Flames that roamed the room began to echo in Macey's ear. It was like a mosquito, one that couldn't leave her well alone and was making her anxious with each second that passed by. Her body was frozen and lip quivered from the fear fire created within her. Stings of lingering heat danced along her skin, pricking her with this irritation that she couldn't brush off. Was her vision becoming blurred? Was she really questioning what was real and what was fiction.
"There's no way you'll claim them!"
A voice roared in her head. Flesh ripping from bone resonated in the sound waves, the smell of burnt fauna and timber tickled her nose and created nausea inside her.
"I won't let you..."
"What is wrong with you," someone said with irritation in their voice. When Macey tilted her head up, she then saw Connor furrowing her brows at her, his facial expression pressed hard into a worrisome manner. Narrowing his gaze at her now shaky body, he then asked, "Are you okay?"
His voice was so soft and gentle and he really did look as if he cared. Clarity and calmness blanketed over Macey's nerves as she straightened her arms and hunched her shoulders back. However, the scowl set solidly upon his face didn't quite extinguish her desire to blast him into ash, causing her to shuffle away from him with her arms folded across her chest.
As the corner of his lip began to curl into a frown, he then groaned, "I cannot believe that the benevolent moon is struggling to conjure fire. I was under the impressions that you could do this blindfolded — guess it's nothing but an old wives tale."
Rolling her eyes, Macey then replied, "Sorry I've lowered your expectations of me. Maybe I'll try again next when I develop a nerve to care for a Heslington."
He shook his head and turn away from her in frustration, returning to the task at hand. He then rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. His hands met his chest and he then took a deep breath in. A hex in the shape of a flame appeared, etching into his fawn coloured skin. The subtle smell of charred flesh lingered in the air around her, but she just couldn't take her eyes off the irritating Heslington.
Fire circulated across his arms. The heat he created was powerful, reaching Macey and brushing along her cheeks ever so slightly. Everyone noticed. With little to no effort, Connor was summoning flame after flame to swirl along his body. Everyone jeered at him, some even asked timidly how did he became so awesome. She noticed ego rising, and couldn't help but turn away in sudden embarrassment.
She became downcast, her eyes boring into the palms of her hand. She brooded and contemplated, biting at her lip and looking over her shoulder. She thought about conjuring one measly fire, just to pop his happy ballon.
Easier said than done.
"Marvellous Connor," roared Breslin, stretching his arms out wide. "One of the best fire sages I've seen so far."
Connor looked like a natural, his grin stretching from ear to ear and his fire now becoming a large sight for sore eyes.
"Still an idiot," mumbled Macey, as she lowered her hands down to her side and sighed out loud. Catching just one more glimpse of the hot head, she then intercepted Breslin's wandering eye and began to feel regret. She was hoping that the professor would ignore her or pay more attention to the mages in the distant who weren't even doing anything. But to no avail, this Djinn began to make his way to the non-casting moon mage. She embraced herself for his wrath by standing up straight, expecting him to be stern with her, somewhat mad at her for not even attempting. Macey was the moon mage and, just like Connor said, she should be doing this blindfolded.
However, no such actions came from the professor. All he did was sigh and placed a reassuring hand upon her shoulder.
With a look of contentment and understanding, he then lowered himself down to her height and said, "I can feel some type of pain resonating from you. As the moon mage, it can't be easy to live up to everyone's expectations."
Professors and tutors weren't exactly Macey's cup of tea. Since they were in power and held authorities over her, it was sometimes a struggle to draw the line between them simply teaching her and them taking advantage over her. But Breslin was different. His storm like gaze didn't stifle away. She pressed her lips together hard, suppressing an exaggerated sigh from leaving her lips. Her black curly hair dangled down her face, prompting her to brush it away shyly. As she did so, Macey got an idea that perhaps she's not the only one who is feeling pain. She watched on as water sages struggled to manipulate fire and even ice mages, who find it downright impossible to create heat, giving it a good attempt.
"I believe in you," Breslin told Macey, stepping away and retreating towards a group of students who were using small flames to light up tiny firecrackers.
Macey stood stoically. I've done it before, she told herself, raising the palm of her hand up to her chest. It's not that difficult.
She inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly, feeling a small fragment of reassurance brush against her heart. A smile appeared across her face and she was excited to show people her slightly augmented fire style.
"I can do this."
