It was late afternoon by the time Aida finally reached the school gates. The ride was bumpy and uncomfortable, the golem a giant wooden wagon on wooden discs for wheels. The golem operator didn’t have his own magical ability, and instead depended on a large, cloudy crystal with a crack running through it to operate the vehicle. Fortunately, he gave Aida a discount on the fare, if she was willing to charge the crystal with some of her mana.
She was so nauseous from the ride she declined the operator’s offer to drop her at the school gates, instead opting to take her chances on the thirty-minute hike from the fork she had met Ezra at earlier in the morning.
Breathing a sigh of relief as she let herself into her room, Aida had only just unloaded her rucksack from her shoulders before a quiet knock sounded. Looking at her bed longingly, Aida regretfully opened her door to Sue’s sweet smile.
“Hi Aida! I just heard your door close, so figured you were back. Want to go get dinner?”
Aida was about to make an excuse not to, except her stomach loudly betrayed her. “...Sure, I’d be happy to.”
Closing her door behind her, Aida followed after Sue’s skippy steps and attempted to focus on Sue’s chatter.
Sue was very excited to go to Buddington Town tomorrow with Aida; she wanted to pick up some school supplies she forgot to bring with her, and also wanted to check out the spa clinic Caleb’s family owned – apparently, Caleb had invited her this past cycle, because his family was having trouble attracting clientele; his parents were hoping that he could bring some classmates over, and help give their spa the illusion of popularity.
She was also excited about the upcoming cycle’s activities: the instructors were going to have the students spar against each other in order to determine their preliminary class ranking for the year. The news ruined Aida’s appetite. Sue’s next words, spoken in a hushed voice, made Aida perk up.
“There’s a rumor going around that they’re going to change the judging criteria a bit…”
“How so?”
“Well, it is only a rumor, but Lily said she overheard a heated discussion in the teacher’s lounge today about expanding the criteria, from only combat results to including execution, even if the execution fails!” Sue said excitedly. She reached out and pushed Aida’s shoulder hard. “That means even if my Fire loses to your Water, as long as I can pull something crazy off they’ll be more lenient with my score!”
Aida couldn’t help but laugh. “I appreciate your confidence in me, but we both know there’s no way I could beat you even with all the odds stacked in my favor.” She grew thoughtful. “Does Lily know why they were even considering this change?”
Sue shrugged, shoveling rice in her mouth. “Beats me, but it totally makes sense. I got rank two last year purely because I ate up Levi. My Fire gave me a huge advantage over his Wood.” She made a face. “The fact that I couldn’t dominate Ezra, though, that’s a testament to his skill for sure.”
Aida nodded slowly. “Why didn’t they do it like that from the beginning?”
Sue shrugged again, picking at Aida’s untouched green bean side dish. “It makes it harder to monitor the fights. If they’re really going through with this change, they’re going to have to cut down the number of matches they have at one time.” Sue wrinkled her nose. “Or they’d have to assign teachers to judge different matches, and Professor Havi is so biased against Fire types. Honestly, thinking about the logistics of this change almost makes it not worth it,” she sighed.
Sinking back into her thoughts, Aida didn’t even notice as Levi slid into the booth across from her.
“Hey ladies,” he purred. “Talking about the preliminary rankings next cycle?”
“Yeah! We were thinking about how they would be able to judge it and not take forever to do it,” Sue responded. She pushed Levi with her shoulder, where he was leaning on her. “Stay in your own seat, you oaf!”
“Excuse me,” Aida said suddenly, sliding her tray out. Levi and Sue ignored her as they bickered, Levi poking her forehead as she pushed at his chest. In the light of their good spirits, she couldn’t help but think of the warm look that instantly vanished from Ezra’s face that morning.
After depositing her tray at the return counter, Aida caught sight of Ezra as he was leaving the cafeteria. He saw her, but immediately turned his head away as she opened her mouth. Biting her lip, she let him go.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Sue knocked on Aida’s door bright and early. Fortunately, Aida had woken up an hour ago; she had a restless sleep the night before, still unsettled by how her friendship with Ezra had taken such a drastic turn.
Sue was dressed like she was headed out for brunch, wearing a pastel pink cardigan over her brightly flowered sundress and topped with a wide-brimmed sun hat, complete with a comically large canvas tote bag. Aida, on the other hand, was dressed in another colorless sweater and baggy linen pants, carrying her trusty rucksack. Resolving to make the most of her last restday, Aida reminded herself to focus on learning something, anything, on her trip to Buddington Town with Sue. I need a win after the disaster at Shale Port.
Sue led the way to the front gates, where she proceeded to withdraw a brazier that spanned the length of her arm. Cheerfully waving off Aida’s tentative offers for help, she began assembling her tote bag into a –
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“Is this a hot air balloon?” Aida asked, fascinated. Sue laughed heartily, her voice tinkling like the sweetest bells as she activated the gem embedded in the brazier. A white-hot flame came to life, floating above the jewel.
“I don’t know how you come up with these. Buh-llooooon.” Sue laughed hysterically as the foreign sounds left her mouth, her genuine joy making Aida join in her laughter. The canvas bag above the brazier tautened, slowly filling with hot air. “It’s not the nicest model available,” Sue said, shaping the flame so that it could fill the sac faster while avoiding setting it on fire. “My parents got this fire float for me as an early graduation gift. I told them I don’t mind traveling on the ground, but Mom says being in the air is always safer.”
When the fire float lifted off the ground, Sue quickly attached the five waxed cords dangling from the brazier to a sturdy board, beckoning Aida to join her on the platform. Stepping cautiously on the gently drifting deck, Aida emulated Sue and sat down, slipping her legs through a harness that was attached by a length of rope to the center of the platform. Sue leaned over to make sure Aida’s knot was sufficiently tight, then with a beam, waved at the gem, causing the float to lift off at an alarming rate.
