The Gift of Good and Evil

A New Semester

Before you knew it, the new semester had started. The school was once again buzzing with students and professors; which was a little overwhelming after spending a few weeks with only 11 of you in the castle.

When classes started, the thought of your dream shifted to the back of your mind. Of course, you hadn't completely forgotten about it, but with other things that called for your attention, you were a bit preoccupied.

Your classes this semester were set to focus on a different kind of survival; not trekking out into the woods or surviving attacks from dangerous animals, as they had been previously. Instead, the deans had asked you to teach the students how to survive curses and death traps; the class which coincidentally Lady Lesso taught.

They had approached you about shifting the focus of your class during their days of planning at the beginning of winter break; saying that they thought it might be helpful to have the survival class mirror a new class every semester, so that students could learn to defend themselves from every situation.

You'd happily agreed. And during the last few days of break, had worked with Lesso creating lesson plans that coincided; so whatever curses or death traps she taught the students how to use and conjure, you in return, taught them how to survive.

Dueling club had also been talked about quite a bit during the dean's three days of planning. It was so popular last semester that they shifted the entire schedule around to incorporate it into the curriculum. Friday afternoons, classes now ended at 11; and after lunch, dueling club would commence until dinner, with every teacher and student required to attend.

Teachers were also required to lead two sessions; picking new spells, techniques, weapons, or something of the sort to introduce to the students during their day. The deans figured this would be a good way of giving the students more exposure to a variety of things they may not get in their regular classes. The idea had been quite popular with the students that had remained in the castle during break, when Dovey had brought it up to them one night at dinner.

Your first week of the semester flew by. You and Lesso had decided to host joint sessions to explain how your classes would be mirroring each other. Due to the close nature of the two classes, assessments and examinations would also be joint; so you could not only assess the students ability to conjure the curses and death traps, but also their ability to survive them.

It had been fun having a combined class with Lesso for the first week. Not only because it meant you got to see more of your girlfriend, but also because it gave you extra free time; which you desperately needed. Break hadn't exactly been the most restful.

You'd spent any time you had alone attempting to research why you were losing your immortality, which you still hadn't told Lesso about. Then of course there was the matter of your dream, and the fact that Dovey now knew about your relationship; though that had gone much better than you'd expected.

Dovey had made a heartfelt apology to you the day after she and Lesso had talked. You could tell she felt guilty for how she went about protecting her best friend; but you'd reassured her there were no hard feelings, and expressed how grateful you were that Lesso had a friend that cared so much about her.

Ultimately, that's why the second half of winter break had been anything but restful. After you and Dovey were on good terms, she had planned a multitude of activities for the three of you to partake in; so that she could prove to you she was serious about wanting to get to know you better.

Lesso wasn't kidding about Dovey being a little extra.

Dovey's itinerary for the remainder of break included a picnic, horseback riding, archery, baking, exploring the enchanted library, and reorganizing the Headmaster's tower.