My eyes slowly open.

The sky is still dark. There’s a fire right in front of me, illuminating the area. Al must have made it. Then I notice someone hugging me from behind.

“You awake?”

The man behind me asks. We're both sitting on the floor. Al has his back against a tree and I am wrapped in his arms. I look at my stretched legs, and the right thigh is covered with dark cloth. I try to move it.

“Argh!”

“Don't try to move, you’ll just make it worse.”

“Al…?”

Turning my head, I see him behind me. He’s not wearing anything on the upper body. Oh… now I notice it, I am wearing his coat.

“Why are we…”

“To keep you warm. How do you feel?”

“Ugh… Terrible…”

I look around me again. At our right side, I see a huge pool of blood. Al puts his hand in front of my eyes.

“Don’t look.”

“... How bad is it…?”

“I'll be honest with you, you're still not out of the woods. But you wake up earlier than I expected, so that’s a good sign.”

I don't know how to feel about that...

“Ugh. Ouch… It hurts a lot more than before…”

“That’s normal. Try to endure it for now.”

“Ok.”

I feel so weak. I can only feel a sharp pain on my thigh while the rest of the leg is numb.

“I hope I did the right decision…”

“That again?”

“We killed two people because of it…”

“And you feel guilty?”

“...”

“It’s not your fault. It’s that woman fault, you only reacted to a situation she forced on you.”

“But if I had surrendered…”

“You chose to defend yourself. That’s survival. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“But-”

“You feel bad. And you should. It’s not your fault, but killing is never a good thing. I’m not telling you to forget what happened, I’m telling you to not blame yourself.”

“...”

“As for the consequences, what will be will be. I trust your instincts, and if you think that escaping was better than giving ourselves up, then it was. Second guessing decisions we already made will drive you insane.”

I see...

“Once someone told me that things happen for a reason, and if they happened that way, that’s because there was no other way they could have happened.”

As I thought. He didn’t forget his past did he?

“Al… Why did you pretend you forgot your past?”

“You were suspecting for a while weren’t you?”

“Please, answer me.”

He is silent for a quick moment, then heavily sighs.

“At first was to protect myself. I was quite infamous in my time and revealing my name would bring problems. But then I discovered that I was erased from history, or maybe I never even existed… Anyway, after that I kept the act just for the sake of the lie.”

“And who are you?”

“Alddan Dovin.”

“Dovin?”

“Yes, the same Dovin as the ones you are probably thinking about.”

So every white mage we searched for in the legends and records were off the mark. None of them were about someone named Alddan, much less from the Dovin family.

“What did you do? Why did you hide your identity?”

“You’ll find out eventually. It’s better if you keep dreaming about it.”

“Why?”

“I want you to understand why I did what I did.”

“What did you do?”

“You’ll find out.”

“...”

What did he do? Was it really that bad?

“You didn’t do anything bad right?”

“You’ll find out.”

“...”

I better drop it. It seems like he will not tell me anything.

We stay in silence for a while. It’s a cold Autumn night, but I feel a comfortable temperature despite the pain. I can feel the warm coming from the fire, the coat and Al.

“You aren’t cold Al?”

“Nope. I’m using Inner Magic to keep myself warm.”

You can also do that? I’m starting to understand why he is S ranked. Only some mages learn Inner Magic, but only a few risk learning more than one or two types of Inner Magic.

I look at the fire. I always liked to watch fire burning wood. The sound of the cracking is soothing.

“Earlier I had a dream.”

“What was it about?"

“I’m not sure… I saw two shadows. One was looking down on the other that was begging for his life. The one looking down had your voice, and he said that the other one would wish he had killed him.”

Al twitches.

“You remember that Al?”

“That’s… An episode I wish I could forget.”

“What did he do to you?”

“... I guess you will find out.”

Al…

...

“Try to sleep. We need to move out in the morning before they start searching for us. We have to take you to a doctor for proper treatment.”

“Ok.”

It’s funny, I don’t know how someone could fall asleep in these conditions... With an injured leg, bloody clothes… But I feel so tired that I couldn’t care less even if I had to sleep on ice.

