Arthur had noticed the girl in the corner of the room. As his bone was being reset she was trying her best not to be sick, but she never left or looked away. She was strange even by his standards. Luckily for Arthur, broken bones were easily healed with the right magic and after a few hours, Arthur was almost completely back to normal. With a loud crack, he tested out his elbow only wincing a little at the initial pain otherwise it was back to normal. Magic could do some amazing things medically. Sitting up in the bed he was now able to get a better look at the girl. Long, brown hair that almost reached her waist, equally brown eyes that almost looked black with the lighting of the medical room, and a round, innocent looking face. She was, by all accounts, an average teenage girl.

Noticing his stare she addressed him, “My father told me to wait here for you. I think he’s meeting with the president or something like that.” Her soft voice echoed through the otherwise empty room. Four other beds were lined up against the wall. Each perfectly made as if the beds were simply for show. She took a few steps closer. Arthur had been having too many interactions with new people lately. The stress had been building slowly since the first, but this was reaching his peak. He could feel a panic attack coming on with each step she took. His breath started to become more and more labored until she stopped, noticing his condition.

She wasn’t really sure what to do. Arthur lay gasping for breath on the bed when just a second earlier he was sitting upright fully healed. She started to panic. “Should I go get the nurse?” She asked hurriedly.

“No.” Arthur wheezed out between breaths. Even with all the shit, he’s had to put up with in his life, a panic attack would always be the most unpleasant. That tight squeezing of your chest, nausea, the inescapable feeling of doom. It was irrational and he hated himself for having one, which just made it worse. He curled up into a ball focusing on the one thing that helped, Emily. He would play out scene by scene the first time they met, their first date, and their first kiss. It was another twenty minutes before he came around. Even then, his arms were still shaking uncontrollably. He knew it was an unhealthy crutch using Emily, but it was the only thing he found that worked.

“Are you okay?” Arthur jumped slightly at the question. He had completely forgotten about the girl who was now sitting beside his bed. “Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Just some mental issues I’ve never properly addressed.” He tried to give her a smile, but it came off more like a grimace.

The girl moved her chair a little closer causing the metal of the chair to screech across the tiled floor. “Do you want to talk about it?” It was another situation that caught Arthur off guard. The girl was looking at him with only friendly intentions. It was genuine empathy. Something Arthur never received from relative strangers.

Arthur ended up just shaking his head at the question, “Thanks for the offer, but there’s nothing logical to it.” He then tried to change up the subject, “So, are you Nigel’s daughter?”

“Yeah, Alyssa actually. They mentioned you’re Arthur Montale. It’s nice to meet you.” She put her hand out to shake his, but Arthur’s hands were still shaking at his sides. She quickly lowered hers hoping Arthur didn’t notice and he was polite enough to pretend not to. “So, what level have you reached to be able to cast that kind of magic?” Hearing that Arthur’s face grew dark. “I mean, I’ve never seen fire magic like that. Were you actually controlling each tentacle separately? How did you do that teleport thing?” The questions came gushing out.

Arthur tried his best to answer each one in order, “For my level, I’m not really sure. It’s just one of the amazing benefits of being a Montale.” He tried to sound sarcastic, but his deep voice and lack of inflection made it hard to tell. “As for the fire, yes I can control each one individually. I think it’s a skill specific to me, but I still need to do some further studies regarding it. The teleportation might be something you can learn in your third or fourth year. It depends on what you study and your affinity with magic.” He paused, then asked a question of his own. “If you don’t mind me asking, what magic are you currently capable of?”

He noticed Alyssa uncomfortably shift in her seat. Then an almost unnoticeable breeze brushed past him slightly ruffling the sheets on his bed. He just stared at her dumbfounded.

“My dad knows people. With that and a bit of money, it wasn’t too difficult to get me enrolled here.” She sounded defeated. Arthur was never great at comforting others. It didn’t stop him from trying. “I can see why you’re dad hired me. Well, if you ever need any help or have any questions I’ll always be around.” Her smile was genuine when she replied, “Thanks. It will be nice to have someone to talk to on campus.”

A knock on the door interrupted their chat. Three quick raps and a heavy slam afterward. Arthur knew who it was. “Come in, Emily!” Arthur shouted and the door slid open. Emily came hobbling in with the help of an intricately carved cane. It looked like whatever the imp did, even magic couldn’t speed up the recovery.

Emily looked a little irritated at Arthur lying in the bed. “Why are you getting into fights in the middle of the school?” It was then Emily noticed Alyssa sitting by Arthur’s bed. “And who is that?”

Alyssa was the first one to respond, “I was actually just about to leave. I’ll see you around Arthur.” With a smile and a wave, she left leaving Emily and Arthur alone.

Arthur looked over at Emily. She looked as though she hadn’t slept properly in weeks. Heavy bags hung under her bloodshot eyes. Bandages could still be seen wrapped around her torso. She shouldn’t have come to see him.

“I’m glad to see you’re up and about. How much longer until you’re fully healed?” Emily immediately cut him off there, “Don’t change the subject. It’s annoying how great you are at that.” Arthur knew he wasn’t getting out of it, so he quickly summarized what had just happened. When it got to Alyssa, Emily was much more skeptical than he was. “Why would the prime minister hire a boy he doesn’t know, who is close to Alyssa’s age, to follow her around constantly? Doesn’t that seem a little strange to you?”

Arthur stopped and fully thought about the situation he was now in. It did all seem a little strange. He was never one to really care about political matters though. He found them to be extremely disingenuous. If Nigel was using this situation to get closer to the Montale family he would be sorely disappointed. He ended up just shrugging it off. “I figure if he is using me for some reason than at least we’re both benefitting. If it means I can stay on campus and continue to see both you and Brennan it’s worth it.”

“Of course I’m also happy you’ll be staying. I just think you should be careful with what you agree to. Especially when such influential people are involved.” Emily’s concern was evident.

“I know the risks involved. I am also very capable of escaping if need be. Thanks though, Emily. It’s nice knowing you’re here for me.” He reached out to touch her hand, but for some reason, she jerked back avoiding him. Arthur looked at her worriedly, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Brennan came to talk to me the other day….” Her voice was cracking slightly as she spoke. “He’s changed, Arthur. I almost don’t recognize him anymore. He seems to think you’ve changed as well. What exactly happened after Brennan took me away from the imp? Why were you sitting in an empty village when Brennan found you?”

Arthur had been successfully repressing the events of that day until just now. He didn’t want to think about it. What he had done. It was crippling. He chose to lie. “It wasn’t an easy battle. The imp was obviously tougher than we all thought. I managed to defeat him and found that village to rest in. Maybe the imp had something to do with why it was empty.” Arthur’s voice was rushed and angry. Anyone could tell he wasn’t telling the truth, Emily included. She could also tell it wasn’t a topic to be taken lightly. “Well, if you ever want to talk about it I’m always around. If you need help please reach out to those around you, Arthur. We do care about you.” Arthur nodded, at a loss for words.

Emily slowly stood up to leave, leaning heavily on the cane. She looked at Arthur carefully one more time before heading out the door. The cane heavily cracking against the floor with every other step she took. Arthur wanted to say something to her as she left, to thank her, but the words just wouldn’t come out. It wasn’t until after she left that he thought of the strange encounter with the red-haired girl in the library. “Fuck! I should have asked her about that.” He said to no one in particular.

In one more vain attempt, he spoke out, “Status”. It was the same as the thousands of other times he tried. Nothing appeared, causing Arthur to slump back into the bed, sinking into the pure white sheets.