Just like Arianna had foretold, in a few weeks, an announcement was made to all the fifth-year students, saying they should pick a partner for the practical part of their graduation exam. They had until the end Andayn, which was the fourth month of the year, to do so. The partner had to be someone who graduated from the same course they attended.

"This is bullshit!" Velvet yelled, standing in front of the list of available partners on the wall.

"You knew it would be like this," Arianna reminded her. "Why are you so surprised?"

"I don't know. I guess a part of me still hoped Argus would do something about it."

"Do you honestly believe he will change the rules just for you?" the blonde girl scoffed.

"Don't you dare pick a partner!" Velvet said sternly. "I am not giving up on us yet!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I've been spending a lot of time with Argus lately since he's giving me extra lessons in the afternoon," she explained. "So I am going to try to get him to make an exemption for us!"

"Well, good luck with that. I truly hope you succeed, but the chances of that are slim at best."

"I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve." Velvet smiled and winked. Feeling a pat on her shoulder, she turned around. It was Melissa, one of her classmates. She was known across the academy for one thing and one thing only — her good looks. Long, wavy blonde hair, similar to that of Arianna, but somehow even more silky smooth, blue eyes and a beautiful smile.

"Just so you know, little one, Brandon is my partner," she informed Velvet with a cold stare.

"Thanks, nobody cares," the girl with the pointy hat replied, rolling her eyes. "Goodbye!"

"Ah...rude!" Melissa grunted and flicked her hair, turning around and storming off.

"What was that?" Arianna asked her friend.

"Oh, that's just Melissa. She sucks at magic and is always getting some guy to do her homework. Now of course she wants the arguably best-looking graduate as her partner."

"No, I know who Melissa is...everyone does. I mean what's with you today?"

"I'm ticked off because they won't let me pick you as my partner, of course!" Velvet shouted.

Arianna put her hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Vel. This really isn't like you. Besides, it's not the end of the world if we can't be partners. It's just the practical exam! We can still study together, practice together and do everything else together like usual!"

"I know, I know. I just think we really work well together. We have good synergy! And that's what it's all about, isn't it? I don't want to have to get used to someone else just for this exam."

"Hey, I don't like this either," the golden-haired girl admitted. "But let's do our best regardless!"

"Oh, we will! Still, don't pick a partner just yet. I will try to make something happen."

Arianna nodded in agreement. "Alright, if you say so..."

***

"What an absolutely ludicrous proposal!" a bald man with a short goat beard shouted, jumping up from his seat. "Your excellence, why do we even waste time with this senile old man?!"

"Now, now, Cedric, please calm down and take your seat," a dwarf in fancy robes, standing behind a podium raised his voice. The bald man obeyed and fell silent, taking his seat again.

"My dear Argus, may I ask why you have decided to bring this trivial matter to light today?"

"These two students are extremely talented, your excellence," old Argus spoke. "I believe we are holding them back by imposing these ridiculous rules on them."

"The rules were made to protect your students," the man on the podium said in retort.

"I understand, your excellence," he responded. "However, I fully trust in their abilities."

"You trusting two teenage girls is not a very comforting reason, wouldn't you agree?"

"May I interrupt, your excellence?" a man with pitch-black hair, sitting at the far end of the table raised his hand. Out of his hair, two long grey horns grew, and his face was covered with a short, neatly trimmed beard. The room turned towards him as his dark-red eyes peered back at them, radiating a calm coolness that almost made him frightening to look at.

"First Advisor Korvak Greyscale," the important figure at the podium addressed him formally, "you may speak your mind on this matter if you so wish. The word is yours!"

"Thank you, your excellence, Grand Magus Tolpenheim," he returned the formality and stood up, the golden details on his dark purple robes shining in the dim-lit room where the Council of Mages held its session. "I wish to know more about these girls you speak of, Argus."

"Oh, gladly!" The headmaster of Everdale Academy was happy to speak of his prized students.

"So Velvet and Arianna...they both received their marks at an astoundingly young age," he started. "Their immense talent and potential are undeniable! Throughout the course of their studies, they have maintained their growth and are now far ahead of their respective classes."

"You said they received their marks at a very young age," Korvak interrupted him. "What age exactly are we talking about here? Twelve, eleven maybe?"

Argus only laughed at that. Of course, Korvak could have no idea. The average age to receive a mark is between twelve and sixteen, after all. Most of his students were only starting out at the age Velvet and Arianna were about to graduate!

"Velvet received her mark at just shy of nine years old and Arianna at ten years old," he said, causing a commotion in the room that the Grand Magus had to address to maintain order.

"That's unheard of!" one of the mages shouted. "You're making this up aren't you, Argus?"

"Now why would I lie about this?" He chuckled. "I can show you their records and when I signed them into the program if you don't believe me! I'm telling you, these girls are special!"

"That is indeed highly unusual," Korvak sounded intrigued. "Highly unusual indeed. And you want us to allow these two girls to be partners in the practical part of the exam...why?"

"I believe we are squandering their potential with all these rules," Argus replied. "While I do find them mostly beneficial to normal students, for someone as extraordinary as these two young ladies, they are more of a hindrance than anything. Let's allow them to spread their wings!"

Korvak groomed his beard, appearing deep in thought for a few moments before he raised his hand and spoke. "I vote in favor of this. Providing we can guarantee their safety, of course."

The old headmaster smiled upon hearing this. "Wonderful! You are a good man, Korvak!"

"I did not call for a vote yet!" the Grand Magus raised his voice, nipping Argus' preemptive celebration in the bud. "There are still a couple of months until the practical exams take place at the end of the school year. This is an emergency meeting centered around the new rules that are to be put in place regarding the use of some large-scale effect spells. As you all know there has been an incident where seventeen innocent people died when a fight between two sorcerers broke out in a tavern and one of them used the 'Volcanic Eruption' spell. Nearly a quarter of the village has been destroyed as a result. This meeting was called to discuss the prohibition of such devastating area-of-affect spells. Nothing more, nothing less. Trivial matters such as this one will be addressed at our regular annual meeting on the 1st of Madayn."

"With all due respect, your excellence," Argus stood up, visibly distraught, "at that time the students will already have their partners assigned! I need to give them an answer now!"

"You should feel fortunate, Argus," the man on the podium eyed him sternly, "that I am even considering putting this up for discussion! This matter shall wait until then or I shall dismiss it right now, so we can move on to what we actually came here to talk about!"

Visibly annoyed, the bearded man seated himself again, muttering something about how things were better in the old days when there were not so many rules.

"Now then," archmage Tolpenheim cleared his throat and readjusted his tie, "let's continue!"

***

"So, have you talked to Headmaster Finkleshore yet?" Arianna asked when they were eating lunch in the dining hall a week later, slowly sipping her vegetable soup.

"I can't," her friend replied, pushing an empty plate aside and starting on the main dish. "He's not here. They have a Council meeting in Everdale, so he is away at the moment. Wait a bit."

"But all the good partners will already be taken if we don't pick!" the blonde girl slammed down her spoon and exclaimed. "Then we will be left with only bad options!"

"I know, I know. It's bad timing, but don't worry. I will sort this out for us."

Arianna sighed. "Look. Even if you do talk to him, there's a very slim chance he will allow it. Why would he? Let's just give up on this and pick our partners while we have options."

"No!" Velvet impaled her steak aggressively. "I told you I am not giving up on us!"

"Jeez, relax." The other girl was taken aback by this outburst. "I guess I can wait a bit more."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

At that point a young man walked up to their table and peered down at them, smiling brightly.

"Good day, ladies!" he said, bowing slightly while maintaining eye contact with a surprised Arianna. "Sorry to bother you during your meal. I couldn't help but overhear that you still have not picked your partners for the final exam. My name is Daniel Tucker, but you can just call me Dan. Pleased to make your acquaintance! And you are...?"

"Uhm...hello?" the blonde girl replied, a bit confused. Why did he suddenly come up to them and introduce himself out of nowhere? What was his intention?

"What do you want?!" Velvet gave him a scornful glare. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something here? In the middle of lunch, that is." She was still annoyed because of the whole partner situation with Arianna and the last thing she needed was random people butting in.

"Well, someone's in a bad mood, I see." He straightened himself up and turned to her, looking rather amused. "I already apologized for that, haven't I? As for what I want...I want to help!"

"Thanks, but we don't need your help!" Velvet dismissed him for the second time in a row. He chose to ignore her and turned to her friend instead. "Do you also feel this way?"

"Well, I..." Arianna started but was cut off by him before she could really finish. "Hold that thought. Before you answer that, tell me your name. Please."

"My name...is Arianna," she said, sounding a bit unsure. Why is he asking for her name?

"That's a really beautiful name," he replied, giving her an energetic grin. He leaned forward and put his hand up, as if wanting to whisper something only to her. "To be completely honest with you, I came here because of you. Not so much your angry friend over there."

"Because...of me?"

"What was that?!" Velvet wasn't sure if she heard that correctly, but didn't even really care either. She just wanted him out of their faces. However, he did exactly the opposite and sat down on the bench next to Arianna, making her a bit uncomfortable with how close he was.

"I'll cut straight to the point," Daniel said, turning to the girl. "I noticed the mark of air on your hand." He reached out and gently grabbed her wrist, guiding her arm closer. He put his other hand right next to it, so they were practically touching, revealing that he also was an air magic user. Of course, this made poor Arianna even more uncomfortable.

"Ah...so you are...an air m-mage too," she tripped over her words, which seemed to only further amuse him. Going a step further, he cupped the petrified girl's hand with both of his, inching even closer on the bench and staring directly into her wide green eyes.

"I graduated top of my class last year," he spoke softly. "It was a real breeze, might I say. If you want to, I could be your partner. I promise I will take real good care of you."

"She doesn't need a partner!" Velvet slammed her fist on the table, causing the plates and eating utensils to rattle. "For your information, I will be her partner!"

Dan looked at her, a bit surprised at first, then after a few seconds started laughing out loud. "You? Her partner? That's rich! You're not even from the same course! And judging by your size, I bet you haven't even graduated yet either!"

