Monteverde Academy

Chapter-7

Nearly everyone was seated at the long dining table when we entered. The dining room was huge with heavy curtains draped over the windows to keep out the sunlight. There were long tables all over the room made of expensive cherrywood. Exquisite artwork lined the walls which were painted a deep red. Two mahogany doors led to the kitchens.

 Airell spotted us and waved us over. Eryx had saved us seats. Aria and Yves were already there. 

"Have you heard?" began Aria, as soon as the servants started bringing in the dishes. 

"Heard what?" said Airell, pushing his luscious dark hair out of his eyes. 

"There is a new guy in our class." 

I leaned forward. 

"Is he the one with dark brown hair and sullen face?" I asked. 

"Yes. Do you know him?" she said.

"No, I just saw him today." 

"Yeah well apparently, he just learned he was a Carthan. His name is Finn." 

"What do you mean he just learned? Hasn't he fed before?" asked Yves, buttering a piece of bread. 

"Yeah, he just thought he was a normal vampire. He probably fed and erased the memories of humans instinctively," she said. 

"Where is he?" asked Bianca. 

I pointed him out to her. 

"He looks troubled to me," she said. 

"Surly, more like," said Airell, piling stew on his plate. 

"He is a noble you know," said Aria, who was enjoying herself thoroughly.

"A noble?" said Eryx with his mouth full. "Which one?" 

"He is a Hayes. From the Hayes Family scandal. His grandfather fell in love with some human girl and married her. He started living with them and had a son who turned out to be a Carthan somehow. He also married a human. The word is that Selzers killed his parents when he was young. He has lived with his human uncle since then." she said, helping herself to some potatoes. 

The Hayes family scandal was well known. Like Aria said, a member of the Hayes clan had fallen in love with a human and had eloped. But falling in love with humans was forbidden. The story was told down to other generations as a warning. It was one of the only few stories of Carthans falling in love with humans. All the Carthans in the other stories had been killed by the Carthan monarchy. It had nearly taken away the Hayes family name from the ten noble families. I guess the lost family members had finally surfaced.

"Well, it's his family's fault. They shouldn't have married humans in the first place. My dad told me all about the disgraced Hayes clan." said Eryx, wrinkling his nose in disgust. 

I felt my temper flare. 

"Do you think yourself above them?" I asked coldly. 

Everyone turned to look at me. 

"Well, you know what I mean. We are at the top of the food chain. We have skills they don't have. Humans are dumb." he said.

I felt mad. How dare he? I was about to retort when Bianca tugged at my sleeve. 

"Let it go," she whispered. 

I glared at Eryx and then sighed. She was right. There was no point in picking a fight now. The moment was soon forgotten as everyone focused on eating. 

As soon as dinner ended and the tables were cleared, Mrs Kuperus pushed back her chair and stood up to address all of us. 

She had a strict face and grey hair pulled back tightly into a bun. She had to be around one hundred and twenty, so she wasn't that old yet. 

She cleared her throat. 

"I hope you enjoyed the feast. All the old students, we are very pleased to have you back. As for the new ones, welcome to Monteverde Academy." 

She paused. Everyone clapped. Airell hooted and she gave him a disapproving look. 

"I am sure you all have heard about the Hunter's awakening. We have tightened all our security measures for your safety and have even put up new wards. As per the new guidelines, all students have been forbidden to go out into the forest during the day. Your safety is of utmost importance. Any student found breaking the rules shall be dealt with very strictly." 

She paused and looked over in my direction. I looked down, avoiding her gaze. 

"You may all proceed to your dormitories. Classes will start from tomorrow." 

Everyone scraped back their chairs and got up to head back to their dorms.