Gaelira woke with the feeling that the entire world was swaying beneath her body. The mattress tilted gently from side to side, accompanied by the constant sound of wheels gliding over a road that seemed far too smooth to be made of stone.
For several seconds, she did not remember where she was. Then the conversation in the dining room returned, the wand rising in front of her and the violet light that had taken away her strength. Her mother had put her to sleep even though she had already agreed to leave.
She tried to sit up, but a sharp pain went through her head and forced her to place one hand on the bed. The room she had awakened in was narrow, although it was far too spacious to belong inside a carriage.
Two beds stood against opposite walls, accompanied by small wardrobes, blue lamps, and a table fixed to the floor. A window showed green fields, empty roads, and small villages passing by at surprising speed.
There were no visible horses when Gaelira leaned over to look ahead, and the wheels barely seemed to touch the ground.
'Another magical object,' she thought as she brushed the black hair away from her face. 'I suppose this means they really did send me.'
"You shouldn't get up so quickly."
The voice from the other side of the compartment made Gaelira turn sharply. A young woman was sitting on the second bed, with a closed book resting on her lap and her arms crossed.
Her red hair fell in a braid over one shoulder, although several strands had come loose and framed her face. She wore a dark traveling jacket, tall boots, and an expression that seemed caught between concern and the desire to pretend she was not concerned.
Gaelira stared at her for too long. The young woman stared back, waiting for a reaction that never came.
"Who are you?" Gaelira asked.
The redhead's expression changed immediately. Surprise came first, followed by annoyance so obvious that she did not even try to hide it. "That's not funny."
"I wasn't trying to make a joke."
"Then you found a new excuse to avoid talking to me." The young woman picked up the book and set it beside her with more force than necessary. "I have to admit, pretending you don't know me is more creative than simply ignoring me."
Gaelira tried to answer, but a sudden pain shot through her head. The compartment disappeared for several seconds and was replaced by a classroom filled with sunlight. The same red-haired girl sat across from her, pushing several perfectly organized notes toward her side of the table.
The image changed, and Gaelira saw her waiting near the entrance of a school with two books held against her chest. Another memory showed the girl stepping in front of her while laughter echoed around them.
She could not make out any faces, but she understood that the girl was defending her.
The scenes came faster and faster. The redhead going over exercises Gaelira had not even tried to solve. The redhead waiting for her to study while the hours passed. The redhead discovering that Gaelira had skipped class again after promising she would attend. In every memory, there was less patience and more exhaustion.
The last one was different. They were both near the school gates, and the old Gaelira held an invitation between her fingers. The redhead was trying to convince her to attend an important evaluation, but Gaelira tore the paper apart in front of her.
"I don't need you acting like you're my mother," she heard the girl whose body she now occupied say. "Find someone else to control."
The memory ended, and Gaelira found herself back inside the carriage. She had one hand pressed against her forehead and was breathing heavily. The red-haired girl no longer looked angry. She had leaned forward and was watching her carefully, although she still refused to completely close the distance between them.
"Octavia," Gaelira murmured.
"So you finally remembered." Octavia Osborne crossed her arms again. "I was starting to wonder how long you planned to keep up the act."
"I'm not acting." Gaelira lowered her hand and tried to organize the images that had just appeared. "The spell they used to put me to sleep must have confused me. Some things are coming back little by little."
Octavia looked into her eyes as if she might find proof of a lie there. "When I got on at the last stop, you were unconscious. I thought you'd been drinking before the trip until I found traces of magic on your clothes."
"My mother was convinced I would try to escape."
"Were you going to?"
"No." Gaelira answered without hesitation. "I asked for a few days to prepare, but when she refused, I agreed to come. She put me to sleep anyway."
The explanation did not seem to surprise Octavia. "I can't blame her for not believing you."
Gaelira felt the urge to defend herself, but the memories stopped her. Octavia had reasons to distrust every word spoken with that voice. To her, Gaelira was still the same girl who had broken promises, wasted opportunities, and rejected her help when it stopped being convenient.
"I suppose you can't," she admitted.
