Chapter 40: A Tentional Favor
Meanwhile at the West wing of the third section of Minders...
There, Harriet can be found sitting at the back of the class practicing her mind control over a raven sitting on a small wooden perch while the rest of her classmates does the same thing with all sorts of creatures.
Harriet carefully instructed the bird to fly over and bring a piece of paper to Professor Josephine Jones using only her mind spell and it worked!
Professor Jones congratulated Harriet over her early achievement. Harriet chuckled upon her success but the class just snorted and gave her side-eyes.
"Pfft, show-off," A blonde girl scoffed.
"Jealous much, Thephany?" Harriet smirked proudly, as she fed her bird with crackers for being a steady assistant.
The girl just rolled her eyes like the rest but Harriet doesn't care much and went back to her processing. She was about to test out a new mind trick when she overheard the girls' thoughts about the mythrecanian test.
Harriet's eyes fumed with fire as she kept getting negative comments about her friend until she paused hearing about Cassandra facing Apophis as a deadly triumph and they commented quietly she might fail because Cassandra was a pathetic enchanter in the first place. Those terrible words alone made her furious.
Don't talk trash about Cassandra, you ugly biarcretch,(b****).
And with that, the rage about her getting offended of friend's situation resulted for Harriet to tremble with her head filling with uncontrollable thoughts, she was beginning to overthink again which is dangerous for Minders.
Out of nowhere, Harriet send out an irritating distress-signal-like mind pain making everyone in the room shrieked in agony. The students tumble around the room with their hands covering their heads, rapid ringings gone through as their minds' sensations shaken. While Harriet struggled to get her spell under control when an agony-felting Professor Jones trembled to her.
"Whoa...calm yourself, emitra!(child/girl) It's alright. Don't overthink just breatheee," Professor Jones uttered, patting Harriet's back.
Following her instructions, Harriet quickly let out a breather, steadying herself from her own magic mayhem allowing for it to end slowly.
Her fellow Minders stopped and all fell on the floor with a hard thud. Grunts echoed throughout the classroom.
"I'm sorry, Professor, I—I didn't mean to..." Harriet whimpered.
"Practhiye!" (Pathetic) shouted Thephany, groaning on the floor.
"Sileciyon, Thephany!" (Silence, Thephany!) scolded Professor Jone making the class quiet.
In the moment Harriet found herself getting stuck in depression again as Professor Jones continued to calm the wild-magic student.
****
Harriet strode down the hallway with Professor Jones walking by her side, telling her to be more careful next time whenever she overthinks again because it might resulted in various magic mishaps like unwanted Minder's affliction.
Harriet felt remorse about her unexpected mind-tormenting incident, so as soon as Professor Jones finished her small talk she spilled some few words of her own.
She explained to Professor Jones that she gets a little too deep within the thoughts of others and whenever how they talked dirty about her close companions like her friends. The sight of them being toxic was enough to make her insides burn with rage which came to a pattern of her mind afflictions affecting on anyone.
Professor Jones looked at her student with a calm expression having every second understanding Harriet's situation.
Josephine was about to advise Harriet when they heard a fuss coming outside the school's courtyard. They rushed out to find many students running, cheering and chanting...Cassandra's name proudly?
They turn to each other shrugging before joining the crammed crowd looking up to witness Cassandra parading down with her victory being celebrated with cheers full of applauses.
Harriet smiled widely seeing her friend won the greatest challenge yet in Velgar University.
Cassandra stood before them surrounded by a new atmosphere, she was honored upon reaching a great distance from her journey as a mythrecanian apprentice but some still hold grudges from the indifferent enchanter, specifically Avery, who scoffed at the edge of the corner only believing on her perspective that the shot was just beginner's luck.
For those who grew to be proud at the mythrecanian witch was of course her friends and which all immediately came to her upon congratulating over her achievement. That included Harriet.
"Wow, that was epic! I mean, c'mon we're talking Apophis here!" Phoebe cheered.
"Oh, gee. Thanks, Phoebe, I've really thought I'm going to mess it up," Cassandra said, scratching the back of her neck.
"What? But you were great back there?!" Said Tom, walking up to them.
"You just defeated a chaos dragon? How come you're still doubting yourself?" Harriet questioned in mere confusion.
"Yeah! Why are you still a doubter, Cassie? You don't know that you actually become an official hero-like now?!" Penny exclaimed.
Cassandra looked at them all with a chuckle of doubt. "You really think so?" Cassandra asked with a shaken smile.
"Think so?! We know so! You were amazing!" Tom exclaimed with much joy.
"He's right. That was dope," Phoebe said holding a thumbs-up.
As they gathered around the newly winner, celebrating, a voice hidden amongst the crowd spoke. Everybody froze and went fully muted. They all stopped clapping and chanting, only the things that the atmosphere bears with were mumbles and whispers.
Everyone's eyes widen to find Queen Pandora Mandinel in the flesh, standing on the grounds of Velgar University.
