Mandy furrowed her eyebrows, "Uh oh. That smile scares me." Layla grinned, "It's the smile that says she has questions about herself that she doesn't know the answer to and it's eating her up inside." Winter scoffed, "I will be able to find out. What exactly is meant by these 'changes.' It's just, the teachers don't know my abilities or what level I'm at which means I'm on my own." Mandy and Layla looked at each other. It was that look again. She began to get used to it. Winter now took it to mean, "Something weird is going on." She sighed, "What's wrong?" Mandy shook her head, "It's nothing. Just, we all figured out on our own, but we were brought here when we were five." Winter thought, "Brought. Again." Mandy went on, "We were all raised learning the extent of our powers." Layla finished, "None of us have ever developed powers this late. You're the first."
A million questions flooded Winter's head like usual. She narrowed her eyes, "How do I strengthen my powers?" Mandy took a strand of Winter's dark hair between her fingers, "You have to feel the magic, become one with it and then let it come out. Remember, you control it. Don't let it control you." Layla laughed, bemused, "Winter won't have any problems controlling her magic." Mandy and Winter turned to her. Layla rose her eyebrows, "You know, because she'll never leave the unknown alone. There's no way she'll allow something about herself to remain a mystery." Mandy giggled. Winter cracked her knuckles and stood, smiling. Layla tugged at her arm, "Where are you going?" Winter chuckled, "To prove you right." Layla and Mandy both nodded, "Good luck."
Winter walked out of the classroom and the boisterous levels of noise resumed behind her. She realized there was something else at the top of her list that came before trying to call out her magic. Winter had to find Jax and ask him questions about the dungeon. She walked down the hall and stopped in front of Star's Potential. Winter scanned the class as the disparity between it and her own class grew increasingly apparent. There were no grand displays of magic. The conversations weren't extremely loud and the students weren't too rowdy. Everything seemed to be tailored specifically to Sam Tudor: the noise levels, the topics, the behaviors. All the students were looking at him, inwardly begging for his approval. The outliers were Jax and Lucas. They seemed to be in a world of their own, completely closed off from the general atmosphere of the classroom. Winter's attention was immediately drawn to the bracelet flushed in shades of blue, green, and white around Jax's wrist. Other than the colors, it was the twin to her own bracelet. She opened the door abruptly, disturbing the quiet environment in the classroom. "Jax Ryan, come out." He stood reluctantly and muttered, "I'll be right back." He sighed, looking down at Winter, "Did you have to project like that?" Winter folded her arms across her chest, "It looked like you wouldn't hear me if I talked normally. Did I interrupt?" Jax just rolled his eyes, "Where have you been?" She held up her bracelet for him to see. Jax's eyes widened and he closed the door to his classroom, "You went?" Winter nodded. From the solemn look in Jax's eyes she could tell his experience was not pleasant. "Let's go talk at the pool," she grabbed his arm and made her way through the halls.
Winter took off her shoes and socks, sitting by the edge of the pool and dipping her legs in. Jax did the same. "What happened at the conference room?" Winter stared at the ripples their feet were making in the crystal clear water, "I completed the last thing on your list." "My list?" Winter nodded, "I got really angry. I felt the magic scream out and then everything went black." Jax stared at her blankly. "Next thing I knew, I was in a dark empty cell and my hands were encased in metal." Winter could see the wheels in his head turning," Your cell was empty you said?" Winter fiddled with her bracelet, "Not just my cell. All the cells in that area were empty." Jax's face paled. "What?" Winter asked. He looked at the water. She kept pressing, "What is it?" His eyes shifted to Winter's, "I've heard about that part of the dungeon. The stones are embedded with magic weakening crystals. It's supposed to be for the people rumored to have the strongest powers when they have gone out of control. Only they don't come out. Not with their magic anyway." Winter grabbed his bracelet, "Where did you get this and why?" Jax eyed her bracelet and then glanced at his, "They gave it to me before I left the detengon. I don't know why for sure. But I think it's so they can either get a read on our magic or temper it." Winter scoffed, "Detengon?" Jax shrugged boyishly, "Yeah. You know, 'detention dungeon.' A mix between the words detention and-" "Dungeon. Detengon. Yeah I get it. Very clever," Winter mocked. She bent down to touch the water with her hand, "What happened to you in the 'detengon?'" Jax ran his fingers through his hair, "I got mad and my magic got out of control. They put a burlap sack over my head and then threw me in the dungeon. My hands were encased because that's where my magic comes from. The whole floor was filled with other students who weren't easily controlled by the Academy. I had a cellmate, this guy named James. He was really powerful. Rumored to be one of the most powerful here at Golden Academy, before. He was taken to a special cell, like the one you were kept in. They made him weak and then, with some device they created by magic, they removed all traces of his powers. We were told he was released from the Academy, sworn to secrecy. It's just a rumor though. No one really knows what happened to him, because no one has seen him since." "I guess there's one more mystery to solve," Winter tied up her hair.