I close my eyes and in only a few moments, I fall asleep.

-----

It’s night and I see the academy female dorms. Al, at least 14 years old now, is sneaking inside.

He is in the entrance. Looks around and then quickly, but quietly, advances through the corridors. Then finally reaches a door on the second floor and knocks.

“Hey, it’s me.”

The door opens. It’s Liliana in her school uniform.

“Quickly, get in.”

Al gets in the room. Inside, Aldorah is sitting on the bed in her pajamas.

“Seriously Al, one of these days you’re going to get in trouble.” - Aldorah says.

“Only if they catch me~.”

“*sigh*”

Aldorah has long hair while Liliana has short hair now. It's a drastic change since they were young.

Liliana picks a book that was on the bedside table and lies down on the bed. She searches for a page and starts reading it.

“You’re always reading Lili.”

“Maybe you should do the same Al.”

“He, I don’t find it fun. Haha~.”

“And then you come to ask us for help.” - Aldorah replies.

“But it’s fun learning from you.”

Aldorah rolls her eyes, but she is smiling.

“So what is it today?”

Al sits down on the floor with legs crossed.

“It’s about what you did in the afternoon.”

“The Ice Magic?”

“Yeah, I can turn water into ice but I can’t do the inverse. When did we learn that?”

“We didn’t, I just read it on an upper-class book. It’s simple, look.”

She looks at the window, and seconds later, water comes from it and floats in the air between Al and Aldorah.

“Where did you get that water?”

“From the grass outside.”

“You can do that!?”

“Yup. You can get water from the plants and soil.”

“So as long there is water, you can control it? If someone drinks water, you can control the water inside of them?”

“I also thought about that. I asked the teacher but she said it doesn’t work on animals or persons.”

“Uh…”

“Anyway, control this water.”

“Ok.”

“Now convert it to ice.”

The water floating in the air crystallizes into solid and cold ice.

“Now, do the same, but reversed.”

“Reversed?”

“Yeah. Like, if you imagine someone painting, try imagining them unpainting.”

“Unpainting? Like erasing?”

“No. Imagine him going backwards. First he is drawing a dark line, then he goes the other way, unpainting the line.”

“Hmm…”

A moment passes. Then, the ice starts melting and slowly becomes liquid again.

“That’s it.”

“Yeah, but I was too slow.”

“You just need to practice.”

“Yeah. I’ll practice tomorrow, thanks Dora.”

“You’re welcome.”

“But you really need to study more Al.” - Liliana says while turning a page.

“She’s right, you are not as studious as you used to be.”

“I know I know... It’s just that it’s not fun anymore. It used to be fun and the stuff I learned was useful, even the math and history. Now we learn so many complicated things that make me wonder why do we have to learn them.”

“Well, at least you are still good at Magic Classes.”

“Not as good as you haha.”

“That’s not true. Your Multi-Magic is better than anyone else. You can summon many types of magic.”

“Yeah but, you are more specialized with each one. You can easily learn the small things, like what we did now.”

“But you also learn them.”

“Because you teach me.” - Al grins.

He gets up and opens the window. Then he throws the water out.

“Your father is coming tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, the letter said he wanted to discuss something with me.”

“Maybe it’s because of your birthday next week?”

“No idea.”

“I guess we’ll find out.” - Liliana replies, while reading.

“Oh yeah, did you guys heard...”

…

An hour passes. They discussed many things about the school and other students, especially Aldorah and Al. Liliana only commented sometimes.

It’s not like the school I know today, they spoke about some disciplines I don’t recognize.

“I better get back to my room.” - Liliana says after closing the book.

“Alright, good night sis.”

“I better go back too.”

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry, your dorm mother is dumb. I can sneak past her with my eyes closed.”

“*sigh*”

“I’ll get out first. I’ll knock on the door if it’s clear.” - Liliana says.

“Thanks.”

Liliana exits the room and closes the door. Moments later she knocks.

