Lira moved to stand up to leave but Leon put an arm across her lap, preventing her from standing.  She looked over at him with a curious look in her eyes.

“So, I have a few questions if you don't mind.”  Lira looked over at him, she was happy he could now for the most part converse with other people, she was however slightly upset that she could no longer keep him to herself, she had liked being the only one he had ever conversed with, almost like no one else mattered to him.

“Go ahead,”  the headmistress said, once again readjusting her glasses.

“I am sure you are aware how big of an obvious trap this is correct?”  he asked, his lips pulling in a smile, which was mirrored by the woman that was sitting across the desk from him.

“I am well aware of this, correct.”  she nodded. “It would seem that you have some very powerful people who don't much like you.”

“Care to elaborate on that?”

“I would if I could, let us just say that there are some old, and some new,”  she leaned forward and narrowed her eyes.  “Some very, very new.”  she whispered.

There was silence in the room for a long while.

“I see, would you also give me some more information about this  Lyruc Orb.”

“It is an amplification orb created in the second era, by lord emperor Gladius himself.”  she pulled open a book that had been resting on her desk, rotating it she faced it towards them, inside was a picture of a gold and white orb covered in glowing golden runes. “It is said that it was with these devices he was able to rise above all others, they hold the essence of a powerful being, each one boosting the user’s ability by sometime as much as 400 times over in a specific school of magic.”

“As if they would just send a fledgling mage and her familiar to retrieve something that powerful.”

“Indeed,”  she nodded.

“If we do this what is in it for us?” he asked.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“The world, but I doubt you would be able to give it to me.”

“No, not something so big, but I might be able to help with something.”  she looked over at Lira. “Your father and stepmother are having a child are they not?”  she asked.

“They are,”  Lira hung her head, she had been avoiding thinking about it, but it still had a way of worming its way into her thoughts.

“Which means you have lost your right to the inheritance, as well as a place to go after graduation.”  Lira nodded weakly.  “Well, there is an old keep that used to be part of the Hurthan Kingdom, but after the creation of this neutral territory it was situated within the schools borders.” she looked at Lira and smiled. “You do this for us, and the keep is yours.”

“Ours?”

“Indeed, since the keep is situated on our land you would undoubtedly be linked to the school, which would mean you would be unaffiliated with any other countries.”

“Wouldn't that just make us a larger target?”  Leon asked, his voice a soft growl.

“Not at all, as attacking you would be the same as attacking us.”  she said, “Independant is indeed independent.”

“Except from the school.”

She smiled, “You have a good head about that shoulders there Leon, yes, you would not be independent of the school, in fact I don't think you will ever be independent, the world just does not work that way.” she leaned back in her chair and pulled off her glasses, carefully folding them and placing them on the desk. “So, do you agree, even knowing this is most likely a trap?”

“I have one last question before I answer,”  Leon said, She nodded her head. “If i were to kill people...”

“Self defence, it would be perfectly legal, would not make you any friends, but then again I don't think you are the type that cares.”

He nodded to himself, before looking over at Lira with a question in his eyes.  She nodded her head yes, and he looked back to the headmistress and answered her question. “We accept.”

As they walked out of the room Leon noticed a strange feeling, like he was being watched, stopping his movement he looked around, but finding nothing he continued with Lira down the hallway.

A few minutes after they left a shadow pulled itself from the wall and walked through the open office door of the headmistress, shutting the door behind it.

“Well? Was that sufficient?”  the headmistress asked, not looking up from her stack of papers she was sorting through .

“You really like to skirt the edge of breaking orders don't you.”  the shadow asked, her eyes snapped up and locked on the figures face.

“Let us get one thing straight, i do not work for you or your order, I am merely paying back my debt, so do not think you can order me.”  she snarled.

“Ah, yes, always the rebel, tell me do you see yourself in her?”  the headmistress growled low in her throat.”The bastard child of nobility, no one to take you in, no place to go?” her grip tightened on the book.  “Is it like looking into the mirror?”  with a mighty yell she threw the book, it arced through the air and passed through the shadowy man like he was nothing but thin air.  She stood there breathing heavy. “Never forget it was us that gave you all of this,”  he gestured to the room around her. “So, yes I can order you, because we own you, everything you are is because of us, both of us know this...”

Without another word he disappeared, leaving the headmistress standing there drawing in breath like she had run a marathon. She stood there for a full minute before slumping into her chair.

Soon tears started leaking out of her eyes, she didn't care, no one was here, no one cared.  She just lay there and dissolved into a pool of sadness on the desk.