by Jay Boyce
“So Jade, how are you enjoying your classes?” Ashanna was obviously trying to get conversation back to more neutral territory.
Jade grinned, gesturing to the corner where her garden and swarm of fellacai were flying around. “As you can see, I fell in love with contractual magic, and nature magic is utterly fascinating. I’m basically getting private tutoring from Carter and Brady, which is nice. Brady is very…enthusiastic.”
She had to hide a chuckle as Camille laughed outright, then explained to her parents and younger siblings, “Vicious, more like! She was basically wearing rags yesterday because Brady slashed her up so much since she could just heal herself and keep going.”
Both Derrick and Ashanna looked concerned, while the twins and Tisha looked amazed. Jade smiled prettily at them as she said simply, “I don’t mind. I think it’s what kept me alive last night. He was right in that pain and experience are some of the best teachers. It stopped me from panicking, so I’m grateful for it.”
They looked thoughtful at her statement, nodding slowly. Meanwhile, Jade turned to Camille. “So! I actually wanted to talk to you about the fellacai. Do you still want one? It worked beautifully for Ren, so I know I can do it.”
Camille beamed and looked ready to accept her offer when Ashanna cut in, “Why don’t we wait on that until after the hunt.” Her tone was final and brooked no argument, and both Jade and Camille deflated a bit, the atmosphere becoming a bit more solemn once more as Jade nodded silently.
She couldn’t blame the queen. She was remembering what Eamonn had said about the pens turning into a mess when their contractor died. She was going into a very dangerous situation, and while she knew they wanted her to come back and were hoping for the best…Ashanna was also being realistic that she might not come back. Having terrifying, but beautiful, tiny monsters attached to the royal family did seem like a bad idea if they were going to go crazy if she died. It was a sad thought, and she was suddenly a little more worried about Ren.
Faintly, she spoke, “Of course. There’s plenty of time, no need to rush into it.” She smiled weakly at Ashanna, who nodded her thanks that Jade hadn’t made a fuss of it. Still, the silence that descended afterwards was palpable. Trying to think of something that would break the silence, Jade went through the motions of shoving down food to replenish her energy.
Finally striking on an idea, she smiled at Camille, Ashanna, and Hayden. “Hey, the life magic class isn’t until Friday. Would you guys be able to give me some pointers while you’re here?”
The family looked surprised, and Ashanna asked curiously, “How did you know the three of us had life magic?” Obviously, they’d caught her glances at them.
Jade tilted her head, curious. “Was it a secret?”
It was Hayden who answered. “You looked at me. I’ve never used life magic outside of practicing with mom and my tutors. So it’s not common knowledge that I inherited that side.”
Jade nodded. “Oh, I guess that makes sense. No one told me, but I can see magical auras around people when I want to.” She quickly activated mana sense, pointing at Camille, who was closest. “Camille has an aura of brown, blue, and orange, which are earth, water, and life magic.”
She moved down the table, “Tisha has brown and gray, so earth and metal. Victor has mostly earth, but there are undertones of bright red and lilac, so fire and illusion. Will is mostly light blue with undercurrents of black and brown, so he’s mainly wind with some dark and earth. Hunter is mostly brown with some red, so earth and fire. Hayden is mostly orange with some violet and light blue, so he’s life with some illusion and wind. Brodie is mostly the red of fire with some earth as well. King Derrick, you’re mostly brown, but you also have the red of fire and the light blue of wind. Queen Ashanna is mostly orange, but she’s got illusion, dark, water, and a tiny bit of this light green one that I’ve never actually seen before, so I’m not sure what it means.”
Her explanation was met with dead silence once more as they all looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and amazement. Finally, Ashanna said tactfully, “It’s spiritual magic.” Jade nodded, pondering this new information as Ashanna said quietly, “So you can see all the different shades of magic a person possesses?”
