Cream walls illuminated with bright sunshine. Bed after bed after bed lined up on either side of the cream walls. High up on the walls were tall daylighting windows, letting the sunlight shine into the room comfortably. The scent of lavender hung heavy in the air.

And to this Cuff awoke, groaning.

A white apron moved into view as boots thudded on the tiled floor. A navy dress covered the arms, and when Cuff finally moved his stiff neck he was rather shocked at who he found. Because it was Hilde, standing broad and looking somewhat sad.

And then he immediately groaned as a deep burning pain flared across his chest. He moved to look down, shifting the duvet back, but was stopped by Hilde. He struggled against her, but he felt so weak; he knew he wouldn't be able to budge her.

His face shifted in pain as he pushed against her harder, and almost threw the duvet as he heard her sigh and stop restraining him.

Across his chest, snaking out from his heart were his veins which glowed emerald green. It slowly led into the blue Cuff was now familiar with; the glow of magic.

"What," he groaned, still in pain but feeling it fade slowly.

Hilde sighed again from the side.

"You know, they never did explain you had no magical background so I'm sorry for getting so angry the other day," she said, "but you're also the first person I've seen with so much magic naturally, not even the headmaster could compare. Which is why you're in so much pain, dear," she looked at him, and he finally looked away from his chest.

"Your body couldn't handle the amount of magic and is having trouble adjusting to it, you see," she said.

Cuff looked back down at his chest and she continued after a moment, giving him some time to digest everything.

"As your body adjusts over the next few days you'll find it won't hurt anymore, but you need to only use the smallest amounts and slowly build up, dear. Tugging at all your magic like you did is dangerous regardless of who you are," she smiled at him but, Cuff noted, she seemed sad. She looked as though she'd found out someone was dying, and Cuff's heart clenched at the thought but he shook off the feeling.

"Wait I'm going to continue my magic lessons? Would my body not adjust even if I did nothing? It seems a bit illogical to continue it straight away," Cuff asked, frowning.

"No I'm afraid not. Maybe over a very long period of time, but your magic will still continue growing, so the growing pains will follow," she said, grimacing. "Your body needs to have magic pushed through it every which way, and in the process something happens which we still don't quite understand, but I guess the best theory is your body becomes a bit magical," she shrugged, looking up at the sun shining in through the windows.

Cuff followed her gaze, feeling like this is the first good weather he had seen since he'd come to the school. He felt such a strong urge to breathe in some fresh air, and was about to ask but Hilde continued on again.

"The quicker you learn control the quicker the pain will go and your body will adjust, and then even as your magic continues to grow you won't have any issues," she said.

"Ah, you said I had the most magic you've seen for the stage I'm at?" he wondered aloud.

"Yes! What I mean by this is, for someone at your age with absolutely no training this is an astounding amount to have. As you use your magic and push yourself the amount you can hold will grow, and at your age, despite being an accomplished Magician, the headmaster had less than you have now... But you haven't even begun your training; well only just," she said excitedly.

Cuff stared at the wall thinking over what she said. Seeing the blue and green pulsing through his veins from the corner of his eyes; it was like he was made for magic. And then chuckled to himself as he thought of the line again, because he quite literally was made to use magic.

"Oh? Feeling a bit better are we?" She smiled at him gently. His mind couldn't help but think back to his grandparents, long gone now. That gentle smile, the crease at the eyes. The feeling inside like someone could look past your silly young flaws and simply wanted you to be happy and healthy.

Despite his first meeting with her, Cuff felt comfortable with Hilde. For a change he didn't feel like he was being kept at arms length.

Thinking over her words again he realised something.

"Does that mean that the younger someone begins learning to control their magic the better off they'll be?" Cuff asked her.

"No not really. It should make sense but it doesn't, everyone ultimately learns at their own pace and some people peak earlier with their magic growth than others. In terms of formed magic and spells, then yes I guess so," she answered.

But her answer brought more questions to mind about what formed magic and spells were.

He glanced up at the sunrays, and opened his mouth.

"I would like some fresh air, if that's okay," he said, a burning desire to breathe in some fresh air resurfacing. He could always ask more questions outside. He simply felt such a desperate desire to feel some sun on his skin. He couldn't even recall the last time he really felt it, seeing as he spent most of his time before coming to the school cooped up inside at the piano.

"Of course dear," Hilde said, nodding. Worry writ on her face as she noticed his irregular breathing.

"You better lean on me, don't want to push yourself too much too soon," she smiled gently at him.

Awkwardly, very awkwardly, Cuff made it out of bed and gasped as his feet touched the cold tiles.

Slow steady steps, the slap of his feet and the thud of her boots, until they were before the doors that led to the rooftop garden.

Standing before the doors a feeling of dread began to settle in. Cuff could feel it getting harder to breathe, and the desire for a breath of fresh air grew and grew. He pushed forward his hand, veins still glowing a dim blue, and threw the doors open. The feeling of dread became heavier and heavier, and as he passed through the threshold of the doors he found he could barely breath. He was struggling, wheezing, gasping for air. He could hear noise, but couldn't make out what it was. He could feel his vision dimming, feel himself struggling to breathe properly, trying to cling to that faint feeling of heat on his skin, and then he could tell he was on his knees. He could feel himself being shifted, dragged, and his mind became clearer and his breathing less laboured.

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As they crossed the doorway that marked Cuff as being in the school the stifling feeling lifted and he could think. It was then he realised he was flopped on his back on the floor, Hilde to his side.

