Peter and the Heart of Alchemy (War of Contractia Book 5)

by Tj Dixon

  “So remove them, right now!” Midori yells at me.

  “I’m sorry.” I tell Midori firmly.

  “No you’re not, you slave and pig’s daughter.” Midori snarls. I gulp. It wouldn’t hurt so badly if it wasn’t half true. I really am the daughter of a slave and Midori knows it. Even knowing she is under the effects of the curse tears roll down my cheeks.

  Chapter 13 (Midori)

  I hit a tree whilst I was racing Tomo and I don’t remember anything after that. Now I’m in my room in bed. I’m wearing my favourite pale green pyjamas so Tomo must have changed my clothes for me. I don’t care about another girl seeing me naked and she already knew about my scar, but it is still embarrassing to know that she had to change my clothes for me.

  Tomo is snoring on her bed so it must have been a while ago. Looking outside I realise it is dawn but I don’t feel like I slept at all last night, despite having clearly slept right through the night. I must have been brought here after being given a healing potion. I can still see the empty vial on my little bedside table. What I don’t understand is why I didn’t wake sooner.

  I get up, take my pyjamas off and wash myself. I then put on my uniform which Tomo seems to have cleaned for me. It is too early to port to class and Tomo looks tired so I just sit on my bed and wait. I would check the dimensional time keeper but given the sunrise I already know the time. It isn’t long before Tomo wakes and when she does, she smiles at me. It is only then that I notice that she seems to have tear stains on her cheeks and her eyes are really red.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask Tomo in shock.

  “Nothing anymore, but don’t port or use dimensional magic whatever you do.”

  “Why not?” I ask, confused.

  “Because of the curse you were under.” Tomo tells me and I blink in shock.

  “What curse?!”

  “Don’t you remember hitting the cursed tree and everything that happened after that?”

  “The tree was cursed?! I remember hitting it but that’s the last thing I remember from before I woke up this morning.”

  “Tabi and Mirai helped me look after you whilst you were under the effects of the curse. You were really suffering. Peter and Rin came to see you. You asked whether Peter had already decided who he was going to marry and he said no. He said you stand a chance.”

  “I asked what?! He sa, said what?! Did he see my back?!” I stammer in utter shock. No, this is beyond shock. This is simply unreal.

  “Don’t worry. He didn’t see your scar. Anyway, you’d better make sure you have a plan for your date. Not that you can leave the academy at the moment.”

  “Why not?” I ask in confusion.

  “Nobody is allowed to leave the academy. It seems that the whole forest was cursed.” Tomo tells me. Normally this would be a huge shock too, but I don’t think anything she says now is going to shock me after the shocks she has already given me. Then there is a knock on the door. “That will be Silmarion.”

  “Silmarion?” I ask in confusion. Who was Silmarion?

  “The teacher who realised you were cursed and helped us get you through it.” Tomo says and then opens the door with magic. The woman standing on the other side of the door has silver skin, long silver hair and strangest of all she has no eyes.

  “You look much better today.” She says without a trace of emotion.

  “Thank you.” I say, though I can’t hide my confusion.

  “Midori can’t remember anything.” Tomo tells this strange teacher.

  “That is unusual but not unheard of. The last effects of the curse were gone last night but it seems they took her memories with them. You can either rest today or attend your lessons if you feel up to it. From tomorrow there is no excuse for not attending lessons. You must avoid dimensional magic for a couple of weeks though, and don’t use too much power over the next few days. Also avoid being ported for at least the next day or two.”

  “Ok. I do feel a bit drained.” I admit.

  “That is to be expected. Does anything else feel wrong?”

  “Not really.”

  “Good. You are a very lucky girl. If you had not been treated by a very skilled alchemist and then helped by your friends you would be dead.” The teacher tells me still completely emotionless. Then she ports away.

  “I don’t know what to say, other than thank you.” I tell Tomo.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’re friends so of course we’d help each other.” Tomo tells me.

