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I had History again first lesson, and I was determined to pay attention this time.
I’d had a filling breakfast and I had a glass of apple juice with me, along with my tablet and keyboard.
Only, instead of the teacher from yesterday, Mr Stiles entered the room.
“Hello everyone,” he said with a smile as he walked up to the front of the class. “Most of you will recognise me from your History of Magic classes, but for those of you who don’t, I’m Mr Stiles. I’ll be filling in for Ms Wilson today.”
He looked around the room. “Now, I’m going to be tying the lesson into some magical history for those of you who want to brush up on both. Mostly because I don’t know why you would keep it all separate in the first place. Specifically, I’ll be relating any dates to which Demon monarch was on the throne at the time. So, to get us started,” he turned to me, “Amelia, I know you’re new, so we’ll keep this simple, and don’t feel bad if you can’t answer. Who is the current Demon monarch?”
“Um, it’s Queen...” I frowned. Lena had mentioned this yesterday, I was sure. Had she mentioned the Queen’s name?
Mr Stiles smiled. “That’s a good start. You’re right, the current monarch is a Queen.” He turned to the rest of the room. “Can anyone else tell me her name?”
I flushed red at my inability to answer the simple question. If Mr Stiles thought that he was being nice by loudly pointing out my inexperience to the room, he was dead wrong. It felt more like condescension that everyone was witness to.
“Yes, Victoria.”
I cringed. I hadn’t even realised that she was in my History class.
“Everyone knows that the current Demon monarch is Queen Freya.”
I wanted to punch her smug face for her biting tone, but I was distracted by another headache.
It felt like someone had hit me square between the eyes with a mallet.
I took my paracetamol from my bag before focusing on the rest of the lesson, determined not to miss anything this time.
#
I FOUND THE OTHERS at the library at break, sitting in the corner on a selection on comfy chairs.
“Amelia,” Natalie greeted with a smile as I approached. “How has your morning been?”
I sighed as I sat down next to her. “Mr Stiles replaced my History teacher this morning and was asking questions about magic. He asked me questions...”
“That you couldn’t answer?”
I nodded.
Natalie placed her hand on my arm and I almost jumped at the move, though I didn’t object to it.
No, I was just surprised.
Surprised and startled, as her touch brought back memories of my dream.
Of her dying in my arms.
Natalie smiled once more. “Meet me here again this afternoon. We can go over whatever it is that you need to brush up on.”
I nodded, having almost forgotten about our arrangement. “Okay. I’ll be there.”