Gloria Oliver by Cross-Eyed Dragon Troubles Read Free Book Online Page B

Was this how people really felt about him? Just how long had he been trying to pass his test?
    The Administrator’s table was soon full but her chair remained empty. Talia wondered if this was a good thing or not.
    As before, the watchers maintained an unobtrusive vigil over the students as they ate. Talia found it hard to put away all she’d been served, though everything was delicious. She felt stuffed as time ran out and they all stood to go for their walk through the garden. She admitted she did feel better by the time they were through.
    “We’ll see you at lunch, okay?” Mandee said, “We’ve got to go to class now.”
    Talia looked at her in surprise as they reached the hallway inside. “Oh.” She stared at the two girls as they prepared to go, realizing she’d forgotten they’d be leaving her. It meant she’d have to spend the rest of her time alone before going upstairs for her appointment with the Administrator.
    “You’ll do fine at your meeting,” Mandee said, as if reading her mind. “Yllin here made it through, so how bad could it be?” Mandee put Talia between her and the grim-faced girl as she spoke, her eyes filled with mirth.
    “Hey!” Yllin threw the redhead a dirty look. Then she glanced at Talia. “You can’t do any worse than Mandee, and they kept her, too.” Yllin looked glum, yet a small grin was trying to tug the edge of her mouth.
    Mandee laughed at her attempt to get her back. “You’ll have to tell us all about it when we see you again.” She grabbed Yllin’s arm. “Come on, sourpuss, or we’ll be late.”
    Talia stepped to the side of the hall, out of the way, and watched them and the other students go past.
    Once almost everyone was gone, she made her way back to her room. After pacing there for a while, she sat down on her desk and began a letter to her parents. At the moment, she was distracted enough by the coming event that she felt disassociated enough to do it. She felt extremely nervous and skittish.
    Her stomach knotted inside her, making her wish she’d not eaten breakfast. Still, how bad could this interview be? They wouldn’t send her back if she failed, would they?
    She set the quill down, unable to write anymore.
    She’d heard of such things. It was rare, but it happened on occasion. And once rejected by a guild, it became doubly hard to get accepted by another. Some found they were unable to ever get any training at all. It was people of this sort who became beggars, bandits, and worse. She wouldn’t be one of them.
    Five minutes before the hour, she left her room and made her way upstairs to the fourth floor. As if she were a condemned criminal on the way to the block, she slowly approached the golden door at the end of the passage. The door towered over her the closer she came; she felt smaller with each step.
    Staring up at it, she finally came to stand before it. Talia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself even as her hand came up to knock on the door. Before she got a chance to do it, however, a soft voice whispered out to her from within.
    “Come in. It’s not locked.”
    Her brow furrowed as she looked around her, wondering how in the world the Administrator knew she was there. With a different kind of worry now gnawing at her stomach, she pushed on the door. It gave way to her touch easily and opened silently before her. She stepped inside.
    The room beyond was deep but not wide. A large blue and gold rug covered the cold marble floor, the scent of incense wafting through the air. Three doorways led from the long room, one on the right and two on the left.
    “Come on over. I’m back here.” The sweet voice came from the second door on the left.
    Feeling uneasy, Talia headed in that direction.
    The room the second doorway opened into was large. Columns similar to those she’d seen bordering the garden were set along the walls, a shimmering, sheer azure cloth strung between them. In the center of the room was a large oval tub, with