[center]Karin Amsel | Grand Hall – Dorms[/center] A soft smile lifted the corners of her lips as she eyed the vast ballroom, the expression only a touch away from her usual smirk. The Grand Hall’s high ceilings and crystal chandeliers further added to the room’s magnificence, opulence wafting from where ever she turned her eyes. Even the attendees were dressed from head to toe in perfection. Varying hues of beautiful gowns and elegant tuxedos surrounded her in a sea of hushed voices, the occasional girly titter reaching her ears. The entire scene reminded her of something out a book, a royal court fit for monarchs of the ages. Not that Karin had ever been to a royal court before; which was a pity. [i]Where in the world does this school get their funds from? [/i] She mused to herself as she surveyed the room from the safety of her position at the pillar. A drink in hand, Karin had chosen to place herself at a pillar in the back of the room, her lithe form clad in a simple gown drawing more than a couple of admiring glances. [i]I suppose I should go mingle.[/i] Before she could even voice the thought, a tall, immaculately dressed male appeared at her side as if conjured up by magic. Karin turned her head towards him, raising a gracefully winged brow before she realized that her brilliantly skeptical expression was lost beneath her lacy mask. Hindering her ability to shoot sardonic glances at the masses dropped her earlier fondness for masks quite a bit. She preferred hers to be invisible, the kind of masks she wore every day. “Having fun yet?” The male spoke up, the smooth baritone of his voice holding a nervous tremor to it. “Immensely.” She quipped, slightly shifting her body to face him and raised the glass in her hand for another sip. [i]And let the small talk begin![/i] “I’m Adrian.” He laughed nervously at her less than forthcoming answer, though he didn’t seem to be deterred by it. “This school is pretty unbelievable isn’t it?” And just like that she was reluctantly drawn into conversation with an awkward but well-meaning young man. She didn’t see the harm in conversing with him, though if he asked her to dance, she’d have to make a polite excuse and beat a hasty retreat. Karin Amsel did not know how to dance, as tragically embarrassing as it was. Sure, she looked the part and acted for most of it. [i]Note to self: Learn how to dance.[/i] She winced mentally as a series of horrifyingly embarrassing images flitted through her mind, the awkward situations she could potentially end up in. At a fancy school such as this one, there were bound to be more events which required her to dance and she could only escape them for so long before her little secret was out. A sudden commotion caught her attention and her eyes shifted towards the direction of the noise like so many other pairs of eyes. A fight of some sort seemed to be taking place upstairs, judging by the noises. A wave of quickly uttered speculations rose in the form of barely contained whispers as the students clamored to figure out what was happening. Karin observed the students rather than focusing on the noise, amusement faintly coloring her features. It was incredible how the majority of people were curious enough to discover what exactly was happening, though they made not a single move to help whoever was in evident trouble. Without warning, all of the windows burst inwards simultaneously as if by an explosion. A thousand shimmering shards flew straight for the stunned students, ready to impale and embed into them like crystalline spikes, turning them into some sort of macabre art. Shrieks and cries filled the air as everyone panicked, some of them running for cover. Karin wrapped her fingers around Adrian’s arm and yanked him behind the pillar with her none too gently. She gritted her teeth and waited for the inevitable – and then nothing happened. The airborne projectiles stopped midway as if running into something and then dropped harmlessly onto the ground in a collective ‘clink’. Karin’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her. A barrier – discernible only if you looked at it just right – had prevented the Freshmen from becoming shish kebabbed. It was the sort of thing that happened only in books and movies – never in real life. The brunette gaped openly, her usual mask of indifference absent for perhaps the first time in her life. A collective hush had fallen over the hall, the unbelievable event having stunned the students into silence. “Is anyone hurt?” An authoritative voice called out, shattering the shroud of silence that had befallen them. A few more beats of silence passed before the students regained control of their minds. That was when the cacophony of sobs, exclamations and screams started. They were beyond