The Exchange Teacher - Welcome to Dyntril Academy

Islae's eyes opened in an unfamiliar room. My eyes opened? She was alive. The last thing she remembered was the agony of having her arm severed. They carried her to the nurse's tent and put her in the corner. Then…nothing.

She sighed. At least she was alive, even if…well, I'll fit in back at home even more now. The room was too dimly lit to see anything, but a sweet, exotic smell lingered in the air. It wasn't the smell of disinfectant and sick that permeated medical tents. Islae took a deep breath. The smell was intoxicating.

The bed was large enough for two people, and the sheets were soft, even softer than what she had in her room. Wherever she was, it wasn't a medical tent.

If only she could lie there forever. She might have lived, but reality wasn't kind. The soft bed, the cool room, and silence, all of it felt like a little slice of heaven, and she wanted to hold on to it longer. Waking up would only cause that to end.

Her arm itched.

She didn't want to scratch the air. She didn't want to find it missing. In the camp outside the Wall, so many people were missing arms and legs. Not a day went by that she didn't hear someone complaining about a phantom itch.

I guess…they'll toss me back out there. Injured nobles became fallen. Injured commoners became fodder. Bait. Something to lure Yani close to the walls.

The itch wouldn't go away. What if she pretended to scratch it? Would it go away then? Reaching over with her remaining arm, she scratched—my other arm?!

Islae bolted upright in the mysterious bed. She lifted her right hand and stared at it. How?! As she bled out in the arena, she never expected to live, let alone to have her arm reattached. Turning it front and back, she wiggled her fingers. She ran her hand across the soft sheets, marveling that she even had feeling in the appendage. She pinched it. "Ouch!" Not a dream.

"You're lucky, girl."

"Who's there?" Islae's eyes shot over to the dark corner of the room where the voice had come from. She couldn't see anyone, but she recognized the layout; it was a teacher's room. Why a teacher's room?

A maid with vivid purple hair came into the light. "You have been saved. You could work for the rest of your life and never pay him back for what he's done for you."

"Who?"

The bedroom door opened. In an instant, the maid straightened and bowed at the waist with her hands stacked on her thighs.

"Ah, Sophia. I see our guest has woken up."

"Welcome back, Master Gerenet."

Islae's breath caught. She knew that name! That was the outwaller teacher of the first-year elevators. Why was she in his room?

Smiling as he grabbed one of the chairs from the dining table, he carried it over and set it next to the bed. This is…his bed? Why am I here?!

The chair creaked when he sat in it. Clasping his hands together, he leaned forward in his seat. She didn't feel crowded, though, as he'd positioned the chair a comfortable distance away from the bed. Still, having such an attractive person staring at her so intently made her nervous. She fiddled with the bed sheet.

"Looks like it's working well."

Islae lifted her arm. "Yes, I…what's going on?"

"Do you mind if I touch it?"

She shook her head.

Scooching to the edge of the chair, he reached his hands out. Islae extended her arm for him. Taking it with only his fingertips, he rotated it and forced her elbow to bend up and down. His touch was light and tickled. Sensations she never thought she'd feel again.

After giving her forearm a gentle squeeze, he asked, "Do you feel that?"

Again, a nod was her only response.

"It looks like it's healed properly." Releasing her arm, he slid back in the chair. An afterimage of his touch remained on her arm. She rubbed over it, marveling at how good her arm felt.

"That's…I don't understand. My arm…"

The maid cleared her throat. "Master Gerenet had it fixed for you."

He held up his hand to the maid; his gaze never left Islae. As he opened his mouth to speak, the door burst open with a bang, cutting him off. Islae jumped. Shooting out of the chair, sending it tumbling back, Master Gerenet assumed a fighting pose. The chair never fell to the ground as the maid grabbed it and pulled it out of her master's way.

When he spotted the bald nurse standing in the doorway, Master Gerenet dropped the pose and stood straight. He looked annoyed.

