'You don't have to have magic to follow the example of King Aeëtes.'
She had no idea if the sentence really came out from her heart, or if it was just a wordplay to adjudicate some kindergartners. It was true that each person possesses unique talents besides magic and shares the same opportunity to change the world. The problem lay when not everyone accepted themselves as they were if it was not what they expected. The storyteller still had not quite accepted herself as she was. She ate her own words.
As she walked down the path to her home, the mind of the storyteller named Alicia was replaying. The footpath she traversed offered the view of a hill full of waving weeds and a small town from a distance. The scene depicted the crowds and silence blending together in summer, but it was harmonious with the daydreaming face of that lovely young lady.
Walking with her wild thoughts dancing everywhere, she was still pondering. Could she bring about significant changes without magic? Because as far as she knew, the world she lived in didn't seem to uphold that idea. Could she be something even though she differed from his kin? Would bliss ever come to her if she was not the magician her clan expected her to be?
Her mind then switched to the fact that she had completed the final test at her acceleration school and would graduate in the near future. What was her next step? How would she spend the summer? Which education did she want to pursue? What career did she want to choose? Working for Magisterium of Arcane Plane like her mother surely was not an option. For someone as knowledgeable as her, she did not seem to have a clear direction for her future. All those wide-open career opportunities did not seem to excite her, and the girl was still seeking any meaning in life. All the contents of her thought made her forget the world for a moment. Her legs kept moving as if moving on their own, not caring about the sweat dripping from her forehead and slowly trickling down, nor how hot it was to wear a two-layer uniform with a blue suit, white shirt, and long tie, a grey skirt with tartan print and black pantyhose. Normal people would have taken off their coats and loosened their ties, or found the nearest water source and immersed themselves in it for a while because it was that hot.
Two other students, a boy, and a girl, seemed to be watching Alicia from quite a distance. They wore the same uniform, but they were not accelerated students like the girl. The girl student, named Nadine Evans, had dark skin, with curly and fluffy hair. Her body was sturdy, her eyes were sharp like blades, and her stature was firm. Army protégé? Maybe. Meanwhile, the boy one, Gilmore Murray, was taller and more muscular. Perhaps a protégé as well, but his nature was as relaxed as a dissident soldier.
Gilmore took off his jacket and wrapped it around his right shoulder. his tie was loose, and he unbuttoned a few top buttons on his shirt to let the summer breeze come in. Gilmore, however, did not like his uniform. It was oversized, even making him look like an obese uncle.
They stalked the girl in front. Nadine gave a hand gesture, pointing at the girl, demonstrating the person walking with her finger, then kept her index finger in front of her mouth and made a scary mannerism to Gilmore, implying to approach the girl secretly and startle her from behind. Gilmore nodded with a grin, then the two of them made their move. How surprised it was, to Alicia did not turn her neck a single degree due to Gilmore's loud footsteps and Nadine's repeated slapping for him to make his step slower. She then patted the girl's shoulders with both hands, and gripped them quite tightly, as if snatching prey.
"Got ye, yer delicious Crimsonmane wean!"
Alicia screamed and jumped up in surprise. Her legs almost lost their balance, making her nearly fall. Luckily, her hands were fast enough to land and support her body from falling to the ground completely. Nadine and Gilmore laughed back at her.
"Works every time," said Gilmore.
"Nadine! Gilmore! Not funny!"
"The Sunchester Vampire joke isn't funny," Nadine retorted. "But your reactions always tickle my stomach, and I'll never be deterred. You better be on the lookout for another surprise, Alicia."
Alicia sat with her hands behind her back, supporting her body. "And putting me in danger of having a heart attack at any moment? What a caring friend." Her face scowled at the sight of her two friends.
"Oh, come on, don't frown like that. Yer heart won't beat faster than Gilmore's when he does his extreme workout," Nadine replied.
"Naw, naw. Let her frown. She's a pure bonnie when she frowns." Gilmore answered with a wide smile.
