"What?" Both the girl and the prince said in unison.
"It's my way of apologizing for disappearing for a week," Nikolai said, keeping the joke rolling.
"I'm not marrying some scrawny kid!" Nikolai hit her on the head, still having his infamous smile on his face.
"Scrawny?" The prince repeated, taken aback by the girl's tongue.
"My apologies, your highness. Forgive this one, she is stupid for her age," Nikolai said, his hand shoving Eleora's head down which she protested against.
"Hey! We made a deal, you bastard! This was not part of it!" She yelled out, moving out of reach. "Touch me again and you're dead!"
"Bastard?" The prince was flabbergasted. "Master, who is this child?"
"Master?" Eleora repeated confused.
"An interesting stray cat I picked up on the road."
"Stray cat?" Eleora huffed, ready to get back in the carriage and be taken back to the ground.
"Master, you can't bring any commoners you find on the road into the castle. It's dangerous!" The prince protested.
"Commoners?" For some reason, Eleora felt a bit offended by this comment. His statement wasn't wrong, but being told that to the face left Eleora feeling rather annoyed.
"This one is completely harmless."
"Wait so you aren't his son? And Nikolai, you're not the King then?" She asked confused, they both looked at her like she had snakes for hair. The mage burst out laughing again. Eleora felt embarrassed, as if she missed a page in a book.
"She's a comedian." He said in between laughs.
"She's uneducated." The prince pointed out, his hands crossed as he looked at the girl up and down. Eleora gave him a warning look.
"Eleora, this is his highness, Prince Hugo, the eldest of the Valentine children and my favorite student," Nikolai said, introducing the two. Now that she took notice of the prince, he had raven black hair that was neatly brushed to the side, and his eyes were the color of gold. It creeped her out, she'd never seen eyes such color. Nikolai and the prince looked nothing alike, it was a stupid mistake on her part to ask such a question in the beginning.
"If I was your favorite student then you wouldn't have left the day before my magic duel with Sir Kermos," The prince said angrily.
"Well, did you win?"
"Of course, I won. Pity you weren't there to witness it," The prince said shrugging, Nikolai pet him on the head with a proud grin on his face. "It must have been something important for you to leave in the middle of the night, Master."
"I felt a trace of my previous predecessor's mana. I was in a hurry to track it down, however, when I arrived, all the traces were wiped entirely. That old man is clearly playing games," Nikolai said, looking annoyed. It was the first time Eleora noticed that look on his face. She quietly followed behind them as they walked towards a grand building and continued their conversation. She felt out of place already, as if she was somewhere she should never have set foot in.
The castle had several towers, both round and square, countless guards were placed on those elevated points. Their eyes gawked and followed them. Eleora tried to distract herself from the unpleasant thoughts. The courtyard served as the heart of the castle's daily life. It was an open space bursting with activity, from workers hurrying to get to their posts to officials or nobles passing by. There was a row of carriages to her right, along with stables filled with pure white horses. In the center of the courtyard was a beautiful fountain, it sparkled in the sunlight as it shot up in the air.
The castle was magnificent and it took her all her might to not get lost from gawking at different things. The ceiling was tall almost as if it was made for giants to walk through, not humans. Long hallways spread into two different directions and up ahead was yet another courtyard, this one filled with trees and roses. The aroma lingered in the air as they walked further down the hall. Every turn they took she was left shocked and breathless, the entire castle was just breathtaking. Different antiques, stones, designs, and patterns filled the walls making her awestruck. This was something far more than just a castle in a fairy tale, this has become her reality. A nervous feeling twisted in the stomach.
"Hey, kid! Keep up," Nikolai said upon seeing the child mesmerized by the designs on the wall. It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination. At first, it looked like a small library, with countless collections of books of all shapes, colors, and sizes. But then upon closer inspection, Eleora realized that it was a study.
Lord Nikolai's study was found at the highest point of the castle, overlooking the entire building structure and some parts of the capital. The main reason he had requested a room at the highest peak was due to the fact that somewhere hidden within the room, was a ginormous mana stone imbedded with Nikolai's mana that allowed for him to openly float the castle in the sky without over-exhausting himself. All he had to do was keep the mana crystal alive by embedding some of his mana every few days, and then the rock would take care of the rest. Another reason and a more primal reason for his headquarters to be located here was for his love of the stars and astronomy.
When Eleora first walked in, she noted a large painting that seemed to represent the stars in the night sky. There were other hints of Nikolai's love for the subject such as telescopes, books, notes, mathematic equations, and even tiny, shiny floating rocks on the ceiling. Eleora had gotten lost in his study, while the others walked immediately towards the end where a table and a chair faced away from the sky-high window. Eleora was drawn to a large rectangular desk in the middle of the room, the desk's legs were made out of gold, but that wasn't what drew her to it! How much gold did this castle have?
On the table, there were countless pages of different magic circles, all different sizes and designs. Books, half that were left open, and half that were closed, were scattered all over the table. Pencils, pens, rulers, a glass of water, a compass, and all sorts of things could be found in there. Eleora reached out and picked up a piece of paper, taking a closer look at the magic circle. It jugged her memory of that book she had found in the middle of the sidewalk. She couldn't recall the name of the book, for it was in another language, and she didn't pay much attention to the author of the book. But she did remember one thing, there was a magic circle that glowed a bright shade of red just seconds before a body of water dragged her through a pond.
