Eleanor sat beside her brother, who was currently unconscious in the infirmary. Monica had not pulled her punches and he had been out for over an hour.

She couldn't help but feel a knot in her stomach, thinking about the fight. She had watched with mounting fear as her brother faced off against Monica, knowing full well the danger he was putting himself in. Lucian was skilled, but Monica Nox was on another level entirely.

She knew from the past that Monica was one of the top knights in the whole country even after ‘retiring’ to teach. Every time Monica landed a blow, Eleanor felt a wave of panic wash over her.

Now, seeing him lying unconscious in the infirmary, she couldn't shake off the worry that gnawed at her. What if he didn't wake up? What if he had sustained permanent damage?

“Stupid,” she muttered, stroking his hair. He had really taken a final gambit swing that would have ended in a double fatality if it was a real fight. His defense? He knew it wasn’t a real fight.

Sure, he had a point, but even having the idea was ridiculous. His gamble was that she would redirect the blow to be non-fatal at the last second, giving him an opening. He was lucky that Monica was even more skilled than he realized, or he could have been dead or badly injured.

It was beyond reckless to risk his life in a test.

Lucian was stubborn and constantly had crazy ideas. She still loved him all the same, but this was a new type of crazy.

She hated seeing him injured like this… like back then.

She shivered at the thought.

Their parents had arrived not too long ago. Her mother was somewhere talking to Monica and their father was sitting across from her, polishing Lucians sword.

“You know Ellie,” he started, “I understand earth magic is cool and all, but it’s way too dirty! Everything gets so dusty.”

She gave a small hum in agreement.

John looked at her with a gentle smile. “You know he’s gonna be alright?” he told her. “He doesn’t need you to hold his hand.”

“He might,” she said back, holding onto her brother's lone hand.

Her father chuckled and continued to clean the sword. After a few minutes, he smiled at his work and put the sword away before looking at his son.

“Monica sure did a number on him,” he noted. “She was never the type to hold back.”

“She went too far,” Eleanor said angrily. “She beat him when he was down.”

“Not cool, yeah, but I think it’s because she was scared,” he responded with a pause, unsure if he wanted to elaborate further.

“Scared?” she wondered.

John reached into his jacket and pulled out an assortment of photos that he kept with him at all times. He had a few of his lovely wife, a few of his children in case he needed to show off or give someone their description and he had another lone photo.

He held it out to his daughter and watched her grab it with mixed feelings.

Eleanor looked at the photo. It was her parents as young adults, smiling happily as they stood with another couple. One of them was Monica, whose hair was longer and fell freely. She had a small smile on her face that seemed so unlike the woman of the present and she was embracing another man. He looked like a male version of her mother, which, in turn, made him look a lot like…

“Lucian,” she said. Lucian was basically a younger version of him with darker hair.

“That was his name,” John said somberly. “Lucian Nox, your uncle. He was a good man. No, a great man. We all miss him a lot.”

She studied the photo deeply, gently tracing her finger over their images.

“Do you know what happens after death, Ellie?”

She froze, feeling a knot form in her chest. She stared at her father, alarmed and unable to answer.

“Nobody really knows,” her father continued, “there’s no spell that can undo it so nobody has ever come back from the other side and told us what happens. In my opinion, I liken death to time stopping. When you die, everything about you dies too. I think knowing that it all stops when you die is what makes the act of living precious.”

He wistfully glanced into the air and smiled - it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Time stopped for Monica when Lucian died. Her life stopped. That day, we lost more than just a brother… we lost Monica too. She lost meaning and never attempted to ever pick up the pieces. But for some reason, our Lucian made her feel something again. It might not have been good, but it's something.”

She wordlessly stared at the photo again, wondering what he was like.

“He was kind, too kind,” her father said, somehow knowing her question. “He was reckless, always putting others ahead of him. He’s a lot like your brother. I didn’t want Monica to meet him, but Rey insisted. She was right, we were complacent and didn’t prepare you properly for the harshness of this world - we just assumed that your natural genius will carry you through. That whole mindset is flawed. It’s my fault he lost his arm.”

“It’s not, dad. It’s mine,” she told him, believing her words down to her very soul.

“If Lucian is put in a situation where he thinks there is no other way, he’ll sacrifice himself every time. Until that day, I knew he was smart and mature, but I never thought he was strong. When he came back to the house carrying you, bloody and clinging to life,” his voice broke, “I knew we had to change things, because he had no regrets. All he said was ‘save Eleanor’ before his body failed. So we decided to jump the gun and try to send both of you to Lumi at Monica’s expense.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Eleanor thought about her brother, her Lucian. He had so many quirky ideas like wild attempts to create new magic, the way he struggled to keep up with her in exercise yet always talked big and how could not stop teasing her whenever he had a chance.

There was so much more about him, she could think about it all day.

It made her wonder how many hopes and dreams, how many memories, were buried alongside her uncle. Everything he was, and everything Monica wanted. It all died.

“It must have been hard for her,” she realized.

“For Monica? Yeah, most likely. A little clone of her husband shows up at her door. Probably caught her off guard. It probably hurts her to see someone who reminds her of her husband show up with half an arm and a mindset that only leads to more injury.”

“How do we fix him?”

“I don’t know,” John answered honestly, “I didn’t raise him to be like this, nor did Rey. We didn’t raise you to be the way you are either. We just accepted, which is just as damning, but it's what we did. You’re special even among the stars, Ellie, but somehow lightning struck the same place twice and we have Lucian who is also special. The same mettle that lets him decide that taking a sword to the neck is okay is the same mettle that lets him get up and live without an arm and not be depressed. I didn’t give that to him, he just has it.”

