Elianna sat properly in her seat, just as she had been taught. However, it was no easy task for her since she hated sitting still. She clasped her hands tightly on the table, her eyes fixed on Justine, who sat across from her on the other side of the table. The continuous clicking from the mounted clock in the library was the only sound in the room, and it was beginning to drive Elianna insane.

Elianna looked at the clock, seeing it was currently three o'clock in the afternoon. She was eager, as that meant two things. The first was that her lessons were done soon, and the second was that Nicholas' training lessons would also be finished shortly. Before, Elianna hated the days when she would be at home studying with Justine since she loved being at the garrison and training with her father. Now, she hated them even more ever since she met Nicholas since she didn't get to spend as much time with him on these days.

Elianna sat there, pondering how Nicholas was doing. Ever since they went to the cathedral together, they had been spending almost every day together, either at Elianna's house or at the garrison. Sure, she had gone to his aunt and uncle's mansion a few times, the first time being on Nicholas' eleventh birthday. She was initially surprised by how close they lived, and her mother informed her it was about a ten-minute carriage ride.

Elianna smiled slightly, remembering Nicholas' birthday party. He had a small get-together with just his aunt, uncle, cousin, and Elianna and her parents. Their mansion was just as extravagant as her family's, and Nicholas gave her a tour, just like she did for him. And like her family's mansion, they had a gaming room, too. Just like at Elianna's party, she and Nicholas had a little competition, this time playing table tennis. However, Elianna was sure Nicholas was cheating since he had won three out of four times.

"Elianna."

Elianna flinched a little in surprise and realized she had been lost in thought. She pried her eyes away from the clock and looked at Justine. "Yes, Teacher?"

Justine smiled and looked up from the booklet she was writing in, meeting Elianna's gaze. "Staring at the clock will not make it go faster."

Elianna smiled a little humorously and nodded, "Sorry, Teacher."

Justine chuckled and looked back at her booklet, "Don't worry, we are on the last lesson for the day." Justine scribbled one more thing before she looked up at Elianna, "Geography."

Elianna nodded, her eyes flicking to the book, then back to Justine, "Is it another test?"

"Sort of," Justine replied and propped the booklet up so the book covers were facing Elianna, and only Justine could read its contents. "Here is what we are going to do. I'm going to give you a question or a prompt, and you are verbally going to answer."

Elianna's brows furrowed slightly, "That's it? I'm not writing anything?"

Justine shook her head, "Nope." She tapped the booklet in front of her. "I have the answers right here. So, if you get something wrong, we will review it. Ready?"

Elianna felt confident in her geography skills and gave Justine a nod, "I'm ready."

"Good," Justine began and looked at her booklet. "What is the name of the continent we live on?"

"Zaraemar."

Justine nodded, "Good. Now, how many kingdoms reside on the continent of Zaraemar?"

"Four."

"What is the name of the kingdom to the northwest?"

"The human kingdom of Gavaria."

Justine pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes for a moment. "Hmmm. I'll give it to you, but it's technically just called the Kingdom of Gavaria."

Elianna looked confused, "But I thought it was the home of the humans?"

Justine looked up from her booklet, meeting Elianna's eyes, and smiled, "While a human king rules the kingdom, and the majority of the population is human, elves and dwarves can live there as well if they wish."

Elianna looked curiously at Justine, tilting her head slightly to the right, "Is it the same with the other kingdoms?"

Justine nodded, "It is. There was a time when all the kingdom's borders were closed, and each race was segregated into its own kingdoms. However, that all changed when the kingdoms came together and formed the Tri-Union Alliance. The kingdoms opened their borders to the other races, but if you wanted to move, you needed to swear loyalty to your new kingdom. Tri-Union City was also built as a symbol of the new peace."

Elianna's eyes fell to the table, contemplating, before she nodded, "I understand."

"Good," Justine said and looked at the booklet again. "Then let's continue. How many cities are in Gavaira, what are their names, and which one is the capital?"

