Hereditary by Jane Washington

mirror and fell onto my bed, my eyes turning to the ceiling.
    “What’s happening to me?” I whispered into the darkness.
    At some point, I must have fallen asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, the sun was once again streaming through my window. I struggled into a sitting position, catching sight of myself in the mirror of my still-open wardrobe as I ran a hand tiredly through my hair.
    Back to normal .
    I almost decided then and there that it had all just been a crazy dream, until I caught sight of something else, and stumbled over to the mirror to get a closer look. The cut didn’t appear as painful as it had felt, just a slight bust that was a little off from the centre, on my bottom lip, causing only minimal swelling. Really, it looked as if someone had punched me, which I supposed was preferable to what had really happened. With a heavy sigh and a quick glance to my bedroom clock, I soon resigned myself to the fact that I had already missed my first two classes, and I took my time showering and pulling my hair into a braid. I knew I couldn’t skip breakfast today, especially not with all the meals I already seemed to be missing lately, and quickly ate before heading out the door.
    The walk to the Academy was thankfully uneventful, and I seemed to arrive halfway through lunch. Having just eaten, I ambled over to my usual chair, which was blessedly unoccupied, and sat upon it cross-legged, pulling a textbook out of my bag at random.
    Domestic Manipulation of Common Specialties stared back at me, and with a sigh, I flicked it open to a random page and started reading, soon losing myself in the mundane world of unthreatening information.
    “I was beginning to worry. Good to see you’re all in one piece, Little Synfee.”
    I glanced up as Cale slumped down next to me, and offered him a faint smile, which in turn caused him to frown.
    “Almost in one piece,” he amended, “what happened to you?”
    “I fell.”
    Arching one eyebrow, he reached out and flicked my textbook closed.
    “I wanted to apologise, for yesterday.”
    “No need,” I quickly interjected, already feeling the blush start to rise, “I told you it’s not your fault.”
    He narrowed his eyes, his hand moving away from my textbook.
    “You sell yourself short, Bea. There’s plenty to be interested in that has nothing to do with your heritage.”
    Looking away from him, across the sea of mostly empty grass before me, I opened myself to the possibility that he might be right. Someone really could like me, despite my heritage. Unfortunately, that line of thought was bound to lead to Nareon, and his disturbing kiss, so I quickly shook my head to chase the thought away and said the first thing that came to my lips.
    “When’s our next lesson?”
    “Tomorrow afternoon, can you meet us at the castle again? I’m beginning to think the garden was a good idea.”
    “Sure.”
    The bell rang then, and Cale walked me to my next class, which was uneventful, if you discount the stares and whisperings of my ‘performance’ with Kaylee the day before. I was relieved when the day was over, and in the interests of avoiding Nareon, I walked over to the barracks, hoping to catch my father and maybe persuade him to walk back to the cottage with me.
    Unfortunately, I didn’t see him anywhere, and when I asked one of his men, I was informed that he had been deployed suddenly for a short mission. I was used to this, and had even come to expect it after a time, but I was still disappointed. Still trying to buy myself some time, I went down to the training yard, and put myself through the obstacle course a few times, until the pleasant burn of exercise turned into a dull, throbbing pain, and I knew I couldn’t push myself anymore. I stopped to chat with those that I knew in the dining hall, grabbing my dinner there, and then I finally resigned myself to the walk home.
    It wasn’t until I was within the depths of the forest that I remembered the pouch