The Burning Flowers

Chapter IV

Winter was closing in on the Academy of Erika, and as always, the oncoming cold brought with it the end of the semester, the stress of final exams, and the promise of a vacation from their constant studies. Erika tended to get its first snowfall around early November, and by the time the first day of December rolled around, the capital city was blanketed in a serene white. The combination of this chilly weather and the approaching exams resulted in the school buildings being far more crowded than they normally were, with the library being by far the worst. In order to get good seats on the third floor, one would have to send somebody there early in the morning and make sure that their table was always occupied by at least one person. The weekends were even more annoying since nobody had classes and thus opted to use the library to study.

Because of this, during their first year when they realized just how much of a headache it was going to be, Abi and Faye joined forces in order to increase their numbers and ensure they always had their spot reserved. The combined efforts of their teams, minus the uncooperative Rennigan, made that much easier than it would have been. Therefore, despite it already being around one in the afternoon, Abigail Reiner didn’t feel particularly rushed as she, Nigreos, and Fayela made their way through the doors of the library and towards the nearby lifts, their bags filled to the brim with study materials such as textbooks, notebooks, and a variety of writing utensils.

As much as being a part of the royal team had garnered them great prestige and respect from among the populace, as well as set them up for a future of guaranteed success, it wasn’t without its drawbacks. The biggest handicap to their job was that they were given far more extensive assignments that kept them away from school for longer periods of time compared to their fellow third years. Naturally, the Academy expected its students to miss class for assignments and had supplementary work prepared for them, but due to the royal team’s unique situation, it still wasn’t enough, leaving Abi, Ryokumo, Nigreos, and Album always scrambling to cram as much study time as possible into any place they could. The mission to Piriit had taken a few weeks, and with finals only three weeks away, that left them in a tight situation.

But then again, it’s like Kumo always says, Abi had to remind herself. Who cares what grades we get if we’re guaranteed work in the future anyway!

Unfortunately, being the studious person that she was, Abi simply could not bring herself to subscribe to that mindset the way Ryokumo could, resulting in her stress levels skyrocketing with each day that passed. As for her friend, his grades were terrible, and he made it known how little he cared. In their two and a half years attending the Academy and acting as the royal team, he was by far the worst student, and though Ilirianna, Nigreos, and Album lectured him constantly, he brushed aside their concerns with one of his typical jokes.

Reaching the lifts, the three mages stepped on just before Abi cast Ortumo and began raising them towards the third floor, with it suddenly occurring to her once again just how quickly time had passed. This was their fifth time experiencing this routine of finals, which meant their third year was reaching its halfway point. Only three semesters remained between them and graduation. In some ways, that day when Edwar Grunly accompanied her to the gates of the Academy for the first time felt like just yesterday, and in others, it might as well be a lifetime ago. So much had changed since she arrived in Erika, both in the world around her and in her own personal life. On top of that, she had never even been certain she would remain at the Academy for longer than a year, for a year was all she agreed to. Yet there she was, a third year and a mage that already had a well-known reputation throughout the school, city, and for better or worse, the country.

Her thoughts briefly shifted back to Mikea, so Abi shook her head and pushed them away as they approached the double doors of the group study room that they frequented. As expected, the numerous tables scattered throughout the massive area were all filled with chattering students, many of which spared brief glances their way upon noticing who had entered. She and Nigreos, as well as the other two members, were something of celebrities around the Academy, which might have brought them respect, but also resulted in them being hard to approach. Because of this, there were only a small handful of people outside of her team and Faye’s that Abi really considered friends. Though, to some extent, she preferred it that way.

Their usual table was located behind all of the bookshelves and against the far wall, the only relative space for privacy in the whole room, and it was there that they met up with the rest of their friends. It was a long rectangular table at which nine or so people could comfortably sit, and since they rarely had more than seven, the extra space wasn’t ever used. However, to Abi’s mild surprise, they had two extra individuals visiting them that day. Like always, Hirokol Pafran and Jessi Yuahl were sitting on the far end of the table across from one another while Album sat just beside them with no sign of the terrible student, Ryokumo. But in an unexpected turn of events, Rennigan Glaus was also there, scribbling on a piece of parchment and grumbling to himself. The second unexpected person was someone who joined them only when she had time and had quickly become one of Abi’s good friends in the last semester since she first arrived at the Academy.