"There are three cities in Gavaria," Elianna began. "There is Ostria, Cildious, and Zasaly. Zasaly is the capital."

"Very good," Justine commended and continued. "What is the kingdom to the northeast? How many cities are in the kingdom, and what is the kingdom's capital?"

"The kingdom to the northeast is Thearyah. There are three cities in the kingdom: Anthyr, Valion, and the capital of Leulume."

"Good," Justine said. "Same questions, but for the kingdom in the southeast."

"That would be the kingdom of Duridie. Three cities are in the kingdom: Darulgar, Mogarum, and the capital of Kholgalir."

Justine nodded, "Now, there are also outposts in the continent of Zaraemar. The outposts are under the jurisdiction of Tri-Union City and have several purposes, which include trading and lodging for adventurers. How many outposts are there? And, where are they?"

"There are five outposts. Arynard and Denxyr are in neutral territory. Olkar is in Duride. Khison is in Ehomire forest, near the kingdom of Thearyah. And, Zaltham is in Gavaria."

Justine smiled proudly and looked at her student, "Very good, Elianna. You didn't miss a single question."

Elianna smiled happily; however, her smile slowly faded, and she looked at Justine curiously, "But, Teacher. You didn't ask me about the fourth kingdom."

Justine's smile faded, and she looked a little uncomfortable, "That's because we don't discuss the orc kingdom."

Elianna looked confused, "I thought we didn't describe the kingdoms by their races."

Justine cleared her throat, uncomfortably adjusting in her seat. She closed the booklet, placing it on the table before her. Justine eyed the table for a moment, contemplating, before looking up, meeting Elianna's gaze. Justine saw the confusion and curiosity in her student's eyes and sighed.

"The orc kingdom of Calignar is different," Justine began, and Elianna looked at her intently. "You went to the cathedral recently. Do you remember how you told me about the paintings you saw and the infernal race?"

Elianna nodded, "Yes."

"Well, the orcs were created by the infernal race," Justina continued, and Elianna looked a little confused. "During the holy war, the infernal race did terrible things, my dear. One of the things they did was... tests, so to speak, on the mortal races. Through these tests, they turned the humans, elves, and dwarves alike into different creatures known as the orcs. The orcs are vicious beings, and they're all that's now left of the infernal race."

Elianna looked down, processing what Justine told her, before she looked at Justine curiously, "So, the orcs are bad?"

Justine's jaw tightened, and she nodded, "Very bad. The three kingdoms came together, deciding they couldn't just ki-..." Justine cleared her throat, "They couldn't just get rid of the orcs. So, they contained them into their own lands, separating their kingdom from the rest of the continent by a great wall. The three kingdoms work together to secure the orc border. The kingdom of Thearyah covers the sea, while the kingdoms of Gavaria and Duridie cover the wall."

Elianna sat there, contemplating this information, before looking at Justine inquisitively again, "But, I remember my parents talking about how orcs have been spotted around the continent. How do they get out of their kingdom them?"

Justine's eyes fell on the table, not knowing how to answer, as she didn't know. The room fell silent, and Justine looked up, seeing Elianna's eyes were still on her. Justine curiously looked toward the clock and smiled with relief, "Oh, look at the time."

Elianna followed Justine's gaze, and her eyes widened with glee, seeing it was now three-thirty. She looked back at Justine, "So, are we done for the day?"

Justine smiled and nodded. She got up from her seat and began to gather her items. "We are. You did very well today, Elianna." Justine grabbed a piece of paper and started writing on it, "I'll leave your parents a good review."

Elianna smiled happily, "Thank you, Teacher!"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Elianna whirled around and ran out of the library, hearing Justine chuckle behind her. She ran straight for the front doors and stopped beside them, staring out the window. She stared at the clear blue sky, searching for any movement.

"I'm sure he will be here soon."

Elianna looked over her shoulder and saw Justine approaching the doors with her bag in her hands. Elianna turned toward her and smiled, "I hope so. Have a safe trip home, Teacher."

