Aiden, Adriel and Aira were seated at a table while waiting for the dishes the prince ordered.

They all sat in awkward silence, the brother and sister still wondering why the young noble mage would want to eat at the same table with them, lowering himself while doing so.

The tea arrived before the food.

“I apologize! I ordered before asking you what you wanted. There were not many choices, but still.”, Aiden finally broke the ice.

“We really don’t mind. There is no need to apologize. We’re not picky eaters, either.”, Adriel replied, on behalf of Aira as well.

“I see. I’m glad, then.” Aiden’s face was painted with joy. “Miss Windbloom?”

“Please call me Aira.”, she said.

The name Windbloom irritated her because its was associated with the baron and his evil minions of a first wife and son. Calling her by her surname would put her in a bad mood for a whole day.

She often thought of convincing Hestia of divorcing that trash of a man, then, if she requested, she and her children would take her maiden name. People of lower status would be allowed by law to do so. And Aira was already an illegitimate child, thus nobody would have cared about her surname. She only received it due to her late father’s wish before he left and found his end far from home.

“Alright!”, Aiden agreed. “If you don’t mind asking, could you tell me more about how you came upon an Acarasa root?”

He was still suspicious, trying to pump the secret out of her. Having studied the Acarasa root himself for a long time, he found that the plant was useless when tested on multiple individuals. Thus, the fact that it could awaken one’s core was nothing but a myth - a dangerous one at that, because it grew only in the most perilous areas, which lead to many people dying on their pursuit for power.

“I found it in a cave on the mountain.”, she replied.

“The mountain sowed with monsters? I am surprised you did not meet at least a few.”

Given that Aira did not have an awakened core before, he assumed she did not meet any monsters, or else she would not have returned safely. Or, he thought, she might have had help from someone whose name she did not wish to reveal.

“Well, I took the longer path and was lucky enough to not encounter any dangers, even if it took me days to get there.”

“You were reckless. You should never do that again! You might not be that lucky next time.”, Adriel said.

“Now that I think about it, I was really reckless. I don’t know what came to me when I left to search for that stupid plant. I even begged the servants to tell me how and where to find it in exchange for a few jewelries the former owner of this body secretly possessed. It’s only this family’s fault. And who would do that again? I learned my lesson.”, Aira thought to herself, a shiver running down her spine only by thinking she could have ended as food for fiends or her body used as a vessel by a creepy dragon.

“Your brother is right.”, Aiden added. “Your life is worth more than a root. Now that you have awakened your core, you should never put yourself in danger again.”

“I won’t!”, Aira replied.

“And how did you use the Acarasa exactly?”, Aiden asked just when Aira thought he finished with his questions related to her awakening.

“I shoved it up my nose, you curious little angelic-looking piece of shit!”, Aira cursed in her head.

She had no idea about how to lie anymore.

“I…I ate its root.”, she replied in the end.

“Raw?”, Aiden asked.

“Yes!”, she said. “How else, you idiot? Do you think I brought my kitchen up the mountain to cook it?”, she spoke again in her head.

“I’m honestly surprised. The Acarasa root is extremely bitter if consumed raw. Many people also experience problems like terrible stomach aches or nausea for weeks after eating it.”

“I guess I have a very strong stomach. He-he!”, she smiled awkwardly.

“Hm! Aira had always eaten whatever she was given.” Adriel said. “I don’t remember her having any stomach issues even during childhood. She often eats bitter fruits and extra spicy foods. So that must be why the Acarasa root had not affect her at all.”

Aira never felt more grateful to having such a supporting brother in her whole two lives even if she barely lived the first one and recently started her second.

Aiden did not push the subject anymore, believing he might raise suspicions were he to persist in his pursuit of truth.

Now that the three already broke the ice, the following conversations flow went effortlessly, touching every subject related to magic. Both being of healing type, Aiden and Adriel seemed to get along quite well, the first being very generous in sharing suggestions on how to improve.

As soon as they finished eating, they all moved in a place on the deck where Aira could have a better look at the scenery, although Aira would have preferred to be left in her own company.

“What is that?”, Aira asked, squinting her eyes at a blurry object moving towards the ship from afar.

But she did not receive her answer because she was suddenly pulled a few steps back by both Aiden and Adriel.

“Ah! Arca!”, a young man among the ship attendants screamed as he saw the winged dark creature flying above. Then, a few more flying fiends gathered by its side.

