The summer heat was like torture. I’d been poisoned, crushed, clawed, and even permanently damaged my leg, but compared to all that pain, enduring the heat was worse. It was nearing fall, but it was still relentless. It’d be colder in winter, but that hardly meant anything when the winter here was warmer than the summers in Dousin. I was laying under a tree at the beach near the Apprentice Hall, trying to stay in its shade, doing my best to not become a fried snack, when the heat suddenly rose. My eyes quickly opened, only to be met with an intense red light. I yelped in pain and flailed for a moment, then I heard an all too familiar giggle. I raised my head and looked in front of me to find Mae, who was floating flowers made of fire over to me and onto my face.
I waved the flames away, some of them almost burning me as I did so. Mae frowned, then flew one at my nose that actually did burn me. I let out a hiss of pain and my hand shot to my nose. “Ow!” I exclaimed. “What was that for?”
“You destroyed my flowers,” she pouted, folding her arms. “And after I spent so much time making them for you.”
“You almost blinded me with them!”
Her frown melted, a look of concern replacing it. “I… I didn’t think about that,” she said, moving closer to examine my nose.
I tried to respond, but nothing came out of my open mouth. I was taken aback by her sudden closeness, and I felt bad for yelling at her. “It’s… it’s okay. Sorry, it’s really not that big of a deal.” We were both silent for a painfully long amount of time. “So, why are you all the way down here, your Majesty?” I asked her.
These were the palace grounds, but it was as far away from the main palace you could get while still technically being in it. Excitement grew on her face, her emotions changing so fast it almost looked unnatural. “To see your progress, of course! I haven’t seen you since the dance, and my father told me the mages were starting their training today. After I couldn’t find you in the hall, I figured you’d be down here. So, let’s see it.”
I smiled as I pulled water from the lake and formed it into a ball above my hand. Then, I began to shape it into the flower I had been working on. I was pretty impressed with myself as I finished it. It still wasn't as detailed as Mae’s, but it was pretty close. Mae quickly sat down under the tree beside me, and I worried for a moment about her skirts getting dirty, until I remembered that this was the girl I met while she was in a tree. She leaned in close, staring at the flower made of water. She let out an impressed, “Oooooh.”
“So, did I do a good job?”
“You have exceeded my expectations,” she answered, then quickly formed another flower from fire.
She moved in, bringing it close to mine. The water hissed from the heat, a small boil starting on its edge. Mae frowned. Her expressions always looked strange to me. Each of them was intense, but clear, like every emotion she was feeling was written right there on her face. An image of her freckles spelling out words on her face appeared in my mind, and I suppressed a laugh. I looked back down to the sizzling water in my hand. In an instant, it froze, capturing the sculpture of the flower.
Mae’s gasp of surprise sounded like music, her face lighting up. I smiled, getting the reaction I wanted. It was then that I noticed how close we were. Her face was only inches from mine, and I could see the light makeup that was painted on her. It had a strange, but nice, scent. Her hair was slightly disheveled, but most of it remained neat, flowing down her back and shoulders and onto her dress, which was very similar to the one she wore when we last met under a tree. We sat there, just staring into each other's eyes. I swallowed, unable to move for some reason. I felt like that would be a mistake.
Then, as if nothing had happened, Mae stood and started walking down towards the water. I got up, using the tree to steady myself before grabbing my cane, and followed her. “That’s really impressive,” she said, not turning around, rubbing the back of her neck. “Do you think I could… keep it? I know it will melt, but–”
“Yeah, of course,” I answered, not waiting for her to finish. “I can always make more.”
She turned and smiled, kicking up some sand. She giggled, her face a little red, likely from the sun. Her hand reached for the flower in my hand, and I let her take it. “So what have you been doing since the dance?” She asked.
I sighed, staring out at the lake and the Magic Tower in the middle. “Practicing magic and evading my tutor and Titus when I can.”
She gave me a strange look. “Why do you call your grandfather by his given name?” She asked.
My eyes widened slightly. “I.. er—“ I mumbled, not knowing what to say.