Jade nodded. “Yeah, it’s how I found the doppelganger. Its magic was this shimmering amalgamation of colors, never quite staying the same. The mesmer had this horrible black aura…it wasn’t the black of dark magic, but something that just felt sick and sinister. It felt horrible, so tainted…but it’s why I think I can find them. Anything that evil is something I’ll be able to spot from a distance, hopefully.”
They nodded, looking thoughtful at her words. Finally, Ashanna spoke again, “Well, it does seem useful at the very least. Can you see your own colors?”
Jade paused, thinking about it. “I don’t see them coming off my skin, but I haven’t ever tried looking in a mirror while I use my mana sense.”
Tisha was already digging in her purse, looking excited as she passed a hand mirror over to Jade. Taking it, she took a deep breath, then held it up as she reactivated mana sense.
The wash of colors that surrounded her in the mirror was brilliant. The brightest color was white, the color of light magic, but it was barely dominant. There were so many colors: the dark blue of water, the brown of earth, the bright red of fire, light blue for wind, bright yellow for lightning, tiny bits of black for dark magic, a rich dark green for nature, a light pink that was contract, a small bit of orange for life, a tiny bit of lavender for illusion, a large streak of gray for metal, the undercurrent of dark red for blood, a bright lime green of healing, the dark violet aura of compulsion, and then a bright purple and teal that she wasn’t quite sure which was which, but she guessed were spatial and gravity.
“Can you see them?” Tisha prodded, and Jade nodded, looking closer. Almost imperceptible, the barest traces at the edges contained other colors: light green, neon blue, a sickly yellow-brown, and the faintest traces of something pearly, as well as copper, silver, and gold. “What colors do you have?”
Jade smiled, shaking her head. “All of them, plus…I think I can see the potential for more. It’s so faint, I can’t be totally sure. I have no idea what they signify. It seems the more you use the magic, the more the color takes to your aura. So while there are a few colors I can maybe barely see, I have no idea how to use them. One of them is that light green that Ashanna said was spiritual magic.”
Derrick and Ashanna were exchanging glances, and then Ashanna queried her, “Jade, can you hand me your class schedule? I’d like to take a look at it.”
A little startled, Jade nevertheless reached into her pocket and brought out her schedule, handing it over to Ashanna who looked it over, then nodded as she thought for a moment and asserted, “Let’s go with ten on Thursday.” She handed the schedule back to Jade, who looked confused.
“I’m sorry, ten on Thursday for what?”
Ashanna smiled. “I’ll be meeting you here for private tutoring, of course.”
Oh.
Chapter Twenty-Five – Still
“Of course. I’ll be here,” Jade echoed, still a little shocked that Ashanna was going to personally tutor her. Considering she was the only one with that spiritual magic that she’d seen, despite how tiny the streak was, it was important. Plus, life magic would be helpful. Sure, she’d asked, but hadn’t thought she’d get more than a few pointers, so being personally tutored by the queen was an unexpected twist for her.
They made small talk after that, finishing their meal peacefully. Hayden and Hunter had the table laughing softly at their antics as they told her about their various tutors and pretending to be each other. When they were done, they started getting up and getting ready to leave when Tisha pounced on Jade again, just hugging her as she said softly, “Stay safe.”
Jade smiled, hugging her back as she replied just as quietly, “I’ll do my best, munchkin.”
Tisha grumbled. “I’m not that small.” She g
lanced around, making sure no one else was paying attention as she poked Jade in the boob. “It’s not fair! You were smaller than me three days ago!”
Jade had flinched away when she was poked, then had to muffle her laughter when some of the royal family started paying attention to her again. She smirked down at Tisha, holding her out at arm’s length so she couldn’t poke her again as she said with a laugh, “You’ll grow up soon enough, no need to rush it.”
Tisha grumbled softly but reluctantly nodded and backed up to let the rest of the family draw near for their own goodbyes. The men kissed her hand while the women pecked her on the cheek with a small hug. She smiled as they let the servants in to clean up, waving them off peacefully. Camille called over her shoulder as she left, “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Jade nodded, a little confused until she remembered she had water magic that afternoon, the only class they shared. The servants were looking a little concerned at the fellacai still flitting around one corner of her room, so she walked over to them. It was time to return them, sadly.
