Passing over a few luxuriant trees I finally reach the building hidden between them and my hand bag falls to the ground after seeing it -It's a church-
-Is there something wrong with it?- I look at the man with a bit of dejection on my face -No... It's fine-
-Anyway, on the second floor of the church there's a room, it was the priest's one but he left a few years ago since nobody ever came here to pray or confess. It's heated and clean... Anyway, that's all for the tour so I'll be going-
-Wait I...!- I try to stop him to ask a few more questions but he already left in quite a hurry -Ah... What a weird situation, a church...- I look at the building beside me and sigh even more deeply -Well, at least I won't lack space nor silence to paint-
I enter the church by pushing the old rusty doors open, the inside is quite underwhelming compared to everything else in the area... It's just a normal church.
To one side there's a spiral staircase leading to the second floor, I find my luggage in front of a door and a pair of keys on top of it -Whatever, better than nothing right?! Even just being here is a privilege I wouldn't have dream about before-
Inside the room there isn't much. There's a bed against a window at the back of the attic and one wardrobe beside it, a few skylight windows here and there allowing the sun to light up the whole room even is the roof is quite narrow at the sides, one small armchair on top of a carpet and a table to study on the opposite side of the room...
-Not bad honestly! It's even bigger than my room in France- I look around and laughs -I can paint comfortably untill late with so many windows too. It's very cozy, I like it-
I move my luggage beside the bed so I can start unpacking and notice a piece of paper on the bed -What's that?- I grab it and start reading -There identical uniforms will be provided in winter and three in summer, check into the wardrobe for those and never enter the Academy without wearing it. For cleaning clothes there is a laundry service on Campus, sing up for it by the cafeteria's bulletin board.
The meals at the cafeteria will be served at the following hours for the staff to be able to accommodate all the students, plan your studies and projects accordingly:
- 6:00-7:45, breakfast
- 12:00-14:00, lunch
- 18:00-21:00, dinner
The usage of laboratories after the open hours must be booked with the keepers.
To make use of the club's facilities, one must be subscribe to them.
The library is open everyday from 8:00 to 21:30, permanence after the closing time will result in a deduction of points.
At 22:00 the students must return to their dormitories and can't leave untill 6:00 in the morning, absence will result in a deduction of points.
A student can schedule their classes according to what they prefer to focus on but for each major there are a set amount of hours of presence required, if the requirements are not meet the students won't be admitted to exams.
Being absent more than one day a week, unless for illness and with a medical certificate, it will result in a deduction of points. The Academy's doctors are the ones in charge of issuing certificates-
I sit on the bed and look outside the window to observe the sun setting between those tall dark trees -It's a lot of things to memories... Ahh! Finally it's staring to feel real- I laugh while falling on my back into the bed -Let's unpack and sleep for now-.
...
Around midnight I find myself unable to sleep so I eventually stand up seated, I turn around and open the window to let in the slightly warm air if the night... The moon shines bright and I finally spend some time observing the area around the little church.
There's a small lake, untouched by humans, in which the moon reflects and enlightens the slow ripples on the surface... To one side, where the trees are less present, lays a stone Pavillion with a short pier and an old boat tied to it, which have been forgotten for who knows how many years.
-It's actually a very splendid place, even better than the dorms...- I whisper to myself lying my head above my arms, in that moment a faint pizzicato reaches my ears -A violin?- I close my eyes and listen in.
The rhythm is relaxed and the memory not too loud, as if some glass wind chime was tinkling lazily... Slowly the violin drops its pizzicato's rhythm and one long note echoes in the silent wood... Steady but timid, the another comes and vibrates like the warm air around me. Slowly like those lake's ripples it builds up to a delicate melody... If fairies were real, this is probably what they would dance to in a magical night of theirs.
I rise my head and notice some movement inside that stone Pavillion -A student here at this hour? But it's already past curfew- I can't see their face but I can almost literally see sparks of light around that person, dancing with the music and enjoying the magic that this Melody's evokes.
Curiosity gets the best of me and I quickly grab a jacket from the nearby chair and rush down the stairs of the church, I walk toward that lake and stops a few meters behind the Pavillion...
A man that looks like he came out of a painting stands there, the skin paler than snow give him an ethereal aura and those black lock, cornering his face and falling to his shoulders on the back, completes his feature making him seem like a vampire or some other surreal creature... The eyes are closed and the eyebrows frowned, he looks both at ease and in pain as he plays the violin with slender fingers.
The black uniform is slightly different than those I've seen around the Academy today, he has a long coat instead of a simple jacket and the waistcoat is embossed with gray details... The white shirt underneath has a beautiful jabot around the collar unlike the other students, falling gracefully on his chest.
Looking at this men is like looking at a piece of art itself, I wish I could paint him here and now.
While I'm staring at him, the man slowly opens his eyes and upon seeing me he stops playing, letting the arms fall along his sides -Who are you?!- the voice doesn't tremble at all but I can see how angry he is nevertheless.
For a moment I remain in silence, unsure what to do... Even tho he's the one going against the dorm's rules I feel like I'm the one in the wrong due to his imposing aura... But eventually I decide to step forward.
-I apologize... I was drawn here by your melody-
He looks at me skeptical -We are too far from the dorms, were you following me on purpose? Not again with those obsessive students always...- -Ah no no! I sleep here, in the church- I interrupt him before he could get the wrong idea, yet he still doesn't believe my words
-The church has been closed for a while now and nobody is allowed here. Actually, nobody ever came here beside me-
I rock around my feet feeling awkward at my next phrase -I enrolled today and they said there were no more room available in the dorms... Even tho I feel like that was an excuse for not letting me sleep with the other students since I'm of a lower rank-
-Not only Nobles study here- he rises an eyebrow -I'm not coming from a wealthy or renowned background either... My father is simply a farmer working in a countryside's mill in France, my mother was a Noble woman who ran away... I got here by pure luck after meeting her family-
Finally he seems to relax a bit and nods -Fine but do me a favor... Forget what you saw tonight-
He turns around a walks away without leaving any room for more conversations.