The crimson hoods lorele.., p.1
The crimson hoods: Lorelei, page 1
THE CRIMSON HOODS
PART 1 - LORELEI
C JINGER
C. Jinger
THE CRIMSON HOODS
PART 1.
—
Fantasy
In the same universe :
Ciara - soon available (September)
Tralia - soon available (October)
The crimson hoods -
PART 1. LORELEI
Chapter 1 :
"I regret to inform you that you are not eligible to apply to Redum School."
This is the 12th or 13th time Lorelei has read these words. Even though she knows every line of this parchment, she still can't believe it.
How can this be? She has always wanted to go to this school. She's top of her class. And she has been for years. She still remembers all the extra hours she took. She didn't have a childhood to go to this damn school!
And just by a basic letter, they dare to tell him that his life is over. It wasn't just the place that mattered. It was also everything that it meant. The only way to do the job she had always dreamed of doing. Being the first woman to join the high-risk rescue team...
Sitting on the huge stone bench in front of her orphanage, she thinks. She hasn't lived there for a long time. But one of the mages who took care of her here, Pilar, wanted to see her. Probably, thinking to congratulate her on her entry to Redum...
Worried about her reaction, Lorelei waited in silence. The superior mage was warned from her first steps in the compound, she should not be long. Closing her eyes to find the courage to tell her mentor of her failure, Lorelei does not hear her coming.
"My darling! How are you? It's so good to see you!"
Pilar is dressed in her best suit, as always impeccable and beautiful. Her long hair is pulled back, giving her enough authority to command the respect of the young orphans.
Nevertheless, one detail seems to bother the mage.
"Damn Lio, he couldn't hold back."
The head lowered on her top, she grumbles.
Then, of a movement of fingers, she eliminates the stain of vomit plastered on her cardigan to embrace suitably her former resident. When she pulls away from Lorelei to look at her from her full height, the young woman questions her:
"Children?"
Pilar shrugs.
"A recalcitrant baby. He takes after his newt father, obviously. Impossible to make him swallow terrestrial food without running to the catastrophe."
She smiles tenderly, already attached to this baby without any doubt.
Lorelei doesn't ask her how the boy came to be in her hands. No child who has been here has a good story to tell about his past. She is the first.
Two lovely parents that life decided to take away from her when she was two years old. Lorelei has few memories. Just her mother's face, scattered with blurred notes.
"Finally, let's talk about you, beautiful! What's up? Is it the big day? Maggie has been saying nothing but that since she stood up."
Lorelei gives a barely visible chuckle, deeply touched by their involvement. Nevertheless, she doesn't have the heart to smile and pretend.
"I… I didn't get caught."
She sits back down on the bench, trying not to collapse like she does every time she thinks about it.
"What?"
The mage slaps her palms together to unearth the paper slipped into Lorelei's pocket. She unfolds it without waiting for a reaction from the young woman. Her eyes run through the protocol sentences, devoid of feelings.
"What do you mean, not eligible? What does that mean? You're the smartest kid I know. You've never failed a spell, you understand the history of every people on the tip of a wand…"
Pilar shakes the leaf as if it were a trick. She checks the authenticity of a basic formula, frowns and then starts again.
"It's no use, Pilar. I've tried everything I can... it's official, truthful and negative."
Lorelei softly articulated this sentence that she has been repeating to herself for the past few days.
"You had the best grades in your school. You were motivated... you had our letters of recommendation. Your internship with the alumni board and…"
"Obviously, that's not enough."
Lorelei shifts to let her sit next to her. The disappointment in her eyes is hard to take. Pilar would have been so proud to have her join the high risk rescue team. She had gotten them so drunk talking about it for almost ten years.
"I don't understand," Pilar repeats. "You have to make a comeback. Stand up for yourself!"
Lorelei points to a line at the end of the letter.
"Any request would be useless. Our decisions are well thought out and you could push us to take legal action. This could not be favorable to your case for another try."
"Oh…"
Pilar stares at the letter, not knowing what to say. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes light up.
"They say "another try". So you can apply again?"
"In seven years," says Lorelei. "I had already thought about it. Take a job somewhere and come back to try my luck. But seven years, Pilar... that's a long time."
The magician doesn't contradict her.
"Do you know why they turned you down? Don't you have another piece of that tacky paper?"
She shakes her head negatively before adding:
"Maybe it's … my lost points from the physicals."
"But who cares about physical magic? That's the worst kind. I don't see how you could possibly need that, when you have everything else."
"I have nothing left…"
The mage disappears and returns with a pile of documents.
"Plans B, C... knowing Heloise, you must even have a plan Z hidden somewhere. She was dreading seeing you fail without having any solutions to offer."
"Thanks for the confidence," Lorelei murmured, looking at the huge pile in front of her.
"To tell the truth, I had also done some research. Just in case... "
She sighs. Was she the only one who didn't think of a plan B?