Octavia slowly uncrossed her arms. The absence of an argument seemed to confuse her more than any explanation. "So they sent you to Crownspire too. I thought you'd reject the place as soon as you found out you'd have to follow schedules."
"Apparently, rejecting it was no longer an option."
Gaelira turned her attention back to the window. The landscape looked like something from a fantasy painting. Trees with bluish leaves grew near the road, and small lights floated over some fields even though it was still daytime. She needed to ask questions, but she had to choose them carefully.
Octavia was already suspicious of her behavior, and directly asking how the world worked would confirm that something was wrong.
"Why did you agree to come?" Gaelira asked. "You don't seem like someone your family would have to force."
Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Because I want to learn protection magic, and Crownspire has a decent program. It's not the best academy in the kingdom, but it's better than continuing to study without access to its facilities." She paused before returning the question. "And you? Until yesterday, you claimed academies were only useful for locking people up."
Another fragment of memory confirmed that those words had come from the old Gaelira's mouth. "Maybe I changed my mind."
"Overnight."
"It was a complicated night."
Octavia watched her in silence, searching for some sign of the sarcasm she expected to find. Gaelira held her gaze without challenging her. She could not tell her that she had awakened in an unfamiliar body after dying beneath a car, but she also did not want to begin that relationship by piling up unnecessary lies.
"I don't remember everything clearly," she finally explained. "But I remember enough to know that you tried to help me many times and that I didn't treat you well."
The tension disappeared from Octavia's face for a moment, replaced by something Gaelira could not interpret. "Is that an apology?"
"It's the beginning of one."
"I don't want another beginning." Octavia looked away and pretended to be interested in the scenery. "We've had too many already."
Gaelira accepted the answer without insisting. She expected the silence that followed to feel uncomfortable, but the constant movement of the carriage and the sound of the wheels filled the space between them. Octavia opened her book again, although she remained on the same page for several minutes.
Gaelira used the opportunity to examine the compartment and discovered that her luggage occupied one of the wardrobes. Inside, she found dresses, personal items, and a long box that probably contained the sword she had seen in her room.
"Your family sent enough things for you to survive," Octavia commented without looking up from her book.
"I didn't expect them to."
"That's a strange way to be grateful."
"I meant I didn't expect to find my belongings here. When I woke up this morning, I didn't even know I would be traveling."
Octavia looked up and examined her again. "You talk as if you woke up for the first time this morning."
Gaelira felt that she had made a mistake. Before she could find an answer, the carriage tilted sharply as it took a turn. The movement sent the box crashing against one of the doors and made her lose her balance. She tried to grab the table, but her fingers only brushed the edge before her body fell toward the opposite bed.
Octavia reacted quickly. She dropped the book and caught Gaelira around the waist, preventing her from hitting the floor. The momentum left them far too close together, with Gaelira resting one hand on Octavia's shoulder and the red braid brushing against her cheek. Their faces were so close that Gaelira could feel the other girl's breath.
For a moment, neither moved.
Octavia reacted first. She helped Gaelira regain her balance and then pulled her hands away with unnecessary speed. Her cheeks had turned almost the same color as her hair.
"You should get used to walking before trying to do it while the carriage is moving," she declared while picking up the book.
"Thanks for keeping me from cracking my head open."
"I did it because I don't want to start the year explaining why you arrived injured."
"Of course. It had nothing to do with you being worried."
Octavia opened the book and hid part of her face behind it. "I see you haven't completely lost your ability to be irritating."
Gaelira smiled, but decided not to keep provoking her. She returned to her bed and sat beside the window. In the distance, the road began to rise between rock formations, while barely visible towers appeared through the mist. She could not make out their shape before the carriage began to slow down.
A bell rang above the roof. The blue lamps flickered at the same time, and the wardrobes closed by themselves, securing the luggage for their arrival. Octavia set the book aside and moved closer to the window.
"We're here," she announced.
"Crownspire Academy," Gaelira murmured.
Octavia glanced at her. "You'd better not waste the opportunity this time."
The carriage stopped before Gaelira could answer.