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Chapter 35 - The Mage: Exception

It was very late in the afternoon when Mairey returned to her dorm from her last class of the day. She dropped her punch pink school bag onto the floor, causing a loud thump sound to be heard from her textbooks hitting the solid floor. She walked over to her desk, located across the room from her bed, and grabbed her spellbook before plopping it onto her bed. She then began searching through her dresser.

"Where could it be?" She asked herself and she looked through drawers full of clothes and boxes. She then found a small, wooden box made from aspen that contained a silhouette of a cinnamon brown elephant's head on the lid. The elephant's head was heavily detailed with tusks and a mandala pattern inside the silhouette.

"Here it is!" She smiled as she brought the box over to her bed and sat down, placing the box on top of her dark fuchsia pink blanket, right next to her spellbook. She flipped up the tiny, polished brass latch on the front of the box before she lifted the lid, revealing a small, dull copper moth resting inside of the container.

"Mother's sight charm." Said the woman as she carefully removed the metal item from the box. She closed the lid and then placed the moth onto the top of the container. Mairey opened up her spell book to the chapter about divination and skimmed through to find the right spell.

"Here!" Said the woman, "Witness charm." She read the instructions as she began to rub her hands together. She looked over at the metal moth and hovered her hands over the item.

"I hope this works." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she began to concentrate on her magic. Streaks of electric blue light slowly flowed down from her palms and onto the item. The moth absorbed the blue light until all the light from her palms had faded away. Mairey finally opened her eyes and removed her hands from the box, revealing the moth which no longer looked metallic.

The moth was now electric blue, almost white, and seemed to shimmer a little bit. The moth spread its wings and left the box as it began to flutter in the air, staying close to the woman. Mairey smiled as she noticed that the spell worked.

"Finally!" Said the woman, excitedly, "After years of studying, I can finally cast divination magic."

She put her hand out and let the moth land safely in her palm. With her free hand, she commanded the moth to flutter into the air again before she directed it to fly away. The moth flew around the room for a little bit while Mairey's eyes began to turn electric blue and started glowing. She could now see everything from the perspective of the moth.

"Oh my!" said Mairey, seeming to be very surprised. She then placed her fingertips on her temples and directed the moth to leave the room, causing the moth to fly out from her open window. The moth began to fly around the green courtyard as the sun was starting to set, causing the sky to turn vivid shades of red, pink, and orange.

"I feel like I'm flying!" Said Mairey, joyfully. She commanded the moth to fly back into her room. Instead, she nearly lost control as the wind blew her moth away, causing it to fly through the closest, open window. She gasped when her moth tumbled into one of the rooms and landed on top of a bookshelf.

"Where am I?" Mairey asked herself as the moth got up. She took a moment to look around the room, "This is Dr. Leyo's office!" Said the woman as she noticed her professor sitting at the desk, filling out paperwork.

There was a knock on his door.

"Come in!" Said the man without looking up from his papers. The door opened widely, revealing a pale, elvish woman wearing an ash grey suit with a wine red tie.

"Dr. Leyo," said the woman as she stood in the doorway, "Do you have a moment?"

The man finally looked up at her, "Hello, Headmistress Biyagi!" He gave her a soft smile, "I'm a tad bit busy right now. Can you come back in five minutes?"

"Huh?" Asked Mairey, "What's she doing here?"

The woman shook her head as she swiftly entered his office and closed the door behind her, "No, this is urgent!" Said Biyagi in a stern tone. She grabbed the chair in front of his desk and took a seat.

Terry removed his small glasses from his face and placed them on his desk. "What's the matter?"

"It's about the Fredrickson case," said Buyagi as she crossed her legs and placed her hands on top of her knee.

"I didn't realize Ethan's case was ongoing." Said Mairey to herself.

"Oh?" Terry interlocked his fingers and kept his hands on top of his desk, "I'm assuming they've been making some pressing points if you're here in my office."

"Don't be ridiculous, Terry!" Biyagi scoffed, "They're just spewing nonsense!"

"How so?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Ethan Fredrickson believes that if a male professor is allowed at this university, then a male student should be allowed here as well."

"Makes sense to me." Terry nodded.

"Does it?" She narrowed her eyes at him, "You are the exception. In case you've suddenly forgotten, you didn't start off as a man."

Terry rolled his eyes and sighed, "Yes, yes! I am very aware of my own body." He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips, "Aside from Ethan's point, what does any of this have to do with me?"

"Well," Biyagi uncrossed her legs and kept her hands on her lap while she crossed her ankles, "I need you to make a statement to the jury."

"A statement?" Asked Mairey.

"A statement about what exactly?" He raised an eyebrow.

Biyagi adjusted her glasses, resting them a bit lower on the bridge of her nose as she looked at him, "I need you to explain your situation to the court. You need to tell them why you are the exception."

"Alright?" He seemed very confused, "And? What do you expect them to do with that information? It doesn't matter what I looked like before, I've always been a man."

"I don't care what you believe you are," she crossed her arms, "I know you'll come to terms with your womanhood sooner or later, causing you to regret your decision."

Mairey gasped in shock once she heard that, "That bitch!" She clenched her fists.

"Oh…" Terry frowned as he looked down at his desk.

"Therefore," Biyagi continued as she put her hand up and observed her nails, "I need you to tell the court next week about your medical history. The jury will then realize that you aren't really a man and this entire Fredrickson case will be over."

"Alright." Said the man without looking up at her.

She smiled, "Good! Have your statement ready by Tuesday morning. We'll go over it together before the session begins." She looked over at him and noticed his melancholy expression. Biyagi frowned, "Listen, Terry," she sighed, "If you ever end up regretting your choice to change, I know a specialist who can reverse the procedure so you can be back to normal again." She got up, "Alright?"

Terry looked up at her, still frowning, and nodded, "Alright."

"Great!" Biyagi turned around and headed towards the door while her crimson red heels made loud clicking sounds against the solid floor. Once she approached the door frame and grabbed the nob, she faced the man. "Thank you for complying! I'm so glad you're willing to help our school win this tough case. I'll see you soon, Terry!" She then left his office and closed the door behind her. The man rubbed his forehead with his fingertips again as he sighed while looking down at his papers.

"What. The. Hell?" Said Mairey, still in shock.