Magic Academy (A Fantasy New Adult Romance) (12 page)

The two of them sitting together was
reminiscent of a familial bond. Somewhat like warm moments with her
parents before her mother died, but on a different level. He wasn’t
family, or even a friend as such, but there was a warmth there. She
felt it. And having him close by, so casually concerned, it seemed
right.

“Varuj. I told you that already,”
he said with a wry smile before eating some more of the fried pork.
“But I am of the Xirai’j: a dying race that is withered
and strewn about all of existence. No longer united as one, in
purpose or place.” He sounded almost morose about it, though he
seemed to be trying to hide it.

“Xirai’j,” she
repeated the word, feeling it with her tongue. “I like that. It
has a nice sound,” she agreed as she finally began to eat the
meal he’d prepared for her. “You cooked a lot back home?”

He shrugged slightly, “It was one
of my menial pleasures. Whenever my sorcery would consume me for so
long that my mind grew blocked and my inventiveness stagnant, I would
break to cook. Replenish my energies and reset my mind.” She
got the feeling there was more to his enjoyment of cooking, both from
how he went about it and the way he spoke.

“I never cared that much for it,
honestly.” She looked across the table at him, staring at his
face as he ate. She still kept expecting him to betray her, to be
cruel or hateful. She didn’t know how to accept his calm
exterior, his kindness.

The way he held her through the night.

“That works out fine,” he
said, giving a small smile to her as he ate. “I enjoy cooking
enough to handle it for the both of us, so all’s well,”
he remarked. “Once you’re done your studies, we could get
ourselves a nice witches lair to hone our craft. Something solitary,
in the countryside. So that we might live more freely, and I could
make you breakfast each morning before we set about our experiments
and magical adventures.”

That was getting a little ahead of
himself, and her nose crinkled as she tilted her head to the side.
“That’s, like… years away.”

“Yes, well…” he
smiled and shrugged, “it shall go fast.” He had polished
off his plate of food, and he lifted the napkin to wipe his lips
before downing the glass of water. “It’s best to plan
ahead. I know you just accomplished your big dream, Firi, but realize
it is just a stepping stone to true greatness for you.”

Why did he plan on staying with her so
long, though? Or was it just another effort for him to try to lull
her into feeling for him? Letting herself fall for him?

She took another bite of her meal,
chewing it thoughtfully. “And all your dreams hinge on me?”

He hesitated then gave a slight nod.
“In a manner of speaking. Somewhat. We’ve worked together
this much already, haven’t we? Why should we stop now?”
He looked across at her with a curious gaze. “The Academy
shan’t be easy. You made it through the trials, but still, you
will have catching up to do for the classes, undoubtedly. The other,
elvish students have an edge on you still. And I presume that means
the students there will have that high caliber of an expectation upon
them. Pure power won’t be enough. You’ll need to know
spells, various spells, to start through the rigors of the academy.”

She pushed the rest of the meal over to
him, never having been a big eater. Not with money so tight. “But
why would you want that?”

His eyes moved to her discarded food,
and he began to pick at it, eating her leftovers. “Do you
imagine or desire yourself to go through life without aid, friendship
or companionship? Surely you realize it takes more than one’s
solitary self to make it through life? Even in your luxurious world,”
he said with a brow cocked high.

“I know what I’d get out of
it…” She paused, stopping herself short. He wasn’t
talking about her. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she stared at him, “So
you don’t have a choice, basically.”

“That is… not what I was
getting at,” he said with a bit of confusion. “Do you not
have concepts of mutually beneficial, voluntary relationships in this
world? I thought you had,” he mused aloud.

She’d never really had any
relationships outside of her family; she shrugged. “I guess.”
Why was she so suspicious of him? Sure he was from another world, but
he’d only ever helped her. Wanted to give her more.

Yet she’d built up a wall to
protect her from something she thought to be inevitable.

Firia had packed up, though she had no
idea what to expect. So much loomed unfinished, but her summons had
come; what she’d dreamt of all her life was at hand.

