image [https://i.imgur.com/yImBVHd.png]

The remainder of the mock battles continued on as Carmen wandered to the washroom on the outer edge of the building. When she rounded the corner, Carmen was startled to see Varric leaning up against the wall. He crossed his arms as he looked over with a smirk.

“Sick fight kid, you did good.” He said with a fairly proud tone.

“Thanks, but uhh, when did you get here? I didn’t know you were going to watch me.” Carmen replied, looking around to make sure no one else saw him here.

“Not too long ago, but that’s not important. I came here to talk to you about something.”

Varric stopped leaning on the wall and faced her directly. As their eyes met, he cocked his head to the side.

“The hell happened to your eyes? This some kind of weird trend you kids getting into?” He wondered, finding the piercing silver color to be a bit unsettling.

“I don’t know, but it’s been happening a lot recently. I think something’s wrong with me.”

Carmen sighed as she rubbed her eyes, still not understanding what was going on with her. Before Varric could reply, Carmen cut straight to the chase.

“Anyways, what did you want to talk to me about?” She continued, now noticing the burlap travel bag sitting next to him.

“I’m gonna start traveling again. Ever since I started training you, I’ve come to a lot of realizations about my choices and also myself in general. I really need to stop running and face my life head on again. No one is gonna do it for me and over time, you’ve shown me that.” Varric replied, his typically hard expression growing softer with each word spoken.

“So, I’ve decided to get back into mercenary work. I need to restore my name.”

“That’s good to hear! But uh, does that mean you aren’t going to train me anymore?” Carmen questioned, feeling a little sad about the idea of no longer working with him.

“Nope. I think you’ve got it from here. After watching your fight just now, it’s very clear that you don’t need my teachings anymore. As long as you keep building upon the foundations I’ve shown you, you’ll be fine.” Varric replied as he started to remove a ring off of his pinky finger.

“Give me your hand.”

Carmen was surprised by the request, but slowly raised her hand towards him. He slid a silver and dark blue colored ring onto her pinky finger.

“Here. This is a messenger ring imbued with my Core Energy. If you ever need to contact me, that ring will link our thoughts. Don’t lose this and don’t ever take it off, I paid a fortune for it a few years back.” Varric said, rotating the ring so it sat perfectly on her finger.

Carmen’s eyes went wide with wonder as she admired the precious new trinket around her pinky.

“Oh wow, thanks Varric! But, why give me something so expensive?” She curiously wondered.

“Just think of it as a present for graduating from my rigorous training regiment.”

The moment Varric stopped speaking, Carmen leapt towards him and wrapped her arms tightly around him. She gave Varric the biggest, warmest hug he’d had in years. Taken aback by the sign of affection, Varric attempted to force Carmen off of him, however he paused as she looked up with a tearful smile.

“Thanks so much for everything, Varric! I was at such a low point in my life and you went out of your way to get me back on the right path. When no one here believed in me, you still helped me get better. You’ve no idea how grateful I am and how much you mean to me!” She said through her tears.

Varric sighed heavily as he proceeded to raise his hand, placing it on top of her head and petting Carmen gently. She was surprised by his actions, shocked to see him show her a genuine smile for the first time ever.

“Geez kid, even after all this time you’re still a crybaby.” He softly said with a chuckle, showing Carmen a rare side of him.

Carmen let go of him and laughed, apologizing for the wholesome theatrics. Varric leaned over and picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

“Alright kid, I’m off. Keep up the training and remember what I taught you. I don’t want to see you regress because you got a big head and started slacking off. Don’t disappoint me.” Varric said with a stern voice, quickly shifting back to his usual annoyed mannerisms.

“Of course, I won’t let you down.”

She respectfully bowed her head. Varric started to turn around, but stopped as a thought came to his mind.

“Oh, and be careful whenever you go down below again. Trust no one and don’t get caught up in that woman’s promises. Despite what she says, she won’t have your best interests in mind, never forget that…”

Varric’s face was incredibly serious as he looked over his shoulder, locking eyes to make sure she understood him loud and clear. Carmen simply nodded and reassured him that she would be careful. They said their goodbyes and Varric began to walk away, raising his hand and slightly waving it as he got further away.

Once he was no longer in sight, Carmen rushed to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were still gray as she pulled and adjusted her eyelids, trying anything and everything to get them to turn back to normal.

“What the hell is going on with me?” She muttered softly, now noticing that her teeth were slightly sharper than usual as well.

