[center][b]Karin Amsel | Forest > Garnet room > Corridors[/b][/center]

A monotonous, almost mechanical voice announced that they’d arrived at their destination as the bullet train slid to a smooth, near silent stop. “I guess this is it.” A tremor of nervousness tinged the pleasantly feminine voice. Karin Amsel unfolded her slender frame out of the seat and stretched languidly. The long train ride, which had been quite boring as she was the only passenger, had left her feeling a tad cramped. Due to her home town being quite far away in the middle of nowhere, she’d missed the first one with the rest of the students and had been forced to spend hours by herself, staring out the window at an unappealing view of swamps, swamps and more swamps. Eager to get going, the girl picked up her bags and stepped out onto the footpath.

Eyes of an unnaturally violet hue widened in surprise at the sight before her. The train let out smack into the middle of a forest straight out of a Grimm’s fairytale. Tall trees towered on either side of the narrow path, their branches weaving an intricate canopy overhead and managing to almost block out the night sky. Wisps of fog swirled around in the distance, occasionally pierced by rays of moonlight. The planet’s many moons which served as a beautiful natural light had somehow taken on a sinister feel as it filtered through the branches and cast a myriad of twisted shadows. Karin took a hesitant step forward, unease crawling up her skin like the skittering legs of an insect. An involuntary shiver danced down her spine as a sudden breeze brought along the cold and sounds of rustling leaves. She wasn’t a jumpy person and she considered herself somewhat brave. But the eerily silent forest had managed to set every one of her nerves on edge and was playing havoc with her mind. Gritting her teeth and pulling her jacket closer she pushed on forward, ignoring the ominous crunch of dead leaves crushed under her shoes. 

After what seemed like a lifetime, she finally arrived at the massive stone arches – which to her seemed like the bones of a long dead civilization, ravaged by time and nature. The entire structure held an eerie beauty which seemed to draw her in even as the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up in alarm. [i]Stop it, Karin. Don’t let your imagination go into overdrive. Sure, it [b]seems[/b] like the setting for a horror movie right now but maybe it’ll appear more normal in daylight. Besides even if this was a horror movie, you’d survive. Probably. It’s always the big boobed blonde who dies first and you’re a brunette.[/i] Somehow that little internal monologue didn’t fill her with reassurance. Taking a sharp breath through her nose to calm herself, Karin marched forward hurriedly.

“Finally.” A relieved sigh escaped her lips as she shut the large, ornate door behind her and leaned against it. After more than a couple minutes of wandering around the deserted hallways she’d managed to find her assigned dorm – the Garnet Room. The suite certainly lived up to its name as everything from the tasteful furniture to the opulent decorations was done in shades of red. It almost felt as if she’d somehow ended up on the inside of an insanely large, red, flower. A quick glance around the place informed her that she wasn’t the only person staying in the suite. 

“Roommates?” Sharing the place with other students was to be expected, though she didn’t exactly know how to feel about that. She’d never lived with another person her age before. It would certainly be an interesting experience that was for sure. Spying her name on one of the doors, she made her way over to it and run her fingers over the cold metal nameplate before pushing the door open and stepping inside. The red theme continued in the large bedroom and attached bathroom as well. It appeared that the institute spared no expense when it came to furnishing. Karin sat down on the bed and reached for the creamy white envelope that stood out starkly against the red of her nightstand.

“A masquerade ball.” She murmured thoughtfully while running the tip on one finger over the stiff paper. 

The freshman orientation was to be a ball, something she was pretty sure wasn’t a part of any other colleges. The school would be providing their attire for the evening and while she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she couldn’t help but feel that it was strange. For one thing, how was the institute affording to pay for it all? Shoving those uneasy thoughts to the back of her mind to mull over later, she got up and read the invitation again. It was more than a bit strange for them to provide clothes tailored to her figure, without her paying anything at all. If anything, she’d learned that everything had a price. Karin was wary about what this one would be and when it would call to collect. Still, she was curious to see what they’d picked out for her to wear. Half dreading that they’d have dressed her in poison green or canary yellow, she pulled open the intricately carved door of the wardrobe. 

A long lilac dress made of a strange material which shimmered like water as it caught the light surprised her instead of what she was dreading. She reached out hesitantly as if it were an illusion that could shatter any moment. A small smile lit her face as her hands ran over the soft material and carefully took the dress out. “I should hurry and get ready… I wonder if it looks good on me.” She wondered out loud as she eyed the dress with critical acclaim. Unsurprisingly, she soon found herself slipping out of her clothes and pulling on the dress. It fit her like a glove, the silky material molding itself to her curves perfectly. Karin held the matching lacy mask up to her face and looked in the mirror. It contrasted beautifully with the color of her eyes. Whoever had picked these out certainly knew what they were doing. Judging by what she’d seen so far of the school, she wouldn’t be surprised if they had stylists in their employ. She tied her mask in place and slipped her feet into a pair of high heeled shoes provided by the ever so thoughtful CTS staff. And so began her adventure – which in other words meant ‘wandering aimlessly through the corridors till she found the entrance to the Grand Hall.’