Ember's mother stared at her with first surprise and then suspicion. A trickle of sweat ran down Ember's brow. She had kept her voice low and raspy but she was painfully aware that her voice probably sounded exactly as what it was, an attempt to hide her true voice. Still there was a way to shatter all doubts. She held out her hand and a ball of fire, water, and earth appeared. Each element swirled around each other.

Her mother's eyes widened at the sight and she automatically took a step back.

"May I come in?" Ember said taking a step forward like the answer had already been given.

"Oh. Of course!" Her mother turned and shouted. "Zeris! Can you please come here?"

Her brother shuffled nervously next to her. Ember couldn't help quickly scanning him to make sure the illusion remained a solid rendition of herself. When she couldn't spot any issues, she breathed a silent sigh of relief before moving further into the house. She pretended to look around her with interest as she waited for her father to show up.

When father arrived, he immediately moved to her mother's side, standing slightly in front of her as if to protect her. "And you are?"

"Bloom Larisel. I've come to request taking your daughter on as my apprentice." She flicked her hand, causing the balls of elements to disperse.

"I don't understand. Ember isn't a Seedling." He glanced at Rowan and her brother immediately stiffened.

"But she could be and I would like to give her the opportunity to be just that." She glanced over at Rowan-Ember then back to her parents. "Perhaps we can converse in private?"

Her father frowned but nodded. He turned to Rowan-Ember. "Why don't you go and find your brother?"

"Okay," Rowan-Ember said and then quickly dashed through the door.

Once Ember could feel the strain on her illusion, she let the illusion fall from Rowan while strengthening her own as Bloom Larisel.

"Please sit," her mother said, gesturing to the small table they used for their meals. Together they all sat down.

"Why do you want Ember as your apprentice?" Her father asked, getting right to the point.

"Your daughter has great potential. I could see it right away and I would hate to see that potential lost."

Her father's frown deepened. "I'm sure there are many more people with potential you can take on, ones that aren't commoners."

"That's true," she said. She paused and then leaned back. "Do you have anything to drink? My throat is quite parched."

Her mother jerked up from her chair. "Of course. Will tea do?"

"That would be lovely," Ember said, giving her mother a smile.

It was strange to see her mother scurrying around for her but it was important to give a sort of flippant air. A Seedling wouldn't bow down to a commoner and tended to have an air of arrogance around them. At the same time, she didn't want her alter-ego to come off as too much of a jerk.

While her mother heated up the water for tea, Ember turned back to her father. "You must have noticed I introduced myself as Bloom Larisel."

"Yes," her father said with a confused scowled until realization dawned on him. She had no last name. "Oh."

Ember smiled as she nodded. "I was once a commoner and as such I want to give the opportunity to one of similar background. I have been keeping an eye out and through chance I passed through this village and your daughter caught my eye. I believe I can expect great things from her once she becomes a Seedling."

Her father looked thoughtfully down at his hand. "I don't know if you are aware but the Choosing is to be here."

Ember chuckled. "Ah, yes, the Choosing. Are you wanting to hold out for that chance? I suppose it could happen, but why would you want to gamble when you have a sure thing in front of you?"

Her father was quiet as if thinking about it.

"I don't want to take my daughter's choices away," her father said firmly.

"I agree with my husband," her mother piped in, bringing two cups of tea to the table and setting one in front of Ember and one in front of her father. "At least with the Choosing she gets to decide if she goes with the Akashic Order or with a noble."

"Hmm, I see." Ember brought the tea to her mouth, taking a sip. It was a bit too watery but she knew they didn't have many tea leaves and the ones they did they tried to stretch out. Still, it gave her a chance to hide the warm smile threatening to spread across her face. It felt good to have her parents looking out for her. "It sounds like you are concerned that she would be bound to a noble. Is that correct?"

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They both nodded.

"And why is that a problem?" Of course, Ember knew the answer to that but she needed to play her role.

Her parents looked nervously at each other before her father spoke up.

"It depends on the noble."

"Very true," Ember said in agreement, taking another sip of the watery tea before setting it down. "My Lord is quite a wonderful person who treats his people well but you need not worry about his character since your daughter will not be binding her service to him but to me."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Her father shot back.

"Not at all. While I am loyal to my Lord, I do not expect my apprentice to follow in my footsteps unless that is what she deems best. My goal is to build on my knowledge and grow a talent to help carry on my legacy. As long as she is willing to work hard, not cause trouble, and grow her abilities then that is all I ask."