I’d forgotten that we didn’t really know each other. We only met twice before this, but I felt so comfortable around her that I slipped. I didn’t really know why. Was it because she was a reincarnate? I didn’t know if I trusted her, but I also didn’t mind her knowing the truth about me. I sighed, wondering how much I should tell her, then just let it spill out.
“I— we, I mean, didn’t actually live in the Phell estate our whole lives. That’s just the story Titus wants to tell. Isla and I lived with our Mother and Father in Dousin, up in the north, for most of our lives. Things… happened. So our Mother brought us down here to live with her parents, who just so happened to be Lord and Lady Phell,” I explained.
“Oh,” she said, surprised. “That… that makes sense. It caused quite a stir when Lord Phell suddenly had two new grandchildren, but it’s not uncommon for Lords to hide heirs in order to protect them. Um, what… happened? Why did you leave Dousin?” She asked, hesitantly.
I turned away from her, walking back over to sit under the tree. My leg hurt, and my hand felt damp. I tried to wipe it off in the sand, but the feeling didn’t go away. I didn’t want to answer her, but I did anyway. “My father died,” I said simply. “He’s dead.”
Mae was silent, and I didn’t dare look up at her. I heard her walk over and sit down beside me. We were silent for a while, just letting time pass, when she finally spoke up.
“I heard about Wren and Isla,” she said, still inspecting the ice flower in her hands.
I frowned, glad she didn’t pry further, but I didn’t want to talk about this either. “Who the hell do they think they are?” I grumbled.
Mae’s face remained placid. “You mean the King and one of the most powerful Lords?”
“And the Prince,” I muttered under my breath.
“Wren had nothing to do with it.”
I gave her a skeptical look.
“Okay,” she continued, “So he does talk about her all the time, pretending to want to get to know the other reincarnates more, but he only ever talks about her, not you. He doesn’t have any control over who he marries, though, just like me, and you I suppose.”
I shook my head. “We’re thirteen. Why the hell is marriage even something we’re discussing?”
“It’s a different world. A different time,” Mae answered. “Is… do you dislike Wren that much?”
I turned to her, a bit jolted. I’d forgotten she was the Princess for a moment. “I um… no. Sorry. It’s just… Isla didn’t want this. This should be up to her, not the King and Titus.”
“Wren won’t hurt her,” Mae said. “I doubt he could hurt a fly.”
I wanted to believe her, to trust her, but all of this felt wrong. I decided to change the subject. “Who do you think you’re going to marry?” I asked.
She snorted. “No one, if I can help it. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, I guess. Thankfully my father has no potential suitors at the moment, and he doesn’t seem eager to find them.”
“What makes you say that? He did it for Wren.”
Mae was silent for a moment, gently wiping away the water that had started to soak her hand from the flower melting. “To you, he’s the King, Sean. He makes decisions that affect almost everyone in the Kingdom, and I don’t always agree with them. Truthfully, I almost never do. But, he is still my Father. He’s kind and good to me and Wren. There are parts of him I dislike, and parts that I love.”
She stopped, silently stroking the melting flower in her hands. Then, she shifted, leaning against me, her head against my shoulder. I froze like the flower, trying not to move. We laid there for quite some time, probably too long, before I started to calm down a bit. I stared at her purple dress, trying not to think about anything else, when I remembered the purple banners that served as a symbol for the Royal Family. The carriage driver that took us to House Phell when we first arrived in the city had mentioned that they were changed from white after the Queen had died. I was still having a hard time realizing that the person I was talking to, the person who was sitting and leaning against me, was the Princess, which meant her mother was gone, just like my Father.
I knew I should just sit here in silence, enjoying the comfort of having her next to me, listening to the soft waves moving back and forth from the lake, but I couldn’t hold back my curiosity. I wanted to know more about her. “Your mother, what was she like?” I asked quietly.
I felt her stiffen against my shoulder, then slowly move away, putting a small bit of distance between us. She pulled her legs in, wrapping her arms around them as she sat up against the tree. “She loved the color purple,” she finally said.
I stared at her for a while, watching as she looked out onto the lake. She was only sitting a few inches away, but she felt so far. “Is that why you want to make your fire purple?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she stood, brushing the sand off her dress, and took a few steps towards the water.
