"Aisha," I run up to catch her. It's been a day since she abandoned me with Blue Hair. She sent Hilda, her maid, to tell me where she was staying. "Why'd you leave us alone yesterday?"

Standing near one of her guards, the largest one to be exact, Aisha shrugs her shoulders and lets out a weak laugh. "Ehe... I needed to find a place to stay for the night you know. I don't expect your room to be big enough for all of us." she gestures at the surrounding guards.

"It was the middle of the day."

"I-I'm scared of the d-dark."

"You were walking around with me until late at night when we were in the Green City. Don't think you'll be fooling me." I fold my arms.

"I-I-I acquired a f-fear. Yeah, the empty and barren Winter landscape really shook me. Imagine being alone in the middle of nowhere with the wind howling past your tent every night for a week or so." she looks on down the street.

"I understand that feeling but what about your guards over there. Didn't you feel safe with them?" I ask while cocking my head to the side.

"W-What g-guards?" pretending that the sun is in her eyes, she awkwardly uses her hand to shield them. "I-I can't see any guards."

Her stuttering is almost as bad as Blue Hair's.

"They're right behind you Miss," Hilda says.

Aisha puffs out her cheeks, "Whose side are you on?"

"Hmm? I do not know what you are speaking of. Why would there be sides? You were asking a question and I simply assisted you in your time of need," Hilda responds in a matter-of-fact way. Aisha takes a moment to consider this all in. I'm sure she's wondering if Hilda could actually be this oblivious. "Besides, you had no trouble with a little extra cold and the howling wind. In fact, you stated they made you feel much more comfortable."

"GAH! Hilda! St-Stop speaking this instant!" Aisha tosses her hands up in the air. "Are you trying to throw me under the carriage?"

"My my. What a horrible thing to even suggest." Hilda rests a hand on her chest. "I would never attempt to assassinate any member of the Yurfray family."

"Y-You... I can't tell whether or not you're doing this on purpose. Aren't you supposed to help the Yurfray?"

"I only correct you, Missus. Your memories may have faded on the trip here." Hilda says with a straight face. "Your brother, he too, is a member of the Yurfray family."

"So you do know what you're doing." Aisha stares her down.

"I have no clue what you are talking about." Hilda turns her head away.

A little amused but understanding most of the debacle is over I clear my voice, "Ahem. Aisha."

Stiffening, like a criminal hit by a stun spell, she struggles to speak. Standing stiller than a newly erect statue, Aisha opens and closes her mouth several times only to occasionally squeak out incoherent noises. Does she actually plan on responding?

"Okay...." she says, defeat evident in her tone. "I, I was trying to patch things up between you two."

"Patch things up?" I ask. "Was there a problem to begin with?"

Now, she's the one who crosses her arms, "It was blatantly obvious if you ask me. Don't give me that quizzical look! I know you know it too. The both of you were acting really weird. Partners but you guys hardly spoke to each other, it was more like call and response than a conversation."

"Did it seem that way?"

She nods. "Yeah."

"Personality wise, Bl-Ellar and I, we don't match. I don't know too much about her but she tends to be much more shy than I am."

"So it's hard for you two to interact?"

"Mhm." I nod. It's definitely true that this is one of the reasons why we're not so close. Of course, the constant detrimental events to our relationship is a problem as well. We were forced to work together and in the end I let her get hurt as I stood and watched. I can't blame her if she'd prefer not to talk to me.

"A-Ah. I-I didn't think of it as a personality mismatch...." unsure of how to act, my little sister easily tears her eyes from mine. Now, as a big brother, how do I react to this? Comforting her is what our older brother would've done. As coolly as I can, walking over to Aisha, I tap her forehead with my finger.

"Heh?" she quickly rubs the part I tapped.

"Don't worry about it. It's true that she and I need to start getting along better. What you did yesterday helped out a bit, thanks."

"I-Is that so," she says, "Glad I could help then...."

"Rainen?"

I spin on my heel to face the person. "Axel?"

"Yo! What a coincidence meeting you here. Said you had to meet someone right?" he jogs over.

