Aurora.

"Get away from me, Sky. Your help for today has been more than enough," I hissed quietly at the flustered dragon, swinging my handbag hard at his arm.

Aside from my bruised knee, I noticed a large tear in the hem of my dress. Trying to keep myself from panicking, I glanced at Skylar.

He didn't grasp what had happened, and by the determined look on his face and the anger in his shining eyes, he was about to rush me again, until noticed the ruined dress.

He opened his mouth but shut it quickly without saying a word. Giving me a sympathetic look, Sky glanced toward the hall, just around the corner. He was clearly worried about Camilla.

"Go, Sky. If you run into Maximilian, explain what happened. If I can fix this, I'll come; if not, tell him I'm sorry," I said quietly, fingering the torn fabric.

Before attempting to fix it with a spell, I needed to calm down first. Otherwise, I'd end up returning to my room half-naked. I stroked the soft fur of my coat, grateful that if the spell failed, at least I wouldn't be completely exposed.

Muttering a quiet "sorry," Sky finally left, leaving me to entertain the gathered students.

My friendship with dragons hadn't gone unnoticed; none of the support magicians made any attempt to help, their curious eyes fixed on my torn dress and bruised knee.

Somehow, I managed to get to my feet and limped over to the nearest windowsill, leaning against it to inspect the tear in my skirt.

In class or back in my room, I'd easily be able to deal with something like this. But not here, not with a dozen students watching me, their smirking faces ready to disrupt my spell on purpose.

I took a deep breath, looking around, trying to figure out what to do next. There was no way I could attend the ball like this, and I had no backup dress.

I had turned down the dress I’d ordered earlier, when Maximilian had firmly stated that I was going to the ball in this one, and he didn’t want to hear anything more. Perhaps it was foolish to refuse a second dress, but when I got that tiny, rare artifact in my hands, thoughts of attire vanished completely.

While I waited for the pain in my knee to subside and gathered the courage to leave the main hall, I heard the sound of quick footsteps echoing through the corridor.

I hadn't noticed how alone I'd become. All the students were already inside, and it sounded like the rector was delivering his festive speech. Only the sharp, approaching footsteps prevented me from hearing Rector Marinex's words.

When a tall, well-dressed young man appeared from around the corner, tears finally betrayed me, rolling down my cheek. Dressed in a formal coat with his black hair neatly styled, the black dragon was striding toward me swiftly.

His usually grey eyes had darkened completely, revealing the extreme level of his anger. I could only hope it wasn’t because of my clumsiness or the ruined dress.

Maximilian stopped just short of me, his gaze sweeping over me as he silently assessed the extent of the catastrophe.

"Frosty, I thought you'd end up stark naked, but it's just a tear in your skirt. Girl, why are you crying alone in an empty hallway instead of fixing your dress and dancing at the ball with your handsome date?" The dragon spoke in his usual manner, skipping any greetings or questions.

His words instantly put an end to my tears. Knowing that I wouldn’t get an ounce of sympathy from this cold-blooded creature, I no longer felt like crying.

"My name’s Aurora. Have you forgotten my name again, dragon?" I growled in response, glancing once more at the tear in my dress before sighing. "I was afraid I’d ruin it completely if I tried to fix it with a spell," I admitted, lowering my head.

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Maximilian burst into laughter.

"Is that really you, Aurora? I spent a good quarter of an hour telling my father what a brilliant and talented daughter Arthef Winder has. I even asked for a recommendation for you to the Department of Urban Development. And here you are, this brilliant and talented girl, afraid to fix her own gown, crying over it in the hallway. Looks like I might have overestimated you, darling," the dragon said mockingly and held out his hand to me.

"Come on, I’ll walk you back to your room. There you can cry all you want, and while you're at it, you can mourn the recommendation and the chance to join the Department of Urban Development that you’re too scared to earn," he added, his tone more serious now.

I stared at his outstretched hand, realizing how foolish the whole situation must look from the outside.

A support mage, crying over a problem that could be solved with a simple first-level spell. Taking a deep breath, I removed my coat and draped it over Maximilian’s arm.

The boy narrowed his eyes and smiled again.

"Fix quid sus fracti," I whispered, running my hand over the torn fabric.

Before our eyes, the dress became whole again. Only a faint trace of magic could indicate that the fabric had been damaged. But no one would notice from the outside.

"Mundus et lenis," I added, casting another spell to smooth and clean the dress after having sat on the floor.

Inspecting the now flawless garment, which looked as though it had just come from the tailor’s workshop, I finally raised my eyes to my companion.

Maximilian stood there with a smug, radiant smile. Shifting the coat to his other arm, he offered me his elbow.

"May I escort you to the ball, my lovely dona?" he said confidently, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

"Sorry, I just got overwhelmed. There were so many people, and Sky was acting so strange and rough," I whispered, taking a step toward the dragon, only to gasp and stumble right into his arms.

"What’s wrong?" he asked sternly, peering into my eyes, where tears had returned from the sharp pain in my knee.

"My knee. I think falling on the stone floor did more damage than just tearing my dress. That's why I didn’t leave — I thought it would pass," I explained to Max, who frowned again, muttering something under his breath. "Sorry, Max. Looks like you’re going to be without a date tonight. I doubt I can walk, let alone dance."

Maximilian gave me a strange look, then gently brushed a hand over my styled hair.

"It’d be a shame, Aurora, if no one but me and a panic-stricken Sky saw how stunning you look tonight. Let’s fix this: just wrap your arms around my neck and don’t scream."

Throwing the blue coat over my shoulders, Maximilian scooped me up swiftly and started walking off.

"Maximilian, where are you taking me?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady as I clung to him.

"Just call me Max. After our nights together, formalities are unnecessary, darling," he said with a mischievous smile, earning a sharp glare from me, before continuing more seriously: "The Rector has a healer on standby, it’s not far. An elf will fix your knee quickly. You’ll give me at least one dance tonight. As for the ritual, you can catch it next year — there’s nothing too special about it."

He carried me down several flights of empty corridors before bringing me into a classroom.

Behind the teacher's desk sat a blond elf, clearly unamused by the fact that instead of enjoying the ball, he’d been tasked with sitting on duty, waiting for any visitors in need of healing.

Marcus Martimus, the academy healer, glanced at the dragon rushing into his office with a bored expression.

"Is it something urgent? Why aren’t you at the ball, Vir Terragon, Dona Winder?" the elf squinted, watching as Maximilian sat me near his desk, where various colored vials were neatly arranged.

"The young lady fell, Vir Martimus. We need your help," the dragon stated firmly, offering a slight bow of respect toward the healer.

With a sigh, Marcus stood up and reluctantly waved a hand over my head.

"It’s fixable. Close your eyes, young dona."

The healer lifted the hem of my dress slightly, growling at the dragon to turn away, and touched my knee lightly with his cool, slender fingers.

Elven magic swept through like a cold wave, soothing the dull pain in my aching leg.

"There, now nothing will stop you from enjoying your first ball, Dona Winder," came the elf’s quiet voice, and I opened my eyes, meeting his icy green gaze.

"Thank you, Vir Martimus," I said, inclining my head slightly.

He seemed utterly indifferent to everything happening around him. The man was clearly bored and wasn’t even trying to hide it.

He slowly stood and returned to his desk, sinking back into a folio written in a language only he could understand.

"Let’s go, Aurora, or we’ll miss all the fun," Maximilian said as he extended his hand to me again, helping me to get on my feet.