My mother enveloped me in a warm embrace, her eyes scanning my features before pulling away. "Never do that again," she warned sternly. But I clung to her, tears streaming down my face as emotions from the past flooded me. I never imagined I would see my mother again, let alone in such a loving reunion.
My father joined in, wrapping me in a comforting hug. "Glad to see you're safe," he said with a calming voice.
I nodded, unable to speak. This reunion was vastly different from the past, where I had stormed off to my room, angry with my parents for allowing me to face such a cruel fate. The loss of my father had made me realize how much I took their love for granted. Though I doubted I could fully mend the relationship I had with my mother, I felt it was worth a try.
I quickly filled them in on what had happened during my time in isolation far different from how it had played out in the past, before rushing off to my room to find a solution to my current situation. Freya followed, looking taken aback by my unusual demeanor. She was my sister, after all, and deserved to know what was going on.
As I walked towards her, I glanced around to make sure no one was watching or just outside the door. "Is something wrong, Yelaina?" she called out. I turned to her and stepped closer, ready to confide in her.
"Yes... I'm afraid so," I confirmed, and she took hold of my hand. Her eyes, the same hue as mine, were filled with curiosity as she listened intently to what I had to say.
"What's going on?" she asked with a warm smile.
"I'm from the future," I began, "and I'm trying to find a way to travel back to it." Freya's expression changed from one of surprise to amusement, as she tried to stifle a laugh.
"I was worried you'd be upset about the isolation, but it seems like you're taking it well," she said with a sigh of relief. However, her demeanor quickly changed as she noticed the serious look on my face, indicating that I was dead serious.
"You can't be serious, Elaine," she said with disbelief. "Time magic is forbidden, and time travel is even more so."
"I didn't mean to do it," I whispered in a hushed tone, my voice raised in desperation. "I don't even know how it happened."
"Then why didn't I stop you from using such dangerous magic?" Freya asked, her tone filled with disbelief.
"Because you and father are gone," I replied, the words heavy with grief. "Only mother and I remain and our relationship is strained due to my husband and son."
Freya's expression softened as she took in my words. Every doubt that I was lying was now erased. Despite my anger towards my parents, she knew that I still cared deeply for our family.
"The Arrington boy I was put into isolation because of... he is my husband," I added, the weight of the revelation palpable in the air.
"A nobleman?" Freya asked, redirecting the conversation from the topic of her and her father's death. "Not a fellow druid?"
"Do you remember 'The Legend of Emrys'?" I asked, referring to a well-known tale amongst the druids. The story of Emrys, the savior who was born to carry on the mantle of the fallen Magus Merlin.
"Yes, I remember it, but it's nothing more than a folktale," Freya said, clearly skeptical.
"The tale of Emrys has changed," I stated, "And he's alive."
"He's my son," I added, watching as Freya's eyes widened in disbelief. The shock of my time travel was one thing, but this new information was too much for her to handle. Despite being only 15 years old, she managed to compose herself quickly.
"Go on," she urged, eager to hear more.
"The tale has changed quite a bit, in fact," I continued.
"My son is now a..."
000
"Isabella, cast a Waterwall now!" I commanded, and the girl swiftly obeyed. However, Isaiah easily broke through the wall as he charged towards the pink-haired girl. I quickly positioned myself as a shield to protect her. I decided to use actual weapons instead of the fake ones normally used in training, as I wanted us to be hyperaware of the potential danger we might face.
After the artificial dungeon session prior to this, our instructor informed us that the teams we were in for the day would remain the same for the rest of the year. While most of the group was fine with this, there was one person who was not.
"Why won't my magic do what I want it to?" she yelled in frustration as I managed to hold off Isaiah's attack. Morgana didn't waste any time and took advantage of my weaknesses.
[Heaven's Ballad]
As Isaiah created some distance between us, a barrage of light magic spears descended from the sky, guided by the chant.
[Maelvolent Flames]
Bella tried to cast her spell in response to Morgana's incantation, but her attack was nothing more than a pathetic excuse of a fireball, which only frustrated her further. "Fuck!" she screamed.
