Zara gripped the worn wooden rail of the deck and turned her gaze towards the islands in the distance, layered beyond the misty water, now sparkling in the morning sun. She smiled as she recognized the giant peak of Mt Kergal, towering above the misty shores of Lemuria from her Mythology book, one of her favourites... Her favourite books which she would never get to read again.... She barely noticed the wind blowing her hair wild, the sights were so breathtaking, captivating, textbook pictures paled in
comparison to the reality of the Real World. She took a deep breath and let out
a sigh. What a beautiful world she was living in and all this time she had absolutely no
idea…
The waves crashed against the bow of the ship as it turned
toward the harbor. Cautious, Zara pulled back from the railing a few inches,
reminding herself of the very real dangers lurking in the waters below. Hedena had prepared
her well for the harsh realities she would face but she had to face them on
her own now. From the corner of her eye, she noticed another student now
standing close by and turned to look. Her heart fluttered, he was from Nel's class. Tall, dark, smart and handsome, Nolan was impossible to miss,
everyone knew who he was.
Nolan was a graduate from Panther program. Like Nel, he was
used to living his life during the night and had to wear sunglasses in the day.
He was a competent astronomer, a bright and gifted mathematician, albeit a
failed Oracle. Rumor was he was highly intelligent and had been placed in the
Merchant Program, an unusual placement for a Panther grad.
Zara looked away feeling stupid again, this time he definitely saw her look. She could feel her face blush, for a
few seconds, time stood still. Hedena hadn't prepared her for feelings like these,
these lush feelings that were happening a lot all of a
sudden...
"Hello."
Zara shoulder checked for competition, afraid to believe he was actually talking to her... She composed herself and turned to greet him, his hand was held out, directed at her.
Nolan felt the chemistry too. "My name is Nolan..."
Zara was terrified, his smile was electric. Even
though he wore sunglasses, she could see his dark brown eyes through the smoky
lenses… They penetrated her heart like arrows, slowly capturing every blood
cell in their barb...
"And you are?"
Her tongue was like a jellyfish, she wasn’t sure if she was
feeling the urge to throw up or to throw her arms around him. She stiffened, visualizing
the string Hedena had taught her to use in difficult situations. "My
name is Zara" she smiled, offering her hand in return. Behind her stiff façade, Zara felt herself slipping into a vortex of desire, her face was blushing
she could feel the heat, her palms were sweating… She pulled her hand back just as a group of goddess passed
them by, bumping into her from behind.
"Oh, I'm sorry Sugar Cheeks…Hee heee heee..."
"Excuse me..." Zara turned to leave. "I have
to go."
Rattled by wild emotions unleashed inside, Zara carried on
toward the front of the ship, afraid she was having
a serious malfunction now. Why was Nolan being so nice to her?
Nolan watched her walk away feeling disappointed, admiring her rustic beauty, he liked her heart shaped ass... He felt a certain connection with her... Had they met once before?
Atlan's architecture advertised of fortune and success,
gleaming tall in the smoky distance, it too was much more impressive in
real life than the text books had rendered it to be.
"Atlan..." Zara smiled as the ship neared the
harbor.
As the ship docked, the students learned that there were other graduating students joining them, ships of graduates were arriving from all four corners of the Atlan Empire. They were all wearing similar uniforms but different colors, it was as if all the school uniforms of the Atlan Empire were tailored in the same shop. The dawning of reality was profound. How little she knew about the world she lived in, how small her world had been until now.
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