Serena sat in the family room playing a gentle melody on her cello when the sound of the doorbell went through the house. She froze, abruptly cutting off the sound of her music, not knowing that the person on the other side of the door would change her life forever. She smiled at her father as he got up from the couch and went to open the door. There stood a woman in her late thirties, her chocolate brown hair is long and curly down her back.

“Hello, my name is Leona Osmon,” the woman said with a kind smile. “I am looking for the parents of Miss Serena Braddock-Harper. Are you her father?”

Serena’s father, Noah, smiled politely back at the woman, “Yes, I am. Please Ms. Osmon come in. Serena is in the family room, you can wait with her while I get my husband.” Serena sat there waiting as she heard her father lead the woman into the family room before he walked away. Ms. Osmon smiled brightly at Serena as she sat down.

“Hello, I assume you are Miss Serena?” She questioned lightly, her Southern accent very light but still noticeable.

Serena nodded, “Yes ma’am, I am.” She stood and carefully set her cello back into it’s case as she waited for her fathers. They walked in together, her father Noah leading her papa Daniel into the room with a gentle hand on his back. Noah’s blond hair looked like it had been re-combed and his green eyes held a hint of worry. Daniel on the other hand grinned like a child on Christmas morning, his brown eyes sparkling and his black hair was it’s natural tangled mess. They sat down on the sofa and Serena sat down at their feet curled into a ball as she twisted her strawberry blonde hair around her fingers.

Finally the woman spoke, “So I suppose you are wondering why I am here. Quite simply I am here to investigate why there was no reply from Miss Serena when she received her letter from Castiel Academy.” Serena and her fathers looked at one another, shock written on there faces.

“So what you’re say is,” Serena said slowly. “That the letter wasn’t a joke from some jerk? That… it was real?”

Ms. Osmon frowned and nodded slowly, “Yes Miss, that is exactly what I am saying.”

Serena stared at the woman quietly for a few moments before her eyes slid closed. All this time she had thought that some of her bullies from school had written the letter stating that she had been accepted into Castiel Academy. The letter had stated the school was for magical beings such as Faeries, Demons and Witches. She had immediately crumpled up the letter and thrown it into the trash, thinking it was another horrible joke from her classmates. Everyone in there little community knew Serena was in therapy for hearing voices and seeing things she could not possibly being seeing, like her dead Aunt who seemed to always hang around her when the bullying got really bad. The feels of a rough, callused hand rubbing her back made Serena open her eyes to look at her fathers. She smiled shakily at them before realizing she has tears running down her face and she wiped her arm across her face to get rid of them.

Ms. Osmon smiled gently at Serena and handed her a tissue, “Most of our students who come from non magically families and towns tend to not believe the letter is real either.”

Noah lend forward slightly, “Ms. Osmon this school… it can not possibly be real. There is no such thing as Faeries or Witches or Werewolves—”

“They prefer the term Lycanthropes. Werewolves are bitten, Lycanthropes are born.” Ms. Osmon interrupted carefully.

Noah gave Ms. Osmon a slightly exasperated look as he continued, “and I will not allow my daughter to be brainwashed into thinking these creatures are real because they simply are not. My daughter is just… different.” Serena stared at her father silently as Daniel gaped at Noah. Standing up, Serena dusted off her shorts and turned to her fathers.

“Well with that being said I would like to speak to Ms. Osmon alone. Unless that makes me different as well dad?” She said, not quiet able to keep the hurt from her voice as she stared hard at her father. Noah opened is mouth to speak but Daniel put hand on his shoulder and pulled him out of the room. Serena took a slow, deep breathe before turning to look at Ms. Osmon. “Please tell me that this isn’t just some joke,” she begged the woman.

Ms. Osmon smiled sadly at the young blonde, “No it is not. Castiel Academy is a school for magical beings and we believe you are one of them. But I am here to confirm that before so we at the school can make the accommodations you will need.” Serena bit her lip and started twisting her hair around her fingers as she sat on the edge of the sofa.

“How will you confirm it?” She asked worried, desperately hoping this woman in front of her could have the answer to what she sees and hears. That this woman would be able to tell her that she is not crazy like everyone in town thinks, like her own father thinks.