“Mae, I’m sorry—“
“It’s okay,” she stopped me. “I just… don’t want to talk about her right now.”
“I— I understand.”
Once again, we were surrounded by silence. Thankfully, Mae broke it rather quickly. She let out a small laugh. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting us to get so serious. I really only came to see you for two things.”
“Like what?” I asked, trying to follow her changed mood.
“To see your water flowers and to get you to call me cute again. I’ve been trying to think of a way to trick you into doing it this whole time,” she said, turning back towards me.
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I laughed, but Mae simply smiled, her ruby eyes drilling into me. She actually looked scary for a moment, and I worried if I was going to get burned again. “Okay okay, you win! You’re cute! Please don’t throw a ball of fire at me!”
She smiled, giggling as she kicked up more sand at me. Some of it got in my mouth and I spit it out. “I won’t bother you anymore. At least for today. I’ll see you again soon, okay?”
She started towards the steps that led up from the beach and to the garden, and I noticed a few people there, all dressed in armor, swords sheathed at their sides. Right. She’s a Princess. Of course she has guards. “Yeah,” I called out to her. “I’ll see you later.”
She turned and waved, walking away. When she was out of earshot, Winter, who was perched within the tree I had been laying under, let out a low chirp. She was preening herself, a strange look of annoyance on her face. At least, I thought it was annoyance. It was hard to read an owl’s emotions. “You could have said hello,” I told her.
She responded with a screech, then went back to preening herself.
“You’re a strange bird. Will you say hi if she comes with treats next time?”
Winter didn’t bother responding, but I knew she’d do anything for treats.
I started my way up the stairs not long after, turning when I noticed Winter wasn’t following me. “I guess I’ll come get you when I’m done,” I muttered.
When I got there, the hall was mostly empty, with only a few Mages training their apprentices inside. Slowly, they began to leave, one after the other, until I was completely alone. Just a few minutes later, Lady Kella came in.
I stood when I saw her, watching as she took her short red hair and tied it up behind her head. For a moment, I wondered if her older brother had the same hair, and I grew a bit angry. I shook the thoughts from my head, trying to take Mother’s advice. Focus on the things I can change. Kella walked over and stood in front of me.
“I’m glad we could finally meet. Lords and Ladies usually take their time with things, usually too much time, but I was still surprised with how long Lord Phell made me wait for an answer.”
“I wasn’t happy with the wait either. I’ve been looking forward to learning from you, Lady Kella,” I said, trying to match her formal way of speaking. “What will we be–”
“High Mage,” she corrected. “Now present your rings.”
I looked at her confused, then down to my hands. “I don't have any rings.”
She made a show of moving her hands in front of her and clasping them together above her stomach, like my mother would sometimes do when she was praying. On her right hand were two silver rings. I looked back down to my hands, still confused, but after a long silence, I copied her.
“You will assume this position upon entering any room within the Magic Tower or anywhere you might think another Mage will be. Then, if you see someone of higher rank than you, you will bow,” she paused and only continued when I finally bowed, “and display what kind of element you have above your head.”
A small, somehow visible, gust of air appeared above her head. It wasn’t the color of pure white marble, like I assumed air would look, but instead was like the color of milk with brown and black flecks whirling around inside it. I followed her direction and manipulated water out of the sack on my side and formed a ball above my head.
“When the higher ranked Mage acknowledges you, you may stop.”
I stood there, bowing at the waist, for a long time, waiting for her to tell me to stop. When I finally realized she already did, I felt my face grow hot. I straightened to find her walking in circles on the platform at the other end of the hall.
“Uh… Lady Kella–”
“High Mage,” she corrected again, “Get over here, apprentice.”
I nodded and followed her to the top of the platform. I wanted to ask her about the rings and how they displayed Mage ranks, but she didn’t seem interested in listening to my questions.
“Display your techniques,” she commanded.