“Luna?” Nigreos said as the three of them reached the table. “I didn’t realize you were joining today?”

Nigreos’s little sister, Lunara Noctis, glanced over her shoulder and fixed her brother with a sly and teasing grin. “Well, Brother, I thought it would be a nice surprise! Or did you not want your sister to crash your little get-together with your friends? Think I’m gonna embarrass you or something?”

The elder dark mage snorted, returning her teasing smile. “Well, I can’t say I wouldn’t put it past you to expose my deep dark secrets, but just remember that we have mutually assured destruction. Anything you do to me, I can return. Wouldn’t want anybody finding out about your secret stash now would we?”

“Ah! How dare you!” Lunara exclaimed with foe humiliation. “I couldn’t live with myself if that got out! My reputation would be ruined and the Noctis family would be stained!”

Abi watched the siblings bicker with a joyful smile, marveling once again at how similar and close they were. Lunara looked quite a lot like her older brother with her olive-colored skin, warm brown eyes, and silky black hair that hung down to her shoulders. At first, the one thing Abi would have claimed was different about them was Lunara’s mischievous nature, but not long after the year started, it became apparent that Nigreos also had a mischievous side of him that only really came out when his sister was around. It was something she was grateful to see since he was usually so serious.

Lunara laughed then raised a hand in greeting the other two. “Hey, Faye! Hey, Abi! How’s it going?”

As the three took their seats, Nigreos by Lunara with Abi and Faye across from them, the rock mage could only sigh and shake her head. “As well as it can with finals right around the corner. I swear, these professors are determined to kill us with all the material they’ve been pulling out of their asses. Enjoy your first year while it lasts, Luna. It only gets harder.”

“And the assignments only make that worse,” Abi added with a shake of her head. “How about you? Feel prepared for your first set of finals?”

Lunara shrugged. “I sure hope so cause I don’t think my grades can take any more damage! Midterms did not have mercy on me!”

“That’s because you spent most of your free time galivanting around the capital instead of studying,” Nigreos chimed in, having already produced his notes and opened them on the table. “Maybe if you decreased your trips to Market Street, you’d be more satisfied with your performance.”

“Didn’t ask for your input, Brother!”

“Doesn't mean you don’t need it, Sister.”

Abi chuckled to herself as she and Faye both began setting up for their own study session, but just as they were opening their books, Rennigan raised his head from his parchment and fixed the Noctis with an irritated glare.

“Could the two of you please keep your nonsense to a minimum?” he snapped. “Some of us are trying to be productive here so please, refrain from goofing off!”

Nigreos hardly paid Rennigan even a slight glance while Lunara stuck out her tongue and grumbled, “Need me to come yank that stick from your ass, Glaus?”

Noticing Rennigan’s eye twitch slightly, Abi decided it would probably be best to cut between them as quickly as possible given that Lunara had long since taken after Ryokumo when it came to interacting with Rennigan. However, Faye must have come to the same conclusion much quicker, for the rock mage was instantly on top of it.

“Rennigan, maybe you didn’t know this, but this is the group study room,” she pointed out. “As such, conversation is more than allowed, so if our chatter bothers you then you should go up to the quiet room like you normally do. And for that matter, why are you even here? You never join us to study.”

The water mage growled something under his breath then slowly turned his head back towards his parchment without another word. Rolling her eyes, Faye glanced at Hiro and Jessi for an explanation, and judging by the smug grins on their faces, it must have been quite amusing.

“As it so happens, poor Glaus was not able to secure himself a spot in the quiet room,” Hiro told them with a laugh. “So he reluctantly crawled his way down here where, obviously, there was also not a spot. Luckily for him, Jessi and I had already staked our claims on this table and, left with no other option, he hung his head and joined us.”