“Well, I would like to know what kinds of things you have been able to do,” she said carefully. “For example have you had any bouts of extreme strength? Or heal quicker then you should have healed?” Serena shook her head very slowly. “What about seeming connected to one of the elements, maybe even controlling one? Or able to get people to do whatever you want?” Serena shook her head again, feeling her heart start to sink slowly into her stomach. Ms. Osmon saw her face and bit her cheek as she thought for a moment. “Why don’t you tell me what changes you have noticed.”

Serena took a deep breathe and blew it out hard as she started twisting her hair again, “I can… see things I shouldn’t be able to. My Aunt passed away last year from cancer and now… she seems to follow me. I can hear her talk to me too, like it was the last time we spoke, her voice clear as day.” She was speaking faster and faster, desperately trying to get this woman to understand. “When I was younger I would get short videos in my head showing something that would happen in the next few hours. They get longer every time I get them and now… I was able to answer a question that I had heard but hadn’t been said.” Serena slapped a hand over her mouth to get herself to stop talking and stared at Ms. Osmon silently, hoping she would said something, anything.

Ms. Osmon watched her carefully for a moment before she sighed softly, “Well Miss Serena, you are definitely a magical being.” Relief flooded Serena’s body as she stared at the woman and started smilingly brightly at her. “But… I don’t know how to say this so I will just say it. I have no idea what being you are. You have the powers of multiple beings. Angels can see the future, Sirens can read people’s minds but your ability to see and talk to ghosts… That is a very rare and almost unheard of ability.” She smiled gently at Serena and put her hand on her shoulder, “Castiel Academy would love to have you at our school. We will do everything in our ability we can to help you learn who you are and where you come from.” Ms. Osmon stood and reached out to shake her hand. “I will have the school send you another letter telling you how to get to the grounds and when the school year will start,” she told Serena before she left the house. Serena stood there in front of the door as everything slowly sunk in. She was not crazy like everyone thought. Nothing was wrong with her like all those girls at school who talked behind her back had said. Her head turned slightly as she heard footsteps coming up behind her and she smiled at her father Daniel as he looked at her worried.

“She said that I am one of them. I’m not crazy. Papa, she said I’m not crazy,” she whispered.

Daniel smiled brightly at her as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, “I never thought you were crazy. You are and always have been special.”

Serena pulled away and looked up at him, “I want to go to that school. I need to know if I’m really like these people. What if they can help me stop all this weird stuff from happening to me?” She bit her cheek as she stared at him pleadingly.

“We will talk to your dad,” Daniel sighed softly and smiled encouragingly. “We will find out what is going on with all of this.”

2: Chapter Two

Serena stared out the car window as her father Noah parked. She could see the large boat that would be taking her and hundreds of other magical beings across the water to the small island that Castiel Academy resided. She finally stepped out of the car and smiled as her siblings surrounded her. Her old brother Jacob gave her a picture of the family, her older sister Isabella gave her a new diary and the twins Ethan and Emily gave her a box of her favorite sweets before she got another group hug. She turned to her fathers and hugged Daniel tightly as she peeked over his shoulder at Noah. He was still upset that she and Daniel had decided to gang up on him to let her go to the school but she needed this.

“I love you guys,” she said as she looked from face to face. “I’ll miss you every second of every day. I promise to write every week as long as you do the same.” She smiled brightly even as tears started to sting her eyes. Jacob and Daniel each grabbed two of her suitcases before the family headed for the dock where everyone was signing in. Serena saw Ms. Osmon and waved at her, smiling brightly as she looked around at all the other students. She had been given a list of the magical beings let into Castiel but to her it looked like all the other students were not any different then the ones at her last school, at least none looked like monstrous beings.

“New students over here! New students over here for your room assignments!” Serena and her family swung around until they found the speaker. A man, who couldn’t be any older then twenty, with ash blonde hair and dark, almost black eyes waved as he continued calling for new students. Serena started towards him, her family following at a slower pace. The man glanced up and caught her gaze, making the world around her freeze, all sounds bleeding away and the colors around her blending and mixing until she was somewhere else.

