Peter and the Elven Songs (War of Contractia)

by Dixon, TJ

  “Sorry!” I apologise.

  “Sorry master!” Dairon says.

  “Don’t worry about it you two, but no more questions about this, and no more answers either. Also I told you to call me Peter not master.” Peter says the last part sounding annoyed.

  “I’m sorry master Peter!” He says and Peter smiles wryly.

  “Just Peter, not master Peter.”

  “I’m sorry… Peter.” He says but sounds uncomfortable.

  “Anyway Aventurine is a water mage, but she needs some help with her training, so I figured you could be of assistance. Water magic was never my strength.”

  “I can’t use magic anymore, but hopefully if you try to use some magic I may be able to offer some advice.” Dairon says. Can’t use magic anymore?

  “Ok.” I say and use magic on the pool. Some of the water starts to rise, but only a small amount.

  “I see the problem.” He says immediately. Then he explains it and it takes a while to understand, but when I do my next attempt lifts the whole of the pool, and I am able to easily manipulate it. By lunch time my magic has improved so much that I am sure even Rin will be impressed.

  “I don’t think we need to continue after lunch, but if you want we could have lunch together. You don’t have to though.” Peter says.

  “Sure.” I say.

  “It’s a bit cold to eat here. In the summer I would have suggested it, and after what happened in the Drake I’d rather not go there. We could eat at the academy, but Dairon wouldn’t be able to go there with us.”

  “I prefer to eat nature’s bounty, and I can’t eat many of the foods that Contractians eat. Why don’t the two of you eat together, while I find some food here?” Dairon says.

  “That’s a good idea!” I say enthusiastically, and then realise I probably sound bad for saying it, so I follow up by saying, “But are you sure?”

  “Yes.” Dairon says smiling as if amused. I guess he realises that I am only being polite, and worse Peter looks at me a little annoyed.

  “We’ll eat at the academy then.” Peter says. “If anything happens though, let me know.”

  “Of course.” He says, and then looks at me. “But I’ll try not to interrupt you.” I blush a little embarrassed. Peter holds out his hand and I take it. Peter ports us to the lunchroom. It is almost empty despite being lunchtime, because most students leave the academy for their day off.

  “He did just spend all morning helping you, so you could have been a little more grateful.” Peter says. “Good work though. I am sure Rin will be amazed at your progress. You’ll have to keep your method secret for now though. I still haven’t gotten around to letting Rin know about Dairon.”

  “I will do, and I’m sorry.” I say apologetically.

  “He didn’t mind, so I’m not angry or anything, but…”

  “I know! I’m sorry!” I say bowing this time.

  “Anyway, what are you having for lunch?”

  “I’ll have my usual.” I say and take my usual dish. Peter blinks and laughs.

  “That’s your usual is it?”

  “Yes, is there something wrong?”

  “I have eaten from that section once, but it was to celebrate our promotion. I guess nobles can afford to eat from there all the time.” Peter says.

  “I can get you something from here too if you want.” I offer.

  “No, I’ll stick to soup.” Peter says.

  “The soup from this section is nice too.”

  “No, I’m fine with the standard soup.” Peter says grabbing a dish of it.

  “Ok.” I say and we pay before sitting down. “I figured you must have been rich to afford to keep slaves.”

  “I am compared to when I first arrived here, but not compared to you. I only have what I’ve earned from the bounty hunts and the escort jobs.”

  “Escort jobs?” I ask unsure what he means.

  “I was hired to escort Rin as she gathered materials for her mother, although it ended up more as being hired to gather them with her. Rin’s mother is an alchemist, and that is what Rin hopes to be one day.” Peter explains.

  “Is that how you met Rin?” I ask.

