The morning air in Bellmonty was thick with anticipation as Morgan le Faye made her way back to Elara and Thorne's residence. The village, still reeling from the events of the past week, seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the decision that would change the course of one young man's life.

Inside the modest home, Elara, Thorne, and Lila waited anxiously. Morgan's steps were confident, her demeanor eager, almost certain that Cooper would choose to join the academy. As Cooper descended the stairs to meet them, the bags under his eyes and the paleness of his skin spoke louder than any words possibly could. The weight of his future had pressed down upon him through the night; leaving him restless and fraught with indecision.

Morgan's gaze fell upon him, piercing yet not unkind. "Cooper," she began, her voice steady, "have you reached a decision?"

Cooper's lips parted, but the words seemed to catch in his throat. He swallowed hard before speaking. "I never wanted anything more than the simple life of Bellmonty," he confessed, his voice a mere whisper. "The days could be long and tiring, but there was peace—a peace I've now shattered."

He spoke of the alienation he felt, the way magic had erected a barrier between him and the villagers, between him and the only family he had known. "Magic is an unknown here, and I have become an unknown with it. The villagers fear what they don't understand, and I... I am the unknown they fear."

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With a heavy heart, Cooper announced his decision to attend the academy. "Perhaps in my absence, life can return to normal for them," he said, a note of resignation in his voice. "And though I never wished for any of this, I must find my own way now."

Morgan's eyes gleamed with approval, but Elara and Thorne's reactions were a complex mix of emotions. They agreed that it might be best for the village, yet the thought of losing Cooper, who was like a son to them, filled them with sorrow.

Lila's reaction was visceral, her anger finally boiling over. "It's not fair!" she cried, her voice cracking with passion. "You never wanted to leave, and now you're being forced into a new life—a life without me—while I'm left behind."

Elara and Thorne moved to console her, but Cooper stood frozen, torn between the injustice of it all and the knowledge that there was no other path forward.

Morgan, sensing the need to depart, addressed Cooper. "I will return in one month to retrieve you," she said, her tone gentle yet firm. She handed him two books—one a tome of basic spells, the other a novice text on magic, including methods to gather and manipulate magical energy. "Study these texts," she instructed. "They will be your foundation."

With those final words, Morgan le Faye left the house, her departure marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Cooper, left with the books in hand, felt the reality of his decision settle around him like a cloak. He was to leave Bellmonty, to step into a world he had never known, armed with nothing but the hope that he might one day return to the peace he had once cherished…