“Reinforce the shield!”, Aiden spoke, his voice echoing throughout the entire ship, then gently pushed Aira towards Adriel as a sign for the latter to protect her. Whether inside or outside, each living being on board heard his words as clearly as pristine water.

Elian appeared at his side in an instant. The tow extended their hands into the air, adding layer after layer to the shield already protecting the ship.

“Stay behind me!”, Adriel said, pushing Aira behind his back.

“Are these the ones you talked about?”, she asked. “The ones equal to a Paladin?”

“Yes! They are.”

“Do we have any paladins on this ship?”

“Unfortunately, not enough!”, Adriel said, terror written all over his face.

“What?”, Aira panicked. Did she escape from the claws of a perverted dragon who wanted to possess her body just to face some flying, skinny, ogre-looking creatures the next day?

“But didn’t you say that the ship can withstand the power of a thousand of these ugly creatures?”

“The ship, yes.”

It was not that hard for Aira to understood the allusion that the ship would be safe, but that would not apply to the people on board.

Adriel turned to her, grabbing her by her bony frail shoulders that not even the sun seem to want to warm up. “I will not let anything happen to you even if I die here today.”

“What the hell are you saying?”, Aira yelled, smacking Adriel’s face once, which she regretted, although deemed necessary.

Having calmed down to a degree, Adriel realized he was more in a panic than his little sister. He smiled and caressed her head gently, ashamed of his reaction. “I’m sorry! I should not have said that.”

“Everyone, stay calm!”, Elian said. “Reinforcements are on the way.”

Obviously, the future students did not trust his words unless they saw the reinforcements with their own eyes, thus mindlessly began scattering everywhere.

The creatures gathered in higher number, commencing their attack as everyone feared. The attendants on the ship were not gifted with mana, which left only Aiden and Elian to defend against the flying fiends.

Elian jumped through the shield while his friend added another protection layer. He took his sword out of the scabbard and, while floating in the air, he skillfully cut through the crowd of mindless creatures. He did not mean to kill them. It was not achievable at his level anyway. But he had to buy time, by pushing them back for as long as possible.

Even if she witnessed Elias’ battle against the silver dragon, Aira was still awed at the sword mage resembling a battle angel, before her eyes, his golden hair fluttering in the air. He only lacked wings.

On the other side of the shield, Aiden did not fall behind.

His shield layers were made out of water waves, dancing on the surface of the magic sphere. From time to time, mermaid-like spirits could be seen coming out of each wave, melting into the layers.

However, Aira’s heart sunk once she saw Elian projected into the shield, causing it to crack. It was not due to the arcas and the fact that he was outnumbered, but the one who landed the attack on him was a fiend bigger in size. All the smaller ones listened to his commands, which meant that he was none other than their leader.

The ship trembled as if hit with thousand cannon balls, while parts of the shield were pouring down like rain over everyone’s heads. Aiden fell to his knees, spitting out a  mouthful of blood, Elian barely standing beside him while still trying to protect him. He no longer cared about the other people on board. As Aiden’s knight, his only care was to make sure the one he pledged loyalty to would not die.

“You never learn, do you?”, the leader of the arcas spoke. “They sent a bunch of useless mages to pick and protect the future students. How foolish and how boring! And here I was itching for a real fight. Take them away!”, he ordered. The fiends then rushed towards the young soon-to-be mages.

Adriel could only think about Aira’s safety, so he shielded her with his body, defending against the two arcas assigned to them. But what could a healer do against a dark creature, ten times more powerful than him? He could only create a small shield, which crumbled in an instant with only a touch of a finger from one of the evil creatures.

Along with the shield, Adriel was instantly defeated, losing consciousness on the spot. Aira did not have enough time to react when the other creature grabbed her arm.

She struggled to escape, watching Adriel on the floor, lifted by one of his legs by the other creature, not knowing whether he was dead or alive. She pulled her arm in vain. She desperately looked in Aiden’s direction, but he was already surrounded by several arcas while Elian was holding his blade against them.

“Let me go!”, she shouted, hitting the fiend. But her punches and kicks had no effect on the arca’s body, which seemed to have been made of stone.

Afraid she might be taken away to who knew where, she screamed a name she did not expect herself to scream. She only realized after she blurted it out.

Author notes:

QUIZ:

Whose name do you think Aira called?

A. Elias.

B. Her father, Baron Trashbloom.

C. Michael Jackson.