  “No. We met in class.” Peter says and I can see he is remembering it. “Actually we first met outside. I was in my tent and Elucia made it snow. I looked outside and the three of them were there. I can’t remember what Rin called me, but it wasn’t pleasant. Then the next day we met in class and Elucia was about to be executed. She was spared at the last moment when the Queen came in and announced the end of the survival threshold. Elucia was expelled and I became friends with Rin. We were actually forced to fight in a competition together. It wasn’t that long ago, but it seems like a lifetime ago. Of course now there’s the royal competition, but I entered that by choice.”

  “You entered the royal competition?!” I exclaim in surprise. Then I wonder why I’m surprised.

  “It is a quick way to get promoted, and I’m confident of beating most of the classes. We’ll probably stop before we fight 2A though.”

  “You’re in 2D aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you get ten members in your team. Have you considered who you’ll use?”

  “Obviously Rin, Hermes and Yu Kii. Possibly the Lightwood twins if they want to. I can’t use Charlotte or Emma until we get promoted, and I obviously can’t use Lilian at all. I’ll need to think seriously about whether to ask anyone else to help.” Peter says carefully.

  “I’d be happy to help.” I say enthusiastically.

  “You have made good progress, but for now I think you need to train a bit more before you do something like this.” Peter says.

  “How about we continue the training after lunch?” I suggest.

  “I was hoping to get Dairon to help me with wind magic.” Peter says apologetically.

  “I’m sure I could practise some more without too much help. I’m sure you could still do the wind training at the same time.”

  “I suppose that’s true. I’m still not sure you’ll be ready for the competition though.” Peter says.

  “Even if I’m not I’ll be closer.” I say confidently.

  “Fine.” Peter says. “Are you sure you shouldn’t be focusing on making up with Neko though?”

  “I will do, but I think I should do this first.” I say.

  “Ok, but don’t waste your food.” Peter says and I realise I have hardly touched my food. “You’ll need it to keep up your training.”

  “Sorry, I’ll eat now.” I say and turn my attention to my food. It is soon gone.

  “You have a little sauce here.” Peter says pointing just above his lips. I blush and wipe it off quickly. “We shouldn’t go straight back to practise until we’ve let our food go down a bit. Tell me a little about yourself if you don’t mind.”

  “About myself…” I say caught off guard. “I’m sure you know about the Divine Flame family.”

  “I didn’t before I met you, but your family do seem to be very famous. Even the Queen had a great deal of respect for your family.”

  “The Queen?” I ask in surprise. “You mentioned about her before, but are you still in contact with the Queen?”

  “On second thoughts this isn’t the best place to talk.” Peter says and grabs my hand. He ports us and I realise this must be his room. He sits on the bed and gestures for me to as well, so I do. It feels strange sitting on his bed. “It was only the other day that Rin was overheard saying something she shouldn’t have, and now I’m repeating her mistake. I can’t really go into details about the Queen, but if you could forget about it, that would be great.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell anyone about it.” I promise.

  “Not even Neko?”

  “Not even Neko.” I promise, feeling guilty for her, but not wanting to cause Peter any trouble.

  “Well, to keep my own promise I also can’t tell you.” Peter says apologetically.

  “I understand. Keeping your word
is important.” I say.

  “Thank you.”

  “As you know my family are specialist flame mages. Especially my mother. I on the other hand have always been considered a failure in my family. I hope my work with you and the club will finally impress my family.”

  “That much I guessed, but magic isn’t your whole life.”

  “Sometimes it feels like it is.” I say remembering all those long hours being forced to try to master fire magic. “I lost count of the times I got burnt trying to master the flames.”

  “A painful element to learn if you aren’t suited to it.” Peter says wincing. “When I first learnt fire magic, my father… What was I saying?”

  “About your father.” I prompt him.

  “No, I don’t know who my father is. I have no memory of him.”

  “But you were just saying he taught you fire magic.” I say frowning.

  “Did I?” Peter asks confused. “I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling too good. I don’t think I’m going to be up to training after all.” He stands up looking really dizzy and I quickly stand too. It is good that I did because he starts to fall. I quickly steady him with my hand and help him sit back down.

