Undesired Attention

A couple of years had passed since the day I first opened eyes in this world. Since I had retained my memories from my past life, it was easy for me to learn this world's language and read the writing here. It was quite similar to my own language back in my past life. I quickly learnt how to read. Way faster than normal kids in this world.

On one tranquil evening I was sitting on a rock in the forest reading a book on magic when a heard a twig break. My head moved in the direction of the twig and I saw someone hide behind the tree.

I quickly concentrated and made my wings go back inside my body. Controlling my wings was like learning how to wear clothes by yourself or how to fold laundry properly. It was hard for a kid to do but once they grew up it'd be as easy as breathing. Well atleast that's what my mother said. For now I had to concentrate and use up alot of energy to hide my wings and it was troublesome,which was also why I had been hid away in this old castle in the forest until I could master hiding my wings.

I walked towards the place the sound had come from, hoping whoever it was would just think what they saw was a trick of their eyes. I looked behind the tree and found a small girl about my size crouching down. She looked up at me and then smiled, "hehe hey!"

I frowned and looked at her with an indifferent expression, "What are you doing here all alone?"

"Why? Aren't you by yourself too?"

Cheeky brat, I thought to myself as I replied, "I'm much older than you are. Are you lost, little girl?"

"What are you talking about? We are almost the same height."

I sighed, "just leave", and went back to my rock to read my book.

She'd leave by herself soon and even if she did see my wings, it was no problem. No one believed a child anyways. I was back to reading my book, but after a few minutes a rock hit my head.

I frowned at the girl who had thrown it. "What?", I growled at her.

She pouted and said, "play with me."

Ugh. This was annoying. I wasn't interested in playing at all. I replied to her, "don't want to."

"Please?", she said while making an innocent face.

"Okay fine. For a few minutes", I agreed to humor her for a bit, "but you have to go back home after that."

I made a mental note to not come to read here again, "so what ya wanna play?", I asked her.

"Do you know how to use magic?", she asked me.

Well I did know some things, way more than she would anyways but I shaked my head saying that I didn't know how to use it.

To that she replied, "no worries I'll show you." She closed her eyes in concentration and puckered her lips into an o blowing into thin air. Soon a transparent ball like a bubble started forming from her mouth. She kept on increasing it's size till it was as big as her leg. She then placed her toe at the side of the bubble like thing and her leg was enveloped in it.

"See?", she said with sparks in her eyes, "aren't I amazing?"

Well yes I guess she was better than the average child but still I was better so I just nodded.

"Really? I'll make one for you too then", she said with a smile. She made three more of those things and placed her other leg in one and gave two to me. After we had both 'worn' the bubbles she told me to jump and so I did.

The jump was longer and enhanced than how a normal jump would be.

"isn't this fun?", she grinned at me proudly.

I just returned her smile. It was enjoyable, similar to jumping on beds just alot higher. I ended up playing with her more than a few minutes and even though I had said I wouldn't come back here I ended up coming there day after day after day.

Maybe I was bored of only interacting with my mother and a few servants. It was refreshing to hang out with this little girl and see her boast about her magic tricks. She also acted very warmly towards me and I liked that.

With time I stopped thinking of her as a brat and started thinking of her as a friend. A peaceful year passed away like this, with my spending time with her.

One day while I was returning home after playing outside with her. I entered my castle while humming a tune.

When I entered inside what I saw first was that my father was there. Did I mention my father was the king of the country, "Tryselvia"

He didn't visit often. Mostly it was to meet mother. He didn't show much interest in me but today it seemed he had been waiting for me.

"Come here", he said. I walked towards him wondering what he wanted. He placed his fingers on my forehead.

"Hmm. Your concealment has gotten better. I heard you are skilled with a lot of things?"

I simply looked up at his tall figure as I didn't know what to say or what he was getting at.

"Learn to completely conceal them, and then I'll let you come to the main palace and allow you into a magic school", he said and turned away from me. "And hurry it up. I want you to perfect the concealment till next year."

I just glanced at him dumbfounded. What was with the sudden interest? He barely even talked to me and now he wanted to take me to the main palace? I glanced sideways at my mother and that's when I confirmed that something indeed wasn't right. She was wearing a worried expression.

"Do you understand?", he asked me and I nodded. "I'll send you a teacher to help you with the concealment and other basic magic training. So make sure you work hard. Let's go eat now." He went to the dining table after stating that and mother and I followed. It was a quiet meal like usual, and I slept afterwards.

I dropped down on my stomach on the bed and went straight to sleep. Right now when I slept my wings would remain unconcealed but mother said that once I got control over them they'd stay concealed even in my sleep, but for now I had to sleep on my stomach.

I woke up the next morning, not expecting the change that arrived with it. Now along with my mother and the few servants there, an old man with fancy clothing and bunch of knights had arrived in the castle. The old man was seated across my mother and the knights were standing behind him.

"Ah, Ryan", my mother called me as she noticed my presence, she had a weary expression on her face. "This will be your teacher, Erthor. Greet him."

I greeted him. So this was supposed to be the man who was going to train me. I didn't think that much of it. After all how hard could it even be? Turns out I jinxed myself.

He was supposed to be my magic teacher but magic wasn't what he started with on the first day. He started with some manual exercises and made me exercise the entire morning, and handed me a couple of complicated looking books while saying, "I heard you are quite intelligent for your age. Let's see if you can read this. So I can tell how much work I have to put in."

I was annoyed because the books were actually hard to understand and there were so many of them. They weren't about how to perform magic but about it's origin and other boring stuff.

Before I knew it, it was night. I wasn't able to head off to the forest. Well there was always tomorrow I thought as I went straight to bed.

Soon I realised that I was wrong about that too. It seemed that my dad had told the tutor and the knights to keep me training hard and not allow me to goof off by myself in the forest as it was dangerous. I think I preferred it when he didn't look a glance at me as long as I was in this secluded area.

It seemed that I wouldn't be able to see my little friend, Lotte again. Well whatever it's not like I expected to play with her forever, but somehow I still felt somewhat sad. Perhaps I had grown attached to her more than I let on. It didn't matter anymore though. Another day of training began for me.