The halls buzzed with quiet routine. First-period classes had started, elemental drills rang out from the southern wing, and Voss's lectures droned on behind crystal screens. One student didn't attend the day before; that boy was Daniel Reyes. To the faculty's knowledge, he went on a mission with Regalia Lionheart.
Despite being only fifteen, the headmaster allowed him to pursue a quest. That shocked quite a few faculty members. Some question the headmaster's decision, while others speculate that the boy must be 'special' somehow. Others don't frankly care. However, faculty aside, his absence hasn't gone unnoticed by the students, who wanted to know more.
One of those students is Sera Lionheart. Like her other classmates, she doesn't know that her older sister is in the academy or even training Daniel at that. She wonders where that boy has gone.
The morning breeze swept through the trees along the Moonshade Walk, a narrow path behind the academy's greenhouse wing. It was surprisingly quiet despite being morning. Pale lantern light flickered against the stone tiles, and the occasional shimmer of magical pollen danced between the bushes like starlight made restless. Sera sat on the edge of a marble bench, her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the skyline beyond the treetops.
A tight knot twisted in her chest, and not even she could explain why. Besides talking to Amber, she hadn't spoken to anyone else about her feelings. She hadn't told how Daniel moved during his last sparring match against Rhett, or the heat she sometimes sensed in him, even when he wasn't using fire. And definitely not about the way her instincts wouldn't leave her alone.
She couldn't explain it. Only that it felt like he was more than he let on. Then again, why should she care so much? It's just a boy she barely knows. Why would she care so much? She thought to herself. Sera thought back to the time when Daniel helped her and Amber in that alleyway.
His courage ignited something in her to do the same. She remembered people like her sister, Regalia: strong, perseverant, and unwavering in her resolve to improve. She admired that about him; maybe that's why she's curious about him. Like her older sister, she doesn't know much about him but wants to know.
She was lost in deep thought until she heard the sound of footsteps. They were soft and measured. She didn't turn around, but she knew who it was. A girl she had known for a long time, but never really spoke to until recently.
"Huh, something told me you'd be out here."
Vivian Dalton appeared in the periphery of her vision, dressed in her typical lab coat with her student uniform underneath. Her arms folded behind her back like a commander surveying a battlefield she didn't fully own.
"This spot's quiet enough for secrets," Vivan stated.
"I'm not here for secrets," Sera added.
Vivian smiled faintly. "No, but you're thinking about one."
A second passed. Sera looked over at Vivian slowly. "You've been watching Daniel."
"So have you. We went on that little expedition together to find him, but you made us leave early."
Sera recalls that day. It was when she saw Daniel walk into the woods alone, purposefully taking each step. Curious, she looked at him, but decided not to follow him. She trusted Daniel, and hopefully, he trusted her too. Just as she was about to walk away, she heard someone call out to her.
"Don't tell me you're stalking him too."
Sera stopped and turned.
A girl in a lab coat. Her hair is down and windswept. She stepped from the opposite hill path. She held a notebook under one arm and raised an eyebrow. Sera knew this girl. She's seen her before in political family gatherings. Although they were much younger during those times, it was none other than Vivian Dalton.
"I saw him first," she added, "if we're keeping score."
Sera exhaled, a bit embarrassed. "I wasn't stalking."
Vivian grinned. "Sure. Just following a boy into a forest without asking why."
Sera looked at Vivian, then at the tree line where Daniel once was—gone.
"We've seen each other before, right? From those 'social' gatherings when we were younger? Sera Lionheart?"
Sera nodded. "Yeah, I remember, Vivian Dalton."
"Our parents occasionally do business now and then."
Vivian nodded and said nothing. Her attention focused back to the treeline.
"I thought he might've been sneaking off. He's been... off lately."
Vivian's smile faded slightly. "Yeah. I noticed that, too."
There was a pause. Then Vivian stepped forward, glancing at Sera. "You know him well?"
Sera hesitated. "We're... acquaintances, to say the least. Friends at best."
Vivian folded her arms. "You make it sound like you two have some weird relationship."
Sera doesn't respond. There was a moment of silence before Vivian spoke again.
"I've only spoken to him once, but it was enough to know he's hiding something."
Sera's brow lifted. "You sound sure."
Vivian nodded. "His hand. The way he flinched when someone got too close to the truth. It's not guilt—it's weight. Like he's afraid of what'll happen if it gets out."
Sera frowned. "What kind of weight?"
Vivian turned to face the woods. "The kind that burns through people."
There was another beat of silence.
