Chapter 3; Blue Rose

Alora looked up, wary of her surroundings as the woman let them out of the vehicle.

"Where...where are we?" she asked.

"I'll tell you when we're inside. C'mon." The woman said, hurrying them through a pair of steel glass sliding doors.

Inside was hectic. People fluttered past left and right, disappearing, reappearing, some even occasionally bursting into flames.

"What the hell?" Kemu said, half in disbelief, the other half curious.

The woman chuckled. "Many others have had the same reactions." She nodded towards a silver mirror standing in the middle of the room.

The three teenagers stared at it before the woman simply stepped into it and disappeared.

"Holy shi-!" Kemu said, jumping back. Uruake did the same, alarmed. Alora, however, walked towards it, curious.

She put her hand on the mirror's surface before it went through. There was nothing obstructing the other side.

"I think it's okay?" Alora said, submerging half her body into the mirror.

Feeling no resistance, she disappeared into it as well.

Kemu and Uruake stared at the mirror, then at eachother, before sighing and following her.

The other side wasn't what they'd expected. Well, they didn't know what they expected, but it wasn't a spacious office with an oak desk on one side, walls lined with books, and a glass coffee table in the middle, surrounded by chintz chairs.

The woman was seated behind the desk, sorting through a tall stack of papers. Glancing over at them, she waved to the wall of windows without a word.

Wary, Uruake peered over and promptly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Alora said, walking over. What she saw made her freeze.

They were overlooking a busy city, flashing lights everywhere and commercials on large digital billboards. The stars seemed blocked out by the night.

"Hey, weren't we on the ground a while before?" Kemu asked faintly, stepping away from the windows.

"Well, yes, but as you have taken a tunnel, we've saved ourselves the trouble of flying here." The woman said, looking up.

"Flying?!" Uruake said, looking back at the city. "Where are we?!"

Alora peered down. A plaza was just visible from here. "New York." She said, calmly.

"How the heck did we go from London to New York?!" Kemu snapped.

"How about you all take a seat first. I understand you must be confused and disoriented." The woman said wearily.

Almost as if her words were a summon, all three of them were pulled back and made to sit on the chairs, and, finding that they couldn't get up, resolved to not saying a word.

"That's better." The woman stood up and walked to the windows, her back to them. "Ah, i haven't introduced myself yet, have i?" She said. "My name is Rikono Elfia, though you can just call me Rikono. I'm the headmistress of Blue Rose."

Kemu raised a brow. "What's Blue Rose?" He asked.

Rikono struck a match on the sleeve of her coat and lit a cigarette with it.

"One of the 5 major organizations on the Underworld, one who specializes in humane methods." She explained.

"Underworld?" Uruake said.

"Criminal Organizations and activities that exist within society. Like the network of illegal stuff throughout the world." Alora said.

Kemu gave her a withering look. "How do you know that?" He inquired.

"You really don't read much books, do you?" Alora said, exasperated.

Rikono laughed, adjusting her black rimmed glasses. "Ms. Nebula is correct.

Though, we're more of the.." She waved a hand. "Authorities of the Underworld."

Alora snickered. "And what's that got to do with us?" She asked.

Rikono smiled. "It had everything to do with you, child." She crossed the room to them and asked, "Are any of you familiar with Flower Marks?"

Kemu and Uruake shook their heads, but Alora piped up.

"Marks of a certain flower that appear on the skin of an individual, harboring a fragment of a god's power."

Rikono raised her brows, pleased. "We finally have someone who knows their salt."

Kemu rolled his eyes. "Nerd," he teased. Alora shot him a venomous glance.

Rikono chuckled softly before nodding. "The young lady is correct. And you three are here because every Assassin's Organization out there is fighting over you. And while their doing that," She leaned forward, arms crossed. "I've gotten to you first."

Uruake cleared her throat. "Uhm, Ms. Rikono? Why are they fighting over us?

It's not like we're special or prodigies or something." She said quietly.

"Not special?" Rikono laughed. "You'll see with time. For now," She nodded towards another mirror. "That'll take you to the dorms. Take care."

Strangely, without a second thought, they got up and passed through the mirror. And even more strangely, they ended up in different rooms.

Alora opened her eyes after feeling the last of the silver mirror's essence leave her body, and was met with a room that looked an awful lot like hers.

"It's all a dream," she murmured. "I'll wake up and I'Il be back. I dreamed that a woman called Rikono abducted us from the University and brought us to New York."

"All..." Alora sighed, not even bothering to change out of her uniform. "A dream..."

Her eyes fell shut, and before anyone was the wiser, all three were asleep.

End of Chapter 3