freaked out, and rightfully so. The realization of having escaped death or major trauma by mere inches tended to cause that reaction, normally. Karin stared mutely, too shaken to make any noise. “I ask that everyone immediately return to your dorms. This accident needs to be addressed at once and the floor tidied for tomorrow. Get rest, tomorrow will be a busy day.” The girl who had stepped up had spoken once again, opening the doors leading outside. Karin knew a stonewalling tactic when she saw one. Though she spoke with authority, the girl would not answer questions about the surreal occurrence no matter how much the students asked, that much was clear. Which was for the best as the brunette was still too shaken to barrage anyone with questions just yet. In a daze, she followed the sea of students heading out of the hall and towards the dorms. ---------- [center]Garnet Room – Outside the girls’ dorm – Grand Hall[/center] An irritated sigh escaped her lips as she drifted back into consciousness after what felt like a minute of sleep. [i]What kind of sadist wakes another human being up at – What time is it anyway?[/i]She pried her eyes open with what felt like a herculean effort and glanced at her bedside clock. The glowing numbers cheerfully announced that it was 7:09 in the morning – far too early for sane people to be up and about especially after last night. Unfortunately for her, Karin had always been a light sleeper being that she found it much easier to sleep during the day than at night. After the shocking events of last night, she’d lain in bed for hours after having changed out of her gown. The troubling and rather unbelievable occurrences had swirled about in her mind, nagging at her and refusing to give her a respite from the ever growing puzzle. Another few moments of closing her eyes and attempting to force sleep was in vain as it did nothing but hurt her eyelids. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she finally accepted the fact that sleep had eluded her and no amount of coercing would bring it back. Karin pushed herself up and left the soothing embrace of the amazingly comfortable bed, padding over to the bathroom. A rejuvenating hot shower later she felt more like a human being than a member of the legion of undead. “Today is definitely a day worthy of black.” She murmured to herself as she slipped into her clothes – black to reflect her stormy mood. A well fitted jacket was left partially unzipped at the front, a silky black shirt peeking out. Black jeans were poured over her long legs as if they were molder to her shape, high heeled boots coming up to mid-calf to complete the look. Karin knew that the outfit was probably not going to win her any favors with the rest of her fellow students, but dressing to reflect her emotions made her feel a bit better, strangely, and she decided it was an acceptable compromise. Karin spied a conspicuous envelope placed in the joint living area of the suite and walked over to pick it up, noting that it had already been opened. She found it a bit creepy, the whole ‘magically’ appearing letters thing. “Lumen. So that’s her name. Quite the strange name for a strange girl.” She furrowed her brows as her thoughts shifted to the prior night’s incident. The students were required to attend breakfast at the very same place they had all nearly died a few short hours ago. Karin wasn’t hungry but she decided that it would be the best thing to head to breakfast and get some answers. “I really hope they give us some real answers and not just a bunch of PR approved crap.” As she stepped out into the chilly morning air, she noticed a couple of girls loitering around. One of them, a cute blonde girl had a cigarette raised to her lips and was slowly exhaling puffs of smoke. She did not look like the type to do anything rebellious, but then again there was that whole saying about books and covers. Karin’s eyes alighted on a girl sitting by herself, staring into space. Well, perhaps the tern ‘girl’ was too generous. She looked absolutely horrible – it wasn’t that she was ugly, no. Her coppery hair sat atop her head in disarray of limp curls and her pale skin had an ashy tint to it as if she wasn’t feeling well. A melancholy air surrounded her as her green eyes stared off into space. Karin first reaction was to feel relieved that she herself did not look hungover. “Morning.” She greeted the two girls, slowing her pace but not stopping completely. Her first priority right now was to get some answers. Socializing could come after that. Karin made her way to the Grand Hall, which appeared to have been transformed into a first class breakfast hall. No sign of last night’s events lingered, as if it had never happened. Not many students had gotten there yet.