering me a place to call home, and its companionship. First it tried to eat me, now it wanted me to be its friend? Then a thought occurred to me.

"Magic. Can you help me learn to control my vines and unblock my magic? No tricks, no trying to force me into anything, just you help me, and I'll try to give you what you want. Deal?" For several moments nothing happened. Just when I was about to talk again, just to break the stillness, I felt a sort of grudging acceptance. Somehow I was sure it would hold to this deal, that it would help me learn. I cautiously let my vines relax their grip some. I still didn't know why they'd do what I wanted one minute and the opposite a moment later, but for now I was glad they were working with me.

"Now... How do I give you what you want?"

The forest showed me an image, much clearer at this point than a few minutes before, of me walking along a path, once again clear and welcoming, a short distance to a clearing, then, a vine snaking out from under my skin (it's funny, that was the first time I saw that from a perspective other than my own, and it was *creepy*) and taking root in the ground. Then the me in the image reached out and broke off where the vine met my foot. It looked like it would probably hurt a lot.

"Is it going to hurt?" This time there was no image, just the feeling of an old branch, strong with live wood, bending against its natural growth, straightening agonizingly, then breaking off. The feeling hurt, and it *hurt*. Like the pain of losing something truly treasured, like giving up a piece of what makes you, you. The forest was being very clear about what it wanted from me, and apparently it was a lot. And it obviously had no intention of letting me leave without giving it, even if it meant a fight. I may have acted tough before, but I was pretty sure then that the forest was holding back, and I could be crushed in a moment if it really wanted.

The vines gripping the trees and digging into everything around me began to retreat, and I lowered to the ground slowly, as a path grew through the previously impassable forest. My clothes looked like they'd been through a wood chipper, but I tried to pull things together into something resembling modesty, grabbed my backpack off the ground where I'd dropped it, and started along the path.

Shortly I reached the clearing, exactly as the mental image had shown it. I kind of felt invincible at that point, after all, I'd passed the test of an ancient enchanted forest and survived. I was pretty sure I was some kind of serious badass. So, it was kind of disappointing when I tried to will the vine to grow out of me and root in the ground of the open space, and absolutely nothing happened. I felt a little push from the forest around me, guiding my concentration, and then I felt myself pushing, making that small piece of myself extend, feel, feed. Slowly, a vine crept from my right ankle, quested around, and rooted in several places in the clearing, still growing.

Was I sure of this? No. But it was this, or die in this place, and take as much as I could with me. Gritting my teeth, I carefully gripped the vine where it grew from my leafy skin, and broke it off.

It *hurt*.

I felt old, tired, the kind of feeling I imagined it might be like to watch my own children's funerals, the soul-crushing emptiness of total aloneness. There was a hole in my heart, my soul, and I was simply going to leak out of it. Then the forest around me poured in, filling my soul with warm sunshine, life-giving water, and the richness of the earth. A branch dropped a single, way-too-large acorn into my hand, and suddenly it was over.

I picked myself up off the ground where I'd fallen in the agony of that moment with sticky, sappy tears dripping from the leafy skin of my cheeks, and knelt resting against a nearby tree. I don't know how long I knelt there and cried, but by the time I really became aware of things again, the sky filtering through the sparse covering of the clearing was black, with tiny pinpricks of stars here and there between the leaves. I was angry, but it was a hollow sort of anger.

"You... Why didn't you tell me... What did you make me do?" I raged at the trees, and very nearly tried to choke the vegetation into submission, but I just couldn't. It felt like a part of me now. An alien, unfamiliar part, but a part that filled a hole, without which I might just die. I pulled myself up against the tree, and turned away from where a small garden of me was now growing.

The trees parted for me once again, for which I was grateful; I had no idea how to get back to Whateley and if it was already dark, I was probably in trouble that would get worse the longer I stayed out. It seemed like only minutes before I reached the edge of the trees, only a few hundred feet away from Melville Cottage. As I left the trees, I felt a sort of wistfulness coupled with that welcoming feeling, apparently I was welcome to return and visit any time now. I could almost swear I hear the wind whispering in the trees, "Come back soon, daughter..."

Fat chance of that.