  “I’d better thank Mirai when I see her in class and Tabi at lunchtime.”

  “So do you feel up to class?” Tomo asks me.

  “It’s better than sitting around here all day.”

  “I suppose that’s true.” Tomo says.

  “If we can’t go outside, where do you think we’ll have the training this evening?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure. It’s already hard enough to get space inside in the winter, even without a ban on going outside.”

  “I hope we don’t have to cancel training. It’s the only chance I get to see Peter now that he eats in his room.” I sigh.

  “If we do have training though, make sure not to push yourself too hard. Silmarion said not to use too much power.” Tomo reminds me.

  “If I just watch the training I could spend the whole time watching Peter. That would be a good idea.” I smile.

  “Don’t be too obvious about it if you do that!” Tomo warns me.

  “Of course not. I’m way too experienced to get caught.” I remind Tomo.

  “I bet Peter would be willing to work with you today.” Tomo tells me.

  “Why didn’t I think of that!?” I exclaim. Then there is another knock on the door. I look at it in confusion and open it with magic. Peter and Rin are both standing behind it, already in uniform. “Peter!”

  “Hi Midori.” Peter smiles kindly.

  “Hi.” Rin chuckles.

  “Hi Rin.” I say, not quite as enthusiastically but being careful not to be rude. I wouldn’t want Peter to think less of me.

  “Hi Rin, Peter.” Tomo says with a small wave.

  “Hi Tomo.” They both reply with a smile before turning back to face me.

  “Are you feeling ok now?” Peter asks me.

  “Yes. I’m just a bit drained and I’m not meant to use too much power or any dimensional magic. But I’m not in pain or anything.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Peter smiles. “But if you’re not meant to then make sure you really don’t use dimensional magic or too much power.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t.” I promise.

  “Will you be attending your lessons today?” Peter asks.

  “Yes. I’d just be bored if I stayed here and I don’t want to miss anything.”

  “That’s good. The more you learn this year the better.” Peter says.

  “This year?” I ask in confusion. Peter blinks and looks like he just realised he said something he shouldn’t have, but Rin quickly speaks up.

  “We’re going to be going on a special mission for the queen at the end of the year. The more you learn before then, the better. Don’t tell anyone else though, because it’s meant to be secret.” Rin explains.

  “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” I assure Peter.

  “Thanks.” Peter grins, clearly a little embarrassed.

  “So where is today’s training going to be?” I ask.

  “That will be a problem. We tried to use a classroom yesterday but we got rejected by every teacher we asked. The only classroom we didn’t try that we have a student in is 3C. I doubt we’ll have any more luck with that one, but could you ask your teacher if we could use it?”

  “Sure.” I instantly agree.

  “What about the arena or the flight hall?” Tomo asks.

  “The flight hall was being used by 1A who have it booked out for the next two weeks and the arena was taken by another club.” Peter says and sounds angry when he mentions the other club.

  “If they
had the arena last time couldn’t we use it this time?” I ask.

  “It seems they were using it every day already. A certain evil mayor arranged for them to be given use of the arena until the midwinter feast.” Peter tells me and he is unable to hide the frustration or anger from his voice.

  “Mayor Perry?” I ask.

  “That’s the one.” Peter sighs.

  “Was training cancelled yesterday?” I ask.

  “We did what we could in our rooms, but obviously that isn’t ideal, and especially not for people who don’t share a room with another member of the club.”

  “Aren’t there other rooms that…” I start to suggest but Peter shakes his head.

  “There are but they’re all booked out for at least the next month.”

  “I hope we’re allowed out again soon.”

  “Me too.” Peter agrees emphatically.

  “Do you think it’s just until they’re able to remove the curse from the forest?” I ask.

  “I hope so. Anyway we’d better leave you to get ready for class. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Peter tells me.

  “I’ll let you know at lunchtime whether we could get the room.” I promise.

