"That will be all for today's class."
Prof. Novil placed the pointer he was holding down on his table and started erasing the writings on the board.
"Since it's the weekend, I expect you to read ahead on our topic for next week, regarding the empire's revenue and taxation laws."
"Oh, sounds interesting!" the merchant part of Elliot declared. "But I'm more interested in what's up for lunch in the dining hall," he quickly added with a grin.
"I can't wait to meet Lycan again!" said Cat who half skipped and half ran towards the door.
"Patrick and Arman," Prof. Novil suddenly called out, "please stay after class."
"What?!" Arman said out loud, covering his mouth too late. "I-I mean... what would you need us for, Prof. Novil?" he said with a fake smile.
Prof. Novil stared at him momentarily and sighed.
"Please follow me to my office." He looked at our other friends. "The rest of you may take your lunch."
Prof. Novil led Arman and I towards the main building where the professors' residences doubled as their office. He led a small procession, actually, for Elliot, Cat, and Darius followed behind us as well.
"I believe I only called for Patrick and Arman," Prof. Novil sighed as all five of us entered his room. "Elliot, are you sure you're not hungry yet?"
"I can still hold it in, for my friends, Professor," Elliot replied, though he was starting to look a bit pale. "I am actually getting used to missing my snacks," he added with a grin.
"We wish to stay with our friends so that we could all eat together," said Darius.
"I'm here to see what a professor's office looks like!" Cat said shamelessly with his hand up.
"So, Prof. Novil," Arman asked nervously, "may we know why you asked for us?"
Prof. Novil looked at Arman, then at me.
"I have mentioned earlier that our topic for next week will be about revenue and taxation," he went on, "with that in mind, I would like to talk to you about that 'Magic Mask' you showed me before."
At the mention of the magic mask, Arman's eyes went as round as saucers and darted towards me.
I notice the sly smile on Prof. Novil's lips when his gaze fell on me as well.
"I found that 'Magic Mask' from your family's apothecary quite interesting and showed it to one of my acquaintances," he continued, his eyes still on me. "He was very fascinated by the product and would like to avail of it, if possible, from your family," he concluded, looking back at Arman.
"I-I'm afraid... it's a very limited product! A-and it's still in it's experimental stages, so s-selling it would be very difficult!" Arman stuttered.
"Yes, Patrick did inform me that it was secretly being marketed as a special, limited item," Prof. Novil said. "It was so secret, in fact, that no one in the Fentibeau Family's Apothecary was willing to admit that they had such a product. They said that they have never heard of such a thing before."
Arman glanced back and forth at the professor and I.
"T-that's right, professor, a-actually, only a chosen few... v-very few, very close acquaintances... knew of the product..."
"Can I not be one of those very few, very close acquaintances, then?" he asked, again with the same sly smile.
Arman did not – could not reply. Not one of us moved nor uttered a sound. You could cut the silence in the room with a knife. It was only broken a minute later by a low chuckle coming from the professor.
"I guess that 'Magic Mask' of yours must really be quite limited," his smile widened into a grin. "Are you sure you cannot sell it to my acquaintance? He was willing to pay any amount to buy this magic mask of yours."
"I'm afraid so, Prof. Novil," Arman replied, a bit more confident now.
"That's too bad, then," he sighed, "I would have to tell him about it when he arrives," he added as an afterthought.
"When he arrives?" Arman's pale face suddenly brightened up. "Professor, could your acquaintance, by any chance, be a master of some craft who would be mentoring us for the apprenticeships program?!" he asked excitedly.
"Why, yes, actually, how did you know about that?" the professor frowned at us.
"Oh, I just heard about the good news from the seniors!" Arman added, his hands clasped.
"Then, it's true that the grand masters are coming earlier this year?" asked Elliot.
"That is correct," Prof. Novil replied with a regular smile. "They will be introduced to you two weeks from now, and neophytes will be given a chance to prove themselves worthy to be apprenticed to the master of their choice."