Though, judging by the looks of the faces of the thee men with Whateley Security badges and the Native American man who stood waiting at the edge of the forest, I might be a bit less welcome back at Whateley. I was ashamed, I had been warned to stay away from the forest. I was in trouble, and it looked like bad trouble.

"Miss VanBuren, please come with us."
 

*          *          *
 
"So, tell me again why you went into the forest, even after you were warned at orientation that the woods were off limits." The security man seemed to want me to repeat my story several times. I read about this, the more he made me repeat it, the more likely I would slip up if I was lying. So I told the truth. Most of it anyway. I got the feeling Doctor Lodgeman, the Native American teacher, knew more than I was saying, but he didn't say anything.

"Well, okay, I sort of freaked out because I was embarrassed, because I ran into that Ironstar guy, and then I almost ran into some elf girl and she looked surprised and kinda mad, and I just kinda ran for it. I wasn't really thinking, and I used to walk in the forests at home all the time. So I kinda ended up in the trees, and there was this path, so I followed it. Then this huge ancient tree tried to crush my mind like a psychic or something, but I fought back, and it was like it respected that, and it stopped. Turns out all it wanted was a leaf cutting. Please don't kick me out, I know I screwed up, but I'm really sorry..."

"Young lady, I just want you to understand the danger you put yourself into. You would not be the first student to enter those trees and never come out. There are nastier things than trees in there, and if that's all you ran into consider yourself lucky."

"Don't worry. I'm never going back into that place again." Chief Delarose glowered in a way that told me he was sure I was lying, and he didn't like it.

"Well, you're on probation as of now, and you will be watched carefully." I felt my heart jump at the pronouncement, the last thing I wanted was to get in trouble an maybe even get kicked out! Mister Lodgeman stared at me for a moment, then nodded.

"There will be no need for that, Chief Delarose. She entered The Grove and spoke to it, and came back." His stony face never changed through the speech, but I thought maybe he sounded like he respected me; or maybe it was The Grove he respected, the way he said it sounded like it deserved capital letters.

"Alright, Doctor Lodgeman, but I want a full examination of Miss VanBuren, to make sure she is unharmed, and to classify her abilities and establish a baseline so we can watch her for changes."

"Of course. But I think it is safe enough that we can let the girl get some sleep, and attend classes tomorrow."

I almost jumped up and kissed the man, I was so tired I felt like I could die. I barely remember the walk back to Whitman, and I was asleep before I could even settle into the soft soil.
 

*          *          *
 
I woke up the next morning with the sun shining down on my face, warming me and filling me with energy again. Its twin on the opposite side of the room, was busily gently untangling herself from creeper vines, but they withdrew the moment I thought of it.

"I'm sorry... I really will get them under control." I noticed with a glance at Sunny's mirror, I *could* in fact blush, I just turned a somewhat darker shade of green.

"It's okay, it wasn't such a surprise today. I guess they like the light I give off. Besides, they really do smell great, it's nice to wake up to that." I figured she was right about the light thing, even sleeping she glowed pleasantly. I brushed the worst of the dirt off me again, trying to remember to clean it up after class, and headed for the showers again. Today there weren't very many girls in the showers, so I ignored the odd look here and there and cleaned up.

Classes passed by quickly, I guess because the teachers were keeping things interesting, and keeping me busy. It was surprisingly easier to concentrate, after the night before I'd imagined it would be hard to focus at all. That helped a lot, especially when it came time for Martial Arts.

Sensei Ito noticed right away that I was getting motions and stances right easily, and moved me into the next section of class, with kids who'd been practicing for a year or more. By the time class was over, my arms burned like fire, but maybe even scarier than how hard he was pushing me was how fast I was picking it up. I mean, martial arts can take people years, even whole lifetimes to really learn. But I was in a groove, and I barely had to think about what I wanted to do, only to find myself doing it.

Before I'd even reached the showers my body stopped hurting again, and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the kids who didn't recover so fast. I was starting to think maybe I was a regenerator. It would make sense, vines grow really fast, so maybe I would heal really fast too. Not that I had any interest in hurting myself to find out. But according to our powers theory class, another sign of regeneration was fast recovery after exercise. The day before I hadn't even gotten winded, and today I'd shrugged off some really heavy work like it was nothing!