“Alright lovelies, back into the cage.” She could almost hear the mental protests they emitted as she stood in the middle of them, their wings gently caressing her with tiny butterfly kisses and adding ever more blue dots to her mental screen. They were fluttering around reluctantly, and she sighed, layering a little more compulsion towards them as she ordered, “In.” She didn’t want to do it, but it was necessary.
With her final scolding, they started to enter the cage in an orderly manner, save her babies. She glanced around, making sure she hadn’t missed any, and then glanced back to see most of the servants staring at her in awe. She smiled at them, closing the cage. “Are you done here?”
“Oh, y-yes, miss. We are,” the nearest man stuttered quickly, ushering the others out in front of him as he bowed to her and said, “Good d-day, miss.” She smiled and nodded at him, trying not to unnerve him any more than she already had. When they were out and moving towards the stairs, she came out with her babies clinging to her hair and locked the door behind her, moving back over to the contractual room.
Unlocking it, she breathed a sigh of relief that Randal was no longer there. She quickly walked over to where the fellacai were normally kept, putting the cage down as she murmured softly, “Until tomorrow, my loves.”
Looking around the room, she double checked that the door was closed before walking over to the wall of cages. Her fellacai swooped away from her, not wanting to be near the other animals. Several of the creatures watched her curiously from their various positions as she layered command into her voice yet again, “Come to the front of your cages and be still so I may touch you. After my hand is out, you may go back to normal.” The commands were getting easier and easier to issue, and she absently wondered if she wasn’t using it just a tad too much. There seemed to be an extra layer when she used it now, and she absently wondered if it was hypnotism kicking in as well.
Still, each of the animals that were similar, but not quite the same as animals on earth, started to come to the front of their cages. They were mostly smaller animals, nothing weighing more than fifty pounds, if she had to guess. Carefully, she began to walk from cage to cage, lightly caressing each animal’s head briefly before withdrawing her hand and moving on. Many of them chose not to move back, instead watching her as she moved among them.
When she had finished, the long line of cages still held animals staring at her in a mixture of curiosity and longing. Several of them had eyes fixed on the fellacai, and she wondered at their potential intelligence. Living in captivity, the only thing they could do was listen and watch. Had that had an impact on their growth? Her heart went out to them, but she stopped herself. She didn’t want to overwhelm herself. Softly, she whispered, “I’m sorry. I’ll do what I can for you.”
They were still staring until finally one of them huffled and turned, walking back further into the cage to settle once more and the others started following suit. She breathed a silent sigh of relief, then went back to the door, opening it as her fellacai once again landed on her crown braid. She locked the place up behind her, then descended the stairs, heading back for the Caldwell Education Center once more.
She still had about ten minutes before class started, but there were very few students headed towards the Caldwell Center. There were a bunch of students outside, but they were headed in the opposite direction for the most part, which confused her. Curious, she stopped one of the nearby students by catching their arm lightly. “I’m sorry, can you tell me where everyone is going?”
The boy looked startled, but he smiled at her and answered, “The obstacle course. Everyone is going to check out how the newbies do and have a laugh when they screw up.”
“Oh, of course. Thank you!” She smiled brilliantly at him and he looked a little dazed.
“Do you want to come with me?” He was still staring at her as if he was starstruck.
“Oh, I’ve got a class I have to get to, but thank you. I’m Jade, by the way. It’s nice to meet you…?”
“Tyler. It’s nice to meet you too. I haven’t seen you before. Are you new here?”
She smiled. “Yes, I’m a first year. Is it that obvious?”
He laughed. “Well, you did ask where everyone was going.” She nodded as he continued, “Hey, are you staying on campus for dinner?” A little puzzled, Jade nodded. “The fifth floor food is terrible. Why don’t you join me on the third floor? I still have an invitation left…”
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “Oh, that’s very kind of you, but my professor has invited me to the first floor.”