Faye smirked, barely suppressing a laugh of her own. “Yup, that sounds about right.”

“That is not what happened!” Rennigan huffed, his pale cheeks turning a bit red, though Abi wasn’t sure whether it was out of embarrassment, anger, or both.

“Oh really?” Faye replied dubiously. “Then please, tell your version.”

Clicking his tongue, Rennigan straightened back up and sneered at her. “I was not desperate, rather I decided it would be smart to oversee Pafran and Yuahl’s work in order to make sure they were not slacking off! Since we are stuck on the same team, your performances affect my reputation, and as your appointed team leader, it is my duty to kick you into shape!”

“We do not need supervision from a cocky jackass like you!”

“Kiss my ass, shithead!”

Hiro and Jessi were up in arms instantly, tossing insults and vulgarity at the pompous Rennigan, and as always, Faye was left as the one to try and mediate things. All the while, Abi exchanged exasperated looks with Nigreos, Album, and Lunara as they silently mused as to how it was possible that their friends’ team hadn't ripped themselves apart yet. A part of Abi had truly feared that Faye was going to be handicapped by her unstable team throughout the entire four years, and though they were millions of miles away from harmonious, they were surprisingly efficient.

As dictated by the results of the duel between Hiro, Jessi, and Rennigan, the water mage was given the unofficial role as their leader, with the other three begrudgingly doing as he said whenever he decided he wanted to order them around. Back when that first happened, Faye had expressed her fear that they were utterly screwed after how badly Rennigan performed at orientation, but shockingly, that was not what happened. When the rest of the first years were permitted to be given assignments after the end of their first semester, Faye’s team had been tasked with a simple chaperone mission for a moderately wealthy merchant traveling to the south. Abi didn’t know all of the details, but apparently, the carriage had wound up being attacked by some brigands on the highway, and Rennigan had coordinated their defense cleanly and cleverly. From then on, he displayed a brilliant tactical mind that left Faye and the others baffled.

“It’s like he’s a different person compared to orientation!” Faye had exclaimed at one point. “I mean, he actually knows what he’s doing! The only explanation I can think of is that his feud with Noctis was bothering him so much that he made novice mistakes!”

In the beginning of their second year, Faye’s team was promoted to first rank, and ever since, they had been handling their assignments with ease. So, while Rennigan Glaus was still far from friends with the other three and their bickering was quite common, the four mages had formed a rather impressive resume, and Abi couldn't be happier for them.

“So, uh, where’s Kumo?” Abigail asked Album awkwardly once the arguing had finally ceased, and before the light mage could even begin to respond, Rennigan let out a very obnoxious scoff and spat,

“Who cares?”

“I didn’t ask you, Glaus,” the nature mage muttered, keeping her own annoyance in check. “Album? I thought he was supposed to be joining us today?”

Her friend just gave a halfhearted shrug, her disappointment obvious. “Unfortunately, Liri sent him an invitation to visit her at the Citadel and, as you would expect, he was on his feet and summoning a carriage before I even had a chance to say goodbye.”

“Again?” Hiro said with raised eyebrows. “What the heck is even doing up there all the time?”

Rennigan snorted. “Probably fucking the princess.”

“Shut up,” Nigreos snapped with narrowed eyes. “You shouldn’t say such vulgar things about our future queen! Besides, they're just good friends, you goddamn idiot, and Ryokumo’s been saying how he and Prince Reigious have started getting along quite well. He isn’t…er, screwing the princess.”

“Sure, yeah, okay,” the water mage said under his breath. “Princess Ilirianna is just summoning him to ‘hang out’.”

As Nigreos and Rennigan glared at each other, Abi spared a subtle look at Album, whose head was hung as she stared at her own book, though she could tell by the stillness of the light mage’s eyes that she wasn’t actually reading it. Album’s crush on Ryokumo was one of the worst kept secrets ever, and yet even so, neither of the two boys on their team had even a slight clue. Abi, Faye, Jessi, and Hiro had long since picked up on the way Album looked at him, and smiled at him, and laughed with him. She was never happier than in Ryokumo Caeli’s presence, but their friend had eyes only for Ilirianna. Abi wasn’t sure when Ryokumo’s respect for the princess had turned into attraction, but she knew that he was absolutely infatuated with her since he didn't exactly hide that fact.