After classes, a big guy with a security badge met me outside the gym.

"Alyssa VanBuren, right? I'm supposed to show you to the medical wing for some testing." I'd completely forgotten they wanted to poke and prod at me... Oh well, obviously they weren't going to forget, so it'd be better to just get it over with.

"Oh, yeah, sure thing." He led me to the big medical building, stopping to explain at the front desk, and then led me to a room that looked more like a weightlifting gym than any hospital room. He told me to wait for the doctor, then left me alone in the room. I sat on a bench and waited. It's so annoying the way doctors always make you wait before they show up.

"Ah, Miss VanBuren. I'm Doctor Bellows, I'll be doing the physical portion of your testing today. Professors Caduceus and Lodgeman will be joining us shortly to conduct your magic testing. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to begin." The testing was strange. Some of it was obvious enough, they had me run on a treadmill like forever, and lift a bunch of different weights and stuff, when the weights got really heavy, some vines creeped out and dug into the floor tiles to steady me. The weird part is, every time I thought I couldn't lift any more weight, they added more and I lifted it!

Then Professor Caduceus and Doctor Lodgeman showed up. They'd clearly been talking about me, because the moment they showed up, they stopped talking in spite of the fact that they'd obviously been in the middle of some discussion.

"Okay, what's going on? I mean, I know that I messed up last night, but I'm okay, and I promise I didn't hurt anything out there..." Doctor Lodgeman shook his head, still giving that same stony look.

"Why don't you tell us what really happened in the forest last night? Had you even noticed your new bit of jewelry?" I glanced at my left wrist where he gestured, and there was a simple wooden bracelet! I'd gone through an entire day without noticing it at all! On close inspection, I found it had roots in my arm, it wasn't going anywhere, and I didn't want to pull on it anyway. It felt like it belonged there.

"It's faerie magic, that much I know for sure. The bracelet is a living part of a tree, sapwood, from a very old tree for sure. I think it may be living ironwood. May I see your wrist, dear? I want to examine it." I knew I could trust Professor Tenant, she seemed very natural and kind of motherly, so I didn't resist when her hair reached out and gently pulled my arm closer for her to inspect. Doctor Lodgeman was a little harder to trust, with that expressionless face.

"Yes, definitely ironwood. There is no solid enchantment on it, just a binding connection with you, Alyssa. I can feel it pulsing in time with your heartbeat. The Grove must have given you this, but why? Normally it doesn't just gift people with things, even those it does allow entrance. I'm a little surprised it allowed you, even if you are a creature of nature."

"I don't know why really. I just ran into the woods, and I was there... I really didn't mean to. It's just, I always felt most at home in he forests around my house growing up. And the forest welcomed me, it was even more like going home than going home, you know?" I felt like I was trying to explain that water is wet.

"Yes, The Grove most assuredly welcomed you into its sacred home. Then what happened?" I didn't really want to tell anyone, but for some reason I couldn't resist answering, and it all came pouring out of me like a broken dam.

"The forest... It tried to take me, to turn me into part of itself, but I fought back. My vines were choking the life out of some of the trees around me, thorns digging through bark, roots sucking out life and sap... I could have done some damage to the forest, I think, but it would have swallowed me too. Then I made a deal with it. It wanted part of me so I asked it to help me in return. It was the only way to get away! And it hurt so much, I never thought it would hurt so much..." I'm not sure at what point in that whole rant I fell off the bench, but it seemed like hours later I came back to my senses to find I was crying all over Professor Tenant, getting nasty green sap all over her dress. She didn't seem to mind though, and I was too drained to care.

"It's okay, Alyssa. You did the best you could. Do you want to hear what I think happened?" I didn't trust myself to answer coherently, so I just nodded.

"You must have been drawn to The Grove, probably from the moment you left Whateley campus grounds. Maybe even before. Once there, it tested you in its own way, and asked you to give up... a part of your essence, your soul. It's a terrible thing to go through, losing part of one's soul, and I think if not for that bracelet you would have died. It's not something you just get over, it will take years for you to really understand, but you have survived, and you will recover in time. That bracelet seems to have a portion of the essence of The Grove. I don't pretend to understand all of it, but I think you must not damage that bracelet, it may be that for a time you cannot survive without it. I don't think The Grove would have killed you, you don't seem the type that would try to force your way in or damage the land, but it apparently wanted a strong connection to you."

