The Journey to the Capital

I tried wiping my face with my hand; that was when I realized that Lady Myra was hugging me. She's hugging me; those people never hugged me when I cried. Instead, they laughed. They said I looked cute when I cried; that is why I stopped expressing pain. I guess I didn't learn how to stop myself from expressing joy because I never had anything that made me happy.

"Are you okay now, Livi?" she asked, and I hummed.

"I'm okay. I'm sorry for crying," I said, hoping she won't get angry.

"You can cry all you want, Livi. It's good to express yourself more," she said, and I nodded.

"Are you happy about it?" she asked, letting go.

"Yes, thank you," I said with a small smile.

"I received it from Elise, alongside a letter of recommendation," she said, and my eyes widened in shock.

"It wasn't my idea, but I was fully on board with it. You're twelve now, so it's okay if you take the entrance exam. But with two letters of recommendation, I don't think there'd be a need," she said, and I looked at her in shock.

"I don't know what to say," I said.

"Don't be scared, Livi," she said, caressing my cheeks.

"Mother," I said, and she smiled. Lady Myra, I mean Mother, looks very young, especially when she smiles. It makes me wonder how old she is. I'm curious, but I don't know how to ask.

"Who knows, you might meet Teon," she said. Teon… It's been a while since I heard that name. I wonder how he's doing now.

"That would be great," I said. He did say we won't see each other again, so my hopes are not up. I'm sure I've been forgotten by now.

...

I opened my eyes and sat up. I turned and looked at my pillow, Tyler; he was sound asleep. I smiled and got out of bed and walked to my reading table. It was dark, but I had to study because it was the only way to ease the nervousness. I lit some candles to brighten the room enough to see clearly.

I read for a few minutes before Blair walked in. She stood at the door and stared at me, and I just stared back at her.

"You should be sleeping, my lady," she said, and I nodded.

"It's time to get ready," she informed me, and I just nodded nervously.

I walked outside and saw carriages and horses ready to take us. I was dressed in trousers and a loose blouse instead of a dress. Lady Myra was dressed in trousers, but she wore a black jacket.

Some people that I recognized as maids and butlers stood in front of the first carriage and started creating something I recognized to be a magic circle. There are mages among the maids and butlers?

"What are they doing… mother?" I still can't get used to calling her "mother."

"The journey to the capital is a really long one, so we are using teleportation portals to cut it short," she explained, and I nodded.

"Is that legal?" I asked. Why am I asking so many questions?

"No, but I'm an exception," she said, smiling. "When we cross, some hours would have passed, but it'd feel like a minute because of the type of circle we're using. You'd feel sick, but you'd have to endure it for a while and follow my instructions, okay?" I nodded and took the coachman's hand to go in. They closed the door to my surprise. After a while, she stepped in.

"When we go through the portal, wear this and cover your face," she said, giving me a black jacket that had a hood. Then she gave me a handkerchief to cover my nose and mouth. What is going on?

The carriage started moving, and I couldn't help the nervousness I was feeling. I felt like something heavy was pushing me back, then it ended. I looked out, and it was already afternoon. My head started hurting, and I felt nauseous. I quickly wore the jacket and covered my face. Just as I finished doing that, the horse stopped aggressively.

"Stay here," Mother said, grabbing something that was wrapped and stepped out. I sat there quietly and waited. Then the door opened, and a man with a scar across his face stepped inside. Mother just stood there with a sheathed sword in her hand.

"Hello, kid," he said with a husky voice. I couldn't say anything; I was so scared.

"You managed to escape; my men were already going there. You're a smart one, Myra," he said laughing.

"If you're done, can we go? We have an appointment with his parents," Mother said.

"Let me see what the kid looks like at least," he said, reaching for my face. Mother moved so fast; it was surprising. She held a sword to his throat and repeated,

"We have an appointment." The man raised his hand up, and she stepped down, giving him passage. He stepped out quietly.

"You'd be a handful to take care of alone, but be careful. Don't be so confident because of your stupid title," he said and whistled.

Myra stepped out and gestured at someone. Then she turned and closed the door. Why is she leaving me?

We moved for a long time, and I fell asleep at some point. The door opened, and I blinked twice before looking at the person hovering over me.

"Wake up, Livi; we're here," Mother said. I sat up weakly; I was feeling as exhausted as I would if I traveled for hours. She helped me up and led me out of the carriage. My eyes first landed on Tyler. I ran to him and hugged him, I didn't see him when we were getting ready to leave and I was worried.

"Master," I heard voices chorus. Teon? I looked up and saw two boys running out of the mansion, which looked exquisite. They stood quickly, almost falling in the process when they saw me.

"Landen, Elwin, where is Alia?" Mother asked, and they looked up the stairs. A girl with messy hair, wearing a nightdress, walked out drowsily. As she yawned and stumbled on the stairs, a block from the stairs raised up before she could fall.

"Ah, that was close," she said, putting it back in place. She managed to come down without incident and stood in front of Mother.

"Alia, wake up," one of the boys said.

"I'm… I'm awake," she said, yawning. She's not.

"Alia," Mother shouted, and we all flinched. The boys that I did not recognize, the sleepwalker, Tyler, and I — every single one of us flinched.

"It's late afternoon, and you are still sleeping," she scolded.

"Master? When did you get back?" Alia asked in shock. She's making things worse for herself.

"Let's go inside," Mother said, walking past them. I followed behind her, with Ty closely behind.

We walked in, and I was awed by the sight in front of me. The building still had a dark theme, but it was brighter than the other. But a part of me still preferred the darker place. I don't know why.

She walked into a sitting room and sat down, and the trail followed behind. I didn't know if I should sit down or not, so I melted into a wall by the door, and Tyler copied my movement.

"Alia, go get changed; Landen, show Livi to her room; Elwin, report," Mother ordered, and everyone moved swiftly.