Chapter 7: Confession

Celestria and Kenley couldn’t get me out of bed all day. They brought me food, but I was too shocked to eat. I heard them whispering to each other. They probably assumed that I had gotten a zero and was gutted about having to go home. I should’ve explained what the actual problem was. After all, they were my friends. But how could I explain something I didn’t even understand myself?

I was never good at lying or keeping a secret. Like the time I rescued a baby deer and hid it in my room. An hour later, my mom realized that something strange was going on. She came to my room and found it chewing on the corner of my favorite blanket.

I was going to tell my friends everything. I just needed to digest it first.

Eventually, they convinced me to wash my face, get dressed, and come down to the dining hall for dinner.

The dining hall was slightly emptier than it had been the last time we were there because some of the students didn’t pass the test. I honestly didn’t want to think about what happened to the others because it was just too awful.

Celestria and Kenley sat on either side of me. Bartley, Johnny, and Willow joined too. I was glad to know that they all made it, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk, so I focused on the delicious roast on my plate and listened to them.

Celestria scored a five. Kenley and Willow got threes. Scoring anything above a zero meant that they got to say at Oswalda, so they seemed pretty happy about it.

“Do you think anyone scored anything higher than a five?” Celestria asked and took a sip of water.

Bartley shook his head. “No way.”

“You’re only saying that because you got a two.” Johnny flicked a green bean at his friend’s head.

“It’s not like you got an eleven or something, Mr. Four,” Bartley said and laughed at his own joke.

“You and Lord Hunter took the test at the same time. Do you know what he got?” Kenley asked.

I looked up and scanned the dining hall. I was relieved to realize that he wasn’t here.

“No clue,” I said. Then, before anyone could ask me about my own score, I added, “What did it feel like for all of you?”

“It was strange,” Bartley said.

Celestria nodded. “My body went numb. It felt like I was in a coma or something.”

“Everyone’s saying that the test was the weirdest thing they’d ever experienced,” Kenley added.

They kept chatting for the rest of the dinner while I tried to stay as invisible as possible.

Master Sinnie’s enhanced voice billowed across the entire space. “Dinner is over. Get some rest. Classes start tomorrow at eight. Remember, tardiness won’t be tolerated.”

Celestria, Kenley, and I said bye to the guys and returned to our room.

“I have a confession to make,” I said and sat down on the edge of my bed. I had to tell them. After all, we were friends, and I wasn’t going to be able to hide this from them for too much longer.

The girls quickly came to my bedside.

“I know you told us that you didn’t have any powers, but I really hoped you were wrong,” Celestria said, her eyes filling with tears.

“Yeah, we just met,” Kenley told me. “I don’t want you to leave so soon.”

I took a deep breath. “I didn’t get a zero.”

Celestria and Kenley’s eyes widened. “What?” they asked in unison.

“I didn’t get a zero,” I repeated.

“What did you get then?” Celestria asked.

“A ten.”

Kenley gasped. “What?”

“I couldn’t believe it either. I don’t know how that’s possible, or what it means. That’s why I don’t want anyone to know. Well, except that Lord Hunter already knows. He promised to keep it a secret though, but apparently, I now owe him.”

Kenley rubbed her temple. “That’s a lot of information.”

“Hollis, ~a ten~? That’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Celestria put her head on my shoulder. “But wait, you said that no one in your family had powers.”

“Exactly.”

“But that’s impossible. Someone in your family must have the gift of magic.”

“There’s another possible explanation,” Kenley cut in.

Celestria and I both turned to face her.

“There’s a chance that you could’ve been adopted,” she continued carefully. “And if that’s what really happened and your parents didn’t tell you, then something is wrong. To keep a secret like that is against kingdom law.”

Tears dripped down my cheeks. I didn’t have my parents’ green eyes or blond hair. We didn’t look alike. But did that automatically mean that what Kenley was saying was true?

“That’s impossible. My parents love me, and they always follow the rules. Even if they did adopt me, they wouldn’t have kept it from me.”

“What are you going to do?” Celestria asked.

“I need to write home. I don’t have any other family, which means that my parents are the only ones who can tell me the truth.”

“Maybe the administration can help?” Kenley asked and started running her fingers through my hair to help relieve my frustration.

“Let’s go,” Celestria said and practically flew to the door. “There aren’t that many married people who both have powers, and who have put their children up for adoption. There must be records. And if anyone can get them, it’s Dawson.”

Kenley joined her at the door, but I hesitated.

“It’s midnight. The administrator is probably in bed. Look at the long day he had. We can’t interrupt him now. Besides, if we leave the room at this hour, we will get in trouble. That wouldn’t be a good way to start the school year,” I told them.

Celestria nodded. “He’s probably already looking into it, but if not, we’ll make him. You have the right to know where you come from, and whether your parents are really your parents.”

A fresh wave of tears came, but this time I wasn’t crying because I was sad. It was nice to know that my new friends were going to help me, even if they barely knew me.

“Thank you. It means a lot. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for better roommates.”

“Not to change the subject or anything, but can we get back to the part where you made a deal with Hunter?” Kenley asked. “What exactly does he think you owe him?”

I felt blood rush to my cheeks in a matter of seconds. “I don’t know. He’ll probably want me to do his homework or to let him look at my answers during a test. He doesn’t seem like the studying type.”

“Most people don’t know this, but Hunter is actually very smart,” Celestria said. “The prince and Hunter grew up together, which means that they had the best of everything, including tutors.”

“Well, I don’t have anything else to offer, so I’m not sure what he would want from me,” I said.

Kenley giggled. “I can think of a thing or two.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that he has his eyes set on you. So, I must ask,” Celestria said. “Do you like him?”

I didn’t know what to say. I felt this weird connection to him. A part of me thought that he felt it too, but nothing could happen between us. He was engaged to the princess. Her death hadn’t changed that, which meant that I wasn’t just out of the picture. There was no room for me in the picture to begin with.

“He is very attractive. And off limits,” I reminded them. “He belongs with the lost princess because that’s what the royal family wanted. Why would I waste time getting to know someone, and maybe even start to like them, when I know it will end in heartbreak?”

I let out a long breath.

“Besides, I live in a tiny house that keeps falling apart. He lives in a palace. He has a title. I grow the vegetables that servants put on his plate. Why would he ever want to be with a nobody from a small village?”

Celestria and Kenley exchanged looks.

“You think you’re a nobody, but you scored a ten on your first test,” Celestria told me. “I’m not saying that I know everything, but nobodies can’t do whatever you did in that arena.”

“She’s right,” Kenley seconded. “Either your parents were hiding their powers from you, or you come from a family with powers that span generations. In any case, tomorrow we’ll hunt down the administrator and help you get to the bottom of what’s going on.”

I was nervous at first, but telling Celestria and Kenley the truth was the best decision I could’ve made. They really did have my back. ~Is this what having friends is like? ~I thought when they pulled me into a group hug.

If so, then I absolutely loved it.