"Honey, are you alright?" Avedara sighed as she laid her cheek on her fist. He had to be a Touchless... Life's not fair... She just sat there, gazing into the street. Now it was her mother's turn to sigh. "It's alright. You'll get into the College."

Oh yeah, the College... She had been so caught up thinking about Chris that she had forgotten all about it! Her dreams... her ambitions... how could she let anyone let her lose sight of them for even a moment? Audibly groaning, Avedara put her head in her palms. Why was she getting so worked up about this? Whatever...I'll be fine. Lady Orghae tsked at her unladylike sounds.

"Avedara, control yourself! What's wrong?" she asked, slightly annoyed. Turning to her mother, she donned a blank expression. "I'm not sure. I think I'm just losing my mind," she replied. I'm not gonna tell my mom that I was thinking about a Touchless. She'd fillet me!

The Orghae family had a reputation for being strictly pro-Touched (as do most nobles), so they were sure to raise their next generation in the custody of only Touched people -- even their staff at their estates. Every maid, butler, cook, gardener, or serviceman wielded magic, using low-level magic such as watering flowers and sweeping the floor up to higher tier magic like creating enchanted wares for the family. However, there is a limit to what money can buy, so even though there are "higher" tiers of magic, no employee came close to the truly unquestionable power of the Wizards and their noble families.

When they finally had returned to the estate, Avedara wordlessly went straight to her room, quietly shutting the door behind her. Lying down on her bed, she pulled her palms to her face, groaning. It had been a long day. Why was this day going like this!? First I was stressing about getting accepted into the College, now I'm fawning over a Touchless who I haven't known for more than 15 minutes! Snatching a pillow from her bed, she pulled it over her face and screamed as loud as she could into it. Even though it was muffled, to Avedara it felt as in she was emptying all her cares into the feather-filled sack. After a few moments, the pillow slid off of her face and onto the carpet.

Ahhh, that's better. Standing up, she began to walk toward the closed door. Suddenly, she froze, hearing a distant thumping sound... What is that...? Putting her ear to the door, she listened to it as it became increasingly louder. With her face still against the wood, the door swung open, causing her head to get pushed towards the wall. "Lady Avedara?! Are you here?" Sliding out from behind the door with her hand against where she had hit her head, Avedara replied with a sheepish, "Yes, Emily... Please knock next time..." In the doorway was a short, blonde maid around 16 years old. With her freckled face beet red, she bowed deeply. "Sorry, ma'am! It's just that you received a letter from the College!"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

With her eyes wide, Avedara snatched the letter from the maid's hand. She turned the black envelope over to reveal blue wax with the College's enchanted seal on it, which ensured that Avedara was the only one who could cause any damage to the document or the container it was delivered in. She flew from her room with Emily in tow, sprinting all the way to the dining hall where her mother was enjoying her afternoon tea. The tall, grandiose room was filled wall to wall with family portraits and satin drapes. The tile floor was polished so well that the entire room reflected off of it, making it seem even bigger than it already was. She ran over to Lady Orghae with a wide grin. "Mother! The acceptance letter came!" Avedara exclaimed, waving the letter above her head.

Putting down her cup of tea, Lady Orghae turned to face her daughter with a smile on her face. "Let's open it, then!" Pulling up a seat next to her, Avedara carefully broke the wax seal, exposing the mana-filled quartz crystal powering the enchantment. Using her nails, she extracted the crystal and put it aside. Although it was pretty weak, Avedara always wanted a crystal of her own to practice storing and withdrawing mana with. She reached into the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper with a light blue tinge to it. Without warning, the words on the letter began to glow a bright purple. A disembodied woman's voice pierced the air, reading the illuminated words aloud.

"Avedara Orghae, daughter to the illustrious Q-Class Wizard Brunus Orghae and heir to the Orghae Family, it is the honor of the Mage's College of Gilaria to grant you admission to our academy next semester. We look forward to seeing you among our student body in the upcoming months. Enclosed is your school supply list, as well as a map of the campus. The semester begins in 67 days. Good luck, and may the Frae guide you."

As the voice trailed off, the words lost their light on the letter. The giddy grin on Avedara's face grew wider by the second. She shrieked with excitement so loudly that the windows almost shattered, sending her mother into a hysterical laughing fit. "Honey, calm down. Congratulations! I'm so proud, and I guarantee your father will be too when he hears the news tonight." After a few moments, the newest student of the College took a deep breath before looking in the envelope again. As promised, a shopping list was included in the acceptance letter. One 10 carat amethyst, one foot-long willow wood wand core, two mythril wand caps... this stuff ain't cheap...

Avedara passed the sheet to her mother. Lady Orghae skimmed the list quickly before handing it back to her daughter. "That's quite expensive..." Nodding her head, Avedara folded the sheet and put it in the pocket on her left breast. "We can afford it, right mom?"

Lady Orghae smiled. "We'll be just fine, sweetheart. Be glad your father makes as much as he does, otherwise we might not be so lucky." With a wide grin, Avedara dashed out of the room, up the stairs, and into her room, leaping onto her bed once again and screaming with happiness into the pillow. I don't have to think of Chris anymore... I never have to see him again! Things are gonna turn out just fine!