āAlright, that will conclude the lesson.ā Viren said, both hands atop his staff. āI have a meeting with King Harrow, clean the study, and get some lunch.ā Viren said, to both you and young Claudia. He smiled at his daughter, before turning to leave. Which left you with the little fourteen year old who was already stepping to begin cleaning up the small pile of squished beetles and butterflies. You moved silently to the beakers and vials, picking the tray up and stepping to the water basin. āWhen do you think Father will let me use these things weāre learning?ā Claudia complained. āI started when I was fifteen.ā You replied easily. You liked Claudia, but Viren favored her. He would never pay you the same attention that he paid her, which you suppose you could understand, she was his daughter after all. The part that bothered you is the fact that he encouraged her to learn spells that he wouldnāt even allow you to copy into your spellbook. He claimed Harrow and Amaya wouldnāt allow him to teach you anything more advanced. You didnāt want to believe that. āI want to start nowwwww.ā Claudia moaned, tossing the carcasses of the bugs out the window and tossing the rag sheād cleaned with into the washbasin. āIāve copied all the spells, I know all the words.ā She complained āHave you asked him about it?ā You tried, placing the books youād used back onto the shelves. āAre you insane?ā Claudia laughed, starting towards the door to exit the study. āDo you want to come get lunch with me?ā She asked, and a smile pulled at your lips. That sounded nice. āSure.ā You replied, starting after the younger girl, just as a book fell from the shelf and hit you on the foot. āOuch!ā Claudia laughed. You grasped your foot in pain, you didnāt even realize what you were looking at for a long moment. The moment your eyes focused, and you saw the tome you knew well with pages youād never seen before, your mind swam. āStay.ā The words said. You furrowed your brows, blinking at it. āY/N?ā Claudia asked, her laughter stopped, her footsteps started to return. You practically fell on the book, closing it and grasping your foot. āThis justā¦.really really hurts Clauds, Iāll. Iāll catch up with you in a moment.ā You quickly thought up anything you could to get her away. āDid you break your toe??ā Claudia asked, coming near to lean down and look over you worriedly. āIt will pass, I just need a moment.ā You told her. She stared at you, concerned, before nodding and exiting the study. You let your foot go and closed the door, pressing the book open trepidatiously and dragging your finger down a page youād read a thousand times. Maybeā¦you were hallucinating? Perhaps it was a symptom of the magic you used. Then the words on the page dripped and then poured and black colored the entire page. āGoodā written out in white against the inky background. You were silent, you tipped the book up and tried to look for runes or sigils, to look for any sign that this was a spell or a trick that Lord Viren was playing. āTwo horn worms, three pinches of dragons tongue, a smidge of powdered quarts, and a single drop of blood. Sir ath athin no thore.ā āA spell? I cannot cast without Lord Viren to supervise me.ā You cleverly said, Lord Viren was surely behind this and that was exactly what he would want to hear. You stood, and placed the book on the shelf, before going to meet with Claudia. On your way back from the Kitchens, you nearly ran directly into Viren. He must just now be on his way to eat. You remember the book, and you think of the test. Had he truly met with King Harrow? Or had it simply stepped out to test you from afar? āSo whenād you learn to control books?ā You grinned, trying to show off how clever you were. Viren didnāt smile, his eyebrow raised ever-so-slightly. He seemed to be willing to humor you, but not amused.āYouāre just upset you bruised your toe.ā Claudia giggled as she slipped past the two. Viren furrowed his brows, first at his daughter then at you.āThā¦the Compendium of Magical Components?ā You tried. Viren didnāt answer, he simply waited for an explanation. āIt fell from the bookcase?ā āAnd hit your toe?ā Viren asked, voice dry. āYes.ā You answered, seeming stupider by the moment. āThen perhaps put books away properly?ā He said, passing by you and moving into the kitchens. You stood, deadpanning the hallway before you. Soā¦it wasnāt a test? It wasnāt Lord Viren. He doesnāt play tricks, and he doesnāt lie about tests. You nodded, trying to think of any possible explanation, before starting at a slow and inconspicuous pace back to Lord Virenās Study. A few guards noticed you, but it was normal to come in here. āJust, just going to doā¦inventory for Lord Viren.