"Woah, I can't wait `till then!" said Elliot. "I hope a five star chef arrives!"
"I'm hoping for a famous grand knight to come this year!" even Darius looked excited.
"What about you, Patrick?" Prof. Novil asked, the sly smile back on his lips. "What field would you like to be apprenticed in?"
"Actually," I paused in thought, "I'm not quite sure... I'm not really fond of being under somebody..."
"You are currently a student here, though," Darius pointed out. "It's part of the curriculum to be apprenticed to a master."
"I know, but I have never actually been taught by anyone personally... aside from my mother, that is, back when I was a child... I don't think there's anything I want to learn in particular that I could not learn from a book..." I said thoughtfully. "Besides, isn't it fairly common for masters to also have illicit relations with their apprentices?"
"Well... It is not unheard of...
"At least we won't be forced against our will," said Darius with a dark look on his face.
"Sometimes, some kids just can't help but fall for their masters, after all," said Arman with a dismissive laugh, "and didn't I teach you some quite a bit in our apothecary class?" he reminded me.
"But that's different," I pointed out, "you are, after all, a good friend of mine."
Arman stared at me wide-eyed, then his gaze softened and he jumped at me and gave me a tight hug.
"Aw, Pat, you really are such a sweetheart!" said he, who's head now leaned against my ribs.
"Hmm, then may I suggest you try to pursue alchemy or theoretical thaumaturgy? They would be good prerequisites for studying magic."
I heard Arman gasp before silence filled the room once more.
"I believe a famous alchemist is one of the masters who are planned to arrive by the end of the month," he added with a grin. "They might even arrive earlier than expected."
"Thank you for the suggestion, Prof. Novil," I replied with a smile of my own. "I shall think about it over the weekend."
"I'll be seeing you next week, then," the professor finally said, signifying our dismissal.
"Thank you, Prof. Novil!" Elliot pipped in rather nervously. "See you next week!"
"See you, professor, I'm truly sorry about the mask... I'll contact you in case my family sends me a new batch..." Arman trailed off.
"By the way, where's Cat?"
We all turn to Darius who was looking left and right for our little friend.
"Now that you mentioned it, he's been quiet all this time!" Elliot searched around the room as well.
"Here! I'm right here!" Cat called to us from behind a display cabinet.
We found him mussing around a long table topped with several contraptions, all of which were making some sort of motion.
"Look, Pat!" he called to me. "These cool toys move on and their own after I touch a part of it!"
There were three contraptions in all.
The first one looked like a wide wheel with six bottles of colored liquid tied along its circumference. The weight of the liquid makes the wheel turn continuously as the bottles tilt from top to bottom.
Beside itwas a small, wooden platform with a hole sunken in the middle. It was raised at a certain height, and a marble falling through the hole, passes a curved, metal rail, giving it enough momentum to shoot itself back up into the wooden platform, and down the hole once again, in a seemingly never-ending loop.
The third and last contraption was also a wheel. It has two bar magnets placed along a track that made up the wheel's circumference. One of the magnets was fastened to the bottom of the contraption, while the other was fixed with wheels like a small cart, and as their like poles repel each other, it made the small wheeled magnet run along the track, which in turn, made the whole wheel rotate upon its axis.
"Woah, nice toys, Prof. Novil!" said Arman who, like Cat, was entranced by the contraptions.
"Those are called
The two stared at him blankly.
"It means that they can keep on moving forever," Elliot explained. "They aren't like people who need food to get energy for work, or like lamp light that needs oil to keep burning."
"A good explanation," the professor agreed. "As Elliot said, these machines are supposed to move on their own for all eternity. The water inside the bottles keep the wheel turning. The speed of the falling marble propels itself back into place. The magnets continuously repel each other, making the wheel turn."
"You mean, they would never stop moving?" Darius asked with interest.
"Isn't this cool?" Cat said, beaming. "I wish I could show this to Lycan!"
"It truly is amazing," marveled Elliot. "Just think of a carriage wheel that could forever turn on its own! We wouldn't need any horses, think of all the money we can save from buying feed and grooming!"
