Chapter 4

Not a lot of time had passed when a young girl walked by. On her shoulder was a large creature with wings. I wouldn't call it a bird. It was featherless and hairless, and its beak made up the majority of its head. It also had little claws on top of its wings. It gave me the impression of a miniaturized pterodactyl.

"Even dinosaurs can be familiars, huh?" I muttered.

The girl ended up hearing me, stopping in mid-stride and turning my way. The animal on her shoulder squawked and her eyes immediately locked onto my hidden spot. Her eyes darted around me as if looking for something, and when she seemed satisfied, she gave a curt nod. Walking over to me, her nose immediately tilted up at an angle. She was a pretty girl and appeared to be about my age. She was wearing very fine clothing, and she kind of reminded me of Madame Augustus in a way. That was to say that I instantly took a disliking to her.

"Boy, you are in luck. I require some assistance."

I raised an eyebrow. "Um, good for you?"

Her back stiffened as she looked down at me. "I need you to deliver a message for me. I appear to be on the wrong side of the mall. You must let my driver know to pick me up from this entrance."

"I do?" I crossed my legs and leaned back in my seat.

Before my memories had unlocked, I might have cowered under this girl's confident stride, but she only seemed childish and snobbish to the current me.

"Are you dull, boy? I know that you don't even have a proper familiar, but I didn't think that would mean you were an idiot as well."

"I'm not the one who went to the wrong exit." I shrugged.

Her face contorted into anger, and at that moment I began to feel the hair on the back of my arm raising. Although my memories were foggy, I still had an impression of the attack that had nearly killed me. I felt a familiar feeling immediately before being enveloped in a ball of fire.

She held out her hand threateningly. "Now, see here, you are just a commoner who-"

My body reacted before I could even control myself. I stood up and my hand was at her throat. I twisted her wrist and threw her down onto the bench. The dinosaur thing screeched as it was knocked off her shoulder. It immediately dived at me, but I raised a foot and caught its neck, pushing it down onto the concrete under us. It flapped its wings desperately, but its neck was trapped under my foot and it wasn't going anywhere. Meanwhile, its mistress had been laid out face down on the bench with her hands behind her back.

"You dare…!" She began, but I cut her off.

"I do dare. So, unless you're a fool, let's not keep stating the obvious." I hissed into her ear. "Let's get things straight, princess, you approached me, and then tried to use magic on me. I'm pretty sure that it is illegal to cast magic in public without a license, and children who chose to use their magic recklessly are severely punished!"

For some reason, a lot of memories of this world seemed to flood to the surface, and I immediately used them to my advantage. Her flushed face temporarily looked ashamed.

"Let me go or-"

"Was that a threat?" My hand tightened on the back of her wrists. "You seem to be confused about who is in charge here."

"If I had finished my magic-"

"There are no ifs in battle," I responded. "There is what you did and what you didn't do. Had you not threatened me, I wouldn't have responded, but since you refuse to learn your lesson, perhaps you'll only learn if you lose something."

My foot put pressure down on the creature's neck.

"Screee!"

"No! What are you doing?" Her haughty expression turned to one of horror.

"You've only been able to recently summon your familiar. If it dies now, the backlash to your soul will be minimal. You might only lose a year before you can recover and gain a new familiar. Of course, they say your second familiar is never as good as the first."

"You wouldn't! Killing a familiar is a crime."

"Whoever said I wasn't a criminal?" I asked, my foot putting even more weight until the creature let out a strangled noise. "You don't know a thing about me, but you chose to bully me and then try to attack me with a spell. Would you have left me off without a proper lesson if you had the power? I see no reason to let you off either."

"Please! Please! Don't kill him! Please." She started to grow frantic, and tears were now falling down her eyes as she broke into crying.

I wasn't in the business of making children cry. Seeing her this upset ruined whatever fun I had felt. Perhaps, I had treated her a bit too harshly. My experience with Margaretta attacking me, and the Madame who looked down on me, had caused me to grow quite upset and I was taking it out on this girl.

