[B][U]The Lonely Vigil[/B][/U]

After reading about 40 pages Lacey sits the huge tome "Art of the Artificer" down. She rings for the porter elf and when he appears she requests that he fetch her a frosted mug of Blueberry juice and a Cream cheese danish. The little elf tips his hat and disappears only to return a short time later with her order. Tipping him Lacey thanks the sweet little creature then takes a sip of her juice as he disappears while tipping his hat once more.

Having seen the Porter Elf Lacey thinks of the horrid plight many of his kind suffer across the Atlantic. They are it seems stuck in a form of Barbaric serfdom, virtually slaves. It isn't that way here in America due to the Abolitionist movement of the 1820s which granted all magical the same rights of any sentient being so long as they acknowledged the law of the land. 

She looked around her empty compartment in which she sat and sighed. Lacey didn't know why it seemed so hard for her to make friends among her fellow students at Salem and in Gladium but she did seem unable to. 

Perhaps it was her personality or her grades which were top tier among those of her year but try as she might she often sat alone.

As she sat puzzling such thoughts Lacey thought back to her summer and how delightful it had been. She'd met Miss Hawkmoon, traveled to Greenland and once she'd returned home enjoyed the company of muggle children who lived near her families house or were the children of colleagues of her dad.

Lacey had to keep silent when the question of her school came up because she couldn't say she attended a school of wizards an witches. No she had to say she attended a boarding school in France where her mom had gone to school.

Sighing she sat down her empty cup an jumped a bit as the Porter reappeared and took the expended plate an cup.

Giggling softly she picked up her tome once more and began reading the chapter on why woods of certain types and quality when creating artifacts.