"Meeting my sister," I say while pointing at her.

"Hi," she awkwardly waves. "Remember me?"

Axel nods energetically, "Why would I forget?" he beams, "Looks like you two are getting along just fine now. Would be a problem if you didn't. Might have to fight a bunch of weirdo kidnappers again. Right Rai?" he slaps me on the back.

"Uh huh. Yeah. I'm actually more worried about her being scared off by my weirdo friend." I retort. "The guy's still flaunting himself around like it's Summer." I say with a bit of and edge. When is he going to go out and buy some Winter clothing? I swear he said he would this past Friday.

Grimacing, as if he had just taken a mighty blow, he says, "I take care of myself too Rai." wriggling his fingers, he soaks in the sun's powerful rays. "As you can see. It's much warmer today than yesterday."

Is Axel serious? It's the middle of Winter. The upcoming days are sure to be colder than this. I'll hand it to him that today's not so bad, however, if he owns not a single piece of Winter clothing, I'm going to wrap him up in a week old Balavora hide straight from the tanner and throw him into a pile of snow. My master used to do something similar when I was acting out....

My master.... Have I told Aisha about him? If she asks who I've been living with, do I tell her about him? There's no reason for me to keep him as some kind of dirty secret. He's basically been my guardian for the past four to five years. I hope the thought never occurs to her to visit uncle and auntie.

"Something up Rai?"

"You seem a little troubled."

The both of them, Aisha and Axel near me with their hands out as if debating whether to check on me or not. Shaking my body, their hands retract and I say, "I'm fine guys." Axel backs away, creasing his brow as he does so and Aisha follows his lead, pouting. No need to make me feel guilty, I'm telling the truth. "Aisha. Have you ever wanted to go on a quest?" I know it's not the most fun thing to do but I'll do anything to redirect this current direction.

"You mean like adventuring?" her eyes light up, the sun pales in comparison with the beams being emitted from her. "I've always wanted to try at least once! Sounds like such a free lifestyle." traces of a bliss imagination linger in each word. It's not as great as you think it to be my dearest sister. I apologize if it's going to disappoint.

"OOOH? Sweet! Another member!" Axel looks up to the sky as if he had just been bestowed an amazing gift. "I've got a few ones in mind for us three already!" excited as ever I see.

"S-So I can go adventuring with you two?" Aisha peers at me with her tree brown eyes, both glittering as if magic were imbued within them.

"More like questing." I correct her.

"Can I?" she asks more aggressively.

"Can you?" I turn to Hilda. She's the babysitter, right? Not that Aisha's a baby anymore. She became an adult once she hit fifteen. Still, seeing her like this, I can only imagine the six-year-old from so long ago wanting her mom to read her a bedtime story.

Hilda, responding to my little sister's turned focus, shrugs, "I do not believe I have the authority to dictate what you do Missus. If Joseph were here instead then that would be different, however, in this case, I believe the decision is for your brother to make."

Aisha turns her pleading gaze onto me. Oh great, how wonderful of the maid to leave it up to her masters. Maybe she doesn't get paid enough to handle the extra family issues. At least, she's on Aisha's side.

"It's alright," I say. "But we're not doing anything dangerous."

"Woohoo!" she throws her arms around my neck while jumping up and down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Alright, alright. Just get off me, we're in public." I lightly push her off.

"Ehe. Thanks." she says with a mischievous smile.

I sigh. I wonder if this was how my master felt when I did this to him in public.... I have to apologize to him later.

-----------------------------------

I'm just casually taking a stroll to the library right now, yeah, nothing strange about it. The sun is up, it's a bright new day, a bright new day.... Slumping my shoulders, I stare at the ground and its ever changing form as I continue walking. It's a Sunday and a special Sunday for that matter, Dondan. I don't know if I have to guts to give the gifts to Iris and Elis. The scenarios are already playing in my head.

What am I so worried about? I just need to walk up to them, like they did to me, and hand over the gloves right. But what if they don't like it? What'll I do then? M-Maybe if I'm lucky, they'll pretend to like it until I at least leave, yeah, that's not so bad. My feelings won't be stomped on in front of my eyes.

