Collective gasps and murmurs could be heard throughout the hall. Clover could see the surprise in everyone's eyes, even her father couldn't hide it. She suddenly felt heavy and the room started becoming suffocating, she couldn't take it so she ran.
She dropped the crystal and ran out of the room. "Clover!" She could hear her father call her name but she didn't stop running, she needed to get out. She ran pass multiple people in the halls who practically had to jump out of her way, she even bumped onto a few but she didn't stop for a second. "Clover? Clover honey were are you going in this hurry? " Agatha had succeeded in grabbing her arm halting her to a stop but Clover wouldn't look at her.
"Clover are you alright? " Agatha called again but this time with a frown Clover couldn't resist and Clover shook her head no. Agatha could see that she wasn't okay but she also knew Clover and she knew Clover would wanna be somewhere safe. " Come with me" Agatha took her hand again and guided her towards the gardens.
****
Back in the central Hall the students were restless and the buzzing of their conversation was getting to the headmaster. He cleared his throat and the students immediately quiet down. "Now that we have our chosen one, a banquet will be held in her honor and for all of us to congratulate her" He was going to continue but a student raised her hand.
"Headmaster, I have a question" Adam knew the question already, it was the topic of the whispers in the hallway, but he decided to play along and nodded in response. "Do you think Clover is fit for the Guard? " Adam wasn't surprised because although he knew his daughter was going to be fine, his protective self was still worried for her, but he was nonetheless proud of his little girl.
"And what makes her unfit to be chosen" He asked in return raising an eyebrow. The student seemed to be taken aback by the question and looked usure of he answer, but another student jumped in " Come on, it's Clover, she's too... Fragile to be in the Guard" Others start to murmur in agreement but Adam wasn't gonna have it.
"If she wasn't capable enough to be in the Guard, the crystal would've chosen someone else, therefore I have no doubt that she will be a formidable member. " Some more murmurs erupted but Adam cut them off " Now, it's time for you bunches to get to class, don't forget the banquet will be at five, don't be late and dress nice" With that he dismissed the students.
****
Agatha sat down on the grass next to Clover and watched as she caresses the blades lost in her own thoughts. After half an hour of trying to ease her nerves, Agatha was glad that Clover could feel better again. "Why don't you grow something" Agatha loved what Clover had done to the garden, there was so many different type of plants and flowers giving off different, unique aromas. Even if Clover wasn't aware of her uniqueness, Agatha didn't seem to stop being amazed by her abilities.
Clover closed her eyes allowing herself to feel the air around her. She felt the buzzing emited by the vegetation around her, every plant had a specific wave that made them unique. She enjoyed the energy emited throughout the garden because she could feel the humming from the plants through her body and it gave her peace. She thought of Daisies and touched the ground, a soft green glow was emited and merely seconds after, a patch of daisies grew in front of her.
She took a deep breath and turned to looked at Agatha. "I'm scared Agatha," She signed. Agatha took her hand and squeezed, she understood how Clover felt and wanted her to give herself more credit. Truth is, Clover never gave herself enough credit for what she did and that made everyday a struggle for her.
"No need to be scared hon" Agatha lifted her chin with her index finger so Clover could meet her eyes. "You're special, more than you think. I mean look around, no one in this place can do what you do" Clover was a mage and that was obvious but her attunement was unique.
Mages could cast spell using relics, symbols and incantations. However, each one was attuned to an element and that element could be used without any incantations and tapped into the mage's inner energy, whereas other spells tend to consume some of that same energy. Clover was not attuned to an element, rather, she was at tuned to energy itself. No known mages have been at tuned to energy, and that made Clover a unique case.
Clover always knew her attunement had to do with plants because Agatha and Adam made her believe so, But Agatha knew it was so much more. Clover could manipulate the energy around her to create life, hence her ability to grow her plants. But she wasn't aware of her ability and Agatha thought it would be better if she found out in the right time. She couldn't help but fear that if others knew about her real potential they would come for her, and evil in their world lurks around waiting to pounce at any moment.
Clover continued to grow some more plants before her dad appeared next to them. " Hey munchkin " He said taking a seat next to her, " Umm Daisies huh, nice choice " He continued with a small smile. He was trying to find the right words to confort his daughter. He cleared his throat and Agatha saw it as her cue to excuse herself and let them have some time alone. Adam looked at his daughter then around the garden frowning with a pensive expression on his face.
"What are you thinking about" Clover said in a small voice, she was a selective mute and her dad was the only person she ushered a few words to. She didn't have much of a voice and in the few occasions she talked to her dad, the words sounded more like loud whispers but they were audible enough.
"I remember when you grew your first plant, it was here in this garden. You had just disappeared from my sight and went in these gardens. I remember hearing you talk for the first time and I was moved. Now look at this place, you made it so much better. What you do, others can't, and you may think that you don't deserve to be chosen, but you are more special than you think" Adam nudged her shoulder before continuing " Plus this old place probably needed serious remodling" Adam made a silly serious face and spoke and a lower tone. Clover chuckled and slowly leaned against her dad and put her head on his shoulder, he was the best father she could ever ask for.