Once again, I nodded. The water from the troughs spread across the entire platform, freezing at my will. With a quick jerk of motion from my hand, water and ice pushed against the bottoms of my feet, propelling me towards the other end of the platform. I landed with a hard and slightly painful thud, the ice cracking at my feet. Kella nodded, a strange look on her face. I continued, letting a thin line of water come out of the sacks at my side and float in front of me, then pushed it forward with a movement of my arm, sending a scythe-like projectile out in front of me. I angled it downwards so that it cut across the platform, slicing a deep gash in the ice, but not penetrating the earth beneath.
I was about to show off the Water Spout, circling a cyclone of water around myself as a shield, when Kella yelled, “Stop!”
I let the water around me calm, then forced it to flow back into one of the troughs. “What did I do wrong?” I asked, a little thankful that I was getting a break before doing such a challenging spell.
“You are clearly trained,” She said, walking over to me. She was so much shorter than me, even shorter than Mae, that I had to look down on her, which made me feel like I was doing something wrong. I had to stop myself from crouching. “Your movements are perfect and the water flows effortlessly at your command. Who was your master?”
“Uh… his name was Restivus.”
Kella’s eyes bulged, but that was the only instant of surprise I could catch from. She coughed, quickly collecting herself. “I suspected as much.”
“You did? Did you know him?” I asked, surprised.
“You copied his technique,” she stated, only seeming mildly interested.
I paused for a moment, trying to figure out how she knew Restivus. He was a Mage of the Magic Tower, so it wasn’t impossible, but it felt weird. Maybe there aren’t as many Mages as I think there are? Maybe they all know each other? “You mean the water scythe?” I said, finally answering her question, “Why wouldn't I? It’s like a sword I can swing as far as I want.”
Kella muttered something, placing the palm of her hand under her chin and walking in circles. She looked crazy. Finally, after an uncomfortable time, she turned back to me. “How do you suppose Mages with a Soul of air use their magic in combat?”
I blinked. It was a very broad question. I thought back to how Graham fought, and tried to answer from there. “They… move fast?” I questioned.
“That’s the surface of it, but yes. Us Air Mages use our power to increase our agility, dodging our opponents attacks, then moving in quickly and taking out our opponent. Usually we incorporate some kind of martial art that works well with fast movements.”
“That makes sense. Speed in a fight is just as important as strength.”
It was one of the reasons I made the Snow Skip spell in the first place, though it wasn’t really for a fight. Unless hunting and catching birds counted as a type of fight.
“And how do Earth Mages perform in combat?”
This one was easy. I’d fought Blair many times over the years we trained together, and I’d heard this explained before. “They take control of the battlefield itself,” I answered.
She nodded. “And fire?”
That was the one I had no answer for. The only Fire magic I’d seen was during the noble’s duels that I didn’t pay much attention to, and Mae’s flowers. I stood still, embarrassed, trying to come up with anything I could say.
“They control their opponent,” Kella said after a short while. “They make their enemy move where they want them to or risk getting burned, then launch a final, powerful attack to end the fight.”
“I… see.”
It was interesting to hear about, but all of this was just making me feel like an idiot.
“Finally, water. How do Water Mages fight?”
This should have been the easiest question to answer, but I found my tongue tied. I was a Water Mage, but I couldn’t think of any way I specifically used my element to defeat my opponent. I just launched attacks at them and tried to dodge theirs. It worked well, but it wasn’t a true style.
When I failed to answer again, Kella sighed. “Of course he would teach you nothing,” she muttered.
I frowned and grit my teeth. Restivus was an asshole, but he’d taught me plenty of things. Stuff that was more practical, like how water should be moved. It was thanks to him that I lived this long and was able to fight mathears. “But you could be better,” I whispered to myself.
“Water is about push and pull,” Kella continued. “Water Mages push their opponents off balance, then finish them with a grappling style of martial art.”
That didn’t sound like Restivus at all. He just cut things with water like a sword. Kella must have seen the doubt on my face, because she frowned.
“Your old master, like a few other mages, fought differently than what was expected. They changed what was normal. Why do you think that is?”
“It makes them hard to predict,” I answered after a short time. That was a simple answer. Predicting your opponent was the first thing I learned when it came to fights. It was the basics. “So Restivus fights differently than most Water Mages, confusing his opponents and forcing them to adapt.”
