Chapter 4 - Riyara of House Courtwell

POV - Riyara Courtwell

A year after the Academy incident.

The Academy. The finest institution in the entire Solace nation for mages. It was the place where greatness itself was cultivated and bloomed. No matter what your ambitions were, you had to graduate from this holy temple of knowledge to ace in your field. From the sturdiest of warriors to the smartest administrator, most of the top roles of the nation were filled by Academy graduates.

And after knowing all these, you can’t really blame me for dreaming about joining there. After all, one of my elder cousins was already studying there. So, it was not impossible.

The Academy values talent more than anything. That means, with enough talent, anyone can easily get into there.

Yes, my family does not have a strong affinity to mana like the Karians, or the Vizers, but if my cousin can do it, and so can I. History is filled with examples of people who had almost no nobility in them, but still managed to get into that institution and even ace in their classes. The founder of Tanishks Bloodline was one such person.

But I was already a member of a noble bloodline and can even use mana modification.

“It's okay even if you do not get admitted there. Not like the Academy is the only place where you can learn mana and stuff ”, the pessimist of my life said.

“Mom, can you at least act like you believe in me.”

“Of Course I believe in my little girl. All I am saying was, even if you don’t get into the Academy, there are still other options.” She continued.

“Xaviers is also a very good school. Your uncle Mike passed as a topper from there and he is going to be promoted as a senior level safety officer next year.”

A safety officer. The most boring kind of job anyone could ask.

“Uncle Mike will retire in three years. And also, I am not working day and night to get into an office job.”

“But honey, it is so much better..”

“Mom, we were already over this conversation.” She laid her eyes down and continued making the clothes.

She came here wanting to help me with my clothes, but I could see that she had other real intentions behind her kind acts.

Today was the day my results for the Academy entrance arrived and yet, she was trying to make me give up. As unbelievable as it sounds, she was the kind of person to do that. And being her daughter, I too had the same determination in getting into the Academy.

We heard the creaking sound of the door opening, signalling the arrival of my dear brother who went to collect my result. I jumped out of my chair and dashed towards the entrance.

And there he was. Harald. My sweet brother, standing still, ahead of the door. He wore a cheap grey coat with boots bigger for his feet. His hairs were long and messy, combed unevenly on each side. He held less characteristics of a noble, more of a farm boy. But the letter he held in his fingers was important to me. It would be the piece of paper that would define the future of mine, Rayara Courtwell, the eldest daughter of Courtwell bloodline.

“What does it say?” I asked, with a mix of fear and excitement.

He raised the letter at me and handed it to my face.

”See yourself.” He mocked and sat on the cushioned chair.

I looked at the letter. It had the Spirit of Swan printed on its cover.

The official emblem of the Academy. Goosebumps appeared on my arms as I flipped the envelope.

It surely was directed to me. I could see my name written on the top.

To Riyara Courtwell. It read.

I saw mom follow me and stood near my brother. Her eyes widened with a slight gap between her lips. Both of them were eager to hear the result.

Here it was. The moment of my life.

My heart beat so fast that I felt it could pop out any moment. Gathering enough confidence, I opened the letter. A single piece of paper was inside it, folded in three parts.

Miss Riyara Courtwell, we are delighted to inform you that you have been selected for our year's …..

I didn’t bother to read any further.

“I passed.” Tears start to fill up my eyes. Everything went watery.

“Yesss”, my brother picked me up like I was some kind of puppy and twirled me around while shouting, absolutely unacceptable behavior for a family heir, but he did anyway.

I could see my mother's eyes, like she saw a ghost or something. Maybe she didn’t believe me. So I handed my acceptance letter to her and continued our little dance of excitement.

“I made it”. Even I couldn’t believe it, yet it was the truth.

All the hard work, all the sleepless nights, all the parties missed. It seemed every one of them was worth losing for this single letter.

“Honey,” It was my mom looking at the letter with frowned eyes.

“Look at this.” She returned the letter and seemed worried. Harald took the letter from me and scanned it. Now, he also looked worried.

“What? Something wrong?” They remained quiet for a few seconds and nodded at me.

“It says the program you were selected for is the non-Ashe one.”

“What?” Non-Ashe?

“There must be some kind of mistake from their side. I will inquire about it right now.” Harald folded the letter back into its cover.

I grabbed his hand as he was about to leave. “Hand me the letter.”

