With a knapsack slung over his shoulder, Zett walked toward a towering obelisk structure. Another identical tower sat a few feet away, creating an entrance as a wall surrounded the majority of the academy. He craned forward into a small booth stationed near the entrance and stared at a middle-aged man asleep reclined on his chair. The man wore a tight-fitting shirt and pants, which showed off his well-built body, and on his belt was a sword and sheath.

Zett rested his bag on the counter and knocked on it with his knuckles. “Hey, rise and shine, Eran.”

Eran slowly wrenched open his eyes and groggily swiveled his chair to face the disturber. “Zett?” He rubbed his eyes while holding his hand out. “It’s that time, huh?”

“Yup.” Zett placed the slip of paper the Headmaster had given him in his hand.

Eran scratched his scruffy beard while reading the paper. “Property damage, reckless and unsupervised use of reactive ingredients, and fighting too? This is worse than when you destroyed the Overseer’s statue in the training grounds.”

“Hey, it was an honest mistake.” Zett shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah. So that’s what you say every time.” Eran opened a drawer with a hand-written note taped on it labeled, “Zett.” Dozens of similar slips he had just received fill the box. He threw the slip onto the pile and shut the drawer. “I might need a whole chest by the time you become a fourth-year.”

“If I become one.” Zett corrected.

“Hey, hey, don’t say that. With your record, it might be a possibility. By the way, hadn’t seen you in, what? Three months? Thought you had turned over a new leaf. What happened?”

“Well, I made a friend. I think.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. Not sure what’ll happen after this.” His face showed a bitter expression for a moment before disappearing. “Anyways,” Zett stuck a finger toward the entrance, “Can you open it up?”

“Oh, sorry about that.” Eran knew when not to pry and took out a glowing key he wore around his neck from the inside of his shirt. He inserted it into a metallic box to the side and a low hum emitted from the two obelisks. A wave of invisible energy brushed past Zett as a light blue hue quickly flashed between obelisks before disappearing.

“Alright,” Zett whipped his knapsack over his shoulder, “Later. Maybe I’ll see you again, maybe I won’t.”

“So you always say. Try not to get expelled this time!” Eran gave a slight nod as Zett left the campus grounds.

The moment he placed both feet out of the school, Eran inserted the key into the box once more. Another flash of blue light came and went. Just then, a voice called out from right behind him, “Zett.” He jumped at the sudden noise.

Eran almost fell out of his seat. “By the Guardian!”

Zett turned to see a young girl standing behind the invisible wall. “Meibel.”

“You weren’t even going to say goodbye?” A frown plastered itself on her face.

“I didn’t want to bother you. You came just to see me off?”

“What else am I supposed to do? You ditched me and basically told me to throw myself into a dragon’s lair.”

“It can’t be that hard t-”

“IT IS! It is for me.” A shout verberated from Meibel followed by a low murmur.

“If you stick around me, you’re going to have a tough life here.”

“I don’t care. So, don’t leave me alone.” Her eyes stared straight into Zett before returning to the ground.

Alone. That sole word made his heart tightened. He couldn’t help it anymore and let out a sigh. “Meibel.”

She lifted her face.

“Have I told you that you’re really good at sneaking up on people?”

“O-once or twice.” She was puzzled.

“Teach me how to do that later.”

A blank expression overcame Meibel’s face for a brief second before joy replaced it. She was grinning ear to ear. “You bet!”

“Don’t slack off on your studies while I’m away. When I come back, you’d better have made another friend.”

“Huh?” Meibel was momentarily stunned.

“If you don’t, I’m not talking to you anymore.”

“T-that’s not fair!”

Zett had already begun walking.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Hey!” Meibel pounded her hands against the invisible wall and followed him down the street.

A mischievous smile was the only thing she saw before she could no longer follow him. She had reached the obelisk and couldn’t see him anymore.

“If you’re done here, you should head on back to class, young miss.” Eran’s voice popped out over her shoulder. He was leaning both elbows on the counter.

In the same way, when Eran jumped from her appearance, Meibel let out a short yelp at Eran. She turned around to see him leaning out of his booth and stiffened up. Her next words stuttered as if a cold breeze rubbed against her body. “Y-yes. I-I’ll be on my way.” She stared at the ground as she dragged her stiff body back towards the main school building.

