Looking through the windows that were too big in comparison to Yohan's small body, he perceived the sprawling city and contemplated.
A while ago, at the manifestation ceremony, he was lucky enough to awaken a rare Spirit and the cleric recommended him to enroll in the Spirit Academy. Nevertheless, the mysterious girl from that day seemed to have hit the jackpot, awakening a Spirit that made even the cleric dumbfounded.
He wanted to observe the girl a bit more but they abruptly left the ceremony as him and his mother bolted out of the room due to 'health complications' although he still wasn't convinced.
That aside, enrolling in the Spirit Academy was, as his father cites "The entire world will open its arms to you and the rest of your life will be a breeze."
The Academy was situated on the suburbs of Hasseima, where only the mansions of the city's oligarchs and vast farmland dominated the landscape.
The entrance test was ironically enough, only based on whichever Spirit you have. Yohan thought this was unfair, as the biggest opportunity peasants will ever get at social mobility relied on luck and upbringing.
His father, who was still overjoyed at the news, registered him successfully at the Academy.
That afternoon, he saw his father fidgeting around his study and periodically looking at a stash on paper on his desk.
"Father, is everything okay?" Yohan had sneakily entered the room, so his question jolted his father out of his trance, and he speedily took his writing feather and clumsily dipped it in ink, then scribbled something on the papers, though Yohan was too short to see its contents.
"Everything is alright, son." Answered Noah as he grabbed the stash and put it in a cabinet.
'This is suspicious' He thought.
Yohan went back to his room and waited until his father left for some business he had to take care of and entered the study.
It was originally locked but he knew his father always put the key to the study behind the potted plant and recovered it.
The study was as messy as always, consisting of unsold merchandise decorating the interior, ink stains everywhere and a lot of paper.
Usually, he wouldn't be allowed in here, but his mother was currently working too so he was alone at home.
His father's disorganized study aside, Yohan approached the cabinet in question and swiftly unlocked and opened it, exposing the papers inside.
His parents thought he had elementary reading skills, but his somewhat aged brain could already read at the level of most educated adults here.
Taking those papers out, he instantly concentrated on their contents and got to reading.
'Contract from His Majesty, The Gracious, The Ever-Merciful, The Rich, The Humble, The Generous, The Harbinger of Peace, The Attractor of Prosperity Hetter the 1st'
'Hetter the 1st? Isn't that supposed to be the King of this kingdom? Why did he send a contract to my father? And what's with those titles, does he think he's God?' Yohan was perplexed and frowned.
Further reading the paper unraveled the mystery.
'We have approached you to propose supporting the education of your son, Yohan Yerzog, in the pride of our land, the Spirit Academy. We support talent however it comes, from all ranks and upbringings, and wholeheartedly wish to accompany your child, a future citizen of our glorious Muzdahir Kingdom, in his journey to adulthood. We are awaiting your response.'
Under this paragraph was a signature that read "Noah Yerzog, subject of His Majesty, The Gracious, The Ever-Merciful, The Rich, The Humble, The Generous, The Harbinger of Peace, The Attractor of Prosperity Hetter the 1st"
'Now....this is about the Academy?' Yohan brainstormed for a second before coming up with a hypothesis.
The Spirit Academy, being the most renowned educational institution in the country, was unlikely to provide free education to it's pupils, as the cleric from the ceremony informed him that he could receive financial aid, indicating that the tuition costs were probably hard to bear for the lower caste of society.
It was understandable that his father would seek aid, but from the King at that?
From what he's read, Yohan figured this king was probably not reminiscent of his flattering titles, and he grew suspicious at the intents a monarch would have to pay for the education of a peasant.
Perhaps this explained his father's earlier anxiety and reluctance.
Yohan felt his head starting to hurt, and he heard someone knocking on their front door and speedily cleaned everything and put the papers back in the cabinet, which he rammed and left the study, locking it and putting the key back where he found it.
He then opened the door and saw his mother, who presumably just came back from work.
She greeted him and hugged him tightly.
Yohan was aware that his first year at the Academy would start pretty soon, and he had to treasure the moments he spent with his parents.
He asked his mother if she wanted to play a game, and they ended up deciding on Hide-and-Seek.
His mother would search for him and he would have to hide.
"Yohan, I'm going to count to 20 and you hide."
"1"
"2"
...
"18"
"19"
"20!"
"I'm starting!"
Yohan, meanwhile, was hidden under the bed in his parent's room and trying very hard to not make a sound.
A few minutes later, he couldn't hear his mother's steps or voice anymore so he relaxed and breathed heavily to take in some air.
As he looked around the dark space, however, he hit his leg against an object other than the legs of the bed frame.
Feeling the object with his hands, he figured it was a rectangular flat sheet and it felt a bit oily on his hands.
He was a bit curious so he stepped out into the sunlit room and took a look at the flat sheet.
It was a dusty painting.
Yohan frowned and rubbed the dust off of the painting, unraveling it.
It was an oil on canvas family portrait with two girls, one very young one that was held in the hands of an older woman and a girl that looked to be older, being in her late teenage years.
The weird thing, however, was that the very young girl looked like a miniature version of his mother, having the exact same black hair, olive skin tone and hazel eyes as his mother.
'Is this...Mother's family?' Speaking of it, she never ever spoke to him about her side of the family.
Yohan knew he had a living grandmother from his father's side, but the only information he knew about his maternal family was anecdotal.
The other girl in the portrait looked similar to his mother, except her black hair and very sharp eyebrows.
The man in the picture, who he assumed was his grandfather, was middle-aged and seemed to be in good health from his upright stature and bright eyes. He had a certain majestic air about him and also inspired comfort, which reminded him of his mother.
Lastly, his 'grandmother' was a woman that looked to be in her thirties and had brown hair not dissimilar to the older girl, and most strikingly, wore a colourful and luxurious dress that draped down to the ground.
He wondered why his mother never spoke to him about her family, and the luxurious clothing his 'grandmother' wore only raised more questions.
'So, Mother has an older sister, and...were they nobles? Where are they now?' He was engrossed in this, but hearing footsteps approaching the room, he rapidly put down the painting under the bed, and held his hands behind his back.
"You were here? Why didn't you hide, Yohan?" She asked him.
"I got a bit tired, mom. I think I'm going to go take a nap."
Hearing his response, Ariel took him in her arms and put him down in the bed, then sang him a lullaby.
Yohan had to pretend he was asleep that day, despite his raging thoughts.