╚╩╩╩╝ Prince Malcolm Kiech ╚╩╩╩╝

It took me a while to come to, though I didn’t know long I was out. I was not asleep or unconscious or anything like that. It was like I had suddenly and completely forgotten the past few hours. I was sitting in a small cell surrounded by short stone walls and a dark metal door. The ceiling of the cell was low, but I was short enough that it didn’t worry me. What worried me was the nausea. Mana overuse left a very special kind of nausea that came bundled with muscle spasms and sweeping numbness. I’d felt it when I was training with Avery in the morning, but that was nothing compared to what I was feeling right now. I was so nauseous that I couldn’t get up from the bed that I was laying in. Something had caused me to squeeze out every drop of mana that I had in me. It would take me a couple of days to fully regain my mana reserves, though I was now indigo rank so it would probably take a day or two more.

Suddenly, the sound of a door screeching open sounded down the hall as two voices rang out. One was the familiar voice of Warner that made me angrier than it should have, while the other was vaguely familiar, though I didn’t know from where.

“How dare you treat me like this! Do you know who my father is?” Warner shrieked.

“Yeah, yeah. I think everyone on campus knows by know, so shut it.” The other voice groaned slightly before another screech echoed through my door.

Warner was still yelling, though it is was very muffled.

Then, my own door squeaked open as a large man ducked down to see into the room.

“Ah, you’re awake.” The man blurted out, surprised. “Doc said you’d be out for at least a day.”

“How long have I been here?” I asked weakly.

“Few hours. You’ve just been lying there since we brought you here.” The man explained.

“Is that you, Malcolm!” Warner screamed through his door. “You just wait until I get out of here! You’re gonna get it. You and your sister are both gonna get it!”

“For your sake I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that!” The man shouted as he threw his foot back and kicked the boy’s metal door. “Now shut it!”

I couldn’t help but smirk as I imagined the boy pulling at his dung-colored hair in frustration. Seeing my grin, the man shook his head.

“You’re in just as much, if not more trouble than him, kid.” The man warned. “Feeling good enough to get up?”

I didn’t even have to try to move to know that I couldn’t. “Nope.” I answered quickly.

Sighing, the man crouched down and shuffled into my cell and placed a hand on my head. The man’s aura came to life as a yellow light flowed through his body. The light then rushed to his hand as he channeled it into my body. My body hungrily accepted the flow of mana and the nausea gradually lessened.

“How about now?” The man asked.

Nodding, I sat up and breathed in deeply. Grunting, the man moved back out of the cell and stood and gestured for me to follow. The hallway was very narrow and only a part of a larger room. The tops of our cells were visible from above where guards roamed, occasionally peeking into the larger cells on this level where older students were being held.

The man led me up a set of short stairs and out of the room. The rest of the building, just like that large cell block, was made from pale concrete, though the hallways were all incredibly narrow except for where the doors were located. We walked around and up a couple sets of stairs and to a larger, non-metal door. The man stepped to the side and gestured at the door.

“Go on inside.” He spoke before leaning up against the wall and pressing the back of his head to it.

Slowly, I approached the door and slowly opened it. Every other door in this entire building screeched louder than anything I had ever experienced in my life, this door, however, opened silent and smooth and with surprising ease.

“You’re awake!” A voice exclaimed from inside the room. “What a pleasant surprise. I was expecting to have to wait at least a day before speaking with you.”

The room beyond the door was large and round. Unlike the rest of the building, the walls and floor of this room were wooden, or at least covered with wood. In the center of the room was a large circular table with several chairs seated around it, though only two were occupied. Seated directly across the table from me was a woman with eyes and hair such a pure, vibrant gold color that they could pass for actual gold. The woman held a smile just a vibrant and pure that immediately wiped away any nervousness and anxiety that I originally held. Just a few seats away from this woman sat a middle-aged man with black hair. The man had his head down and was rubbing his eyes.

“Come, sit down.” The woman beckoned.

I walked over to the table and sat down directly across from the woman as she watched my every move.

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“Now that you’re here, we can start.” The woman stated leaning forward slightly as she asked. “Do you recall what you did to be placed here?”

I shook my head. The woman tilted her head to the side and glanced at the man who was still rubbing his eyes. Sighing, the man lifted his head and tightly pressed his eyes closed before snapping them open, staring at me with pitch black, cross-shaped pupils. His gaze felt like it passed right through me, stealing every secret that I held. The man then squinted and then closed his eyes once again.

“He’s clean.” The man spoke in a surprisingly soft voice.

Hearing this, the woman nodded and turned back to me. “I suppose that we should introduce ourselves. My name is Amber Luce, and this is Kint Sair.” She explained. “We are two members of the College’s administrative board. I believe you are already acquainted with our third member, Amara. She would have been here as well, though she is currently on suspension.”

“Can I ask why I’m here?” I asked, still confused.

“I was just getting to that, sorry. You don’t remember, but you nearly killed another student.” She explained.

