Sitting impatiently inside of the elegantly horse drawn carriage, Aisha bounced from side to side. Through the windows, she watched with hesitant excitement as a city came into view, a large white pillar signifying its identity. Aisha's heart raced as she saw it and her heart began to beat faster.

Today was the day, finally, she had made it to Aurora City where her older brother lived. It had been a while since she last saw him, around two months in fact. In now way was it close to that eight year silence, but the anticipation of seeing him again filled her with a wondrous glee. Aisha broke into a cheerful grin.

"Lady Aisha," Her maid asked. "Are you that excited to meet with your brother again?"

Aisha stopped bouncing around and turned to her maid, Hilda. She too had a smile upon her face. Hilda seemed to be smiling for no particular reason, one that Aisha could not put her finger on. In fact, many of the servants in the household were bearing jolly expressions.

Did they dislike her grandparents and were glad to be rid of them? No, that was not possible. Despite their actions against her, they had treated those who worked under them with politeness. Aisha could almost scoff at the way they treated the servants who made mistakes. Sometimes, they were treated better than her, or so it seemed. The only people who took the wrath of her grandparents openly were Aisha's tutors who were fired without hesitation upon a muck-up.

Unbeknownst to Aisha, but lingering in the depths of her mind, the servants and other staff of the Yurfray house were encouraged and highly influenced by a young red haired girl's mood after finally meeting with her brother. Yes, Aisha was the cause of the servants' continual liveliness.

"A-Ahem." Awkwardly straightening herself, Aisha attempted to seem like a respectable adult. She was now fifteen after all. "I will not deny that aspect but do you not agree that it has been many years since I last left the city?"

Truthfully, ever since eight years ago, Aisha had never left. She had absolutely no contact or view of the world outside the Green City.

"There is no need to hide your excitement about seeing your brother. You've been out of the Green City for over two weeks now, I do doubt the truth of your last statement. It must have lost much of its effect at this point."

"Wha?" Aisha pouted and turned away. "D-Don't mistake my feelings. It's j-just nice to see another city."

Her pout only lasted for a few seconds before reverting to her big smile.

"Hehehe." Hilda covered her mouth.

"What's so funny?" Aisha asked, genuinely confused for a moment. She was acting completely differently earlier.

"Nothing. It's quite fine Miss."

Aisha nodded once and returned to gazing at the scene outside. White still covered the grounds, much of it had been left untouched, undisturbed by even nature's creatures. The pristine blankets were nothing short of a marvel to look at. It filled the world with an indescribable feeling.

In that white sheet, a black spot broke the pure scene. A bird flew above, it's shadow cast on the snow. Aisha locked onto the unusual bird. If it chose to land, it would blend with the Winter ground.

I wonder what it's like to fly. Aisha thought.

Suddenly, swooping down from the glorious skies in which it inhabited and owned, the bird slowed its pace and kept up with the carriage. Dozens of times it flapped its wings, its large size and the speed of the carriage required it to do so. It turned its short small head towards Aisha and called multiple times.

"What's that bird doing?" Hilda asked, confused by its strange behavior.

"I-I don't know."

And just as quickly as it descended, it took back into the sky, going back on its original path. Aisha continued to stare out her little window until it left her sight. What a strange bird.

Eventually the carriage came to a stop. Hilda exited, leaving Aisha all by herself inside. The four guards who came with her also dismounted, heading towards the city's gate. Aisha too wanted to go outside, though it was cold, she did not wish to stay inside of the cramped space any longer. She longed to stretch her legs and walk around. However, she had been denied this right by Hilda.

Aisha leaned against the window once again and rested her head upon her hand. Hard as she tried, Aisha could not fake boredom. Finally, finally she was here, the place where her brother had been staying before he went to visit her. It was here where he learned to use magic and here where the most famous academy was.

From what Aisha had learned about this place from her studies, Aurora City was once a battle ground. A site where the Navacks were defeated. Apparently, the battle here was no small victory but one that changed the tides of the war. The fighting had caused the ground to be imbued with high concentration of magical energy, thus the reason why the academy was built here.

Aisha had no idea what the pillar was nor did she know how the magic imbued ground assisted the academy but she lightly played with her hair while recalling the information of past sessions. They weren't entirely useless after all. They certainly were able to occupy her mind.

*Clunk*

The gates had opened and Hilda returned.

Their carriage made its way inside and the gate was once again closed. Aisha glanced around for any signs of her brother. He said he'd be here.

She let out a breath, "Haaa. What should we do now? What if Rainen forgot to come?"

"Miss Aisha, I highly doubt that would happen. He too is excited to see you is he not? He was the one who invited us as well. Very unlikely he'd be the one to make a mistake." she replied while shuffling closer towards the middle of her seat.

