Chapter 20: The World Beyond the Barrier.

Bianca broke the silence. She was the one who had taken the most part in witnessing Anette's effort in the research. She had an idea as to why Anette would bring up the topic of the outside world. She also understood that they didn't have enough material or references to make a spell able to fool fate itself or conceal the children's talent. It was only a matter of time before it was too late.

"Yes, The world outside is filled with wonders and magic and power from the elements and mastering a weapon. Most fairytales we tell you are true relations of what is in that world. Our strength compared to the world outside is insignificant, we are just slightly more talented, but nothing more. There are kingdoms, empires, republics, and all sorts of divisions in the continent and the world. We came from the Kredorah Kingdom. Due to a…prophecy, we had to leave. There is plenty of knowledge we don't know about in the world. There are magical beasts, elemental spirits, and mysterious treasures all around. This is a world we wanted to give you, but we can't… That is why were are doing this research. To find a way out of the confines of our fate." explained Bianca, being especially picky with her words.

Bianca was dejected despite talking of such wondrous things. Mikaela and Lucien could only form distorted pictures in their mind with their limited imagination. 

"There are also good opportunities for talents such as yourselves at academies. The best we know of and attended was the Evanescent Order Academy. It has all types of resources for nurturing its students. They have books covering all ranges of magic and all sorts of weapon training techniques and cultivation methods. The more you grow, the more exposed you are to these things. This knowledge and experience is a treasure you can carry with you all your life," said Merlin with a bit of pride.

"And best of all, the world is a free place. It was, at least. Adventures, missions, treasure hunts, etcetera. Fighting dragons and magical beasts to subdue them, making contracts with spirits exploring ruins. The pretty sites of mountains, forests, deserts, and sea. The world has yet to be fully unveiled to this date. Exploring was what I wanted to do a while back," said Mitchell, with excitement rising in his voice the more he spoke.

You could see sparkles in Mikaela's and Lucien's eyes. They were brimming with curiosity and longing. They wanted to see such a world so wonderful.

A question arose: What prophecy?

'Auntie said we are stuck here because of a prophecy…' Mikaela tried making sense of what was just said but Lucien beat him to the punch.

"What prophesy Mom?" Lucien hoped to get an answer.

He felt a hitch in his mind that this was one of the missing puzzle pieces in understanding the full picture.

Bianca was silent for a while. 

'How could I tell you you will be the doom of the world?' thought Bianca.

Anette continued before Bianca had made up her mind, she did not want her child to know of such harsh truth. One of being judged before birth.

'They will understand when they are older. Not now at least. Their innocence, I can only protect it for so long.' thought Anette.

"The world outside as you can tell by now has more resources needed for the success of my research. I will be leaving Grinas Village for a while," stated Anette.

She heaved a sigh as if what she said took all her energy to sound out. It was at this time that she made a decision. She needed to leave and find books on black magic in the world.

There was a foreboding silence in the room. Neither of them found it a surprise given the build-up to the current collision but neither of them wanted to believe it. 

Mikaela especially. 

He was stunned speechless. He knew that his mother would not change her mind so easily even if he tried to convince her. He also didn't want to discourage what Anette was doing. She had put so much effort… He could remember finding her awake in the middle of the night on his pee duties. She had burned the midnight oil far too many times to ignore.

His only reaction was silence. His tears had already started flowing in his helplessness. His heart was stuffy and it squeezed in a futile effort to maintain his composure. It failed miserably. 

"M-mama, Ah, cough, can I c-come with you?" asked Mikaela in the midst of sobbing.

Nobody could blame him. They were all shocked by the news.

"I'm afraid, I can't bring anybody with me. I will be away for a while. Maybe a few months if I can quickly find the material or a year...or two if not. I will be back before the two-year threshold regardless of success or failure. I will find other solutions," said Anette.

Her face was sullen at Mikaela's sad face but she was doing this for him as well. She couldn't afford to falter. Not here, not now.

"You will contact us, right? Why do you sound like this is goodbye?" asked Bianca panickily.

She had an inkling that things were not so simple.

"Bianca, you should have really, concentrated on school. You know regardless of whatever method I use, it can not directly pierce through the barrier. And if I do find a solution to that dilemma, I will be putting you at risk of exposure due to the single bleach. This is why Grinas is special. I would like to maintain it as that for as long as I can," said Anette, slightly angry. She wasn't angry at anyone really but herself.

"Mama. Haah! Haah! P-please, don't go!" Mikaela had broken down completely.

He was having trouble breathing while talking in a pleading voice. Lucien silently held his hand tightly to find it was trembling in cold sweat. Mikaela was scared, panicked, and anguished. 

The bombardment of emotions made him lose consciousness. Luckily, Mitchell held him. His emotional eyes tried to maintain focus on soothing and regulating Mikaela's breathing.

Merlin who hadn't shown much of an outward reaction asked a question that sent another silence to the room.

"When are you planning on leaving?"

"....."

"Tonight. In a few hours I will be out of the village," answered Anette.

'This is- a bit too sudden.' Everyone thought.

She took a look around and sighed.

Sigh!

"Don't try to convince me. I have thought about it for a long time. There isn't a solution in the books. Bianca, we talked about an alternative, if I can't find a solution even outside, I will find the arts and make a suitable ritual for our purpose. I will be safe, don't worry. Hardly anyone can rival me when I am not pregnant. I will be using a disguise and I will be careful." She was saying these words to Bianca but mostly to Mitchell.

"Little Lu, please try to keep Kaela out of harm. I will reward you when I get back," said Anette.

With that, she stood up and beckoned Mitchell to follow back to their house. 

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