I'd kind of figured something like that, but hearing it actually put into words somehow made it seem more final, more permanent. Thankfully, Doctor Lodgeman changed the subject.

"So, you managed to fight The Grove to a stalemate. That's quite a feat. You mentioned vines and thorns. Can you show me them?"

I nodded, and concentrated, but nothing happened. Then I remembered how it felt the night before: the questing, probing, feeding feeling, and held on to it, directing it. A creeper slipped out of my ankle beneath the long crinkled tie-dye skirt I had on and across the floor, then lifted up to poke at Doctor Lodgeman's foot. He didn't seem at all concerned, until it twined around his ankle. I could feel it wanting to put out roots, but I didn't think Doctor Lodgeman would like that, so I made it keep to itself, and it slowly pulled away. It was almost like a conversation, the way I had with the tree, but not really the same, the vine was part of me after all. It just seemed to have its own instincts, that I had to control and direct.

"That was... interesting. And the thorns?"

"I... I don't know. They only came out when I was sure I was going to die. They felt weird too, like they wanted to dig in, they felt hungry and angry, but that's not really the right words. I'm not sure, but I think that impressed the forest as much as my vines choking it out."

I trailed off, because Doctor Lodgeman had turned a little pale. It was almost unnoticeable, except he never seemed to change expression, so even a little color change was a pretty big deal. But he didn't say anything, and just nodded. I started to think I'd just imagined the whole thing.

"Very well, but be very careful, that sounds like a dangerous weapon. I don't have to tell you what kind of trouble you could get in for hurting other students, right? Now, moving along, if you'll please follow me, I'll show you to the testing area for magic. We can test for a variety of magic styles, but the nature of magic is such that it can be hard to truly define." Caduceus directed me across the hall and a few doors down, to a room with a circle on the floor, inscribed with a series of runic markings around the inside edge. It looked almost exactly like I imagined a demon summoning circle might, the kind you see in creepy occult movies when some idiot calls up evil things and invariably gets screwed in the deal.

"If you'll kindly step into the protective circle, we can begin the test. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, it exists only to protect the rest of the building from any magical forces you might bring about. Of course, it's almost never necessary, but better safe than sorry. Now, the various runes inscribed are detection runes of different sorts. They will glow when magic is used inside the circle, which also serves to keep them from reacting to ambient magic from nearby sources."

As Caduceus explained, I cautiously stepped into the circle. It tingled in a sort of creepy way as I stepped over the lines, but nothing else seemed to happen, so I just tried to trust her.

"Alright, now stand in the center please, and we'll try some basic methods used to touch your inner magic."

She ran me through several of the exercises she'd covered in class already, as well as a few I'd read ahead on in my textbook, but none of them seemed to do anything. Most of them didn't make much sense anyway, but I guess that's kind of the point. It *is* magic after all. The closest I came was when I was told to imagine myself a flower, opening up to the rays of the sun, drawing energy from light above and earth below, feeling that energy flowing through me... That made my flowers brighten and bloom, and my vines creep out near my feet and try to put roots into the floor. At the same time, a rune that Caduceus later told me signified natural magics flickered a bit.

"I don't understand. You are a creature of magic, it only makes sense that you'd be able to *use* that magic. Have you noticed any odd happenings around you, that might have been manifestations of your magical ability? Maybe it's something we don't know how to test for."

"Not really. I always kind of felt like I was blocked, you know? I don't know how or why, it's just one of those things about me, like how plants always die when I try to make them grow. I dunno, though, maybe I just don't have any magical ability."

"It's hard to be sure, but I'd be very surprised to find out that was true. You obviously have some natural magic involved with your body, at the very least, and I'm fairly certain you can learn to control your ability and utilize that inherent magical energy. We'll just have to find out what's blocking you and help you overcome it."

"I guess so. It's just, everybody seems to think I have all this magical power, but I can't seem to do anything with it. Which amounts to the same thing as not having any anyway."