Justine returned her smile, "Thank you." Justine approached and opened the door, "I'll see you next time."

Elianna gave her teacher one last wave as she closed the door. Looking back out the window, Elianna watched Justine as she approached and got into her carriage in the driveway. A moment later, the carriage driver whipped the reins, and the carriage began to leave. Elianna watched the carriage leave the Vail driveway, and eventually, it left the cul-de-sac.

With the cul-de-sac now empty, Elianna looked back toward the blue sky, waiting with anticipation. The seconds she stood there began to feel like minutes, and she was begging to become restless. That was until her eyes noticed a flicker of movement, and her gaze darted to a small object in the sky, flying toward the mansion. Elianna focused on the object, watching as it flew closer. Slowly, Elianna's lips curved into a gleeful smile, watching as the object became bigger, yielding it to be a beautiful hawk with brown feathers on its body and silver feathers on its head and wings.

Elianna opened the door and stepped outside the mansion, watching the hawk as it flew down and landed on the ground before her. There was a flash of green light, and Elianna smiled wide at the person who now stood in the hawk's place.

"Nick!" Elianna chirped and lunged forward.

Nicholas stiffened a little in surprise as Elianna took him into a hug. But he soon smiled and relaxed, returning the hug. "Sorry if I'm a little late. Our training session went longer today."

"That's okay," Elianna said, a blissful wave washing over her as she tightened the hug. "I'm glad you're here."

They held the hug briefly before breaking it, and Nicholas curiously asked, "How did your studying go?"

Elianna grumbled and slumped, "Boring as usual." She smiled and looked at Nicholas excitedly, "What about you? How was training? Did you learn anything new?"

Nicholas smiled proudly and held his head high, "Yep. It's why training went on longer today." He gestured to himself, "I managed to reach the second circle today."

Elianna's eyes widened in surprise before she pushed mana into her eyes and looked at Nicholas' core, seeing two shimmering circles around his heart. Elianna smiled happily at Nicholas, "Congrats! Having two circles is so cool!"

Nicholas jestfully chuckled, "Says the person with three stars."

Elianna smiled modestly and scratched the back of her head. She achieved her third star last week, and her parents and those close to her congratulated her. However, her father had also told her not to be surprised if her core began progressing slower. Her father informed her that reaching the third star could be relatively fast if you continuously trained, as you are only strengthening two stars. Once you reach your third, your progress will slow as you have more stars to train. Her father said that the more stars you had, the longer it would take to reach the next level.

"Lady Elianna, Lord Nicholas."

Elianna and Nicholas looked toward the mansion, seeing Augustus approaching the entrance. Elianna smiled, "Hello, Augustus."

Augustus stopped and stood in the mansion's doorway, "Please come inside the mansion so I may lock the doors."

Elianna and Nicholas nodded and walked into the mansion. Augustus closed and locked the doors behind them before turning to look at the both of them.

"Good to see you, Lord Nicholas," Augustus greeted with a proper bow. "How're you today."

"I'm good, thank you," Nicholas responded with a smile.

"Augustus, guess what!" Elianna said excitedly, and Augustus looked at her curiously. "Nick reached the second circle today!"

Augustus raised his brows before looking at Nicholas. "Congratulations, Lord Nicholas."

Nicholas smiled, "Thank you! My aunt was introducing me to elemental magic today!"

"Really?" Elianna asked, both surprised and eagerly. "Want to go to the gym, and you can show me what you learned?"

Nicholas smiled and nodded, "Sure!"

Elianna looked at Augustus, "Bye, Augustus!"

Augustus chuckled as he watched Elianna and Nicholas run off, "Goodbye, and have fun."

Nicholas and Elianna ran through the mansion before they arrived and entered the gym.

"So, did you learn a lot?" Elianna asked as they approached the target dummies.