Eran threw his body back against his seat and interlocked both hands behind his head. “Jeez, kids can be so dramatic sometimes.”

----------------------------------------

On the street, many who passed Zett gave him a double-take. Most of them had outfits made of cotton, silk, or leather. Many wore fitted clothing such as trousers, shirts, and coats in white or the darker color variation.

It wasn’t surprising that they would stare. He looked down at his clothes. His robe was still riddled with burn marks, holes, and cuts, but he kept his stride as he looked forward. He came up to a man brushing a large horse attached to a carriage with a single blue line across the side of it. “Still working?”

The man straightened himself and cleared his throat. “Where to, sir?”

Zett pointed to a distant building on a hill and the man scratched his cheek.

“That’s a bit far, so it's going to be a little more expensive. Is that alright?”

“That’s fine. How much?”

The man held his chin in hand before raising three fingers up. “Thirty pieces.”

Zett rummaged through his bag and pulled out three silver squares, giving it to the man. He pocketed them and opened the door to the carriage. “Hop on, sir.”

Zett entered and soon started moving. The interior was small, only big enough to fit four, maybe five, people at most, and the comfortability of the seats were passable for the service. He passed by tall and narrow brick buildings as the carriage cut through the shopping district. Despite the relatively small shops, a long, extended interior could be seen from the entrance of each one allowing more space within the stores themselves. The residential district flew by the window with more spacious fronts than the shops. Other carriages could be seen traversing the street, more often than not, ones with the same blue line streaked across their sides.

Zett massaged his temple with his fingers thinking back to the last conversation with Meibel. He didn’t know whether to feel regret or satisfied with his decision.

The carriage soon came to a stop. The driver opened a slit to look back at Zett. “Your stop, sir.”

Hopping out, Zett thanked the driver and looked towards the building in front of him. Calling it a house would be a disservice. Even calling it a mansion wouldn’t be completely accurate, though it was as close as one could categorize it next to a castle sized construction.

A tall metal fence encompassed the perimeter of the estate, but a door was installed near the front gate. He took a brass key out of his bag and inserted it into the door and unlocked it, but when he tried to push it open, it stayed in place. It felt like he was pushing against a boulder.

“Hey! Anyone there?! Could someone let me in?” He tried shouting past the fence to no one in particular.

He waited but no reply came. It was strange, usually, someone would be watching the entrance. Zett scratched his head and looked left to right, finding no one in the vicinity. He tossed his bag over the fence and slowly backed up into the street. His thumb was pointed at the tip of the fence, creating an angle with it, the ground, and his arm. With an eye closed, he looked down his arm to the tip of his thumb and nodded to himself. He snatched up a small rock and placed it where he had been standing and walked to the other side of the street into a small alley.

He began stretching his legs and back for a few moments before letting out a long breath. Eyeing the fence, it easily stood around twenty-five feet tall. Zett’s pupils began to give a faint glow and his horns materialized on his head. He took a low position, both hands touching the ground, and his toes planted firmly.

Zett exploded forwards as the glow in his eyes grew brighter and brighter. A massive gust of wind blew against his back propelling him even faster. As he escaped the alley, a great plume of dust erupted behind him. When he reached the rock he had placed, Zett jumped. Another huge gust of wind pushed from below him while flailing his arms and legs forward. He could clearly see the sharp spiked top of the fence. His body flew, clearing the fence with his shoe just barely scraping the tip of the spike.

Even though he had managed to jump the fence, a twenty-five foot drop was still dangerous. As he fell, Zett positioned his body parallel to the ground and flicked his fingers upwards. A bellow of wind rose up, decreasing the speed of his descent until he landed on all fours on the grass.

He peered back at the iron fence and let out a short laugh. “Close one.”

Zett bent his body backward with hands on his hips as he stood up. A garden of waist to head high shrubbery presented itself to him. He grabbed his bag and proceeded out to the main path and to the mansion. Nearing the front door, Zett noticed a woman leaning against the doorway. A long dark cloak adored her body and peering to the bits underneath, a multitude of knives decorated most of her body. Many could be seen attached to her belt and sling across her chest with various tools such as daggers, an assortment of vials, and even a grappling hook. She even had a sword slung over her shoulder. She might have other objects hidden in plain sight as well. Anyone could tell from the moment they laid eyes on her that she was prepared for anything.

