|| Black Clover || Valiant [OC INSERT]

[8]

She made her way through the halls, asking some servants about where her Mother or Father was. After finding out their whereabouts, she proceeded to find them.

Stepping outside, she saw her little brother, Al, playing in the royal gardens with their Father. Their mother sat idly by on a bench, watching the two males. She felt the corners of her lips curl up at the sight of her family. 'They look so happy,' she thought.

Al was running around showing Joules what he could do with his magic. From what Iris could tell, Al seemed to show an affinity for defensive magic. This intrigued her, seeing as though she specialized in offensive magic. 'It looks like Al's nature to protect is seeping into his magic,' she smiled at that fact.

Iris approached her family, sitting down on the bench where her mother, Constanza, was. Constanza turned and greeted Iris with a smile and a hug.

"Iris, how are you? How have you been? You should know that Aldrich gets lonely without you here, so you should come to visit more often." Constanza was overjoyed seeing her eldest daughter return home. 'She seems more mature,' she thought.

Iris grinned like an idiot while hearing her mother's questions. She was feeling euphoric. "I've been great! Everyone is nice back at the base. They're all so powerful and unique in their own ways! The missions I went on were tough but they're nothing that I couldn't handle!" Before Iris could continue ranting, she heard her mother chuckle beside her.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

Constanza turned her gaze to Iris. "You seem so different, is all." She smiled reminiscing. Her eyes looked somewhat sad at her revelation.

Iris tilted her head in confusion. "Oh? How so?"

Constanza looked forward to where Joules and Al were. "The way you present yourself is new." She shifted her dark-green eyes to meet Iris' light-green ones. "It shows that you've experienced more of the world. The steps you take are no longer those of a child, but those of someone who is blossoming."

Iris thought about her mother's words. Even though she smiled brightly on the outside, she felt sad. She knew that her mother meant well, but she couldn't shake the feeling that her words were from a place of sorrow. 'I wish you would be more honest with me, Mother.'

Al spotted Iris once he broke out of his concentration. He immediately beamed, happy to see his beloved older sister. He wasted no time running up to Iris. "Sully, you're back! I practiced my magic just like you said I should!" Al engulfed Iris in a hug which she happily returned.

"I'm glad that you've been training. Just remember to be careful, okay?" she lectured playfully. 'I missed him,' she thought.

Joules had now approached Constanza and Iris. He sat beside his wife, watching his children interact. They both turned to look at each other, a loving smile on both of their faces.

Al retracted from Iris, wanting to show her what he had learned. "Look at what I can do now!" He was eager to show his progress.

The young five-year-old stood a few feet away from his relatives. He stuck his hands in front of him, his brows furrowing in the process. Gradually, his magic started to form a small shield in front of him. The shield was one made of metal with it being no more than two feet in height and length.

Iris' eyes opened wide. She hadn't expected Al to effortlessly create something so sturdy. 'If he can do this at such a young age then I wonder what he'll be able to do when he's older,' she thought.

Al dispersed his magic, destroying the shield he created in the process. He turned to look at Iris, waiting for her approval or anything to show that she was proud of him.

"Wow! You're so amazing, Al! You could easily surpass me once you're older," she exclaimed. From time to time, Iris would externally show her interest in magic just like her uncle, Julius. This time was no exception.

"You really think so, Sully?" Al had felt embarrassed receiving praise from someone who he looked up to. His cheeks tinted pink while his eyes sparkled.

"Are you kidding? Of course, I do! You're already doing way better than me when I was your age." Iris gave him a thumbs up along with a goofy grin, showing her honesty.

Tears formed at the corners of Al's eyes. He looked at Iris, on the verge of spilling his eyes out. Iris flinched, noticing that he was about to cry. "What's wrong Al?" she questioned.

Al reached his hands up, wanting to be pampered by Iris. 'he's still so adorable,' she thought. Iris gladly picked up the small boy who clung onto her like a koala.

Constanza and Joules both wiped away fake tears, thinking about how fast Iris and Al have grown up. At that moment, they thought that they were the most fortunate parents in the world. 'Who wouldn't want Iris and Al as their own?' they thought in sync.

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Iris found herself in her room, once again staring at her ceiling. She had decided to stay the night in her old home instead of rushing back to the base. At the time, she thought that it was a good idea until she remembered that Yami would most likely kill her for not mentioning anything beforehand. 'Why don't I ever think?'

There was a lot on the young royal's mind. The day had been an eventful one with Iris getting into some sort of trouble again. She had been thinking about everything that occurred for the past hour, causing her to not be able to enjoy her much needed sleep.

One particular thing seemed to be bugging Iris. 'I don't like using defensive magic, but I know I'll most likely end up needing it.' She furrowed her brows, growing frustrated. 'Learning defensive spells would take a lot of time since I've never done it before. Not only that, maintaining a defensive spell once cast takes precision, precision that I don't have.'

After managing to block a powerful attack, Iris was conflicted. Should she take some time to develop her defenses? Or should she continue to strengthen her power? Certainly, the day would come when she would need to find a happy middle.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to annoy herself any further. 'I can't do it. It's not my style,' she concluded. Iris let out a breath, wishing that she had a more delicate control of her magic. 'I won't need to learn defensive spells if I perfect my offensive ones. All I need to do is beat the opponent before they can even land any form of attack on me.'

It's not that Iris didn't have good control of her magic. It was more that she was holding herself back. She was more than capable of becoming a powerful mage with a variety of spells. But, there seemed to be this underlying fear. After all the instances where she caused harm, she ended up thinking that that was all her magic was meant to do. Now, she used her unfair amount of power on her opponent to cause just that, harm.

Iris looked back up to her plain, white ceiling. "This is what you can beat me in, Al." She smiled sadly at the thought of knowing the pressure her brother would face.

She shook off her worries, attempting to come up with different strategies she could use during battles. To no avail, she found her mind wandering back to her original thoughts. 'I suppose my magic also reflects me. I'm straightforward and blunt when it comes to being honest about things. I don't beat around the bush. I just go for it.'

Iris' eyes landed on her window. The moonlight reflected beautifully on her light-green eyes. It was like a blanket that covered her skin, seemingly making it shine, almost glow. 'I'll train harder to perfect my magic. I'll do this for Al. After all, I won't be needing any defensive spells any time soon, right?'