He seemed to deflate instantly, then asked, “Oh, are you going to Monster Study tonight then?”
She smiled, shaking her head. “Sadly, no. I’ve got light magic to go to.”
“You’re an intermediate light mage?” he asked curiously, seemingly a little impressed as well.
“I am!” she announced cheerfully.
He nodded before taking her hand as he proceeded, “Well, I’d probably better let you go. It was lovely to meet you, Jade, and I look forward to seeing more of you. I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again.” There was a glint in his bright hazel eyes that seemed to indicate his determination to make such encounters happen, and he absently brushed his brown hair back after he bent over to kiss her hand.
“Oh, yes. I’d better get to class then. Thank you for answering my question, and I’ll see you around!” She smiled at him and he stared at her for a moment before belatedly releasing her hand, nodding. She grinned at him again, then turned, walking towards Caldwell again.
She’d only gotten about fifteen feet when she heard hurried footsteps behind her, and she glanced back to see a pretty brunette who looked to be trying to catch up to her. She slowed her steps for a moment as the girl squealed softly as she caught up, “Oh my gosh, that was brilliant! I’d have been scared to death to flirt with a third year like that!” Jade looked at her in confusion, and she grinned, leaning in and kissing Jade on the cheek as she effused cheerfully, “Oh, I’m Evanna! It’s lovely to meet you! Can you teach me how to do that?”
Jade was flummoxed. “Oh, it’s, uhm, nice to meet you, Evanna. I’m Jade, but what do you want me to teach you?”
Evanna latched onto her arm, propelling them both forward to the Caldwell Center. “How to flirt, silly! You had that third year eating out of the palm of your hand! It was amazing to watch!”
She was still confused. “But I wasn’t flirting with him? I just wanted to ask a question, and he was being friendly.”
Evanna pulled her to a standstill, staring at her as if she was trying to read the secrets of her soul. “Oh. My. Heavens. Seriously!? You really had no idea how hard he was trying to ask you out?” Jade stared blankly at her and she shook her head. “Girl, he was doing everything he could to secure more time with you. I mean, I don’t blame him, you’re gorgeous, but still. How can you be that oblivious? I wouldn’t be surprised i
f he shows up to walk you to class!”
Jade shook her head, still bewildered. “You must be mistaken. He was just making polite conversation.”
Evanna huffed, shaking her head as she began pulling Jade towards Caldwell again. “Girl, you’re crazy. Are you going to geography?”
Not sure how to follow the abrupt change in conversation, she nodded. “Yes…”
“Great! Me too! I can’t believe you have no idea what you just did to that poor boy. Also, your hair is so pretty! How did you do that? Where did you get those ornaments from? They look so lifelike!”
Being pulled along, she was still trying to adapt to Evanna’s pace. “Oh, it’s just…something I learned in my old world, and they’re not ornaments, they’re my bonded.” At her words, her babies fluttered and preened a bit, causing Evanna to bring them to a standstill again, staring at her.
“No. WAY! You’re the traveler!? It’s like so amazing to meet you! I can’t wait to tell everyone I met you! This is so awesome! But oh, we’ve gotta go or we’ll be late, and everyone says Count Edmund hates when people are late.” She started tugging Jade away again, and she mused absently to herself, is this how other people feel around me?
She put up no resistance to being pulled along, and soon enough they were back on the second floor of Caldwell and she was being pulled into a classroom that was much smaller than the business class had been yesterday. Instead of auditorium seating, there were only about ten desks and every surface of the wall was covered in maps of all shapes and sizes.
Count Edmund sat at the front of the room, and four of the seats were filled with students. She smiled, greeting them, “Hello, Count Edmund. Hi, Ian. Hi, Chloe.” She recognized the other two as first years who were staying at the Green Dragon as well, but they weren’t anyone she’d ever talked to.
“Hey, Jade.” Ian smiled nervously back at her, and she smiled as she took a seat next to him, while Evanna claimed the one next to her.