She fell into a slightly dejected state as time went on and her brother did not show himself. Did he actually forget? What if he didn't forget but instead decided not to meet her?

Troubled by her thoughts and these possible outcomes, Aisha immediately began searching in her bag. She hadn't written her brother in a while other than to tell him how close she was, as estimated by the captain of her guard. Aha! She took out the scroll and her pen.

"UGH!"

"What's wrong?" Hilda asked.

"The pen, it's out of ink!" Aisha started rubbing her head in frustration. Might she have to wait another day to see her brother who was in the same city? The thought annoyed her. She waited eight years the first time but as close as she was now, she did not wish to wait another moment longer.

Tucking the scroll back into the bag, she slung it around her shoulder and left the carriage.

"Miss!" Hilda called out after her. "We should wait patiently!"

"No!" Aisha responded, marching passed one of her guards.

"I suppose we should follow then." Aisha heard one of them say.

"So be it." Hilda said loudly. "Sir. Take the carriage someplace safe, I shall contact you once we're ready to leave."

He would certainly be waiting a while then. Aisha had no plans of leaving as quickly as her brother did. Dylan, her cousin, and Millicent, her aunt, had given her permission to spend as much time as she wanted in Aurora City. They did imply a time limit but she knew they had purposely made it vague for her.

Filled with determination, Aisha marched through the city streets. People stared at her but she kept her eyes trained on the large building in the background, the academy. She had no clue nor indication where the dorms were so the second best option would be to go to the academy. Surely if she explained her situation, someone there would assist her, right?

She continued to stroll down the cold streets of the city until she reached the marketplace. It was huge. Hundreds of people were bustling about even when faced with the cold of Winter. It was here where Aisha saw many other races intermingling.

It interested her as to why there were many more merchants who were from other races here than back in the Green City. Maybe it had to do with there being nobles living in the Green City.

An idea struck her. What if she looked for a student that could show her the way instead? Surely there had to be one or two who were walking about. Eagerly, Aisha scanned the crowd searching for any dressed in a uniform, a robe. She had seen it before as she had seen her brother's friend wearing it.

Searching over and over, she had no luck. How come no one was wearing it? Was it possible that they were all in school?

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"Hilda," Aisha called out. "Should we just go to the academy?"

"Ummm." Hilda hesitated for a moment, biting her lip.

Aisha tilted her head. Why was Hilda acting like this?

"The school shouldn't be open today."

"What?" Aisha was shocked by this information. "W-Why not?"

"Because it is a weekend and because Dordan is tomorrow."

"Ah." her shoulders immediately drooped. How was she going to find a student now? She could simply start asking the people in the crowd but she was unsure of what to start. The city and its population was huge. Thousands of students attended but hundreds of thousands of the people living in the city did not attend.

It would take a while before she found another student to guide her. Aisha thought it more likely that her brother would remember and await their arrival at the gate.

With a sigh, she turn around and started back towards the gate.

"Hold up missus!" someone called after her.

"Yes?" Aisha replied politely.

"Would you perhaps be interested in these earmuffs? It is Winter and it's awfully cold out."

A salesman doing his job. Aisha smiled and was about to deny his offer. When she finally caught full view of him, he was somewhat ragged and was surely in need of some change. He didn't look human, he had large ears that stuck out from the sides of his head. A beastman.

She gave another look at the earmuffs. They looked brand new. Dordan was near.

"How much?" she asked.

His face lit up. "T-Ten coppers ma'am."

Ten? Ten coppers were hardly enough to buy a decent meal with.

"Why such a low price?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Aha. It's because you're the first person who hasn't brushed me off. I-I know you may be thinking that I stole these but I didn't. A-As it turns out, I may need food more than I need these."

Aisha's heart was beating normally but she felt strange. How come in a city so full of life and under a nation as prosperous as the empire were people like this forced to endure the harsh Winters in such ragged clothing? Realistically she knew it was impossible to help everyone, however, Aisha wondered where the shelters were.

In the Green City they were somewhat plentiful. The empire had begun to implement shelters because of their alliance with an Elven kingdom.

Aisha reached into her pocket and grabbed a single silver coin. She passed it to the man whose face began to shine. He tried handing her the earmuffs.

"I have no need for these." Aisha replied in a polite tone, one which she was taught as a child. "Please keep them. Please."

He almost attempted to hand them to her again but after hearing her plea, he nodded.

"Thank you."

"No." Aisha said. "Thank you."

Her short meeting with the beastman had given her another idea on how to find her brother.

"Hilda," she turned around. "Isn't this the first year that the academy is letting non humans in?"

