Chapter 1: Isabel

They were snickering.
"When I am queen of the world, people who snicker will be the first to go," Isabel thought, trying to make light of the situation. She looked at Olin for a word of encouragement, but he remained silent. The familiar surge of anger welled in Isabel's chest, but she fought it back down and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. The numbers and letters on the white board looked like nothing but nonsense. Isabel glared at them for several more moments, willing them to reveal their secrets to her. The snickering grew louder, and Isabel turned to her teacher, cheeks hot with embarrassment and frustration.
"I don't know." It was more of a plea than a statement. The teacher looked at her for a while then at last spoke in a bored tone.
"Alright. You may sit down. Conner, you're up."
With a sigh of relief, Isabel walked back to her chair, her eyes downcast. Her daemon settled beside her in his usual post. Sitting, powerful yet so quiet, a mystery to everyone, most of all Isabel. "More like a gargoyle than a daemon." She thought bitterly. And yet Isabel felt just like everyone else, that horrifying pain if either she ot Olin venture too far from one another.
Conner was up at the board, making the seemingly random splattering of numbers and letters line up in perfect logic order. Isabel put her head down on her desk in shame and disgust, and though she could feel Olin was frustrated with her, she refused to lift it until the bell rang.