Nicholas shrugged, "Not much—only the basics. I only learned four spells today. And," He raised his hand, and a brown leather-bound book appeared in his hand in a flash of green light, "there is a lot more to learn."

"What is that?" Elianna asked, tilting her head slightly to the right.

Nicholas smiled, "This is my grimoire. It's a spell book my aunt gave me today." Nicholas held the book out to her, "Wanna look?"

Elianna smiled and nodded as she took the book. She opened the grimoire and was amazed by the intricate text. The top of each page had the name of the spell, while the rest of the page explained how to cast the spell. At the corner of each page was a number indicating each spell's level.

"My aunt said this is a generic grimoire," Nicholas said, watching Elianna flip through the pages. "It has all the basic spells for people to learn."

Elianna nodded and began to flip through the book quickly. Once she got near the end of the book, her brows furrowed in confusion, seeing the pages were blank.

"Those are pages where I can write my own spells," Nicholas explained.

Elianna looked at him, confused, "Your own spells?"

Nicholas nodded, "As my aunt explained, magic is based on willpower and intent. Through our intent, we can create our own spells, which is why no grimoire is the same."

"That's so cool!" Elianna expressed. She smiled and handed Nicholas his grimoire back, "So, what spells did you learn today?"

Nicholas stored his grimoire in his ring and took out his wand. He smiled excitedly, "Let me show you."

Elianna smiled, her cheeks turning a little red, as she watched Nicholas point his wand at the training dummy with a wide smile on his face. She always loved seeing how happy he was about magic and felt it was something they both shared a love for.

"This spell is called wind pellet," Nicholas said.

Elianna's eyes widened in awe as she watched wind magic swirl in front of Nicholas' wand before he conjured a ball of wind the size of a chicken's egg. Nicholas flicked his wrist, shooting the spell forward. The spell struck the target, creating a small hole in its chest.

"Woah!" Elianna expressed. "That was cool!"

Nicholas smiled, "Thanks! Now, this one is called water bolt."

Holding out his wand, water magic began to swirl as he conjured a ball of water the size of a chicken's egg. Nicholas flicked his wrist, and the spell flew forward, again striking the target, creating another small hole.

Elianna smiled, seeing Nicholas use water magic, "I guess we are now going to have to compete on who the better water user is."

Nicholas looked at her and smirked, "Well, if it's anything like how we play games, we know I'll win."

Elianna narrowed her eyes competitively on Nicholas, "Is that a challenge, my dear Nick?"

Nicholas simply shrugged, "I don't know. Is it?"

Elianna grumbled, and Nicholas chuckled, knowing she was competitive. He always thought it was humourous to rile her up this way, and he loved their little competitions.

"Would you like to see the other two?" Nicholas eagerly asked.

Elianna pouted, "Yes. But we will settle this challenge later with foosball."

Nicholas laughed and nodded, "You sure do like to lose."

Elianna rolled her eyes before watching Nicholas point his wand at the dummy.

Nicholas concentrated, projecting his mana into the atmosphere. He wrapped his mana around the ambient water and wind mana and gathered them together.

Elianna's eyes widened in wonder as she watched ice magic begin to swirl in front of Nicholas' wand before he conjured an icicle the size of a knife. Nicholas flicked his wrist, and the icicle flew forward, striking the dummy in its chest.

Nicholas smiled, "That spell was called icicle."

"Y-" Elianna stuttered and looked at Nicholas wide-eyed in shock. "You can use ice magic?"

Nicholas looked at Elianna and nodded, "Yep. It takes fusion magic."

Elianna's eyes flicked to the floor, remembering her father had mentioned that before, "Fusion magic..."

"Yep," Nicholas said, and Elianna curiously looked back at him. "It's where I combine water and wind mana to make ice mana. I take half the mana from the wind pellet spell, and half the mana from the water bolt spell to make the icicle spell."

Elianna tilted her head slightly to the right, "So that's what fusion magic is? A combination of two elements?"

"That's precisely what it is," A voice said.