Kella nodded, “That’s half of it,” she said, starting to walk in circles again, “There are two ways a Mage can go about correcting the predictability of their own element. The first is to simply change the way one uses their element by creating spells that operate differently from the norm. Master Restivus’ Water Scythe is an example of this. It is a powerful spell that covers a large area and forces the opponent to either move, or take the time to defend. With the correct applications of such a spell, you can force your opponent into any position you want, something a Fire Mage would typically do. A Mage trained to predict what a Water Artist would do in a fight would be quite confused when confronted with this. However,” Kella paused, turning to make sure I was paying attention, “There is another way a Mage can get around the predictable nature of their element. By studying every other element and the way they move, a Mage can keep their natural fighting style while also creating spells that counter your opponents. Essentially, they predict their enemies' prediction, luring them into a false sense of security.”
This all seemed… complicated. It all made sense, but it was complicated, and I was still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that Kella knew Restivus. Also, had she called him Master Restivus?
“Every Mage learns one of these two methods,” Lady Kella continued. “They represent a basic defense against enemy Mages, and how a Mage will refine their fighting style for their entire life. However, I don’t settle. Why would a Mage limit themselves to one method, when they are perfectly capable of learning both?”
I stiffened a little, worry creeping up my spine. If she knew Restivus, does that mean her training techniques would be similar? Memories of climbing a mountain every day of every summer for years surfaced in my mind. “Excuse me, Lady Kella–”
“High Mage,” she once again corrected, a bit of annoyance in her voice.
“Um… yes. High Mage Kella. Excuse me if I misheard, but do you expect me to learn both fundamental methods of Mage combat?”
She simply nodded. “Of course I do. It’s insane that Restivus didn’t teach you even one.”
I let out an exhausted sigh.
“Speaking of your old Master, when did you train under him? He said he was venturing north,” Kella asked, her voice growing sheepish. She gently swayed on her feet, shifting her weight from her soles to her toes.
I felt my face go white. According to all records, Isla and I had always lived in the Phell estate, just hidden from the outside world. “He um… yes, he was in the north, in Dousin. I um… spent most of my early life up there. He trained me for four years until I was twelve, when he left Dousin when fall began last year.”
“Where did he go?” she asked anxiously, ignoring the holes I’d produced in the Phell’s cover story.
“Hono-Kia,” I answered. “Apparently it’s a–”
“I know what it is,” she said, waving me off. “How did he gain entry?” she pondered, clearly not talking to me anymore.
“Restivus taught me and one of the Frosta children. They paid him a lot, according to him, so when he finally had enough to gain entry to Hono-Kia, he left.”
Kella frowned, pacing in a circle again. “Um… High–” she held up a hand for silence, so I kept quiet.
After a very long time, Kella finally stopped pacing, then turned back to me. “Master Restivus is fine then? He was healthy when you last saw him?”
“Yes. He was.”
“That’s good then,” she said, regaining her composure. “Now let’s get to work.”
A few hours later I was covered in sweat and barely able to move, my one good leg shaking as much as my crippled one. Kella’s ‘training’ involved learning how to defend each style of fighting, meaning she would launch attacks at me until I either successfully dodged, or was too injured to move. When it was finally over, she made me bow, then I collapsed.
“You did good today,” she told me, to which I groaned in response. She walked over and sat down beside me. “To become a Mage of the Magic Tower, you must take a test. Over the next two years, until you become of age when you're fifteen, you will be training to take this test. I will make it so any Mage, no matter how highly ranked, will see that you deserve to be a member of the Magic Tower. All I ask in return is that you listen and learn. Can you do that, apprentice?”
I nodded, a part of me filled with a burning desire, despite how exhausted I was.
“Good,” she said, finally smiling. “I’m glad I made the right choice. Thank you, Sean.”
With that, she stood and left, leaving me alone in the hall, laying on the platform. I took a few minutes to rest, trying not to vomit from pain and exhaustion. Just as I was about to get up and leave, I heard the door to the Apprentice Hall open. I sat up, trying to see who had entered. There, waving with a big grin on his face, was Prince Wren.