The bald nurse stomped over to Islae as if they were the only two people in the room. "Let me see your arm, girl."

Wedging himself between Islae and the nurse, Master Gerenet put his hands on his hips, "Tyze!"

Islae looked at the two of them. The nurse took a step back and looked down. Master Gerenet's frown turned to a smile as he shifted his gaze back to Islae. "Do you mind, Miss Islae?"

Her heart skipped a beat. He knew her name. Madam Dafnea had been her teacher for a year, and not even she remembered Islae's name.

"No, it's fine," she said, looking up at those mysterious black eyes.

Once again, the bald nurse reached for her arm, and she extended it for him. Where Master Gerenet's touch had been soft and gentle, Nurse Tyze's was rough and strong. He tugged and pulled on her arm while he twisted her skin with his hands. She winced.

"Tyze, gentler."

The nurse obeyed, and he no longer hurt her. "It's just…Kruamian skills are nowhere near this level. I can't even see where it was cut off."

Islae kept her eyes on Master Gerenet. "What happened to me?"

"One of my colleagues is a doctor. She was in attendance, and I asked her to aid you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

Master Gerenet flinched. "Why not?"

Islae shook her head. "I'm not even a commoner."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a camper."

Master Gerenet turned to his maid.

"You had to have seen them as you came in," she told him. "The camps of exiles and stragglers that have built shanties up against the outside of the Wall."

The foreign teacher frowned, then shook his head. His gentle smile was back when he looked at Islae again. "It doesn't matter to me where you're from. I knew I could help you, so I did."

Helping just because he could? It didn't even make sense. People don't do that. She needed to figure out what he wanted in return before it turned into something she couldn't give. Looking down, she stared at her lap, which was still under the blankets.

"Well, it's just like you wanted. She's healed. What are you going to do with her now?"

In her heart, Islae was grateful to the nurse for asking for her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the foreign teacher for his reaction. With rose gold hair, rose gold eyes, an early-developing body, she'd received more than enough attention from the noble and commoner boys. So far, she'd managed to keep herself safe, but no one really knew anything about the mysterious visitors.

Master Gerenet turned his gaze to the nurse. His look of confusion confused Islae.

"What do you mean? We'll send her back to her class."

Islae kept her body still, but she wanted to flinch in shock. That can't be it.

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"Well, I had to register her as deceased. She's no longer a student here."

"Meaning she can't go back to her class?"

The nurse nodded. Islae went numb.

"Oh." Master Gerenet turned his gaze back to Islae. "What would you like to do? Do you want to go home?"

Her stomach dropped. That wasn't a question she was expecting. Back there?! She frantically looked from the nurse to the maid to the teacher. She didn't know what "deceased" meant, but she understood that she wasn't a student anymore. Unable to control her breathing, Islae was on the verge of hyperventilating. Do something.

Crawling out of the bed, she fell to the floor and crawled over to the teacher. Those in power liked it when she crawled. She grabbed the hem of his clothes and looked up at him. "Please don't send me back! I'll do anything!" The crawling was an act, but the words were sincere.

His eyes went wide. Reaching down, he put his hands under her arms and lifted her. He set her gently on the bed and took a step back, putting space between them. He smiled, but his eyes watered. "No one will send you to where you don't want to go."

The nurse ran a hand over his bald dome. "What are you talking about, Basque? I just said she can't stay here."

Whipping his head away from Islae, Basque's hair hid his expression, but his voice was cold. "You said she's no longer a student here, not that she couldn't stay here."

"It's one and the same!"

"Tyze, is she healed?"

"What?"

"Is. She. Healed?"

"Yes…"

"You're dismissed. If we need something else, I'll call."

"But—"

"I'll call."

The nurse bowed his head, then left.

When she saw his face again, the sincere smile was back. "Well, let's start over again. What would you like to do?"