Elianna and Nicholas looked toward the entrance, seeing Katarina approaching them with a warm smile.

Elianna smiled happily at her mother, "Hey, Mom."

Nicholas waved, "Hello, Mrs. Vail."

"Hello, you two," Katarina greeted warmly. She looked at Nicholas with praise, "Nicholas, I see you have reached your second star; congrats!"

Nicholas smiled gleefully, "Thank you. I was showing what I learned to Lia."

Katarina nodded, "I saw. Well, I at least saw you cast the icicle spell."

"That was the third spell I learned," Nicholas said, looking toward the icicle sticking out of the dummy.

Elianna looked at Nicholas curiously, "You learned four, right? What was the fourth?"

"It's a healing spell," Nicholas said, looking back at her.

Nicholas pointed his wand to the ground and narrowed his eyes in concentration. Taking a breath, he pushed his mana out into the atmosphere, wrapping it around the ambient emerald nature mana. He mentally grumbled as he felt the resistance of the nature mana, as it took more strength to control the nature mana than elemental mana.

Elianna watched Nicholas eagerly with a smile, excited to see his final spell. The emerald light of nature magic began to flicker at the tip of Nicholas' wand, and Elianna noticed the spell wasn't forming as fast as the others. A moment later, a ray of emerald light shot out from his wand, illuminating the floor.

"Woah," Elianna expressed, staring at the beam with a gleam in her eyes. "That's so pretty."

Nicholas held the spell for a few seconds before canceling it and taking a deep breath as he released the mental and physical tension from holding the spell. He looked at Elianna and smiled, "That spell is called healing hands. It's a basic healing spell."

"Yes," Katarina began and looked at Nicholas seriously. "But I'm sure Freya told you that the healing spell you just used works over time and isn't instant. Some injuries require more healing than others. So you must be careful with how much magic you use."

Nicholas nodded, "Yeah, she told me. She said I could go into mana exhaustion if I use too much magic."

"Mana exhaustion?" Elianna curiously asked.

Katarina looked at her daughter, "It's where if you overwork your body and use all of your mana, you can pass out from being tired."

Elianna flinched, "That doesn't sound good."

Katarina chuckled, "No, it does not." She looked at Nicholas and smiled, "So, Nicholas, will you be staying for dinner?"

Nicholas returned her smile and shrugged, "If that's okay." He raised his right arm, revealing the brown bracelet around his wrist. "My aunt knows I'm here and hasn't alerted me yet."

Elianna looked at the bracelet, recognizing it from when Nicholas got it on his eleventh birthday. His aunt gave it to him and said it was imbued with a tracking enchantment. This way, Nicholas' aunt could keep tabs on him with the bracelets each of them wore and know if he was okay. Plus, if either of them needed to get the other's attention, then they need only grab their bracelet and think of that person, and the bracelet would grow warm. It was the reason Nicholas' aunt felt comfortable with Nicholas traveling alone as a falcon; she could always know if he was okay and where he was.

Katarina smiled, "Sounds good. I'll let the staff know to make you a plate."

"Thank you."

"Of course," Katarina said warmly and began to walk toward the exit. "Have fun, you two!" Katarina said as she walked out of the room.

With Katarina gone, Nicholas looked at Elianna, "So, what do you want to do now?"

Elianna smirked at Nicholas, "We have a challenge to settle, remember?"

Nicholas looked confused before his brows raised, and he smiled, "Ah, yes, you wanted to lose again in foosball."

Elianna's eyes narrowed, and she pouted, "We'll see who loses."

Nicholas chuckled and stored his wand away, gesturing to the exit, "After you."

Elianna smiled, "Okay." She smiled as she turned toward Nicholas and began to walk backward. "But our first game starts now!" Elianna turned and ran toward the exit, "The last one to the game room loses!"

Nicholas went wide-eyed before he smiled blissfully and chased after her, "That's not fair!"

Elianna giggled with glee as Nicholas chased her, and their hearts were filled with happiness as they went to play together.