The Student

“Ariya, pay attention!” A sharp voice whipped through the air. “We have to finish the lesson within the hour.”

“Huh?” The soft voice came from a sleepy looking girl. She looked up and around the dirty room before focusing on the source of the voice. “Sorry Miss Anabel. Ill try to pay attention.”

“As you should. The fifteen anniversary of the King's death is today, you know. Anyone that's not there will be under immediate suspicion.”

“Yeah yeah. I know we can't afford that.” Ariya yawned before picking up a thick leather book from the table. “What were we working on again, Teach?

“Page 475, weaving of the lines.” Anabel shot her a look of disappointment as she walked around the cluttered room. Various potions laid on the brown counters of the lab looking room. A giant desk took up most of the free space, with a chair on either side. The walls were lined with a colorful assortment of books, new and old. Anabell grabbed one of those books, a ginormous text of at least three thousand pages, and started to read from it. “Magic is all around us, interacting with every atom and molecule, weaving its way through whatever it can. We magic users grab those threads and bend them to our will.

“Teeeeach, we've been over this a billion times. You speak the spell, and it makes the magic work. Woo big deal.” Ariya muttered under her breath and a sphere of water appeared in her palm, which she rolled between her fingertips.

“Ok, if you're so smart, why do the spells work? How does saying gibberish make your ball of water appear?

“The sound waves. There's 107 different different magic sounds, or Ueritan syllables. When you focus magical energy into your voice, the sound bends the thread of magic, creating a spell.”

“At least someone was paying attention.” Anibel closed the book with a thud. “We still have some time, but we'll end here for today. With the Anniversary of the King’s death today, the guards will be out in full force. Better to be safe than sorry. Mezuko juni.”

The room flattened around the two woman, reverting to the second dimension. The now flat room folded itself up into a tiny square around a half inch long and plopped itself on the floor.

Anibel slowly bent down towards the square, shoving into one of the pockets in her robe. She seemed quite agile to me, despite looking to be in her late seventies. Pale wrinkly hands shot around the now wooden room, looking for any traces of the room that was now tucked away snuggly in her pocket.

Ariya walked toward a pile of boxes stacked in the corner of the white room. “Yesterday, the guards arrested some guy on the floor below me. He only got caught using a basic water based spell, this one actually.” She spun her ball of water on her finger before sending it to rest on one of the boxes. “Kyamo daizen.”

The boxed all started to fly around the room, seemingly landing haphazardly while not making a sound, except for one box anyway. It crashed onto the ground, breaking into a million pieces.

“Uhh, sorry teach. I'll just… yeah.” She darted out of the room, her purple cloak disappearing beyond the doorway.

Anabel just sighed and sat on one of the crates. “That girl, shes the most energetic eighteen year old ive ever seen.” A smile broke from her lips, then disappeared as quickly as it came. I barely had enough time to see it.

A few minutes later, they were walking side by side. Wooden buildings lined the cobbe street as people walked towards a giant castle in the distance. Everyone was in what could be called formal attire, with cloaks blocking out the winter chill.

Despite the loud chatter, there was a somber feeling in the air, hidden beneath layers of conversation. Part of that seemed to come from the armed guards, stationed every forty feet on either side of the road.

They constantly moved the crowd along, trying to keep it up to speed. This involved a variety of methods, including harassment and physical violence. They frequently thrust the but of their spears into civilians who weren't moving at the guards desired speeds, calling them names all the while.

Anibel and Ariya stuck to the middle of the crowd, staying close to each other. Anibel kept looking around at the pass buyers in the crowd, watching every single one closely. She was wary, if I had to make a guess.

Ariya, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She watched all the exciting new people around her with interest, looking like she would explode with excitement.

“You look rather excited about going to the anniversary of a dead man.” Anibel smiled down at her.

“Anything to get out of lessons, teach… no offense.” Ariya slightly blushed as she turned her eyes away in embarrassment.

“Hmm, and what do I teach you again? It always slips my old mind.

“Come on Teach, you teach me m- noble etiquette Miss Anibel.”

“There we go. Anyway, Ariya, remember to be quiet and respectful at the anniversary.” She leaned down towards her ear. “Whatever they do on the stage, do not use any magic, they're watching for people like us.”

Ariya’s mouth curved downward, not saying a word. It was a grim reminder. This wasn't a world where people like Ariya could run free. Instead, they were hunted like animals, put to death if they were found out.

“You know Teach, sometimes I wonder why I stick with this path of noble etiquette. I learn all this cool m- edicate just to put my life at risk. If I die, then all of it is for naught anyway.”

“Why do any of us study noble etiquette, make it our lives? Its passion and power. You have the ability to do incredible things, change the world as we know it, stand up to those who took it away. If we don't carry it with us, then how will noble etiquette travel, how will it survive? Were the torchbearers Ariya. Without us, all the knowledge and passion of our forefathers disappears.”

Ariya looked at the ground, shuffling her feet. “Then… Why did you choose me Teach? I was just a spoiled bratty runaway. Oh, look over there!” Ariya suddenly pointed towards the castle, a complete flip in mood.

A battalion of Knights was marching onto a raised platform. Their silver armor reflected the winter’s light. In each of their hands was a flag at least 20 feet tall, the crest of Geris on each one. Five minutes until the event started.

Ariya ran over to the knights, staring in awe. Each one of them drew cheers from the crowd below. They all stopped on a dime and face each other, creating an aisle ten feet across.

“I’m glad we ended lesions early Teach. Otherwise, we never would have made it!” The serious Ariya from only a few seconds ago was nowhere to be found. Instead, a great bundle of energy cheered on the knights, much to Anibel’s dismay, according to her facial expressions at least.

Anibel just smiled as she faded into the crowd, keeping a sharp eye on Ariya and her surroundings. She noticed a fruit seller watching the stage with eagle eyes. He was well built, almost like a soldier. “Now thats interesting…”

“Welcome yall.” A man walked onto the stage. He wore a leather jacket and pants along with a hat of the same material. Bits of blue could be seen under the jacket, his shirt visible where the jacket was unbuttoned. He typed his hat to the crowd, revealing his sandy brown hair. “My names Wyatt, and I’m here to welcome ya to this here event.”

He scanned the crowd as they slowly quieted down, waiting for him to continue. “As yall may know, I was a close friend to the late king, visiting him constantly in his last days. This event was something he asked me ta do when he realized his days weren’t long in this world. Before we officially begin, I wanted ta show yall something real quick.

A cart was pulled onto the stage, holding a boy no older than twenty locked in chains. His face was battered and blood dripped onto the stage. Ariya’s cheers cut off abruptly as soon as she saw his face, replaced with a look of horror.

“This boy right here was caught practicing magic yesterday, and as a gift to the late king, his execution will take place right here and now.”