"Okay, we have a few more tests to run, also, I believe I can identify the species of faerie plant that you seem to be made up of. I want to look it up first to be sure, and in the meantime, Doctor Bellows will accompany you to the next testing area." Doctor Bellows appeared as if on cue, and led the way back towards the first room, but instead to a room mostly taken up by a large machine with a door in it.

"Alright, Miss VanBuren, this next test will be quick and easy, just step inside and this machine will scan your physical makeup. Don't worry about privacy, these are part of your medical records and will never be publicly available."

I guess most students might be worried about intimate measurements and the like being traded around campus, but I wasn't too concerned. The test was fairly quick, I just stood there while the machine scanned me like on some science fiction movie. When it was over, Caduceus had returned with a book.

"Alyssa, I've found it. Now, I want you to look at this and tell me if it looks familiar." She showed me a page in a book that she'd obviously just pulled from a shelf and tried to dust off, the pages were crackly and yellowish and had old dust clinging to the top of them.

"Hey, it's the creeper vine that turned me into this! Seal-air an Croy? What kind of name is that?"

"It's Sealaire an Chroá­, it translates something like heart-hunter. Your leaves and blooms match the description perfectly, as does what you've said about the thorns you described. It was a very dangerous plant, and very rare, even in the realm of the fae. It has been mostly destroyed, because of the danger it presents. The plant lures unsuspecting creatures to it with pheromones tailored to each creature, then its thorns burrow into the flesh to reach the heart, killing its victims. You were very lucky to have survived meeting such a plant in the wild. In any case, you should be careful, the thorns of this plant are dangerous even to high level regenerators. If you inherited that particular trait with the plant, you could easily end up on the Ultraviolent list." She said all of this with a very matter-of-fact air, but I felt my heart pounding. I could kill someone without even meaning to? By all rights, that plant should have killed me when I first found it? It was terrifying!

"I believe she has already manifested that trait, it is part of what served her in The Grove. Thankfully, there's been no sign of the thorns since. I am going to recommend that security keep an eye out just in case, I understand it can be difficult to learn to control your abilities when they first manifest, and it's best to be safe rather than sorry." Doctor Lodgeman nodded thoughtfully as he sealed my fate.

"Also, I believe you inherited the pheromone trait. Have you noticed other students being drawn to you, or commenting on the... bouquet of your hair?"

"Well, yeah, I guess I have been a little more popular than I expected. I mean, people kind of stare at me, but I thought that was just because I'm green, you know? And Sunny told me I smell really good. So, people will like me more, that's definitely a good thing."

"I'd consider it a mixed blessing, but hopefully it won't cause too many problems. Doctor Bellows, have you found anything of note in the physical examination that should be included in her powers report?"

"Let's see... Her strength maxed out the machines, but with the qualifier that beyond three hundred pounds she began growing vines to help lift. She ran twenty three point two miles in an hour with no sign of exhaustion or stress, and her fastest speed was twenty eight miles per hour. My classification is a tentative Exemplar four, maybe even five with qualifiers, and Regen three I think. I'm not sure how to classify her vine growth, so I'm going to assign her Shifter one because of it." I was surprised, Exemplar four meant I was a lot stronger than I realized.

"Based on my testing of her magical abilities, I would set her at a Wizard one, but I think once she breaks past her block she'll be stronger. Alyssa, you'll want to work on that, it will take time and effort, I'll see if I can't find you a tutor as well." I remembered what I asked of the forest, and thought I should let her know.

"I kind of asked The Grove to help teach me to use my magic and control my abilities. It seemed like it agreed to that."

"Very well then, Alyssa, but you need to let security and myself know beforehand any time you venture into The Grove. It can be a dangerous place, just as any natural force."

"Alright, well, I think we're finished here." Doctor Bellows had already turned and walked halfway to the door as he said this, apparently he had other students to poke and prod today.

"Alyssa, would you mind following me again? Next I'd like to examine your bracelet more thoroughly." Caduceus led me to yet another room, with a few desks and various obscure and arcane-looking things scattered across them. Doctor Lodgeman followed as well, and moved several sticks that could be magic wands and a few books aside with apparent caution. Once the desk was cleared, he had me lay my arm on the table. I sat next to Caduceus as she inspected the bracelet.