Was this man seriously not going to ask her for anything? What was wrong with him? His eyes bore into her. He did want an answer. She scratched her arm. "Umm…"

What did she want to do? She definitely didn't want to go back to the camp. She'd won her way out of there. She'd die before she went back. Dyntril hadn't been good to her, bullied by nobles and commoners alike. Problems were more often than not blamed on her, but she was alive. As long as she didn't have to go outside the Wall again, she was fine. The streets of Kruami couldn't be worse than out there.

The outwaller smiled at her. "You seem to be unsure. Umm, well, I honestly don't think anyone would notice if I let you join my class."

Islae stared at him. He was talking nonsense again.

"I do not think that to be prudent, Master Gerenet."

Islae didn't know what the words meant, but she understood the maid was telling him she couldn't join his class.

"Why not?"

"You are the Hianbrun ambassador. Everyone is watching what you are doing. She will be noticed."

Master Gerenet stood up. "So, what? You're telling me we have to throw her out on the streets?"

The maid paused. "I can train her as a servant."

The foreign teacher fell silent. He chewed on his lips. "Fine. We'll leave it up to her." That friendly face fell on hers once more. "Well, which would you like to do?"

She didn't trust him. He was too good to be true. She didn't believe in such kindness. The blank, uncaring stare of the maid was what she was used to. "I…I can be a servant."

The maid nodded. "It is decided. I shall train her to be your servant, Master Gerenet."

"What? Aren't you my servant? I don't need another servant."

"No. I am a maid. I serve you while you are here. This child will be your servant. She will not belong to the school."

He stared at the maid with his mouth hanging open. He closed it. "Absolutely not."

"So you will cast her out?"

"No!"

"We have already covered this, Master Gerenet. She cannot be your student. That leaves being your servant or casting her out."

"She doesn't need to be my servant."

"So you will cast her out?"

"No! Just not my—"

"I don't mind," Islae cut him off. She really didn't. Student, future noble, servant, maid, all of it was the same to her—it kept her from the camp. It kept her off the streets.

He smiled at her. "Thank you for that, but I mind."

She nodded. Her stomach fell as it all finally made sense. He didn't ask anything of her because to him, she was worthless. He didn't want her near him. "I understand. Just, please put me somewhere inside Kruami."

His face fell, then he rubbed it. "Not you, too! Why is everyone so hard-pressed to kick you out?!"

"Well, I'm not Kruamian and I'm no use to you."

Master Gerenet held out his hand. "Hold on. We'll get back to the Kruamian thing in a second. I think you're getting the wrong impression here. I'm not objecting to you being my servant because it's you. I'm objecting because I feel like I'm being given ownership of you. If you are a servant, fine. If you happen to serve me, fine. But you are not mine. You belong to yourself."

Islae narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. She owed him more than her life. If he wanted to claim ownership of her, she would give it to him without question. He was weird. Her chest felt weird. He was making her feel weird.

"Now, what do you mean you're not Kruamian?"

A question she could understand, though she didn't understand why he didn't know.. "I told you. I'm a camper."

"Campers are not considered Kruamian," the maid explained. "Three kings ago, the king declared that the strongest child from the camps may attend the academy. Xav is that child this year."

Islae's stomach flipped. Xav is here?

"I see…" The man fell into thought. "We saw the people outside the Wall, but we had no idea what it was about."

Islae fell into thought herself. She wondered if she asked, if they would let her see Xav before she left. The cadmium-red-headed boy had been her only real companion in the camp. They'd practiced fighting together, hoping for the ticket out. She smiled. He'd made it.

Crossing his arms and looking at his maid, Master Gerenet asked, "Okay, so, what do we do from here?"

"There are no servants' quarters empty."

"What about 314? No one is in there now."

The vivid-purple-haired maid nodded. "We can do that. Please leave everything else to me."

She was getting to stay. Her chest felt light, like she would float away.

"You must name her, Master Gerenet."

