Previously on "The Otherworlders":  The girls are back from their mission and classes have started up again. As a matter of pride, Sebastian is eager to be chosen for the next mission, and after pestering Headmaster Pierce (and getting a brief lecture about how the missions are to be taken seriously), he's told that he will indeed be on the next team.

Basking in the news, Seb is shocked when Headmaster Pierce greets the mystery girl he met out in front of the Academy earlier and she turns out to be Pierce's daughter, Ella. The news is actually more than shocking, it's a bummer because he really likes her but now, for sure, she's off limits!

NOTE - Just a reminder. If the chapter stops abruptly or feels too short, it's a Wattpad glitch. Just refresh the page (or click off and back on if you're on mobile) and you should be able to see the whole chapter, about 2000 words. :-)

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All the kids are sitting in Master Liu's History class. At the front of the room, Master Liu jots down the key points from her just concluded lecture on the chalkboard.

She sets down her chalk, dusts off her hands, and pivots to face the students. "So, who can tell me what sparked The Battle Under the Bridge in the fourth year of the Third Shadow War?"

She's met with nothing but silence.

Master Liu rolls her eyes and lets out a beleaguered breath. How is she going to get these kids to understand just how important history is to this whole endeavor?

She strides forward, plants her fists on one of the empty desks in the front row, and leans in. Her voice is low, yet resolute. "Alright, that's it. I've been doing my best to help you understand that, fundamentally, events don't happen in a vacuum. But clearly, the message isn't getting through. So, to rectify this, I'm assigning you a task for the weekend."

A collective groan rises up in the room.

"Ahh.. ahh... ahh..!" Master Liu retorts. "I don't want to hear it! You need to delve deeper into these lessons if you're to be properly prepared for all you'll face ahead of you. So, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to divide you into teams, and I want you to work together to write a 5,000-word essay that I expect on my desk by Monday, noon!"

Monday?!

More groans fill the room, promptly silenced by Master Liu's arched brow.

She begins to delegate specific topics to each group of students. "Ava, Farid, and Inez. You three will report on the economic drivers behind The Battle Under the Bridge." She points to the other side of the room. "Jake, Aidan, and Sebastian, I want you to document the historical precursors to the event." She points to the back of the room. "Fiona, Cameron, and Patrick--you three will report on the cultural influences that impacted this particular event."

Master Liu looks at her watch. "Okay, since we're almost at the end of class, I'm going to do you all a favor and let you out early. But I'm only doing this so that  YOU CAN GET STARTED ON YOUR ASSIGNMENT!" She arches a brow again for emphasis. "AND DO NOT leave this assignment to the last minute, all right? Because I'm not giving you any extensions. Is that understood?"

"Understood..." the students murmur in unison.

"Alright then..." Master Liu claps. "Get to work!"

With this, the class disperses.

***

A little after Master Liu's class ended, Headmaster Pierce sits in his office, his gaze falling on the three very dispirited boys before him.

Jake, Sebastian, and Cameron are slumped in their chairs, quietly lamenting the fact that they have to work together again.

Their little adventure on Master Achebe's cultural interpretation exercise had not brought them together as a team as it did for the other students. Instead it lead them deep into a dark, wet, musty, cave and by the end of the exercise, immensely frustrated and extremely pissed at each other. Not to mention getting Jake mauled by a demon and laid up in the infirmary for days.

Good times!

Master Achebe bursts into the room, apologizing for his tardiness. He takes one look at the gloomy boys and laughs. "Oh, good gods! Who died?" With a soft smirk, Headmaster Pierce gestures towards the boys with his chin. "They're not entirely thrilled to be working together again."

Master Achebe walks over to Headmaster Pierce and props his hip up onto the corner of Pierce's desk. "What?" he says as he jerks his thumb over his shoulder. "You think I liked working with this guy when we first got started?" He shakes his head and scoffs. "Oh, please! I'd never met a man with a bigger stick up his—"

"Ibrahim!" Headmaster Pierce interjects, straightening in his chair. "I don't think an anecdote is necessary right now, do you?"

"It's absolutely necessary, Alistair!" Master Achebe declares, crossing his arms over his chest. "These boys need to understand that gelling as a team is absolutely critical to a mission. And they also have to understand that cohesiveness doesn't always come easily, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't still work at it." He leans back and chuckles to himself. "Do you know, when I first met Alistair, he and I fought all the time. I mean ALL the time. Seriously..." He shakes his head, amused. "I would have thought he was a wolf shifter we fought like cats and dogs."

Given that Master Achebe is a Panther Shifter, only he, Headmaster Pierce, and Jake seem to get the joke.

"Night and day." Headmaster Pierce chuckles softly to himself.

"But..!" Master Achebe adds, holding his finger in the air. "...by the time I'd saved his butt on at least three different occasions, and he'd saved mine—"

"Twice." Headmaster Pierce offers.