“Bye bye Dora.”

“Goodnight.”

Al gets out of the room.

“Bye Lily.”

“Bye.”

Al quickly heads for the stairs. When he reaches them, he looks down. The dorm mother is there.

“What are you doing here!?”

“I-I uh… Visiting a friend?”

“You’re in lot of trouble mister. Come with me.”

The dorm mother, a middle aged blue mage, grabs Al hand.

“I was just visiting a friend! I did nothing wrong!”

“Peeping on girls during the night. Do you have no shame?"

“I wasn’t!”

“Of course you weren't.”

The dorm mother brings Al back to the male dorms and hands him over to the dorm leader.

“Go to your room lad.” - Says the 30 year old violet mage.

“Yes sir…”

“The director will hear about this!”

“I wasn't doing anything wrong!”

“Go to your room. Now.”

Al looks away and walks down the corridor while the dorm leaders are discussing with each other. Al is muttering to himself and cursing.

…

.....

.........

It’s afternoon. Al is in one of the corridors of the main building talking with Liliana and Aldorah.

“I told you to be careful.”

“It was bad luck.”

“Now everyone thinks you are a pervert.” - Liliana says.

“I’m not! Damn it, I hate that hag. She wouldn’t believe me no matter how many times I told her.”

“*sigh*”

An older yellow mage student gets closer to the group. Al notices him.

“Big brother…”

“Do you really have time to mess around like that Alddan?”

“I didn’t do anything wr-!”

“You were on the female dorms while you should be studying or sleeping!”

“...”

“Do you know what we are expecting from you? You’re not a kid anymore! Stop playing around and get serious!”

Al is looking down.

“Tsk. What’s the point? You’ll just ignore what I say like always.”

He walks away and leaves the three behind.

“He didn’t mean anything bad by it Al.” - Aldorah says while putting her hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah… But it’s getting worse. He’s always reprimanding me.”

“He’s only looking out for you, I’m sure.”

Al shrugs

“It’s almost time for class. I’ll be going.” - Liliana says.

“We should also go to our class. Let’s go Al.”

“...”

“C’mon, don’t get depressed.”

“Sorry, I just need a minute.”

…

The afternoon classes pass by. Al is quite popular, everyone tries to talk with him. He replies back but doesn’t show the same interest in the conversations as he shows with the Aldorah and Liliana.

A servant calls Al as he was exiting the classroom.

“Sir, could you follow me? Your father has requested your presence.”

“Yes.” - He looks at the other two - “I guess I’ll see you later.”

“See you later.” - “Bye”

…

Soon they arrive at Al room.

“My father is in there?”

“Yes.”

Al opens the door and enters while the servant bows and walks away.

Inside he sees his father, and also another maid 2 or 3 years older than him with long hair. But she was wearing the same uniform as the ones used in Al mansion. She is smiling.

“Alddan, long time no see.”

“Hi dad, I missed you.”

They hug each other.

“So how are you doing dad?”

“I’m great. I wish could come visit you more times but you know how it is. How are you?”

“I’m good.”

“Good. How are your studies?”

“Same as always...”

“*sigh* Try harder son. I’m proud of your magic grades but you should try harder on the other disciplines... But anyway, I didn’t come today to talk about that.”

“What did you want to talk about?”

The man points his arm to the girl.

“This will be your personal maid from now on.”

“... Say what now? The students are not allowed to have personal maids dad.”

“But you are, I took care of it.”

“Ok… But why? I don’t need one.”

“Son… From now on things will get a little more complicated.”

“What do you mean?”

He puts his hands on Al shoulders.

“Son, you are getting older, and you are reaching a… Complicated age. You know what I am saying?”

“Uhm…”

“Many ladies will try to... Invite you to do things. You must reject them.”

“...”

“You following me son? I’m sure you are not that ignorant.”

“Yeah, I kinda get what you are saying…”

“She will help you with everything. Your homework, daily activities, etc… But if you ever feel the need… Do it with her. She’s already aware of the situation, so don’t feel ashamed.”

“W-What...?”