Perhaps the same magic circle was embedded into her eye?
"Are there magic circles that allow you to teleport through long distances, say to a faraway land?" Eleora called out, placing the paper back on the table and running towards the other two.
"You barely got here and you are already planning on running off to another kingdom? That hurts my feelings," Nikolai said, his feelings were not hurt and Eleora gave him a look for lying.
"Yes, there are. But it's very complex magic, I doubt someone of your skill could ever dream of pulling that off," Prince Hugo said, not even glancing back at the girl. He could barely sense any mana in her, it was so small as if it could vanish any second now.
"Why yo-"
"Now, now, kids. Settle down. Your Highness, it's time for an interesting lesson," Nikolai said, the prince was slow to move so Nikolai ended up grabbing him by his shoulders.
"Hey! What are you doing?" He tried to get away but Nikolai's grip on him was too strong. Eleora didn't move when the lord shoved the prince in her face.
"Be serious, look at her, and tell me what you see," Nikolai said in a stern tone, he wasn't messing around anymore.
"I don't know...she reeks that's for sure," The prince said, looking to the side.
"What-"
"I don't smell anything," Nikolai said, sniffing the air. Eleora rolled her eyes, getting tired of these stupid games.
"My eyes you idiot, look into my eyes," She said to the prince, taking a step closer and making her eyes look wide as if it would put an end to this situation. He lowered his head to get a better look.
"What are you- oh...that's...oh-"
"You see it now, don't you?" Nikolai said excitedly.
"It's very faint, almost naked to the human eye," The prince squinted his eyes to get a better look as he observed her left eye. Eleora's ears turned pink, and being stared at like this wasn't her favorite activity.
"Yes, yes. In order to see it better, try directing some mana into your eyes," Nikolai instructed.
"Woah, your eyes are so dark, I can see my own reflection," The prince said and Nikolai hit him on the head.
"Focus."
"I see it better now. Have you figured out what magic circle it is?" He quickly took a step back from the girl once his master let go of his shoulders, there was a light blush of pink on his cheeks. He never stood next to a girl this close in proximity, if his master was to push him, he would have easily bopped noses with her.
"No, I haven't seen anything like it, which is why I brought her along with me."
"Is it part of the deal she mentioned?"
"Yes, I plan to study the magic circle. In return, she is my guest here so I expect you to be kind to her and lend her a helping hand whenever she is in trouble."
"If you want her to stay out of trouble, you ought to teach her to hold her tongue," The prince said, glancing at the girl who was watching him.
"Holding my tongue didn't get me nowhere," She said to him.
"Running your tongue will get you six feet under."
"I'm sorry not everyone was born with a golden spoon up their arses."
"Children, please," Nikolai stated, hearing the two of them bicker was giving him a headache. This was one of the reasons why he didn't want children, he had already surrounded himself with enough by becoming a teacher. Eleora fell silent, she didn't see the purpose of arguing any further. Those who are born rich could never understand the struggles of being poor. Just before anything else could be said, a loud knock was heard in the distance.
The door opened and a woman walked in. Her curly brown hair was pulled back in a slick ponytail, her hazel eyes glanced at the prince and the lord.
"Your Highness, my lord. The room has been prepared," She bowed before greeting them. Her round eyes landed on Eleora and lingered on her longer than expected. Everyone seemed fascinated by the color of her hair, at least everyone in this world.
"Come on, Eleora," Lord Nikolai said, motioning her to follow along. She glanced at him confused before quickly walking after them. Perhaps they had prepared a room for her but when did they have the time, she had only just got here.
"Eleora, this is Mary. She will be looking after you, anything you need just let her know," Lord Nikolai introduced them.
"It is a pleasure to serve you, my lady," Mary said with a light bow and the sweetest smile. Eleora's face flushed an embarrassing color.
"O-Oh please, just call me Eleora," She said quickly, stuttering and waving her hands in front of her.
Mary ignored her request, "Please, follow me this way."
They walked down the stairs and into more hallways which looked almost identical. Eleora wondered how no one seemed to get lost, this castle was enormous and so far she had only been exposed to a fraction of it.
"Now then, I will leave you ladies to get to know each other. Eleora, make yourself comfortable. I will call for you soon but for now rest and eat well," Lord Nikolai smiled before walking away. Eleora watched him disappear into the distance.
"Come now, my lady," Mary waved for her.
"I'm not a lady," Eleora muttered but the maid ignored her again.
"This will be your room, I shall leave you to familiarize yourself with your new environment. But before I go, what would you like for supper? I will have it ready for you in an hour." Eleora was left in awe at the sight of her new room but also at the words that just left Mary's mouth.
"Supper?" She repeated.
"Why yes, my lady. Do you have any preferences? I could make a recommendation in your stead but you must alert me of any allergies."
"I'm not allergic to anything, and I-I like bread," Eleora shyly mumbled, did she even like bread? Her only memories of bread were the stale feel against her teeth and the faint smell that lingered around it. There was no doubt that the bread here would be different.
"Then how about tomato basil soup, it goes well with bread. I can also bring in some other dishes for you to try," Mary offered, she was aware of the child's whereabouts.
"Y-Yes, that'll be amazing," Eleora responded, her mouth already watering.
"Then I will take my leave, make yourself comfortable, my lady." Eleora was left alone again this time to explore her room that was worth quadruple of her own life.