"It is."

Aisha's somber mood from before changed back into one of glee as she looked around for any non human teenagers. She ignored the adults and children who most likely would not have been a student.

"Aha!"

Out of everyone in the crowd, Aisha spotted someone, a girl, who caught her eye. She readied her speech and with Hilda and her guards in tow, went up to greet the girl.

---------

I wander around the marketplace looking at random items. Dordan's right around the corner, almost literally. If I walk around that corner enough times, it'll be Sunday already. I think I can find something nice for Elis that she'd like but I have no idea about what to get Iris.

It's not like I don't know what she'd want. She's studious and always looking for information but I don't know if there's anything sold here that she'd enjoy getting.

I curl my fingers around the muffler and pull it up. It's warm and soft. How am I supposed to beat this present?

"Hello there."

I spin around. A pretty girl with long crimson hair bows. She has a cute short nose, tinged pink by the cold, and kind dark eyes. She lifts her head and smiles. She looks familiar somehow.

"May I ask your name?"

"Huh? M-Mine?" 

She nods, "Yes. Ah, of course. My apologies. I'm Aisha." she offers her hand to me.

She's got quite a few scary guards standing behind her.

"Ehehe. I-I'm Ellar." Awkwardly and hesitantly, I shake her hand.

"Nice to meet you." she continues to beam at me. "Do you perhaps attend the academy here?"

"Y-Yes. Why?"

I don't think that I have anything she would want or need. I furrow my brows in thought. Should I be worried? 

"That's great!" her eyes light up and she takes my hands in hers once again.

"U-Uh y-yes." 

"Do you know where the boy's dorm is? I'm here to visit my brother."

Her brother? That sounds nice. I wonder if they received my letter yet. Hopefully they'll let my sister read it.

"I-I can show you the way... if you'd like."

"Thank you!" she practically jumps for joy.

She and her brother must be really close. It's nice to have relaxing moments like these after some... harsher things like the battle yesterday. I still have no clue why he didn't help me. Iris and Elis confirmed it but Miss Ein didn't say anything bad. I'm still not sure how I feel about it all. I'd prefer to avoid him for now if I can.

I lead the way and she and her companions follow behind.

"How's school life?" she asks, with her hands behind her back. "What do you learn in there?"

"A-About magic," I say. "School tends to be okay...."

She nods several times, "I see. Is there something you really like about going here?"

"Mhm. I-I really like all the books they have here. Sometimes I spend hours just browsing through them to find one that I like. Ah, I really enjoyed reading this one book about an adventurer, his name's Jarleek. Jarleek's a master archer. He-he, ummm. I'm not to sure how to go about it without spoiling the story. Sorry."

Aisha covers her mouth and giggles. Did I say something funny?

"You must love books."

"I-I do..."

"Have you read a story about a lonely sheep?"

I shake my head. "No. But our librarian, Mr. Reader, he's very knowledgeable. If you decide to visit the school, I'd recommend finding him if you're looking for something."

"Will do." she responds, a slight spring in her step. "Is everyone there as nice as you?"

"A-As nice as me? I-I don't think I'm being particularly nice. Just helpful, helpful that's all." I ponder a moment before answering her question. "I-I have a few friends. They're really good people."

"Did they get you that scarf?"

"How did you know?"

"It's just that you pulled it up when you talked about them for a second there."

"I-I see." she's observant. I wonder if she can use magic too... probably not. Someone as smart as her would be sent here too, unless her magic was weaker.

"That brother of mine you see," she pulls out a stone around her neck. "he got me this when I was younger. It's not anything special in terms of money, but it's special to me." she clutches onto it.

"He seems really caring," I say. "It's nice that you have someone to look out for you."

"Yeah."

Eventually we reach the dorms. Aisha stares at them, her mouth agape. "Th-They're so big! I-I wonder which floor he's on...."

"We could go ask the person who works the front desk." I suggest. "They should have a record of all the people in the dorm, I think."

"Mm. Good idea. I owe you lots!" she begins to walk into the dorm.

I for some reason decide to follow. I wonder who her brother is. Are there any first years with red hair? Searching through my limited memory of all the people I've encountered so far, none are a match. I could've seen her brother around. Maybe he's also a fan of books, Aisha does seem to resemble a face I know.

As soon as Aisha's about to grab onto the door handle, it opens from the other side. My body stops cold and I wish that I hadn't chosen to come here.

"Aisha?"

"Brother!" she rushes to give him a hug.

Brother? Aisha's Rainen's sister? Swiftly, I turn on my heel and prepare to escape before he notices.

"Blue Hair?"

Darn... too late. "A-Aha. N-Nice seeing you here."