Soul to Soul

Chapter Eight - Insta-Friendship!

Eve Chambers...

Once I step inside Miss. Nightingale's office, she inclined her head to the chair sitting opposite her desk and I sank down taking in the large space. Bookshelves dominate one wall and are over-flowing with thick hardbacks. The spines cracked and bent with the evidence of being well read. Looking closer, I can see that there doesn't seem to be even one book that hasn't been read. As a book lover myself, I can recognise and appreciate just how much care she takes with these items, and it makes me trust her more because I am the same way with the very few books that I own. Although, I doubt we have similar tastes. The walls are painted an eggplant-purple giving the illusion of opulence and sensuality. Black fittings and fixtures match those out in the main body of the building but this room screams with Miss. Nightingale's personality. There is a table off to one side, it's small and made from what I gather is a chiselled down tree-stump, varnished to give a gleaming top where you can see the rings of life vividly. On the centre of this table is a huge amethyst stone – it's curved and hollow insides also show a similar display of rings of life that the table does, each ring descending into a lighter shade of the usual purple of the stone. It is mesmerising and one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The floor is black slate tile with a huge oriental rug that I felt apprehensive about stepping on. A large, plum-coloured sofa sits by the table with the crystal and is over-stuffed with plush cushions that definitely would lead to a comfortable spot to sleep. One large bay window lets in a sliver of the moon through the gap in the long black net coverings.

"I think that you should talk to your roommate about what you are studying in Magical-History since it will be your first official class on Wednesday," she informed me, but there is something else there, something that she is trying to tell me without overloading me with information tonight.

Honestly, I am grateful as much as I am frustrated because a-part of me is curious about this new world I have found myself immersed in but another part of me is afraid that I have reached some sort of limit tonight. "If I'm not mistaken in where they are in their studies, you will find it most helpful. Unfortunately, because of how late you have arrived in the term, you are going to have a lot of work to catch up on. I will get you a tutor to try and help you catch up,"

"I'm sorry-"

"Eve, there is nothing for you to apologise for, powers are a fickle thing, they only come when they are ready, believe me there is nothing you could have done to coax them to come earlier even if you had known they were possible!" She explained but I get the sense that she doesn't quite agree with what my mom and dad agreed upon when it came to giving me the truth. And honestly, I can't even say I disagree with her either, "alright," she is rifling through a box that she had resting on her desk, "this is everything that you will need, uniform, text-books, code for the tunnels and keys for the dorm house and your room,"

"Tunnels?"

"Yes, we have three tunnels that link this building with the three dorm houses, each tunnel has its own entrance code to get to the house you belong to. They are closed at night-time but open during the day mainly for the vampires to move around campus without being subjected to the sun," she told me. "All the windows are reinforced to ensure no harmful rays can touch our more sensitive students," handing me the box she moves back towards the door, "we will take the tunnels tonight, it is quicker,"

I am in no position to argue with her, so I simply nod and follow her out of the beautiful office, almost hating to leave because it is just so warm and holds a sense of safety that I haven't really felt all night. "What about my luggage?"

"Already at the dorm house waiting for you,"

Alright then.

We walk in silence to a door near the back of the building where she points further ahead, "that is the dining-hall, all meals are served there and the opening and serving times are on your timetable,"