Author Note: Here we go, off into this brand new project. I'm writing this for NaNoWriMo, so it will be mostly written in the month of November. The target word count is 50,000 and I have 35 chapters planned. All of that could change, so we'll see how things go. Welcome, I hope you enjoy the fic!


As the illusion teacher lectured, droning on about imitation spells, Emira was doodling in class. She wasn't normally the type to doodle, she usually preferred to create images with illusion magic instead, but this class was so dull even that couldn't alleviate her boredom.

Currently she was drawing little stick figures of herself and Ed, sending them on adventures anywhere but this classroom. The most recent drawing was of them training with Mittens at the knee.

To her left, Ed was taking a nap. He had an illusion spell cast to make it look as if his eyes were open, but his slumped posture and slow steady breathing were dead giveaways. Luckily he didn't snore or talk in his sleep, so the teacher didn't notice.

Emira glanced up from her amazing stick figures to look at the school bell. There were only a few minutes left in this class, and then she had only one more after for the day. After that, she'd have sweet sweet freedom for the whole weekend.

She was planning to go with Ed to the market; they had a new duplication illusion that they wanted to test on unsuspecting shoppers. The goal was to make them think they'd taken more items than they actually bought. It was still in trial, but Emira had high hopes for it.

"The schedule has changed, so listen carefully to where you're going next." The illusion teacher said from the front of the room, the change of topic drawing Emira's attention to her. "After this class, head to the gym for an assembly." Emira hadn't heard anything about an assembly before now. She glanced over at Ed to see if he knew anything, but he was still sound asleep and no help at all.

A student raised their hand and asked what the assembly was going to be about, but the teacher said they would see when they got there.

A moment later the bell rang, signaling dismissal. Ed snapped awake at the loud noise, his illusion spell dispelling as he opened his eyes. As the students around them started to leave, gossiping about the change to their day, Emira gathered her belongings as well. She stowed her doodles away, to be continued another time.

As Ed followed her out of the classroom, Emira filled him in. "We're not going to class, there's an assembly." She said, turning to walk towards the gym.

"What for?" Ed asked, trailing behind her as they weaved through the crowded halls.

Emira shook her head. "Don't know yet. It's probably not important." She looked back at Ed, then tilted her head towards a nearby stairwell entrance.

Ed nodded and turned towards the stairwell, seeming to understand what she was suggesting. Ditching the assembly wouldn't be a big deal, nobody would even notice they were gone and if anything important happened they would hear about it later. They could wait in the stairwell until it started, and then slip away unnoticed. It was a tried and true strategy.

Emira turned to head that way, but when she was a few steps away from the door a familiar voice stopped her.

"Make sure not to be late for the assembly." The illusion teacher from their last class had walked up behind them, her voice bursting any hope Emira had of sneaking away. Now that she had seen them loitering in the hallway, she would certainly look for them at the assembly too.

"We won't be." Ed replied to her in a fake polite tone.

Emira nodded and turned away from the stairwell. "Let's go." She gestured for Ed to follow, and then started walking away. The teacher called after them that she would see them there, which meant that yes, they had to go.

It only took a minute to reach the gym from there, which already had most of their class in it. There were not as many students as Emira had expected, since this was an assembly. She thought it would be the whole school or perhaps all of the high school students, but it looked like it was only the oldest students in the school. Principal Bump was standing on the floor of the gym, holding the mic but not yet speaking.

The students were guided to all sit on the right side bleachers, of which they only filled about half of the seats. Emira and Ed climbed all the way up to the back, taking a seat in the last row. When the illusion teacher walked in a few minutes later she combed her eyes over the crowd, nodding when she saw them there.

A couple minutes later, the bell rang. When the last sound from the bell faded, Principal Bump started speaking into the microphone. "Welcome students." He said, smiling up at the upperclassmen in the bleachers. "In the next two years, you will be joining covens. This is a wonderful time in your lives." He swept one hand in a large gesture. "To help prepare you for this momentous occasion, Hexside has worked with the Emperor to provide an internship program."

