Lucia awoke for the first time in what felt like an eternity without the sharp tang of hunger nor the everpresent, bone deep ache that had been a constant tag along for the past year. The rocking of the ship and the warmth of the blankets threatened to lull her back to sleep, and a part of her mind, a part she had thought long dead and buried, wanted to accept that her present situation was all right. The street rat that had taken over couldn’t let that happen.

She jolted, the unfamiliar location of the cabin making her heart race and thoughts whirl in panicked loops. The gentle breathing coming from beside her snapped Lucia back into reality. Royce was safe, she was safe. It didn’t feel real. As quietly and unobtrusively as she could, Lucia extracted herself from the blankets. Royce tried to maintain his hold around her waist, but even after being healed the young boy was still frail and weak.

They were alone in the cabin, which was something she found both comforting and alarming. Lucia blinked bleary eyes as she looked at the stool placed up against the door. It hadn’t done anything to stop the masked man before, but she hadn’t been able to help herself from propping it back up. It was better to be safe than sorry, and she wasn’t naive enough to think that there weren’t any other dangers on the ship.

Lucia was silently plotting which of the ship's passengers to try and steal food from when it struck her that she was a passenger. She glanced down at the filthy clothing she was wearing, her tattered pants and lack of shoes. She felt like such an idiot. They were going to the Academy, one of the most powerful institutions in the world, and she had been planning on walking around dressed like the street’s least favourite beggar. There wouldn’t be any alleys to slink around in, and building’s on their last legs in which to hide.

“Damnit, damn damn damn.” Lucia whispered to herself, pacing around the small room in tight, repetitive circles. She had been so preoccupied with taking the first step that she hadn’t considered the second, or any that came after. She shot a guilty look at the still sleeping form of her little brother. She had been days away from failing, again.

“Maybe I am naive. We didn’t even get halfway without being discovered.” She mumbled, running a hand through her dark, matted hair. Lucia let out a shaky breath, then glared at the still unopened door. They needed help, more help than they had already received. The realisation chipped away at her pride, and it shocked her to find that her pride was still even partially intact. Maybe I haven't changed, even after everything that happened.

===

The ship sliced through the calm waters of the early morning, and many of the passengers and crew were taking advantage of the stillness to stretch their legs and take in the sights. The sails of a dozen other vessels dotted the sea around them, some merchant, others military in origin. Lucia hovered in the shadows of the doorway, peering out at those milling around on the upper deck.

Where is he? She thought, flinching back as two deckhands shuffled past the door, both carrying a barrel. Hard earned instincts warred with her need to leave the safety of the dark interior of the ship. Something invisible tugged her attention upward, as if the wind was guiding her to the person she was seeking. Lucia almost walked out then and there, only a distant memory of having experienced something similar holding her back. Was that an aura technique? Like they used to do back home?

Nostalgia clashed with concern. Just how powerful was this person’s aura control? And what other tricks might they be able to pull. She didn’t even have a class, let alone a level… Wait, that isn’t true anymore. Lucia realised, not that being level one was much of a difference than being level zero.

She clenched her fists, took a deep breath and stepped out into the hazy morning light. She walked quickly along the deck, turning and rapidly ascending up a short flight of stairs. She ignored the looks, the stares, the mutterings and the whispers. She’d seen them all, heard them all, and she knew they could be worse.

Lucia scampered onto the raised decking of the stern, ducking to the side to dodge a pair of sailors who… walked past without even glancing in her direction. She gulped, then ascended a second, shorter series of steps. There she finally saw the man, the masked healer. He sat cross legged, facing away from her and out, towards the disappearing horizon.

“You.” She said, raising a hand to protect her face from a roaming gust of wind.

“Good morning.” Leif replied. He didn’t move, but Lucia felt his aura shift around him, the intangible presence that every high level person she had ever met possessed. She knew that with time and practice she would be able to sense the specifics of a person's aura, the part of their soul they projected out to the world.

“You weren’t in the room.”

“I could tell you needed space. Besides, I have a skill that removes my need for sleep.”

“You were up here all night?”

“I was.”

“Why?”

“To watch the stars reflect off the sea.”

“Not what I meant.” She said, frustrated. “Why did you help us? Why did you help my brother and I? We didn’t ask for it!”

The man cocked his head to the side, turning slightly. He was still wearing his painted mask. Lucia thought it looked creepy. “Why? Now isn’t that the question. I seem to have a habit of picking up strays. Can’t seem to help myself.”