"What, just why. Why?" She said to someone, and as Cuff craned his head he saw the familiar robes of the headmaster.

"The contract," he said to her while staring at Cuff; "you can leave," he said to her without looking at her.

"It's just not right," she croaked out as she half ran out of the room.

Cuff lay on the floor, staring up at the sunlight shining through the high windows. He heard the headmaster make his way nearby, and plonk down onto a bed and sigh.

And this feeling of dread sank into the depths of his stomach. He could feel himself struggling not to break and cry.

"I.. I can't even step outside?" Cuff asked, struggling to keep his voice even.

"I'm sorry, Cuff," Nathaniel sighed. "However I promise I will have this resolved within a year," he said gruffly. Cuff could hear some shuffling and the signature wooden tap from Nathaniel's pipe.

And then it registered.

"A whole year," Cuff whispered to himself. He kept hearing the now familiar tapping to his side, the smell of tobacco slowly overpowering the stench of lavendar, and simply stared at the ceiling.

Cuff suddenly sat up and looked down, the soft duvet flipping off him. He was in a bed again. To the side he heard an all too familiar tapping.

"Good to see you are awake, although you did not sleep for long ,really," Nathaniel murmured from the side.

Cuff vaguely remembered crawling into a bed now. He stretched, the sleep cleared his head a lot. He would just focus on magic, this is basically an adventure he'd always wanted wasn't it. Except he didn't really know any magic yet, and he was trapped inside a school.

Sighing Cuff got out of bed, his clothes had never been removed so there was no need to change or get anything.

"Wait, where's my wand?" he asked, his heart clenching. He stuck his hand into his pocket and was glad to find his key was still there.

"Unfortunately, I do not know," Nathaniel shook his head. Cuff started to search around, when Nathaniel stood.

"Fortunately, I do know how to find it. Simply focus hard on the thought of it, the look of it, the feel of it, and demand it appear in front of you," Nathaniel smiled, "like this."

A moment later magic flowed in the air, like little bits of glowing blue dust. It congealed in front of the headmaster loosely in the shape of his wand. He simply reached out and grabbed at the mass of magic, the wand materialising from the magic cloud as he did.

Cuff stood, eyes wide in amazement.

"Go on then," Nathaniel nodded at Cuff, eyeing him expectantly.

Cuff took a deep breath and thought hard of his wand, the black colour, the feel of the wood in his hand. He focused hard on it and demanded in his mind it appear, and he felt the tiniest bit of magic flow through him, felt the air simmer. Green motes gathered together and Cuff couldn't help but smirk, but stayed focused nonetheless. And then after a few seconds he could feel it deep down, a call to grab at the magic.

And so he did. The green congealed and became denser, and as he grasped at it the wand came to be.

"Fantastic," Nathaniel muttered from the side, smiling, but then frowned at the green magic. He puffed at his pipe and began tapping it off his face.

Cuff stood marveling at his wand, and the slightest green glow in his veins. The sight accompanied a euphoric rush, it reminded him of directly after he'd taken the pixie dust and for a moment he tensed up. But when nothing horrific happened he relaxed again and enjoyed the feeling. After a time he noticed he couldn't hear the tapping of a pipe, nor could he smell the tobacco Nathaniel smoked and looked about.

Nobody was in sight. Cuff did catch sight of a white slip on the bed he had slept in, though, and checked it.

Go to the library.

Nathaniel the Elder

Was all it read. Cuff resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sighed. He didn't have anything else to do, although he was a bit apprehensive. He was loathe to feel the pain of losing control of his magic, but then again, he thought as he lifted his hand, he definitely wanted to feel the rush of using magic. And so with his mind made up he took purposeful steps out the door of the hospital ward, his shoes clacking hollowly around him as he strode through the hallways of the school alone.

It was after some time of wandering around that Cuff found himself staring at a huge tapestry in an alcove in a hall; completely lost. The tapestry was like some of the huge paintings he'd seen in the art galleries in the city. It depicted some epic battle, awash with shimmering colours and incredible details.

It wasn't until a hand snaked its way onto his shoulder that he realised someone else was there, and shouted in fright as he spun around. The cold hand dropped back, the black suit looking intimidating under the cold smile that hung on his face.

"Well, well, imagine bumping into you here," Nathaniel the Younger said. The black of his pupils leaking into his iris made Cuff's skin crawl. It felt as though the black was crawling out of his eyes, towards Cuff. His veins gave off the faintest tinge of black. Black magic.

"What I wonder, is whether were you so engrossed in that there, or were you simply ignoring me," he smiled, such a terrible, cruel smile. He reached out toward Cuff, a gloomy black gathering around his hand. Cuff's heart leapt as he stumbled back, and tripped as he lost his footing, landing on his bottom.

His eyes widened as he saw the marbled walls being replaced by black walls, ever so close. Low gloomy lighting reflected against a myriad of symbols drawn out everywhere there was space. They glowed the slightest hint of blue where the light hit. Cuff scrambled backwards until his back hit the wall, eyes trained forward where a grinning Nathaniel was walking forward. He stepped forward and as he did the school that was behind him vanished, replaced by the gloomy black that surrounded Cuff. It almost looked like a cave. Very faintly Cuff could see black motes drifting off. Black coloured magic he thought again.

Another step forward and Nathaniel was directly in front of him, a cocky grin on his face, his eyes crawling black.

"Care for a chat?" He grinned.