Neil was sitting at his desk in the temple, waiting for class to start. He had shown up early because he had been told Zerine did that during class days. He was hoping to talk to her about the attack that he heard about from his father. Movement at the door made Neil glance at it.
Priest Sean was looking into the room with only a few students there this early. Neil gave him a wave, which he returned with a nod.
“Anyone seen Zerine this morning?” Sean asked the others in the room.
“No,” came a chorus of responses.
Sean pursed his lips but nodded. “Thanks,” he left.
As the class entered the room and Zerine didn’t show up, he began to worry.
Maybe none of the children from the Trevel household came to class today. They had been attacked, after all, and maybe were in mourning, he thought.
As more classmates came, he began over thinking.
The Gravefields were attacked, and Mili Gravefield is here. Hmm. What if something had gone worse than what dad said?
When everyone had arrived, but for Zerine, he had relaxed because he had overheard Mili telling her friends that the Trevel’s and their family had delt with assassins with only a few deaths combined.
Priestess Ai walked in right on time. Her gaze moved over the class, settling on Zerine’s empty chair, an eyebrow raising.
“Priestess!” came a call that Neil recognized.
Naro appeared in the doorway, Ai turning to him. His dark teal hair wind swept, probably from using some sort of magic to reach the classroom so quickly. He handed over a letter. His gaze swept the room and found Neil while Ai read the letter.
“Hi, Neil!” Naro called, giving him a wave, which he returned with a smile.
He had enjoyed getting to know Naro and Shara. They were honest, earnest, and outgoing. Naro had even asked if Neil could join their training, but Neil’s father deferred the decision for the time being. At least it wasn’t an outright no, but meant to give Neil time to get used to the city and new routine.
Ai opened the letter with ambient magic as her hands were full of books. The letter floating in the air.
“Zerine won’t be in class. I’m not entirely sure why either, but I was told to pass the letter along,” Naro said.
“Hmm, is everything alright at home?” Ai wondered, still skimming the letter.
“From what I know, I think so,” Naro said.
Neil’s attention was pulled away from the conversation as the other students looked back at him. There were muttered conversations, with near constant glances towards him.
“He knows the Baron’s son?”
“Make sense the Trevel’s would know prominent adventurer and their families.”
Neil only listened idly. His worry about Zerine only deepened, but with a breath, he let it go. It wasn’t like they really knew one another. Only having a few conversations didn’t amount to a friendship or anything. He certainly wouldn’t mind being friends with her, though. They just didn't know one another well enough yet.
Ai, after a quick glance over the letter, said, “Thank you, Naro. You should go to your class. And tell you parents that time works for me as well.”
“Alrighty!” Naro said brightly, giving her a bow, then left.
The mutterings only grew as Ai slowly headed to her desk, actually reading the letter.
“Why did the Baron’s son bring a letter for Zerine? She just lives in the compound, right? Not part of the Baron’s family? Shouldn’t a servant do that?” came from one of Mili’s friends that Neil didn’t know.
“Trevel’s don’t have normal servants. They are all adventurers that have their own work to do. After an attack like they went through, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zerine has to pick up some of the work because others were busy,” Mili replied.
“Zerine is Naro’s sister, not a servant,” Neil said. He was confused about their comments.
Mili stiffened and slowly turned to look at him.
“Zerine’s family name is Cooper, not Trevel. And the eldest daughter is home schooled,” she said.
Cooper? Not Trevel? thought Neil.
“No, Zerine is the eldest. Her hair is the Celarian trait from the Trevel’s Claire and her brother Trevor. You know the Claire line is currently the royal family. Trevor’s line leads to Ava Trevel, who has that hair and eyes, and so does Zerine. You know her daughter. Shouldn’t a Gravefield know something important like Celarian family traits for nobles? Their hair and eyes are dead giveaways,” Neil wondered genuinely, confused.
Mili’s eyes went wide. The general conversation turned into a far louder conversations as the others began discussing his bomb shell.
Oh, I fucked up, Neil thought, realizing that he had let a secret out.
It wasn’t unheard for nobles to choose not to use their family names in certain environments, but they usually had good reasons. Also, it wasn’t like her brother’s identity as a Trevel and the Baron’s son was a secret. What was the reason for her then? At least this cleared up why he had heard that the eldest daughter of the baron was more of a recluse among their age group. Many believed that she was being home school as some sort of prodigy and not under their very noses.
He had only known because his father had told him about Zerine. His father had told him to try to get to know her. Clearly thinking she would be someone he would get along with. At first, he wasn’t certain why his father had said that because she had no crest, so couldn’t keep up or even do magic. But once he saw her use ambient magic, without a crest and do better than some in their class, it started to make sense. She was also incredibly smart, easily answering questions and made it look easy. Hell, she was even helping people with different assignments when they broke out into groups.