"Hold your whisht Gilmore, you freak," Alicia replied half annoyed, whereas he was getting more and more excited. "And can you please stop making Sunchester Vampire jokes again, I beg you? That's really not funny. Lots of kids have fallen victim to those vampire attacks."
"Aw, come on. How many times I tell ye Sunchester Vampire is just a pure haver?" said Gilmore.
"What do you mean 'haver'? Did I nae tell you I almost died being kidnapped by that vampire while we were camping? And Mama caught it when she took me on a work trip in Glasnagour? And this is the first time you said the Sunchester vampires aren't real. Don't tell me ye dinnae remember it," Alicia replied.
"Wait, did ye? Hmm. Ye have hunners tragic stories to tell about yerself, so much I cannae even remember when ye told something other than 'near-death, almost kidnapped, blah blah blah'," Gilmore laughed.
Nadine then nudged Gilmore in the stomach to stop making her friend angrier. "Ouch! What was that for?" Gilmore groaned in pain.
"Of course not all of them, bampot! She also has a lot of fun stories. She's not some kind of bairn with an abusive family—" Nadine corrected her words "—main family, to be precise."
Nadine turned back to Alicia. "But maybe you're right, Alicia. Oh, poor Alicia, forgive us. How could we bother such a good, fragile and sweet lass like you? Here, let me hug you!" said Nadine seductively, pulling Alicia's hand to help her up, then holding her as if Alicia was a precious child who needs protection. "Don't worry, hen! We'll craic a more civilised joke, my wee angel."
Alicia tried to release her embrace. "Stop that," she replied with a slightly blushing face. They finally made their way to Trinketshore, the small town where they lived.
"By the way, where have you been? Must be volunteering at the kindergarten complex again, aren't you?" asked Nadine. "Didn't you take the final exam?"
"I did this morning. It was awright."
"Wow, definitely passed in the first place, as usual. Congratulations, Miss!"
Alicia just glanced at Nadine with her eyes slightly wide open.
"Hm? What is there to congratulate? I just finished the exam, not passed yet."
"Of course, you'll pass," Gilmore replied. "An absolute canny like Alicia Crimsonmane, not passing an exam is an anomaly. After all, this is yer last exam in high school, while we're still stuck there for another year, scunnered."
"So, what's next?" Nadine asked, "I mean, your next education? You know, your next Uni, next major?"
She tilted her head slightly upwards as if her eyes were immune to the scorching rays of Phoebus. "That's the problem. I don't know. Nothing has really caught my attention yet." Alicia thought for a while, then continued with a slight smile on her lips. "I just don't know, hen. Guess I still need some time to think about it, and now isn't the time. The only thing I can think of right now is to rest after a series of exams and taking care of gruelling preschoolers."
"That explains the dreich face. It's like yer exam burden hasnae gone at all." Gilmore said.
Nadine slightly furrowed her brows. "Don't you already have to choose a university or at least a job by now? Summer holidays will feel faster than we thought, you know?"
"Och! Och! Och! Ah ken why she hasnae found a major that appeals to her," Gilmore interrupted with an enthusiastic face, and his index finger pointed at the sky as if he had managed to read the mind of the round bespectacled girl. "That's because... there's no major to be a magician! Ye ken… Alicia… Crimsonmane… MAGIC?" after saying so, Gilmore continued to laugh out loud in a slightly sarcastic tone. Alicia just sighed as she rolled her eyes to the side.
Nadine then scolded him, "Gilmore, come on. There's no need to bring up sensitive topics like being a practitioner to her. Why you love being a tadger?"
"Sorry, sorry… I was just joking. Just wanted to get along with conversation, ye ken?" Gilmore replied in a slightly sorry tone for being reprimanded by Nadine.
After pondering for a while, Alicia smilingly replied, "Actually, it doesn't matter Gilmore, yer right. It's hard to express one's deepest desires to others without overthinking that it will hurt one's own feelings. Even to those closest to them. But if I do not disclose it, it's not good for my mental health, either. To be honest, I haven't moved on about being a magician yet." She turned to Gilmore as she walked. "So thank you for helping me express what I want easily, Gilmore. I know I can count on you to tell me everything, in honesty," Alicia laughed sincerely. Gilmore, amazed and slightly moved, immediately performed a tight bear hug on her.