A hex appeared on her hand. It was in the shape of a flame but the hue of this was rather off. Light spluttered onto the floorboards. The energy she was letting off began to softly crack at the timber. She felt the heat of her flame beginning to heighten, feeling extremely proud that she was able to shut off the voices in her head that usually haunt her when she tried to create fire.
"Over my dead body..."
A sneer echoed in Macey's ear and she couldn't help but become instantly peeved by the man who didn't like her trying to achieve.
"Don't hurt yourself," Connor said with a twisted grin. "Wasn't it you that said difficult magic hurts?"
The fire he held in his hand then glided along his knuckles, sizzling at small chunks of his skin. There was a small flinch on his face, but that didn't last long. Macey couldn't help but survey his arms, noticing there was a multitude of scars, all different shapes and sizes.
Majority of them were from his flames.
A few weren't.
"I don't understand," taunted Connor. "You're acting like royalty, refusing to even attempt to create a basic means of magic. Why participate in this lecture and refuse to cast fire? We are in spells. Were you hoping to summon nothing?"
Macey became fed up with him. She groaned loudly like a lion, then stood toe with toe with him and glared into his dark brown eyes. Never had she been so close to a Heslington, catching a hint of bergamot and citrus with her nose.
"I can cast fire," she replied, feeling her magic beginning to conjure within her. She lifted the palms of her hands, with her hands now beginning to glow furiously and proficiently. A tiny burst of fire appeared and began to flutter around a now unsettled Connor, who stared at her creation in annoyance.
"See," panted Macey. "But, unlike your stupid flame — mine is blue. And I can morph it into a butterfly."
Blue fire wasn't rare. However, such a move was only achievable by fire sages and mages — something Connor was and Macey is not.
Gasps resonated all around her. They ranged from high in pitch and low in tone.
"Amazing," cheered Breslin. "Your former college informed us that your fire casting was rather high, but I didn't think it was this high. Excellent work Macey, I knew you could do it."
A shy smile of proudness stretched across her face. However, the longer she kept her blue butterfly conjured, the more pain she felt within herself. Macey tried to keep it up for a few more minutes, but the agony became unbearable and she let go. Ever since she could remember, summoning fire has always made her skin crawl. The feeling of heat running through her body always had a negative pull against her veins, feeling as if needles were pushing though her blood stream.
Macey enjoyed cutting Connor down to nothing. However, it didn't last.
"So you can make stupid bugs," he sneered, letting his flames smoulder down to nothing. "That's not impressive. Anyone can do that — I chose not to, it's a waste of time."
Her enjoyment was as fast as it appeared and she retreated towards a group of water mages. They were extremely friendly, with many of them complimenting her on the achievements she gained from the masters test. One girl, who was rather shy and giggly couldn't help but fawn over Maceys clothing. Scratching her head in confusion over the fact that she had a tie dye shirt that revealed her shoulder and black ripped jeans, she couldn't help but snicker and said, "thanks."
Suddenly, their eyes peered over her shoulder. Some began to make flirtatious stares while some rolled their eyes. When Macey spun around, she immediately wished she didn't.
"I've had it with your antics," Connor growled lowly, glaring at Maceys new friends who fled the situation and sauntered to the other side of the room. "Oh look at me, I'm the moon mage, I'm benevolent and holy and better than everyone else."
Rolling her eyes at his weak impression of her, she then asked angrily, "what is your problem Heslington?"
She stood toe to toe with him once again. Anger ravaged though her body, remembering how much she couldn't fathom the ideas of a Heslington. 'They just want things complete and done correctly.' The words of her father echoed in Maceys ear. They were loud and created chills up her spine. It also made her glare into the hateful glares from the offspring of the man who gave numerous orders to her summoner parents.
Connor slurred. "I'm simply stating out the obvious."
Macey shook her head. An icy blue smoke seeped through the webs of her fingers, with frost shards appearing onto her skin. She clenched her teeth hard but bit down the urge to blast him with everything she's got.
Noticing her misty hands, Connor then smirked and lowered his face down to her height, then whispered...
"Isn't it nice to be born gifted? You wouldn't have to worry about a damn thing in this corrupted world because you get nothing but happiness."
Her mouth slanted open. A twitch appeared along her neck and the last remaining nerve she had in her body was now disintegrated into nothing. Connor knew nothing about her and hearing these words come out of his mouth...
"You're dead, Heslington."
