83 Chapter 82: Getting on a witch trail

Elize took her sweet time washing up. Their room was almost like a five star hotel than a college hostel. The bathroom attached to their room was quite big even compared to the one at her own mansion. It had a separate shower area whose floor was made of shiny pebbles of various colors giving the space a feel of a stream bed. It reminded her of the smaller branch of the magical stream on the Island which flowed through the pack territory, carving out a pleasantly scenic area behind the Beta's mansion.

The shower area was also separated from the rest of the bathroom space by glass doors, exiting which will take one through a pebbled path to steps that leaad down to a huge tub which was big enough to fit at least five people. Following the pebbled path, one would then reach the partitioned area for the toilet and moving forward a few step from there to the adjacent mirrored room which was more of a corridor leading to their bed room. 

Coming into their bedroom wrapped in a clean white towel, Elize hummed a tune as she rummaged through her cupboard for clothes. She finally decided on a washed blue jeans and a plain black tshirt and pulled them out from her folded rack of clothes. Throwing her towel over the wooden partition separating the rest of the bed room from the small space in front of the cupboard which functioned as a dressing area, Elize slipped into her underwear and fastened the hook of her bra quickly. She was slipping on her jeans when Agatha came inside the room, already dressed in an identical black hooded cape like the one she had received earlier. 

Seeing Elize in a laid back mood, Agatha shook her head in irritation. The sun was already setting, its last rays of the setting sun illuminating the side of the room on which the girls now stood. 

"It's been an hour already Elize! You still haven't gotten ready. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to get on the last messenger trail." The witch said, pointing her finger at Elize.

"I'm done! I'm done!" Elize said, quickly slipping on her tshirt and a pair of running shoes. 

She then proceeded towards the door which led to the corridor of their floor. Just as she was about to unlock the door, she remembered that she had forgotten something. Elize turned around, only to be knocked back by a heavy piece of clothing that flew right onto her face from ahead. 

"C'mon! I was just about to get it!" She complained, glaring at her friend who had an evil smirk on her face.

"Now you don't have to. Let's go if you don't want to walk all the way to the main building." Agatha said with a shrug and proceeded out of the room. 

Irina had informed the girls the previous day of how the portals and messenger trails worked. Although Elize took in every detail of the explanation, she was quite nervous of using magical technology which was completely alien to her. She had only used the portal once since getting inside the hostel and she was waiting nervously to use the other means of transport exclusively used for traveling within the academy grounds. 

Agatha had explained how the various portals placed inside the hostels were simple ones with fixed destinations and its maintenance was powered by some sort of technology that their special engineering class of the 17th century had devised. Such portals were placed all over the college grounds, which for centuries facilitated easy travel for all magical creatures within the place. When the college had recently decided to use the service of messenger witches for faster travel, the portals outside the hostels fell into disuse, although they were still functioning. Since humans could not see beyond the glamour placed around such means of travel, they never suspected anything, at least according to Irina.

Elize nervously picked at the end of her cape hanging in a neat fold around her left arm, as Agatha kept staring at the sky, waiting for the magical ride to appear. The witch sighed in relief as she spotted a speck of black against the orange sky. Elize looked towards the direction, to see the black spot expanding by each passing second. Very soon, she was able to see the outline of a box carriage, seated in front of which was an old woman, who was waving a long stick in the air. It was not the first time that she had seen a box carriage in real life, but it certainly was the first time that she was seeing one which moved solely on the magic of the witch controlling it.

Her eyes widened in wonder as the coach slowly eased itself downwards, finally settling by hovering about five inches above the ground right next to where the girls stood. The messenger witch that rode the carriage turned towards them with a raised eye brow.

"Where to?" She asked in a stern tone.

Elize could see that the woman was quite old, somewhere around her eighties. Her dull gray hair was tied in a neat knot towards the back of her head. There wasn't even a tiny hair that was out of place. It must have something to do with her particular area of magic, she thought. The college chose to employ messenger witches in the witch trail services inside the campus- who were too old to travel by broom, delivering messages for people in the outside world . Although it was a noble thing from the administration's part to give them a lighter employment opportunity, Elize couldn't wrap her head around the notion of making an older person chauffeur them around. It was simply unheard of, even in her childhood hometown. But the witch sitting on the coach seemed to have no trace of complaints on her face, of course excluding the cold looks that she was giving the two girls. 

"Could you drop us to the main building? We're quite late for the orientation." Agatha asked, leaning in towards the woman politely.

The messenger witch looked towards the direction of the waning sun, then said, "It probably will begin in five minutes and I can't guarantee that you'd reach in time."

"Thank you then!" Agatha shouted as she quickly pushed Elize inside the carriage and followed behind.

"Close the door you idiot!" The messenger witch's condescending command sounded from outside the carriage.

"Sorry!" Agatha shouted back embarrassed and hurried to close the door to the carriage.

Elize chuckled, seeing her friend's face redden. 

"Hold on." Agatha said with a wicked smile and sat back relaxed against the seat opposite her's.

Elize was puzzled for a moment before the carriage shot up suddenly, pulling her towards her friend's seat. She screamed, surprised by the sudden take off, holding on to the edges of her seat tightly in fear. She could see Agatha laughing at her reaction, comfortably seated in her cushioned seat. Elize started cursing at Agatha which only made her laughter more intense. Just when she thought that she was going to fall on the witch, the carriage straightened, suddenly becoming stable. Elize heaved a sigh of relief, letting go of her grip on the seat.

"I forgot to warn you about that part." Agatha said, her laughter finally subsiding. 

"Huh you think?!" Elize jeered, narrowing her eyes at the witch.

The blonde haired witch gave her a wink in reply and pointed towards the square window on the closed door. Elize leaned towards the glass surface and looked through. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the breathtaking view below them. They were high above the trees, flying over the huge campus that made up the academy. She could clearly see the outline of her own hostel which was quite behind them. The sun had already set and the buildings below appeared dark, all except the palatial main building. It was illuminated with what appeared like a thousand hovering magic lanterns and orbs, brighter than the ones she'd seen at her own initiation ceremony back at the Island. The rustic brick structure was more beautiful in the light of the lanterns than when seen during the day. 

Elize could also see, other witch trails slowly landing down in the wide open area in front of the building. There were specks of a variety of colors in groups and alone, getting out of the carriages and moving towards the entrance of the palatial structure. Her heart thumped nervously inside her chest, as the realization dawned in on her. Those tiny specks were people- magical beings from all around the world, arriving for the same orientation ceremony that she was going to attend. She was scared of how they'd react to her and her identity. Elize looked towards her friend helplessly.

"Going down!" The messenger witch shouted from outside.

"It's going to be okay. I will be by your side the entire time." Agatha said, leaning in to pat Elize's hand.

Elize bit her lips nervously, and looked outside as the carriage slowly descended to the ground.

"I think the messenger witch took pity on you." Agatha said, laughing.

Elize chuckled and quickly slid her hands into her cape.