“I-I did?” I stuttered. It didn’t take too much thought to figure out who was the victim. The last thing I could remember was challenging Warner to a duel.

“If faculty members had not been there to stop you, that boy would have been fried, inside and out.” She shook her head. “Normally, something like this would be enough to get you expelled. However, a few individuals came forward to explain what exactly had happened. I applaud you for your sense of justice, but the College specially guarantees a student’s well-being upon enrollment. That being said, you are not free from the consequences of these actions.”

“What do I have to do?” I asked.

“Two months of incarceration, followed by two more months of volunteer grounds-keeping and a fine of five hundred gold crowns.” Amber spoke quickly.

My heart sank. This was probably why Hazel was insistent on us staying out of trouble. Two months stuck in here, two more months of wasted time, plus the fine. Gold crowns were the largest currency in the kingdom, followed by silver crowns and then by gold, silver and copper chips. Crowns were minted coins made in the capital, while chips were pieces measured by weight. The average person earned one gold chip in a month, which measured to one hundred silver chips or a thousand copper chips. Crowns could be converted to chips, but not the other way around. One silver crown was worth a hundred gold chips and one gold crown was worth a hundred silver crowns. Five hundred gold crowns was not something that could be earned in a lifetime unless you were a member of high nobility. Lord Claude was a count who could earned five gold crowns a month through taxes. A fine of this size would destroy him.

“However, I am willing to make a deal to cut out most of the incarceration, change the volunteer work and remove the fine.” Amber stated with a glint of joy in her eyes.

“What’s the deal?” I asked, hope rising through me, fueled by desperation.

“Our faculty members have reported that, during the fight, you exhibited the traits of an Elementalist. Is this true?” She asked.

“Elementalist?” I was confused.

“A sorcerer who has the capabilities to not only imbue their magic with natural elemental power, but the ability to use every element possible as well.” She explained. “Your Magic Ring maintained its color, which is shared with the color for the element of metal, then became yellow as you called down lightning from the sky.”

Thinking back, when I had fought and killed Marcus, the magic that had killed him felt different. I’d never gotten into a fight until now, so I had no reason to call upon this power, but it was nice to know that it existed so that I could try to control it in the event that I almost kill again. The image of Marcus’ face as the life drained from his body hung in my mind, causing me to shiver as chills ran down my body. I’d managed to suppress the memory until now.

“The last time we had someone with your talents in the school was more than a decade ago. If you are willing, we can lessen your punishment as I described, but you would be required to spend a portion of your day, Monday through Friday, in some of the classes held by other schools. If you accept, we will work on revising your schedule to do this. Will you accept?”

“Yes, I accept.” I responded immediately. This choice was infinitely better than the first. I would have to be stupid to not accept.

“Fantastic.” Amber replied with a broad smile. “Unfortunately, we cannot fully remove your incarceration period, so you will be required to stay there for a week, but that will give us the time to prepare a schedule and inform the teachers of this opportunity.”

“Could I ask about one more thing?” I asked.

“If it is about the fate of the Manasette boy, then rest assured that I will be punishing that boy as much as I am allowed. If it were not for their connections, I would have both him and miss Leonte removed from the premises, but Duke Manasette holds a great deal of power. I cannot just remove them.” She sighed, her smile wavering slightly. “Threatening staff and conspiring with her nephew just because she was scorned. I am not sure which of them is more childish. Retaliation at this point is inevitable, but I can try to minimize her influence to weaken the blow.”

“Thank you, really.” I spoke.

“Do not thank me yet. That woman has many tools at her disposal, and she is the most vengeful and vindictive woman that I have ever had the displeasure to meet.” She warned. “Though I am sure that you can endure it. We will help in any way we can.”

Nodding, I stood up from my chair and asked, “Am I good to go?”

“Yes, you may leave.” She answered. “Karst will bring you back to your cell. Good luck, young man.”

Thanking her again, I stepped over to the door and opened it to see the man who had brought me here holding Warner beside him by the boy’s collar.

“Ah, good. You brought him back.” I heard Amber speak. Venom filling her words. “Let us go over this again. And please be sure to tell us the truth this time.”

Karst walked the boy into the room and pushed him down onto the chair I had just been sitting in and walked out of the room.

Closing the door behind him, Karst breathed hard through his nose and turned to me. “Ready to go?” He asked.

“Go where?” I responded.

“I hear that you have the tourney coming up.” Karst explained. “Non-violent students are allowed two hours in the training room.”

“Isn’t the tourney in a few days? Won’t I miss it?” I asked.

“Madam Luce pushed it back a week in light of recent events. All students present at your little skirmish are going to spend the week replanting all the plants that you killed with that lightning.” He explained. “You’re gonna need all the training you can get after this. Most of those kids are furious.”

Sighing, I followed the man through the narrow halls until we reached a large room.

Stepping over to the other side of the room, the man stretched as his yellow aura flared to life once again. “Now, let’s figure out how this Elementalist stuff works.”