The horizon was orange as the sun
neared it, though was still not completely set. She saw the stone
building that was the sole representation of the state in their whole
area. It wasn’t particularly big, nor was it much to look at.
Despite being made of some smooth, white stone, it was rather boxy,
with only a few simple columns etched into the stonework to make it
stand out.

It had already shut down for the day,
the quiet little nexus of dirt roads silent as she approached. She
had only her familiar for company, the shimmering fox at her side at
Varuj’s insistence. He told her the creature was gifted at
sniffing out magical tricks and would help keep her safe from any
potential pranksters.

She was grateful for the fox’s
company anyways. It made the walk a little less lonely, and gave her
a boost of confidence. She’d left a letter for her father and
taken everything she owned in a small satchel.

It would be a fresh start, and every
insult would push her towards greatness, she reminded herself.

She’d dressed in her best, though
it was still no doubt shabby compared to what the elves would wear.
Her black bangs were styled against her forehead and her hair was
tied back in a ponytail, out of her face.

This was it.

The area was quiet, only the light
rustling of the grass in the fields breaking the silence. As she sat
upon the stone steps leading into the building, her fox perked its
ears and went trotting off around the side. With a yip he outed the
hiding elf behind the column.

“Who’s there?” she
asked.

From out of the shadows she saw the
tall, lanky figure of Mae’lin emerge. He wore the same thing
she’d seen him in at the competition, and he looked bashful as
he ran his fingers over his short, spiky blonde hair. “Sorry,”
he apologized. “I wasn’t hiding, honest,” he
pleaded.

“You were just…. standing
behind a pillar and watching me… without hiding?”

His eyes went wide, “I wasn’t
watching you!” he insisted. “I was…” he
tugged at his collar a little, the lanky elf looking so out of place.
“It’ll sound odd, but I was studying the stonework. It’s…
actually quite ancient, I think. Yet still so smooth and flawless…
obviously the work of some arcane craftsman.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “You
were studying the stonework by the light of the setting sun?”
Her lips quirked into a half smile as she shook her head. “That’s
new.”

He laughed a bit bashfully, and she
could see the colour in his cheeks. “There’s not much
time left before it goes down completely and I couldn’t see a
thing,” he said, sounding quite sincere. “I just never
took the time to come by and appreciate this place before.” He
smiled to her warmly and approached. “I’m really glad you
were accepted too. You deserved to be.”

“Thanks. Sorry I almost assaulted
you,” she smiled before biting her lip to hide it. Since when
did she get so brazen?

She knew, of course. Ever since she
summoned that demon, she’d been feeling different. More
herself, as if that layer of fear had been slowly stripped from her.

He waved a hand dismissively, standing
a shy distance away still. “Nonsense,” he said. “We
were both so into it, if I had won I’m sure you would’ve
been a water-logged mess because I couldn’t have possibly hoped
to control it at that point.” He smiled at her. “You
showed a remarkable amount of control for wielding so much power.”

“Either way, it worked out for
the best, didn’t it? I mean… we couldn’t both get
in any other way.” She lowered her voice, taking a step towards
him, “Best case scenario, right?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “The
competition isn’t necessarily a win-lose thing. They often
choose both combatants if they display great promise. Though yeah, we
both got in, so all’s well, no?” He said with a smile. “I
am really glad you’ll be going there. I always thought you
seemed pretty special.”

Her gaze fell and that newfound
confidence dropped for a moment. Her pulse quickened instead and she
felt her skin grow warm. It wasn’t that she disagreed…
She wasn’t like most other humans she met, to be certain. But
to have him say it…

Mae’lin cleared his throat, “The
sun’s about gone down now.” He peered around. “There’s
nobody else here yet.”

A voice carried down from above,
“Except me.” It was another one of the elvish students,
looking rather disinterested in their whole exchange as he dangled
his legs from the ledge above the building entrance.

She inhaled, her eyes narrowing at the
elf, frustrated at his intrusion and embarrassed that he’d been
spying. Still, she was too flustered to really speak and folded her
arms beneath her chest. Her fox rubbed up against her leg in a
comforting motion, and it managed to calm her outrage for the time
being.