“You must never sleep with any other girl beside Aldorah, Liliana or her. Remember that you are officially engaged with Aldorah. If you have children with other women from other families, it will be politically problematic. They will take advantage of your status and mess up your marriage.” - The man speaks lower but with a clear voice - “We might even have to assassinate them to prevent that.”

“I-I see…”

“Do you understand the situation?”

“Y-Yes, dad…”

“Good, good…” - the man removes his hands from Al shoulders and looks outside the window - “I have to go soon, so if you have any questions, you should ask them now.”

Al hesitates for a while, but then asks:

“Where is she going to sleep? In the staff rooms?”

“No. In here, with you”

“Pu-Wh-What!?”

“Hahaha, don’t start imagining things, she’s going to sleep on another bed. Originally she was going to sleep in the staff rooms with the other servants, but then we noticed that it would call too much attention. People would notice if she slept in her room or not… So we decided that it would be better if she slept here with you. I reckon they will bring another bed soon enough.” - He then grins and looks mischievously at Al - “But then again, you could sleep on the same bed if you wanted...”

“N-N-NO! No need!! Absolutely not! Two beds are good!”

“Puhahaha!”

“Someone please take me out of here…”

Al face is red all over. He avoids eye contact with both the maid and his father.

“Don’t be so embarrassed Al. At least you weren’t yesterday.”

“I wasn’t doing anything wrong!!!”

This time both his father and the maid laugh, although she kept it down and just giggled.

“Haha, sure kid, I believe you. Well, I really need to go now. C’mon, give me a hug.”

They hug each other. Although Al still has his cheeks red.

“See you soon, son.”

The man walks towards the door.

“Wait dad!” - The man looks back at Al - “Are you serious? I mean, is this really necessary?”

The man scratches his head, and then replies.

“It’s not like ‘you have to’. She’s here, the option is available, do it if you want. It’s just a precaution. If anything else, at least she will help you with your daily routines.”

“...”

“I have to go. Be well son.”

“... Bye dad.”

The man smiles at Al, then opens the door and exits the room. Al looks at the maid, who is looking at him with a charming smile.

“So… Uhm. What is your name?”

“I’m Christine Mariel. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Oh, I’m Alddan Dovin.” - He facepalms and mutters - “I’m an idiot why am I introducing myself? She already knows my name.”

“*Giggles*”

“...”

They spend a few moments looking at each other. Al is flustered while the maid is keeping her composure and smiling.

“You need me to do anything for you?”

“Wha-No! No need! I’m fine! I’m not going to do anything! I’m not touching you!”

“Hehe. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”

“I-I’m not!”

“Master, can I call you by your first name?”

“Uh? Y-Yeah, sure.”

“Alddan, you are too conscious of the situation. Try to relax.” - she says with a smile.

“...”

“People will take advantage of you if you become flustered and embarrassed. Don’t think that way about sex. Sex is a normal thing that all people do, even animals. So think of it as a normal thing. Don’t feel so tense around me.”

“I, can’t help it…”

Al can’t keep eye contact with her and looks around the room.

“I guess we just need to know each other better. Do you have homework?”

“Uhm, yeah.”

“Then come on. Take out your materials and I’ll help you.”

Al is a little surprised but does what she says. He grabs the math and history books and puts them on the small table. Christine sits next to him and helps him with the exercises.

At first Al was nervous, but then he got more comfortable and little by little talked normally with her. It’s surprising how knowledgeable she is and helps Al solving every exercise with ease.

-----------

“C’mon Nora, wake up.”

“Ughh…”

I slowly open my eyes. The sunlight hurts my eyes and forces me to protect them with my hand.

“Sorry, you shouldn’t move so soon but we need to get out of here.”

“Hmm, just a second Al.”

My mind is so dazy, I can barely think straight.

Al extracts mana and ignites it close to some bushes. Then water comes out of the plants and he guides it close to me.

“Drink this. It has a weird taste, but you need keep yourself hydrated.”

… I guess Aldorah taught him how to do that...

*******