Gah! What are you so worried about Ellar? You've come this far and you even had Rainen help you pick out the gifts. If you can muster the courage to speak with him, why not your own friends?

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"That's because I was forced with him!" I say to myself. "H-How was I supposed to get out of that situation? GAH!" Shaking my head, I rustle up my hair.

"Hahaha." a small chorus of laughter erupts from behind me. "Hey." one of them says. "It's that girl from the battle on Friday."

"It is." girl two chimes in.

"She's talking to herself?" the third one says.

Blood rushes to my face, it slowly grows hotter and hotter. I should probably leave and go to the library like I planned to. Swiftly, I allow my legs to start down towards the direction of the library. At the pace I'm going, I could probably get to the other end of the city in less than ten minutes.

"Hold up!" girl one says, her voice is lower than the others.

Against my better judgement and the screaming of my instincts, I gradually slow to a stop. If I didn't stop here, if I didn't listen to them then I might've been targeted more in the future.... If it's three against one, I won't be able to win, not that I'd want to anyways. There's no telling what would happen if my magic went loose and no telling what would happen to me after that.

"We saw your match on Friday. Seems like you were beaten pretty badly by Lilith." the second girl says. "Honestly, it was pretty pathetic that you couldn't even hold your own for more than ten seconds. Your partner, there's a few rumors going on about him. Things about him not being very skilled with magic yet, he won against his opponent."

"She was up against a third year guys." the third one says.

"But she wasn't able to even contribute to the match." the first girl begins. "I thought this academy was supposed to only accept the elites of magic. I knew that accepting other raeces would only be detrimental." she continues.

What's her problem? I haven't done anything to her. I just want to leave and go to the library.

"C-Can I go?" I ask.

"No." the first girl says. "You have to understand that we're suffering because of you. What if I get matched against a non-human like you and I get behind because the match was abysmal?"

"I-I don't think it's fair to call us bad mages or suggest we're weak." I mutter.

"Oh? You're saying it's the teacher's fault, right? Just because you're too unskilled to hold your own you're going to blame the teachers."

"I-I didn't say that." my voice comes out harsh and exasperated.

"Look. I get that you were up against a third year but that's no excuse for letting your partner down. Here, if you're not willing to work with your partner then you're going to get nowhere. The self-centered races like you are the reason why this academy might lose it's standing one day. Think you're special because the headmaster accepted you into the school? Wrong. They only needed more students."

"T-Take that back." I say, balling up my fists.

"Take what back? That you other races are only hurting the academy because you're weak? The answer is no." she says, a smug smile appearing on her face.

"No," I say. "T-Take back what you said a-about the t-teachers."

She shakes her head as if it were a joke. The other two glance at each other.

"The answer is no also little roluk." she says, letting the L roll of her tongue. "If you want me to, why don't you do something about it?"

"I don't blame them!" I yell.

"What's going on here?"

"M-Mr. Rune...." the first girl turns around. "H-Hello."    

"Hello to you as well Vala. What are you four talking about over here hmm?" he crosses his arms while holding onto a book in his hand.

"N-Nothing.... W-We were just leaving." Vala jerks her head to the side and the two girls follow her.

"Sorry." the third one mutters before leaving.

Sighing while shaking his head, Mr. Rune walks up to me.

"Are you all right Ellar?" he asks so in a friendly tone.

I nod. I don't want to blow this out of proportion. The sooner I can get to the library and grab a book, the better this will all be.

"I wasn't expecting to see something like this, especially not during a Sunday on Dondan. Have you spoken with them before?" he asks.

"No," I say. "I-I'd like to not talk about this anymore."

"It certainly is a hard topic to speak of isn't it? Many would rather turn their heads and pretend the problem doesn't exist. If you choose not to, then I'll respect that."

"Thank you."

"Ellar, during out last talk I asked you to discuss with Rainen about his magic correct?"

"Yes...."