A few of the students turned to mutter to each other, bringing a low buzz of whispers over the crowd. Emira looked over at Ed, and he shrugged in response. Neither of them had heard anything about this. Emira couldn't deny that she was curious though. An internship meant not having to go to school for a while, which would at least be a change of pace.

"You have all been assigned a coven to complete your internship for the next four weeks. Your placement starts Monday morning, bright and early." Principal Bump continued. "Your placements are final; they will be posted in your next class. The internship is required and the coven will report your attendance to the school." Next to her, Ed sighed dramatically. "Remember, you represent Hexside. Be on your best behavior and have fun!"

A few hands popped up in the audience, so Principal Bump took some questions. Students asked about what the punishment would be if they didn't complete the internship. The answer, unpleasantly, would be that they would flunk their last period class. Another student asked how they will know where to report. Principal Bump said that information would be available with their coven assignment.

This went on for another half hour, with questions being answered. Emira didn't ask any, just listened to the responses. It sounded like this was completely mandatory, and whatever coven she was assigned she would be stuck with. She hoped they sent her to the Emperor's Coven; it would be more interesting than the Illusion Coven.

When the questions dried up, Principal Bump dismissed them back to their regular classes. There was a flurry of conversation among the students as they left the gym, all curious about where they would be assigned.

"Please be the Illusion Coven." Ed pleaded with the sky, as if asking the Isles for a favor. "Please." He had his hands held together as if praying.

"I don't know," Emira walked beside him, headed to their last class. "We could both get the Emperor's Coven."

Ed groaned. "Anything but that." He shook his head. "Hard work doesn't get along with me." He looked back up and requested again to be put in illusions.

They continued chatting as they walked, until they reached the classroom. Once she stepped through the door, Emira saw that her peers were huddled around the blackboard. She had to nudge her way through the crowd to the coven assignments, which were posted in a large illusion image on the board.

It only took her a moment to find her and Ed's names, since Blight was almost first in the alphabet.

Edric Blight – Emperor's Coven

Emira Blight – Illusion Coven

What? Emira blinked a couple times to make sure she was seeing that correctly. Ed was going to the Emperor's Coven and she was going to the Illusion Coven. They were being split up? She was being sent to Illusions while Ed was going to the Emperor's Coven? Shouldn't that be the other way around? It didn't make any sense.

Emira looked over at Ed, who had his eyes locked on the list. His cheeks had paled considerably as he stared. Emira nudged his arm, snapping him out of his trance.

"That can't be right." He said, eyes snapping back to the board. "I'm gonna die if I have to go to the Emperor's Coven."

Emira agreed with him; though she had teased him, she knew Ed would hate being part of law enforcement. If they had gone together it would've been more bearable for him, but on his own he would be miserable. "Maybe we can swap." She would have more fun at the Emperor's Coven than the Illusion Coven, so swapping was a win-win situation.

A little bit of color returned to Ed's cheeks as he nodded in reply. "Yeah, ok, let's do that." They walked over to the teacher for this class, who was already surrounded by students asking questions.

Ed pushed through the crowd, cutting to the front. "Excuse me." He said when there was a momentary break in conversation, drawing the teacher's attention to him. "Can Emira and I swap assignments?"

The teacher, one of the general education teachers, shook his head no. "The assignments are final. You may not trade." That was quite disappointing to hear. The teacher was immediately pulled away by another student, to answer a different question.

Ed visibly deflated as he walked away, and Emira felt the same way. They were stuck with these covens, whether they liked it or not. She looked back up at the board, making note of the location next to her assignment. She would have to go there starting on Monday, so she should make sure she knew where it was.

Ed was looking at the board again, starling listlessly at it. Emira wrote down the location for his internship too, just in case.

She poked him in the side and reminded him that they were going to test new illusion pranks later, which cheered him up only for a moment.

This weekend truly was their last chance for a while to be free.

They had a long month ahead.