He gazed at mom with dull eyes. She nodded slightly.

I took back the letter and started reading it again.

Miss Riyara Courtwell, we are delighted to inform you that you have been selected for our year's Non-Ashe student program. The previous decision was revised after getting an official request from the Courtwell family on the revocation of your preceding request for getting admitted into the Ashe grade student program.

The decision was made based on your additional request for the Non-Ashe grade program which was later received.

Further instructions will be shared in upcoming days through mail. Alternatively, you can make direct contact with the Academy office starting from the next working day.

Again, congrats for admission.

The Academy awaits your arrival.

The moment I raised my face at mom, she averted her eyes.

“Why did you do that?” I asked as I felt like a big stone was drilling itself into my heart.

She didn’t say anything, but I already knew the answer. Ever since I wanted to become a mage, she was the first person to protest it. But I talked her into believing me, at least I thought so. Yet.

“Why would you do something like that? You knew exactly how I would react to it, yet you did it. All the training, all the nights and days were useless now.”

“Riya, listen to me.”

“Listen to what? I know what you are going to say! I listened to it a thousand times coming out of your mouth. My father died from a mage battle and so did your father. Harald didn’t like wielding a sword or throwing a force, so I should also do the same. Isn’t that all?”

“That’s not all, Riya. The Academy is not the place like you dreamed about. It may look that every Academian is treated equally, but inside it was much darker. It will be the hardest for people like us Riya, the Nobles who didn’t have any influence.”

“You are just making up excuses now. You are talking as if you know that place better than any of us. It was my dream of years that you ruined just writing off a single piece of bloody letter.”

“Look Riya, it may sound ridiculous now, but please believe in you mom.”

“BELIEVE IN YOU, mom! After all the lies you told me, you want me to still believe in you. How can I do that, even if I wanted to?”

Can I really believe in her anymore?

“Riya, listen to her this one time. She might have her reasons to do..”, it was my brother, now taking her side.

I glared at him, making his sentence stop in the middle.

“Did you also know this?” I asked him.

“Of course, I didn’t.”

“What would you do brother? If someone lied to you for your entire lifetime, threw away all your dreams, would you still believe in her?” My brother remained silent. I could see the obvious answer in his eyes, but he was afraid to say that.

“Thought so.” I crushed the letter and threw it away. Without caring about them, I stormed into my room and locked the door.

I still heard mom and Harald talking about something.

Maybe they were fighting about me. Or trying to find ways to console me. But now, nothing could calm me. Even someone carrying my own blood.

—

A man wearing a green jacket with stars attached to his shoulder stood in front of me. He had a thick brown beard around his face with the most handsome smile I had ever seen on a man.

Even now, sometimes I would place my blonde hair near my lips, simulate a mustache while standing in front of a mirror, and smile. But no matter how hard I try, I could never replicate my father’s smile.

Him leaving for official royal army work was the last time I have seen him. Leaving with a smile like that, no one could have ever guessed that he would die in the battlefield, just three days after.

Other officers said he fought a very strong mage in the field and even defeated his enemy. But the wounds were too deep for healers to help him.

From that day, my mom did everything she could to keep me away from the mage-work. From keeping me away from other mages to banning me from using mana, she was the worst inspiration I could ask for. Even then, I never hated her. She did it because she feared that I could have the same fate as my father.

Though, I want to prove her wrong. Being the best mage of all, so no one could ever defeat me. I wanted to show her that dream of mine. But she was against that dream.

No matter how much she tried, my talent for mana was simply too strong for her to limit me.

After some time, she just gave up on her efforts. Or at least I thought so.

Until she played her ultimate card, to directly intervene in my admission process.

I walked out of my room. Mom and Harald sat nearby, on the sofa.

“Ray”, my mom walked towards me. But I stopped her before she could reach me.

“Harry, when will the admission process start?” I asked my brother, ignoring my worried mom.

“They said they will send additional letters regarding that. Maybe within this month’s end.”

“We have ten days till the end of this month, right?”

“Yes, but I am not sure about the admission date”.

“That’s okay. I will pack my clothes. I need your help to reach grandpa’s place, today itself.”

“Wait Ray, hear me this one time”, my mom grabbed my hand. I could see it, her eyes were pleading. But I should not care anymore.

“It is my final decision, Harald. From today onwards, the Courtwell mansion will not be the place I would call home.”