In a burst of speed, I narrowly avoided the blast range, and Isaiah greeted me with his quick and shifty spear techniques. He made several jabs, but I managed to catch each attack with my sword despite having narrowly dodged the previous attack.
He increased the tempo of his attack, while his magician prepared to attack once again.
"Morgana, just like you did before!" Isaiah ordered.
"Bella, use your water magic to counter it!" I barked out instructions, fully aware she was more adept in water than fire despite the stark contrast in her personality to her preferred element.
The one redeeming quality Isabella possessed was her unwavering trust, a quality that often caught me off guard and I had warned her numerous times that it could lead her astray if she ever came across the wrong person.
Isaiah backed away as a barrage of light spears descended upon us. A dome of water materialized overhead subsequent to my orders, encasing both Isaiah and myself within its confines. In desperation, Isaiah hurled his spear against the barrier to no avail. A look of horror became a prominent feature on his face as the light spears continued to pierce through the barrier, undeterred.
I sighed, grasped my sword tightly, and chanted,
[Dulcet Wind]
The winds obeyed my command, gathering around my sword. With a swift swing, each light spear imploded in the air. I landed back on the ground as the water wall crashed upon both me and Isaiah.
"I thought I was going to die," he said, completely soaked in water as he sat down on the grassy training room floor.
"Bella's control is improving though," I noted, looking towards the girl who simply huffed as she turned away.
"it's surprising that you weren't improving before" Morgana added, to which Isabella felt no need to explain.
"Surprisingly untalented despite being from such a prestigious family," Isaiah commented, earning a smack from Morgana. Bella felt no need to respond to Isaiah's quips, feeling 'they were as useless as he was'.
"Still it's freaky how strong you are" Bella suddenly commented examining me.
"Really? you like what you see then?" I teased and she turned away annoyed at my comment. I was only messing with her, yet she always took it so seriously.
"You're a prodigy, she's not wrong, a person who possesses both the quality of an enhancer and a magician... I expect no less from the Ice--" before he could continue I cut him off.
"stop referring to me as such. while we're in this school we're equal" I meant what I said, but it was also partially to remove the fact that having Mikaela referred to as my father didn't sit right, it didn't sit right with Eira and Syrus either.
"Not to mention we have a Quadruple elemental with 2 subclasses of magic at her disposal," I said redirecting the attention towards Bella however she only huffed.
"she can't control it yet, but with the talent in this group, we'll be the strongest before you know it," I said with a smirk earning cheers and smiles from others.
000
I was already well-accustomed to my daily schedule, having had prior knowledge of the majority of my classes and courses. Most days, I spent my time daydreaming and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of my group, of which our biggest weakness was undoubtedly Bella. Although she may have hated to admit it, she was lacking in several areas but held an immense amount of untapped potential.
"What class do you have next, Bella?" I asked as we walked to our next class, side by side.
"Casualty and Causali--" she started to answer but her voice was cut short by a loud, boisterous voice that came from just behind us.
"Marcccccc!" the voice exclaimed as two hands came crashing down on my shoulder, causing me to jump in surprise. I turned around to see Eira, beaming with excitement. Bella was left in disbelief, staring at the girl who seemed to have completely ignored her as though she weren't even there.
"First time in a while I've seen you at school," Eira exclaimed, unable to contain her joy. Bella, on the other hand, was taken aback by the offender's beauty.
"The school is big, so I'm not surprised," I replied, trying to downplay the situation.
"Who's this, your girlfriend?" Bella asked, gritting her teeth. Eira, trying to stifle a laugh, stared in disbelief at Bella's question.
"What's so funny?" Bella demanded, her voice raising.
"She's my half-sister." I briefly explained and her jaw slackened at this 'revelation'.
"But she's a...," Bella started to say.
"Half-elf," I finished her sentence. "Anyways, I heard you and Syrus are taking the same class as of right now. How's that going for you?" I asked with a smile, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.
Bella watched the interaction in disbelief as Eira explained everything, from the courses outline to her promotion to the student council and her acceptance into the disciplinary committee.
As Eira left, Bella turned to me, still pointing at her in shock.
