Snippet #2602813

August 1st, 2015
Petalida, Greek Islet

Standing in front of the door to the mansion, with a blue case hanging on a strap from his shoulder and a black suitcase sitting directly to his right, Nathan Alshane found he had to convince himself that yes, this wasn't a bizarre dream.

The flight from America to Greece had been dreadfully long and unusually turbulent, and he had been more than happy to step the plane. The boat ride from there to Petalida wasn't exactly fun, either, but he had enough battery life on his 3DS to survive the trip. And now, under a fading blue evening sky, here he was, standing in front of the "Gifted Academy"...

Still, the letter they sent me was so strange... Reaching into his pocket, Nathan took something out and held it up in front of the door, as if to obscure it from his vision. It was a card, depicting two wolves staring upward at the moon, which was making an unpleasant expression. Behind them, a scorpion crawled out of a puddle of water. At the top was marked "XVIII", and at the bottom, "THE MOON."

This strange card had been mailed to him, along with the letter saying he was invited here. Without really understanding anything, Nathan decided on a whim to attend this Academy, thinking he'd be better off here than in his hometown. Of course, anything's better than having to deal with...

"Is something wrong the matter, sir?"

With a startled yelp, Nathan jumped backwards before finding a butler standing there, looking at him with a slightly amused expression. "Huh? Oh...no, just, uh...s-spaced out for a bit," he quickly replied, moving to put his card back into his pocket.

The butler raised a hand in a "halt" gesture. "Don't put that away just yet, sir. If you would be so kind to show it to me first?" A bit more confused, Nathan held it out for the butler to see. "Ah, the Moon. Then, you must be...Mr. Nathan Alshane. Am I correct?"

"...yeah, it's me," Nathan replied. For some reason, it felt hard to answer any questions properly without stuttering. Man, this is not off to a good start... "Um...so what am I supposed to do?"

The butler raised his all-controlling hand again, and a maid walked over to meet them, looking as though she'd rather do something else. "She will escort you to the dining hall. You may leave your bags here; we shall take them to your new room for you."

"Wait...d-don't I get to see my new room?" Nathan asked, feeling a bit worried about this. "I mean, what if I can't find it later?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to find it easily," the butler chuckled. "Ah, that's right...here. This should be your key..." Nathan wasn't sure from where he pulled it, but he now saw a silver-colored key being held out in front of him.

Slowly taking the key and putting it into his jacket pocket, Nathan started to follow after the maid to the dining hall. He was already starting to prepare himself, thinking about how to go about introductions. I've got to think of something good real quick... At that point, he passed a very reflective vase, and looked at his own face in it. "And I see in my reflection that I have the dumbest hat ever," he muttered to himself, trying to force a smile on his face with the self-insult. "Yes!"

Nonetheless, as he was guided into the dining hall, he just couldn't feel any hint of happiness. The maid showed him where he was to sit at the long table--there was a card with his name on the plate--and Nathan pulled the chair away from the table and immediately threw himself into it in a slouching position, feeling immensely depressed from his attempts to cheer himself up.

His eyes snapped upwards again when the lights dimmed, to see the screen at the end of the table which began speaking to them in a digitized voice. What the hell is this...? Is the headmaster really fond of making jokes or something? I mean, come on, "SW2K74"...you gave us your name in the invitation you sent to us. What, are you trying to say you're actually some kind of secret agent or something?

Still, it was ever so slightly unsettling to be greeted by this rather than a real person. It was good that the food was brought out as soon as it finished speaking, because Nathan didn't want to devote any more thought to it. Just as he straightened up and reached out to snag some food with his fork, however, his eyes landed on the screen again. For some reason, a number of letters had appeared on the screen. His name was written up there, on the second line, right next to another one: Chess Belle.

Huh...? What's that about? he wondered, silently taking the chicken leg he was aiming for. Whatever...I guess I'll just enjoy the food for now.