  “Thanks. I’ll be in my room, but you know where it is. Anyway, bye for now.” Peter tells me and then ports away with Rin.

  “We’d better get dressed.” Tomo tells me as I sit there basking in the memory of talking to Peter. To think he actually came to see how I was this morning.

  “Ok.” I reply absent minded but continue to sit there for another minute.

  “Midori…?” Tomo asks and I get up with a sigh. I then create a simple wind mirror in front of me and gasp.

  “My hair’s a mess and I’m all sweaty! Peter saw me like this?!” I gasp in horror.

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure he didn’t mind. He was just happy to see you feeling better.” Tomo tells me but that doesn’t really comfort me.

  I quickly take my pyjamas off, wash myself and then brush my hair with simple wind magic. At least it is short so it isn’t as bad as messy long hair but it is still bad enough. I then get dressed and can finally look at my reflection without feeling ashamed. The trouble is that doesn’t change what Peter saw earlier.

  “Let’s walk to class together.” Tomo tells me.

  “Thanks. Not being able to port is embarrassing. We’ll need to leave for class earlier too.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s not that far to our classrooms from here.” Tomo reminds me and opens the door. She leads the way. Not of course that I’ve forgotten the way to our classrooms even if I haven’t walked it recently.

  “Tomo, these marble corridors are a little more slippery than I remember.”

  “They were always this slippery. Perhaps your shoes are losing their enchanted grip.”

  “I’ll have to get an alchemist to take a look at them. Who was the alchemist who helped me?”

  “That was Rin’s mother.” Tomo tells me.

  “Ugh. Now I owe Rin.” I mutter.

  “Apparently her mother is really good.”

  “I’m sure she is. Whatever I might think of Rin, I can’t deny the skill of the alchemist who made that bag of hers.” I admit.

  “Wasn’t that made by her father?” Tomo asks.

  “Was it?” I ask in surprise.

  “I thought it was.”

  “For a man to have the skill to create something that complex is even more impressive. Are both Rin’s parents as cold as she is?”

  “I’m pretty sure her father died. Her mother is meant to be really kind, and she was kind enough to save your life the other day.”

  “For which I’m very grateful. A pity about her father though. Any idea how he died?”

  “Sorry, but no idea. Here we are. That really wasn’t far, was it?”

  “No. That was quicker than I remember it.”

  “You have a bad memory for things that don’t relate to Peter.” Tomo laughs cheerfully.

  “I’ll see you at lunch.” I tell Tomo and open the heavy black iron classroom door with magic.

  “I’ll see you then.” Tomo tells me and heads off to her own classroom.

  “Midori!” Mirai calls out as she sees me.

  “Hi Mirai.” I answer as I approach my seat.

  “Feeling better?”

  “Yes, I’m fine now. I don’t really remember how I was, but it sounds like I was pretty bad. I don’t remember anything since I hit that tree. Other than this morning, but Tomo told me you and Tabi both helped me, so thank you for your help.”

  “That’s what friends are for.” Mirai tells me with a smile.

  “Did I miss much in lesson yesterday?”

  “I don’t know since I missed it too. You didn’t miss much the day before, although you did catch fire during the port barrier test.” Mirai tells me and I blink.

  “I’m missing two days memories?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’d forgotten about that test, but catching fire… Oh well, at least nobody can say I was just skipping lessons.” I laugh. Then the teacher ports in.

  “Midori and Mirai. It’s good to see that you’re both here again today. Midori, you missed two days training on advanced flight magic so be sure to catch up in your own time. Mirai, you may only have missed one day but be sure to catch up too.” Professor Kale tells us.

  “We will do.” Mirai answers and I nod. Not that I plan to if it was just flight magic. We’re both a lot more advanced at flight magic than the rest of the class so I doubt we missed anything important.

  “Today’s lesson is advanced ice magic. You will need to freeze and shatter solid rock with a high level of efficiency.” Professor Kale tells us and then begins to explain how to do so.

