"I KNEW IT!" A familiar voice shrieked in excitement. Melly jumped before she was engulfed by a mane of dark-blonde hair. "I knew that you'd be my roommate!"

Before Melly could respond, the door across from them opened. Madisyn helped Melly to her feet and they both turned to see a girl who had a bob-style haircut, icy-blonde hair that had streaks of blue in it. She wore heavy kohl around her eyes, and dark lipstick. This style vaguely reminded Melly of a goth woman. The goth girl scowled, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Will you please quiet down, Madisyn?" She asked, sounding rather impatient. "I've got a science essay to complete and I need to hand it in to Professor Cairns by tomorrow morning. If I don't, then —"

"You'll get an F," Madisyn huffed, gripping Melly's arm more tightly. "You tell me that every time I get a little too loud for you, Isolde. You know that I've been lonely since Svetlana had been expelled from the school due to her pyrotechnic issues."

"I know," Isolde answered stiffly. "But can you please tone it down a little bit at least?"

"Fine," Madisyn huffed. Melly could hear the same tension in her voice. "Just leave the two of us alone please. Melly has to get settled in for the night. Her first day of school is tomorrow morning. She doesn't want to be late for that."

The girl's head snapped over in Melly's direction. Melly could see the slight incredulity in her bright blue eyes before her expression hardened. She sniffed audibly, turned on her heel, and slammed the door on both of their faces, making it perfectly clear to them that she was not thrilled.

And Melly hated to say it, but she wasn't thrilled with the way this Isolde girl interrupted the friendly reunion between her and Madisyn either. She was more hurt than annoyed with the way Isolde had reacted to her arrival and wished that she had at least a little bit more respect. But she shoved that thought out of her head and greeted Madisyn warmly again, as she hadn't had the chance to do that when they had been interrupted by the roommate across the hall from them.

"Is she always this grouchy?"

"With me, yes. A good majority of the time. With other people? Not really. She's not mean but she's not terribly nice either. She's more . . . blunt, I guess."

That would make sense, Melly thought to herself. Another question burned inside her and she was itching to ask since Madisyn had first mentioned it.

"Who's Svetlana? You've mentioned her a couple of times."

"She was my first roommate. She got expelled last year because things were getting out of hand. Too out of control for even Professor Chamberlain to —"

"Who?"

"Oh. Professor Chamberlain. You'll see her tomorrow at the training center." Madisyn squinted at Melly. "You've been shown to the training center today, have you?"

"Yes," Melly answered hastily. "Lacey and Sophie took me there."

To Melly's surprise, Madisyn sighed in annoyance. She closed her eyes, eyebrows pinching together.

"What were they doing now? Running in the hallways again after Headmistress Reina told them not to for the one-thousandth time?"

Melly was startled that Madisyn already seemed to know about this. Along with everyone else who wasn't new to Avalon, they probably knew what Lacey Douglas and Sophie Lefevre were always up to.

"What? Are they always doing this?"

Madisyn opened her eyes, giving Melly a look. "What do you think?"

Melly blushed, embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm still new here."

Madisyn seemed to pretend as though she couldn't hear her. She muttered under her breath just loudly enough for Melly to hear, "They should learn to not do that by now." In a louder voice, she said, "Every time they get caught running around the school buildings, Headmistress Reina gives them detention. I'm surprised that they haven't learned their lesson yet."

"Well, Sophie did say that she was impossibly fast. She accidentally bumped into me while she was trying to slow down to not hit me."

"Still, they should learn by now," Madisyn huffed, clearly unamused. This was the first time Melly had seen Madisyn's reaction change.

"And you've been living in a dorm room by yourself the entire semester?" Melly couldn't help but ask. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Madisyn. No wonder she was desperate for a roommate. She must have nagged Headmistress Reina long enough before she finally decided to give in.

"Pretty much. It was a bit lonely with no one else to talk to before bed. But I guess that having no roommates has its pros and cons."

Melly nodded, staring at the floor. She didn't look up until Madisyn spoke again.

"Anyway, this is your bed now." She motioned to the empty bed that had fresh sheets on and an old quilted blanket. "I've set up this bed because I knew that I'd have a new roommate eventually. And you can borrow my nightgowns and clothes until we go to Target or some place to do essential shopping. Do you plan on getting dinner from the cafeteria at all tonight before curfew?"

Melly thought about it for a brief moment before shaking her head.

"No. Nurse Jo did give me some sort of potion that's supposed to stamper down my hunger until tomorrow morning at least."

Madisyn shrugged. "I didn't expect you to respond with a yes. But I do have some snacks in this drawer compartment here —" She opened up a drawer from her desk " — if you get hungry in the middle of the night."

Melly gave her a tight smile. "Thanks."

"Of course! I'm always happy to help! What do you plan on doing if you're not going to get dinner?"

"Take a bath, I suppose. Get ready for bed. I don't want to be tired on my first day of school."

Madisyn nodded, seeming to understand.

"Fair enough. You can borrow one of my nightgowns for the night. You'll find all the essential bathroom needs in the bathroom if you need anything else tonight."

Melly thanked her, took the nightgown that Madisyn had offered to her, and went to the bathroom that was off to the side of the small corridor.

