Departing from the Sophos estate, Art looked out the window, watching as his home disappeared among the trees.
It was finally here. The day he would start attending Edelweiss.
Art looked over at his butler who seemed to be focusing with his eyes closed.
Sensing Art’s gaze, Albert opened his eyes.
“Yes, Young Master Art?”
“Oh. It’s nothing. I was just wondering what you were doing.”
“Nothing much Young Master. Just making sure no beast delays us on our way to Blackbird.”
Blackbird
A large city managed by the Sophos family, and their current destination.
It was the largest city in the northern part of the country, and home to over three million people.
Every year, Edelweiss School of Magic sends their train to large cities to pick up new and old students alike. However, the train waits for no one. Miss it, and you’ll have to find your own way to Edelweiss.
So students would gather in Blackbird as much as a week in advance to make sure they didn’t miss it.
However, Art had the privilege of living nearby so he hadn’t left until now.
“Haaa… this old man must put in extra effort, because his master decided to sleep in.” Albert rubbed his shoulders, feigning exhaustion.
Art rolled his eyes. Al might be old, but he definitely wasn’t frail.
“It’s not my fault. I just got nervous since I was about to go to Edelweiss.” Art averted his gaze as he made excuses.
“So you decided to read a whole book before going to bed?”
“Yeah… it helps me relax. Then, since I had already started reading I decided I would.. just.. finish.. reading… the… book…” Art started mumbling as he realized his words weren’t getting through to his butler.
Albert sighed, he just hoped the boy wouldn’t continue his unreasonable behavior when he got to school.
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The ride continued in silence for a while.
Outside the coachman yawned and slumped in his seat as he took in the morning air.
The ride to Blackbird was fairly long, however it soon came to an end.
The coachman, finally seeing a glimpse of Blackbird through a parting in the trees, sat up in his seat. He gave a quick tug on the reins, signaling his horses to go faster.
Soon the carriage passed through the gates of Blackbird
Now in Blackbird, Albert spoke to Art.
“Put this on.” Touching a ring on his finger, Albert pulled out a hat from thin air.
A storage device. It used space magic to allow the wearer to store items. However, they were very expensive. Even the cheapest storage devices would be impossible to buy for most people.
Putting the hat on Art’s head, Albert gave him a bit of advice.
“Cover your hair until you get to Edelweiss. It’ll save you some trouble.”
Art wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about but he decided to listen to Al’s advice.
“Thanks Al” Art said while adjusting the cap to cover his hair as much as possible.
Art looked out the window to see the streets of Blackbird teeming with people.
Blackbird was always an active city, but with multiple high-profile families coming to Blackbird to send their kids off to Edelweiss, it was an opportunity. By catching some rich nobles off guard, merchants could make some huge profit.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
However, such an opportunity didn’t come for many.
With most deciding to give up, the people of Blackbird decided to have some fun instead. So every year, Blackbird would hold a festival for an event that they really had nothing to do with.
A few minutes later the carriage arrived at the train station and parked in a line behind other, much more decorated carriages.
Once the carriage came to a halt. Albert opened the door and stepped out.
Turning back to the carriage, Albert stuck out his hand to help Art out of the carriage.
Taking a few cautious steps, Art took a deep breath and grabbed Albert’s hand. With Albert’s help Art jumped off the carriage.
“Let’s go, Young Master.” Albert said as he prompted Art to follow him.
Blackbird was one of only four cities in the country that Edelweiss would send their train to. Around 300 students would come to Blackbird to get picked up by the train, and with some of their families and servants also here to send them off the train terminal was crowded.
Arriving in the terminal, they weaved through the crowd.
As they made their way through the terminal, Art grabbed onto the hem of Albert’s coat.
Noticing the boy’s action, Albert let out a sigh, but didn’t acknowledge it any further.
After walking a bit further, Albert finally found what he was looking for.
Albert walked towards an attendant with Art in tow.
The attendant was a middle-aged man, but he was quite lively. To other attendants today was a headache, but to him, it was one of his favorite days. Watching the children filled with anticipation to board the train and head off to Edelweiss reminded him of his youth.
Noticing the pair approaching him, he addressed the kid.
“Hey kiddo! Is this your first time?”
Art gave a small nod, not meeting his eyes.
Coming to his aid, Albert asked the attendant a question.
“Where’s boarding for new students?”
“Ahh… it's over there.” The attendant was slightly disappointed the kid didn’t match his enthusiasm, but did his job anyway.
He pointed to the front of the train.
“All new students get sent to the first few cars. It makes the process much easier.”
Thanking the attendant, they walked towards the front of the train.
Noticing a line, they took their place at the end and waited for Art’s turn to board.
“Art. There’s a message your father wanted me to read to you.”
Hearing Albert’s words, Art’s ears perked up a little.
“‘Art my son, never feel pressured that you have to live up to some sort of expectation that others put on you. The only thing we want from you is that you do what you want to do, and don’t let anything stop you. And if you ever start to feel overwhelmed and don’t know what to do, just take a break and relax.
Love,
Your Handsome Father
P.S.
Your mother said “I love you son”’
And that’s all” Albert concluded reading Ayden’s letter.
As Albert read the letter, Art felt a slight weight come off of his shoulders.
Albert smiled as it seemed his father’s words helped Art relax a little.
Soon, it was Art’s turn to board the train.
Before boarding the train the conductor stopped him.
“Ticket please.” The conductor stuck out his hand.
Albert reached into his coat and pulled out a letter.
The ticket to board the train was his acceptance letter into Edelweiss.
After inspecting the ticket, the conductor handed it to Art who put it into his bag.
“Welcome aboard the Gungnir, right this way.” The conductor made way for Art to board the train.
Art looked back at Albert, knowing that he would be on his own now.
Art gave him a hug.
“I’ll make sure to write back to you guys, so don’t miss me too much…” Art hugged him tightly as if he didn’t want him to leave. It was if it finally dawned on him that he wouldn’t see his family for a long while.
Albert pat the boy on the back.
Art finally let go and made his way to the train.
Albert smiled as he watched the boy leave for the first time on his own.
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Stepping onto the train Art was greeted by an attendant who handed him a piece of paper.
The paper read, [Car 2 - Room 5].
Looking at the room numbers in this car, he guessed he would have to make his way to the second car.
As he walked he saw a lot of rooms filled with kids his age. All of them seemed to be chatting, trying their best to get to know each other.
Art made his way out of the first car and into the second.
“Let’s see… Room 5. Room 5. There it is.”
Art found his room towards the back of the second car.
Art took a deep breath and opened the door. However, it seemed like he was the first one here.
Stepping into the compartment, Art took off his bag and placed it into the overhead storage. Although he was a bit too short he managed to reach by stepping onto the seats.
Art sat down and got comfortable as he waited for more people to arrive.
Looking out the window it seemed that there weren't many people left in the terminal. It wouldn’t be long before the train started moving.