"Once!" Master Achebe counters, giving Headmaster Pierce the side-eye. "Ronnie was technically responsible for the second save, Alistair. Regardless..." He then turns back to the boys. "...once your headmaster, here, saved my hide from the wrath of an extremely powerful Mage with a chip on his shoulder, he and I were best buds."

"That we were." Headmaster Pierce nods slowly, then shares an affable glance with Master Achebe. "And we have been best friends ever since," he adds with a warm smile.

"So you see, boys," Master Achebe says as he leans in towards them. "Circumstances change. And you don't have to be BFF's or anything in order to do what we're asking you to do. But, you do have to learn to put your differences aside so that you can have each other's backs because lives depend on it. Is that understood?"

The boys all nod.

"Good!" Master Achebe claps.

"Appreciations, Ibrahim," Headmaster Pierce says. "Now, let's dive into the mission at hand. As you will see in the folders before you, we'll be sending you to the engagement party of the Vampyr prince, Prince Julian DuBois of Belmont."

"Prince Julian?!" Sebastian exclaims, surprised. "He's my mother's second cousin.... well, second cousin once-removed."

"Indeed," Headmaster Pierce confirms. "That's why you're perfect for this mission, Sebastian. "It makes sense that a First Son would put in an appearance at an event such as this in order to represent the family. And Prince Julian has accepted the High Council's offer to have you two..." he nods at Jake and Cameron "...to attend as well to represent our school at the event."

Cameron turns to Sebastian. "So, wait... does this mean you're royalty?"

Sebastian leans back and humble-brags. "Well, technically, yes I am. I mean I'm 21st in line for the throne. But really..." He waves a languid hand. "...who's counting?"

Jake shakes his head slowly, and then leans over to Cameron and mutters under his breath, "Well, that explains a lot."

Chuckling, Cameron agrees.

Distracted, Sebastian begins to rifle through his folder. "I didn't know Julian was one of the Guardians of Zandar's spell."

"No one did until fairly recently," Headmaster Pierce confesses. "We got word from a source within his circle that his family have been Guardians for centuries. Unfortunately, our informant couldn't locate the tablet fragment for us because he got caught snooping around and was promptly fired.  So..." He leans back in his chair. "...that's precisely why your cover as Ambassadors is so crucial to the mission. You'll have a certain amount of diplomatic cover should things go awry."

Master Achebe points at the boys. "That doesn't mean that you're completely out of danger, though. Remember that. Depending on which laws or customs you break during a mission, the host has the right to detain and even try you. And, unfortunately, trial by combat hasn't entirely lost favor with some of these communities."

Troubled by an unpleasant memory, Headmaster Pierce pulls a face and murmurs, "At least they can't execute you on the spot anymore."

Cameron's eyes bug out. "Okay, sir, this is soooo not a pep talk."

"Oh! I'm sorry! You're right!" Headmaster Pierce jerks himself back into the moment. "We digress." He pats his folder. "In any event, with Sebastian's rank and ties to the DuBois family, you should be perfectly fine." He looks at Sebastian and adds, "And I'm counting on you to brief Jake and Cameron on all of the appropriate Vampyric customs and protocols for this type of affair."

Sebastian bows his head. "Of course, Headmaster. You can count on me."

Jake and Cameron shoot each other a look and simultaneously roll their eyes.

"Good!" Headmaster Pierce says. "Now, open your folders and let's talk specifics..."

***

Sebastian, Cameron, and Jake mumble their goodbyes as they leave Headmaster Pierce's office after the briefing. Jake notices Patrick, leaning back against the wall on the other side of the hallway. He nods at him and then wanders over.

"Hey man, what's up?" Jake asks.

"I ran into Aidan earlier today," Patrick says.

"Okay..." Jake looks at Patrick wearily.

Patrick pushes off the wall and Jake follows him. "He said that he and Inez had something they wanted to show us."

At the mention of Inez, Jake perks up. "Oh, really? Did he give you any sense about what it was?"

"Not really," Patrick replies. "He just said it was important because we were Shifters and that we needed to see it for ourselves."

Jake shakes his head. "Okay, Aidan's a really odd duck, so normally I'd be wary, but now you've got me intrigued."

Patrick slides Jake a side-glance and with a smirk says, "Intrigued by what they have to show us, or intrigued because Inez will be there?"

"Oh, shut up!" Jake grumbles defensively. "I'm just curious about what these Enchanted kids are up to. That's all."

"Mm-hmm..." Patrick arches a brow.

"Dude..." Jake gives Patrick a cautioning glare. After a beat he asks, "So, when and where?"

Patrick checks his phone. "They want us to meet them in that clearing in the woods, behind the training field."

Jake looks skeptical. "Why is this starting to sound really sketch?"

Patrick shrugs. "All I know is that I'm really curious now too, so I'm up for seeing what they have to show us if you are."

"All right." Jake shrugs. "Let's do it," he agrees, far more interested in seeing Inez than anything Aidan might have to show them.

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A/N - And we're back! Yay! Just so you know, I'll be posting all three seasons in the same book, so even if I take a break, you can always come back to this book to catch up.

See you next week!

~ Paula ❤️