They immediately stepped aside making a clear way as the queen walk through. Everybody was pleased yet surprise, they were mostly thrilled to see an important figure up close. Everyone, except Isaac Sharpe who look rather serious and furious at the same time watching the queen walking towards his student.
Cassandra's friends backed up giving space between her and the queen with everybody else circulating the scene. The queen then pulled out a hand as a gratitude of congratulating over her victory with Apophis. Cassandra smiled nervously before shaking the queen's hand.
"I am deeply honored seeing you thrive your abilities, Ms. Meldyr. You are certainly reaching higher limits now," the queen began as she gestured her to talk privately.
The students cleared yet another pathway for the two to stroll on as they gazed them walk towards an empty hallway.
Cassandra smiled in confusion. "You're honored...? But I'm suppose to be the one who is honored here...but I am grateful, thank you, khalehsint."(your majesty) said Cassandra, shivering in joy. They continued their walk with the queen's hand patted onto her back when they came to a stop.
All of the students stayed at the courtyard, gathering around in their friend group circles and chattered with laughter the rest of the afternoon.
Meanwhile, the queen still continued her private conversation with Cassandra.
"...As you should since I am expecting such great achievement from you, Cassandra," Queen Pandora uttered in a suspicious tone.
"Wow, really?" Cassandra replied, smiling as she narrowed her eyes and wondered what she was meant by that.
"Yes, in fact I was hoping if you could help us with—"
"Not going to happen," Isaac intervened, pulling Cassandra aside.
"Whoa...Master, I just..." Cassandra uttered, stuttering as she stood behind Isaac with a quizzical face.
"Having a little talk with the queen?" Isaac questioned, raising his brow.
"Hello, Isaac Sharpe, I've been wondering when will you going to give me a chance to talk to you again. Oh, and with Cassandra as well."
"What do you want, Queen Mandinel?" Isaac asked, grumpily.
"Like how I've asked you last time. In favor of getting Cassandra to help end this prophecy nonsense."
"So you are planning to use me as a solution?" Cassandra muttered, who look quite astonished.
"You already knew?" The queen questioned turning to her, surprisingly not aware of Cassandra's prophecy awareness.
"Yes, she have...by bumping into written prophecies with the same solution as like here now. There would be a great doomsday upon us with no possible means of surviving only to be save by a specific powerful magic wielder which I want might to add IS all to be mythrecania!" Isaac stated. It wasn't a good impression.
"But what are you doing now?" Asked the queen. Then a smirk appeared on her face.
Isaac sighed heavily, "...I just want to make sure if she really can do it in able to prepare her when the Dark riders attack..."
Cassandra was stunned, she knew that her master was training her for the big event but what she didn't know was that Queen Pandora was the one asking the favor. The fact that Isaac wasn't on board with this, yet, still trained her to do so?
Cassandra's head spun in confusion trying to put her mind straight in what she has been hearing.
"If you do not like my suggestion then why to continue to train her for the upcoming apocalypse?" The queen asked.
My point exactly...Cassandra muttered in her thoughts.
Isaac hesitated before answering, "Pressuring her won't be a great affect on Cassandra's powers due to mix up emotions leading to mass destructions, not just ending the Dark riders but also us with it...if she doesn't know how to control them of course."
Yeesh...those words surely sounds like I'm a murderer in that way! Said Cassandra, completely lost in her mind while watching Isaac and Queen Mandinel talk seriously.
"...In my case, Cassandra's progress will be still under my training! Don't fret, she's doing fine lately and I will be assuring her that she won't be on pressure," Isaac said, stating Cassandra's limits.
Yeah, tell the queen something that I'm pretty sure you're not doing any 'pressure' on my lessons whatsoever, Cassandra muttered ironically. Meanwhile I am getting a lot—
Isaac turned to find her with a...reassuring smile back at him. Isaac then smirked before rubbing her head, Cassandra's wolf-cut hair was ruffled but quickly smoothen.
They both chuckled as the queen remained serious looking at them. Isaac chuckled shaking his head before putting his straight face back to the queen.
"...It would be helpful for both of our problems solved in finally clearing my past, and in the mean time helps Cassie fulfill her Defender training along with saving Vendagor...and the world," he said softly.
Queen Pandora tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes looking at Isaac having an assuring smile, then she realized he agreed but not that really sure of it yet he confirmed himself he was only doing it for the girl not for anyone else. So, she puts on a soft smile and nodded.
"Well that is settled then. A win-win for everybody."
Then Queen Pandora turned around facing the crowd and announced to them that there would be nothing to fear about because the mythrecanian witch, the last hope, has arrived to saved them once more from another disastrous event.
They gasped and went quiet for a second then suddenly applauses arose following loud whistles and cheers echoing through the school.
Isaac and Cassandra stood and both felt shock with jaws dropped.
"Eh-heh, right...no pressure," said Cassandra, trembling. "You regretted saying that the whole time, didn't you?" She asked turning to Isaac.
"Yup," Isaac answered glancing at the queen, who's proudly taking heed the chants.
******