Chapter 10: The Unexpected Move

By the time we arrived, Willow and the other guys were already at our usual table, eating.

“The prince and his friends will be joining us,” Celestria announced the moment we sat down with our backs toward the rest of the dining hall.

“Are you upgrading? We’re not good enough for you?” Bartley teased.

“If we were upgrading, there wouldn’t be any boys at this table at all,” Kenley shot back.

“Don’t go breaking my heart,” Johnny said, and pressed a hand to his chest in the most dramatic way possible. “But seriously, since when are we friends with lords and princes?”

“Since Hollis scored a ten on her test and got paired up with one,” Kenley said and immediately clasped a hand over her mouth.

“It’s okay,” I told her. “The royal family is powerful. They would’ve realized that the masters wouldn’t pair up a prince with someone who doesn’t have any powers.”

“Yeah, we’re not as dumb as you think,” Willow said between bites. “Wait, since when do you have powers?”

“We’ll tell you later,” Celestria said, side-eyeing Tanner and his friends as they made their way to our table.

~Fan-freaking-tastic~, I thought, then focused on the food before me, even though I hadn’t touched a single thing on the tray.

“Mind if we join you?” the prince asked.

“I don’t see why not.” Bartley scooted over to make more room.

Tanner’s friends chatted with Willow, Bartley, and Johnny, while Tanner and Hunter talked to Kenley and Celestria.

“What part of the kingdom are you from, Hollis?”

It took me a second to realize that Hunter was speaking to me. “Madison. Why?”

“It’s just that you look so familiar. I feel like I know you from somewhere.”

“Hollis, look,” Celestria said. She nodded in the direction of the administrator, who had just walked in and was looking around the dining room.

My friends and I jumped up from our seats.

“Excuse us, we must go. Enjoy the rest of your dinner,” Celestria told the guys before we ran off.

“Good evening, ladies,” he said. Tonight, the administrator’s mustache was purple instead of the usual green. “You wish to know if we learned any information about the source of Hollis’s extraordinary powers, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I choked out, too overwhelmed to focus on the fact that the administrator must’ve just read our minds.

“I thought so,” he said. “Not here. Walk with me.”

We followed Dawson out of the dining room and stopped in a long, quiet hallway.

“Do you want your friends to hear this, Hollis?”

“Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of them.”

“Master Bavol and I agree that it’s odd for a teenager to have such powers if her parents do not. So, Oswalda started an official investigation. To start, we decided to look for your birth records, but when we searched your name, nothing came up.” He paused to let me digest what he just said. “Odd, right? So, we decided to reach out to your parents, and see if they can clear things up for us.”

“What did they say?”

“That’s the thing, Hollis. Did your parents ever talk to you about moving to a different location after you got to Oswalda?”

“No, of course not. They love our home. Besides, they don’t have enough money to pick up and move. And they wouldn’t move without telling me first.”

“Well, I sent my people to Madison, but when they got there, the villagers told them that they left in the middle of the night, right after you began your trip to the academy,” Dawson continued. “Just before they got on the road to travel back to Oswalda and bring me the news, your house mysteriously caught on fire.”

I had to lean against the wall to keep myself from falling over. Celestria and Kenley rushed to my side.

“You’re lying,” I said.

“I have no reason to lie. I have pictures of the ruins, but I don’t want to show them to you in case it upsets you even more.”

“How could her parents just up and go without telling her anything? Who does that?” Kenley asked.

He hesitated for a short moment. “People who have something to hide.”

I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to cry right now. Tears wouldn’t get me the answers I so desperately needed.

“I need to know what you’re accusing them of.”

“This is a speculation, but I don’t believe that you were ever officially adopted.”

“What does that mean?” Celestria asked.

“The kingdom is very strict about the adoption process. During the adoption cycle, there is a spell placed on the infant. Master Bavol didn’t sense the presence of that spell during the test, and it’s something that cannot be taken off,” the administrator said.

Sorrow filled his eyes. “I am truly sorry, Hollis. I will get to the bottom of this, and when I do, you will be the first person I speak to. In the meantime, keep your mind on your studies. The truth will come to light. Stay by her side, ladies. She will need you more than ever.” The administrator took my hands, kissed them, and left.

“Hollis, it will be okay,” Celestria said and gently patted my back.

“I’m going back to the room to study. Please, don’t tell anyone what you just heard,” I said, and walked off before they could say anything else.

When I went back to the dining room to grab my books, Hunter looked at me with concern.

“Are you okay?”

He sounded genuinely concerned. It made me feel like he really cared about me, but this was the worst time for me to give into my fantasies of the lord liking me. I had more important things to deal with.

“I’m fine.”

I pressed my books to my chest and took off. When I reached my room, I slammed my body down on the bed and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore.