While the two girls were hugging it out, Ralph called Argus aside. Priscilla followed them uninvited.

"I didn't ask for you to come with us." The assistant glanced at her condescendingly. "This is a private matter of this academy. We do not need your oversized ears listening in on it."

"Ugh!" The elf crossed her arms. "Rude! That is no way to speak to a Council member!"

"Don't worry, Ralph," the headmaster tried putting out the fire. "Whatever you wish to tell me, Priscilla can hear as well. She and I are good friends after all!"

"More like friends with benefits..." Ralph muttered to the side. "Alright, sir. If you say so. My apologies Miss Pampleton! I shall watch my language from now on!"

"You better," she spoke with contempt. "So what is this about? Speak."

"It's about Velvet," he started with a serious tone. "Remember when I told you how I first found her, sir? At the bottom of the pit, surrounded by about a dozen dead wyverns and an unconscious dragon, while the cavern itself was completely desolated?"

"Why, yes," Argus groomed his beard. "I still cannot wrap my head around it, though. She is talented, but this is far beyond that already. How can a girl like her hold this much magic?"

"Well," Ralph said, pulling out a small empty bottle, a drop of glowing liquid still at the bottom of it, "perhaps this can shed some light on the situation..."

"Where did you get this?!" Priscilla suddenly jumped up. "The use of that potion is prohibited by the Council! It is considered illegal to even make it! That potion is..."

"Angel's Tears." The wise old man immediately recognized it as well. "This explains a lot."

"She drank that?!" The elf seemed appalled. "How much of it?"

"All of it, according to her," Ralph answered. "I think she's not lying either. For three days her body was in a state of shock, even after I healed most of her injuries with my water magic. She was shivering uncontrollably all the time and I could see the marks on her hand flashing."

"Marks?" Argus now eyed him suspiciously from under his bushy eyebrows. "What do you mean...marks? She only has the mark of light."

"Oh, you haven't noticed it yet." The assistant chuckled. "Well, take a look at her hand again."

Like he suddenly lost thirty years of age, the old man turned around and ran for the bed, grabbing the surprised Velvet's right hand and inspecting it closely. Sure enough, there it was.

Besides her mark of light, a mark of air was now also sitting at the back of her palm. His hands shook as he caressed hers and started to smile. Then chuckle. Then laugh like a madman, jumping up and down in place. Both girls were startled, not knowing what to make of this. He looked like he got possessed by some crazy spirit or had too much to drink!

"Ahaha! I knew it! I knew it all along!" he exclaimed merrily, not letting go of her small hand, which was getting more and more confusing for Velvet by the second. When he finally calmed down a bit, Argus lifted it up to his lips and kissed her mark.

"You're the one," he spoke with tears in his eyes and a grateful smile on his lips. "You're the one who reignited my passion for magic during your stay here. You will achieve what I couldn't...I am certain of that now! So I can safely pass my dream on to you, knowing that it is in the best possible hands. These hands," he shook her arm again, "are going down in history!"

"You really think so?!" The girl's eyes lit up. "You think I can be like you?!"

"Better than me!" he answered without hesitation. "I don't think you realize how gifted you are, my child. Do you know how many students I taught here got their second mark before fifteen years of age?" He put his index finger and thumb together, signing a zero. "None. Not a single one of them. And do you know how many people I know who fought a dragon and knocked it unconscious or killed it?" He put his index finger up. "One. And he was a tier-four sorcerer like myself! Gone now for about twenty years already...bless your soul, Murdock."

Velvet's smile was ever-growing as he was talking about this. She wandered off to dreamland again. To her own adventure where she traveled the world like her hero Thoracc and met many different people and made friends with them. It felt now more real than ever before. Like this could actually be possible. That this could be her.

"Wow! Really?!" She bounced up and down on the bed.

Ralph chuckled and shook his head. This girl is already hyperactive and now he's only further pumping her up! Oh, Argus, she has really captured your heart, hasn't she? To think this senile fool still knew how to be enthusiastic about magic. I never thought I'd see the day...but I'm happy for you old man.

"When you came," Argus went on a tangent, pacing back and forth in front of the bed while both girls looked at him, one bouncing up and down smiling and the other slightly concerned, "you piqued my interest immediately. You could say you had my curiosity. Then over the years, you got my interest. But now, you have my undivided attention!" he announced sternly. "We've been training for an hour every few days until now and didn't go too much into it. But now, I shall teach you everything I know!"

"Everything?!" the girl squealed in delight. "You mean it?!"

"Everything!" the old man laughed. "Every spell. Every chant. Every trick. Every secret. I'm going to make you the best sorceress to ever graduate from this academy! Both of you!"

"M-me too?!" Arianna was surprised. She was used to Velvet getting special treatment by now. Argus loved her and she knew that. But never did the girl think it would also be her.

"Eh, what the heck!" he exclaimed. "The more, the merrier!" After this, he turned to the entrance of the infirmary, where a large number of students and teachers were still gathered, listening in on all of this. "Everyone who wants to learn from me can come to my lesson!"

The old man is actually going to teach magic to children?! His assistant couldn't believe what he was hearing. The only person he ever taught before was him and even then he did it with an annoyed tone and gave off the feeling that he'd rather be anywhere else right now.

"Well this is quite a different Argus I am seeing here than the grumpy old man at the Council meetings," Priscilla tittered, covering her mouth with her hand. "I am starting to like him!"

"I think you're already a bit past liking him," Ralph muttered and rolled his eyes. He's had enough of their displays of affection over the past few weeks. It made him sick to the stomach. But a part of him also envied the old bastard. How did he do it? Pushing over seventy years old and still getting around with the ladies so well. What was his secret?

In the meantime, the headmaster concluded his ramblings and gestured for them all to leave the girls alone. "You too, Miss Wormwinkle! Let's give the girls a bit of alone time!"

The four of them left the room and shooed away the eavesdropping students and teachers at the door, leaving the two friends sitting on the bed. After a few seconds of silence, Arianna jumped into Velvet's embrace again. "I don't know what I would do without you!"

"Same for me. Let's never part again!" The other girl put her arms around her. "I love you."

"I love you too!" Arianna replied, tears stinging her eyes once again. They stayed like that for who knows how long. Together again, as they always were.

***

A week or two later, the graduation ceremony was held and both Arianna's mother and Velvet's father came to watch their children receive their diplomas. Mary was clapping proudly when Arianna went on stage and had to calm the man down when it was Velvet's turn because he apparently mistook this event for a country fair and was yelling and shouting loudly. So much so that other parents began to throw condescending glances at them.

After the ceremony ended and the more casual part of the event started, James danced with his daughter, who was (to him at least) a big girl now.

"Your mother would be so proud of you," he spoke with tears in his eyes when they were on the dancefloor. "And you look just like her. Her eyes. Her hair. Her energy!"

Velvet smiled, but felt a twinge of pain in her chest at the same time. Her memory was foggy, but she could still remember her voice, reading her the stories about Thoracc and showing her the wonderful world of magic that she, herself, was never part of.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetie." Her father reached out and wiped a tear off her cheek. "I didn't mean to bring this up and make you sad. I just got carried away. You should be happy today!"

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

At the other end of the dining hall, which was reorganized into a ballroom for the day, Mary danced with her own treasure.

"You're my angel, Arianna," the mother smiled kindly. "I can't tell you how proud I am."

"Thanks, Mom," the girl smiled half-heartedly, glancing over at Velvet and her father.

"What's wrong?" she asked her, concern in her eyes.

"Nothing," her daughter shook her head and looked back at her. "I just wish Dad were here..."

"Ah...that," Mary met her gaze and they came to a stop. She leaned forward and moved her hair away, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry he can't be here...he loved you a lot."

Arianna took a step back. "If he loved me so much then why did he leave?!" she said sternly.

"Please...let's not talk about this now," her mother shook her head. "It's pointless and you know it. Us being upset now will not change what happened. It will not bring him back."

"No!" the girl stomped her foot. "He should bring himself back! Why did he even leave?!"

"It's...complicated," Mary sighed. "You're not old enough to understand it yet."

"Oh, I'm not?!" Arianna got angry. "I read countless books, studied grandmaster-level spells, and graduated! I fought wyverns and a dragon! And yet I'm not old enough to know what happened to my own father?! When are you going to tell me? When I'm twenty?! Thirty?!"

"I promise I will tell you the entire story one day," the woman sighed, reaching out for her hand and gripping it tightly, pulling her in for an embrace. "But not today...not today..."

The girl cried into her chest for a bit, before accepting the harsh reality that her dad was gone and not coming back. However, glancing at Velvet and her father again, she started feeling like an idiot. Like she was being unfair to her mother. All the while she was here for her, supporting her every step of the way. Something her friend never had. She bet that Velvet was wishing the same now, except their situations were reversed. They should be thankful for what they have instead. A loving parent that would give up the world for them. Yes.

"Thank you, Mom," she finally said. "Thank you for being there for me. For both of us."

"Anything for my little witches," she chuckled. "So how did that potion work out for you?"

Arianna's face immediately darkened. She sighed and retold her the whole story over the course of the evening. How her staff broke and Velvet gave her hers. How they beat the cave goblins and teleported the earth-worm away. How they fought the wyverns and she nearly died against the dragon. And finally, how she thought she would never see her friend again.

"Oh my goodness." Her mother was shocked. "I had no idea you were actually in grave danger! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!"

"I didn't want to make you worry." The girl's eyes fell to the floor. "But we're alright now!"

"I can see," Mary looked her up and down just to make sure everything was still in place. "Still, that was quite the adventure you two went on. Don't scare me like that anymore!"

