Chapter 11: The Rose I

When morning came, Yin Hong woke up a little later than usual. She gingerly rubbed her eyes and stretched.

On the other side of the room, her cousin is still sleeping underneath the warmth of her blanket. Yin smiled faintly at the sleeping girl. She didn't notice when Xiao came back to their shared room; the girl has always been quiet. Sneaking back into the dorm way past curfew is Xiao's thing now, apparently.

Since it's the weekend, they're allowed to sleep in. Yin got out of bed, her bare feet touching the cold wooden floor. She slipped out of her nightgown and put on a light green sundress, topped with a white jacket.

The weather is getting a little colder, and in a week, they will have their finals at the end of summer. Xiao's birthday is three weeks away, and Yin asked Uncle David for a favor.

A few months ago, Yin celebrated her seventeenth birthday. Her little cousin made her a pair of earrings. Yes, made. Yin didn't even question how long that took since crafting anything using magic would take a long while. As soon as Xiao finished her lesson on elementals at the end of her first year, she began abusing the power of conjuring stuff out of thin air; it's such a first-year thing to do.

But, Yin's heart melted when she opened a little box of present from Xiao. A pair of rose gold earrings, in the shape of roses with a single white gem in the middle of each rose. She recognized the design, it's drawn various times in Xiao's sketchbooks. It's not easy to mold gold using magic, and it takes a lot of mana and patience to even get gold into a desirable shape. Lighter metals such as iron and copper are easier to mold, but Xiao just had to make gold in such a color that it's a pun of Yin's name.

The older witch giggled as she opened her jewelry box to take out said pair of earrings. She put them on and admired herself in front of the mirror. Ah, she should get going.

Before she went out, Yin gave a shove at her cousin's sleeping form.

"It's a Saturday!" Xiao's protest came in her small and cute voice, slurry from sleep.

"Just making sure you're alive." Yin patted her cousin's head.

In response, the younger witch pulled her blanket over her head, nuzzling deeper into her pillow. Yin giggled a little at the reaction.

Then, her heels clicked as she walked out the door. It didn't take her long to choose a broom from the closet and headed out to Uncle David's office.

"Why do you want to go into town again?" The secretary asked as soon as Yin arrived at his office.

Inside the comfy room, Raxithak's already waiting for her in the chair in front of Uncle David's desk. Her cousin is dressed in a white dress shirt and dark blue trousers, the standard Monastery uniform without the tie. Yin probably has never seen Raxith out of uniform before.

"Xiao Lan's birthday." Yin smiled warmly at both her uncle and her cousin. "I want to get her something before we're immersed in finals."

"Sounds good." Raxith stood up from the chair and stretched. "I was thinking of getting her a wand since you said she broke her last one."

"Like a fancy wand?" Yin hummed as she fiddled with the hem of her jacket. "She already got a generic one to replace it."

"What do you think of gifting her, then?" Her cousin said back, his voice as monotonous as always.

Yin swore that boy doesn't know fun even if it hit him in the face, but he's her beloved cousin after all, there's something wild in him somewhere.

"A dagger." Yin grinned, and Uncle David shook his head.

"Absolutely not." Uncle David came in between both of them.

"Right, I'll get her a sword." Raxithak said with the straightest face Yin has ever seen, and she's not sure whether or not he did it on purpose or that's just his default setting.

"The twins can get her a wand." Yin opened the door, gesturing for her cousin to come with her. "I'm getting her a weapon."

Before they could take a step outside, Uncle David pulled both of them back inside and kicked the door closed.

"What makes you think that's a good idea?" His deep brown eyes frowned at them.

"She's putting herself in dangerous situations." Raxithak explained, as if he's in class talking about an artifact and not his actual flesh and blood. "With the rate she's growing, she'll make it into top 3 before she can properly go into third year and figure out her capacity. Xiao Lan needs something to protect herself from the wolves. Either a good wand or a weapon."

That wasn't what Yin was expecting, but he has a point. Raxithak is ranked second in the overall rank, and he reached it after he found his capacity his third year. His mana capacity is similar to the man in first place, which is in his senior year. Yin herself is also in the top ten; the tenth, to be specific.

And Xiao... Xiao is seventh.

The last time the ranking was done three months ago, it was a shock for everyone. They thought Xiao is there because of pure luck since Yin's twin brothers didn't make it into top ten even though they were fifth and sixth respectively last time. But no one was surprised when Raxith made it into second.

Anyways, according to Raxith, Xiao needs a weapon to protect herself from the "wolves". Calling the other seven people in the top ten overall ranking seems a bit harsh, but he's right. They would come after Xiao if she keeps climbing her way up the ladder because she's not even a third year yet. Raxith is speaking from experience after all.

Yin wanted to get Xiao a dagger for her birthday purely because she saw sketches in her younger cousin's book, and she thought it'd be cool, so she tore it out and pocketed it in the same jacket she's wearing right now. The younger witch didn't complain about a missing page in her sketchbook. Welp, she probably even already knows what Yin is doing, the girl is too observative for her own good sometimes.

"A sword to protect herself?" Uncle David rubbed his forehead. "She can't use it unless it's in the quarterly ranking competitions."

"Exactly." Raxith crossed his arms, his amber eyes didn't weaver.

Yin reached for a piece of paper from the pocket inside her jacket, and she pulled it out to show her cousin. Raxith gave her a look before he unfolded the paper.

"That's what I'm planning to get her." She smiled, and her cousin nodded.

"Look, it's good that you already have a design planned out, but are you sure?" Their uncle gave them a look of concern, and Yin was about to say something, but Raxith put a hand on her shoulder.

"You gave us swords in our second year. Good swords made of gold and silver, forged by the best black smith the town has to offer." The teenage boy's amber eyes glowed gold when the sunlight hit just right. "Why didn't you give one to Xiao?"

Dry lips hung open for a few seconds before Uncle David composed himself. "Xiao Lan is capable, but I don't trust her to not hurt herself with it. Yin Hong, you saw what happened to her. She injured herself with just a wand and a broom, what would she do with a sword and a dagger?"

"Are you implying that she hurt herself on purpose?" Yin took a step forward and crossed her arms in front of her uncle. "Accidents happen, Uncle David."

"Accidents that happened too often." The secretary sighed as he leaned on the door frame. "Remember that time she teleported across the Monastery? Any normal kid her age would die of exhaustion, Yin. She learned that it's dangerous, and she immediately went and did it. Last week, I failed to null her engagement, and she promptly got herself into an accident. You see the pattern here?"

It's Yin's turn to be speechless. Uncle David is right, there is a pattern to Xiao's actions. Then again, Raxith had a point when he said Xiao needed a weapon to protect herself from the upcoming rank competition.

"The will to live comes from a brush with death." Amber eyes didn't leave their uncle, and Raxithak cocked his head up a bit in confidence. "If you don't want her to get a dagger and a sword, we'll settle with a short sword. The weak iron scrap the Monastery give to every student isn't enough to withstand what's coming her way."

Since when it's a "we" thing? Yin sighed... Raxith is the way he is, but at least Uncle David seems like he's considering her cousin's words.

"Fine." The secretary gave in with a defeated sigh. "I'll take you to the black smith."