Then, Vivian stepped up beside her. "You want to follow him?"
Sera looked at her with conflict. She then shook her head. "No, I trust Daniel. He is probably just doing some training."
Vivian tilted her head. "You sure~? I'm not like you, Lionheart, so I'm gonna get going~ toodles."
Sera jerks back at Vivian, who now walks away from her to return to her previous activity. Sera looks down and tightens her grip on her hands. After some internal struggles, she runs to Vivian.
"Wait," she exclaimed.
Vivian turned back to look at her. "What?"
Sera hesitated, then spoke. "I'm not gonna let you interrupt him... so I'm coming to ensure you don't do anything." She faltered.
Vivian looked at her and smirked. "Oh, sure. You're gonna keep an eye on me, huh? Sure. " Vivian waved off as she walked towards Daniel's last location.
Sera reluctantly followed her.
They made their way down the slope together. They were silent the whole way, picking up the trail where Daniel had gone minutes earlier. But by the time they reached the trail, he was gone.
Deeper in the woods, Daniel stood in a hidden clearing, sweat glistening down his arms, flame flickering in tight, precise pulses as Regalia circled him.
"Don't swing unless your mind is clear," she snapped. "You're not fighting the air; you're fighting doubt."
Daniel grunted, flames surging around his fists. "You ever get tired of lecturing?"
Regalia's blade darted forward in reply. Daniel barely dodged.
"No," she said. "Because you're still hearing it instead of understanding it."
Sera stopped walking. Her hand hovered near the hilt on her back.
"Do you hear that?"
Vivian frowned. "What?"
"...Steel."
They listened. In the distance, faint echoes of impact—blade on flame, shout on silence. It was muffled but exact.
Vivian tilted her head. "Someone's fighting."
Sera squinted toward the trees. "It's him."
Vivian started forward, but Sera gently stopped her with one arm. "Wait," she said softly. "This isn't just training... Whoever he's with—he trusts them."
Vivian crossed her arms, reluctantly stopping. "You're not curious?"
"I am," Sera admitted. "But not enough to break it."
Sera looked at Vivian and smiled. "He'll tell us when he's ready. I trust Danny."
Vivian looked at her and sighed. The two girls stood in the shadows of the trees, watching firelight flicker through the leaves, too far to see clearly, close enough to feel its intensity.
Sera narrowed her eyes. "He's not running from something, she thought. He's preparing for it."
"Huh?" Vivan bellows as she slumps forward.
Sera grabs Vivian by the wrist and walks away, forcing her to come with. "Let's go, we shouldn't do anything else."
Vivian complains, but as she struggles, she realizes she's powerless against Sera's grip. They return to the way they came and then separate.
"That was a little over two weeks ago. We were close to finding more about him, but you chickened out." Vivan whinged.
Sera looked at Vivian, then back at the skyline. "Yeah, sorry. I just—" she falters.
Vivian tilts her head. There was an awkward pause between them. Then, Sera spoke again.
"He's not lying. I don't think he even knows how much he's hiding."
Vivian sat next to Sera. She crossed one leg over the other, resting her elbow on her knee. "That's what makes it interesting," she said.
Sera turned toward her slowly. "You're not just curious anymore."
Vivian met her gaze evenly. "No. I'm not."
"You want to uncover him."
"Yes." Vivian didn't miss a beat.
"And you don't care what it costs him?"
Vivian's expression softened—barely. "If he's dangerous, we'd better understand what's at stake. And if he's something else... something rare?"
She leaned in slightly. "Then the truth belongs to more than just him."
Sera looked away. "I want to trust him," she whispered. "But I feel like I'm betraying that trust just by having this conversation."
Vivian straightened. "Then don't think of it as betrayal. Think of it as protection."
Sera clenched her jaw. "...What do you mean?"
Vivian stood, brushing dust from her sleeve. "Because whatever he's hiding, he's not facing it alone."
Sera hesitated. "You're going to keep pushing."
Vivian nodded. "And I'm going to talk to Adrien next."
Sera stood quickly. "Why him?"
"He's Daniel's best friend. I bet he's the only person to see the worst of him and still stay. If anyone knows what he's fighting, it's Adrien."
Sera looked torn. "You're going to pressure him," she said. "I doubt that'll work."
Vivian shrugged. "I'm going to ask him," Vivian corrected, voice smooth. "And see what leaks through."
She gets up from the bench and turns to leave. Sera called after her: "And if Adrien says nothing?"
Vivian didn't turn. "Then we dig somewhere else."