"Oh, Alicia! How can you think of saying something like that? If only the whole world acted like ye! "
"G-Gilmore! Y-you're making me sick…," Alicia admonished him, accompanied by shortness of breath and headache; all was to pull Gilmore's consciousness, which was in ecstasy on her, back to the mortal realm.
Too bad Gilmore was still deaf. "You know what? Screw the royal guards! I'll become your forever knight!" Gilmore kept hugging her up, spinning about seven times.
"Gilmore, you're crushing her like a bloody weapon, ye eejit!" Nadine screamed in panic, seeing his carelessness could kill some people.
"Shite! Sorry, Alicia," he lowered her back to the ground. Alicia bent down with her hand along Nadine's shoulder, and the other grabbed her thigh while trying to catch her breath. After that, she corrected the position of her glasses, which were on one side. "Wow. What a stifling ride," the triplets laughed and continued their journey.
"But seriously, Liz," Nadine said to Alicia. "You don't need to be discouraged just because you're not like the rest of your family. I mean, you're the smartest girl I know in Trinketshore! With your achievements to date, the opportunities out there are booming, wide open waiting for you. You know you can change the world without saying 'abracadabra' or anything, right? Trust me, when you choose the right path in your life, you'll even forget that you've ever dreamed of becoming a witch from the House of Crimsonmane. You won't be living in your family's shadow. But of course, take your time to find out what your purpose is, hen. Just remember, the people out there will always need your talents."
Alicia's sincere grin came out while replying to Nadine's words. "Funny that I've heard the short version of it recently."
"From whom?"
"Uh, nevermind," she giggled. Nadine looked at her, puzzled, but decided to ignore it, anyway.
Alicia put her left hand on Nadine's shoulder while her right hand only reached for Gilmore's waist for his towering body. "Ah, I never know what it feels like if I don't know, pals. But I do, so... lucky me!"
Alicia, Nadine, and Gilmore finally entered the city. Alicia stood still for a moment while the others preceded her.
"So, you're going straight home?" Alicia asked her two friends.
"Eh… Yes, of course. What is it?" Nadine asked back.
"Meat buffet at Howlett's? My treat."
"Ye what?" Both friends answered in unison in disbelief. However, Gilmore comes with a more expressive face. His piercing gaze pierced Alicia's glasses, wishing she was not kidding about treating the meat buffet.
"Well, I've just finished my final exam, you remember?" Alicia slightly blushed, but her sweet smile still did not go away. She scratched the back of her head, trying to find the right words for the next sentence. "All the activities and trips back home this summer really made me done in. Let's take a break to eat and recover our strength for a while. Meanwhile, Gilmore might be able to eat all kinds of meat there all the way to its ranch. I heard that swordsmanship training is so strenuous that it requires all the acceptable protein to train properly!" Alicia continued giggling.
"Yas! Proteins!" Gilmore shouted, followed by laughter from the girls. "If yer not fast enough, dinnae think yer getting any meat, not even the bones!" Gilmore immediately bolted to the restaurant location.
"Aye! Keep running, ye muscle brain! While we're going to eat somewhere else, and you'll have to pay the entire farm for all the meat you eat!" shouted Nadine in a loud voice. Alicia broke her laugh at her friend's words.
For a moment, seeing the behaviour of her two best friends, made Alicia remember when she and her family had just moved to the small town of Trinketshore and had met them both when they were young. Little Alicia was very shy and didn't want to get along with anyone because she was often bullied. She only clung to her mother all the time. Her mother wisely encouraged him to venture out to make friends in his new home with an allegory.
If those in the west reject you, keep going eastward, until you find more people accepting you along the way than in the west. Keep walking east, and you'll be in the west, that was what she said.
Remembering his mother's advice brought a sense of longing. But Alicia knew that her mother did not want her to be trapped in a sadness that takes her nowhere. A promise that Alicia made to herself—which she kept working on—to continue to live her life to the fullest so the fewer regrets she would have.