Carmen sighed and exited the bathroom, quickly making her way back to the dorms to find something to hide her new features.

image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]

The following day came and Carmen was exiting the main building after dropping off some papers. As she went down the wide staircase, Carmen noticed Caleb standing at the bottom waiting for her. A few meters behind him were a couple carriages donning the Melspire crest and the Ravenfell family emblem. His attendants were loading up the last bit of his luggage when Carmen got to the final step.

“Are you about to head out?” Carmen asked with a smile.

“Yeah, but uhh, why’re you wearing sunglasses?” He wondered, looking up at the darker than usual clouds. It was clearly about to rain at some point.

“Oh, no real reason. I just thought they were stylish.” Carmen replied with a nervous laugh.

Caleb’s eyebrows raised, but eventually he shrugged off her response and didn’t question any further.

“Hey, were you able to talk to your father?”

“Yeah, but uh… I don’t think there’s anything he can do. Unfortunately, we just have to take this one on the chin and move on.” Caleb replied, letting out a heavy sigh as he shrugged his shoulders.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“What do you mean there’s nothing he can do? People died, Caleb! We can’t just let this school get away with-”

“Carmen! Trust me, I know. I completely agree with you, but there is something else going on that is way beyond our current understanding. I’m sorry, but we’re not equipped to deal with this right now…” Caleb replied, his voice growing more shaky.

Carmen was taken aback by his response, but deep down she knew he was right. Before she could give a reply, a well dressed butler interjected, bowing his head to them both as he stood next to the carriage.

“Master Caleb, it’s time for us to depart.” He said.

“Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll message you as often as I can and I might even try to visit over the summer, it just depends on how much free time I get.” Caleb said with a charming smile.

Carmen nodded and leaned into his face, kissing him deeply. Multiple male students nearby began to cheer on Caleb, losing their minds over the intense public display of affection. The kiss continued and nothing else mattered to the two at that current time. Their faces eventually separated and after giving each other one more hug, they said their goodbyes. Caleb hopped into his carriage and waved as they proceeded through a large portal.

image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]

Within the girls dormitory, Elise was packing up her belongings and getting ready to go back to her Grandmother’s house in Olunas city. Surprisingly, Sebastian was there helping her move bags around. As he picked up a small leather sack from the ground, a pair of underwear with rabbits on it fell out.

He picked it up and chuckled, finding it to be quite adorable. Elise turned around and saw the garments in his hands. Her face turned beet red as she charged towards him with great speed. She tried to snatch them out of his hand, but he held it up and kept them just out of reach.

“Give them back!” She yelled in embarrassment, hitting him in the chest.

“But they’re so cute!” He playfully replied with a laugh.

Elise leapt up and forcefully grabbed them, but in the process she lost her footing. She fell forward and knocked over Sebastian, dropping the garments as well. The two crashed to the floor and Elise found herself on top of him while he was on his back.

Sebastian’s hands gripped her sides tightly so she wouldn’t fall any further. The position was incredibly suggestive as they silently stared at each other, blushing. Once he realized where his hands were, he quickly let go.

“Ah! Sorry, didn’t mean to do that!” He said with a flustered cadence.

“Uh, yeah, it’s fine..” Elise replied, still feeling the warmth of his hands on her sides.

“Sooo, uhh… Are you going to get off of me?”

Sebastian wondered why she was still straddling him, feeling a bit awkward at that moment. Elise looked down and quickly hopped off of him, pushing her skirt back down as her face turned redder than the sun.

Sebastian got to his feet and helped her stand, not commenting any further on what just happened. They quietly went back to packing her things as their minds raced. However, after a few brief moments, Carmen walked into the room.

“Hey Elise, I’m about to leav-.”

Carmen immediately sensed that something was off. Her confused gaze hopped back and forth between Elise and Sebastian.

“Are you guys alright?” She asked, wondering why there was so much awkward tension between them.

“Ah yeah, totally fine! Hey Elise, I’ve got to go take care of some stuff. I’ll catch up with you later.” Sebastian said as he put a bag down and rushed out of the room, leaving Carmen and Elise alone.

Carmen looked towards the door with a furrowed brow, but before she could ask any questions, Elise quickly chimed in.

“You said you were about to leave?” She swiftly asked, trying to change the subject and divert Carmen’s attention.

“Uhh yeah. I just wanted to say my goodbyes before I go back home. This year was so much fun with you and I’m so glad we got to be roommates!”