She stood there for a moment, taking in her new surroundings. The walls were a soft gray and the carpet below her feet a creme color. It was someone’s bedroom she realized as the door behind her banged open. She turned and saw the man with ash blonde hair and black eyes walk in. There was a girl following him into the room. She had caramel colored hair and bright blue eyes. The vision started to fade but the last thing she saw was the man sinking two large fangs into the girl’s neck and clamping his jaw shut.

Gasping loudly, Serena fought the hands holding her up before she managed to get free and stumbled.

“Serena, honey are you alright,” her papa asked as he smoothed her hair out of her face. She looked up to see a crowd of new students surrounding her, staring at her curiously. She flushed darkly, her red cheeks clashing with her strawberry blonde hair. Serena ran her fingers through her hair slightly and glanced around, once again catching the eye of the man.

“You’re a vampire,” she blurted out before she slapped a hand over her mouth.

He laughed brightly and grinned at her, “Yes I am. How did you know?” He tilted his head slightly and flashed her a smile, complete with a glimpse of his fangs. Serena hesitated and glanced at her father Noah before she looked back at the man.

“I had a vision of you suck on some girl’s neck,” she said boldly. She could hear those around her gasp quietly but her instincts screamed at her not to look away from this man.

He smiled at her brightly, “I am Nikita but most people here call me Nick. Now let’s get you signed in and assigned to a room. What’s your name and classification?”

“Serena Braddock-Harper,” she told him before she paused. “I… I don’t know what I am.” Her voice was quiet as she said this, not wanting the others to know she was already different because she did not know where she belonged. Nikita looked at her for a moment before he wrote her name down on a name tag and a room number.

“There you go Serena. You are in room number 103. Please stick this onto your carry on and all of your things will be moved to your room,” he said before he was busy with another student. Serena quickly stuck the name tag onto her backpack before swinging it back over her shoulder. She turned and smiled at her family, who looked back at her worried.

“I’m fine, it was just another vision. I get them a lot lately,” she told them. “Come on let’s go get my bags in the loading area.” They followed her as she looked around. She could see a group of girls squealing as they reunited. Serena could not help but wonder if she would find someone here that could understand her like those girls had.

Another group caught her eye and she stopped as she watched. There was a fire, a huge fire with two kids fighting beside it and other kids surrounding it. Before she could call for help there was a stern looking man there, barking at the kids and a woman rushing over. The woman knelt next to the fire and then water came pouring out of her hands. Serena stared at the woman in disbelief of what she was seeing.

“Serena,” her father Noah said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not too late for you to come home. You don’t need to be here to get these things to stop. Come home, go back to your therapist and back to your old school.” Serena turned and stared at him.

“Dad… how can you say that? You know how much I hate it at that school with those kids. You want me to go back when I could be here? Someone here might understand me for once. All those kids back home just mocked me. I can’t go back,” She told him firmly and stared at him. She would not back down from her decision, she would prove that this is the right thing for her. She gave him one last look before she turned away and walked towards the docking area. She got in line behind another girl and turned to look down at her family. They waved frantically at her and she raised a hand in return before she turned away from them.

“You a newbie too huh?” A voice in front of her asked. She looked up to see the girl front front of her smiling kindly. The girl had jet-black hair, light brown eyes and tanned skin.

Serena smiled, “That obvious huh? My name is Serena.” She held her hand out and smiled at the girl, who took her hand.

“My name is Irish,” she said before she paused just long enough for Serena to think the girl’s name might actually be Irish. “It’s spelled C-I-A-R-A but pronounced kee-RA” Ciara laughed brightly at her own joke and Serena grinned slightly. “So what is your room number Serena?”

Serena glanced at the name tag on her bag, “Uh number 103. What about you?”

“Same,” Ciara grinned brightly. Serena felt a wave of relief go over her, maybe this girl would become a good friend for her.

She bit her cheek slightly before she carefully asked, “So, Ciara… What is your uhh… classification?”

“I’m a Lycan,” The brunette said carelessly. “A Lycan is short for Lycanthrope, which is a fancy word for a werewolf that is born not bitten.” Serena nodded as if she knew that before she started twisting her hair around her fingers.

“I don’t know what I am,” she told Ciara.