"None of that matters!" the furious girl yelled. "I will soon talk this through with Headmaster Finkleshore and for your information, he will allow it!"

"Well, let me know how that goes!" he said mockingly and turned back to Arianna, who was sitting there like a statue, her hand still held by his. "I see I've overstayed my welcome. Sorry again for barging in on you both like this. If you happen to change your mind, come find me."

After saying this he stood up but didn't let go of her hand just yet, instead leaning down and planting a quick kiss on it before finally letting it fall limp by her side.

"Nice meeting you, Arianna!" he exclaimed happily as he turned around and waved at them, leaving the golden-haired girl sitting speechless and completely red in the face.

"What the heck was that all about?!" her friend asked after a few moments of silence where both of them were processing what just transpired. Arianna said nothing, only staring down at her hand where he had rested his lips moments prior. "Hello? Is anybody home? Arianna!"

"Oh...uhm...ehem!" She awoke from her trance and cleared her throat. "That was...strange."

"I'll say!" Velvet agreed. "That guy really wanted to be your partner for some reason!"

This comment was met with a bewildered look from her blonde friend. "What? That's not..."

"I mean, he could have simply just asked! No need for him to go and taste your mark!"

"Taste...?" Arianna tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrow. "Do you truly not know what his real intention was? That he had ulterior motives hidden behind his request?"

"Ulterior motives?" The other girl now tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. "How so?"

"Nevermind." Her friend shook her head and proceeded to eat her lunch. "I am not having this conversation with you right now. I'm really not in the mood."

***

As soon as Argus returned, young Velvet was right there in front of his door, waiting eagerly to talk to him. After she kept knocking furiously for at least half a minute, his assistant finally opened them and stepped out, looking quite annoyed at their uninvited guest.

"What is it, Miss Crow?" he asked, sounding like he was ready to move into the afterlife.

"I need to talk to Argus!" she exclaimed, visibly distraught.

"You mean Headmaster Finkleshore," Ralph corrected her and gave her a stern look.

"Yes!" Velvet nodded excitedly, not getting distracted from her goal in the slightest. He sighed and stepped aside when he heard the voice of the old man behind him call her in.

"Are you done with classes already?" Argus laughed, grooming his beard. "It's still early!"

"About that..." The girl smiled sheepishly.

"So you aren't in class again at this very moment?" the old man quickly gathered.

"I really, really needed to talk to you as soon as possible!" she quickly blurted out before he had the chance to start scolding her. Little did she know that it was never even his intention.

"I see," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "What do you need to talk to me about so urgently?"

"Can you please do something about the partner selection? I want to do this with Arianna..."

"Ah, this again." The headmaster nodded understandingly. "I'm sorry, Miss Crow, but there is nothing I can do to abolish this rule. Believe me, I tried. I even brought it up in the Council!"

"You did?!" Velvet was pleasantly surprised by this answer. "And what did they say?"

"We are going to take a vote on it at our next meeting on the 1st of Madayn," he spoke with a disappointed tone, knowing this answer will not please the girl. Truly, it did not.

"But that's only a few weeks before the practical exam takes place!" she yelled. "We will need to know our partners by that time already so we can prepare and train with them!"

"Precisely," Argus agreed. "I'm sorry, but this is the best I could do for you. In the meantime, I want you two to pick someone else as your partner. You know, in case the vote fails."

This was of course, completely unacceptable to little Velvet. It was either Arianna or nobody. She restrained herself and thanked the headmaster for doing this for them before promptly leaving the room and slamming the door unintentionally. Outside, she kicked into the nearest piece of furniture to let out her frustration. "Shit! I hate this!"

Later that day she met up with Arianna and told her the bad news, dreading her reaction.

"Well, I guess we have no choice then." Her friend shrugged. "I told you it's a slim chance."

"So we're just giving up now?" Velvet asked.

"What else can we do? We can only wait for this vote and hope for the best. In the meantime, let's pick partners and prepare with them in case the vote fails."

It sounded simple enough, but nearly three weeks have passed since the announcement was made and almost everyone has selected their partner already. With only two months left until the final exams took place, nobody was willing to risk staying without one. Or with a bad one.

"Look what you've done now by making us wait!" Arianna exclaimed furiously as she stood in front of the board of available partners. "Literally only three are still available for me!"

"It doesn't matter even if all of them are taken!" Velvet yelled in retort. "Because the vote will go through and then we can be partners anyways!"

"And if it doesn't? Are we just going to fail our graduation because of your stubbornness?!"

The girl with the pointy hat crossed her arms. "Fine! Go ahead and pick then! I am waiting!"

"I will!" her friend shouted back at her.

"Good. Go ahead!" The other girl turned away and pursed her lips. She heard Arianna yell something before leaving with hurried steps. She peeked back over her shoulder, her anger turning into sadness instead. Why does it have to be like this? Arianna...please don't leave me.

Thank you for reading this part of the story!

[https://img.wattpad.com/76f84ff3c7f42931f00a36ea0eb7aaf8b1a5a6d4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f35324237736e50493477484279413d3d2d313236333936383935322e313731303861353666356538313165623938383533393630303339312e6a7067]

How will Velvet and Arianna solve this?