To the exams!

~Back in the present~

"So, did you save her?" Turilla asked. "And did you find out why she was stuck onto that gate?"

The four of them, Mama, Turilla, Imogen and Mrs. Kimberly sat at the table while the rest of the children got the place ready to bid farewell to Imogen and Turilla. The three of them closely listened to Mama's story with utter curiosity.

"I am still not that stage of strongest necromancer nor have I found a way to get to her." Mama Claire sighed.

"Don't worry you'll meet her someday again." Mrs. KImberly said, comforting Mama.

"Ok, whatever! What happened next during your exams!?" Imogen asked, completely invested in the story.

"well~ "

~Back to flashback~

Young Claire was in the darkness alone again. It felt like she was inside a sphere that was engulfed in black. Claire felt neither safe nor afraid about being there. As she continued to walk forward with no pathway to follow, she heard a small short-lived screech before everything turned black.

When Claire awoke from her unconscious state, she found herself on the floor of a rather ravishing house. Pure white walls, newly bought furnishing and in the middle of it all was a round table full of different kinds of food, both known and unknown to her. There were rooms with no doors which probably meant that people could come and go out as they pleased.

After analyzing her surroundings, Claire began to scan her own body. She was shocked to find out that her hands were more soft and thinner than usual. Her pink nails were painted black and looked very glossy. Something a little less shocking was her clothes. Claire wore the kind of outfit that was very much foreing to her. Blue pants hugged her legs while black, heavy, and hard shoes covered her ankles. An earthly brown jacket was worn over a plain white T-shirt.

'This is really weird, where on earth am I?' she questioned internally before her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden eruption of laughter that seemed to have been coming from beyond the wall in front of her. 'So there are people in this place.'

"Heyyyyy Kailanna, whatcha doin on the floor?" A girl about the same age as Claire asked, offering her a hand.

'Who is Kailanna?' Claire questioned internally as he took the girl's hand. "Haha… I- I slipped." She finally replied.

'who on this good earth is this person? what should I do now?' Claire panicked as any thoughts kept crowding up her mind.

"Be Careful next time, Kailanna." The other chuckled, pulling Claire up to her feet.

The other girl who wore some sort of paint on herself pulled Claire to the other girls who wore the same kind of fashion as she did. As the girl kept chattering with Claire who answered very vaguely, there was a knock on the round orange door that was right behind them. Another girl who had strawberry blond hair squealed before she went over to open it.

The stranger on the other side had black hair but the insides were in blue, they greeted the other before walking over to Claire to give her a hug. Claire was left perplexed when she noticed the other's hair was blue on the inside. Their faces were very familiar to her but she couldn't put a finger on them.

"705!"

Claire tore out of her flashback as she looked at Mrs. Kimberly and screamed.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!? THAT WAS YOU? YOU WERE FROM THE- You were from that world? AND YOU WERE 705!?" Mama cried while she gave a very loud slap onto Mrs. Kimberly's face as she stood beside her. "AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! Why.... do… why do I have to realize it after all these years?"

"I'm sorry Claire… It is a fault on my end." Mrs. Kimberly said, giving a sad smile. "Yes, it was me who was in your illusion during your second exam."

"Then- Then what about your exam?" Mama sniffled.

"I… I was-" they were interrupted by one of the children calling out to them.

"Mama! Apologies for the interruption but the carriage will be here shortly." Sebastian said while rubbing his fingers anxiously, wondering if he may have disturbed an important conversation.

"Thank you, Sebastian. Kim, we'll- we shall discuss this later tonight." Mama said before she went with sebastien.

"This is the second time I have made her cry." Mrs. Kimberly sighed sitting back onto her chair. "Hup, well girls why don't you two go back to packing up your things?"

"Yes, Mrs. Kimberly," Turilla said standing up with Imogen. "Oh, and Mrs. Kim, I hope you resolve things with Mama. From the way she looked hurt it's seemed like she treasures you very much."

"Thank you Turilla." Mrs. Kim said with a smile.

While the rest of the household was busy with setting up, Mrs. Kimberly sat all alone sighing. Minutes later she got up and went back into her room, still having that same sad, lonely face. This was very concerning to those who observed her.

"Hey, Imogen…?" Turilla asked as she packed her things into a bag. "Do you think we would need extra clothes?"

"Probably, just take some just in case." Imogen replied while arranging their room.

The room looked the same except there weren't any clothes nor shoes in the cupboards, the beds were neatly arranged and the dust swept away. The two of them turned to face their human empty room to bid it their last farewell.

Turilla traced every corner of the room, reminiscing all the things she and Imogen spent in that room before she let out a sniffle that made Imogen sigh. Swinging her arm around her best friend, she said "Come on crybaby. The carriage will be here soon."

"I'm not a crybaby!" Turilla pouted, crossing her arms while a tear ran down her cheek.

"That's right you are not a crybaby but a drama queen." Imogen laughed. "We will be gone for only a week or so."

The two of them walked together to the well-decorated dining room that was covered in streamers, balloons, and banners that the younger children had made for them. It seemed as though neither Mama nor Mrs. Kimberly had settled their earlier argument seeing as they didn't make eye contact or speak in full sentences. This worried the two girls but they decided not to show it on their faces.

"Come now, my two angels. Your carriage awaits you." Mama said giving both her palms for the girls to take.

As Mama led the two of them to the carriage, all the other children cheered for the two girls and congratulated them for their challenge ahead. Just as Mama opened the carriage door, Turilla leaped over her a gave a tight hug.

"Thank you Mama for all that you have done for us. You are such an amazing person. I apologize for all the trouble I have caused during my time here." She said.

"I too very much appreciate all that the things that you have done for me and Turilla. You are the mother I never had and you have loved and cared for me more than anyone else." Imogen said, making Mama tear even more.

"You two- it's going to be very lonely without the two of you," Mama replied hugging them tighter. "I love you so very much."

Everyone stood outside bidding the two girls farewell until the carriage was out of sight. Some of them ran behind it only to walk back home again with tears filled in their eyes.

"Onward to the exams!" Turilla said pointing towards the sky. "That... will begin tomorrow..."