First Day at School

Nel paused, she wasn't sure what to think of that. She picked up the tray and headed over to the 'mean girls' table. "Hello, I'm Nel. I'm the new girl. My friends over there told me all about you guys and how you like welcome the new kids. So I figured we could just get that nastiness out of the way, and I brought you these."

She said as she lifted the tray a little higher. "A peace offering, if you will." She didn't give them a chance to speak, she didn't pause. But she did 'accidentally' let go on one side, so the tray slipped, letting the fajitas, sauces and soda tip into Brittlyn's lap.

"Oh... Oops?"

Brittlyn screamed and jumped up. "What the fuck?!" she hissed at Nel. Her soft lavender and white dress was absolutely ruined by the mexican food that had just been spilled all over it.

The soda had splashed onto some of Heather's dress too. She jumped up as well as if she was going to do something but everyone was staring at them, teachers included. No one at the table seemed sure of what to do. "You want to have a problem, new girl?"

"Oh shit," Sirius gasped.

"Oh my gosh. She's a little bad ass," Vale said approvingly. "Who would have thought that?"

"Well, she is the princess of the dark," Mireya reminded them. "It's not exactly a timid type."

Gaius just put his hands over his face.

Nel immediately used dark pulse, her aura leaking from her body. It was dark, thick and full of dark thoughts. "The real question is, do you want a problem?" She asked, her voice low and ominous. "We can have one if you want, but you dad can't save you from everything."

Brittlyn's own aura darkened while Heather just stood there with a scowl on her face. "We'll see about that. If I don't want you in this school, you won't be. Just watch out." She gave the girl a once over and seemed to find her wanting. Her eyes rolled in a smug manner and she managed to look regal despite the mess that had been made of her clothes. With one gesture, her table rose together and mass exited the cafeteria, leaving nothing behind but the mess of their food.

Nel was not scared. At all. She went back over to the others. "She's got some serious issues stuck up her ass making her nose lift too high," she said as she tried to pull her aura back, so as to not frighten anyone.

"Oh she has issues all right," Trent said.

"No," Gaius warned him. "No talking about the students private lives unless they invite you to do so."

Trent made a cat like grunt and just drank more of his energy drink.

"Anyway," Mireya said, knowing that Trent and Gaius couldn't or wouldn't tell them more about the private lives of the students even if they pretty much knew everything about everyone. "You certainly let the people in this school know where you stand."

"Yeah, glad she's on our side," Sirius said. Part of him was cringing at seeing a designer's clothing treated so poorly but the other part of him was happy that karma had finally struck on his behalf.

Nel shrugged a little bit, "I guess after so long of being bullied, walked all over by the opposite sex, I can't stand the idea that it was reversed for someone else."

"Thanks," Sirius said and meant it. He really didn't like being picked on. But it was hard when you were new. She was probably feeling that now. He wasn't quite that brave but he had made his own strides towards handling things since he'd gotten there.

"Well this has been an eventful lunch," Mandisa said with approval.

"If you can do that then imagine you'll have no problem in fencing or dance after school today or tomorrow," Trent spoke up again. He wasn't going to go easy on her now that he knew she did in face of a backbone.

"I don't... I don't know about that." Nel said, "this was different. It was standing up to a girl. I am not sure. About the other things." She said, basically into her lap.

Well you're just going to have to be," Trent said. He was not accepting the suddenly shy and unsure act she had going on, talking to him without looking at him. His eyes narrowed slightly and who knew what was going through his mind.

Nel just sighed. "So, um I'm going to go. Get my stuff together for my next class and check my locker." she said. "thanks for lunch, Vale."

"No you're not," Trent said, surprising Vale into not speaking. "You owe me a meeting from this morning," he said and stood up. "We're going to have that now." He didn't give any hint in his tone that he was suggesting or asking. It was going to happen and she wasn't going to stop it.

"Oh, um, you're welcome," Vale said very quickly then in the silence that followed.

"Be nice," Gaius mouthed at Trent but the cat ignored him.

Nel paled and looked at the others for help. Mandisa especially. Save me, was written all over her face. "I don't want too." She blurted out.

"Well, that's tough," Trent said. "I don't particularly want to do paperwork on my break either but we both have to do unpleasant things. That's just part of life. Come on."

Mandisa looked at Nel rather helplessly. "Sorry," she mouthed while her sister bit her lip while trying to think of something. But this was Trent. People didn't really win against Trent.

"Sorry." Nel said, flinching as though she was sure he was about to hurt her for saying she didn't want to go with him. She followed him out of fear, more than anything else.

Trent didn't touch her. "Come along," he said and lead her out of the cafeteria. After her little display with Bryna and Heather, people watched them go. But the hallways were pretty empty. He brought her back to the offices and into his own, the place she had fled just earlier because she hadn't been able to stomach the idea of talking to him. "Have a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

Nel sat down automatically, in a bit of a rush. She almost missed the seat, but she managed to not. She clutched her bat backpack in her hands so tightly.