"Isn't that a bit too generous?" Her father asked.

"Not at all. It's entirely selfish. Do not think I'm offering this so easily. She has something I want. Potential to be great and therefore make me great in turn. If she didn't have that I wouldn't be here now. If she fails or doesn't work hard, I won't hesitate to toss her out."

Her father didn't look pleased by her words but seemed to accept them. Ember knew if she was too generous that their suspicions would simply grow.

"Bloom Larisel, I do believe this is a good opportunity for Ember but even without our wariness to your Lord, we don't know anything about you."

Now came the tricky part.

"Are you saying my word is not enough?" She challenged, meeting her father's eyes and then her mother's.

A hint of fear danced across her mother's face and Ember couldn't help feeling guilty about it, but she forced herself to stay firm.

"It's not that," her mother said shakily. "She's still a child and we worry for her."

Ember relaxed back in her chair. "What earnest parents." She paused and pretended to be lost in thought before giving a short nod. "Then you are welcomed to join us."

Her parents blinked. "What?" they said in unison.

"I can understand a parent's fears so you are welcome to come along. I will put you up temporarily in the city and you can see the opportunities given to your daughter and this can help put your mind at ease. Of course, this would only be for a month then after that you can return to your home or if you wish to stay longer find your own arrangements. I'm sure that will be acceptable?"

Her parents looked shocked.

"Then it's settled," she said, climbing to her feet.

"Wait," her father said, scrambling up. "We should at least discuss it with Ember before making a decision."

Ember frowned. She honestly thought that would be enough but it looked like her parents were being stubborn. It was both frustrating and brought a warmth to her heart.

"Fine," she said. "I have heard from Ember you'll be going with the Choosing delegation to have her curse looked at. I will meet you when you arrive in the city and you can tell me your answer then."

Her mother looked stunned but her father nodded his head. "We will do that."

"Good." With that she turned away and strode out of the door, using her wind magic to close it behind her. A little bit of flare could go a long way.

She hurried along until she was out of sight and scrambled behind a nearby house, she then dropped her illusion. That had gone well. She had expected her parents to agree at the end but they had held out. She was sort of proud of them for not just giving in. Honestly, if it had been a real Bloom, they wouldn't have bothered with making deals and intimidated them into acceptance. Of course, being able to see a person's potential was incredibly rare in itself.

While there were certain things to help push a person's potential to being a Seedling, there was no guarantee of what a person would become until they were awakened. There had been many nobles whose children didn't manage to become Seedlings or awakened with less abilities than expected.

And that was what matter to most Seedlings - the number of abilities. It was an easy way to establish rank, and though quality of ability could also help, that was a trickier path.

A person with one ability, even if it was high quality would have a harder time than someone with multiple abilities. This was often the case because a person who has multiple abilities can also train them to a higher quality through the magic schools. They were also more likely to have resources directed towards them. The only time that really changed is when the ability had so much potential and power it couldn't be ignored.

Of course, proving that was a thing of its own, and most people with only one ability were rarely even given the rank of Leafling, which was the minimum to be accepted into a magic school. Ember frowned at the thought of magic school. She hadn't gotten the opportunity to attend magic school in her prisoner or tyrant life.

Everything she learned was through stolen books, coercion, and trial and error.

That's not entirely true.

She had learned a lot through Viera and Tafria. There was also Priest Mercet who helped her a lot before he died. She wondered what the grumpy priest was doing now. Was he already wandering or was he still at his temple? She shook such thoughts away. Right now, her focus was getting her family somewhere safe and that meant getting them away from Lord Felis.

"Ember!"

Her head jerked up at the sound of her brother's voice. He ran towards her before stopping and peering at her with a mixture of excitement and worry.

"Did it work?"

"The first part did but now I just have to convince them as myself."

Rowan grinned. "That was awesome! So, what do we do next?"

"You don't do anything," Ember said with her hands on her hips.

Her brother's cheeks puffed out as he pouted. "Come on! I want to help."

"You can help by preparing."

"Preparing?" Rowan asked confused.

"Didn't I tell you I would try to get you ready to be a Seedling?"

Rowan's entire expression brightened. "Yes!" He looked at her expectantly. "When do I start?"

"Soon. I have to prepare a few things."

There were a lot of things to get started. She planned to give her brother that best chance she was capable of giving him. She knew she couldn't guarantee he'll become a Seedling but she would try to tip his chances in the right direction. But that wasn't the only thing she had to do. The biggest obstacle they needed to overcome was money.

It was time for a heist.