My eyes were heavy, the voices, however, were loud. Groggily fighting against my lids, finding two arguing boys, both of which I knew, I lazily looked around, but no one else in sight. Only trees. "Do you think I don't want to get her back?! Huh?!? I don't even know where we are Alex! We can't move her! You'll risk killing her! She needs to rest!"
"Rest?! She's got a fever! If we don't get her to a healer then she really will die! This isn't up for debate! I've let you have your way! And she's been sleeping for four days! Four days Adrian! It's a miracle she's still breathing!"
"Where...?" My voice was weak and scratchy yet they both froze at it, their gazes snapping at me in relief.
"I- we don't know," Adrian answered, both rushing to my side as I looked around. This looks familiar. Where have I seen it? Ugh, my head hurts.
"... I'm cold," I called, yet, I felt sticky. I felt like I was sweating. They looked at each other, both rushing to pull off their shirts, looking down I found myself wrapped in three jackets. Soon enough I had shirts getting pulled over even those. "Can I have some water Alex?" I asked softly, trying to wet my mouth and failing, my body heavy.
"Yeah, yeah of course," He gently helped me lean up, easily calling the magic, taking a drink of the floating water I couldn't help but cough.
"I'm tired," I moaned, my eyes heavy, shouting finding my ears yet the darkness finding me easily.
Flinching I groaned and turned into the warmth, murmurs finding my ears a second later as my eyes fluttered open. To a very concerned face. I yawned sitting up only to shiver, "It's cold," I shuttered looking at the healer- who had struck me. Blinking as my face stung I opened my mouth before closing it, my eyes teary as I looked back at the man who was now standing above me, glaring.
"Your core's closed off, you show up with a fever, with an infection, after nearly a week of being missing?! You-! Everyone thought you were as good as dead!" Staring at him with wide eyes, my hand on my hot cheek, his glare growing as he clicked his tongue and stomped out. Watching in shock I looked around, suddenly finding a herd of professors around me. Some being elites.
"I- I..." I tried to form a sentence, yet what came out next was not what I wanted, "Did you tell my dad?" I asked quietly, my brows furrowing as I flinched, my arm stinging. Looking down I found a long and very rough cut that was almost completely scarred over, like a carriage I was hit with a flood of memories. The white stag is prominent, sharp blue magic dancing between its antlers, crackling around the mana stones attached to silver chains. Sparkling as if it was the sun with glowing blue eyes.
Yet, despite what I knew it looked like, all I could remember was the cold sharp feeling of its grin as it had used me as a means to our world. It used me to summon itself. And it had the audacity to hide that hideous and sharp grin behind an elegant face leaving only me with the sight burned into my brain.
Holding my face, my grip tight enough to scratch myself my hands were suddenly ripped from my face. My wide and wet eyes met the startled and concerned gaze of Miss H. "Don't let it come back- please, don't- I can't- I can't do that again. I didn't- that wasn't what I wanted to happen! I just- I just wanted to pass! I- please! Don't let it come back!" I begged, roughly grabbing her arms and dropping my head. Staring at the ground, gasping for breath.
"Li-Lilith, you're hurting me," She said softly, no, strained, and suddenly I had jolted back, staring at her startled at the words.
"I- I'm sorry." She looked even more concerned by my reaction, "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry," I apologized again, this time wrapping my arms around my knees, as close to the head of the bed as I could- as far from the horde as possible.
"Lilith, you know what you summoned, don't you?" The headmaster- the earth elite, asked coldly and pushed the glass mage behind him- out of my reach further. His gaze was icy but cautious. I was a threat. I don't want to die.
"I didn't mean to," I sniveled hiding in my knees, "I just wanted to summon a spirit, I used the familiar summons- I just- why did that have to-" My shoulders shook and I couldn't tell if it was because I was cold or if it was because of the fear racing up my spine like a centipede.
"A familiar's summon?" He asked softly, while I just fisted my hair in my hands whimpering. The lie the first to come to mind. I didn't know what I did. I wasn't the one that did it. "You summoned a holy beast with a familiar's summon with a closed-off mana core?" He asked angrily. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. It wasn't going to work. I was going to be found out. They were going to find out.
"How lucky you are," He ground, the words leaving me to jolt up staring at him with wild eyes.
