4 The Escape: Part II

The practical test was simple and much more important. To get into a magic school, one just had to pass their end of year exams and a small written exam covering the broad basics of magic. The practical exam would measure one's potential and determine which schools they could apply for.

Magic was considered a waste of time by almost everyone. It looked fancy, but lacked substance. You wanted to cook food? Using a magic flame was more convenient, but couldn't be used for an extended period of time. If you were going to use a stove, much faster to just turn the knob than light it manually which wouldn't be useful much of the time given the prevalence of electronic appliances.

People studied magic for many reasons. For the vast majority of those that did, it was often a part time venture studied for personal interest while they pursued a different career. For others it was because they honestly hadn't given up on the potential of magic. Most families liked to have a magic user in case the subject ever became more useful than technology. This view was particularly common among the nobility. The most common magic users were entertainers.

A small number of people went on become great mages. These were who people truly viewed as being wielders of magic, people who could weave complicated spells with practical uses like lifting heavy objects into precise positions.

This was the main reason for why Kerensa wanted to become a mage. If she became a great mage, her standing among the nobility could potentially wield more influence than even her family with their underhanded and nefarious dealings. Nobody dared to mess with a great mage because the great mage would always have powerful backing.

The exam itself was straightforward. Every applicant needed to place their hands on a scanner. Only the proctor would see their results, a readout describing their mana. The two biggest indicators of talent were amount and potency. Some schools valued one over the other or had focused on techniques designed to improve the weaker one. Most schools were generalist with a little bit of everything.

During the first year, students learned the basics of mana control. If by the end of the year a student didn't meet the minimum requirements of mana control, amount, and potency, that student would have to drop out or change schools.

Having never had her mana tested before, Kerensa didn't know what to expect. When her turn was called, she went up to the front of the room and laid a hand on the scanner. A printer on the proctor's desk spat out a sheet of paper. He raised an eyebrow and forestalled her questioning look with a raised hand while he pulled out a cellphone and made a call.

"Hello? James? I found the one you're looking for." The proctor put the phone away and handed Kerensa her results. "Someone'll meet you outside the room in a couple minutes."

Endless streams of question marks filled the room. It was highly unusual for an applicant to be dismissed before the entire room finished. Kerensa retrieved her paper and went outside.

"You're done already?" asked Robin looking up from doodling in a large notebook in surprise as her older sister emerged.

"Someone's supposed to meet me here."

Robin's eyes widened. "To take us back to the family?"

"I- oh shit." Kerensa hadn't even considered the possibility. She chewed her lower lip nervously lost in thought as a middle aged man with a gold trimmed black coat and matching pants came striding down the corridor.

"Kerensa Fors," he greeted in a thick English accent politely doffing his feathered tricorn. "You are Kerensa aren't you?"

"I- yes?"

"I am James Turnover, Mr. Turnover to you, the local representative for Killmore. May I see your results for a moment?"

"Uhhh..." Kerensa handed over the paper while a million questions flew through her head wondering why a representative of the school would want to see her in particular. True she had listed the Killmore University as her preferred school, but surely that didn't warrant a representative coming out to see her personally.

James pursed his lips as he scanned through her results. "How disappointing," he finally uttered before handing the paper back.

"Am I not good enough to get in?"

"Not normally. However, one of the teachers has taken an interest in you, Mr. Terry."

"Wait, Dr. Michael Terry?"

"The one and only. I don't know what you did to provoke his interest. You'll be joining his freshman class next week." James frowned slightly. "Your written test and mana amount are barely passable but you have a distinct lack of potency compared to our other students. Killmore prides itself on the talent we cultivate but he has stuck his neck out to recruit you despite your insufficiency. Don't disappoint him."

"I'll try my best not to."

"Good enough I guess. You'll be on the four o'clock bus to Munich Airport."

-|-

Elias Fors maintained a calm, knowledgeable look well practiced from lifetime of deceit. His wife on the other hand rampaged across the office ripping it apart in her anger and frustration. A servant in black entered the office at precisely noon.

"The practical tests have all been completed. Kerensa showed up for her test and her results were poor. No other signs of her or Robin have been reported."

"Just what good are you lot?!" roared Mrs. Fors. "You can't even find two teenage girls!"

"I highly suspect they're in disguise."

"Where would they even get disguises from?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know. You DON'T KNOW! Is there anything you can do right?"

"Calm down dear." Elias sighed as he laid his chin upon laced fingers. "They'll find them. These men have tracked down crime bosses, serial killers, far harder people that two kids." He sighed again, wistfully, but before continuing in his musings.

"Marcus is deadly loyal, Harold is too cowardly to ever try something like this, and Catherine is too much like you to ever want another life. I don't think its Robin, she's too lazy to come up with such an elaborate scheme."

"And you think its Kerensa, the dippy half-wit who's so eager to please she keeps screwing everything up? Please." Mrs. Fors snorted.

"I think that she's played us for fools. She has always been closer to Robin than the others." Elias waved a hand airily. "But its all for naught. Even if she can hide her face, she can't hide her location. I've frozen their credit accounts. The moment they try to make a purchase, we have 'em. Or their title."

"What if they tell people about your schemes and projects?"

"Old news." Elias shrugged. "All the people that matter already know about them. Everybody knows the family is two faced. There's no proof of misdoings. People won't want to associate with them because they're Fors."

"I've always told you you're too soft. This is what happens."

"You're right dear." Elias kneaded his forehead. "All of our other children had rebellious stages, but they have always been obedient enough that the thought they might try something never occurred to me. What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking handcuffs with GPS trackers and a couple nights in the dungeon."

"The dungeon did put an end to Harold's antics. Alright, we'll do it that way."

-|-

"Where did you get all that money from?" whispered Robin with wide eyes as Kerensa pulled out a wad of cash to redeem a plane ticket.

"For the past few years I've been withdrawing my allowance as cash and making up fake expenses."

"Uh..." Robin didn't know what to say. She knew that Kerensa had been planning her split for years but she didn't realize that she had been preparing it for that long. At first she had been hesitant to go along with Kerensa's plan only agreeing when Kerensa made it very clear that their parents would probably punish Robin after Kerensa left.

"Id?" The helper confirmed the reservation before returning the fake identity she had presented him along with two plane tickets. "Have a good trip Ms. Lowinsky."

The plane for London had just finished boarding when a professional looking young woman who had been resting against a pillar nearby approached the counter.

"Hi! My friends were running late and I need to know if they made it or not."

"What's your friends' names?"

"Fors. Kerensa and Robin Fors. "

"Let me just… there's no Robin. Kerensa transferred to another flight. She's on BA2223 out of gate D04. It leaves in 15 minutes."

"Well that is freaking weird. Thank you for the help."

"No problem."

The young woman began walking down the terminal while whipping out a cell phone.

"Get the team down to Gate D04."