Misha the Beast Tamer.

I was nervous as I joined the teacher on the tour. I instinctively clutched the necklace that Zac had gifted me. I walked passed groups of people and it felt as each and every one of them was watching me. I kept my head down and followed the teacher in front. I was shown the Library, the mess hall, the female communal bathing room, the classrooms that I'd be attending, given a timetable, the student common room and finally my final destination, the room I'd be sharing with Aqila.

I was relieved to find the room empty, my bed was covered in bags of my belongings and two small chests were placed at the foot of the old wooden bed, that I'd assumed was mine. The teacher left me to put my belongings away. The room was a good size, perfect size for 2 beds, two wardrobes, and 2 desks. There was a curtain that could be used to pull across the middle of the room to separate the beds. It was a thick and stiff curtain, pushed to the very end of the room against an empty stone wall. As I put my items away, I glanced over to Aqila's side of the room. It was neat and tidy. There was only a few pieces of paper on the desk and there was a stack of books neatly atop the wardrobe. Each desk had an inkwell, and a candle ready to use, when studying took us into the night.

I opened my wardrobe and found 3 neatly hung uniforms, a pair of plain black shoes, and 2 stacks of books. One pile of books was blank journal's and the other was various books showing strange creatures on the cover, while others were plain colours bound in leather. I shoved as much of my clothes as I could fit in the wardrobe. I sighed, if the uniforms were a reflection on what everyone wore, my clothes were too fancy, they were the clothes of a wealthy Princess. I sighed, what was I thinking when I chose these clothes to bring with me.

I read through the timetable trying to remember where all the classrooms were. I sat at my desk and skimmed through the various books, I studied the pictures of wolves, foxes, dogs, bulls and normal animals you'd come across often. It was when I skimmed the other book I came across mythical animals such as; Hellhounds, Griffen, vampires, shapeshifters, chamrosh, minotaur's and many others that I'd never heard of. Could we be learning about them, because they actually exist? My heart beat faster, the stories of beasts that kill humans in old fairy tales could actually be true stories?

My curiosity was interrupted by the door to the room opening. I turned around and that was the very first time I laid eyes on Aqila. She was tall, her hair was as dark as night, her skin a rich brown and her amber eyes reminded me of fire embers. I smiled in greeting, she glanced at me but didn't return my smile. She went over to her desk, put her books down and closed the curtain, seperating us. I felt a stab of rejection in my heart, and my mood dipped. How could I share a room with someone who hated me from the very first time she laid eyes on me?

At dinnertime my mood got worse. I sat by myself, no-one approached me, no-one even looked my way. I was invisible. I finished up and went straight to my room.

I took the chance to sneak into the bathing room while everyone else was busy finishing off their meals. I was relieved to find it empty. I kept using the soap given to me by Bourdon, as a precaution. I finished up and wrapped myself in a robe, I had just exited through the door when I nearly ran into a group of boys returning to their wing from dinner. My face burnt as I looked down, and mumbled a quick apology. I ran through them, and felt their eyes following me as I ran back to my room. I hoped that my robe had covered me and they didn't see anything.

Once back in my room, I instantly crawled into bed. I was embarrassed, rejected, and exhausted. The tears fell down my cheeks, i sniffled into my pillow.

"Shhh! Im trying to study." Aqila whispered.

I forgot that I shared a room with Aqila. I hadn't even noticed that she was there.

"S-s-orry." I replied, but the tears kept falling and the sniffles kept coming.

I think I started to annoy Aqila, because she let out a large sigh and pulled the curtain aside, just enough to see me.

"Why are you crying, Princess?" She asked bluntly.

"Why do you hate me? Why doesn't anyone want to talk to me?" I asked through sniffles and tears.

Aqila sighed again,

"They don't talk to you because you're royalty. They think you're too pampered to be a beast tamer and most of the students here are from poor or peasant families. They could only ever dream of living a life like yours because of this they believe you'll be a spoilt and just and all-round awful person. Princess."

"But, T-they don't even know me. I'm not spoilt, I admit being away from home is hard and I feel like crying all the time, because I miss my family. But I am not demanding, spoilt, or weak."

"Crying like you are kind of proves what they think though. You need to toughen up Princess, prove to them that you're not like they think you are. Do well in classes. That's the only advice I can offer. My lady." Aqila replied.

"Aqila, you can call me Misha. You don't need to call me Princess or My Lady."

I said before Aqila closed the curtains.

Aqila continued to close the curtain and didn't say another word.

As the day progressed I noticed that I shared a lot of the same classes as Aqila. She didn't acknowledge me and sat by herself just like I did. It seemed, no-one seemed to acknowledge her existence either.

It was the very last class of the day; Tracking and Trapping. Another class I shared with Aqila and yet another class where we both sat alone. I will admit that this was the class I'd been looking forward to all day.

I waited for the teacher to arrive. He arrived ten minutes after the class was scheduled to begin. He was a very attractive man, in his mid to late twenties or early thirties, he had short messy light brown hair, piercing green eyes and tanned skin. His name was Mr Enghyme, but he preferred to be addressed by his first name Erik. He was carrying a large box.

"Class, we should welcome our new student Princess Misha Cesario. Stand up, Princess, so everyone can see you."

My face burnt red, and I stood up slowly. I could feel everyone watching me. Erik smiled at me and motioned for me to sit back down.

"Okay, children. Today we are learning to identify an animal from their droppings."

There was a few disgusted groans and immature giggles.

"Now, now Children. This is one if the many tools we use to track animals. You can tell so much about the animal from their droppings such as their size, health, and what they eat. So today, each and everyone of you will stick your hands in this box and pull out a material bag. On the return to your seats, you are to open the bag and inspect the droppings. They could be the whole dropping or a section of dropping. I will ask you questions about your animal and I will ask you what animal you think these droppings belong too. Now go."

I hesitated to stand, I was not going to enjoy this exercise. I lined up and when it was my turn to choose a bag from the box, I hesitated again. My hesitation did not go unnoticed by a fellow student.

"Awww! Is the widdle Princess too scared to pick up a bag of poo. Are you too scared to get your hands dirty? Or is it just too much for My Lady to handle?"

I recognised the student as belonging to the group of boys I ran into as I was leaving the bathing room last night.

I looked directly into his eyes and reached into the box and chose a bag. Erik smiled to himself as I held my head up and walked past the boy, defiantly. I wanted to prove him wrong. I wasn't pampered, I wasn't scared of animal shit. I was going to identify this bag of poo if it was the last thing I did.