ā You nervously told Marco. He was a nice guard who just got assigned to some of the lower priority Guard Stations. Marco nodded, not sure what to do with that information, and you slipped into the study, immediately thumbing the shelves for the Compendium of Magical Components. A brown and silver tome, well-worn and thick. You pulled it from the shelf and turned it to the exact page youād been on before, rubbing the page until you saw it swirling into a black, inky abyss. Tossing it onto the desk, you began to gather the components, and a pestle and mortar. Then you remembered that thisā¦.wasnāt sanctioned. You drew the curtains, not before seeing Soren out sparing with your mother. Not before Soren seeing you. And then getting shield bashed with a thankfully wooden shield and knocked to the ground. You slammed the curtains closed and instead imagined seeing your mother berating the poor boy for looking away. Then you picked a chair up and propped it against the study door. If anyone tried opening it and couldnāt, you could be in trouble, but youād be in more trouble if anyone saw what you were doing. All of the components, ground up, even the drop of blood - produced from a needle prick. Finally you recited the very simple incantation, and the moment the magic faded you saw a room in the bowl. In. The. Bowl. Lord Viren had never let you cast spells more complicated thanā¦than⦠a light spell, this wasā¦out of your league. And out of your experience. A haze of tiredness washed over you, and you closed your eyes for a moment. Then the page of the book flipped as though a stiff breeze washed over it, and your eyes snapped open. You didnāt even have time to look at the book, however, for a pair of purple eyes, the sclera black, eyed you. The faintest crescent on the creatureās dark purple lips. Were those stars on their cheeks? Whateverā¦whoever they wereā¦they were beautiful. Simply enchanting. āWhoā¦are you?ā You asked, voice low. They shook their head so gently, and raised a Startouched finger to press against their lips. You felt yourself growing warm just looking at this person, and nodded. They raised a book, and flipped the page to one of black. The same words that youād just read. Their drug their finger in a line, and you cast your eyes to the book. The very same line. āWho are you?ā You asked. āMy name has no meaning to you.ā the book replied. You frowned slightly. āWhat are you?ā āHere to help.ā the book said, and you looked into the little bowl to see them smiling playfully. āWith what?ā āMagic.ā You raised your eyebrows, and made sure to let them see your surprise. The page was wiped clean of your words, and blank and black once more. āI have a mentor.ā āI will teach you anything your heart desires.ā The book read and you felt your heart start to pick itās pace up with each syllable you read. The words swam in your head and you swallowed thickly. Lord Viren would not be happy to know about this person. Lord Viren could not know about this person. A sharp knock came to the door, and you nearly jumped out of your skin, dumping the potion into the wash basin and slamming the book closed, picking it up and sliding it into the empty spot on the shelf where it belonged before scooting the chair out of the way and opening the door with the largest smile on your face that you could muster. Soren. He smiled, face red and hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. āH-hey, howās it.ā He paused, shuffling his helmet over to his other arm and leaning against the door, feet crossed cooly. āHowās it hanging?ā He tried.āFine, fine, why do you ask?ā You laughed, almost nervously. He quirked his lips sideways, a thought moving through his mind (you could always see Sorenās thoughts, as his face always scrunched in one way or another as he thought. āOh, I just. Are you busy?ā He asked. He was already red faced but you assumed he would be flushing now, had it not. āYes.ā You replied curtly. āC-Cataloging inventory for Lord Viren.ā You added, to make it less suspicious. Soren immediately deflated. āAh, yeah, okay. Cool cool.ā He nodded, peeking past you into the room. āWell, better get back to work.ā You said, smiling and pressing the door closed, before turning and sliding down to sit with your back against the door. You didnāt have time for Soren, you were enamored with whoever that was on the other side of the window-potion. You were in love. This turned outā¦.longer than I meant it to. I justā¦love Aavaros okay, thanks. *Side-Note, I personally didnāt realize Aavaros was male until he spoke so I transferred that to the reader lmao-ā¼