The Nineteenth Chapter | Lesson Three

The Nineteenth Chapter | Lesson Three

One would assume that since it had happened before, Cedrick wouldn't be silently panicking about the limp blonde-haired girl that was lying in his arms. Despite that, he still was. She had fallen unconscious yet again. Maybe he should have been more cautious about how long she spent in the realms, but quite frankly, he didn't even have an estimate for how long she could last. Maybe he should start using a timer.

That aside, he had to do something. And that something was getting Alvera back to the Trelves so they could do whatever they had done last time all over again. Cedrick spread his wings and took off towards the Cloven with Alvera securely in his arms. Just like last time, the Trelves that assisted Alvera asked what happened. He tried his best to explain but clearly, most of them had no idea what he was saying. They did, however, call Lord Thornton who also questioned Cedrick. Thankfully he understood, though he was quite displeased.

A few hours later, Alvera was sitting up, awake, and Lord Thornton was scolding her for being so reckless with her health.

"Do you have a death wish, Alvera? The last time we spoke, I specifically told you to be careful about how long you stayed here. Besides, how much power did you use? You were almost completely drained when Cedrick managed to get you here. What were you two doing even doing anyway?"

"Magic training," Cedrick replied simply.

Alvera herself wasn't even present in the conversation. From the moment she woke up, she had tuned everyone in the room out. Her mind was solely focused on the weird dream she had while unconscious. She was seriously considering straining herself again just so she could back in that state.

"How strenuous was your training regime that it almost put Alvera in a coma?"

"It wasn't anything difficult. I was just trying to help her learn to focus energy. Regardless, it didn't end up working. So quite frankly, I'm not sure what set it off."

Lord Thornton warned her once again about being careful. She barely heard him. He then assigned some trelves to check her vitals and then waited outside to see her afterward. Cedrick turned back to Alvera to ask if she was okay to find that she was already getting up.

"Alvera, what are you doing? Sit down. You just woke up. I'm surprised you can even stand on two feet without stumbling."

"I'm fine, Cedrick."

"Alvera, sit."

Alvera didn't exactly want to, but he basically forced her to. She endured the vitals test, after which she was allowed to go see Lord Thornton.

"Alvera, you need to be more careful. Do you have any idea what would happen if you got into a coma? There's a very high likelihood that you would die within a week."

Alvera was reconsidering her idea from earlier.

"You need to learn to balance the magic in your levels and keep them regulated or your not going to be able to stay here for extended periods of time. So far, this has happened twice in the span of a bit over a week. Any more stress like this and it's not going to end well. I recommend you stay out of the realms for a bit so your body can heal for a little longer. Our magic has its limits. We can only do so much."

This time, Alvera heard every word. Maybe she should stay away for a bit. The only issue was that now, she wouldn't have a way to avoid her stepmother and her persistence for Alvera to get married. She was getting lightheaded again just thinking about it but it couldn't be helped.

After Alvera apologized, she kindly asked Cedrick to take her home. It was a request he quickly agreed to. He seemed to have had enough for the day and she didn't want to stress him out more. The second he left her in her room, Alvera immediately collapsed on her bed as another wave of fatigue washed over her. She was extremely tired. Maybe it was whatever she had been given. Knowing Lord Thornton, he had probably asked the Trelves to give her something that would make her sleep. He seemed insistent on her getting enough rest.

It took mere minutes for Alvera to pass out. Unfortunately, she was awoken, quite rudely, not too long after. The person who was pounding on her door clearly had no intention of leaving anytime soon and at a point, Alvera was fed up. With her head still pounding, she somehow made her way over to the door and gave an answer without opening it.

"Yes?" She asked, trying to hide the slight annoyance in her voice.

"Alvera dear..."

She did not like the tone in her mother's voice. Something was about to come out of her mouth that Alvera was not going to like hearing. She could feel it.

"Yes, mother?"

"Someone's here to see you."

"Who?" The suspicion in her own voice was apparent.

"The man I want you to get acquainted with."

Dear God.