Echoes of Beginnings

"After the short break, I looked at Eric, smiled softly, and put my hand on my head because the sun was beating down on me, making my clothes drenched in sweat. I didn't want to ask him anything, but after a month, the curiosity gnawed at me. I was eager to ask if I could finally go see my mother. So, I waited for him and spoke from my heart, 'It's been a month of training. Do you think I am ready?'

He looked at me with a smirk and placed his hand on his chin, thinking seriously. His seriousness concerned me as he had never been that serious before. After a while, he finally spoke, 'Look, little bunny, we can't talk about this in my office.'

I smiled with joy, but inside, I wanted a break to see my friends. During this month, I hadn't seen Sylvia or Ethan due to continuous training, eating, and sleeping. My desperation was evident in my eyes.

He petted my head as if he could read my thoughts, 'Look, little bunny, you can't take the day off. You have to get ready for the meeting in an hour.' I was thrilled and hurried out of the alley. The little boy looked at me, smiling and waving goodbye; he was always my company during training. I dashed to my room and changed my clothes.

I was so smelly that I stashed away the dirty clothes and put on some new, more feminine clothing, though I usually disliked such attire. Anyway, as I entered the room, I found Sylvia walking in. I was surprised to see her, and she seemed equally surprised but happy. I ran toward her and hugged her.

I missed her so much that I didn't wait for her reaction and began speaking with cheerfulness, 'Sylvia, I finally finished my training, and now I can finally be with you guys. I missed you so much; I didn't even have time to talk.'

She looked at me cheerfully and from the bottom of her heart, she began to tell me everything that happened during my absence. It included physical training involving something called magic, forbidden in this Kingdom. I knew Ethan had magic, but he used it for healing, keeping it a secret. Knowing this, I wondered if everyone had magic, even me.

She then mentioned her journey and her spirit companion. Suddenly, a small squirrel-shaped animal flew around Sylvia's arm. I was shocked, not scared, but I didn't want to touch a creature with such a squirming appearance and wings.

'Don't worry; he will not hurt you. He's just my familiar. Everyone who has magic gets a choice to use Elemental or a spirit, so I chose spirit. It's more fun. I had to undergo many tests, and my familiar's name is Jack; I know, he's cute.' She began to pet her familiar.

I wasn't a fan because my knowledge was that the only Kingdom of Magic was the Kingdom of Moon, existing for 400 years because of the Kingdom of Red Rose. I didn't want to disclose this information.

I gave her advice, 'Look, Sylvia, I know you'll like your familiar, but you can't show it to anyone. It's forbidden here; they could punish you.' She rolled her eyes, ignoring me, and her excitement diminished. I didn't expect her to be calm.

She was already hot-headed, but something caught my eye—the weather was gloomy, possibly hinting at rain soon. I got a bit annoyed because sometimes rain reminded me of bad things. 'Mia, why are you zoning out? You know how many mages gave me the same advice; I don't even have to count.'

I looked at her, narrowing my eyes, not in the mood for conversation. However, instead of judging me, Sylvia looked at me with worry, 'Mia, during this month, you've changed so much, even socially. You've become a different person.'

I felt sad. I hadn't changed; it's just that this month erased many naive thoughts from my heart. It wasn't as soft as people wanted, but I wasn't cruel. I was trying to heal the scars on my heart.

I didn't realize I was looking at the floor and avoiding eye contact. 'Mia, you don't understand. By change, I mean you stopped contacting us for a month. Ethan tried his best to be friends with you, but all we saw was you stopping socializing, just training, eating, and sleeping. We gave up, but seeing you change this much made me step back. You seemed to be going through a tough time.'

I looked out the window, choosing to remain silent and not say anything hurtful. The only thing I said, hiding behind a fake angelic mask, 'Want us to go to the office? I think he's already invited Ethan, and we need to go.' She got angry but followed me anyway. When we reached the office and I saw Eric,

I smiled softly, waved to Ethan, and shook his hand, 'I missed you, Ethan. Do you know what happened during my training month?' He told me most of the things that happened. Eric didn't seem too impressed, but I was.

He went on 20 to 30 adventure quests and told me about the new friends he made. I thought life would move faster, but it didn't. I scratched my head and looked at them, 'He'll get the approval, and we can finally go on our adventure. I'm so happy we can finally find my mother.'

Eric and Ethan exchanged smirks, seemingly more like enemies than friends. Eric referred to me as 'little bunny,' seemingly insignificant. Suddenly, he stood up, placed his hand on my waist, leaving me confused and uncomfortable. He looked at Eric and smirked, 'Look, best friend, I understand. You can't cross the line. Thank you for your help, but this overwork can hurt your muscles.'

On the other hand, Eric laughed softly and said without hesitation, as if it were a competition, 'Look, my favorite best friend, you're right. I can't cross the line, but let me tell you, the one who holds it can take it. Friendship doesn't exist in this.'

I let go of Ethan's hand, looked at both of them, and held Sylvia's hand because I didn't want any more trouble; they were acting like children. 'Stop both of you. I don't want more trouble, plus Sylvia and I have something to say. Sylvia has magic, and I have magical items. They're bent. How can we fight with them? Just a question.'

Sylvia was proud when I mentioned that, but I didn't know what had happened to her anger issues in our room. Anyway, I ignored it. Ethan seemed puzzled, but Eric clapped his hands, 'Loop, little bunny, you're smart, and I know Sylvia has been training in magic. We taught her how to make her magic invisible. You have to cast two types of magic at the same time. So, Sylvia, show them.'

She was proud to prove it. He gave her a cup of water, and in the end, everyone agreed. Their faces were priceless, all of them smart and so happy. First, she cast the normal way to turn it into ice, and we could see the way it flowed

"First, she cast the normal way to turn the water into ice, and we could see the way it flowed in the air. But when she cast the invisible one, suddenly, the water turned to ice without us seeing her cast anything. We were shocked to the core, amazed at her talent. Ethan and I clapped our hands, expressing our pride, but at the same time, I wanted to share my joy with everyone.

"Thank you to every person who helped me. Honestly, guys, without you, I'd just be a girl with zero talent. Even if you get angry, I'm still happy. Ethan and Eric, thank you; I'm so grateful to be with you guys."

Their smiles were priceless. After that, we said our final goodbyes to Eric and went to pack our bags. I made sure the map was with me, the sword on my wrist, and I packed a bunch of clothes, both heavy and light, for the adventure. Ethan helped me a lot because I was packing so much, and he did the same for Sylvia. Everyone grabbed something important during the process.

As I got close to Sylvia while she was dressing, I spoke in a low voice, 'Sylvia, I'm so sorry I'm late, but all those naive thoughts I had, I just deleted them. You can see them burning to dust, so don't be mad.' She smiled softly, forgiving me for everything. I was so happy to have friends like this, and today was my first step in finding my mother."