Trip to Forest Waypoint

The day of the trip to Forest Waypoint came quickly. The residents of Nafriton Residence Hall grew more excited each passing day as others went with their own residences to Forest Waypoint. Aayla couldn't wait for the trip either.

More specifically, she couldn't wait for it to be over. Many groups had started to meticulously plan their days. A few even got into fights about where they should visit and what they should do. The excitement was infecting the gremlins, causing them to be a bit more wild than usual. Aayla was sick of it all.

Aayla worked for a couple of hours that morning. Everyone that wanted to go on the trip had to sign out before they left. Carriages were reserved to take the students directly to and from Forest Waypoint. All Aayla had to do was make sure everyone signed the list.

When everyone else had finally left, Aayla checked the sign out sheet. 10… 50… 100… 200… 300… 400… 500… 598 signatures. That's strange. Aside from Aayla who else could be left? Renee was looking after the students, Theo was managing the carriages and Chris should be coordinating everything in Forest Waypoint.

Who else could be left? The final carriage driver was impatiently waiting outside. Aayla signed herself out when a flustered someone rushed through the door.

"Daren? You haven't left yet?"

The young man blushed as he searched for his name on the list. His clothes and hair were slightly disheveled, as if he just got out of bed. Dark circles underneath his eyes made him look like the dead with his pale skin.

Aayla pointed to the last blank space on the page.

"You need to sign here."

"Thanks."

He hastily signed his name so Aayla could put the list away. The carriage driver was relieved that he finally had the last two passengers. Aayla and Daren had to squeeze into the last seats left. That was not easy for Aayla with the puffy skirts currently in fashion.

With four other passengers, the carriage was on its way. The other passengers excitedly talked while Daren and Aayla sat in an awkward silence. Crammed next to the window, Aayla pressed herself against the wall to keep herself from touching Daren.

Trees flew passed the window in a blur after the window left campus. Aayla never knew that horses could travel this fast. As she gazed out of the window, she began to think about what she would do in Forest Waypoint. She didn't need anything, and didn't really have any friends to talk with.

The carriage soon arrived at Forest Waypoint. Aayla gazed at the familiar walls that were still covered with glaring scars from their most recent battle. The weary town perked up with the influx of students. More income could help make up for what the residents lost in the chaos over a month ago.

When Aayla thought about it, she really had been on Tellus for over two months now. Snow had started fall and the seasons to change. She wondered how her family was doing back on Terra. Was that brat Mikey doing alright? The little crybaby could hardly do anything without his big sister around to clean up after him. Aayla gloomily chuckled. She was still cleaning up after people now.

Several minutes after passing through the gate, they arrived at a carriage station. The driver soon opened the door.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We have arrived at our destination. Here is your ticket. Do not lose it, otherwise you will have to buy another one to get back. It has this station on it, so you can only use the ticket here. Thank you for choosing Forest Traveler Carriage Service."

Aayla quickly got off the carriage. She couldn't stand being crammed inside for one minute longer. The other group of four quickly took off. There were too many places to be and things to do. Not even one second could be wasted.

She blankly looked around at the shops next to the carriage station. Vendors were excitedly advertising their wares for the hundreds of students and other travelers walking around. Aayla hesitated to join the crowd outside.

Did any one of the stalls sell maps of the city? If she got lost, Aayla had no idea how to find her way back without her cellphone. Just as Aayla decided to walk inside the carriage station to see if the employees knew where to buy a map, she heard someone call out her name.

"Do you need something, Ms. Glowery?"

Startled, Aayla whipped around. Daren silently stood staring back at her.

"Oh, Mr. Forolan. You're still here? Um, do you happen to know where I can get a map of the city?"

"They don't sell those, but there are public displays with maps scattered around. I'm going to go meet up with Chris in a couple of hours. If you want, I could show you around until then."

"… Sure. That would be nice. Thank you."

Daren guided Aayla deeper into the city. The noisy and horribly crowded main roads teeming with students faded away into the distance. The side roads still had plenty of shops and stalls, but had much more reasonable prices and traffic.

Occasionally a few older students would walk by, but ignored the pair as they focused on their own tasks. They only had a few hours left to get what they needed. Even with all that time crossing the city would be a nightmare.

Aayla slowly learned more about Daren as time passed. He was a very quiet and introverted, and dearly loved books of all kinds. Clearly, he was very book smart but financially very foolish. Even when buying magic and school supplies, he rarely haggled or compared prices.

If Daren wanted something, he just casually threw out money until he got it. Only for books would he furiously haggle with the shopkeepers. Many vendors eyed him like crazy. Daren had clearly been to many of those shops before and labelled a foolish cash cow.

Aayla had to step in several times because the seller was clearly trying to rip him off. She had seen other items at other shops at half the price. Hmph. She learned how to haggle with the best of them while travelling with her parents.

No wonder Chris tried to stick to him like glue. Chris had jokingly mentioned before that Daren wasn't very good with mundane tasks, but she always thought that Chris was joking around. Daren really was foolish in his own exasperating way.

Eventually they worked their way towards the main carriage station in Forest Waypoint. Chris should be finishing up his work there.

**********

Daren glanced at the girl looking around the street. She kept looking left and right with keen eyes, constantly muttering about prices. He rarely saw Aayla after move in day. When he saw her again for the mid semester report, Daren was extremely surprised.

Even with his young age, Daren was much more sensitive towards mana than the vast majority of wizards. Even teachers and those of a higher rank. He could have sworn that Aayla didn't have any mana at all when they first met. Unlike most other wizards, he could tell that magical energy just wasn't compatible with her. Yet, now she had a faint magical aura.

This was strange. Too strange. Daren frowned in thought. The aura was centered around her bracelets. Were they related to her increased mana?

Everyone who's met her personally believed Deputy Heston when she said that Aayla was simply ill. To others, she seemed to be recovering her mana, but to Daren her mana showed signs of growing pains. Like Aayla had missed the best years of magical development.

None of the books that he read mentioned her condition. Chris often teased him about that.

"Oh? Am I getting a sister-in-law, Daren? When's the wedding? I'll let auntie and uncle now so they can start preparing gifts for their lovely niece-in-law~~"

His nonsense is better left ignored. Chris says stupid things all the time.

Whenever he asked Headmaster Marin, the headmaster just smiled and lightly scolded him. A person's medical information shouldn't be told carelessly to others. His emotionless façade cracked a bit.

Daren had rarely been scolded before. His instincts told him that the headmaster was covering up something. Daren absolutely hated cover ups and not knowing something about magic. He always had to be the best at whatever he did. Especially magic. Wizards and nobles must strive for perfection. As the heir to the Forolan family, anything less was simply unacceptable.

He had to figure out the enigma named 'Aayla Glowery'. She was polite, but lacked so much common sense. Her basic lack of magical knowledge was astounding. She was a very friendly person but preferred to be alone. Aayla always seemed to stick out, like she wasn't supposed to be here. Why had Deputy Heston even picked Aayla to be one of her students?

He absolutely wasn't being nosy because he was frustrated by the scolding and his failure to figure out her secrets. Nope. Not all. Daren was a Forolan, and Forolans don't get nosy or frustrated.