Chapter 40: The Purple Diva

Elara:

The girl who stepped through the doorway stole my breath for an entirely different reason than the horrible smell filling my dorm.

She was breathtaking. Her shoulder-length hair was a striking shade of purple that somehow looked completely natural on her, framing a beautiful face with fair skin and sharp yet delicate features. Her violet eyes were almost unnaturally bright, and the model-like figure beneath her perfectly fitted clothes only added to the impression that she had walked straight out of a fantasy magazine.

Yet none of that beauty softened the frown on her face as she looked around my living room, scrunching her nose harder with every second.

She took one slow breath through her mouth, immediately regretted it, and finally asked, "Who died in here?"

I almost smiled despite myself.

Myra, however, looked far too relieved to find the culprit of the smell apparently wasn’t standing in front of us. She quickly explained everything, from arriving to find the garbage covering the living room to throwing it all away and scrubbing every surface she could find.

The purple-haired girl listened with a surprisingly serious expression before her violet eyes shifted toward me.

Unlike most people I’d met at Moonveil, she didn’t look at me as though I were some strange political creature who had suddenly wandered into their world. There was no disdain, curiosity, fear, or exaggerated respect in her gaze.

She simply looked at me. Then she glanced at the mess one more time, sighed, and raised one hand. Her fingers moved in a pattern I couldn’t follow, and she murmured something under her breath in the same strange magical language I’d been hearing ever since waoking into this world.

A faint shimmer appeared around her fingertips. For a second, nothing happened. Then the air inside the room seemed to shift. The foul smell that had been clinging stubbornly to everything suddenly began disappearing. It was almost as though someone had opened a gigantic invisible window and sucked every molecule of the stench outside.

Within seconds, the horrible odor was completely gone.

I lowered my hand from my nose and took a deep breath. Fresh air filled my lungs. Beside me, Myra practically inhaled half the room in one desperate breath and looked like she had just been rescued from drowning.

"Thank you," I said, turning toward the girl. "Seriously."

She waved her hand dismissively, as though removing the smell of rotten garbage from someone’s dorm was the most ordinary thing in the world.

"You are welcome. I’m Inara Vale." She paused before adding with a tiny smile, "But everyone calls me Violet."

There was something about her expression that immediately made me feel more comfortable around her. Maybe it was because she didn’t call me Princess. Maybe it was because she hadn’t once looked at me like I was some legendary creature from a history book. Or maybe I was simply desperate for someone who didn’t seem determined to make me feel like an outsider.

"I’m Elara," I replied automatically.

Her violet eyes flickered with amusement. "I know."

Right. Of course she knew. Everyone knew.

"Well," she continued, looking toward the door, "you really need to learn the locking spell. Otherwise, you are going to keep coming home to surprises like this." She pointed toward the dirt-filled living room with a grimace. "And trust me, this is one of the nicer surprises people can come up with."

I didn’t particularly like the sound of that.

"Can you lock the dorm for me?" I asked reluctantly. "Just until I learn how to use my magic properly."

Violet’s expression immediately turned apologetic. "I wish I could, but dorm wards are bound to their owner. Someone else’s locking spell won’t work."

I stared at her. "So I’m helpless until I figure out my magic?"

"Pretty much." She gave me an encouraging smile. "But you’ll learn. Everyone does."

I glanced toward the doorway and then at my hands. That was easier said than done. My magic had been sealed my entire life, and judging by the disaster from a few days ago, whatever was underneath that seal wasn’t exactly interested in waiting patiently for me to figure things out. Still, I had survived worse things than an unlocked dorm.

My attention shifted toward Myra, who was still standing beside the mop like she was prepared to scrub the floor until midnight if necessary. She looked exhausted.

"You need a shower." I announced.

Her eyes widened. "Princess, I’m fine."

"You are covered in dirt."

"It’s nothing."

"You are taking a shower. Right now." I wasn’t going to stand here and watch her pay for something she’s not part of.

She opened her mouth to argue again, but I was already walking toward my bedroom. I grabbed a clean set of comfortable clothes and handed them to her. "Take these and go ahead. Have a shower."

She stared at the clothes as though I’d handed her something priceless. "But I’ll dirty your bathroom."

"Myra." I gave her a look. "You have spent your afternoon cleaning my entire dorm because someone decided to turn it into a garbage dump. The least I can do is give you clothes and a shower."

Her lips parted, but no argument came. She finally nodded and disappeared toward the bathroom, still looking slightly stunned.

When I turned back, Violet was watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.

"What?" I asked.

Her lips curved into a smile. "Nothing." She glanced toward the bathroom before looking back at me. "You are different from what I expected."

I raised an eyebrow as I asked, "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Definitely." She returned with a wink.

I smiled despite myself. For the first time since arriving at Moonveil Academy, I didn’t feel like I had to measure every word I said around someone.

"Coffee?" I asked. "As a thank-you."

Her eyes immediately brightened. "I would love to, but I actually have somewhere to be right now." She took a step toward the doorway before turning back. "But I’ll take you up on that coffee soon."

"Deal."

She smiled again, and this one was bright and genuine enough to warm something inside my chest. "See you around, Elara."

Then she walked away.

I watched her disappear down the corridor before slowly closing the door. And got surprised when I found myself smiling without forcing it.

Maybe Moonveil Academy wasn’t completely hopeless after all.