In the knowledge that an infant like me doesn't have to fear any consequences for their actions I reached out and grabbed a handful of her hair.
"Pretty!" I pulled with all the power my little body was able to manifest. My goal was to attract her attention, it was a striking success.
"HEY!" The girl flinched a little mostly out of annoyance I guess before turning around to obliterate whoever dared to pull her hair. Her guards turned around, their faces hard as stone and their eyes cold as ice, ready to murder the culprit on the spot, or at least teach them a lesson they won't forget.
hilda had been otherwise preoccupied, the grandior and imposingness of the entry hall had enthralled her completely. The annoyed and angry yelp from infront of her brought her back to reality and made her realize that I had done.
"Thorus, stop. No pulling on other people's hair." Hilda instantly reprimanded me and freed the pretty Silver hair out of my grasp. I looked at her as if she had wronged me and said dejectedly: "Pretty."
"Yes, I can see that her hair is pretty but you can't just pull on someone's hair that is bad manners. No matter how pretty their hair is." Hilda scolded me in a soft voice, she tried to avoid attracting too much attention.
The Silver haired girl looked at the scene with a smile on her face.
"I apologize for Thorus. Normally he doesn't act like that. It is actually the first time he pulls on someone's hair." Hilda apologized to the silver haired girl.
The Silver haired girl quickly calmed down after seeing a scene she didn't expect. A small smile formed on her lips.
"It's alright, I was caught off guard. I am used to babies trying to steal my hair. I have a little sister who made it her life goal to make me bald. I expected a boy our age who was asking for a beating. I can not judge your brother for his actions." the silver haired girl explained.
"Mommy!" I interrupted her at the point where she called Hilda my sister to clarify our relationship. The Silver haired girl's eyes widened and Hilda blushed, her face was so red that she could pass as a Tomato on a market stall.
Yes, I felt pure bliss rushing through my body at their reactions. The linguistic mess of stuttered apologies that followed was satisfying and concerning at the same time.
The Head caretaker of the orphanage intervened and explained the situation to the Silver haired girl: "We are from the orphanage, Thorus has been dropped on us as a newborn. Hilda has taken care of him since day one and naturally he thinks she is his mother. And Hilda loves it when he calls her like that."
"My Name is Jasmine Silverton, It's really nice to make your acquaintance Hilda." She looked at me and her voice changed, "And it is also really really nice to meet you Thorus."
I made happy noises as was expected from a young boy like me.
"How old is he?" Jasmine asked.
"I guess that it will be his first birthday soon. He was dropped 11 Months ago," Hilda said.
"He is at a similar age as my sister. Maybe they will visit the academy together." Jasmine said mildly astonished.
"Would you mind a straightforward question?" Jasmine asked while staring at Hilda.
"Yes, I mean no. I mean you can ask me any question." I don't know what was going through Hilda's mind but she seemed a little bit lost.
"I am not from Grendora, My family lives on the southern coast. I don't know anyone here, would you mind becoming my friend?" Jasmine asked excitedly only to meet a face filled with disbelief.
Hilda was visibly startled by this question. I was as well. You don't meet nobles that want to befriend commoners everyday. It was a first for both of us. Nobels are arrogant and insufferable most of the time.
"But-"
"No buts. In the Academy our social status is irrelevant, so what if I am the daughter of a Duke and you are an orphan. We can still be friends." Jasmine cut Hilda short before she could defend herself.
"No, I am just an orphan, I can not befriend a duke's daughter." Hilda refused.
Jasmine looked at Hilda before she said: "You don't have to befriend the daughter of a duke. But I want you to befriend me. I am Jasmine and I will be a student of the Academy for the next few years. I want to befriend you as my classmate and not as the daughter of my father." A radiant smile formed on Jasmine's face.
"Okay, I will be your friend. Classmate Jasmine," Hilda said, "But I do not know if I can be a good friend to you. You are still a noble and I never had a noble friend. How can I be a good friend for you? Normally nobles search for their friends among the nobles." Hilda began to talk about her insecurity among other people. The mental scars that Rafal left on the girl became staringly obvious. Which only made me hate him more.
"Don't worry from today on we will be sisters whoever dares to mess with you will be messing with me, and the Silvertons are not to be messed with." Jasmine said, she pushed her chest out and patted the left side where her heart was. I will cut her some slack for that despite saying that Hilda was only going to befriend her as a classmate. She quickly pulled the family card to shield her.
I had a great idea, this girl or more specifically her father had the power to rescue Hilda from this monster Rafal. So with the smell of sweet vengeance in my nose I called out to hilda and said while pointing at Jasmine: "Tell bad bad"
Bad bad was Aktun Rafal, but I was a baby. I wasn't supposed to talk fluently so I adopted the name bad bad for Aktun Rafal.
Duke Silverton would have been able to wipe out Aktun Rafal 100 times over without any offer. The simplest sign of displeasure from him against Aktun Rafal would have resulted in his death.
Sadly I made these calculations without Hilda and the Head caretaker's opinions. Both grew pale at the mentioning of bad bad, it was so obvious that Jasmine could understand instantly that something was wrong.
Jasmine leaned over and whispered into Hilda's ear. "You do not have to tell me, but I was serious. If you need my help I will help you. I will do everything in my power to help you as long as you ask for my help. I will even ask my father for help if my own power is not enough. You are my sister now, always remember that."
Hilda only shook her head. Jasmine and Hilda will become good friends over the years to come, but she had never had the courage to tell Jasmine about the fate that Aktun Rafal put her through.
The line moved slowly and Hilda and Jasmine bridged the time with chatting. The topics were held general and soon it was the time for them to get tested. The test was held in a separate room to protect the students.
"Can we go inside together? We are like sisters. It would be a pain to exchange the results between us if all it took was one step to participate in the event." Jasmin asked the guard at the door. The man raised his eyebrows, magic affinities were delicate matters. Normally one shouldn't reveal them thoughtlessly.
The Guard looked over to Hilda, he could see at first glance that she was a shy and insecure young woman.
"Is that your wish as well?" the guard asks professionally.
"Yes, it is, I would like to take my test together with Jasmine." Hilda answered in a meek voice not looking the guard in the eyes.
The guard nodded and said: "You may enter together, you will leave together!"
The test was a fairly simple one. In the room was a Crystal the size of a human head, it was mounted on an intricate looking frame that was covered in runes from top to bottom. It looked like there was no space that wasn't covered at all.
All you had to do was to touch it and it would scan your body for affinities, after that it would display them as a fancy light show and glow in the respective colors.
After that it gave a detailed analysis about one's affinities. The more powerful the affinity the less data it would provide. If you have a low level or even just a minor magic affinity it gives a detailed report on what magic you were able to use.
Inside the room was only one other person. An elder wearing a gray Mage robe with a golden pattern of runes running from his sleeve up his arm. My magic perception saw the colors green and red. Yet his glow was evenly spread through his body and held the same intensity everywhere. This man was the overseer.