Chapter 7-2: Shining Stars

Mirielle sighed and shook her head as Ren massaged his eyes. How long had they been at it? It had been nearly an hour since the sun had set. He could feel his exhaustion getting to him. Keeping his eyes open was becoming more of a challenge with every passing minute.

"I don't get it." The young girl mumbled. "Is this a healing spell, a containment spell or a cleansing spell?" She asked, glancing at Ren.

"I'm not sure." He replied with a tired expression. "I thought this was a double layered inscription." He touched right at the middle of the circle drawn on paper. "But there's a third layer – I'm sure of it. The glyphs don't connect properly otherwise."

Mirielle stared at the paper. "But… there is no third layer. We'd at least be able to see it if it existed."

Ren nodded. "You're right." He mumbled as he traced the glyphs with his finger. "But something doesn't add up."

Stumped, they watched his finger as he traced the inscription. A knock on the door broke the silence. Ren motioned to get up, but before he could even get up on his feet, the door swung open and Aiden barged in.

"Ren, there's something you-" He stopped mid sentence as his eyes met Mirielle's. "Oh." He said after a few seconds of awkward silence. "I'm sorry. I'm interrupting, I'll talk to you later." He motioned to leave the room, but Ren's annoyed voice stopped him.

"Come back here Aiden." He then continued with a softer tone. "What's wrong?"

Aiden hesitated as he glanced at Mirielle. She seemed confused. With a sigh, he gave up. "Well, I saw Serana and the fourth get into a shouting match in the northern courtyard. Lena was also there."

Ren flinched. "Oh." He said, averting his gaze. The distraction Mirielle's ritual circle had provided had made him forget about Alicia's words but now that Aiden reminded him of it, his chest hurt again.

"Do you… happen to know anything about that?" The young noble asked. A wry smile appeared on Ren's lips momentarily. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He softly replied, not meeting Aiden's gaze.

"Ren, it's obvious it's something to you." Mirielle chimed in. Ren flinched as she reached out and took his hand in hers. "You're always so sad and lonely, even when you're with me, Aiden and Lena. You don't need to bottle up everything." The purple haired girl showed Ren a bitter smile. "Don't you trust us?"

Ren flinched. "It's not that," He softly said. "It's really nothing. I'm just frustrated with Lady Tesfel's attitude towards me." Of course, he wasn't telling the whole truth. But losing the trust of his closest friend like that… How could he even begin to explain that?

Mirielle squeezed his hand. "I get how you feel." She said with a smile that was too cheerful for the situation. "I've been in a similar boat before. My mana – its incredible hostility – has caused me lots of issues before I came to the academy. Even in my family's home, I was considered a…" She hesitated as if she were searching for the right word. "I guess the best word for it is liability."

Aiden visibly flinched. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then decided otherwise. Mirielle continued speaking in that soft voice. "I wasn't able to control my mana at all. My family – mom and dad – stopped trying to teach me after a while. I struggled on my own for a while, until my grandfather came back home and helped." She shrugged and let go of Ren's hand. "Up until I was accepted into this class, I was considered useless. I was told I couldn't carry on our family's legacy." She glanced at the folded paper on the bed. "But I wanted to prove them wrong."

"I'm sorry," Ren said softly. Mirielle was always so cheerful that it'd never crossed his mind that she'd gone through tough times. "I had no idea."

"It's fine though!" She said with a cheerful voice. I figured it out, I learned how to control my mana, I learned how to cast spells. I even got accepted into Class I." Her eyes gleamed with hope as she spoke. "My grandfather never taught me any crazy tricks to help me with my mana. But he was there for me when I needed someone to listen to me. I knew I could count on him no matter what."

She reached forward and pushed Ren's hair aside, revealing his face. "You can't always bottle up your feelings, that's my point." She said. "I rambled a lot, but all I'm saying is that if you need an ear, we'll listen. And not just me! Aiden and Lena, even Princess Iris will be there for you."

Aiden nodded. "I couldn't have said it better myself." He said with a faint smile. "Besides, we've both seen what happens when you try to keep secrets."

Ren stared blankly at him for a second before understanding dawned on him. As his eyes widened, Aiden couldn't help but laugh. "Jokes aside," He continued with a chuckle. "You can count on us."

Ren couldn't help but smile. "I don't…" His words got stuck in his throat. "Thanks." He finally said. "I appreciate it."

Mirielle smiled and lightly patted his shoulder. "Any time, Ren. Now, care to tell us what happened?"

Ren let out a small, weak laugh. "You're not letting me avoid this, are you?" Mirielle shook her head. The young man sighed and gave in.

"I didn't lie to you before. I'm frustrated with Lady Tesfel's behaviour towards me." He hesitated. "Alicia, the Fourth Battlemage, is a good friend of mine. I've known her for as long as I can remember." He smiled. "We used to spar ever since she came to the inner keep."

Aiden flinched. "She's Serana's older sister, isn't she?" He asked hesitantly. Ren nodded. "Apparently so. She never told me her surname was Tesfel, so I had no idea."

"So, you did have something to do with their fight?" Aiden asked in surprise.

"It's complicated," He said, trying to figure out a way to explain this. It took him a second to gather the courage to speak. "Alicia doesn't trust me anymore, maybe she never has."