  “Are you ok?” I ask really worried.

  “I’ll be ok.” He says weakly. “Could you let Dairon know I’m not going to be back there? You should train some more with him though.”

  “Perhaps I should stay here with you until Hermes gets back. I can let Dairon know we’re not going to be back.” I say really concerned now.

  “No, you should practise. I must just be tired. I haven’t slept in days. I should use more of that potion, it should help.”

  “What potion?” I ask concerned.

  “The Queen gave it to me so I could do the mission without sleep.” Peter says, but he sounds really out of it. That the Queen gave it to him, and that he did a mission for her is shocking, but the biggest shock is what it must be. There is only one potion he can be talking about.

  “How long have you been taking it?” I ask desperately.

  “Start of the week.” He says sounding a little slurred and moving his head randomly from side to side.

  “You should get some sleep, and promise me you’ll not take that potion again. It isn’t meant to be used for that long. The longer you use it the worse the effects when you stop. If you use it for too long it can even kill you.”

  “Kill me?” He says happily. “That sounds nice. Just like my mother did.”

  “Your mother did?” I ask blankly and then realise he must be talking nonsense now.

  “Who?” He asks blankly.

  “Look, you should lie down.”

  “The potion first.” He says and takes out a bottle from his pocket. He is about to drink it but I snatch it away from him. He grabs hold of me and shouts, “Give it to me!”

  “It could kill you.” I protest.

  “Give it to me!”

  “No!” I shout back and no longer seeming dizzy he pushes me down forcefully and tries to grab it back. Desperate I consider porting, but it would take him with me, and like this it would look really bad for both of us. I consider my options quickly as he claws at my hands, and they start to bleed. He isn’t physically strong but neither am I. Thankfully he hasn’t used magic, and I can only pray he doesn’t. I remember what I learnt earlier from Dairon, and summoning water I throw him off of me and port back to my room.

  I look around my room for somewhere to put the potion temporarily, but suddenly the door with its magical protection explodes, and so too does the outer stone wall with its even stronger magical protection. It is good that I wasn’t standing in the way of Peter’s wind slice, because I would be dead. I drop the potion and hear it crash. I try to port away but my port is blocked. Then Peter says one bitter word, and collapses onto the floor. ‘Hades’ is what he said. I have no idea what it means.

  I touch Peter’s hand and port him back to his room, praying he doesn’t wake up and go on the rampage again. I lift him onto his bed with the help of my very poor wind magic. Then I port to Dairon and port him back to Peter’s room without saying a word.

  “What happened to my master?!” Dairon asks.

  “Quiet! A potion he was using for too long.” I whisper urgently.

  “Is that potion how he got his immense power?” Dairon asks.

  “It just means he doesn’t need sleep.” I say. Immense power? Like the power he used to destroy the door and wall in my room?

  “Perhaps I said too much.” Dairon says realising his mistake.

  “Can you look after him? I had to use water magic on him earlier, so he’s soaked but it would be better for another guy to look after him.”

  “At least you didn’t have to ask whether I was a boy.” He chuckles but then frowns. “Yes, I can look after him, but using water magic on him was very dangerous. If he got serious you would have been killed.”

  “Yes, I know.” I say thinking back to my room. “He probably isn’t going to be himself until he has gotten plenty of sleep, so make sure he doesn’t wake.”

  “Ok, I’ll do my best. You’d better go now.”

  “Ok.” I say and port back to my wrecked room. Neko is there now and looks frantic.

  “What happened?!” Neko cries out.

  “Peter happened.” I say with a shiver.

  “Peter did this?” Neko asks incredulously.

  “Yes. He was affected by a potion he’d been taking, but I didn’t know he had this sort of power.” I say and quickly sit on my bed.

  “I thought there were meant to be protective spells on the door and wall.” Neko says.

