My parents decided against sending me off to a school for older kids, but did hire a private tutor known to the family to stay with me during the day instead of going to daycare. We were sitting in the living room waiting for her to arrive. 

There was a knock on the door, and standing there was a faerie woman clad in navy blue robes, holding what I thought looked like a Mary Poppins bag. She had dark chestnut skin, violet eyes, and her black hair was rolled up in a bun. 

“Good afternoon! Madam Mhorga, at your service,” she said with a bow as she greeted my parents. 

“Hello! Please, come in!” my mother smiled and ushered her inside. We all sat together in the living room. Madam Mhorga glanced in my direction. 

“I don’t normally work with ones quite this young, but I am told he is quite bright?” she inquired. 

“I promise I won’t be a waste of your time,” I explained, grinning as she raised her eyebrows at my speaking ability. 

“Quite bright, indeed!” Mhorga said with a smirk. She then turned to my parents. “May I give him a few tests to evaluate the best curriculum?”

“Yes, of course,” my father replied. 

Madam Mhorga reached into her bag, her entire arm vanishing inside. Okay, so it really is like a Mary Poppins bag. Must have some kind of domain expansion enchantment on it or something. I thought to myself. 

She began pulling out a few stacks of paper tests and textbooks from her bag. Over the next hour or so, she asked me a number of questions about what I’d read, what I know, and evaluated my knowledge of basic academics such as math, science, and language arts. Many of these subjects were quite similar to the ones on Earth, so I naturally excelled. 

“Okay, I believe I have enough to form a curriculum,” Mhorga announced. “Shall I begin tomorrow morning?”

“If it’s not too much trouble, with such short notice and all,” my father said. 

“I assure you I will be quite fine,” she replied, smiling. “Tomorrow it is, then.”

The next morning, Madam Mhorga arrived and my parents went off to work. We began my studies, which alternated between her reading textbooks to me, me reading them to her, and paper tests at regular intervals. 

This continued on for most of my early childhood in this new life. When I was three years old, my little brother Maximilian was born. Two years later, our sister Serena came along. 

Around the time I was six years old, Mhorga began implementing physical education into my curriculum as well. That included learning a form of faerie martial arts called Tuatha Kar, which helped me hone this new body to peak athletic condition. Many aspects of Tuatha Kar reminded me of mixed martial arts back home, but with the addition of Mana. 

Mana was a magical energy that existed naturally in the land, sea, and air around us. Tuatha Kar taught one how to channel Mana throughout the body and limbs for enhanced movements. 

Time flew by, and once I had learned everything Mhorga had to teach me academically, Tuatha Kar became the main focus. I had already taken multiple exams meant for young adults and aced them, and wasn’t really interested in further studies at that point.

Sure, I could have gone off to an academy and learned advanced disciplines like alchemy or magitech, but I didn’t want to choose school over family again. I had dedicated my old life to education, spent so much time in classrooms and labs, and then I was dead. My boyfriend, my parents, my entire life - all gone. I deeply regretted not spending more time with them. I was determined not to make the same mistake with my new family. 

And so we continued on as the years passed. I would train with Mhorga during the day while my parents were at work and my siblings were at school, and then spend the evenings watching shows with them or having family game nights at the dining room table. More time passed, and soon I was nearing my thirteenth birthday, which was a pretty big deal for me. Once I turned thirteen, I’d be allowed to compete in the Tuatha Kar Youth Tournament. I was so excited!