The girl blinked at her and frowned, “how do you not know? Aren’t your parents like us?” Serena shook her head slowly and bit her cheek. Ciara watched her for a second before she shrugged slightly. “I’m sure you will find someone like you here. Don’t worry too much about it,” she told Serena as the line started to move.

Serena bit her cheek slightly, “So you wouldn’t happen to know anything about the school would you?”

Ciara grinned, “My sister went here but she graduated last year. She said it’s mostly about learning how to work with the humans and how to control our powers. For the most part it shouldn’t be to bad unless to get on the dean’s bad side, then your are in trouble. I hear the dean’s daughter is starting this year but she’ll probably have her ow room.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head as if she had met girls like that all the time.

“The dean? What is his… classification?” Serena asked, stumbling a bit as she got used to asking the what would most likely be the biggest question over the next few weeks.

Ciara shrugged, “He is an Elemental. A fire elemental to be specific. They all think they are hot stuff.” She paused before she snorted at her unintentional joke while Serena rolled her eyes slightly. They stayed quiet until they had got to the front of the line.

“Room numbers, names and classifications?” Asked the woman with a bright smile.

Ciara stepped forward, “Room 103, Ciara Sheach, Lycanthrope.”

“Room 103, Serena Braddock-Harper… unknown,” she said when the woman glanced over at her curiously. The woman raised an eyebrow before marking the sheet of paper.

She waved them onto the boat with a cheerful, “Have a great school year!”

Serena looked around the boat as she and Ciara went around looking for a place to sit. All around her there were students smiling and laughing but now they all seemed to change their appearances. Some had huge, bright white wings, Serena assumed these were the Angels. Other had thinner, more colorful wings and she assumed those were the Faeries. Then she saw the kids with the raven black wings, they looked like the Angels’ wings but she could feel in her stomach that these were the Demon children, literally. The rest of the kids looked as normal as the kids at her old school. They could have been people she’d pass on the street and she would have never guessed they were different.

Finally Ciara plopped down into a seat and Serena grinned as she sat next to her.

“So excited to find out what you are,” Ciara asked brightly.

Serena grinned slightly, “yeah it would be wonderful to find out why I see dead people.” Those around her stopped talking and turned to look at her strangely. She frowned at them slightly before she noticed Ciara staring at her as well. “What? Ms. Osmon said seeing ghosts is rare but it does happen.”

Ciara shook her head slowly, “Saying it is rare is an understatement. The last known person who could see ghosts died almost two generations ago. Serena… that boy… he died just ten years after he started seeing ghosts. And all the others… they all died just ten year after seeing their first ghost as well.”

3: Chapter Three

Serena stared silently at Ciara once her words had sunk in. She opened her mouth to reply when a short, sharp whistle called for everyone’s attention. She turned toward the sound to see a man wearing an impressive suit staring down at them. He was about six feet tall with dark chocolate hair and piercing blue eyes that just seemed to know what you were thinking. Beside him stood Ms. Osmon, who waved at Serena carefully as their eyes met briefly.

“Hello to all the returning students and welcome to all new students,” the man said clearly. “My name is Charon Brennan but you will refer to me as Dean Brennan.” He gazed at each face before he cleared his throat, “My assistant here, Ms Leona Osmon, is head of the student council so all complaints should first be presented to her before coming to me. Ms. Osmon, if you will take it from here?” He glanced at her before he sat down next to another one of the staff.

Ms. Osmon stepped forward and smiled brightly, “first welcome new students and welcome back returning students. At Castiel Academy the staff are all here to help you to learn to control your powers and how to coexist within the human world. Now before I continue does anyone have any questions?” She paused, still smiling at the students, who stared back at her bored. “No? Alright then, here at the school we have a points system. Every student starts with zero points but when, or if, you reach 10 points discipline will be taken. One point will be added for out of uniform during classes and meal, two points for disrespecting a peer, three points for disrespecting staff, four points for missing homework and five points for missing a class.”

