Chapter 38 - The General Meets a High Elf (Part 1)

  Chloe Evenhart:

  I was rushing to get ed up in my room. My mom couldn't see me all dirty from rolling around in the grass while dodging Cyl’s fireballs.

  She got carried away again...

  Cyl alys with us in that room, but part of me thinks she gets a little jealous when I'm too close to Nate.

  "Thank goodness my dress didn't get burned..."

  I looked at my dirty fad jured a floating ball of water.

  "It's so good to know magic," I said, washing my fad wetting a cloth to myself.

  After all those years of reading books, I was finally going to learn from a real teacher. I was so happy to already be able to use my element and even happier when I discovered I could use another. Having that teacher would be a dream e true for me.

  Not everyone afford a good education and develop their magic, so what we had portunity. em would grow with us, and if we learo use our powers better, we could bee stronger. We also o know how to use ic well befoing to the Apsalon Magic Academy. Uher Magic Academies, it was where the elite from all the kingdoms studied, so we couldn't afford to be embarrassed. Even in our first year, we had to be as advanced as someone close to graduating frur Academies.

  And there’s still that entrance exam... I’m so nervous.

  At the Apsalon Academy, even though it was only freat nobles and cost a fortune in tuition, there was still a terrible exam to assess the mage. The exam covered everything, from noble knowledge, mathematics, kingdom history, magic history, and even the difficult practical exams. The practical exam was ducted with real knights from the Teresia Kingdom. Although it was in a ral city, part of the Academy's administration was done in jun with the kingdoms, and the practical exams were brutal—they wahe best.

  We would have a practical magic test and a practical bat test... I wasn’t very fident.

  "It's okay, Chloe! We still have years until that day es. Mom has already pnned our entire education!" I tried to reassure myself.

  My family isn’t like other families, at least that's what I uood. To me, all other families were like ours, but Mom said we were different from other families and should keep it a secret. She reassured me that I would be trained in bat and that our teacher would evaluate em and develop a specifia training regimen for us.

  It seems that our teacher in the past said she would always initiate the Everhart heirs into magic because we helped her. I tried to spy on the lessons that Hugo’s twin daughters had with other teachers, but Mom didn’t let me.

  They liked having the fire element... they said it would be useful for torture.

  I shivered just remembering them.

  They're strange, but Mom said they have the potential to be excellent torturer maids.

  Hugo’s daughters could go to Apsalon Academy when they reached the age, but I think they would prefer to go to an academy in our territory. They’re very dedicated to training for the work they will have iure and would also be far from the family if they went to Apsalon Academy.

  Part of me wants to go to Apsalon, but I'm a little afraid of being away from home.

  Aunt Katie reassured me, saying she would also go to the city and stay in our mansion there sin o stay with the acies taking care of the territory... luckily, I won't be alone; I’ll have h me.

  I sighed just thinking about that idiot.

  "Good thing he’s going with me. I don't knoould handle being surrounded by people I don't know..."

  Nate is my first friend, and he's been helping me a lot these past three years. I like talking to him because he uands me and always has some advie. Once, I said I hated my mom because she grounded me… he told me I shouldn't say that kind of thing because growing up without a mom was something he wouldn't wish on anyone. He told me that even when she scolded me, it was for my own good and because she loved me.

  I felt like an idiot when he said those things...

  He ughed in my fad said it was normal for 'my age.' Nate is always training in his free time. I know he lies about not practig with thunder since I've seen the level of trol he has up close, and I've also seeed silverware in his room. I think he was trying to el energy into the metal.

  Oime, I walked into his room and saw him staring at a gss goblet. He was so focused on the goblet that I watched him for a long time. When I asked what he was doing, he said he was trying to break the goblet with his eyes. I ughed at him and said it wasn't possible, but he told me that long ago, a child was traio scare a tiger with their eyes, and it all started with the exercise of staring at the goblet.

  He's so silly... of course, that's not possible.

  In the past three years, these hallways have beore lively. Before, I only had the maids to talk to, but I knew I couldn't bother them too much. When Nate came, I finally had someone else to py with, and everything became more fun. We pyed all the time, and even Cyl e when she wasn't ign me. Once, I tried to ride on her back, and she got very angry but let ry.

  As time went on, we became closer friends, camping out in the ke room every night... at least until st year.

  That was my fault.

  I told Nate I liked him... as a friend. I said I liked him as a very special friend to me and that he was irrepceable... and that I would punch him if he stopped being my friend.

  I might have overdo...

  When I said I liked him... as a friend, just a friend, he was a bit shocked and then ran off. I chased after him, aold me he'd talk to me ter because there was an annoying woman ughing at him.

  I bet that was just an excuse to get away from me...

  I feel a pain in my heart just thinking that he might someday say he doesn't want to be my friend anymore.

  Ever since I said that, I've been a bit embarrassed... and he doesn't make things easier by getting nervous sometimes. He also stopped camping with me.

  "No problem, Chloe! We'll make that idiot realize how clueless he is!" I said fidently to myself.