Capítulo 36: MELODY MANIPULATION

Lexine dressed in the blue uniform she had pulled out of the Walking Wardrobe. She still could not believe that the wardrobe could follow her wherever she went. However, she had been pulled into a new world through a hole drawn on a car door, anything in this world was possible. The uniform fit her perfectly. She had yet to understand the workings of the wardrobe, as long as she never had to do her laundry again, she was content. Looking at herself in the wardrobe mirror, she gave herself a once over. The earring gifted to her by Desire glinted in the morning light. It was in color, just like the one Desire wore.

Quira knocked on her door and reminded Lexine they were going to be late for their first class if they did not hurry. If anything, Lexine was happy she had a housemate in the same class as she was. Quira, like Lexine, was also in her first year of the Academy. That meant that they had the same schedule because they were both 'Sylphs'. Taevlin and Artin had agreed to let her pass on as a Sylph who was related to Desire. She did not mind whatever species she was passed on as, on the condition that no one figured out she was human.

Quira smiled softly at Lexine, "A good morning. I have Melody Manipulation Class first, I hope you do too."

Lexine opened the parchment of paper she held in her hand, skimmed through it, and nodded. Quira beckoned for Lexine to follow her. The house was empty because the others had already left for their individual classes.

Lexine frowned, "I'm sorry if I've made you late waiting for me. I'll try to be faster tomorrow."

"It's alright really. We still have a little over five minutes before the class begins, we will make it to the class at least two minutes late."

Lexine was glad Quira wasn't angry she had to wait for her. Then again, Quira never showed much of her emotions except her usual serene smile. It was the opposite of Lexine who never showed any emotion apart from frowning. Despite this small difference, it could be quite difficult to guess what the two were thinking unless you were close to them.

Quira led Lexine through a seemingly abandoned path that was overgrown with foliage. The walkway was rough, unlike the normal cobbled paths she had taken with Aurinda and Christana the days previous.

Quira moved the shrubbery with her hands without touching them. It reminded Lexine of the way she had grown a plant to keep their dining table from breaking. "I have a question."

"If I can answer you, I will."

"What powers do you have?"

Quira cocked her head to the left and glanced back at Lexine, confused but a smile still on her face, "Powers?"

Lexine nodded, "Yes. I mean apart from growing plants and moving them with your hands."

Quira continued the task of moving the overgrown shrubbery that blocked their way, "You mean my affinity. I have an affinity for plant life. I can hear them whisper, telling me their secrets and worries, their happiness and memories."

"Wait, so plants can talk?"

Quira chuckled at the question making Lexine feel like she had just made a fool of herself.

"It is not exactly as you may think. I will lend you a book that will better explain what I am talking about once we're back at the house."

Lexine nodded despite preferring not to read if she could avoid it, "Thank you."

They came to the end of the pathway that stopped at a large brown wooden door. The door was old, you could tell just by looking at it. The top rail of the door was chipped at the left and the doorknob was rusted. The door panels had an intricate design on them. The design formed incomplete circles that were drawn into each other.

Quira placed her hand on the doorknob which glowed a pale blue color. Lexine was left in awe at the glowing doorknob. With a creak, the door then opened for them. On the other side of the door was a lush green field. A stream rippled, cutting its way in the middle of the field.

Lexine followed behind Quira, who was walking towards other students dressed in the same blue color of uniform as they were. There were about twenty students standing there. There was not a word being spoken between them. Lexine was confused, was there a rule that forbade them from speaking while in the class?

Before the two housemates could reach the other students, a figure came flying over to them. It was a woman. Her hair was bright green in color and her eyes a pale green. She was dressed in a flowing white dress that fell to her ankles. A green belt held it together at her waist. Her green hair flowed to her shoulders and a white flower crown rested at the top of her head. Her wings were a softly glowing brown color that matched the gem of the earring she wore on her left ear. She was breathtaking and reminded Lexine of a fairy.