She feels even worse.
"I'll read this. Thanks."
Lorelei would rather not linger here. In any case, she needs to find a solution quickly. Time is running out and she is painfully aware of it. If in five moons she hasn't found a school, she will lose her housing and the support of the Council of Elders. Orphan or not, they don't want to know. If she stops her apprenticeship, she has to get her own job. Except that with a general education in white magic, she can't do much.
"Say hello to the others."
"Take care of yourself, Rey"
The nickname of the little girl she was…. clutches her heart even more. Her old life inside that orphanage looked much happier than the future. She sits down on her second-hand teleporter and mumbles her address. Not having enough recharge to make it work properly, she gently flies off into the treetops. The latest models instantly teleport users. The old piece of junk she paid for with stardust has no chance of doing so without disintegrating her at the same time. So she uses it as the ancients did. It allows her to fly to her destination and she enjoys the view. This way of doing things usually makes her lose a lot of time, which annoys her to no end. At least, usually. Today, she doesn't mind not going fast. She even wishes she could stop time.
She frowns as she sees two black mages following her at a still reasonable distance. Accidents are becoming more and more frequent. Destroying from above is more efficient and less dangerous for them.
She clutches the pile of documents against her so as not to let anything escape while trying to ignore them. She slides her foot gently to activate the gas pedal of her teleporter. The latter spits while obeying.
"Are you alone?"
The first one snickers while asking her this question. She swallows her saliva with difficulty.
"With an old jalopy? Do you want to go for a ride? exclaims the second one."
He points to the latest toy under her feet.
The thugs are always more fortunate than she is. Note, it is impossible to be more broke than an orphan with no future.
"I'm… I'm on my way home" she says.
"Oh yeah? You look more like you're lost."
"I'm not lost at all. I have a friend who lives right here."
She points randomly to a neighborhood below them. Her gesture is too vague to be convincing.
"You should introduce us to him then! We like to make new friends."
"No worries. I'll go see him and come back."
Her feint is nevertheless doomed to failure. She hasn't even begun to lose altitude when one of them comes to tackle her teleporter, which seems to be suffering from the pain of going so fast.
"You look... scared," the first one laughs.
"I would say even tetanized my beautiful one" pushes the second one by approaching to encircle it on the other side.
She tries to think quickly. There are many articles about black mages kidnapping white mages. No evidence has been found, but she has probably just stumbled upon the center of the problem unintentionally.
Not wanting to experience these last few hours, she violently presses her foot towards the back of her teleporter. The sudden brake command stops the machine with a thud. Lorelei is thrown forward, winces and feels herself tipping over as the two men track straight ahead.
She barely catches up with her machine, still holding her documents with the other hand. The feet in the void, she tries to raise herself on it without success. The two young people are turning around while she is v
She thinks of jumping before realizing that it is the forbidden river.
"Damn!" she swears.
It did not miss any more than that! The legends around this river make the young woman much more excited than the two idiots who are heading towards her. However, they don't seem to want her any good all the same.
"Take her down!"
"It's the river, man!"
"We don't care! Drop it!"
The first one is more arrogant than the second. He spits in the water with disgust while ordering his friend to do the dirty work.
"Honestly, I... "
The nicer one approaches Lorelei's teleporter with an apologetic look. He is about to crush his hand when a thud rises around them.
Lorelei freezes, clenching her fingers on the metal edge of her device. The folder of leaves begins to slide down her torso as the man steps back.
"Did you hear that?"
"Who cares? Drop it so we can cut ourselves!"
"But… "
"Come on!"
The orders of his colleague force him to come back to Lorelei still hanging on by his fingertips.
This time, he doesn't have time to lift his foot when a high-pitched scream rings out. He is startled, loses his balance and falls. The scene seems to be in slow motion. Lorelei sees his face twist with fear as he sinks into the water.
A second after a heavy silence, he resurfaces. His eyes sweat with the urgency to save him. He stretches his arms towards his friend who does not move. The one who used to be his little boss is not at all valiant anymore. He backed up on his transplane.
"I… man you just fell in the river."
"I got nothin'. I'm the same."
Lorelei looks at him. Indeed, he doesn't seem to have anything different. Are the legends just unfounded rumors? She is almost reassured. This small moment of slackening relaxes her. Her arm unclenches, causing a sheet of paper to fall from her file. She twirls in the air before falling into the water.
"Shit…"
Lorelei's whisper is quickly swallowed up by a deep voice that seems to come from the depths of hell. The young woman's fingers gradually lose their grip as the unknown man in the water starts to scream. Air bubbles form on the surface, as if something is releasing oxygen.
"Sorry, man."
The coward disappears with the dry sound of his transplane, leaving Lorelei and the swimmer alone.
"Help me."
