starving by the time she got to the dorms. The enchanted plates were
already zooming by as she dodged a floating salad and slid into her seat beside
Ella. The others were already halfway through the first course, a pale
flavorful soup with thin slices of bread toasted with soft cheese. Mia’s bowl slid
into place just as she did. How did the serving spell do that? She would love
to get her hands on a copy of the original spell…it must be hideously
complicated. She ate with appreciation and appetite, if not the transports of
delight that the meal might have invoked before Charms.
After
dinner the girls returned to their dorm. There was a quiet murmur about what
happened to the Professor. Vivian whispered. “He finally turned to stone?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “They don’t actually turn to stone. Emma said they
calcify…normally it is the arteries.”
“What, exactly is the
difference?” Mia shrugged. “Chemically or practically?”
Vivian rolled her eyes. “For
practical purposes.”
Mia shrugged. “For practical
purposes, there isn’t much. But it only happens to really powerful, really old
wand wielders, and only after a couple of centuries of magic. Normal villagers
don’t often make it past the century mark.”
Vivian rolled her eyes.
“Still doesn’t make up for ending up as a pigeon roost.”
Homework
took precedence after dinner was over. Mia practiced creating water by filling
all of the bath tubs up and pulling the plugs repeatedly. Ella was filling a
cup over and over while Sarah watched intently. After about an hour of
practice, Sarah managed to fill a cup, much to the delight of the other girls.
“You should have taken Creation. Professor Fain’s incredible.” Sarah
grinned. “I am taking Creation, with Professor Montesquieu. But we didn’t do
anything today besides go over theory.” Mia was glad she’d gotten Professor
Fain.
She
was sweating and tired by the time she finished, and famished again. She ran
down to the dining area and ordered a large snack for all the girls: a pot of
tea with cream and sugar, slices of melon, small round cookies, and a large
bowl of almonds. After a minute’s consideration, she also ordered a pile of
dainty chicken salad sandwiches. She munched on a couple of sandwiches as she
levitated the heavy tray back to the dorm and sat down for a bedtime snack.
Sarah and Ella ate as much as Mia. Vivian, Lizzy and Beth, who hadn’t been
doing magic that evening, nibbled on some of the melon slices and sipped a cup
of tea.
After
they finished, Ella and Mia divided the history books that Professor Fain had
loaned them, while the others followed their own inclinations. Lizzy and Beth
were searching through a package of music and talking quietly. Sarah was
reading a heavy text for one of her classes the next day. Vivian pulled out
her sketchbook and what looked like burned pieces of wood. She spent most of
the evening making sure strokes with the charcoal and muttering about the
position of the light and shadows.
Vivian
was the first to claim a bathtub, closely followed by Ella, who took the second
cube. Mia took a very quick bath and settled into the soft bed with her
curtains closed and the magelight on. The book was fascinating, and kept her
awake long after the quiet murmurs of her dorm mates indicated that they were
sleeping. If she was a bit sleepy the next morning, no one commented. Then
again, the bustle of six girls getting ready for class would have covered any
yawning she might have done.
The
book skipped the story of the origin of the City: it began with the first
written account of the City government and continued through on the firm ground
of written historical accounts, ignoring legend entirely. The advancement of
the protective charms was of particular interest to her. They had started out
as magical fences, but had evolved
already zooming by as she dodged a floating salad and slid into her seat beside
Ella. The others were already halfway through the first course, a pale
flavorful soup with thin slices of bread toasted with soft cheese. Mia’s bowl slid
into place just as she did. How did the serving spell do that? She would love
to get her hands on a copy of the original spell…it must be hideously
complicated. She ate with appreciation and appetite, if not the transports of
delight that the meal might have invoked before Charms.
After
dinner the girls returned to their dorm. There was a quiet murmur about what
happened to the Professor. Vivian whispered. “He finally turned to stone?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “They don’t actually turn to stone. Emma said they
calcify…normally it is the arteries.”
“What, exactly is the
difference?” Mia shrugged. “Chemically or practically?”
Vivian rolled her eyes. “For
practical purposes.”
Mia shrugged. “For practical
purposes, there isn’t much. But it only happens to really powerful, really old
wand wielders, and only after a couple of centuries of magic. Normal villagers
don’t often make it past the century mark.”
Vivian rolled her eyes.
“Still doesn’t make up for ending up as a pigeon roost.”
Homework
took precedence after dinner was over. Mia practiced creating water by filling
all of the bath tubs up and pulling the plugs repeatedly. Ella was filling a
cup over and over while Sarah watched intently. After about an hour of
practice, Sarah managed to fill a cup, much to the delight of the other girls.
“You should have taken Creation. Professor Fain’s incredible.” Sarah
grinned. “I am taking Creation, with Professor Montesquieu. But we didn’t do
anything today besides go over theory.” Mia was glad she’d gotten Professor
Fain.
She
was sweating and tired by the time she finished, and famished again. She ran
down to the dining area and ordered a large snack for all the girls: a pot of
tea with cream and sugar, slices of melon, small round cookies, and a large
bowl of almonds. After a minute’s consideration, she also ordered a pile of
dainty chicken salad sandwiches. She munched on a couple of sandwiches as she
levitated the heavy tray back to the dorm and sat down for a bedtime snack.
Sarah and Ella ate as much as Mia. Vivian, Lizzy and Beth, who hadn’t been
doing magic that evening, nibbled on some of the melon slices and sipped a cup
of tea.
After
they finished, Ella and Mia divided the history books that Professor Fain had
loaned them, while the others followed their own inclinations. Lizzy and Beth
were searching through a package of music and talking quietly. Sarah was
reading a heavy text for one of her classes the next day. Vivian pulled out
her sketchbook and what looked like burned pieces of wood. She spent most of
the evening making sure strokes with the charcoal and muttering about the
position of the light and shadows.
Vivian
was the first to claim a bathtub, closely followed by Ella, who took the second
cube. Mia took a very quick bath and settled into the soft bed with her
curtains closed and the magelight on. The book was fascinating, and kept her
awake long after the quiet murmurs of her dorm mates indicated that they were
sleeping. If she was a bit sleepy the next morning, no one commented. Then
again, the bustle of six girls getting ready for class would have covered any
yawning she might have done.
The
book skipped the story of the origin of the City: it began with the first
written account of the City government and continued through on the firm ground
of written historical accounts, ignoring legend entirely. The advancement of
the protective charms was of particular interest to her. They had started out
as magical fences, but had evolved
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