“Each of one have been put into a dorm with three other students for a total of four students per room,” She continued. “Everyone will respect there room mates as you will be together for the rest of the year,” Ms. Osmon gave everyone a hard glance at this. “I will not allow anyone to change rooms with out an extreme need. Now breakfast will be at seven a.m. Lunch will be at noon and dinner at six p.m. Lights out is at nine p.m. and the rest of your schedule will be dictated by your classes and how you choose to spend the year here.” She looked around at everyone one more time before she smiled, “I hope everyone has a wonderful year. Once we get to the island small groups will be lead onto shore and into the school lecture hall until everyone and their bags are on shore. Then you will be dismissed to your rooms to unpack and meet new people until dinner.”

Serena sat there quietly before she managed to look Ciara in the eye but realized that the brunette was no longer thinking about Serena’s possible death. The brown eyed girl sat with her head between her knees, taking in slow, deep breaths in an enough to keep from throwing up. Serena grinned slightly and leaned forwards to ask, “So… Lycanthropes and boats don’t mix? Good to know.” Ciara muttered some very colorful terms back at her in response but Serena was too busy laughing at her new friend to care.

Serena laid back into her seat and closed her eyes, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. She sat like that for a few minutes before she felt someone staring at her. She frowned a bit as she tried to ignore it before she gave up and opened her eyes. Nikita sat across from her and smirked at her as their eyes met. She raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled quietly.

“I hear a little miss someone can see ghosts. Not looking for some attention are you?” He asked with a smirk.

Serena rolled her eyes, “Trust me I rather not be seeing ghosts. My dads stuck me into therapy when I told them my dead aunt was across the street staring into the window.” She saw his eyebrows raise when she said ‘dads’ but she did not care. She was way too used to how people reacted to her having gay parents.

She raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled sweetly at him. “Nikita, you wouldn’t by chance know who my other room mates are would you,” she asked lightly and tilted her head to the side with a bright smile.

He chuckled deeply, “Yes I do. A miss Kelsi Brennan and a miss Elizabeth Dahl. Fire elemental and demon, respectively.”

“Thank you my good vampire,” she said happily. He bowed as well as he could from his seat, tossed her a cocky smirk before he got up and left. Serena stared after Nikita for a moment before she smiled to herself and laid back again, this time drifting off to sleep.

* * * * *

Serena heard someone calling her name as she slowly drifted out of sleep. Her eyes blinked open before closing tightly against the sunlight. A hand shook her shoulder carefully and she peeked her eyes open. Ciara knelt in front of her with a half amused, half annoyed look on her face.

“Good afternoon sleeping beauty,” the brunette teased. “Come on, it’s almost time for us to get off the boat for our first look at the school.” Serena nodded, still half asleep as she got to her feet. Ciara grabbed the blonde’s bag as it fell onto the floor and hefted it onto her own shoulder as she led the other girl towards the back of the boat.

Ciara went to help Serena off but the blonde shook her head, “I’m alright. I can do it myself.” She easily jumped off the boat and onto the dock below. Ciara grinned and jumped after her before tossing the extra bag to her.

“Then you can carry your own things,” she smirked and Serena laughed with a grateful smile. “So you got Nikita to tell you out other room mates then? Go on, tell me.” Serena tilted her head as she thought for a moment.

“Kelsi Brennan and Elizabeth Dahl,” she finally said and looked over at Ciara, who has stopped walking.

“Brennan? As in dean Brennan’s daughter?” Ciara groaned to herself.

Serena shook her head, “I’m sure she’s not as bad as you think. At least try to be nice.” Ciara gave her a slightly offended look as she is was saying, I am nice.

They were directed by staff until they stood in front of the school with the rest of the students. Serena looked up at the school from where she stood on the lawn. It was a two story building, brick, with a gray tiled roof. There was the main building with two chimneys which she assumed were connected to the joining buildings on each side of the main one. Above the front entrance as a balcony, where the dean now stood, over looking the students once more. Serena shivered as though she could feel his piercing blue eyes on her again. Eventually all of the students were off the boat and gathered on the lawn in front of the school.

“Students, in a moment you will be allowed into the school,” the dean said from his balcony. “Girls your dorms are to my right and boys your dorms are to my left, please go find your rooms and unpack. You will have two hours to unpack and meet the people you will be living with for the year. But before you go in I would like to say a few words about Castiel Academy.” Dean Brennan paused for a few moments.