"But wouldn't the parts wear out due to friction?" I asked thoughtfully.
"I was thinking the same thing..." Darius said with a frown. "Even wheels in a carriage wear out in time and would need to be changed.
"A good assumption, you two." The professor took off his spectacles to wipe them clean. "As you have observed, these machines won't really work forever. Even magnets lose their magnetism in about a thousand years. Besides, these machines would not be strong enough to pull a cart, unless you create something in a much larger scale, that could generate enough energy to do the task."
"But just think... if you can create a machine that could generate energy forever..." I mumbled as I stared at the professor's contraptions.
"What would you need energy for?" asked Cat. "I could just stare at these toys forever and never get tired of them!"
"Just think..." I answered him absentmindedly, "if I could use the same theory in magic principles, I would be able to make a core that would never run out of mana by..."
"Oh, you mean in theory?!" Elliot suddenly blurted out!
"That's right, Patrick, you really do love your theories!" added Darius, laughing nervously.
"Oh, look at the time!" Arman pointed at a clock on the professor's table.
"I'm suddenly feeling faint due to hunger," Elliot touched his brows dramatically. "I guess we really need to leave now, Prof. Novil."
"Thank you for the information regarding these wonderful contraptions," I hurriedly excused ourselves after realizing what I just said.
"Can I bring Lycan over next time, professor?" asked a clueless Cat.
"Yes, please, feel free to visit me anytime, as long as I'm here," said Prof. Novil with a grin. "Especially you, Patrick," he added. "It would be interesting to hear more about these magic theories of yours."
"I swear, that professor is having fun making a fool out of us," Darius said, shaking his head as we made our way towards the dining hall.
"He is?" asked Cat.
"You can say that again!" sighed Elliot. "I bet he's laughing at us right now, seeing how flustered we werewhile he waitsfor us to slip up."
"But isn't Prof. Novil a nice guy?" Cat asked again, looking confused.
"Well, he probably is, since he's still letting us off the hook," said Arman.
"That's right," I agreed. "He could have easily caught us so many times now, but he chose to turn a blind eye to our unauthorized use of magic."
"At least we know that we can somehow trust the professor," said Darius.
"And that he's a total sadistic psycho!" added Arman with a pout.
"And now, I'm too hungry to grumble," Elliot piped in.
"Let's hurry to the dining hall, there's nothing much we can do about the professor, after all," I told them.
"Right, I still need to meet Lycan!"
"And at least, now, we have the grand masters to look forward to before the month is through!" said Arman.
That night, I couldn't stop thinking about the professor's perpetual motion machines.
It is true that an object can't work in its best condition forever.
It would get worn and thorn in time due to friction and other factors and would eventually stop it from moving.
But something that is powered by a magical equation would not be affected in the same way.
After all, magic is known to defy any given law of nature.
Now, if I could create a spell that would perpetually rewind time to the instant before my mana is depleted, then wouldn't that make my mana cores full for all eternity?
"Busy with your tome again?"
I snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Darius speak beside me.
"Ah, I'm just formulating ideas for new spells," I told him with a smile.
"Have any luck yet?"
"I'm getting there," I replied. "Anyway, I hope my letter reaches your brother."
"I sure hope so," he said with a smile. "It was clever of you to use such a spell to hide the true message in a code."
"I'm sure your brother will notice it at once when he sees it. All he needs is to proclaim his name to view the spell I wrote to help him hide his mana core."
"I thank you again, Patrick, you really have done so much for me."
I looked at the dark rings under Darius' eyes. He seems restless tonight.
"Having trouble sleeping again?" I asked with concern.
"A bit..."
It sure looked like it wasn't a bit. He still gets nightmares after all.
"Can you maybe, charm me to sleep again?"
"Perhaps talking about it would help more?" I suggested.
Darius frowned, his long golden lashes, covering his lilac eyes, his cheeks burning a deep crimson.