"First off, I'm sure it is made of the sapwood of an ancient ironwood tree. It clearly has a very strong bond with you, that much we already know. Now, according to what you told us, my best guess is that the tree that gave this to you, bound it to you as a way to stem the damage when you left a portion of your essence, your soul if you will, to provide life to the vine cutting you severed. Without the bracelet you would likely have died before you could recover. As it stands, you will likely need it for several years before it could even be safely separated from you, if it ever can at all. Life essence is both a fragile and resilient. Up to a certain point, you can recover from nearly anything. Past that point, which is different for each individual, and at any given point in that person's life, the damage can result in a horrible spiral into emptiness and death. One example of this being someone who has lost a loved one and simply stops caring about living, the broken heart syndrome." As she explained, Caduceus ran her hands over the bracelet, and I could kind of feel it. Not physically, but somehow I was sure if I turned my back, I would still know exactly what spot on the bracelet she was probing.

"So, my understanding is that the tree gave of its own essence, a small portion of its own life, but sufficient to make up for the damage caused to your own. It clearly has a life of its own, yet intertwined with yours. You should take care of it for sure. Also, I think it should act like a focus. If you have read ahead in your book, you'll find that a focus works similarly to a lens, instead of focusing light it focuses magical energy, and may help you to concentrate in general. With a strong focus, a practitioner can do much stronger magic than she could otherwise, without becoming as exhausted. I would normally suggest you learn on your own before relying on a focus, but in this case I don't believe that's an option. Are you following all of this? I know it's a lot to take in."

I nodded, "Yeah, my dad told me a lot about this stuff growing up. He makes all sorts of magical things, and I think he made a focus once, but it took him a long time. We had a lot of little magical things around the house, but they never seemed to last long. Magical contamination or something."

"That could be. Very well, I can find nothing malicious about this bracelet, it actually seems to be surprisingly simple, if very strong. Doctor Lodgeman, do you have any other concerns?"

"No, Caduceus, if you say it's safe, then it most likely is. But, Alyssa, be careful nonetheless. Things of The Grove surprise us more often than not."

"I will, Doctor Lodgeman."
 

*          *          *
 
As class passed by the next day, I paid more attention to the people around me. The ones near me all seemed to be fidgeting and blushing, and I was pretty sure that had something to do with those pheromones they told me about during testing. I hoped I wasn't causing too much of a distraction, it hardly seemed fair since I was finding it a lot easier to concentrate than usual myself.

I tried not to worry about it, but now that I was paying attention, it was hard to miss the way people around me kept looking at me, when they thought I wasn't watching. I could feel myself blushing a bit at the attention, so I tried to ignore it and work.

Speaking of working, when martial arts class came around, the instructors once again pushed my group hard enough to make me ache, but it was amazing! I wasn't on a level with the best, but I was already starting to catch up to some of the better fighters.

On the way out of class, the girl I nearly ran into outside of Poe confronted me. She had an angry look, like someone stuck something nasty in her tea, but somehow it just made her look even more beautiful, like a wrathful goddess or something.

"It was you, wasn't it? I saw you take off toward the Grove Wednesday. Were you the one that caused that damage? I felt its pain all the way in my room." With that burning glare on me, I could barely make myself talk.

"Well, y... yeah, but I-" She cut me off with a wave of her slender hand.

"You took something from the Grove. Give it to me. No one will attack that place or steal from it while I live." I tried not to move, but the moment she mentioned taking it, I couldn't help trying to hide the bracelet behind my back. It was terrifying in a way I never expected, if she took it away from me somehow, I would *die*.

"That's it, isn't it? Give me-" suddenly a shadow stretched over my shoulder, cutting her off in midsentence. Another shadow appeared over my other shoulder before I could even look, it was sort of creepy. Not that I wasn't thankful for the save.

"Is this girl bullying you?" I glanced over at the guy who asked, he looked like the kind of supermodel you see in underwear ads, except with clothes on. I turned and on the other side of me was a short, skinny girl, she was pretty but she looked like a stiff breeze might break her.