Silence stretched between them, the quiet only interrupted by the screeching of gulls flying overhead. Leif turned back to the sea and rolled his neck. “They serve breakfast an hour after sunrise, so in about twenty-”

“Thank you.” Lucia blurted. Cutting the masked man off as her mouth ran off without her brain.

“I’m not cooking breakfast, you’ll have to thank the cook.”

Lucia grit her teeth, acutely aware of her weakness as her anger grew. He was making fun of her. Joking at a time like this. She wanted nothing more than to grab his stupid mask and throw it off the ship. Didn’t he know how hard it was for her to say that? Didn’t he know what she had been through? Lucia opened her mouth, then closed it without speaking. He didn’t know. Of course he didn’t. She hadn’t told him. Why was this so hard? She hadn’t always been bad with people. Had an extended period of hardship and a year of trusting nobody but her little brother stripped her of everything she had known? Every lesson she had been taught ever since she was a girl?

“Do you think I’m a child?” She asked, flopping down to the deck in a huff.

“Are you not?”

“No! Well, yes. But not really. I’ve been through more than you could understand!”

The masked man finally turned around, shifting in his seated position to face her directly. “I know you have. I can tell. You and your brother remind me of the displaced families that sought shelter in Ahle-ho. And I know how difficult it was for them to get the help they needed.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Lucia blinked. That was, a surprisingly similar situation to what she and her brother were now in. But she couldn’t let him know that. Information was a weapon and perceived weakness a critical vulnerability. “You’re wrong. We’re nothing like that!”

“Hungry, homeless and sick? You could have fooled me.”

She scowled. He laughed. She scowled harder.

Leif stood, towering over her, the twin slits of golden light that gleamed from behind his mask boring down into her. But it wasn’t aggressive or domineering, his presence didn’t loom or threaten. And when he held out a hand to offer her up she only flinched a little bit.

“I’m helping you because I can. It’s true what I said earlier, I can’t seem to help myself. And no, you don’t owe me anything. I don’t need repayment or for you and your brother to feel indebted to me.”

Lucia hesitated, then took the gauntleted hand. It was made of some sort of strange white metal, almost ivory in colour but oddly wooden in texture. She looked away, not able to meet his eyes as she swallowed her pride. “We… we need help. I don’t think they’ll let us into the Academy.”

He looked her up and down, and though she couldn’t see his face Lucia knew he was judging her. “Yes, I can see that. I’ve never been to the Academy before, I assume it’s the same for you?” She nodded. He continued. “Well, according to those I’ve talked with. The main Island, Pellus has a small town where the docks are located. It’s for the temporary residents of the Academy, the family of students and the like. The town expands during the festival or event that is taking place, so there will be amenities and services that wouldn’t normally be available.”

“Like what?” She asked, suspicious.

“Like a bath.” Leif said bluntly. Lucia fought down a rising blush, channelling the embarrassment into stubborn anger, but he spoke over her before she could comment. “I’ll speak with some of the other passengers. See if there are any clothes that could fit you or your brother. Shoes might be too much of an ask but we’ll see.”

“You- you’d do that? For us?”

“It’s not a problem. You’re my responsibility until we arrive at the port. I’ll need to find information myself before I go off into the Academy proper, and I don’t mind helping find whoever it is you’re looking for. Then we can part ways. How does that sound?”

“Fine. That sounds fine. Good, actually. Really good.” Lucia said. Blurting the words out before the man had a chance to take them back.

“Wonderful. Now go get your brother, they serve food above deck.”

===

The first part of the Academy that came into sight was the sun reflecting off the rounded, metal peaks of grand spires whose size and scale slowly became apparent as the ship drew nearer over the course of an hour. The winds were against them, and sailors ran around the deck and climbed the rigging with the aid of enhanced attributes of skills to adjust the sails and alter the vessel’s angle of approach.

The convoy of military ships had departed, the officers in charge of the escort apparently satisfied with the merchant vessel’s proximity to the archipelago. Passengers crowded onto the upper decks, eager to get a view of their slowly nearing destination.

Lucia took all this in, then retreated back to the cabin Leif had all but abandoned to her and Royce. She waited outside the door, tapping her fingers on the hem of her newly acquired dress. She hadn’t stolen it, instead the masked healer had stayed true to his word and somehow procured it from one of the other passengers. Lucia assumed it was one of the families who were travelling with kids that she had seen on the upper decks during meal time, but had never interacted with.

“Royce, are you almost done?” She called over her shoulder, projecting her voice through the cabin’s door as she ran a hand through her newly brushed hair. It had taken the better part of a day for her and her brother to look halfway presentable.