The darkness of the evening descended
upon them so quickly, or perhaps it was simply being lost in
discussion with Mae’lin that made it seem so. However the tall
elf looked around, “It seems strange they’d just have us
meet here for no reason. Perhaps we should check around.
Investigate.”

“I figured they’re just…
hazing us. Seeing what we’ll do,” she admitted with a
shrug. “I’d be cautious, anyways.”

“Do what you want,” came
the other elf’s voice, “but I’m going to wait here.
I can see far, and I’m sure they’ll be by to get us
soon.” He stayed stubbornly in place, gazing off along the
roadways.

Mae’lin shrugged and turned to
head around the side of the building. “It’s probably a
test, if anything,” he said to her as they went around,
inspecting the area. There was so little to see though, just the
grassy fields that ended with forests on the east and west sides, and
hills to the north and south. The area was mostly farm land, and
homes were spaced out so far apart.

“I wouldn’t be surprised.
We’re the new ones that are supposed to be, well, bright enough
to go there. So if we can’t find our way or just sit by
passively,” she remarked with a pointed tilt of her head,
“what’s that going to tell them?”

Mae’lin smiled at her warmly.
“Exactly,” he said. She was beginning to see that the
elf’s warmth was just a natural state of being for him. He was
curious and kind, a rare combination amongst the elvish sorts.

Though she focussed her mind on the
task at hand. Try as she might, she just couldn’t find anything
out of the ordinary. So she turned to her familiar. “Luka?”
she asked. “You detect anything strange?”

The swirl of lights that coalesced as
her pet looked up at her, then tilted its head about, snuffling at
the air. It reminded her of the curious behaviour Varuj had displayed
earlier that very day.

What didn’t remind her of him,
however, was the strange little yips he gave. He didn’t direct
it at anything though, he just seemed to bark randomly at the air,
the building.

“Well that’s…
something, anyways,” she looked around. “Do you think
it’s enchanted?” She took a step closer to the building,
her fingers tracing along it. “Surely they don’t expect
for us to be able to break into a magical hideaway without
preparation….” A lot of preparation. And books she
didn’t rightfully own.

“The building?” he asked.
“Nah. It’s just an ordinary structure I think. It was
just really interesting, I thought. I mean, it’d have to have
been made so long ago. It had to have required a special sort of
arcane crafter to…”

He stared at her, realizing his own
foolishness. “Oh. Yeah, I get your point.”

“Well, since it was the pillar
that caught your eye, why don’t we start there and work our way
around?” It was actually… kind of exciting. Taking
charge, trying to investigate and figure things out. She was losing
herself to the excitement for the first time since she found out she
was accepted and came crashing down to the news her father was
jailed.

Mae’lin took her to the pillar he
was looking at. “I was just marvelling at how perfectly crafted
the stones were. I mean, it’s obviously quite old, but yet not
a single little nick or scratch in the whole place,” he said
with some awe and appreciation, running his hand over the white
stone.

“Maybe because it’s…
protected?” She grinned at him playfully. Her hand went to the
other side and she breathed in, trying to concentrate. She didn’t
know if she’d be able to sense anything, but perhaps…
some part of her might.

As she focussed on the stone however,
she felt… nothing. The fact of the matter was, she had no
training with divination. Had not even practiced such things on her
own at any length. Without some education on the matter, picking it
up then and there was about as long a shot as she could envision.

She didn’t allow herself to fall
into despair however, so as the two of them felt out the stone she
recalled what Mae’lin had said. She looked to Luka, “Find
any flaw in the stone. Any nicks, scratches or missing chunks.”
The ethereal fox perked up its ears then immediately went about the
task.

The spry creature moved along on its
paws as its eyes scanned the building up and down, up and down as it
moved, then around the corner.

“It’s amazing that you have
a familiar all your own before even going to the academy,”
marvelled Mae’lin. “How’d you learn such a feat?
It’s supposed to be our big first term project at the academy,
and you’re already done and completed!”