Sera stood in the courtyard long after Vivian left, staring at the path ahead. Again, she felt that knot in her chest. She didn't want to spy. She didn't want to chase ghosts. But if Vivian was going to move with or without her... Then maybe it was better if someone walked with a conscience, even if it meant walking closer to the flame.
And far above, a figure stood silently from the high lattice walkway outside the third-floor observatory. A girl in muted green and dusk-purple robes, her silhouette wrapped in stillness, half-obscured by the climbing shadow of the morning light. She said nothing and didn't move at all; she just watched.
The wind tugged gently at the ends of her hair, deep brown with moss. Her eyes followed the two girls below as they parted ways, one sharp with intention, the other weighed by doubt. She didn't smile, but something behind her gaze flickered. It wasn't judgment, but interest. Like a puzzle had just begun laying out its pieces, and she was the only one patient enough to see where they might lead.
She turned before she was seen. Vanishing through the gilded arch like she had never been there at all.
——————————————————————
The room buzzed with quiet concentration. Diagrams of elemental reaction theory glowed beside the board, flickering with soft glyphlight as a professor paced across the front row in slow rhythm. Near the center, Adrien sat half-slouched in his chair, twirling his pen between his fingers, only half-listening. His eyes flickered up toward the window now and then, wondering if Daniel would return today.
He didn't see the door open, but the room quieted fast. The moment Vivian stepped in, accompanied by the golden presence of Sera, every head turned. The two carried an authority that didn't require words—one by birthright, the other by presence alone.
The professor blinked, "Can I help you, Miss Dalton?"
Vivian smiled, courteous and cool. "Apologies, Professor Alne. I need to borrow one of your students. It's a personal matter."
Alne hesitated, then looked to the student she indicated. "Adrien Novich?"
Adrien looked up, brow raised.
Vivian gestured faintly. "Now, please."
Adrien looked around, then muttered something under his breath. He closed his notebook and stood. He smirked at the class behind him as he followed the two girls into the hall. They led him just outside the lecture ring, past a stone arch framed by trailing ivy and lantern glyphs. The sound of wind chimes echoed faintly in the open air beyond.
Adrien crossed his arms as they stopped. "Gonna be honest," he said, "when you pulled me out of class, I thought this was going to be about me."
Vivian raised an eyebrow. "It is. In a way."
Sera lingered behind her, arms folded, gaze turned slightly away. She still hadn't said a word. Vivian's voice was smooth. "It's about Daniel."
Adrien's smile didn't fade, but his posture changed—more guarded. Vivian didn't miss it.
"You're his best friend," she said. "You've been with him longer than anyone. We know he's hiding something."
Adrien shrugged. "Aren't we all?"
"He's not just holding back," Vivian pressed. "He's holding something in. Power. Instinct. A curse, maybe. We don't want to hurt him. But we need to understand him."
Adrien tilted his head. "You ever think he's not hiding anything dangerous... just something he doesn't understand yet?"
Sera finally spoke, quietly: "We're worried for him."
Adrien turned to her, his expression softer now. "I get that," he said. "And I appreciate it, but poking around while he's off-campus isn't going to earn you his trust. And trust me, he doesn't need another reason to keep quiet."
Vivian folded her arms. "Then tell us what you do know."
Adrien shrugged once more, folding his arms after. "I know he's stronger than most people give him credit for. I know he carries stuff he doesn't talk about. And I know—when he's ready—he'll speak for himself."
Vivian narrowed her eyes. "You're deflecting."
Adrien flashed the same easy grin. "No. I'm protecting."
His gaze turns to Sera. "From what I've seen... Daniel doesn't hide because he's dangerous. He hides because he's scared of what he could become."
Sera's eyes widen slightly.
He pushed off the wall. "He's stubborn, but when he's ready to talk... he'll come to us."
"Us?" Vivian asked.
Adrien winks at Vivian. "Those he trusts."
He looked at Sera one more time—gentler this time. "That includes you, by the way. But if you start poking too hard, he might stop seeing you that way."
Adrien then turned and walked away, not before handing Sera a small note. He walked back toward the stairs without waiting for dismissal. Vivian's jaw tightened, her eyes narrowing as she watched him leave. Sera stood quiet, guilt growing like a stone in her chest.
She turned from Vivian, looked at the note, and felt her guilt crumble slightly.
"He didn't lie," she said. "But he didn't tell us anything either."
Vivian didn't look at her. "He's better at this than I thought."
Far below, the faintest flicker of deep-brown moss hair moved behind the ivy in the shade of the courtyard trees. Still watching, waiting.