  “There were, but it went straight through the protections like they weren’t there. If I’d been standing a little further that way I’d have been cut in half too. No, much more than that. There might not have been anything left of me.” I say and suddenly Neko jumps on me and hugs me.

  “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I was so angry! To think that could have been the last time we spoke!” Neko cries hugging me so tightly.

  “What happened here?” A voice says and I look up. It is a teacher.

  “I’m not sure.” I lie. I can’t tell her Peter did this.

  “This is way beyond what any student could have done. What is this?” She says crouching down and looking at the potion. She sniffs it and frowns.

  “This is an illegal potion. How did it get here?”

  “I don’t know. I just came back and found the room like this.” I lie.

  “Yes, it wasn’t Peter.” Neko says and I silently curse.

  “It wasn’t… Peter.” The teacher asks immediately suspicious. “I will check on Peter immediately.”

  “You can’t, he’s on a bounty hunt.” I lie.

  “Do not lie to me!” The teacher shouts at me, and I wince.

  “I’m not lying. Everyone knows that he goes on the bounty hunts with some of the club.” I say.

  “Perhaps, but I suspect if I go to his room I’ll find him there under the effects of this potion.” The teacher says with a smirk. “I’ll have to get the head’s permission to enter his room, but you are both coming with me. I can’t have you warning him, and preventing his expulsion.”

  Chapter 11 (Multiple)

  (Hermes)

  I wake up at dawn but we don’t meet up until later. I wish I could have organised things at the training, but instead I had to go round all my team members’ rooms last night to let them know they were on the team. Peter really wasn’t as organised as normal. He was also back after I went to bed. It was only just before I got to sleep, and he left before I woke up. I guess he must have used that potion again. I on the other hand feel really rough having gotten too little sleep.

  Jenny and Lilian are both waiting for me. So are the Lightwood twins and Tabi. I am grateful that Rin was kind enough to let me have the Lightwood twins. She has Yusa, Midori and Helski, as well as Yu Kii and Emma. I am confident we have good enough teams to complete even fairly challenging bounti
es, but I don’t want anything too difficult. We have to go to the town hall because we didn’t get a chance to pick up the bounties yesterday. Rin and I both head in with Jenny, because, as an adult, she needs to be the one to sign us up for them.

  We both take a couple of jobs. My first one is to hunt a pack of wolves that have been terrorising the locals a fair way from here. I have been there before though so we can just port there and the job should be easy enough. After that we have a more challenging one but let’s focus on the first one first. Without Peter I don’t want to handle this the same way as the last hunt. I’d rather we all just worked together from the start.

  We arrive at the village where the wolves were last seen and are greeted by happy villagers. The bounty is low and it is out of the way, so nobody has taken the job until now, despite the bounty being available for a while. I have Lilian search out the wolves with her earth sense and sure enough she tracks them down right away. Jenny and Sherry use flame magic and the wolves quickly die. We take wolf heads back as proof and claim the bounty.

  For the next job we have to hunt down a rather elusive giant insect. Peter’s senses here would be very helpful but Tabi surprises us by finding it before Cherry. She is very pleased to do so too! I guess she must be used to being outshone by Cherry. I feel the same way about Jenny and Yu Kii who are both better than me at earth or fire. I was happy I was chosen over them to lead this job, so I know exactly how Tabi must feel right now. The kill itself is quick and we hand in the insect corpse and take a third bounty. Perhaps the first two were too easy, or perhaps we just got lucky. I decide to take a harder one this time. If things get out of hand I’ll call Peter for help.

  “Our next job is a group of goblins.” I explain to everyone, and there are some gasps. Goblins are well known for their viciousness, and though some do not know magic, the ones that do are very dangerous.

  “How big a group?” Tabi asks nervously.

  “We don’t know their exact numbers but we have a rough idea of where they are.”

  “Do we know if they can use magic?” Lilian asks.

  “We don’t believe they can, but we don’t know for sure.” I admit.