“She’s a wonderful person, isn’t she? Of course, I’m no idealistic fool! I know the Princess of Ijiria would never fall for somebody of my humble stature, so I do not expect our relationship to evolve past the friendship we have now. But a man can dream, can he not?”

He had made this declaration to Album and Abi a while back, completely oblivious to how much it had saddened Album in the weeks that followed. As for how Ilirianna felt about Ryokumo, it was anybody’s guess. The princess revealed very little of her private thoughts, and where Abi would have typically dismissed the idea that she could have developed feelings for the young wind mage, there was no denying the odd frequency of summons she sent to him. At the very least, Ilirianna Iiji was fond of Ryokumo Caeli, whether it be sexual or friendly.

But there’s no doubt that even if Liri did like him, she would never actually initiate a relationship beyond what they have. After all, whoever she decides to marry will be the future king, and as respected as Kumo is, he isn’t exactly somebody those in the Citadel would embrace should he take King Markreas’s place.

The strange and uncertain relationships between Ilirianna, Ryokumo, and Album were a topic that Abi tended to avoid contemplating despite her dull and ever-present fear that, should this minor wound fester, it could begin breaking things.

I suppose I should do something to address it, if only reaching out to Album and giving her a shoulder to lean on, but…

She didn’t want to stick her neck where it didn’t belong, having long since decided that if Album needed her, then she would say so. As the young mage was pondering the situation, the conversation around her only continued to progress without her paying any attention. That was why she hadn’t been prepared when it suddenly turned her way.

“Well, from the sounds of it, Caeli isn’t the only one who's got a potential romance brewing,” Lunara said with a teasing grin, her brown eyes shifting to Abi. “Don’t you have a secret boyfriend or something, Abi?”

Having not expected such a question to come out of Luna’s mouth, she felt her body go cold, but knowing that if she allowed her surprise or her fear to poke through, she’d essentially be confirming it, Abigail swiftly straightened up and feigned confusion.

“Hmm? What do you mean? I don’t have a secret boyfriend.”

As she spoke, she took a quick check of the expressions on those around her, wanting to gauge how well she covered herself. Faye and Jessi were doing a great job of keeping their reactions in check, Hiro had cocked an eyebrow with intrigue, Rennigan wasn’t paying attention, Nigreos looked oddly concerned, and Album had her face in her hands as if guilty.

Oh no… I think I have a guess as to what happened here…

Lunara’s response confirmed her suspicion.

“Well, Album was saying that you’ve been randomly leaving your dorm for hours on end, so we just thought you were visiting a secret boyfriend.” The young Noctis girl then seemed to realize that Album was not enjoying this direction of the conversation as her features turned slightly regretful. “Er, was I not supposed to say that?”

Album shook her head. “N-no, I didn’t… Well…” She sighed, finally looking up and giving Abi an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Ab’. I know you don’t have any secret romances or anything. You’re just gone a lot, and when Luna asked about it, I talked out of my ass. Again…sorry.”

“Yes, we shouldn’t go spreading baseless rumors,” Nigreos cut in, narrowing his eyes at his sister. “Abi would never do something as scandalous as having a secret boyfriend. If she were dating anybody, she would tell us!”

“Right… Yeah, I’m sorry, too.”

Luna gave a little bow of her head and Abi was quick to express her forgiveness, wanting to get away from this topic as fast as she possibly could. Her own guilt was creeping in as she listened to Nigreos express such faith in her, for not only was he wrong, but she was doing something even worse: Dating a magicless.

