A few hours before Ryker's humiliation, back when they were still being assigned their dormitories, Anna was walking to hers.
Her hands still held the warmth of Ryker's when they said goodbye. A knot formed in her stomach. The idea that Ryker would be sharing a room with Fenia, Liv and Alya made her jealous, made her want to scream and stomp her feet like a child. She fidgeted with her braids.
"He loves me. He'll always love me," she whispered.
Instead of Sakura trees, mighty oaks lined the path towards her dorm, the leaves a thousand different shades of emerald and jade. Elves, Dryads, Fae, and Spirits loved the earthy tones. As a dryad herself, Anna thought of each leaf as a small comfort, like the pages of her romance novels.
A modern looking dormitory was standing in front of her, roots and vines weaved themselves through the black polished obsidian and the door handle looked like two vines coiled together.
She exhaled and opened the door, entering a whole new world.
The Jade Tail dormitory smelled like a potpourri of wet soil, citrus blossoms, and the crisp, clean scent of old parchment. In the lounge there were nature-attuned species talking, chatting and laughing. One of the guys turned to look at Anna, his pointy ears were small compared to the ears of his elf friend he was chatting with.
He waved at Anna and gestured for her to come sit with them.
Her mouth went dry from the thought of interacting with so many new people. These people were all rich, influential. The best of the best, and they expected the best. Yet she was just a poor girl with influential friends. So instead of joining them she took out her phone and opened the email that had her room number.
With a shake of her hand, she fleed the scene.
"4th floor," she said as she pressed the button on the elevator. The humming inside calmed her for a bit but her mind was still racing about all the different social situations she would have to handle, the different expectations from the teachers, the high stakes of being a dryad here.
After a soft ding, Anna went out into the corridor that had wooden panels with intricate patterns and vines decorating the ceiling.
Checking each door, she finally found hers.
Room 430.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. The room wasn't huge but it was neat and was spacious enough for a bunk bed on one side, a single on the other and a small balcony.
"Hello," a gentle voice came from inside.
The hairs on her arm stood up. She yelped.
"Hello? Where are you?"
Anna was looking around, swearing she was alone.
A small head poked from one of the potted plants that were on the wooden table. A girl with green hair and two antlers.
Anna recognized the species right away, a Fae, but couldn't help but stare at the unique markings on her face that seemed to be natural tattoos. A small red leaf was inked right under her right eye. She was beautiful and otherworldly in a way that made Anna feel like a clumsy weed in comparison.
The Fae waved with enthusiasm, "A dryad? How wonderful!"
Without knowing it, Anna was waving back, "I'm Anna."
"I'm Lyra," the Fae girl responded. She then floated in front of Anna, her small translucent wings beating so fast they were a blur.
"Let me guess. Anna Inara Flores from Revera City? I saw your name on the list of students," her brown eyes looking at her with excitement.
She nodded, "That's me... I thought Fae's were bigger?"
Anna's only experiences with Fae was from seeing them on TV. They lived in the East so the only contact she ever had was watching their movies, their dramas that were always about court intrigue and tragic love stories.
Lyra let out a giggle. Then she suddenly transformed into her bigger counterpart. The small fairy was replaced by a majestic being, nearly ten feet tall, with powerful wings that beat slowly and gracefully.
"You mean like this?"
"Wow," Anna couldn't stop herself. Awe was making her jaw slack. The sheer power radiating from her was overwhelming.
But Lyra transformed back, "It's too draining to stay big for long. Besides I like being compact," she spun, her blue skirt swirling around her small frame.
"Can I see you transform?" Her eyes shimmering with innocent curiosity.
Heat pricked Anna's cheeks. Pulling at her collar, thinking it was embarrassing to show the ability to merge with a tree, she shook her head.
"I'd rather not. Not yet."
"Okay," the Fae shrugged, then she flew back to her desk, grabbing something from the bag.
"I got this from the cafeteria for you," she handed a ripe, juicy apple to Anna, the skin was so red it seemed to glow.
"Thank you," she bit into it.
Covering her mouth as she chewed she asked, "Which one is my bed?"
"Hmm whichever you want. I prefer the top bunk because I can easily fly to it," Lyra explained.
Anna wanted the lower bunk.
"Do we have another roommate?" she asked after swallowing another bite of the apple, feeling less nervous.
The little Fae put a finger on her chin, "I'm not sure. I think there's supposed to be three of us, she might still be exploring campus."
While they waited for the mysterious third person, Lyra went on about all the gossip that was already going around the dorm.
"Did you hear about the Kraken's husband?" she whispered like she was sharing a deep secret.
A tingle shot up Anna's spine. Anna knew the entire school must be gossiping about him.
"He must be super powerful to capture a Kraken's attention. I mean she's the Lorelei's granddaughter!"
The Fae wasn't the only one that thought that. Everyone on campus was curious to meet this guy.
"Do you know who he is?" Anna said.
"I think it was Ryker Larduca. Not even a Dracula but a random vampire family."
The name of her childhood friend that she had grown to love. The name of the boy who gave her her first kiss. The name of the boy who was now married to a Kraken.
"This year's going to be insane," then Lyra's face lit up like a lightbulb, "Oh there's also a Meliea! You must be excited to meet him."
The mention of the primordial Dryad family made Anna tense. It was like a slap to the face. How could she even think she was special when she barely had healing magic for a week.
Lyra took out her miniature phone and showed Anna the picture of the Meliea descendant.
She had to squint to get a better look.
Then her stomach churned. It was the man who waved at her.
"Apparently he's in the lounge right now," Lyra added. And before she could protest, the Fae grabbed her hand and dragged her to the door.