"She's in the disciplinary committee and the student council! What kind of grade-A student...," she muttered under her breath.
"That explains why you seem to be so good at everything," she said hesitantly, her voice trailing off. Suddenly, a light bulb seemed to go off in her head, and she turned to me.
"Between you and her... who's stronger?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. I simply smiled, knowing the answer all too well.
"Her, right now," I answered honestly, admitting that Eira was indeed stronger than I was, much to my chagrin.
000
I took my seat at the lunch table, joined by Syrus and the rest of my group. Bella raised an eyebrow in disbelief as she glanced at Syrus.
"So, let me guess... he's your older brother?"
"Half-brother," I 'corrected' her.
"Oh, wow," Bella responded, not at all surprised.
Isaiah, however, was in disbelief. "The chess club's president and the prodigy who was allowed into the magic towers, your brother?" He looked at Syrus in amazement. "I made the right choice joining you, after all."
"I guess you did," I replied.
"Oh yeah, Dad wanted to talk to you later," Syrus said, reminding me of a conversation I had been dreading.
"What a pain..." I muttered under my breath.
"Pain!? It must be an honor being the son of such a nobleman! " Isaiah exclaimed, his hand on his chest.
"someone that got to fight alongside the king is your father don't take it--"
But before he could continue, he was interrupted by a small metallic spoon that hit him on the forehead. It was the ginger-haired boy who had been pestering Morgana due to her Druid heritage. His attention was set elsewhere this time as he looked towards Isaiah with disdain, disgusted to even be in the same room as a commoner.
"You filthy commoners keep contaminating the air with your filthy mouths. Shut up," the boy commanded as his clique of friends rallied behind him. Isaiah scowled at him, but Morgana turned away, not wanting to engage in more violence and insults. Bella, on the other hand, was not as passive.
"Just leave," she ordered.
"No," the boy replied.
"What? You gonna do something about it?" he taunted, trying to instigate a fight.
"Forget it, she's a loser who can't even use her magic right," another boy behind him snickered.
"Damian Hardway" I stated remembering his name. Syrus urged me not to engage but I ignored his reprimands.
"It's an honor to meet the son of a hero such as yourself but, please do mind these peasants you surround yourself with," he stated with a smirk.
I rose from my seat walking to him till we saw eye to eye.
The two of us stood face-to-face, ready for a confrontation. But before things escalated, a voice called out.
"You two. Enough!" A brown-haired boy stepped between us, shaking his head in disappointment. Eira stood behind him, sighing at me.
"Fighting is strictly prohibited," he reminded us, wearing the blue shirt of the disciplinary committee most likely the partner Eira had previously spoken off.
"My apologies," I said, backing down in the face of authority. Damian, who had been so bold moments before, quickly apologized as well.
"Damian, this is the second time you've been warned for discrimination towards commoners and other races," the disciplinary committee member scolded. "Another warning and the school will get involved. Do you understand?"
Damian nodded, and the older boy walked away, Eira shaking her head in disappointment at me.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Damian shot me a look filled with rage. "I don't care if you're the son of a hero, You're dead," he whispered. He walked off, his friends following after him.
"You shouldn't be so easily agitated," Syrus said, looking through his notes as he ate his sandwich.
"I wasn't," I replied calmly,
"but I can't let him get away with saying things like that" I added.
He didn't reply, a bad habit he did with me and Eira when he believed he couldn't fully grasp the situation and therefore deemed himself unworthy to judge.
"Thanks..." Isaiah said, rubbing the back of his head.
"No problem, man," I said, lightly punching his arm. Morgana and Bella both nodded in approval.
Days went by and despite my additional training with Mikaela, I still felt uncertain about my purpose in all of this. It couldn't just be to fight off jealous bullies, I was meant to be something more, wasn't I?
At some point, I even believed this was how my life was going to go.
But then, something happened that changed everything...
...When snow fell heaviest, the body of a noble, a young girl from the Casteer family was found dead, her body mutilated upon the floor of the academy grounds with no suspect in sight a cloud of mystery and fear hung over the school.