"You don't even know what that thing is!" I all but shouted, he jumped at that, while I fisted the sheets under my hand. "I don't want that monster," He looked between my eyes the thought of that being my familiar sickening even if it was a lie. "I- gods! Expel me! Execute me! I- Just do it!" I snapped pulling the sheet around myself and hiding from the lot of them and their prying eyes.
"Now now, let's not do that." Jolting from under the sheet I slowly pulled it over my head. Relief flooded me just as quickly as tears did my eyes, "My daughter has had a very traumatic experience and I find you all crowded around her? What, are you trying to prosecute the child?"
"That was not our intention Mr. Windsor-" The water elite was cut off without a bat of a lash.
"You could fool me," opening her mouth she closed it, stepping away as he walked over, sitting on my bed as I didn't hesitate to jump into his arms.
"Dad it was- they're terrible!" I sobbed while he hummed. "Why are they called holy? What did I do? I- I just wanted to pass my test but it- it-" I grabbed at his robe roughly.
"I know dear, they really are horrible creatures," He agreed hugging me softly. "When I first summoned Aranea I had felt the same." Aranea. Father had a holy beast for a familiar. He actually had one of those monsters as a summons. "Have you bound it?" Pushing away from his chest I looked up at my father at the question.
"No- I- I won't, I won't do it!" I shook my head wildly while he stared at me for a long moment before humming and petting my hair. His hand running through the white patch that had grown, his gaze on it making me still, my gaze dropping.
"... You're still young, I won't make you do something you don't want to, but a familiar is not for the master to choose. It's the choice of the beast." It wasn't even my familiar. It was something I didn't invite. "Now, do tell me, why does my daughter have such a large scar on her face, headmaster?" He turned his soft gaze to the earth elite, a sharp glare in place as he let the hair fall from his fingers- returning it to frame my face.
"That was of her own fault-"
"You mean to tell me that in a place trusted to care for the children of nobles your safety is lacking to the point that not only my child has a scar, what I would guess is a burn scar, covering not just a large portion of her face but the entirety of one of her arms and I can only guess but a large portion of her torso as well?" He asked sharply, looking at the larger man as if he was the very definition of filth.
"It wasn't as if it was a supervised incident-"
"Oh, so not only did you not inform me of my child's injury but you also don't supervise the children you insist on living in dorms? You just what? Let them run through the woods doing as they please?" My gaze immediately flew away from his before the glare of such a powerful mage found me. In all honestly, it was careless. I could just freely do so. I mean no reproductions at that.
"... Your daughter has shown a proficiency in potion making, she has a talent so great we've even given her access to the third-year potions lab, however," He rushed the others outside with his gaze alone, "... We only learn of this talent because of a potion she had accidentally used to completely destroy our eastern wing, rendering many of the second-year classes unusable." They stared at each other for a long moment, glares clashing, before my father pulled a pleasant smile one that made the elite frown.
"She has always been rather free-spirited, and quite smart at that, quite the handful," He hummed twirling a white piece of my hair without looking at me. "Lilith, what's that man's name?" He asked turning to me, pointing at my personal healer, who had just walked back in and paled at the question.
"James," It fell from my mouth before my mind had caught the reason for the question. Blinking in surprise I stared at my father, who turned a slow and sharp gaze back to the man who had not yet seen my father's wrath.
"Oh ho ho?" He was sarcastic as he stood up, straightening his tailcoat, meeting the taller man face to face. "So, Edward, where's my daughter's medical book? I'm sure she has her own if James is the one treating her,"
"She's an outgoing-"
"James," It was in his hand in a millisecond, the glare of Edward one that had his gaze elsewhere, but the man I had always seen some kind of irritable was sweating so much I had thought he had been dowsed in water. "What a thick book, interesting that I hadn't so much as heard about it?"
"Let's see here, the latest and most interesting as it seemed to be what got you to call me says," he flipped through the book, the man twice his size still, while his brow twitched, "Lilith, why is your core closed off?" He asked me, his voice low but not soft.
"... It cracked," I said, holding the shirt I wore. The book snapped loudly as his side glanced in my direction and slowly moved to the man before him.
