Bonds of Enchantment

After this training, I feel so tired, my hands shaking a bit as I sense my mana getting low. I work slowly and sit on the branch. It's not a nice feeling. Even in the morning, I can see the shadow of the tree under my head, and, of course, he's the same, but faster. He's already sitting on the grass, not carrying anyone, just talking to his fairies. Our gazes meet, and they look at him happily because I finally cast a true spell. But the things I discover blow my mind; it's about emotions, like it's my first real discovery.

So, I close my eyes, imagining how much potential I can handle because he has no mercy. Suddenly, my mother's voice echoes as she yells my name. I look around, trying to hide that I used magic without even discovering or balancing myself. I glance at him, thinking he might disappear, but no, he's still there, chilling with other fairies. A soft voice whispers in frustration, 'My Mother is coming. You need to go. I don't know if you are like the other fairies or no one can see you, but you need to go. It's okay if I get scolded, but I don't want it in front of you,' he calmly says as he gets closer and holds my hand, and I get so invested, but he doesn't let my hand free.

Suddenly, my mother is in front of me, but she doesn't see me as I'm invisible. I glance at him; he's smirking as if he's won some golden coins. After all, he's the one who understands magic, so I can't judge him that much. I just roll my eyes, trying to act like he's acting, but I hear a soft whisper, 'No one here can see fairies without my request. So, if I order all the fairies to be invisible, they will. But for you, if I want you invisible, I just have to hold your hand to spread the effect to you. And don't worry, you can be loud as you want; they can't hear you. But it doesn't mean yelling.' My jaw drops; he's smarter than me.

I'm not sad or mad, but anyway, I have to return to the library to check if my mother looks for me again. I think that I'll sleep in the library, at least. 'And that's the end,' I say, 'but I have a question: how can I make a person not feel my existence or my mana?' I know it looks ultimate suspicious, but I need the points. A library is better than me at magic a hundred times, so I just need to be like a silent voice. 'It is simple. Follow their rules, control your mana as you control your emotion. If you're emotionless, no one can feel you, as if you're a type of butterfly when no one can see or feel her.'

A soft smile appears, more genuine or earnest. It's time; he gets up from his place and helps me leave my seat, guiding me to the gate where I can enter the magical tower. He doesn't enter with me, making me wonder. But after all, he's still a man full of wonder. He's so nice, leaving my hand as I feel his goodbye. I wave away and run towards the library, preparing myself to be emotionless as a plan, to become something devoid of feeling, just so I myself and get to that door of the library. I open it slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible because all the doors and the floor make so much noise; it's just too much work.

I enter slowly, on the tips of my feet, trying to be emotionless, as if no one can feel me. I go to one section of the library, the Magic section, and sit down. I feel a bit of relief because if the little boy comes toward me, he'll just think I was sleeping. So, I pick up a random book and begin to see what it's about. It's about doing complex magic, blood circles, and all of that. I recall seeing something similar on the temple where I got the Gold Cup that Lily wanted. I think it was some type of trap.

I begin to read more, and I was right; it's a trap, too dangerous for someone without a good hunch. The magic circle could be lethal to someone without good instincts. Good thing I have a good hunch. Anyway, I remember Lily wanting to be a hero. I don't want to visit her. I don't know if Sylvia will agree with me or not; sometimes, Sylvia makes me feel weird. Yet, I don't want to treat her badly, but she makes me react that way.

I really don't want to make excuses. When I focus on the book again, I see my mother looking at me seriously. I don't open my mouth, not even trying to excuse myself. 'Mia, where have you been? We tried to find you so many times; I got so worried, I thought someone had assassinated you or kidnapped you.' My palms get sweaty as she continues to speak. I feel bad but scared. So, I do what every brave daughter would: 'Mother, I know where I was wrong, and I am so sorry. I hope I won't do it again.'

She looks at me seriously in the eyes and at the book I'm reading, then back at me, as if it's getting more serious for some reason. 'Do you know where you went wrong?' I look from left to right, then put my eyes on the book. My palms get wetter; I don't know. I just wanted to rest, so in a little whisper, trying not to make more fuss, 'No.'

She puts her hand on her chin, thinking, trying to understand what happened. For me, I was just looking; she grows annoyed without even looking at me or making any eye contact. She collects three books and gives them to me. 'Tomorrow, you have to make summaries for these books, okay? And you will not leave your room. If you don't do this, you'll go to the hardware.' As I see the lightning on her hand, I grab the books and shiver, spine tingling from my mother's anger. In my glory, I go to my room, full of misery, and begin to read the three books. They're all about magic and techniques, more than even summarizing would turn into a small book.

I stay up all night summarizing them, feeling so tired. When the sun rises, hitting my already tired eyes, I debate whether to sleep or start my training session, displaying all my bravery. I leave my room, place the three summaries and their three books in the library, and sit on a chair, resting my head a bit, feeling a wave of comfort making me so sleepy. I fall asleep softly, feeling like heaven after not sleeping all night.

An annoying voice disturbs my sleep, and I glimpse the person; it's the man who told me he couldn't go into the magic tower. Forget it; he really loves to tricking me all the time. I just want to go back to sleep, but he doesn't give up and keeps annoying me. His fairy just begins to whine in my ears until I open my eyes, looking at him so desperately. "I need to sleep. Let me have a bit of peaceful time."

Suddenly, he hands me a paper, and I take it, starting to read it. It's all about a new spell that I have to learn. Underneath it, I see a warning that I have to give him a hundred spheres of rocks using magic to use this new technique. At this point, I just want to give up. I stretch my hand, checking if I'm that tired or if I need more sleep. I get up and head towards the field.

I sit in a spot I love because of the beautiful view and start making those hundred spheres. At first, everything goes smoothly, but as I get more tired, it becomes challenging. Despite that, I won't neglect my duty. After three hours of making spheres and feeling my mana on the edge, I finish them all with a soft smile. I feel dizzy, and suddenly, he appears in front of me. I'm so disoriented that I can barely recognize him; everything seems blurry. He places his hand over my eyes, and at this point, I just want to fall into a deep sleep.

I feel so light and happy when I open my eyes again. He's sitting beside me, and my head was leaning on his shoulder. After a few seconds, reality hits me, and I panic, jerking away from him in every possible direction, not looking quite right. He speaks softly, as always, "Good morning, honey. You only slept for two hours; we need to sleep more." But for me, I feel more energetic, as if I've slept the entire night. However, I remember the spell I have to learn. "You told me about a spell that I have to do after completing the draining task, so I want to do it."

He looks at me, eyes widening, but after a few moments of calmness, he smiles at me. I know he's charming but not in that way. "Well, you've finished the first part of training and surpassed your maximum level. That's good for now, but the spell you want to learn is based on water elements. You have to be calm but at the same time angry because the spell is for attacking and self-protection. It's an ice arrow spell, and you need more practice with it."

I'm excited because it's the first spell that seems not only like training but also useful. I didn't know water could turn into ice if I use just a bit of anger. It's a little confusing, but if he says so, then it must be right.