“Honestly, it’s the same for me. I didn’t have many friends before coming here and I would’ve been content with just being on my own, but you really opened my eyes and helped me trust people again. I can’t thank you enough for everything, Carmen.” Elise said with a few tears dripping down her face.

“Aww, don’t cry!”

Carmen quickly approached and brought Elise in for a hug. However, the tender moment didn’t last long as Mariah burst into the room.

“Hey, don’t leave me out!” She exclaimed with her usual boisterous mannerisms.

Mariah jumped into the fray and joined their hug, squeezing them tightly as she giggled and grinned. The trio shared a laugh filled moment as their first year at LaVeda officially came to a close.

Once all the goodbyes and farewells were said, Carmen left the dorm and walked to the courtyard where Zalthia was standing. Multiple guards were loading up the carriage with all of Carmen’s belongings, stacking and organizing the bags with immaculate precision.

“You got everything?” She asked with a smile.

Carmen simply nodded, but as soon as she stepped toward the carriage, a thought quickly came to mind as she looked at her wrist.

“Oh wait, I forgot my bracelet! It’s still in my locker at the main arena. I’ll be right back!” Carmen exclaimed, sprinting off in the opposite direction with haste.

Zalthia sighed and slowly followed after her.

Carmen ran through the halls and as she passed an open door, something caught her eye. It was the infirmary and sitting on the bed was Bridgette, covered in bandages as she looked out the window. Carmen stopped at the door and against her better judgment, she walked inside.

“How’re you feeling?” Carmen asked as she approached the bed.

“What do you want?” Bridgette coldly snapped, clearly not in the mood to talk.

Ah, nothing… Just wanted to see how you were.”

Carmen’s voice was as gentle as it could be. She didn’t want to aggravate this girl any further, but unfortunately, no response came from Bridgette. She simply stared out the window, never looking Carmen in her face. Carmen eventually sighed and stepped closer to the bed, putting her foot down in a defiant manner.

“Look Bridgette, I don’t know why you hate me so much, but it’s getting really old. Can we just end this already? I think it would be great if we could be friends.” Carmen asked, raising her voice just enough to make sure Bridgette heard her clearly.

“Friends? You want to be friends? Pfft, don’t make me laugh…” Bridgette replied, finally turning her head towards Carmen.

“Why in the hell would I ever want to be your friend? I absolutely loathe your presence and everything about you. I want nothing to do with you…”

“But why? I’ve done nothing to you!” Carmen questioned, trying to figure out the reasons behind this girl's hatred.

“Nothing? You’ve done nothing!? You humiliated me in front of all my peers, you took the boy I liked from me, you almost killed me, and.. And…”

Bridgette’s voice started to shake as a tear streamed down her cheek. The expression on her face was filled with rage once she continued to speak.

“And that damn sister of yours put Claudia into a coma!! She was the only one in my family that truly cared about me and the Belouis took her away from me!!! You’ve taken everything I wanted and now you want friendship from me!? PISS OFF!!!”

Bridgette’s angered voice echoed across the room and down the hall, projecting enough for anyone nearby to hear.

Carmen stood there with wide eyes, stunned to hear about Bridgette’s sister. She had no idea that even happened. Before Bridgette could continue, a sharp pain radiated throughout her body, causing her to grimace and wince from her injuries. Carmen reached out to touch Bridgette, but she smacked her hand away.

“Don’t touch me!” Bridgette exclaimed, gripping her shoulder tightly.

“But, i jus-.”

“LEAVE!!!”

Bridgette screamed out with pure rage as her Core Energy ramped up to new levels, sending shivers down Carmen’s spine. Angry tears streamed down Bridgette’s face as she glared at Carmen, seeing her reflection in Carmen’s sunglasses. Carmen backed away and quickly left the room, not wanting to antagonize Bridgette any further.

Once she entered the hall, Carmen saw Zalthia leaning up against the wall with a stunned expression on her face. She had heard the entire conversation and felt a wave of regret wash over her.

“Did you really do that, Zalthia?” Carmen asked with a soft voice, still reeling from her previous chat.

Zalthia simply turned to face Carmen and stared with a fairly somber, yet blank expression.

“Let’s go get your bracelet. We’ve got to leave soon, everyone’s waiting for you at home.” She replied, now walking down the hall towards the arena and completely ignoring the question asked of her.

Carmen stood silently, not knowing how to feel about her sister's lack of response. When Zalthia got further away, Carmen quickly collected herself and followed after her. The walk was quiet as they both were deep in thought.