"Don't worry," Arianna reassured her, "no more adventures for me! Not for a long while!"

"Well," the woman glanced over to her eccentric friend who was just enthusiastically waving her hands while explaining something to her father, "I am not so sure your friend will agree."

"Yeah...I know," she spoke hesitantly. "At some point, I have to talk to her about that."

After she finished talking to her father, Velvet dragged him over and the four of them all hung out together for the rest of the evening, the girls eagerly telling them stories from their life at the academy. Some their parents already heard over summer breaks in the last few years but were simply too good not to tell again. Others were new to them. They talked late into the night. After all, they only saw each other once or twice a year. Both Arianna's village of Dorether, as well as Velvet's hometown of Simula, were almost a three-week carriage ride away from Everdale. It was not a journey one would go on more than once a year unless there was a special occasion like today.

Nearly all the parents were there. Most came in pairs and some even brought their other children. Right now the school year was over and almost nobody except the graduate students and the few people that decided to stay here over the summer was here. In light of this, Argus arranged for everyone to be able to stay a night or two here by handing them keys to the temporarily vacant rooms. An offer both James and Mary gracefully accepted. For old time's sake, Arianna's mother told them a bedtime story, while the other three listened in. Eventually, they all fell asleep and awoke the next morning, when it was time to say goodbye.

"I won't be coming home just yet," the blonde girl announced to the great surprise of her mother. "I need to teach Velvet all I know about air magic! And train with Argus!"

"That's right!" The other girl jumped up for joy. "Ohhh, I'm so excited! We get to do the same type of magic now! And Arianna will be my teacher! Yesyesyesyes!!"

"Easy there!" Her father laughed. "Don't push yourself too much! You still have your whole life ahead of you, so you can take it easy and not try to do everything right away."

"James is right," Mary said. "Learning is a process that takes your whole life. Don't forget to stop and enjoy for a bit! You may find it easier to learn after taking a break!"

"We know, Mom," her daughter nodded. "Don't worry. We won't overdo it. Promise!"

"Speak for yourself!" Velvet grinned from ear to ear. "I'm reading all the books in the library...again! And after that, I am practicing every day! Hours and hours of practice!"

Her father smiled awkwardly and shrugged as he looked at Mary, as if wanting to excuse his daughter's behavior. The woman only chuckled and patted both their heads, though.

"Stay great friends like this forever!" she told them. "True magic lies in the bond you share."

"Well, I guess this means goodbye then," James stepped forward and embraced his little girl. "I'm going to miss you, sweetie," he added, squeezing her tightly.

"I'll miss you too, Dad," Velvet said, hugging him back. One would think saying goodbye would get easier after a few years and it did. But not by a lot. It was still as hard as ever and tears usually accompanied them. This was true for this farewell as well.

"Be good," Mary caressed Arianna's golden hair. "And don't forget to write sometimes!"

"I will," the girl nodded. "I will write to you every month or two!"

"I'm looking forward to your letters then!" Her mother smiled lovingly, finally letting her go. With a heavy heart, the single mother and father turned away and made their way each to their own carriage.

"Mrs. Mary!" Velvet yelled after her and both of them stopped, turning around.

James expected his daughter to call after him and not her friend's mother. But as he soon found out, there was a specific reason for this. A question plagued the young girl that only the wise woman could answer.

"How did you know?" Velvet asked, determination in her voice.

"Know what?" she tilted her head, puzzled at this question.

"How did you know my staff is holding me back? And that Arianna would need a new one? Your observation made me throw my staff to her when we were in a pinch...and that ended up saving us! Then again with the dragon — your potion saved me! I guess what I want to say is...thank you for saving us twice! But I need to know...how did you know these things?"

Mary only laughed at this. "I am flattered that you think of me so highly. However, I am just an ordinary woman with a love for magic...even though I never was blessed with it myself. This was just sheer dumb luck. Of course, I had no idea that all those crazy things would happen. I thought this would be a piece of cake for you two!"

"Oh...I see," Velvet's head fell down in defeat. This was not a very thrilling answer to her.

"Any other witchcraft you want to accuse me of?" the woman asked jokingly.

"No," the girl shook her head. "Sorry to bother you about this..."

"Not at all!" Mary waved. "I'm sorry I can't really give you a good answer, though. I think we all just got lucky things played out the way they did!"

"We sure have!" James added, waving to his daughter. "I hope I see you soon, my dear!"

They turned around again, leaving for good this time. The two graduates stared after them until they got into their carriages and the coachmen snapped their whips at the horses.

Thank you for reading this part of the story! I hope you enjoyed it!

[https://img.wattpad.com/2586d9b90475860456d0ed3ce3cf19d46f569529/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f63494b396d57556e694a58757a513d3d2d313238323338323231322e313732346235323234623938373836303634333936323530333336312e6a7067]

Did you know? Arianna's favorite color is green.