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I
quickly laced it up and tied it off. The sleeves were loose
and comfortable.
    Encouraged by this small success, I pulled on the deep
green breeches and the calf high black boots. My hand
went to my hip, and I realised I felt like I was missing
something.
The door opened before I could work it out. I glared at
the man who entered.
“You could knock,” I told him distrustfully.
    He didn’t reply, instead walking out and leaving the
door open. I took this as my cue to follow, and, keen not
to spend the day in the room, I took it.
    I followed him down a short corridor and then up some
stairs. He opened a door for me and held it open until I
walked through it.
    I was standing before a large oak desk. Above it, a glass
bar filled with small green stones presided over what was
obviously an office. As I watched, the stones trickled to
the right, levelling it out somewhat; it had been leaning
perilously to the left.
“Greetings,” a voice said dryly from the corner.
    I turned to see the old woman I’d fried. I stood
awkwardly, trying to figure out if I should feel guilty or
not.
    “I’m fine, thank you for asking,” she said, standing up.
Her robes were clean and pure again; the soot and burns
from last time we’d met were gone. “My name is Netalia.
You don’t remember me.”
“Am I supposed to?” I asked.
Her mouth twisted slightly in what I think was a smile.
I immediately trusted her less.
    “No, you’re not,” she said, as though it was a victory.
“The man behind you is Iain. We are the Masters of this
Academy.”
She let the sentence trail, as though I was supposed to
be impressed.
“You answered none of my questions there,” I informed
her. “Where is my father?”
Uncomfortable silence fell. I crossed my arms.
“I’m afraid I’m unaware who you’re talking about,”
Netalia said finally.
    “The man who set you on fire before I did,” I retorted,
beginning to get frustrated. “He... he said that I was his
daughter.”
    I went red as I said it. I could feel tears beginning to
burn. I wanted this to be true so desperately and as much
as I was trying to hide that, I knew it was gleaming
through.
    Netalia stood, her demeanour changing immediately. There was the kind grandmother that I’d first confused
her with.
“I’m so very sorry, dear,” she said, taking my hands in
hers. “But that man isn’t your father.”
My heart sank. There was a lump in my throat and I
swallowed awkwardly.
“Who was he then?” I asked, trying not to let my voice
wobble.
    “Someone who meant you harm,” she replied, looking
into my eyes. We were almost exactly the same height.
“We tried to detain him, but he got away.”
“You were trying to do me harm as well,” I said, pulling
my hands from her grasp. “You almost succeeded.”
    “A misguided venture,” Iain said behind me. He pulled
out a chair and gestured to it. I hesitantly sat. “We were
trying to figure out if you were the right person for a task,
and we went about it the wrong way.”
    Guessing that was about as much apology as I was going
to get from them, and considering I’d set Netalia alight, I
said:
“And? Am I the right one for this ‘task’?”
The two exchanged looks. I watched them warily.
    “Yes,” Iain said. “You are the one we’ve been searching
for. We’re sorry that we had to bring you from the human
realm.”
    “The what?” I couldn’t hide that I was out of my depth.
“You’re in an alternate realm,” Netalia informed me.
“Currently in the Stanthor Academy. We’ll get to the rest
of the geography later.”
    “The task is relatively simple, though you may have
some moral qualms about it,” Iain continued, not giving
me a chance to think over what Netalia had said. “But now
is not the time to discuss it. We want to give you the
chance to settle in, explore a bit. There will be certain
places that you will not be allowed to venture, but we
want you to know that this is not your