He reaches for her when his body is pulled back. He hits the bank hard before disappearing beneath the surface of the water. With her heart pounding, Lorelei tries to pull herself up again. This movement makes her fingers slide a little more towards the edge. She inhales deeply and realizes she has no choice but to let go of the pile of papers. She lifts her arm, opens her hand and grabs the opposite edge. With two holds, she manages to pull herself up onto her tired teleporter.
Transfixed with fear, she does not dare to move while staring at the calm water.
She watches helplessly as the documents are swallowed up by the forbidden waters.
Tears well up in her eyes as a leaf seems to stay on the surface, fighting not to sink.
Lorelei contemplates it before deciding to get up and leave. However, her teleporter doesn't seem to think so. Her energy is low, causing her to lose more and more altitude. Soon she finds herself inches from the water, her heart pounding.
The leaf is always there, within reach. Hesitantly, she thinks about the solutions that are offered to her. They are few. Lorelei puts her index finger on the wet paper, pulls it towards her and puts her knee in the center of her teleporter.
The manipulation lasts only a moment, but it is enough to make a new cloud of air bubbles spring up. In the reflection of the water, two yellow eyes stare at her as her teleporter finally responds to her command. She feels her skin burning as the machine pulls her away from danger.
Her muscles tense with pain. She opens her mouth to let out a shrill sound. Her body writhes under the multiple ordeals her machine causes her. When it seems finished, she loses her balance and falls of several meters. Her head hits a hard and cold ground. Her knees bounce on the asphalt of an abandoned square before being joined by the carcass of the teleporter that tried to do its job.
Safe and sound, even if in bad shape, Lorelei straightens herself with her elbows.
"It was quite an ordeal to have you..."
She holds what looks like an old piece of paper.
The letterhead of a school, the Butamne, is still legible.
"I don't know anything about you. But I hope you're worth it."
She gets up to retrieve what's left of her teleporter, then finds a place to land to study that piece of paper.
"If you can get me to the high-risk rescue, I choose you, valiant paper," she whispers.
She closes her eyes to start the incantation. When she opens them again, bingo! The paper is apple green. This color indicates its correspondence with Lorelei's research.
"So, let's apply to... Butamne!" she exclaims, alone, terrified, but victorious.
Chapter 2 :
It is 5:55 am when Lorelei arrives in front of the huge portal of this famous unknown school. Not having any more teleporter, she had to find another way to come here. She owes now about fifteen fairy dust to a complete stranger. He was willing to teleport her here. And she really hopes he didn't make fun of her. Desperate, without any possibility to turn back, she goes through the portal.
Of course, not everything goes as planned. As soon as she put a toe in the field, a shock wave crosses her to push her back about fifteen meters away. Not having the reflex to stop with her magic, she explodes on the ground. She emits a grunt, tries to stand up, while realizing that she has just ruined her re-entry outfit.
She gets up as well as possible. And to top it all off, a small band of pests starts giggling a few feet away from her. They came in through a force field. Of course, none of them landed on their butts.
"It's really not what it used to be this school. I'll talk to my dad about it. I don't want to share my year with losers."
The tone used by the prettiest girl in the group doesn't say anything to Lorelei. She's already made an enemy before she's even stepped through the door. Lorelei will never change. She tries to put on a brave face and get up properly. Except that the shoes she took are good to throw away.
In the rules, it was clearly stipulated that white magic beings had to have heels. A way to differentiate themselves from the others. Lorelei, never used to wear such things, found some cheap ones in a corner. Fortunately for her, she didn't pay a fortune for them since they are good to go to the trash. Both heels are sawed off because of her fall.
"At least your feet won't hurt," laughs one of the girls.
Lorelei gives her a micro smile, to prevent herself from insulting her. There's no way she's going to start this year like that. She needs to have a good average, good grades and therefore good behavior.
She had never been the type to be friends with other women. Being an orphan, she was an outcast in every school. This never really bothered her. It was easier to study without someone around to talk to. However, that would have to change. Otherwise, she's going to end up completely alone, bitter and unemployed.
"Have a nice day... "
"loser" concluded the group leader.
The latter struts around with her little henchmen. Amazing how all schools are the same. Fortunately, this will have absolutely no impact on her year. This girl just said that the school really has been taking anyone for some time. This length of time comparison means that she is not a freshman. So, Lorelei doesn't need to worry.
She watches the group enter the field without concern. Why did the gate reject her just before?
Taking a deep breath, puffing out her chest, Lorelei tries a second time. This time she is ready for what is about to happen. When the shock wave crosses her, she has time to recite a spell to avoid crashing to the ground. Annoyed, she stares angrily at the damn portal. A force field prevents her from advancing. There must be a reason. She takes out the registration paper, the letter of congratulations and admission as well as the supplies.
Most of what was marked on this paper was not purchased. She has absolutely no idea what an ash tentacle or even a gantlet might be. She didn't really want to talk to Pilar or Maggie about it, they would have been worried about the assault by the river.
