The halls seemed too long. It already looked as if Eliana had already made a thousand steps yet here she is, still walking along the corridors of the new place that she'd be calling home for a long while. She went on, her stride, sure, seemingly brimming with confidence with the way she carried herself, managing to hide the disappointment she's feeling. Her head was held high, crowned by golden locks that she got from her father.<br/><br/>Speaking of her father, HE was the reason why she's in this<em>institution</em>, as he called it, in the first place. Helios, the Sun God, is a very proud deity. He would go on, riding his golden chariot to the sky, smiling brightly for everyone (without the Mist) to see. So, naturally, when he found out that his daughter didn't possess any semblance of his solar powers, a fact that can ruin his image, he did his best to hide her. He sent her to this school, Graingers School for the Gifted, away from all the other gods and demigods.<br/><br/>She resented it, to think that even her own father is ashamed of her. Her gold eyes seemed to burn with rage at the thought but then, she needed to contain herself, wanting to project an image of a woman of great importance.<br/><br/>Her train of thoughts stopped as she heard a voice from beside her speak. She forgot that she was walking with the head of school, Archmage Argus Limaret, dressed in long, flowing robes of blue, his long, white hair hidden inside his hood. He asked,<em>"So, how are you today, Ms. Eliana? Are you excited for your first day?"</em><br/><br/>Eliana took a deep breath, forced herself into what looks like a smile and said,<em>"Oh, I'm feeling fine, Archmage! In fact, I am looking forward to starting my first day on a high note."</em>Her tone managed to hide all traces of her intense disinterest in his question. Her answer was a blatant lie. She thought to herself,<em>'Excited?! Who am I kidding? I don't belong here. I belong up there, in the sky...'</em><br/><br/>The Archmage looked delighted at her answer and said,<em>"Oh, that's good to hear. Well, here we are, this chamber is where you'll be studying. Now, I'll be introducing you to them and just say, 'Hi.' Don't worry, all the students here are 'gifted,' just like you, so you won't be having trouble fitting in."</em><br/><br/>She let out a sigh of relief, thinking to herself,<em>'Finally! I thought those halls would never end.'</em>Her inner emotion changed at the last part of what he said, though.<em>'Just like me?! I doubt that there are demigods like me in there!'</em>She adjusted herself, anyway, and tried to make her purple dress look as pleasing as possible against her sun-kissed skin, evoking a look of regality.<br/><br/>The Archmage had already stepped inside, being greeted by the students as a sign of their respect. He proceeded to announce that they'd be joined by a new classmate.<em>"Alright, everyone, I am pleased to announce that a new face will be joining our family. Oh, and not just any face, mind you. She's the daughter of the Sun God, Helios. Students, please welcome, Eliana!"</em><br/><br/>Eliana walks in, her posture and movement reminiscent of an elegant queen, her long, purple dress flowing behind her. She, then, turns to face the class, forcing the best smile that she could, and said,<em>"Greetings, everyone! I'm Eliana and I hope all of you will be pleased to make my acquaintance, friend even. I'm looking forward to a great year in school with you."</em>Her tone seemed genuine enough that it managed to disguise the fact that it was all a show, to get on the good side of as many people as possible.<em>'They don't know my secret, anyway,'</em>she thought to herself.<br/><br/><em>"There you have it! Ms. Eliana, everyone! Now, please find a seat and make yourself comfortable, as the teacher orients you about this year ahead," </em>and with that, the Archmage took his leave, blue light coating him, until there was only thin air on the spot where he was standing.<br/><br/>Eliana was surprised at what she just witnessed, bringing her down a bit more about her lack of powers. She recalled what the Archmage said, though, and tried to look for a seat, finding that there's only one vacant chair left and it was beside a pale-looking guy wearing shades, making her think,<em>'Who wears shades inside a closed room?'</em>She was weirded out by this but she's got no choice since it's the only option open to her.<br/><br/>She went straight to the chair, careful not to bump into anything with a few calculated steps. She seemed to be managing it, with her high-heeled shoes and all, until, with one wrong step, she crashed into something. Or was it someone? It was<em>someone!</em>She thought aloud,<em>'Great, I did my best to look good, act elegantly, but this? It's only my first day but I've already made a scene. Great! Just great!'</em><br/><br/>She picked herself up and when she took a glance at the person she just bumped into, she saw the sunglass-wearing guy. She just rolled her eyes, though, and went straight to the vacant chair, not even bothering to say sorry. That was until she realized that the whole class was looking at them, the teacher included. She's already getting nervous about what he'd say, fearing all her efforts just to look this good would be for naught.<br/><br/>It was a tense moment for her till the teacher bellowed out,<em>"Mr. Tarquin, what did you just do to our newest student?!"</em>A look of relief passed upon her face as she just got away from what she perceived as a close shave. She thought,<em>'Whew! That was close. So, Tarquin is the name of this bizarre guy? It doesn't matter, though. What matters is that he'll be taking the blame for my mistake.'</em>A wicked smile crossed her lips, knowing that her image wasn't ruined, even though, it came at the expense of someone else.