Aeliana stirred in her sleep before slowly opening her eyes. She yawned, rubbing her eyes as she reached out to her side.
She blinked, moving her hand around the bed and frowned. Where did her teddy bear go?
"Good morning, my lady." Flora greeted her as she came inside, opening the curtains.
"Good morning, have you seen my teddy bear?" she asked, squinting as the morning light blinded her until she fully adjusted to it.
Flora shook her head, "Wasn't it with you?"
"It was! But when I woke up, it was gone."
Flora hummed in reply, bringing Aeliana to the bathroom. She handed Aeliana her toothbrush before replying,
"I think I might have seen it."
"Really?! Where?"
"My lady please finish brushing your teeth before speaking." Flora chuckled.
Aeliana quickly finished brushing her teeth and washed her face before turning to Flora. Flora wiped her face with a towel and spoke,
"It might be with Lord Marius and Lord Darius."
"...What?"
Aeliana didn't waste another second and ran out of her room. She could hear Flora yelling at her to not run as she had just barely recovered from the accident thanks to magic but her teddy bear was at stake right now!
'If they do something to it!' Aeliana grit her teeth, running down the hallways and stairs.
She ran outside and looked around. Unable to find the two brothers she was searching for, she continued running around until she stopped at the swordsmanship practice area.
Aeliana was out of breath from running around. She looked inside the practice area and found the culprits. Her teddy bear was tied to a wooden practice dummy.
"My teddy bear!" she shouted and ran over to where her bear was.
She wanted to untie it but it was tightly knotted. She heard a loud snicker behind her.
Marius swung his wooden sword around and rested it on his shoulder, "That stuffed toy is a good practice dummy!"
Beside him, Darius quietly watched saying nothing. Aeliana balled her fists before taking a deep breath, calming herself down.
"Why did you take my bear?"
Marius mockingly laughed at her, "Like I said, it was a good dummy for practice."
Aeliana pointed at the dummy doll they were using and replied, "Then why did you have to put it on another dummy?"
"..Y—you wouldn't understand the reason!"
"Because you don't have any!" she retorted back.
Marius' face turned red but she couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment or perhaps both. He stormed over to the dummy, glaring at her. Without another word, he lifted his practice sword up and stabbed it into the stuffed bear.
Although the sword was blunt and wouldn't hurt, it was still able to cut through the fabric. Aeliana heard a ripping sound and her eyes widened in horror.
Darius didn't expect the situation to escalate and was just as surprised as she was, his pink eyes as wide as saucepans.
Marius gawked at the aftermath. He dropped his sword down to the ground, untying the bear off the dummy doll and slowly looked over at Aeliana. His lips were quivering.
"I...I.." he couldn't utter a word out, stammering the entire time.
Aeliana grabbed her bear, trying to put back the stuffing into the ripped hole in the middle but failed. She hasn't said a word after what had happened. From the corner of her eye, she saw the twins fidgeting around, unsure what to do.
She wanted to yell at them but clamped her mouth shut. Her stuffed bear was more important than yelling. This was her first gift from her father and mother. She cherished it more than jewels and dresses.
She didn't give a glance at them as she ran off to find Flora. Big tears began to fall out of her eyes as her emotions were too much for her to handle. It took a while but Flora was able to fix her teddy bear and calm her down. It did leave a stitched mark in the middle of its stomach but Aeliana didn't mind it.
She also found out later on that the twins were scolded and punished, needing to stay inside the house for a week and weren't allowed to use their swords.
Aeliana didn't let her teddy bear out of her sight or arms, hugging it tightly wherever she went. She knew it was childish but she was four and her memories couldn't change that fact.
At dinner, she sat at her usual spot and quietly ate with her bear sitting between her legs. Aeliana could feel both Marius and Darius looking her way but she didn't spare them a look, still mad about the incident.
"Daddy, I'm done. Can I go first?" she asked, pushing her clean plate away.
Cassian wiped her mouth before nodding, "Alright, you may go Eli."
"Thank you."
She left the dining room speedily, not wanting to spend any more time there.
Aeliana didn't feel like returning to her room straight away so she made a detour and went to the library. She knocked on the door before opening it.
"Hello Lady Aeliana." the librarian greeted her with a warm smile.
"Hello," she greeted back before fully walking inside.
The last time she came to the library was a month before her birthday, then afterwards she never came back. She walked through the familiar places in the large library and stopped in front of a large bookshelf that was filled to the brim with books associated with magic.
She took a magic book for children as she wasn't good at the language since she never bothered trying to learn it. She sat down at the reading table and began flipping through the book. Remembering the technology she had experienced previously, she became curious about magic, wanting to know the differences between the two.
She had seen magic a few times out her window but that was it. The introduction was straightforward and simple, allowing children like her to understand. Magic came from the mana in a person's body and since everyone is different so is the mana.
A person who had lesser mana would only be able to perform certain magic and those with bigger mana would be able to perform large scales of magic.
Long story short, mana played a huge role in magic use and every year children who turn six years old will go to the temple and check their mana. There are only three types of magic; dark, light, and common.
Dark and light magic are rare to come across as most people had common magic. Only one can be found in a person, never having more than that.
'I wonder what I have...hope it's common. More magic to do. Actually, maybe I should hope my mana is above average at least'
Aeliana continued reading through the book until she felt a presence. She looked up from her book to see Marius and Darius standing in front of her. She raised an eyebrow before closing her book shut, bringing her full focus to them.
"Yes?"
Marius glared at her but Darius elbowed him by the side and shook his head. Marius glanced at his younger twin brother before sighing.
He locked eyes with Aeliana and opened his mouth.
"..I—"
"Is your bear okay now?" Darius cut his brother off once he realised he was taking too long to speak.
Marius glared at his brother but didn't say anything, clearly understanding that this was caused by him.
Aeliana blinked before nodding.
"Yes, my teddy bear is okay...want to see it?"
"Huh?"
The twins looked at her, surprised by her words.
"Do you want to see?" she asked again, lifting her bear to the table.
"...Yeah.." Darius was the one who responded, mumbling.
Aeliana turned it, making it face-front towards the twins and proceeded to point at the stitch.
"See, my teddy bear is fine."
The twins silently looked at the stitch, a convicted expression plastered on their faces. They murmured something under their breaths before speaking up,