With a sigh, I released my foot and let go of her arms too. I did prepare myself that if she cast magic again that I'd strike her in a way that would knock her out. Her animal squawked at me angrily, but it didn't dare get too close. The girl herself stood up, rubbing her wrists while still sniffling.

"What is going on here?" I heard a voice, and I very nearly cursed.

With me standing, my hidden spot was no longer hidden, and despite my original intent, Madame Augustus had snuck up on me. I spoke before the girl next to me spoke.

"This girl seemed to be lost. She says her driver is on the opposite side of the mall."

"That's hardly a reason to be in tears, girl… hmm?" Madame Augustus spoke dismissively until she got a better look at the girl and her eyes shown with excitement. "You're the Davont family's youngest lady, aren't you?"

Caught off guard by the appearance of an older madame and her family name suddenly being used, the girl quickly wiped her face and turned. She might have tried to call me out on my lie, but she looked just as surprised as she saw Madame Augustus.

"Madame Augustus? Ah! Y-yes! I'm Lady Bree Davont."

"Oh, what a coincidence. I heard that you will be attending the same academy as my daughter. She's starting this year as well."

"Azure Dragon? Your daughter? Margaretta?"

"You do know my daughter! Oh, you should be good friends then. Come, we'll give you a ride to your driver."

Madame Augustus hooked her arm with the girl named Bree and then began pulling her toward the front of the mall. The other girl could only be dragged along. She quickly gestured to the dinosaur, which could only squawk and chase after her. I followed them from behind, remaining out of both of their sight as the older woman began to grill the younger about her family. She appeared to have no brothers, but two older sisters, and one of them was an instructor at Azure Dragon. This only seemed to thrill Madame Augustus more.

I wasn't sure how the driver knew, but as soon as they reached the curb, the car I had previously packed up pulled in front of them. Both girls got in, and it was only when I opened the front passenger, the only seat left, to sit next to the driver, that Madame Augustus glanced in my direction.

"You'll have to excuse this boy. He's just a dirty bumpkin, but I promised I'd take care of him."

The girl's eyes went to me, but then she quickly looked away. I held my breath for the moment she outed me, but for some reason, she staved off her tongue.

"Y-yeah…" She muttered quietly without saying more.

The Madame continued to talk and Bree only spoke when answering a question, but they quickly made their way to the other side of the mall where there was another driver not much different than ours. They drove a different car model, but the men themselves dressed the same and might as well have been brothers.

"Please, come talk to my daughter any time. If you have any trouble at school, she'll help." Madame Augustus gave a smile she had never given my direction as her driver opened the door for Bree.

The younger girl got out and picked up her familiar, putting him back on her shoulder. For some reason, she shot me one last look, and then took a step to her car where her driver was waiting for her. Once our driver was back in his seat, the car was left behind, and it was just me and the Madame once again. Although my memories had made me bolder, I was still a bit surprised I had gotten away with it. Perhaps, I didn't need to get bullied if I didn't want to.

"Boy." I noticed that Madame used a similar address for me as the younger girl.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"When we arrive home, I will find you a job where you can start to earn back what you owe me."

"As you command."

She nodded, but then gave me a side look. "If you are to see that girl again, you are to treat her with all due respect, am I clear?"

Did she see me attack the other girl? That couldn't have been the case. There was no way she wouldn't have said something otherwise.

"Very clear."

The rest of the ride home occurred in complete silence, but it left me with a lot to think about. Most of my memories didn't include familiars. Those memories seemed unique to this world. Knowing this helped me pick out more memories from this world and piece together my past which was still full of holes. One reality I had become painfully aware of was that this world had a strict class system. There were nobility and ranks, but the biggest indicator of success seemed to come from the strength of your familiar. The stronger or more useful a familiar was, the higher someone climbed in society. As for me, I had no familiar, which was another way of saying I was at the bottom!