The fairy stopped in front of the two housemates with a large smile on her face. 'I felt it! I felt it! I felt the one who opened the door! The affinity, it must be life! Yes!, The life of flora. It was strong. How could it be strong when it is supposed to be weak? I want the answer!'

Lexine frowned deeper at the intrusion on her mind. How could she have forgotten that Sylphs had a way of communicating using the mind? It must have simply slipped her mind.

Quira seemed to ignore the question as she instead bowed at the waist, 'Second Queen dowager, I humbly give my greetings. I am Quira Oneara of the Vesna house.'

Lexine heard the fairy laugh 'Good grief. You should not call me that. Here I am Miss Frea, and you shall address me as such.'

Quira bowed at the waist. 'Of course Miss Frea.'

The fairy smiled deeply at Quira's obedience before turning her attention to Lexine. 'And who might you be?'

Lexine frowned at the intrusion she made on her mind. She really detested the invasion Sylphs had on her mind. Could they tell what she was thinking too? If so, she needed to find a way to block them from reading her mind. It was a literal invasion of privacy. She could not tell Miss Frea to stop though, since she was her teacher, she might take it as Lexine disrespecting her. "I am Lexine Woods, ma'am."

A look of surprise crossed the face of Miss Frea. 'You are the Woods, I see. Welcome to Eirene Academy.'

'The Woods?' "Thank you."

The fairy's lips then pulled down into a frown, ' I do not appreciate tardiness in my class Miss Woods, Miss Oneara. If you are late by even a minute tomorrow, I shall not be as lenient.'

Quira bowed and pushed Lexine's back down to bow at the waist. 'Thank you for your kindness Miss Frea.'

'Now everyone, please gather around. We are now beginning the class for today.'

The other twenty or so students formed a circle around Miss Frea. To Lexine's relief, she spoke normally. "Welcome to your first Melody Manipulation class. I am called Miss Frea Kimaru, I will be taking you through this class. For all classes you will be taking this semester, you are to practice speaking without using Mind Wave. This is a very important factor in your studies as there may reach a time you are unable to use the Mind Wave. Understand?"

Lexine surmised out that the 'mind wave' Miss Frea was talking about was the thing they used to speak in the head with each other. She preferred it if they lost the Mind Wave completely. She detested the feeling of hearing someone in her head.

'Yes, Miss Frea.'

"Have you already forgotten my instructions?"

"No, Miss Frea."

"Good. Now, let us begin our class. Can someone tell me what we will be learning in this class?"

Miss Frea waited for a few seconds for someone to raise their hand. When she was about to give the answer herself, a boy raised his hand. He had a mop of blue hair and chocolate brown eyes. A lip ring glinted blue in the morning sunlight in the middle of his lower lip. Miss Frea pointed to him, "Yes. Give your name and answer."

Everyone turned to look at him. He bowed at the waist. "I am called Oshua Soro of the Vesna household. Since all sylphs are affiliated with nature, it is second nature for different sylphs to play specified instruments made for their element to help them further control their element. Melody Manipulation helps us know how different instruments work for different sylphs."

Miss Frea nodded with a smile, "That is somewhat correct, Soro. However, in addition to learning how different instruments work, we will also practice different instruments and melodies to further elaborate on how they affect the element different sylphs work with. Any questions."

Lexine raised her hand, "What if someone can play more than one instrument?" Thanks to her father, she had learned to play all the instruments she could think of, from the guitar to the zither, oboe, the rubab and even an African instrument from Kenya called Nyatiti.

"After your elemental awakening, you will be unable to play other instruments until you find the one that works for you. Even after that, it still will be difficult to play other instruments that are not your elemental instrument."

Lexine frowned. Her father was able to play most instruments he laid his hands on. Some she still had no idea what they were called because he had picked them up from street vendors who were unsure of their names. If it was difficult for them to play other instruments that were not their elemental instruments, that could only mean he was not a sylph since he had a musical finger which was passed down to Lexine.