“It scares me,” she admitted, squeezing her brother's hand.

“Me too, but don’t worry. Dad’s got this. I’m gonna spend some time with him and really try to get to the root of the issue. It’s a promise.”

Her mother walked in with Ramona, who had her lab coat back on and was carrying a folder.

“Long time no see, Ramona,” her dad greeted with a wave.

“John,” Ramona couldn’t help but smile, “You look old, but good.”

“Not all of us can age like an elf, you elf.”

“I guess not,” she replied as she opened her folder and grabbed a stack of papers out of it. “I have the results of the examination,” she said, “and let me tell you guys first, your kids blew me out of the water. Not a bad job with them, you two, not bad at all.”

“John helped a little,” Rey joked with a smile.

“What happened?” Eleanor asked Ramonda, both anxious and excited at the same time. She really had a chance to end up at Luminarium, Lumi, of all places. That alone was an opportunity of a lifetime.

“Well… you passed! You were deemed more than capable of entering our advanced classes despite starting later.”

Her plans were coming into fruition. Eleanor felt relief swell in her chest, but it didn’t kill the nervousness that was still bubbling up.

“And Lu?” she asked breathlessly.

Ramona’s grin faltered, and with it Eleanor’s heart.

“He failed,” the instructor said. “Writing exam he failed. His math and grammar was excellent, but his history and magic theory was lacking. Speaking of magic, since he can’t input magic we had to fail him despite seeing him use spells. I’m not too sure what's up with that. He used earth and lightning magic well, but none of us could feel him absorbing any magic so we’re not sure how he did it. Runes, maybe?”

“No runes,” Rey answered. “Honestly, I knew he had issues inputting magic, but I had no idea he could use spells.”

“Even though Monica failed him, we still took his offensive capabilities into account. But, while he was clever, his dangerous move and the fact he only has one arm concerned some people. I think if he fought someone other than Monica his chances would have been better, but even then his non-combat portions were not great.”

“Hey, at least he fought Monica and lasted a while,” John said with a shrug. “That has to count for something. Most kids his age would never be able to.”

“That is true,” Ramona agreed, “which is why we wanted to let you know that if Lucian wants to try out in the next cycle, when he’s sixteen, we would be happy to move him to the front of the line. We’re hoping that you can see a specialist about his magic, but even if you can’t he’s talented enough to get in from general admission.”

Eleanor’s parents smiled in relief and looked at her, excited.

“Hear that, Ellie? You won’t have to be separated from your brother for long! Nice!”

“No,” she said.

“What?” her father asked, perplexed.

“I’m not leaving Lu,” Eleanor decided. “If Lumi can’t take Lu then I won’t go. I’m not going to leave him like that.”

“Eleanor,” her mother spoke softly, “it's just two years. Besides, I don’t think Lucian will mind being away from you given the circumstances.”

“I don’t care if he’s okay with it or not. I’m going to wait until he can get in.”

Yes, she wanted to go to Lumi. It was her plan ever since she realized she was in Tyre, but things had changed since she made those plans. Getting admitted at fourteen wasn’t necessary for the goals she had. She could wait two years.

“Ah twins,” Ramona commented with a chuckle. “You gotta love how close they are! It’s your fault, parents, for deciding to have twins.”

“We didn’t decide that shit, Ramona,” John said with a point, before turning his attention back to his daughter. “Help us understand, Ellie. You seemed excited to go to Lumi. I know you’ve spent fourteen years with your brother, but two years really isn’t that long.”

She opened her mouth to explain herself, but was lacking the right words. What was she supposed to say? Didn’t they already know? Lucian needed her to watch his back. Everyone knew, especially now, that he had reckless ideas. She needed to keep an eye on him. She owed it to him. He saved her life. She was supposed to be the one who saved him, but he saved her. He gave her so much, and yet she had yet to give him anything meaningful back.

“I don’t want to leave him,” was all she could say.

“If that’s what you want we could wait,” John conceded.

“No, it’s not okay,” Rey, of all people, interrupted.

“What?” Eleanor asked her mom, confused.

“Monica went out on a limb and got you this opportunity. You can’t take her gift then decide to leave it last minute. It wouldn’t be fair to her.”

Eleanor wanted to say that she didn’t care about Monica, but deep down she did. She was indebted to her for the opportunity, and the fact that Monica beat up her brother didn’t change that.

“Eleanor,” her mother went on, “after my brother died, the Nox family was left with no heirs. I’m exiled and my father is too old to have another child, so Monica is shouldering the burden of the family all by herself. But, there’s a new light for our family - you. If you get accepted into the Luminarium in spectacular fashion it would send ripples through the world that the Nox are not dead.”

“I don’t care about nobility. I’m sorry, but the Nox mean nothing to me,” Eleanor said honestly.

“I know, baby, I know. It’s selfish of me to ask, but please, can you do it for me? I left that life behind, but I can’t forget them. I took and took and never gave anything in return. I feel like I can pay back my ancestors, and my brother, with this. But, in the end, it's you who has to deal with everything, not me.”

Eleanor couldn’t refuse a sincere request from her mother. She nodded tightly.

“I’m not planning on having any heirs,” she made sure to say.

Her mother laughed a little and told her, “That’s alright, we can deal with that later. Thank you.”

She let go of her brother's hand and looked at his sleeping face. When he was awake he always tried to be positive around her, but when he slept he looked troubled.

She needed to be stronger so she could protect him.