The Seventeenth Chapter | Lesson One
"Alvera...? Alvera!"
"Yes?"
"You've been zoning out since I got here. Did you even hear a word I said?" Cedrick asked.
Alvera, in fact, did not. The situation did seem strangely familiar though. She felt a dip in her mattress. Cedrick snapped in her face a few times, still trying to grab her attention.
"Alvera!"
Her head shot up, and their eyes met.
"You're more distracted than usual today. What's going on?"
"It's nothing... don't worry about it."
Cedrick didn't seem convinced. On the contrary, he was heavily skeptical, but he also didn't push any further, probably not wanting to upset her more.
It had been three days since the Duchess said that Alvera was going to be getting acquainted with a stranger against her will. She didn't want to tell Cedrick, and that's why she didn't. Alvera didn't know why, but it seemed almost... embarrassing? Just the thought of telling him made her stomach churn. In all honesty, he probably wouldn't have cared, even if he did know. However, Alvera was adamantly against the idea.
"Alright, if you're not going to tell me, at least pay attention. I am trying to teach you after all."
"Yeah... yeah, sorry. What were you saying?"
He gave her a concerned look before continuing what he was saying.
"You need to learn how to crossover. It's one of the most basic, and only things, that every single being in Ravensfield is capable of doing. So, are you ready to learn, M'lady?"
She gave a sudden nod. Cedrick sat cross-legged on the floor, gesturing for Alvera to join him. She slipped off the bed, accepting his silent invitation.
"Okay, you need to clear your head. Any little interruption can disrupt your visualization. Next, you need to close your eyes and imagine where you want to travel too, okay? You can't exactly go anywhere if you don't know where you're trying to go. The last thing you need to do is actually believe it works. If you don't think it's gonna work, trust me, it's not. It'll be easier the more you practice, and soon, crossing over will become second nature."
Didn't sound too complicated.
"Did you get all that?"
She gave him an affirmative nod.
Alvera closed her eyes and tried to clear her head. She took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and then let it out. Cedrick sat opposite her, silently observing. In all honesty, he didn't think she would get it first try. Not because she was incompetent or lacked the skill, but because she had never done it before.
Alright, visualize.
Visualize Ravensfield.
The first place that came to mind was the Faux Shores, so Alvera stuck with it.
They both sat in silence as Alvera tried to focus. A minute passed with nothing happening. She sighed, somewhat frustrated, and opened her eyes once more. It was harder than she had initially thought. For some reason, she expected to just be able to... do it. Maybe because everything so far had been relatively easy, she had developed some form of foolish confidence. That, unfortunately, was the case. Cedrick gave her a small smile, trying to reassure her that it was okay. He already knew she probably wouldn't get it immediately.
A few more unsuccessful attempts later, and Alvera was just about ready to give up. She'd claimed that she'd try again later since she sure as hell wasn't going to get it then. Despite Cedrick trying to convince her to keep going, Alvera was fed up and wasn't going to budge. She was already antsy before attempting the task the first time, and failing at it wasn't making her feel better. He eventually gave up and just offered to take her himself. She obliged, slipping her hands back into his. They both shut their eyes, and after a briefly nauseating trip, Alvera was standing next to Cedrick in a clearing in the Warped Forest.
The twisted trees surrounded her in an almost perfect circle just like they had before. The sky was the same familiar purple streaked with teal. It was eerily quiet but oddly comforting.
"I thought you said this place was dangerous," Alvera commented.
"It's only truly dangerous when it's dark."
This confused Alvera. The sky was permanently purple. Wasn't it always dark? Despite that, she didn't bother asking any further.
"Besides, I'm here, so don't worry, you'll be fine."
Alvera could not help but subtly roll her eyes at that. However, he was probably right. Out of the two of them, Cedrick was clearly the most qualified to handle a situation where fighting was required.
"So, what are we doing in the middle of the forest?"
"We're here because you need to train. Also, because you need to understand the fundamentals of your powers before you can even begin using them."
"So... this is a math lesson?" Alvera joked.
"What? No. This stuff is extremely important. I think you'll find that being an Alter is a lot more complicated than first meets the eye."
"I thought it was just... being able to... uh..."
"That's why we need this lesson, Alvera." He clapped his hands together briefly. "Now, let's get started."