“Nice jump.” She tapped her cigarette while exhaling smoke.

“You were watching, Ms. Jiaha? Why didn’t you let me in?” Zett came up to her.

“I wanted to see what you would do. Honestly, I was hoping you would break the door.”

“Are you kidding? Auntie would kill me.”

“I guess so. Anyways, we hadn’t seen you visit for a while. Almost thought you forgot about us. Aria’s pretty pissed you know?”

“Great. Just what I needed.” He rubbed his temples. “I guess I've been busy lately. Sorry about that.”

“What? You get a girlfriend or something?”

“No, no! Nothing of the sort.” Zett replied with a weak laugh.

Jiaha narrowed her eyes. “Alright, alright. Get in here before you catch a cold.” She pointed at his robes.

As Zett entered, Jiaha ruffled his hair. “It’s good to see you again, boy.”

“You too.” His mouth curled upwards. “By the way,” he continued, “Where did everyone go? I didn’t see anyone patrolling the gate.”

“Everyone’s out planning for the wedding.”

“That’s right, I still need to think of a present later. But, did everyone need to leave? This place is practically empty.”

“Your uncle said he wanted the opinion of everyone in preparing the presents and dress attire. Everyone.” Jiaha sighed.

“That sounds like him. So it’s just you and Aria here?”

“There’s still a handful of workers left to maintain this place.”

They were currently passing through a hallway full of extravagant decor. A soft rug rolled to the end of the corridor, golden chandeliers hung from above, waves of curtains flowed near the windows, and various oil paintings dotted the shiny walls. Soon, they stepped out to the back of the building. Chairs and tables were arranged in a neat order close to the mansion while a wide, empty field of grass spread out front of Zett. A couple of wooden dummies were planted on one side with a rack of various wooden and metal weapons. A fairly decent sized pond settled itself on another side of the field with vegetation surrounding the area.

A single girl was standing in the middle of the field swinging a wooden sword in the same repeated manner. Sweat dripped down the back of her tank top and her loose pants were smeared at the knees with dirt and plant residue. Although it was unusual to see a lone girl swinging a sword in an empty field, what was even stranger was her appearance. Her snow pale skin glistened with each swing, while her white hair dotted with small streaks of black bobbed up and down. Even though it was tied back, strands of hair stuck to her face as she noticed Zett and Jiaha. Long white eyelashes and two clear marble blue eyes stared back at both of them.

Zett waved his hand as a greeting. “It’s been a while, Aria.” Before he could say anything else, he was interrupted.

“Match. Now.” Aria pointed her wooden sword at Zett.

“I think you had better do as she says, boy.” Jiaha threw him with a wooden sword to which he reflexively caught. “Told you she was pissed.”

Zett examined Aria. She stood patiently waiting for him. Even though her frame was a bit smaller than Zett’s, the finely toned muscles on her arms made him swallow his saliva in fear. “You know I’m just going to get beat up, right?” His body tensed up.

“Well, you are up against my apprentice. Maybe this will teach you to take things more seriously.” She blew a puff of smoke on his face. “But, you never know. I’ve taught you a few things here and there as well. You might win this one.”

Zett coughed while batting away the tobacco with his hand.

“Try not to get hurt too badly.” She patted him on the back as he was coughing. “And cheer her up a bit. You are the reason why she’s like this.” Jiaha whispered into Zett’s ear before giving a hard push from behind. Zett stumbled closer to the tip of Aria's sword.

“Same rules as always!” Zett looked back to see Jiaha reclined on a chair with her legs crossed. “Three points to win. Chest counts for one. Head counts for two. Hits to the arms and legs don’t apply. But,” A toothy grin emerged. “That doesn’t mean you can’t hit them.”

Zett turned around and could see a burning glare in Aria’s eyes and reluctantly gave in to the situation. Aria immediately readied her sword. Zett stuck out his own sword in front of him preparing to block the inevitable charge.

“Begin.”