WitchCraft Academy (The First Book)
The Eleventh Chapter

In a desperate attempt to silence our racing hearts, I tightly grip Juniper's hand, trying to suppress the overwhelming urge to scream. The mountain lion's predatory gaze sends shivers down my spine, reminding me of the consequences of our reckless escapades. Shit. This is why we aren't supposed to sneak out at night.

Juniper's voice quivers as she whispers in my ear, blaming our misfortune on our defiance of The Sisters' rules. "This is why they warned us not to sneak out. Now we're mere dinner for this mountain lion," she murmurs, echoing my fears, her panic noticeable.

Silas, ever composed, hushes us with a gesture, positioning himself protectively in front of us. His cloak conceals a mysterious object, which he retrieves with deliberate caution. I can't help but wonder what he intends to do. In the blink of an eye, the once inconspicuous item transforms into a sharp sword, gleaming with deadly intent. Ah, so that's how he killed that deer.

We watch in awe and terror as Silas swiftly maneuvers, anticipating the lion's lunge. With a quick and precise motion, he impales the creature, causing it to roar in agony as it falls to the ground with a loud thud. The lion's attack leaves Silas wounded, a large scratch on his chest, but he remains unbothered.

"Are you alright?" I inquire anxiously, rushing to Silas's side with Juniper

"Aye, just a scratch. Tis merely dinner," Silas reassures us, grinning as he rises to his feet, retrieving his sword from the lifeless predator and throwing it's body over his shoulders. His nonchalant demeanor leaves me rolling my eyes in disbelief. Only Silas could treat a life-or-death encounter as a mere inconvenience. Actually, I think he is enjoying this.

As the adrenaline in our veins subsides, we resume our journey towards the cabin. Along the way, we make a pit stop at Juniper's secret smoke spot, retrieving her box of weed nestled within the branches of a tree. With the illicit substance in our possession, we finally step through the cabin doors.

"So, you really don't have weed in your world?" Juniper questions Silas, her voice tinged with disappointment, as we enter the sanctuary of the cabin and she pulls out her bag of cannabis, waving it in his face. I used to wonder how the hell she got weed at the Academy but of course, the answer is Axel. Axel can smuggle in just about anything since he's not a student.

"No, what do ye do with it?" He inquires, wrinkling his nose as he sniffs the bag.

"Ye smoke it," she replies, mimicking his accent and bursting into uncontrollable laughter.

"She's just teasing you. She's fried her brains with too many drugs," I joke, shooting a disapproving look at Juniper.

"That's not entirely true. Well, maybe a little," she giggles again, lighting up a perfectly rolled joint and passing it to Silas. “My therapist says I use marijuana as a coping mechanism but what does she know?”

Without hesitation, Silas takes a few long puffs, causing him to cough. "Tis strange. I feel strange."

"Yeah, you might start laughing a lot too. Weed does that to you, especially if you're not used to smoking. And Juniper only gets the best quality stuff," I explain as he passes the joint to me. I take a couple of deep drags, slowly exhaling the smoke and enjoying the relaxation that comes over my body.

"Why would I start laughing?" he asks curiously. I just smile at him, and a few minutes later, he is doubled over on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. "Okay, I see what ye were talking about with thy laughing. I think I like weed. I can't remember the last time I felt this happy. It's even better than ale."

"June, I think you've turned the eighteenth-century warlock into a stoner," I giggle, watching Silas marvel at his own hands.

"If only we could get Ethan to try it. It might help him relax a little for once," Juniper responds, taking another hit and passing the joint back to Silas.

"Who's Ethan?" he asks, momentarily staring at the joint before taking another deep drag and passing it to me.

"He's our gay friend," I answer, taking a long puff and extinguishing the joint on the sole of my shoe.

"Gay?" he asks, clearly confused.

"It means he likes penis," Juniper giggles, playfully mimicking a sword fight with her index fingers.

"Oh, you mean men who lay with men?" he asks in surprise. "That's a crime punishable by death where I come from."

"Well, here it's not. And it makes you an asshole to judge them for it. Love is love, no matter its origin," I defend Ethan. I like Silas a lot, and I understand that he is unfamiliar with our world. But if he holds homophobic views, I'll have to kick his ass.

"Okay. I don't understand it and it is different from my world, but I can learn to accept it," he says casually, then goes back to staring at his hands.

I sigh in relief. It would be just my luck to fall for a homophobe or racist or something. "Wait, how do you feel about black people?"

"My best friend is black, why?" Silas asks curiously, looking up at me.

"Because in our world, racism was a thing in the eighteenth century. I wanted to make sure you are not racist," I explain honestly.

"Racism? Why does the color of skin matter? In my realm, the only thing we are racist against is the fae, annoying, and tricky little bastards they are," he tells us, furrowing his brow.

"He might be borderline homophobic, but at least you know he never owned slaves," Juniper jokes, her hazel eyes red and low.

"We have slaves in my kingdom. We just don't base them on skin color. Most of them are orphans with no other place to go. It's fucked up to do it because of skin and not social standing," he explains.

"Slavery is wrong in general," I argue with him.

"Then who would take care of thy castle and everyone inside?" He asks, meeting my eyes, and I realize he is being serious.

"Servants? People you pay to do those things for you!" I assert, trying to calm down and remind myself that he's not only from an entirely different era but an unfamiliar dimension as well.

"Wait, you grew up in a castle? Like a real medieval castle?" Juniper interrupts. She is a complete history nerd, inside and out and I know she's about to bombard him with questions. Questions he probably doesn't want to talk about due to his mother's recent death and brother's disappearance and he can't even be there to help them.

"Yes, my parents are the King and Queen of the realm," he responds with an air of nonchalance.

"No way. Em, you never mentioned he's a prince," Juniper exclaims, her eyes widening.

"Yeah, it must have slipped my mind," I admit. "But we should really get going. Sunrise is approaching, and we don't want to be caught by The Sisters."

Juniper groans but reluctantly stands up, and Silas follows suit, ready to escort us back. We leave the cabin and fortunately encounter no mountain lions on our journey back to the school. Silas may be making the woods a lot safer by hunting these animals for food. He bids me goodnight with a passionate and intense kiss, seemingly unaffected by Juniper's presence.

As we sneak back through the tunnels, I answer all of Juniper's questions about Silas to the best of my knowledge. Upon entering the school through the concealed wall, I notice Axel sitting at the bottom of the staircase leading to the boys' dorm, as if he's been waiting for me for a while.

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