He even suspected that she was far ahead of the class in most subjects, if not all. Well, all but for magic, because when they discussed magic matters and techniques that didn’t involve runes or rituals and arrays, she never spoke up or answered questions. Those lessons she spent working on her ambient magic completely ignoring the topic.
“Why keep it a secret?” One of Mili’s friends asked him and Mili, who was still stunned.
“She has no crest. Trevel’s have enemies even if they only have a global name focusing on adventuring and neutrality. The Claire line was the only one with a nobility title till Ava Trevel married the Baron. Just think about it, a crestless Trevel is just asking to be killed or kidnapped,” Mili said, making Neil feel even worse.
“It at least makes sense why Naro brought the letter,” Mili’s other friend said, Neil guessed her name was Peli. Or was it Perl? Petra?
“I am still unsure about it all. Now I think of it. I’ve literally been there for Naro’s past birthdays and other events there. Zerine barely ever interacted with people or was even there. She spent time with that spirit more than anyone else or reading a book,” Mili said.
“Yeah, you’ve never talked about going to events related to the Baron’s daughter Mili. You even said it was weird last year,” the other friend said, and Neil really tried to remember her name, but failed.
“It’s probably because she has no friends other than that spirit that always waiting for her after class. The sounds it makes are super annoying,” a boy sitting in front of Mili said. His words had some of the others in the class snicker.
Neil remembered him because his father had said to not provoke Jack, a wealthy merchant’s son. His father had even gone as far as to say to just be polite, but not bother being friends, because his reputation and that of his fathers was of rude and entitled people.
At least this will give me a list of people to stay away from, Neil thought disgusted, but hiding it under the mask his mother had taught him to wear when dealing with high society so as not to give away anything. He was about to retort when Ai moved to stand in the front of the room.
“That’s enough. Let’s begin,” Ai called over the loud conversations.
Someone near the front raised a hand.
“Yes, Luke,” Ai said.
“Is Zerine really a Trevel and the Baron’s daughter? If so, why hide it?” Luke asked. Neil took in Luke's appearance. He was a medium built boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. His crest was visible as dark blue twisting lines went up the right side of his neck.
Ai blinked a few times and sighed. “Zerine suffered an injury during the attack last night and will be out of class for a time, so Luke, Marla, and James she won’t be able to present with you tomorrow. As for her name, Zerine goes by Zerine Cooper, not Trevel.”
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At her words, quiet mutters filled the room once again.
“See,” Peli hissed to Neil, who internally sighed, grateful to Ai covering for his lapse in judgment.
“Neil,” Ai said, causing him to sit up straight, “can you bring class work to Naro after class? You already seem to know one another, so what do you think?”
“I’ll gladly do it,” he replied quickly. He saw some people perk up at the chance to interact freely with the Baron's son. Ai probably already knew that their parents were close and wanted to ensure none of the other students tried to do anything politically motivated with Naro.
“Thank you, so let’s begin. Open up your history books to chapter thirty on the breakup of the second Imperium.”
The rest of class was uneventful, but Neil couldn’t shake the feeling that Mili was unconvinced by Ai’s response about Zerine’s identity. He would catch her looking at Zerine’s desk with a thoughtful expression.
When classes ended, he collected the items Ai handed him to pass along to Naro. He found Naro, Shara, and a few other children from the household congregating around three people he recognized. One was Bernard, the other was a beastkin and Shara’s other mother named Zara, and the last was…the Lucent Devil! He would recognize the heterochromia eyes.
“Neil, come over here! I want you to meet my aunt,” Naro called to him.
Aunt!? he can’t mean the Lucent Devil, right? he thought.
When he reached the group, he bowed to the Lucent Devil.
“It’s an honor to meet-”
“None of that, and you can call me Raith,” Raith said. She did not want the children to hear any of the possible nicknames she had.
Neil stood up straight but smiled nervously.
“I have some work to pass along for Zerine? Also, is she alright?” he wondered, handing over the stack of papers and three books.
“She will be fine, and thank you for asking. But…these books,” Raith said, looking over them.
“Bernard, look at these,” Raith said, handing over the books.
“Alchemic Principals for a Novice, Concocting Elixirs and Pills from Basic to Advanced, and Energy Control an Alchemist’s Perspective. Good selections for her to start with. I asked Zerine to retrieve books on alchemy that interested her to see what directions she might want to learn and,” Bernard said as his smile grew, “Zerine choose wisely. Should be good for her to read while she recuperates.”
“What happened?” Naro asked before Neil had the chance.
“Hmm,” Raith said, looking up from the papers Neil had given her. “Nothing to worry about, just a close call with one attacker that got too far. She suffered an injury while escaping, but will be fine.”
Naro sighed, “that’s scary, but a relief, can we see her?”
“When she can have visitors. She is sleeping,” Raith said.