Right… This is just another reminder that I’m walking a thin line. There’s only so long this can go on before they start to get really suspicious. Maybe it would be best to tell Album the truth, but…

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Nigreos and Album, but at the end of the day, they were children of the Great City of Noctalus and of Masters of Ijiria. The law was more sacred to them than it was to her and Ryokumo. On top of that, they never went to Omaruo and they didn’t meet Scott, so it would be harder for them to really understand her feelings. A part of her always intended to tell the rest of her team someday, but as time passed, that became harder and harder of a task.

I mean, what am I supposed to say to them now? Not only does Kumo know, but so do Faye and Jessi. How will they feel knowing I trusted people outside of our team before I trusted them?

And so, she kept silent, knowing that someday, somehow, karma was going to make her pay for not trusting her friends.

***

“Well, even if that was almost disastrous, I think we covered our bases quite well!” Faye said reassuringly as she and Abi made their way down a third-floor corridor of the nature department’s building. “I guess we’ll just have to be less obvious now, but since you live with Album, it’s a lot harder.”

Abigail gave a soft and grateful smile, sparing a glance at her good friend. Faye and Jessi had jumped to her defense back in the library, informing Album that Abi sometimes fell asleep in their dorm during study sessions and that they usually let her get her rest. It appeared as if Album believed them while Lunara still seemed a bit embarrassed at making such an implication, so for the moment, the crisis was averted.

“Thank you, Faye,” Abi replied. “I really mean that. You’ve covered for me so much these past few years, and you’ve put your wellbeing at risk for something as selfish as my feelings for Scott. You’re a really dear friend and I promise that I’m going to figure out a way to put an end to it soon—so you can stop doing all this.”

Faye’s brow furrowed with concern. “I-I mean, I’m more than happy to help, but what do you mean put an end to it? If you love Scott, I don’t want you to have to give him up! That’s why I wanted to help you in the first place.”

“But even so…” They rounded a corner as Abi’s gaze shifted to the few windows carved into the wooden walls of the hallway, giving her a beautiful view of the campus below the massive tree that was the nature department. “This can’t go on forever and we both know it. If we’re caught, I’m not the only one paying for it. You, Jessi, Kumo, and Scott are all at risk because I’ve chosen to be selfish. Either I break up with him and stay in Ijiria, or I go to Omaruo and stay there…”

“Abi, the four of us all knew what we were getting ourselves into,” Faye muttered. “You didn’t force anybody to do anything. You’re my friend, one of my best ones, and when I saw how much you wanted to go see Scott again—how sad you were when you came home from Omaruo, I knew I needed to help you. I wanted to help you, and I’m glad I did.”

“Faye—”

“So stop it with this ‘selfish’ business,” she interrupted. “I don’t like it.”

Abi let out a sigh, noticing the door that was her destination just up ahead. “Well regardless, you can’t deny that a solution needs to be found, and I’m going to find one.”

“And what are you leaning towards? Would you really leave Ijiria behind?”

“I…”

The nature mage closed her lips and didn’t allow the sentence to finish, for she had no idea what she was willing to do. There wasn’t even a small part of her that wanted to abandon all of her friends there in Ijiria, but the war with the Kosah-Rei was taking its toll on her, and Omaruo was a safe haven from that. Losing Scott and Wilham would be a painful cut to her mental health—something she wasn’t sure she could handle. Since they had arrived at their destination, she decided that was a perfect excuse to avoid the dilemma, but just as she was reaching for the doorknob, she stopped and furrowed her brow in confusion.

Ah? It’s like that, huh? Nice try…

“Faye, you go first,” Abi said, taking a step back and motioning for the rock mage to enter.

The taller woman frowned, clearly being able to tell that Abi was up to something but having not yet sensed what she did. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Just do it please!”

Smiling as innocently as she could, Abigail motioned towards the door a second time, so Faye rolled her eyes, grumbled complaints under her breath, and did as asked. As expected, the second Faye pushed the door open and stepped inside, there was a sudden surge of nature magic as five green tendrils shot downwards from the ceiling, latched around her body, and yanked her upwards out of sight.

“Hey?! The hell?!” Faye exclaimed from up above as Abi took a step into the room, smiling victoriously as she eyed the young woman already waiting within.

