CHARACTERS
ABOUT
Natalie
Natalie
The young fourteen year old girl – and our protagonist – who feels she belongs nowhere after the death of her mother. Insecure, and wanting to fit in anywhere, she embarks on a path she repeatedly regrets, only to grow more and more each time. Forced to mature early by a barrage of circumstances out of her control, she manages to bounce back each time. But can she continue her pattern of success when death is on the line?
ABOUT
Emma
Emma
The meek and friendless, eight year old girl, who is too young to be pledged and too shy to be given the time of day by the other students. She spends her time in the shadows, following the others, and endlessly using her favorite line, “Do you want to play.”
Not much is known about her past, or how she came to the orphanage, but we do know what she wants by her tearful line, “I’ve always wanted to be a hero.”
ABOUT
Melissa
Melissa
Confident, strong, and unhealthily arrogant about both. But who wouldn’t be with how she is described in chapter 23: “The infamous Melissa Tate can do whatever she wants.”
Pastimes include ruffing up just about anyone, and she is more than willing to show her strength when she challenges five girls from another order in chapter 19.
A huge fan of discipline, especially when she’s in charge, she struts her favorite line to Natalie in chapter 8 when she sees her special shoes, “Individualism is the decay of order.”
ABOUT
Ms. Hag
Ms. Hag
But don’t call her that. Her name is Ms. Haggle, and she’ll make sure you remember it. This dilapidated old woman somehow elicits fear from all, even the headmistress of her own order.
And whatever you do, don’t touch her stuff, as you’ll find in chapter thirteen: “Don’t you dare go to her house,” replied the sentry. “She comes from a different time… a time when she would have the right to, uh, kill, if she felt you were trying something funny in her home.”
The woman who never had a first name, or a sense of humor, is rumored to be the only person to ever defeat a dark witch. So, when you see her, don’t look her in the eye; she’s quicker than you think (as someone reluctantly finds out in chapter 11).