Four days later, both me and Iris received letters from Elendria Academy. Iris wasted no time opening hers to see that the school had accepted her, which was no surprise to anyone. But when I got my letter I struggled to find the courage to open the envelope. 

After some comforting words from my mother, I ripped open the letter to see bolded words written in gold:

“ACCEPTED”

Once I realized the words present in my letter I fell to my knees and cried tears of joy. Despite feeling down on myself I was grateful to the world for giving me the chance. I saw the moment as a sign that my struggles weren’t for nothing. Even though as a Null I could still accomplish my dreams. However, my mother did not share the same excitement.

“Are you sure about this Baxter?” My mother said while looking at me with a worried expression. “Eleiweth is not kind towards Null and you might have a difficult time at the academy. What if you are unable to keep up with your peers? Maybe…you should think about a different career choice…”

I stood up and put my hands on my mother’s shoulder. My face was stained with tears but my smile was bigger than ever.

“Mother, I always wanted to be a Holy Knight ever since I was little. Elendria Academy has accepted me despite me being a Forsaken! If I don’t take this chance to prove myself I know I will regret it for the rest of my life!”

My mother wanted to say more but she held her words and sighed.

“Well at least you won’t be there alone Iris will be your side so if things get difficult go to her okay?”

“Iris…”

For a moment, I had forgotten that Iris and I were enrolling in the same school. The thought of both of us training together, graduating together, and becoming Holy Knights filled my soul with happiness. It was then that I was also reminded about how I felt about her. If I were to look for my acceptance letter as a sign from the universe that I could succeed in anything despite being a Null then I should try anything.

After kissing my mother on the cheek, I ran over to Iris’s house. I knocked on the door and greeting was Iris’s parents who were far from happy to see me.

“What are you doing here Null? Get out before we call-“

“I’m not here for you, I want to talk to Iris.”

The Brimstones were angry at my bluntness but I did not care.

“Baxter?”

Iris approached the door.

“Is something wrong?”

“Iris, I want to talk to you, meet me by the lake.”

With that, I hurried off—ignoring the yells from Iris’s parents. I sat down on the grass and stared out into the sky. The sun was disappearing from beyond the horizon turning the atmosphere into a beautiful mixture of orange yellow and purple colors.

After watching the setting sun for a while I heard Iris’s voice from behind. When I turned to her I could see that she had a concerned look on her face.

She walked up to me and asked, “Did you pass?”

I nodded.

“Yes, just barely.”

“That’s amazing!” Iris jumped up in the air while cheering. “I’m so happy for you Baxter! Now we will be able to accomplish our dream!”

I couldn’t help but smile. I decided to stop hesitating and say the words that were deep in my heart.

“This is only the beginning. I know from here on out I have to work for my future.”

“Huh? Baxter?”

“Because I am a Null, there are going to be way more challenges on my way to being a Holy Knight. It might almost seem impossible.”

“Baxter, are you still concerned about that? I told you a thousand times that you have nothing to worry about! Despite being a Null, you are still one of the strongest people I know!”

“…You don’t know how much I appreciate you, Iris. If you weren’t always by my corner I possibly would have lost all hope in my dreams. You make me feel like I can take on anything. I feel invincible when I am with you! So that is why…”

“Baxter…?”

I clasped Iris’s hands which caused her to look at me with confusion. Her beautiful gaze made me freeze for a second and no words could escape my mouth.

“Baxter, why are you so red? Do you have a fever?”

For some reason, I let out a pathetic squeal. Iris was still confused but laughed due to how funny sounded.

After taking one huge gulp I finally let loose my feelings in a very non-cool way.

“I-I’m not sure what my future will be like but regardless I-I…I want you to a-always be a part of it, Iris!”

It was Iris’s turn to blush as she looked at me with widened eyes.

“W-what are you saying, Baxter?”

“I…I love you, Iris! I’m seriously in love with you!”

“H-huh!?”

“I can’t stop thinking about you! I-I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I always have dreams with the two of us going on adventures…or even just settling down in a happy meadow or…”

Having the courage to raise my head, I saw that Iris’s face was as red as a tomato and she was doing everything in her power not to look me straight in the eye.

“O-of course I’m not trying to force your hand or anything! If you don’t feel the same way just say so! We can completely forget this whole thing ever-“

I was silenced by Iris who put her soft lips on mine. My heartbeat started to quicken and my body froze like a statue. 

When our lips parted my eyes were glued on Iris while I stuttered like a fool. She glanced at me with a small smile.

“I’ve never seen you so flustered Baxter…it’s quite a sight to see…”

Iris then started to giggle which irritated me a little.

“W-what’s so funny?!”

She quickly stopped giggling and wrapped her arms around my body. Before I knew it, me and Iris were locked in a hug.

“I-Iris?”

“Baxter…”

When Iris spoke her voice sounded softer than usual which made me almost think that the girl in front of me was some sort of imposter. However, her golden eyes which still continued to shine and put other gems to shame reassured me that it was still the same Iris that I have known for years.

“Do you remember the very first day you and I started playing together?”

“Uhm…sort of.”

“I was in the playground pretending to be a Holy Knight by myself. Then some mean kids came up and started harassing me. They pushed me to the ground and laughed at my face. Even to this day, I still remember their words—‘You’re a weakling! Someone like you will never be a Holy Knight!’ Or words like ‘I bet a goblin would kill you easily!’

“I remember feeling so sad that I started bawling my eyes out…and then you came. You stood in front of me and kept those bullies away from me. You yelled at them and challenged them all to a duel with your wooden sword!”

I snapped my fingers as the memory that Iris was describing returned to me.

“That’s right! Those jerks were messing with you and I wanted to fight them off! However…I vividly remember getting my ass beat in the end…”

Iris giggled again.

“Yes, you did lose. Pretty pathetically actually.”

“Is there a long to this?” I grumbled aloud while looking away in embarrassment.

Iris continued.

“I always dreamed of being a hero, being strong like my grandfather. When you saved me that day, you became my very first realistic image of what a hero should be! So I followed you and was inspired to be just like you!”

“Iris…”

“And even when you were declared a Null you never gave up! You will always be the strongest person to me. And because of that…I always dreamed of being by your side.”

Iris held me tighter and I did the same in response.

“I love you, Baxter. Promise me that you will always be by my corner and I promise I will always be by yours.”

“Of course…I swear to always be by you. I love you, Iris…”

The two of us then kissed under the gorgeous full moon accompanied by a million stars in the background. The cold and windy night didn’t even fade us as we continued to keep each other in our warmth. That night was forever the night when my future would begin.

In a way—I was right however I was not physically or mentally prepared for what the future would end up being…