“Aw! No fair, Abigail! Why didn’t you go in first!”

“Cause you’re not as good as you think you are when it comes to being subtle, Iris.”

At the beginning of her third year, Abigail was suddenly called to Headmaster Tykon’s office where he introduced her to Iris Mackia, a nature mage that was one year younger than her and was apparently the top of her class. It was not unusual at the Academy of Erika for older students to take on their juniors as pupils, tutoring them and giving them extra aid outside of classes and assignments, but what was unusual was for one of the best students to be suggested. More often than not, the purpose of becoming a tutor was to help those struggling, but since Iris Mackia wasn’t struggling, Abi was confused by the request. However, when Tykon gave his reasoning, she found she agreed.

“Abigail, given your placement on the royal team and your natural ability with nature magic, I think you could offer Miss Mackia skills and knowledge that school simply cannot teach. You lived in the wild for years, fending for yourself and developing practical skills that have only been honed by your position under Princess Ilirianna. I would like you to pass this knowledge down, and since Miss Mackia has a similar background to you, I thought you would also be a better tutor as opposed to the more traditional students.”

She instantly knew what Tykon meant, for Iris Mackia was a member of the race called the Kotonorish—beings that appeared as a mixture of humans and animals that were often referred to as “half-humans” despite the fact that they didn’t have any human blood in them at all. They were a completely separate species that happened to evolve in a similar manner and since they were native to the southern parts of the continent, down in Norania, it was rare to meet one in Ijiria. Though the Kotonorish were referred to as a single species, the term actually referred to a group of species with animal traits, and thus they came in a variety of different appearances.

Iris Mackia resembled a humanoid cat, with bright yellow eyes and a body covered in golden fur. Her hair was of the same color, well-brushed and falling down to her back in curls, with two triangular ears protruding from the top of her head. When she gave her smile, sharp teeth were revealed while her face was somewhere between a cat and a human, a combination that Abi was still getting used to.

“Mackia, let me down!” Faye snapped, her body tied to the ceiling by the five vines that had yanked her up there.

Iris sighed, waving her hand and allowing the rock mage to drop to the ground. “Sorry, Rio! I was obviously going for Abigail since I didn’t even know you’d be coming today! She clearly sensed my little prank and still sent you in first, so if anybody should be blamed, it's her!”

Jutting a clawed pointer finger in Abi’s direction, Iris gave an innocent little smile and tilted her head, but Faye only clicked her tongue and folded her arms.

“And why were you trying to tie Abi to the ceiling?”

Iris shrugged. “Practice! I figured that if I could catch Abigail by surprise then it means I’ve reached my peak as a mage!”

“You’re a menace,” Faye grunted.

“Hey! I’m not a menace!”

Iris was nothing if not a bit mischievous, and though Ryokumo had never met her, Abi couldn’t help but feel that the two would get along, and that if they did, they would be a terror to everybody around them.

“As you know, Miss Mackia’s kind is not common in Ijiria, and like you, her admittance to this Academy is a rare occurrence,” Tykon had added. She’s a damn talented mage, but she’s been ostracized, and her team does not appreciate her abilities because of who she is. They prevent her from flourishing, and I want you to counter that. You, Abigail, know better than most what it's like coming here an outcast.”

Iris had been an outstanding student thus far, even if she was a bit of a handful, but while Abi was grateful to still be able to help somebody, she knew that Iris Mackia was yet another person she would have to leave behind if she couldn’t bring herself to abandon Omaruo.

“Right, anyway!” Abi cut in, trying to stop her thoughts from running rampant again. “Faye’s gonna help me today, so let’s get right to your lesson, Iris!”

“Okay!”

Enthusiastically hopping into a nearby chair, Iris watched Faye and Abi with excitement—an excitement that drove Abi to be even more motivated to do her best. She looked forward to these tutoring sessions, because in the time of the Kosah-Rei, when the common people saw Abigail Reiner as a traitor, she was desperate to still be able to make a positive difference in somebody's life.