"My daughter had a cracked core? No, I have a feeling if I were to look now, I imagine it was still cracked, how accurate is that guess, Edward?" I couldn't see his face, his back to me, but by the paling of a man I had only seen people practically bow before, I could imagine. "Lilith, remove that magic around your core before you kill yourself," He demanded tapping the spine of the book on the still Edward's chest.
"I don't want to lose my magic-"
"You will not, however, you will find yourself dead if you continue to keep a foreign object so close to your heart. It was certainly a good idea given you've been missing for a week, however, you are only risking yourself further now that help is available," He said swiftly, not harshly but not gently.
"I- okay," I agreed quietly, closing my eyes and reaching into the dark depths of my mana pool. The small ridged stone was covered in hard black glass. Slowly I pulled it in, removing the magic from the mana core, a sharp pain racing through my chest as I did. Suddenly, with the pain, I wasn't cold. No, warmth rushed through me.
"Lilith!" Came a shout but a scoff had kept the harsh voice away. Clutching at the fabric around my chest I gasped as my eyes snapped open. Everything around me was dark yet, well, there were gentle little sparks, almost like glitter.
"Mmm," I just patted the bed three times before the magic was gone and my father's side had found my sight again.
"Do you truly think I can't handle a little mana burst? You should know better, she is my child,"
"Hardly," His brow twitched at that, his eyes moving back to the man that had chosen an insult he was particularly bothered by.
"You've nearly killed my daughter, dozens of times, and you really want to test me?" He held the book again, flicking through it, "Here we have an impaling, what lovely notes James, to think you would write half a page on a lack of mana shield and only a paragraph on, what does it say again? 'Practically gored, through and through'? Let's see, only a few pages after that, not even into the next week it seems, severe internal trauma? To the point of unconscious vomiting of blood? Mmm, let's see, same day, we have, not even an hour after, a triple fracture? Oh dear, and that's only the arm, we've also got a complete break in the lower leg and a torn muscle in the opposite wrist? I can't imagine that happened at once,
"Towards the middle here, we have- ah-hah? It seems I've found the burn, indeed, severe burning covering twenty percent of her body, in fact, it was so bad you've had your institution of learning, cut into the body before intense healing. They call it surgery I believe, that's illegal, is. It. N-ot?" I can't say I didn't mind having to come here so often, however, I didn't think it such a problem that even Edward's eyes would shake at the rereading of it. "Lilith, what happened after this incident?"
"I, um, I was called to discuss s-selling the potion recipe," I answered honestly.
"Mhmm, interesting, Edward, my daughter was taken, after having an illegal procedure performed on her and intensive healing, by your head healing mage, to discuss selling a potion recipe? You decided to perform illegal acts on my child, and chose, too, what? Call her parents? Let them know not only that their child was severely injured but that you've broken the law without even asking us, actually, I imagine her as well, then, ask to discuss the business aspect of what I imagine caused such an injury, with her guardians present and not her by her minor self? Yes? I mean, logically speaking, that is the course of action you choose, isn't it?"
"Well, considering this is the middle of this book, I can't help but think you, with that godly brain of yours, didn't. If I flip this page and find so much as another potion incident after having already, clearly, proven the need for active supervision when handling such a thing I may very well remove your head. Now, let's see-" He grabbed his hand, he actually grabbed father's hand to stop him from turning the page. Father's closed-eyed smile twitched at the action. "... Edward, even you couldn't be that stupid,"
He didn't say anything, instead stared at his unmoving hand, eyes swirling and forehead sweating. A slow laugh found my father's chest, his grip tightening on the paper, crumbling it at the force. "Move your hand, Edward, we're only halfway through." It was as if the Elite I was so afraid of was nothing more than two feet tall before my father even if he was practically a foot taller. "Edward, for your safety, remove your hand," Slowly, very slowly he looked back to my father's smile, only he had opened his eyes, ever so slightly, but it was practically a black hole with a gaze so furious. So he listened.
"Now then, the very next day, with the very next note, here we have-" He stood silent, his eyes running over the missing page before the words. "Hahahaha, Edward, the very next entree is of her vomiting blood due to a poisonous gas that a potion gave, thankfully, with her magic, she had quickly contained it resulting in only her injury? Only? Only her? How thankful,"