Everyone was acting extremely guarded and paranoid after what happened last week. Someone was out to get our powers. I lay down on my bed and huff out a breath of annoyance, the other girls in my dorm slowly file in. Penelope and Venus both enter talking in whispers, I ignore it and go to brush my teeth and comb through my thick black hair.

Everyone else does the same, silently getting ready for bed. It was a nice contrast to the constant gossip that was always happening. I wash my face quickly and then hurry over to my bed, craving the warmth.

I wake up at three in the morning, wonderful. I'm about to get up to go and clear my head when I see Penelope stand up from the corner of my eye, I freeze. Watching carefully as she moves across to Venus who is also awake, they are talking in very hushed whispers. In fact, it looks as if they are arguing. I strain my ears, trying to pick up what they were saying, what are they doing awake at this time?! They speak for a few more minutes before returning to their beds. Surely Penelope must be behind it? What else could they be discussing at three am?

---

I stroll into my maths class, plonk down on my seat and rest my face in my hands. Looking upwards at the board as Mr Faye writes down some equations. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jude sit down next to me, we still haven't talked. I was about to start up a conversation when the principal Ms. Murphy bursts through the door.

"Ms Parks, Mr Faye come with me at once. Your presence is needed at my office." She practically yells before turning on her heel and hurrying down the hall. I slowly sit up as Mr Faye tells the class to work through the questions on the board before we head off to Ms Murphy's office.

"Do you know what's happening? Am I in trouble?"

"You'll see." He replies. We walk into the office and I sit down, all the other teachers in the school and Ms. Murphy are on the other side of the desk. Staring at me.

"Um, is something wrong?" I ask questioningly.

"Odette I am sure you have heard of Zoë? The prophet?" Ms Murphy says.

Zoë was an oracle of sorts, in the past she has been able to give out many prophecies and predictions of the future. She was sacred in out elvish traditions.

"Sure I have... What's she got to do with anything?" I reply.

"Well, she has not spoken a prophecy in over a hundred years. She resides in the school's attic, and last night when the cleaners were dusting up there... she spoke."

"What's that got to do with me?" I snap, getting irritated by all the secrecy and vagueness.

"Let me read the prophecy to you Odette: Ms Murphy finishes and looks at me .

I stay silent, going over the words in my head before I burst out laughing. The teachers all give me the stink eye and Mr Faye puts a finger over his lips. Telling me to stop. I eventually calm down before saying,

"do you think I'm the 'countess of darkness' or something? That's hilarious! That's why you called me in here?!"

"Odette this must be taken seriously, especially considering what's been going on for the past month. The faculty and I have all talked about it, an evil will arise and you might be the one who has to stop it."

"But I'm a first year! There's no way this is real!" I say.

Ms. Murphy looks frustrated while all the teachers look at me nervously. What's going to happen?

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sophs_author