  The lesson is very hard and passes by ever so slowly but eventually it ends and lunchtime arrives. Before the teacher can port away, I quickly approach her.

  “Midori?” Professor Kale asks.

  “Can our club use the classroom after lessons for our training?”

  “No. It’s already being used by students from our class. There were ten students practising here until late yesterday evening. I don’t want to discourage such diligence. You and Mirai can practise here though.”

  “Is there anywhere else our club can practise?”

  “I imagine all the rooms are in use. Once we’re allowed to leave the academy again I’m sure you’ll be able to find a room.”

  “It’s because we’re not allowed to leave the academy that we need a room.”

  “I suppose there is one option.”

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “Tradition dictates that you can challenge anyone who books the arena to a fair fight. It’s Year 3s who have the arena but it would probably be considered fair if you were to challenge them to a competition or fight of some sort involving only Year 3s from your club. Silmarion is the expert on the exact rules so you might want to check with her.” Professor Kale tells me but at the mention of Silmarion she winces slightly.

  “Thank you.” I tell Professor Kale.

  “You’re welcome.” Professor Kale says and then ports away.

  “That’s good news. The arena would be much better than this classroom.” Mirai tells me.

  “I’d better let Peter know.” I tell Mirai.

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Mirai offers.

  “No, I’m fine, but could you get me something to eat and save me a seat?” I ask.

  “Of course. The usual?”

  “Yes.” I answer.

  “I’ll see you in the lunch room then.” She says and ports away.

  I leave the room through the door and walk along the corridor towards Peter’s room. It doesn’t take long to get there. I knock and the door opens straight away. Peter is standing by his table, having just put down a bowl of soup. Hermes, Rin, Asuna and Angelika are already sitting down, though they haven’t started eating yet.

  “Hi Midori. Come in.” Peter tells me wit
h a smile. I enter the room and close the door behind me.

  “Hi Peter. I asked my teacher about using the classroom, but she said no. She did however tell me that we can challenge the club that’s using the arena as long as it’s a fair fight or competition. We’d have to use students in the same year. Apparently Silmarion is the best person to ask about the details.”

  “That’s interesting. I’ll talk to Silmarion about that then. Thanks Midori.” Peter says gratefully.

  “It’s no problem. I’m happy to help. Sorry we couldn’t get the classroom.”

  “The arena would be much better.” Peter smiles.

  “I’ll do my best to help you win it.” I promise.

  “You’re not recovered yet.” Peter reminds me.

  “I’m feeling a lot better.”

  “But I don’t want you to push yourself until you’re fully recovered.” Peter tells me and I am happy he is thinking of me even if it is frustrating that I can’t help.

  “Ok, but I’ll get fully recovered as quickly as I can, so that I can help as much as possible again.” I promise.

  “I look forward to your being fully recovered. I also look forward to our date once we’re allowed out of the academy again.” Peter tells me and I notice Rin frown at the mention of our date but she doesn’t say anything.

  “I look forward to our date too.” I tell Peter.

  “Our food will get cold.” Rin tells Peter rather pointedly.

  “Sorry.” I tell Peter, with a quick glance at Rin. “Where do we meet tonight though? The arena?”

  “I’ll use the queen’s gift to contact everyone.” Peter tells me.

  “I’ll see you later. Enjoy your lunch.” I tell Peter.

  “Enjoy yours too, Midori.” Peter says.

  “See you later Midori.” Hermes calls out.

  “See you Hermes. See you everyone.” I call back.

  “Bye Midori.” Asuna and Angelika say and wave goodbye.

  “Bye.” Rin says a little coldly. I quickly open the door, leave and close the door behind me, before Rin’s cold stare can freeze me solid. I got to see and talk to Peter though, so I am left with a warm feeling inside me despite Rin’s icy attitude towards me. I can’t really blame her either, since we were talking about our date right in front of her.