"Have you done so?" he asks, bouncing his leg.

"I-I did."

He urges me, "Go on."

"R-Rainen said that it was just in my head. I-I don't think that he wants to share anything either. I-I still don't know what his ability is...." I mention.

"You don't know what your partner's ability is?" he looks taken aback. "How strange. If I may, what is your ability? I wish to learn more about the students so I can better do my job in the future."

Opening my mouth to speak, the words catch in my throat as the cold feeling returns. My short breaths come out as little white apparitions. Mr. Rune doesn't seem to notice, and if he does, chooses not to pay them any heed. The icy air starts to cover my body, it's cold but I'm not shivering. Why is this happening again?

"Is something wrong?" he asks. "Huh. It seems to be getting a little colder in here."

"A-A...." It's too bad. I can't say anything. The air is cold, it's surrounding me, however, I don't feel like I'm freezing. My heart's beating faster and my sight is growing wider. I can't say anything, I can't move, all I'm getting is a bad, ominous feeling.

"Burr! It sure is cold in here huh guys?"

Walking up to us is a familiar face, one I haven't seen since the beginning of the year.

"Oh? Mr. Rune? What are you two doing here in the middle of the hallway?"

"I was discussing something with Miss Wholehart here Abelard." Mr. Rune responds in a robotic manner. "Is there something you needed from me that you felt the need to intrude on us?"

"Hmm? Oh nothing at all. I was just passing through when I spotted you two." he smiles at me. "Hello... Ellar is it? You might not remember me but I battled your partner, Rainen Weaver. He's a pretty talented guy if I say so myself."

"I remember...." I say, of course I remember. That was the first time I saw a something close to scene straight out of a book. The young but brave adventurer facing off against a great obstacle, choosing neither to run nor to yield. It also engraved a primal fear into my memory, a memory of a demon.

"That's good." he chuckles. "Glad that I've engraved my name into someone else's memory. So, what were you two talking about? Now that I see you, Ellar, I'd also like a chat."

A-A c-chat? With me? Why would a fourth year want to chat with a first year like me? Does he want to know more about Rainen? That's what his partner wanted to know way before I left to go on the mission.

"Is that so?" Mr. Rune sighs. "Ellar, I suppose we can pick this up another time. I have matters to attend to." he glances over at Abelard. "Hopefully we can meet under better circumstances next time. Please consider asking him the question again, it's important for a lesson of mine. Until next time."

"Bye," I say.

"Good day Mr. Rune."

We both watch after him as he disappears around the corner. Slowly, as if a window was closed, the cold, chilling, air disperses, traces of it still linger but the worst is gone. Everything's returned to normal now.

"W-What was it you needed to ask me?" I say, turning to Abelard.

"Ah, that? Nothing in particular. I was just wondering if you had any good books to recommend to me. I'm told you're quite the reader." he steals a glance at a nearby clock. "Actually, we'll need to put this on hold. I have a meeting with the headmaster. Think of a few good ones for me okay?"

He wastes no time in turning the other direction. Waving, he quickly shrinks before finally taking the stairs.

"Haaah." I let out a sigh. I somehow escaped talking with Mr. Rune about the subject. It may be crass of me to say so but I'm not the most comfortable talking with him. I have to thank Abelard the next time I see him. Thinking about it, that sure was a convenient time to show up. Maybe he didn't want me to-

"Happy Dondan!" someone's voice echos through the hallway.

Arg. That's right. I have to still give Iris and Elis their gifts. Feeling the relief of before fade away, I make my way to the library.

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Author's Notes: Hey guys! I finally finished the chapter. YAY! I'd really like to say more but I accidentally put this up before I could add a proper author's note so I'll just ask for a few opinions/comments. If you haven't please go and read the last thread I just posted up.

Thanks for all those who wrote me reviews before and those who choose to comment. Just knowing your thoughts and feelings about the story is a really big motivator. If you have anything to say, whether it be negative or positive, please feel free to share in the comments.

Constructive criticism on what I could improve on would be nice but knowing how you guys feel is enough.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.