“Castiel Academy was built generations ago by the strongest Air, Earth, Fire and Water elementals of the time. The strongest Angel, Demon and Spirit elemental then surrounded the grounds with enchantments to protect the school and those within it. But then there was a… well our records of what actually happened were lost thousands of years ago. All we know today is that the school was destroyed. So what you see before you was built like the original Castiel Academy was but this time the demons who built the original were put to death,” he looked around at the students. "Please, remember that you are here to learn how to control your abilities, so you can make our society better," he said finally before he turned and went into the school.

The front doors were pulled open by the staff members and the students were allowed in. Ciara grabbed Serena’s arm and tugged her as she stood frozen taking in everything.

“Here it is. Room number 103,” Ciara said brightly. She looked at Serena and they grinned at each other before opening the door. Inside the room were four queen sized bed which each had a trunk at the foot of the bed. Each bed had gray sheets and pillow cases with purple comforters, showing off the school colors. Serena looked around and found the bed which has her purple and gray suit cases on top of it. Her bed was the one next to the window and closest to the bathroom. She carefully began unpacking and putting her clothes into the walk in closet all four girls would be sharing before she tucked her empty suit cases under the bed and sat on top of the covers. Ciara’s bed was to her left and they shared a brief smile before the door opened again.

A girl with soft, brown hair and sparkling green eyes came in before she stopped when she noticed the other girls already in the room. Serena smiled at the girl, unsure if this was the dean’s daughter or not but willing to give the girl the benefit of a doubt. She was about average height for their age, assuming she was sixteen like Serena herself. The girl smiled shyly back at them before hurrying to the bed across from Serena’s.

“Hey you, what’s your name,” Ciara asked harshly.

Serena shot her friend a look before smiling at the girl again, “Sorry about her. I am Serena and this is Ciara. What’s your name?”

“Oh, me? I’m uh.. Eliz-lizabeth. But uhh… my family calls me… Liza,” the girl stuttered and blushed deeply in embarrassment. “Nice to me-meet you.”

Ciara rolled her eyes slightly, “Classification? I’m a Lycan, Serena here doesn’t know what she is.” Elizabeth stared at Serena, who was quickly becoming annoyed by how shocked people were to hear she did not know what she was. Surely there was at least one other person who did not know either.

“I’m a demon,” Elizabeth said a bit unsure. Serena smiled at her confidently but was secretly wondering how someone as shy and meek as Elizabeth could be a demon. She thought demons were thought to be horrible, evil creatures not someone like this girl. Elizabeth then set to unpacking her own things and the room was quiet for the most part. Serena laid back on her bed and sighed softly to herself before she went to look in the trunk at the end of her bed. Inside were six sets of the same outfit, their school uniform she guessed. A white button down shirt, royal purple tie, light gray knee length skirt and white knee high socks. Well at least she had brought black flats.

The door opened again and Serena looked up as it banged against the wall. There stood a girl with white blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She sneered at Elizabeth as if she was a bug on the bottom of her shoe. The girl was short, a few inches under five foot but she seemed to take up all the space in the room with her presence. She glanced over at Ciara before seeming to dismiss her then her eyes settled onto Serena. Her blue eyes seemed to spark with recognition and somehow Serena felt deep in the pit of her stomach as if she knew this girl. Serena decided to break the silence that had come over the four of them when she and the new girl had locked eyes.

“Hello, I’m Serena. Are you Kelsi? Nikita said we would share a room,” she said with a slightly smile, unsure what to make of this girl.

The blonde sneered at her, “yes I am Kelsi. I heard of you, the girl who claims she can see ghosts.”

Serena frowned slightly, “it’s not a claim. It’s the truth.” Kelsi rolled her eyes dismissively.

“Well, I suppose we will all be hearing about your funeral in a few years.” Ciara snarled at Kelsi but Serena shook her head slightly at the brunette. She stared at Kelsi for a few moments before she turned her back on her.

Serena carefully fixed her bed, “Ciara we have to be in uniform for dinner don’t we?” She received an affirmative in response before she knelt and collected a uniform from her trunk. “Well, I am going to shower before dinner then. I will see you when I get out.”