“Ah, there is the last one,” Zara said as a small, frizzy-haired girl joined them. “Let’s head out, everyone.”
“Thanks Neil. You should come by and visit Zerine, and maybe we can get you to train with us while you're there. I really wanna see your affinities in action,” Nara said as the group of twelve headed out.
“Yeah, I will come by once Zerine can have visitors. Hows that?” Neil asked with a grin.
“Perfect! I’ll let you know!” Naro called, then ran to catch up to the group.
***
Mili watched the group head out.
Could she really be the Baron’s daughter? But why hide it for years? I bet my mother or father knows, she thought, watching the group head out of sight. She pulled out her teleportation crystal, activating it with a trickle of her power before vanishing in a blue flash.
***
Darkness surrounded Zerine. She tried to open her eyes, but they felt too heavy. Her body even felt distant, almost detached from her control when she tried to move. Muffled unintelligible voices spoke, and she strained to make out what they were saying. As she focused, snippets of the conversation came through.
“I don’t know when, just that the arrays I set up notified me-” one voice said, which faded away.
“She feels cold,” someone else said moments later.
The feeling of warmth spread over her, making her body feel more responsive.
“She will be frail for a bit,” the first voice said, which felt familiar.
A soft whistling trill echoed in the darkness.
“You can’t make that move,” came another.
More whistles.
“No, Willow had-”
Zerine tried to open her eyes again. This time she felt her body responded and slowly, agonizingly slowly, her heavy eyelids lifted. At first, she didn’t recognize the room, then realized she was in a guest room. The only real difference then her old room was that there were two bookshelves, a nice upgrade. Raith, Ava, and Callahan were sitting on either side of her bed.
“Hey there sweetie,” Ava said softly, brushing stray hair from Zerine’s face, then cupping her check.
“Hi, mom,” Zerine rasped, her throat sore. She closed her eyes, leaning her head into Ava’s hand.
There was a peep as Varino’s head popped up, peering over the side of the bed. Her hair drifted around on an invisible breeze flowing around her face as her silver and blue eyes lit up, seeing she was awake. With a cheer, Varino climbed on to the bed and ran to Zerine, embracing the side of her head, sending a soothing tingling sensation from the contact.
Those watching chuckled, while Varino chirped, chimed, and whistled, still hugging Zerine. The spirit was telling Zerine how worried she had been, and happy she was awake. She even began talking about what Willow and Umbra had been up to while she was unconscious.
“I’m sorry I worried you, all of you,” Zerine said in the lull of Varino’s information dump. Her voice was hoarse. She had hoped it would get better as she used it, but the only thing that got easier was being able to make a sound, not the condition of her throat.
“Nothing to apologize for,” Ava said.
“We are just happy that you're safe and sound,” Callahan said, squeezing Zerine’s left hand.
“Why can’t I move anything?” Zerine wondered, while a humming Varino brushed Zerine’s hair. She tried to lift her arm to demonstrate, but all it did was shift a little.
“Yeah, that is expected,” Ratih said. Zerine’s gaze flicked to hers. “Sooo, no crest means your internal energy was extremely limited and was used up during the process to regenerate…” Raith paused, her brow furrowing at Zerine’s confused expression. “How much do you remember?”
“I-I,” Zerine paused, trying to get through the vague mess of her normally sharp memories. “I remember the attack, my room being destroyed and teleporting away, then…nothing,” Zerine replied, frowning.
“Hmm,” Ratih said, pursing her lips.
“Well, you were injured, and it left your body weak after Raith healed you. We can discuss more about what happened when you are ready to discuss it or when you remember what happened,” Ava said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
Zerine smiled, “alright. To be honest, I’m quite fine not remembering.”
Especially since Varino was incredibly worried and Raith said regenerate, so it was most likely bad, she thought.
“Right, well, how do you feel?” Raith wondered, placing a hand on her right arm. A warmth flowed through Zerine as Raith check her condition.
“I’m just tired and hungry,” Zerine replied. Each word was taking more energy, and she could feel it draining from her. Her eyelids were becoming heavy once again.
“Before you sleep again, I need you to drink this elixir and,” Raith said as a vial appeared in her hands, followed by a purple shining pill. “This regenerative pill. The elixir will nourish your body, and the pill will help your body’s energy start recovering.”
“Alright,” Zerine went to sit up, but couldn’t move at all. “I can’t sit up to drink, sorry.”
“We’ll help, silly,” Callahan said, as he and Ava moved to help Zerine to sit up.
Her eyes were already struggling to stay open, but she gave them a tired, grateful smile.
The elixir smelt like fresh flowers and went down easily, tasting like a fruit smoothie. The effects of the elixir filled her body with a freshness to it, contrasting the utter weakness she felt and the inability to move.