Trent picked up a file off his desk. He lifted it up and showed it to her. “From your guardian,” he said and set it back down. “Interesting read, that.” He then sat down, not behind the desk, but on it, directly in front of her. He leaned over, just looking at her for a long moment, studying her while he contemplated on what he had seen of her so far.

“Do you know what most people are afraid of, Princess?” Trent asked then with a steady voice. “The dark. From the moment they enter this world, they are afraid of the dark. And even in their last hours they still fear it. It doesn’t matter if they’re a man, woman, or child. Everyone fears the dark. Because the dark is the unknown, the mysterious. It hides the terrifying things that exist in this world, conceals them until it’s too late. There’s no safety in the dark. No certainty. And when they say that someone is afraid to be alone in the dark, they’re lying. No one is afraid to be alone in the dark. They’re afraid they aren’t alone.”

He paused then, just for a moment, and then continued. “Or maybe they really are afraid of being alone, with just themselves and their thoughts. The dark isn’t just a threat from the outside, after all. There’s darkness in almost every heart. That darkness can be more terrifying and destructive than anything hiding under a child’s bed at night or creeping in a dimly lit alley near a favorite club. And the darkness in someone can’t be seen from the outside. You can never be sure, just from looking, whose heart has succumbed to it and what twisted soul lies beneath that innocent face. You can’t even be certain of control over your own darkness, what it might do not only to you but the people you love, the ones you surround yourself with.

And yes, dark can be conquered by light but it can never be truly defeated. A temporary banishment is all they’ll ever get. It will always be there, ever present, in everything and everyone. And fear is the same thing. Fear is the very thing that can kill without ever touching. Darkness is fear. And fear is a weapon more potent than any man made thing of steel. Fear can destroy minds, souls and lives, completely shatter them.

That is the power of the dark. That is the power you wield, that you command by your right of birth. You were chosen to be the Princess of the Dark, the Mistress of Fear. You do not fear people; they fear you. So I will not be coddling you. I will not let you avoid half of the human and fiend population because of what hangs between their legs. You may have had a very unfortunate experience with one individual of the male persuasion but you will not let that conquer you. You will get over it and act like the Princess you are. Do you understand?”

Nel listened and at first she heard him, she knew what he was saying was true about how darkness was pretty much fear itself. She agreed. She agreed that should make her powerful, feel powerful and act powerful.

Own it. She knew she wasn't and that it made her a terrible princess. But the last bit, the last bit he said... It sparked something in her that she hadnt felt in a very long time.

"It's not that easy," she snapped, her eyes moving up to lock onto his. There was much showing them, but mostly it was anger. She even stood, so she was level with him. Him towering over her like that, had made her feel... Vulnerable. "You can't just tell me to get over it, click your damn fingers and I'm suddenly cured of the unfortunate abuse I endured. You have no right to talk to me like that. No right to expect anything of me than kindness, which I would try to give. Even if it is hard for me to look you in the eye right now, or be this close to you, considering your gender. Yes, only one man has done this to me. But thousands of men have done this to women for many years. So excuse me for not immediately trusting."

Trent sat up straighter as she did. He did not act intimidated. But then, there was really not very much out there in the world that would get such a physical reaction from him. Not even the Master would cause him to show weakness or vulnerability so easily. "Oh you shouldn't trust," he said, in complete agreement with that. "Anyone who trusts so easily after having gone through what you have is a fool. And I don't imagine you to be a fool. So no, don't trust the men of this school and potentially invite the same experience to happen again. But do not act timid and afraid in their presence." He placed his hands in his lap. "I am not asking the impossible of you, Princess. I am not even telling you to get over it right this instant. Wounds as deep as yours take time to heal. But you will allow them to heal. You will not back down from moving on. And you will not act afraid even if you feel fear inside of you." He paused and then continued you. "You have demonstrated that you can conquer your fears when you want to. You're doing it right now. And so I'm going to hold you to that, knowing that you have the potential. I am not going to go easy on you. But I will support you, even if you hate me for it."

Nel bristled, because she wasn't stopping herself from healing. It had been only a month. "I couldn't ever hate you," she pointed out. "You're one of mine and by default, it's not possible."

"You would think that but you'd be surprised," Trent said. "There are some of my kind that are not worth your love or your kindness. Not many, but they exist." Nox's recently ex boyfriend came to mind but he didn't say anything about that.

"Then I can only hope to usher them in the right direction towards being worthy." Nel said, that was how she felt about it.

Trent said nothing. "Well then, now that you're clear on what to expect from me, let's finish your paperwork and make you activities official," he said. He slid off the desk in a graceful manner and took the papers out of his desk, setting them down in front of her next to an expensive looking violet pen.

"Are you ashamed of me?" Nel asked then, his whole speech and speel had come off like that to her.