Tales & Time (Lost Time Academy #1)(9)

“The light switch is on the wall behind the door,” Lane tells me quietly, so quiet I almost miss his voice.

“Why is it behind the door? That’s not a smart place to put it,” I mutter before shutting the door. I suddenly feel a hand slide around my throat before someone slams me headfirst into the wall with her other hand. I blink as the person turns the light on but keeps her hand on my neck.

“Get the fuck off me!” I shout and freeze as I feel something cold and sharp pressed into my back. I don’t move or try to fight whoever it is anymore, they have me stuck.

“Who are you?” the female voice comes behind me, but it’s Lane that answers.

“Miss Dormiens is your new roommate, and violence out of fighting class is against the school’s rules,” Lane says, tutting.

“Shit,” the girl mutters as she lets me go, and I gasp for air, my hand going to my throat the moment I am free. I turn with a glare to see my apparent roommate standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at me like I am the problem in this situation. The girl is about my age, with long blonde hair that is nearly as pale as her skin. She is a little shorter than I am, which is saying something as I’m not exactly tall myself. Her voice sounds American, but I’m not sure exactly where she is from, it’s not a south accent.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t know and thought…well, I thought you had broken in or something. The girls in this school can be bitches,” she states, losing the glare as her bright turquoise green eyes lock onto me, and she offers me a hand, with the other one holding the sharp dagger. I look at her hand for a second, deciding whether to reject it or not. I mean, I get her point. In her mind, I snuck into her room and scared the crap out of her in the middle of the night. In some ways, I respect her spunk. “I’m Octavia, but call me Tavvy,” she says as I shake her hand.

“I’m Madilynn, but my friends call me Madi. Thanks for the warning about the girls around here,” I reply and let go of her hand to pick up the book off the floor. I raise my eyebrows down at him as I realise something.

“Did you know I had a roommate?” I ask Lane, who looks down at the blue cloud and not at me.

“Yes, but how would I know that the fairy descendant was anything other than sweet. I remember her ancestor being lovely and not having a stabby habit,” Lane says with almost a guilty look as he avoids my eyes still.

“You still should have told me. I could have simply knocked on the door and avoided all this,” I state, glaring down at him as he still won’t look my way. I sigh and slowly close the book, noticing that he doesn’t look at me once. I look over at Tavvy who slides the dagger under her pillow. Clearly, she sleeps with it for protection. What kind of school have I just walked into?

“So you’re a descendant of fairies? Like Tinkerbell? The one in love with Peter Pan?” I ask once I put the book on the small table by the door, and she nods.

“Yep, I’m a fairy and all that, but I don’t have my wings yet. Also, Peter Pan’s descendant is a strange kid who can transform into a tree, so he never has to grow up. Not really my type. He is literally still twelve…and has been for hundreds of years. The tree is behind the castle. What are you?” she asks after blurting a crap load of information out about another descendant.

“Sleeping Beauty,” I say, and Tavvy rolls her eyes.

“Another princess this year. I should have figured it out, you’re beautiful,” she says with a little shrug.

“I’m not—” I go to disagree with her, and she interrupts by placing her hand in the air.

“Don’t try that one. All descendants who were made pretty in Disney films are fucking stunning in real life. You should see Cinderella’s descendant, he is yummy…but also an asshole,” she says, making me laugh a little. I already like my new roommate, I think.

“Is he?” I ask.

“Yep, all blond hair and crystal blue eyes, but he has issues with his powers, like all of us do,” she sighs.

“What would Cinderella’s descendant even get for powers? A fairy godmother?” I ask, thinking of the fairy tale and not knowing what else to imagine. She laughs before answering.

“Listen, most fairy tales the humans wrote…well, they got it wrong or mixed up. Cinderella could start fires, control them, and charm the opposite sex into falling for her,” she explains to me, and it kind of makes sense in a weird way.

“Like the prince who fell for a servant,” I muse.

“Exactly,” she says with a grin. I wonder how different my own fairy tale is from the one I grew up reading and the Disney films I’ve watched. “Let me help you set the bed up,” she offers, and I finally look around my room. The room has a bunk bed in the corner. The bottom bed is empty, and the top one is clearly Tavvy’s with the pink sheets. There are two wardrobes and a large dressing table which is covered in stuff near the window. The one big window is concealed by black curtains, and there’s not much else to look at. The walls have cracks in them, I notice, and it’s not dusty, but it feels like an old room.

“You don’t have to help. I woke you up, you should go back to sleep,” I suggest, but she shakes her head.

“Nope, I want to help. I was alone when I got here, and it sucks not having a clue about anything. So the bathrooms are at the end of the corridor. Luckily, there is only one other girl who uses that bathroom as everyone is scared of the—” she starts to tell me and stops. “Never mind.” I take my bag off my shoulder, wondering what exactly is scary about the bathroom and deciding to just leave it for tonight. I open my bag up, digging around for my red and cream bedsheets and silver blanket. I find them, and Tavvy makes the quilt while I sort the bottom sheet out.