“Yeah. I’m putting my socks on!” Came a muffled reply several seconds later.

Lucia sighed, but couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips. Leif’s attempt at finding clothing that wouldn’t get them thrown off the islands for looking like vagrants had been far more successful when it came to Roy. One of the families had a son of similar age and size to her half-brother, and had been more than willing to donate to the cause.

So while she had a poorly fitting dress that even after several hours of impromptu seamstressing felt uncomfortable to wear, Roy looked like the son of a merchant family. Albeit a very skinny and grimy son of a merchant family. She heard the stool be shuffled out of the way, then the door’s lock clicking.

“I’m done!” Roy said, beaming up at her. Lucia’s heart stopped, it was the first bright, genuine smile she had seen on his face in what felt like an eternity. “Look sis, look! I did the buckles myself!”

“Wow, that’s great. I thought I’d have to do them for you.”

“Nope! I figured them out all by myself.” He said proudly. Then he wrapped her in a hug, burying his face into her dress.

Footsteps echoed down the narrow corridor. Lucia twisted awkwardly, trying to get eyes on the newcomer while being held. The masked healer strode down the passage like he owned the place. The loose fabric that garbed him flowed in a way that almost looked enchanted. And maybe it was, high level healers were almost always incredibly rich.

“Leif, look! I did the buckles myself!” Roy said, grinning up at the man. It worried Lucia how quickly her brother had grown to trust the stranger, but she supposed having your life saved tended to build that kind of confidence quickly. For her part she just nodded, gently prying herself from her brother and standing up straight.

“Nice going. Does everything fit?” Leif asked.

“Yup!”

“Excellent.” The man said, turning to look Lucia in the eye. There was an intensity behind his every word, one that she couldn’t place a finger on. It was an invisible sense of authority, not unlike the man’s aura. But instead of the usual honesty, there was an undercurrent of something else.

Lucia blinked as two objects appeared in Leif’s hand. Then he tossed them towards her. Lucia flinched, instinctually expecting an attack of some kind. It was only when her eyes caught up with her brain did she try to grab them. She missed both, the objects tumbling through her fingers at her fumbled attempt at a catch, falling to the ground with a clatter.

“W-what? Are these made of wood?” She asked.

“They are.” Leif said, nodding in affirmation. “They’ll tide you over until you can find something more permanent.”

“I… um… Thank you, I guess.” Lucia mumbled. Looking at the sandals with a suspicious squint.

“Did you make them, mister?” Roy asked, his own expression that of inquisitive curiosity.

“It wasn’t too difficult. Though they’re by no means a masterwork of crafting. I doubt I have a future as a cobbler. I can’t work leather like I can wood.”

“You could be a carpenter!” The boy exclaimed, grabbing one of the sandals from his sister. “Wow, look how smooth you made them.”

“Magic makes things easy. Besides, I think my calling lies in wagon engineering.” Leif chuckled. “Now, come, we’re almost at port.”

===

The port for the Island of Pellus was nothing like Lucia had imagined. Instead of wooden jetties and walkways, the dock seemed to have been constructed entirely out of shaped stone. The seamless and smooth way the massive slabs of pale rock had been placed together was, to her inexperienced eye, a sure sign that magic had been used.

The town beyond the dock too seemed to have been created using the same technique. Buildings made of curved and flowing stone lined the waterfront, the subtle colouration of strata adding a decorative splash of colour to the otherwise uniform look of the structures.

Roy, Leif and herself were among the last to depart from the ship, stepping onto solid ground for the first time in days and following the crowd that was already mingling with uniformed teens and young adults. A dozen cheerful reunions took place all around them as the trio wove their way through the throng of excited people. Roy was openly admiring every sight, and nothing of Leif’s expression could be seen because of the mask, but the scene before them drilled a hole through her stomach, a feeling of cold emptiness spreading through her.

But Lucia and her brother weren’t here for a happy reunion. If anything, their time at the academy would end in tears and a mountain of regret. She silently followed Leif and Roy through the crowd, barely noticing how groups of people seemed to unconsciously step out of the way, or shuffle to the side to let them pass.

“Welcome! Welcome to Pellus!” Called a student standing off to the side, several of their peers in stylish grey uniforms repeating their declaration, waving paper fliers and smiling at the milling crowd. One of the students, a girl in her late teens with rosy cheeks noticed Lucia staring and beckoned her over.

“Do we…?” Lucia asked, nodding towards the students.

“As good a place to start as any.” Leif said, stepping forward, the crowd parting around him.