That line pulled Islae's head out of the clouds.

The black-haired teacher furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"She needs a name."

"She has one. Her name is Islae."

Once again, Islae's heart fluttered. He really did know her name.

The maid shook her head. "Islae is dead. This is your new maid. She still does not have a name."

Master Gerenet looked at her. "Do you want a new name?"

What did a name mean to her? The name she had now was given to her by people she had no memory of. She didn't even know if the name was given to her by her parents or not. It meant nothing to her.

She shrugged. "I guess."

He smiled. "Yesenia."

The name resonated inside of her. The foreign-sounding name. Exotic. Different. Like the man who gave it to her. "Yesenia," she whispered. She wasn't prepared for how the name made her feel. She didn't think she'd ever felt like that in her life. The kind, gentle way he said it. The name itself wrapped around her. It was a blanket on a chilly night, and she hadn't realized how cold she was until that warmth seeped into her soul.

"Thank him, Yesenia." It was the first time the maid addressed Yesenia by any name. Her tone wasn't softer, though.

"Thank you, Master Gerenet." She bowed. She knew it was sloppy, but she wanted to show her thanks. Yesenia.

"Reaggie will have prepared your dinner. Miss Reianna will also be here soon. You should eat now."

"Thank you, Sophia. Oh, and can we stop with the sweet tea?"

A smile that sent a shiver down Yesenia's spine curled up on Maid Sophia's lips. "And get found out by Reaggie? I think not. Now, Maid Yesenia, come with me."

Maid Sophia opened the servants' door and guided Yesenia through. Maid Yesenia. She smiled to herself.

As the door to the main area shut, Yesenia looked at the servants' area. It wasn't what she was expecting. They stood in a place too short to be called a hallway, but too small to be called a room. The little area had a dull orange light illuminating it, as bright as the last bit of light in the sky after the sun had sunk below the horizon.

A chair sat between two doors along the wall they'd entered from. Further down, there was a cupboard filled with linens and towels next to a third door that took up the entirety of the perpendicular wall. Bedroom, audience room, bathroom. Yesenia noted to herself. Then she wondered why they were just standing around.

Almost as soon as she thought that, the wall Maid Sophia was staring at split open in the middle, and a white light bathed them, illuminating the little room even more. The new room she saw was completely empty.

The maid gestured with her hand. "Get on."

"Okay." On?

Maid Sophia turned and grabbed Yesenia's cheeks. She didn't squeeze hard, but her grip was firm enough that Yesenia's lips bunched up. "Child, you are still too young to understand what an incredible blessing you received today. One day, I hope you live—no, you're one of his now, you definitely will live to know just how much of a blessing it was."

She let go of Yesenia and walked into the room. "Now, get on. And the word 'okay' no longer exists in your vocabulary. 'Yes, ma'am' is the only response you know."

"Yes, ma'am." Yesenia felt at ease. This is what she was used to.

Once she stepped into the room, the doors closed behind her. There was a shudder, and Yesenia's stomach flew up to her mouth as it felt like the floor beneath them gave out. She slammed her hands against both walls, as if that would stop it. "What's going on?"

"Do you know that word you were called for the last year?"

"Elevator?"

The maid nodded. "Yes, this is an elevator. Everything will be explained later. For now, we need to move quickly and get you to your room. Your training will begin tonight, once the students have gone to sleep."

"Yes, ma'am." Yesenia noticed the emphasis on the fact that she was no longer a student.

Yesenia's knees buckled as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened. On the other side, a light-blue-haired maid was waiting with a full trolley of covered dishes, drinks, and silverware. Dinner service. Yesenia recognized it from her time as a student.

"What took you all so long to—Oh! Head Maid. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Sylvory. Come along, Yesenia. We are in the way."

Head maid? Yesenia followed the stern woman off and into a beehive of men and women buzzing around in a massive corridor. Yesenia's eyes went wide. What sort of world had she entered?