An icy breeze swooshed throughout the class, freezing all the moisture inside the room. Shards scattered across the desks and the walls, creating teeth chatters to slowly resonate around her. A light blue hex in the shape of a snowflake appeared below Maceys feet with a shy smirk upon her face.
Yes she was the moon mage and yes, she could summon water. But, as Macey got older, she learnt how to freeze the water with the coldness of the moon.
She was also an ice mage.
Tendrils of cold magic shot out of the hex. The energy she created gyrated and the attack was sent flailing against the floorboards. Students began to stammer, blocking the parade of icicle flurries with their magic. The ones who weren't so quick with conjuring threw themselves out of harm's way, diving behind whatever was around.
Connor creased his face. Macey watched on as the ice tendrils hurdled towards him. However, his actions were at a breakneck pace, easily sidestepping with grace.
Static filled the air. She could see in the depths of the shards she created a small orange bolt. Her eyes narrowed towards Connor, who held his hands up and had hexes burning into his palms.
Lightning climbed his body as he then grunted, "You think I only know fire?"
Heat circulated the room. Maceys icicles were now turning into water, and Connor, with lighting across his body, now had the advantage. Orbs of light danced along the wooden panelling below her. However, that caused small fires to appear, with students beginning to panic. They summoned small puddles of water to dowse them out while avoiding lingering magic.
The jolt of light then blasted toward Macey. She sidestepped to avoid the flurry, almost twisting her ankle. With her ice turning into water, she then change her course of action. Liquid oscillated in the palms of her hands, with tendrils of magic beginning to form around her body. The fire sage abided her challenge. He had a cascade of fire ready at the command.
But before anything else happened, a golden aura struck the entirety of the class. All magical advancements halted, dwindling to nothing but glowing veins.
"What happened to my magic?" yelled Macey, who noticed the glow coming from their now floating professor. His eyes were a haunting gold and the smoke that floated along his ankles now blanketed the room. This was the rare phenomenon of Djinn magic — a magic that is banned for many reasons.
While Macey was in awe, her attention was then back onto the man she wanted to kill.
"What the hell was that!" yelled Connor. "You deliberately to hurt me!"
Macey crossed her arms. "No I wanted to kill you. The diarrhoea coming out of your mouth irritated me."
"Enough!" yelled Breslin, creating a timid and docile reaction from Macey, who could tell by the glare in Breslin's eyes — he wasn't playing around.
"Professor," Macey said softly. "I'm so sorry about that. I...I don't know what came over me."
She always had a temper when it came to moon mage things. However, while she looked across the room at the students who were shocked and bewildered, Macey was grateful that no one was hurt.
"Your actions were childish," panted Connor, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "I suggest you get the full punishment. Expulsion would be the best course of action."
"My goddness," replied Macey with a cunning grin. "You are such a gentleman, with loads and loads of opinions huh. Can I suggest one?"
Connor shook his head and looked uninterested at what she had to tell him. But Macey went along and yelled, "shut up!"
He then pushed Macey away, prompting her to groan out loud. She was about to create a scene, but Connor's attention was locked fully on the angered Djinn.
"Professor," Connor said, clearing his throat while tilting his head up high. "In my defence, I didn't break any rules whatsoever. See, what happened here is that she attacked me and...
"You retaliated," replied the professor. "I saw with my own eyes Macey attacking you. But because you sent a attack back at her, you put the other students in danger. I'm afraid I have no choice but to send you both to the dean's office."
Macey wanted to plead her defence, opening her mouth and attempting to say something. However, all that came out of her mouth was silence. She knew deep down, she let her emotions get the best of her.
Breslin was not the person to plead her case to.
"But...Professor," stuttered Connor, turning a dark crimson red. "I didn't...she..."
"Give up," muttered Macey, who began to make her way back towards her belongings. But the Heslington didn't want to accept the fact that he was being sent to his potential doom, mumbling little nothings under his breath.
"I'm sorry Connor," sighed Breslin, tossing his hands in defeat. "This situation is now out of my hands. You and Macey will see the dean after class. He may go easy on you two as it is the first day but, attacking another student at an institute like that is expulsion."
After a small clean up, Macey returned to her desk and revised what she had learnt today. However, with Connor sitting right next to her, she was able to hear the ill opinions he had about her. When their lecture was over, Macey bolted out of the room first. She tried to get some reasonable distance between her and Connor, but he was too fast and could hear him coming a mile away.
"This is the worse day of my life," breathed Macey as began to think that perhaps...
This was her final day.