The hot shower felt nice on her skin, relaxing all the tense muscles in her body. Everything felt clean by the time she had stepped out of the shower and put on her pajamas that she had borrowed from Madisyn for the night. She wiped the mirror clean with her towel and brushed her teeth. But just as she was about to pick up the brush and brush her hair, something startled her.

The mirror in front of Melly turned black to the point that she couldn't see behind her anymore. But that wasn't what startled her. What startled Melly the most was that two figures came into view — one was a Servant of the Fallen One. The other person who came into view made her heart stop and her stomach sink in horror.

Elias Howard was trapped in the Servant's hold. Both of his arms were pinned back behind his back, and the other hand around his mouth to prevent him from calling for help. Melly felt sick when she saw her brother's brilliant blue eyes wide with fear. He tried getting out of the Servant's grip, but the creature was too strong. The Servant grinned evilly at Melly, a look of triumph glittering in its eyes. Her brother lashed his legs out, trying to become free. But the more he struggled, the more tightly the Servant held onto him, preventing Eli from breaking free.

The last thing Melly saw before her brother disappeared with the Servant was the terrified look in Eli's eyes. The vision had been so sudden, so fast, that Melly eventually tripped over her own feet and landed backwards on the bathroom floor, hitting her head against the toilet seat. She heard Madisyn shrieking her name in horror this time. Melly tried to call out and reassure her that she was fine, but her head hurt too much to even get a word out. Instead, she laid there, head against the toilet, waiting for help.

The door finally banged open, revealing a panic-stricken Madisyn. Melly smiled painfully at her.

"Oh, my God! Melly, are you okay?!"

She reached down to help Melly to her feet. She was a little wobbly and the pain hit her like a ton of bricks. She winced, clutching onto Madisyn's arm for support. She managed an awkward smile.

"I'm fine. Just banged my head, that's all."

"That doesn't sound like 'you're fine', Melly," said Madisyn, who sounded suspicious. "What really happened?"

Before Melly could answer, an annoyed-sounding knock sounded at the door. Madisyn let Melly lean against the wall next to the bathroom before opening up the door to reveal an annoyed-looking Isolde. She had her arms crossed over her chest and she looked ready to cry from annoyance.

"Madisyn James, how many times do I have to tell you to be quieter?!"

"That was my fault, actually, Isolde," Melly interrupted. The white blonde-haired girl's eyes flickered over towards her, eyes narrowed. "I slipped in the bathroom, hit my head, and Madisyn panicked."

That, Melly knew, was partially true. She did hit her head on the bathroom toilet. But she could not bring herself to tell the truth — not until Isolde left.

Isolde sighed. "Just . . . . please try to keep her calm for the rest of the night while I do my homework."

Before either girl could say anything, Isolde turned on her heel again, walked away, and slammed their door shut behind them. Madisyn looked annoyed.

"You could at least learn to close the door a little more quietly than you just did, Isolde!" Madisyn called out. But Melly knew that there would be no response from Isolde. Madisyn shook her head, looking annoyed, before turning to Melly with a genuine look of concern in her eyes before leading Melly to her bed, pulling her by the elbow. She sat her down forcefully before sitting down on her own bed. "What happened?"

"I fell," Melly answered in a 'duh' sort of voice. Madisyn rolled her eyes, clearly not getting the gist.

"I get that. But why?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. You'd think that I'm crazy."

The corners of Madisyn's lips began to curl up into a smile. She crossed her arms in a 'try me' kind of way.

"Trust me. I've heard it all."

Melly sighed. She knew she couldn't get away from this.

"I had a vision in the mirror," she simply explained. She'd half-expected Madisyn to laugh, but she didn't. Instead, she frowned, looking confused.

"How come I didn't see it, then?"

"Because it faded as soon as I tripped over my own feet and smacked the back of my head against the toilet seat. That's why."

"Okay, okay!" said Madisyn hastily. "No need to be gruff with me, I was just being curious as to what had happened."

Melly sighed. She suddenly felt bad for being snappy towards her roommate. They hadn't known each other for very long, yet Melly had now begun to treat her roomie as though she was her sister.

"Sorry. A lot has been going on for me over the past couple of days."

"No worries, a lot of people respond this way the first couple of nights." She paused. "So what was your vision about?"

Melly blinked, surprised.

"Huh?"

"I said — what was your vision about?"

Melly stared incredulously at her. "You mean to tell me that you believe me?"

Madisyn smiled, the corners of her lips tilting. "I told you, Melly, I've seen it all. This is what happens when you're at Avalon for a while."

"Oh, alright. I had a vision of my brother. His kidnapper was showing me to him, as though he was taunting me about it." She shook her head, beginning to feel desperate. "I don't know what that Servant of the Fallen One is planning on using him for, but I know that it's for nothing good."

Madisyn nodded, though Melly noticed that she looked slightly disturbed. She had a far-off look on her face and Melly can see that she was trying to remain casual about the whole thing.

"Well," she asid, her voice slightly strained, "I'd say that you should just . . . . sleep your worries away, I guess. I promise that I'll help you get to the bottom of this entire thing, Melly. We'll get your brother back. And that's a promise."