Aida couldn’t help but squeak as her stomach fell with the earth, clinging to the rope closest to her.
“Are you okay?” Sue called over the rush of air, slowing the float down.
“Yeah, just afraid of heights,” Aida responded shrilly. Sue laughed again, reaching over to grab Aida’s hand reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall!” Aida gripped Sue’s warm and steady hand tightly, closing her eyes. “Don’t look down, Aida. Look ahead!”
Cracking one eye open, Aida looked at Sue, who was pointing forward. The rising sun was at their backs, dancing between Sue’s pale strands of hair. Looking in the direction Sue was pointing, Aida forgot how high up she was.
The sun (which had already peeked over the mountains the academy was nestled in) perfectly illuminated everything, lovingly displaying the texture and lush greenery of the mountain forest. They were floating over the fork that Ezra told Aida to meet him at yesterday, and beyond the fork was a wide river running alongside the path to Shale Port. Sue was aiming the float along the other path, which crossed the river, and further branched off to what looked like cultivated farmland in the distance. As Sue steered the float further to the left, Aida could easily see where their destination was.
The path Sue was following ended in a long white wall, with tall buildings rising within the encirclement. Unlike Shale Port, which boasted a mostly wooden decor, Aida could see Buddington Town utilized a lot more limestone and other stones in its architecture.
“This is so much faster than walking!” Sue exclaimed, bringing the float lower.
“So much more peaceful too,” Aida agreed, watching as a flock of birds burst out of the forest below, followed by a larger winged predator snapping uselessly after them.
Sue guided the float to a large parapet that a city guard waved them towards, carefully slowing the descent as the guard called instructions to her. A few other guards approached, grabbing on to the fire float’s ropes as they steadied the craft. At the head guard’s command, Sue slowly deflated the balloon, allowing the city guards to capture the cloth neatly.
“Would you like to take your fire float with you, ma’am, or leave it here?”
“I’d like to leave it here, please,” Sue replied melodically. Nodding, the guard quickly tagged the brazier with a wooden card, handing another card to Sue with a warning that if they did not leave by sunset, they would charge her an overnight fee. Thanking him sweetly, Sue led the way down the stairs.
Relieved to be back on the ground, Aida tightened the straps of her rucksack as she bounced down the stone steps.
Shale Port was an easy town, with one main road to follow. Buddington Town, on the other hand, was certifiably a city; and not a city with straight, obvious roads either. It had all the evidence of a town that quickly outgrew any civic planning, with cramped alleyways that could only fit one person at a time, and roads that theoretically should have been wide and comfortable turning into meandering paths because of all the street stalls set up in front of the main shops.
“Let’s see…” Sue stepped to the side of the path, pulling Aida along with her to avoid a cart of textiles. “Caleb gave me a map of where his shop is…” Rummaging through a petite satchel Aida hadn’t noticed before, Sue finally pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. While Sue studied the map, Aida took in the surroundings.
Just like her home city, Buddington Town (should it really be called a town still?) had signs on every level of the buildings. They might be in the commercial district, because there didn’t seem to be anything resembling homes or a private space.
“Okay, I know where to go!” Sue said triumphantly. She linked her arm through Aida’s, steering her through the crowds. A number of twists and turns later, Sue and Aida pulled up in front of a large torii gate sculpted out of stone. Emblazoned across the top of the gate was a sign in calligraphy script proudly declaring “Tulver’s Bathhouse.” Inside the gate was a large, spacious courtyard, looking just like a zen garden, complete with the pristine lack of customers.
“So, Caleb said his parents wanted to get more customers?” Aida finally managed to get out. She clung to Sue’s arm, unwilling to be the first to step inside the gate and ruin everything.
“Yeah, I don’t know why they’re not doing well. This place looks great!” Without hesitation, Sue marched through the gate, her sandaled heels making an audible crunch on the perfectly raked sand.
A woman with violet eyes peered around the sliding door at the end of the courtyard, bustling outside the moment she realized guests had entered the gate. She was dressed in a dark purple yukata, and had her hair done up in an elegant bun. “Welcome! How may I help you?”
“Hi, my name is Suelina and this is Aida. We’re Caleb’s classmates, and he invited us to visit your establishment,” Sue said brightly.
“Oh, I’m so glad! He mentioned that you might come,” the woman said enthusiastically. “My name is Connie, and Caleb is my son. Please, come in! We’re running a grand opening special right now, where we’re offering a buy one get one free hot spring soak and massage after!”
“Incredible! We’re looking forward to it,” Sue gushed back. Connie led them to the front counter, where she and Sue hammered out the pricing details. Aida pulled out her coin purse, intent to pay her portion, but Sue generously forced her purse away, insisting that Aida buy her a dessert after the massage. After sorting out the payment, Connie ushered the two girls to the rear of the establishment, where she handed each of them a small key on a leather cord they could wear around their wrists, and instructed them to change into the robes and footwear provided in the lockers affiliated with their keys.
Bemused, Aida followed Sue’s lead; she seemed to be very familiar with the spa procedure. Daintily stepping out of her sundress, Sue neatly tucked her clothes, undergarments, shoes, bag, and hat into her locker before locking it, tying her long wavy hair up with a cloth also provided with the spa robe. Trying not to fall over while she hid her private parts from Sue, Aida unceremoniously stuffed her rucksack and clothes into the locker, thankful that she got her spa robe on before Sue looked over at her.
“I can’t wait for our girl talk!”