“Thank you,” Zerine said. Her voice was already fading, as Callahan helped her lay back as Ava took her old seat.
Varino peeped, her gaze full of worry.
“I’ll be fine. Have fun with Umbra and Willow, alright,” Zerine muttered, struggling to stay awake.
Varino nodded and whistled a good night.
“Sleep tight, kiddo,” Callahan said.
“We will be here when you wake,” Ava said, which got an agreeing nod from Ratih.
Zerine smiled, her eyes fluttering closed as she drifted off to sleep.
“Her condition is a little worse than what I expected, but will be fine,” Raith said, after a moment, folding her arms.
“Then how long for her to fully recover?” Ava wondered, watching as Varino slid off the bed and went back to the board game she had been playing with Umbra and Willow, who also reappeared.
“A…month and a half,” Raith said tiredly. “That is with her taking that pill every other day and that elixir every day till she can stay awake for more than half a day, and hopefully she can eat normal food.”
“How long till she can walk around?” Callahan asked, leaning back in his seat, a cup of tea in his hands.
“Umm, two weeks, maybe three…maybe a month,” Raith said, shrugging. “From what I got with that little glimpse, I’m leaning towards three weeks. I will check her again when she wakes to see her progress, which will give me a better idea.”
“I guess we shall see,” Ava said, pinching the bridge of her nose, annoyed.
“It’ll work out, though,” Raith said reassuringly. “But what have you done with her classes at the temple?”
“Naro dropped off a note. But we have a meeting with Ai tomorrow,” Callahan said.
“Ah, she got that ahead, then?” Raith said, raising an eyebrow.
“Appears so. The work Naro gave me was what some of the sixteen-year-old children in the household had for work from their class last week,” Callahan said.
“Do you think she even notices?” Ava wondered with a smile.
Callahan shrugged, “It seems Ai gives her these extra assignments all the time.”
“Then she will have plenty of time to learn alchemy, train, and help around the compound,” Ava said.
“It seems so,” Raith said.
“She is bored in class anyway, but we shouldn’t just assume what’s going to happen. We will know more tomorrow,” Callahan said.
“True,” Ava said, “then let’s discuss Raith’s news.” Callahan raised an eyebrow looking at Raith, who smiled.
“I have found a disciple and will be training her till she is old enough for one of the adventuring academies,” she said.
“Congratulations! Similar abilities and all?” he said excitedly.
“Yes, should be fun,” Raith said.
“We will have to a farewell celebration,” Ava said with a grin as Raith sighed. “Just because you don’t like big parties about you doesn’t mean our team and the household will let you sneak away for years without saying goodbye having a party.”
“I will check in on all of you with a projected avatar, so it’s not like I will be gone for all those years,” Raith grumbled.
“How old are they?” Callahan wondered, chuckling.
“Same as Zerine actually, and a lunar fairy too,” Raith said.
“That’s wonderful! So when do you plan on leaving?” Callahan asked.
“After Zerine has improved enough for me to feel comfortable leaving. My disciple is actually part of the lunar fairies that were on the mountain range recently.”
“Ah, when the three moons were full and inline or in another shape?” Ava asked.
“When the three moons formed the three points of a triangle. It’s a rite of passage for all lunar fairies that occurs every few years. This one was particularly import, it being with an intersection and all. After that, I was contacted about her and agreed to teach,” Raith said.
“Could we meet them? They could come here during your little-” Callahan was saying when Raith interrupted.
“No, Cal, she isn’t strong enough to hide the fact she is a fairy. Maybe once she is has progressed enough with her training, we can visit, but that depends on her.”
“You take all the fun out-” Callahan’s gaze went distant.
“Is that?” Raith said, but Ava finished the sentence, “Falkor or his familiar, then yes. Mostly likely its both.”
“The Dragons are going to visit Zerine and meet our children,” Callahan said happily.
“Well, now we are going to have to ensure the household is set for that,” Ava said, exasperated, knowing once a dragon made a decision, it was extremely hard, if not impossible, to change their mind.
“Yeah, this is going to be fun!” Callahan said, then winced as Ava lightly punched his shoulder.
“Hopefully she will be a wake for it,” Ava said.
“She will probably be awake off and on during their visit, but let’s give her some space,” Raith said, standing up. “Umbra, Willow and Varino got us covered if anything changes.”
Varino peeped in agreement, then whistled, annoyed as Willow moved a piece, taking out one of hers.
“Have fun, you three,” Ava said as the group left.
"You two have to explain why Falkor and his children want to see Zerine specifically," Raith said as she closed the door to the room behind them.
"Oooh, yeah that...boy do we have a story for you," Callahan said sheepishly.
"Stories, you'll enjoy them and don't be mad, dragons are like fairies when it comes to secrets, "Ava said as Raith's gaze narrowed.
"Thats fair, but do tell," Raith said.