"You must be Fey. I heard you and your friends were picking on the Alphas last year. We're not gonna stand for that this year, and if you're picking on this girl now, then we're gonna stop it right now." For such a small girl, she sure sounded serious.

"I'm not picking on anybody, and you freshmen aren't going to scare me off. If you Alphas would have left us alone last year would have been a lot easier on everybody. And you, Sealaire an Chroi, I'm watching you." She turned and walked away, every inch the nature goddess. She really thought I attacked the Grove, that I stole from it!

"Don't worry, we're serious about stopping people trashing the Alphas this year. Last year those Kimba girls attacked them at every opportunity. If you want, we can keep an eye out in case she bothers you again. Bullies like her won't pick a fight when there's a group of people." I nodded, the terror settling down a bit now that the threat of death was gone.

"So... Are you two Alphas? I haven't really met a lot of people yet, classes and settling in have kept me pretty busy." I felt at the bracelet behind my back, almost like I needed to reassure myself it was still there, even though obviously it was.

"We're not technically Alphas yet, but it's just a matter of initiation really."

"That's pretty cool, my dad was one of the Alphas about 15 years ago, I think. He said they really helped him become the man he is now. Seems like a pretty nice crowd."

"Wait, who is your father? I bet they'd welcome you, as the daughter of an alumnus." The petite girl had a forceful air, the kind of thing you'd expect from a princess or president or something. Not exactly stuck up, but just sort of like she really did deserve only the best.

"Reginald VanBuren. He does restoration work on broken things, especially heirlooms, antiques and magic things."

"How about we let some of our friends know about you, maybe you can get in too. You could be an Alpha, just like your father." The buff guy offered. Then I realized I didn't have the slightest idea who they were.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even ask your names. I'm Alyssa VanBuren, thank you for your help just now."

"It's alright. I'm Eric and this is Sarah Masterson. We're twins. It's very nice to meet you."

"Yes, I'm glad we saw what was going on and came to help."

As the twins walked off, I thought about it. Did I want to join the Alphas? I figured it would make Dad proud, but the Alphas were supposed to be the elite of the elite. Would I even qualify? I couldn't control my vines, my magic seemed to be blocked or nonexistent or something, and I wasn't really even human anymore!

Still, it couldn't hurt to try and find out. Maybe being as good as they had to be, someone could help me learn to control things, and break past my block. That thought led my mind back to the Grove. It was supposed to be helping me learn too, but all it had really helped me do was control my vines long enough to break off a chunk of my soul or something. How far could I trust some trees that wanted part of my soul? Still, it gave me a part of itself in return, that seemed to mean something, though I wasn't entirely sure what.

And that Fey, she was so mad at me, she didn't want to listen at all. And she called me Sealaire an Chroi, the old name for the vine that turned me into plant-girl. She obviously knew about the faerie realm, and probably didn't like me because of the plant I was. Hardly fair of her, I thought.

I was still mulling it over when I realized instead of walking back to my dorm room, I'd managed to get turned around completely and was standing in front of the trees at the edge of the Grove. The path in was soft and inviting with ferns and flowering plants, but I stood there for several moments, unmoving. Did I want to go back? Was it going to test me again, or require something else from me?

I realized I wasn't going to find out standing where I was. If it was going to get me, I'd put up a fight, but it had promised to help me, and I had to take the chance. I managed to take a whole step before a voice called out.

"Miss VanBuren! Before you go traipsing off into restricted areas again, you should return to your room and call Security."

Doctor Lodgeman had appeared out of nowhere and had a firm grip on my arm. It was startling, and with that distraction I decided maybe I shouldn't visit the grove just yet. It was only just the day before it traded bits with me, but the ancient forest drew at me like a magnet. Doctor Lodgeman was right, I should call security any time I wanted to go into the Grove, not just to let them know where I would be, but also to give myself time to be sure I really wanted to go.

"Yes, Doctor Lodgeman. Thank you."

The older man smiled at me, and left again without saying another word. I walked back to my dorm, my mind thick with concern. Would it always draw me like that, insidious and seductive? It struck me that much like all of nature, it was both wonderful and dangerous, brimming with life and conflict.

---

 
To Be Continued...