"I still find it hard to recount..." he whispered, "much less accept the fact that I was subjected to such humiliation..."
I touched his trembling hand.
"Then I shall prepare the spell for you." I flipped my tome to the familiar pages of the sleeping spell. "I must warn you, though, some spells might have a side effect if you use it too often. It might lessen its effectiveness, work too well, or even make you addicted to its effects."
"Is that so?" Darius sounded worried.
"You aren't feeling anything out of the ordinary, are you?" I asked him to be sure. "You have been asking for a sleeping spell almost every night, after all."
"Honestly... I sometimes feel like I can't sleep without it anymore..." he confessed. "Does that mean I'm getting addicted to it?"
"Could be."
"Then..." he hesitated, "would you mind if you lie beside me for a while, instead?" He said this in such a low whisper that I hardly heard him speak.
I slowly closed my tome.
"Ah, but you must be very busy..." he quickly said.
"It's okay, I can think of theories even in my sleep."
"I-is it really okay?" he asked as I sat on the side of his bed.
"I am actually a bit weary from that incident with Prof. Novil," I admitted with a little laugh. "I think it's time for me to get some rest, as well."
Darius gave me an awkward smile.
He moved over to his left side to make room for me, and together we lay side by side on his bed.
I have always been alone, after my mother lost interest in me.
It was only here in the academy that I found some friends and learned how comfortable a person's warmth can be, particularly on that time, when Eliot and I helped Cat sleep through his first night away from home.
Darius' case felt a bit different, though.
As I lay beside him, he slowly inched closer to me and gently snuggled against my body. Later, he slipped his arms around my torso and placed his head on my chest.
It didn't bother me much, until he started rubbing his face against me, wetting me with his tears. I placed my arms around him to comfort him and felt his body quiver.
"I never thought I could touch anyone like this again..." he whispered. "I felt so dirty... so defiled... I couldn't do anything since they fed me a drug that paralyzed my body, while my mind kept wide awake... while they did... all those things to me..." his body shivered as he started to sob. "I couldn't stop myself... I hated it... they disgust me, yet my body... my body felt..."
Darius stopped speaking, his body shaking as he sobbed.
"Hush now, it's over now..." I tried to calm him down. "It's not you. There was probably an aphrodisiac in the food, too."
"I did my best to resist...I even tried to cut my foot off since they chained me to the bed," he later continued, "but they caught me, and it hurt so much that I couldn't do it again... that's how useless I was..."
"Yet you are here now, you got away from him. You're still alive, and you were even able to beat him in a challenge as well."
"...there was a ghost..."
Darius' face looked up at mine.
"I felt a ghost visit me one day, and that ghost weakened the chains on my foot to help me escape."
Darius' hand reached out to touch my cheek and slip through my short hair, making my body shiver.
"He faintly smelled of maple leaves on a warm windy day," he continued. "He smelled exactly like you..."
"Should I explain?" I asked him.
"How come you never told me?" he asked instead.
"I didn't think it would matter. Also, I was afraid you would resent me for not saving you right there and then."
"Why would I? When you have saved me just the same?" he replied. "And yet, there I was, trying to rob you of your food, when I saw you in the woods..."
I couldn't help but laugh a little. Darius laughed with me as well. We were still laughing when our eyes locked with each other, until the mirth was gone, and silence remained. A silence that drew us nearer until his lips gently touched mine.
I barely felt it, yet a tingling sensation spread from my lips to the tips of toes.
I closed my eyes to savor it.
"Do you think I'm dirty?" he asked, his lilac eyes filling with tears.
"No," I readily replied. "I think you are beautiful."
Darius smiled sadly at me.
I reached out and touched his cheek, my fingers trailing towards his red lips, which I kissed once more.
It lasted longer than the first, yet we both did not know what to do next, so we ended up gazing at each other and laughing at our own clumsiness, until he leaned his head upon my chest, and took a deep breath, and was soon fast asleep, leaving me staring at him with my heart still pounding, wishing that I could give him more than just a simple goodnight kiss.