บท 26: Cliques

She set the box down, and as she did she proceeded to call our names. One after another they each went to the front of the class. They received a tablet and a bracelet. The tablet was nine by six inches, pretty large. The outline was white with a golden trim, the screen transparent as per usual.

The bracelet on the other hand was golden and small. It was no thicker than 0.8cm. It was gold with a gem the size of a pea in its center, it was solid with a gap in its circumference. It only moved enough to allow a hand to slip in.

Everyone got one and soon she started the class. I was obviously left confused. Though she gave me no time to dabble in my ignorance.

"The topic of today's class will be Types of Spells." She tapped her tablet and the white board behind her sprung to life, the topic over head, gold.

"Now can anyone tell me the four types of spells, princess." A smile warmed her cold face.

"Yes ma'am, elemental manipulation, projection, written and incantation." She sounded distant, as if not in the room.

"Good, good. I expected nothing less. "Her smile grew with a happiness in her voice. "For todays class we will be focusing on elemental manipulation the most basi... what am I saying, that's probably already been done to death."

She tapped the tablet again and this time all the subtopics popped up, all that the princess had said. One had a tick beside it, the one she spoke about.

"It was your family's responsibility to get that out of the way. We will be doing incantations as the first topic." As the tap sounded a sentence propped up on screen, or rather board.

This time a different problem occurred, well... not necessarily. It just left me with an upset stomach and sweat down my face. I read the paragraph, the words unrecognized, but as I stumbled to pronounce them... I understood there meaning. The language, as long as I could say it I could understand it.

The sentence read: "Oh spirit of the eternal flame set what is before me ablaze, stray not from my objective gaze." She had given us plenty time to read it and was ready to teach.

"This right here is an older an convoluted incantation, as we all know, no matter how much you try and butter up the spirits, in the end it depends on you. This is what it should read." She looked up with the rest of us. A tap sounding.

Immediately a new sentence appeared below the first. "Spirit of fire, burn what I see." It was less flashy and rather jagged, but I guess it worked.

"Now the first activity will be reliably recreating the same level of power with the incantation." She opened the second box she had and pulled out candles. "Everyone take five." She stacked them on her table.

Each and everyone took five, at least that is what she said. The princess, Zack, Abigale and Jane all got ten. They were different, somehow. As we returned to our seats, she demonstrated herself.

Looking at the three inched white stick of wax, a white weave sticking out a few centimeters, she did it. "Spirit of fire burn what I see." Her eyes flashed red and in response the candle lit, almost... magically.

"As you can see it's pretty easy. Focus raw mana in the eyes and speak the words." She shrugged as she put out the flame by looking at it again. "Wind spirit push what I see."

With her demonstration, everyone got to work. I looked around the room as I was reluctant myself. The princess... struggled surprisingly, the flame was... a spark. A voice from the front of the class interjected.

"It's ok princess, with your prior arrangements no one will look down on you for not being able to do this." Mrs. Eos smiled as if to comfort her, the effect was not the intended one.

"I will." She said as she spoke the incantation, her voice rough and swift.

There was no response. Looking over at Jane, she had done it, all ten candles were lit with one incantation. She was the local fire expert, apparently. She then proceeded to help Abigale, which in a different vein, was doing too much, the flame almost burning her.

"This isn't like water Abby, more isn't better, it doesn't give you more control and it sure as hell doesn't make the result stronger." Abigale nodded in response as she took in the words of Jane.

Looking down at my candles I singled one out, pushing the others to the side. Jane's words echoing in my head.

"Spirit of fire burn what I see." Flowing a miniscule amount of mana into my eyes, a spark went off.

"More." A voice from beside me sounded. It was Jane. "Too little, that's it... unless your like the princess, in which case I can't be your coach." She smiled at me.

Again I had heard something about the princess, first it was "a prior arrangement" and then it was to be "like her". It seemed to be common knowledge, so I didn't ask.

Looking at the candle again, I put raw mana the equivalent of a pea in my eyes.

"Spirit of fire burn what I see." As the words left my mouth, my vision, but for a moment became red before a small flame flickered to life at the candles tip.

"It seems you have good mana control, in that case... onward to the next person!" Still in her combat gear, she postured her arms outward as if to fly as she slid off the seat and went over to the princess.

I wasn't interested but instead wanted to make sure, my actions weren't a fluke. I looked at another and with the same amount of mana the flame flickered to life. I went through each, completing the activity as was told, reliably recreating the same level of power with each. I had gotten to the last one and was soon done too when I heard it.

"Spirit of..." My words fell flat as my head turned.

"I don't need your help!" The princess seemed to have lost her composure, the candles falling to the ground.

She then stood eye to eye with Jane, who had a nervous smile.

"I was just trying..." She gave her no chance.

Picking up each candle she spoke. "Leave... me... alone." She then lined each candle out on the table.

And with that Jane went back to her seat, pouting as it were, the princess on the other hand... went back to conjuring sparks, the whole room looking at her.

"Spirit of fire burn what I see." Spark, again. "Spirit of fire burn what I see." Spark, her words got faster and faster, more jumbled and impatient with each failure, until.

"Spirit of fire... burn what I... see." Her words were slow and patronizing, and as they echoed something else did as well. The sound of cracking glass and thawing ice.

All ten candles were surrounded in a white blue ice that surrounded the very table and the princess as well, pointed where it stopped, jagged. In a moments notice ice had sprung from the princess, seemingly impossible, there was no water, it came straight out of her. She herself looked as if she was thawing, vapor falling from her then snow white skin.

The room broke out into, of all things, applaud.

"Who cares if she can't light a little fire, there's something I sure as hell can't do." A voiced in front said.

"Yeah, she's perfect just the way she is." Another interjected.

Then her, Mrs. Eos.

"Ha haa, yes. It seems you are way ahead of your peers in power princess. Your absence was not wasted it seems." She also clapped.

She walked forward and tried to touch it, but before she could. It fell to the ground shattering and vaporizing as quickly as it had formed. The princess' skin also went back to normal.

"Tch, I was hoping to at least touch the damn thing, but what can you do." She headed back over to her desk, saddened.

Whatever had happened was important, apparently I was the only one not fan girling over her. Well me and her of course. Without pause she began her futile attempts once again. Some disappointed she wasn't doing what she had done once again.

"Uhhhh, over so soon." A voice said, a large flame pillaring in front them soon after.

"Focus!" Mrs. Eos shouted as the flame dissipated, they weren't the only ones disappointed.

The class carried on with no breaks up until two O' clock, when we were dismissed. The princess, having tried the entire day, was frustrated. She grabbed a candle and barged out the room. A figure meeting her in the hallway.

"I heard you have true mana, let me see." The voice sounded.

"I have no time for this." She said quick and angrily.

"Woah, who ruffled your feathers my princess, come on, I just wanna see." He said resting his hands on her shoulders.

"Alright." She said vapor rising from her head.