The Lady's Fury (3)

"What?!" Iris shouted. Her face was a mess – twisted with anger and shock. Her eyes were red, and she looked like she was about to break down crying. "Why? Why would you do that? Why would father do that?"

The illusive figure chuckled. "I thought you hated him." Madam Yotsura's lips curled up. "Besides, this gives you room to breathe, better protection and you gain that autonomy you wanted oh so much." She rested her finger against her lips as she her gaze wandered about lazily. "Or was this not what you wanted, Young Lady?" Despite her innocent and thoughtful expression, she had the fire of defiance and pride in her eyes. Madam Yotsura was doing everything she can to anger Iris.

"Why are you on his side on this?" The young woman whispered. "He's a monster – a creature that shouldn't exist. Even he doesn't know how many he's killed over the years. He enjoys it, I know it. What do you think will happen once you put him in a tournament that simulates battle?"

Madam Yotsura chuckled. "You give him too little credit – I'm sure he knows how many he has killed." She fiddled with a lock of her hair. "Besides, why do you care so much? Or do you feel lonely up there? Should we send someone else to join you? Someone you can get along with?" Her expression grew colder. "Someone who is not a cold-blooded killer?"

Iris gritted her teeth. "Enough!" She shouted. "I want to talk to Father – I'm done with you." She turned her back on the illusion of the beautiful woman. "Contact me when he is available." She grasped the pendant and ended the spell. "I hate you." She whispered.

The next several days were mostly uneventful, save for a few deadly glares from Iris, and the envious looks Aether constantly got from his other classmates. He divided his time between studying for the exam and preparing for the tournament.

"You need to get more sleep." Mara was the first to state that. And she did so in an explosive way – by barging into his room at midnight, grabbing the class material he was reading over and throwing his pillow on his face. "Go sleep!" She then barged out. Aether felt as if a small, contained tornado had passed through his room. Seth, on the other hand, was so startled by Mara that he hit his head somewhere as he woke up from his deep sleep.

"Ow, fuck." He mumbled. "Why do I suffer from your sins, man?" He grumbled before turning and falling asleep almost immediately again.

Clara, not having to worry about the exams at all, devoted her time to practicing. She strengthened her body, as well as her mind. Wherever she went, she would always spy a few students watching her awe. She always gave them a show, be it magical or not. As her followers began to rise, Iris' group of sheep only grew smaller.

Days passed like that, mostly uneventful, filled with monotonous activities. It would have continued as such too, but as it happens, nothing ever goes according to plan.

"Aether, wake up!" Clara's voice pierced the young man's dreams, pulling him to the present and real. The urgency in her voice made away with any sleepiness he had.

"What's wrong?" He scrambled to get up from the comfortable patch of grass.

"I don't know, but this isn't right." She answered, somehow succeeding in not explaining anything.

"Could you try to be a bit more specific?" Aether asked as he followed her out of the woods. He furrowed his brows as they walked. Had he really slept for the entire day? He had just laid down for a nap shortly after breakfast. And now, the sun had set, the sky was dark.

Clara just pointed at the sky. "It's dark." She stated the obvious. "It's not even noon yet." She then added the actually important piece of information. "The sky should not be dark yet." She once again stated the obvious.

"Ah." Now things made some more sense to Aether. He closed his eyes, and once he opened them, his vision had changed. "That's odd." He mumbled. "It's not an illusion, I don't think." Clara nodded. "It's not. Whatever it is, it's coming from the woods north of here." She paused. "I think." She then added, making her sound a lot less trustworthy all of a sudden.

"Uh, Clara." Aether mumbled. "The forest ends over here." He pulled her along. "You really shouldn't lead the way." He added with a chuckle, but his chuckle disappeared as soon as they left the woods and stepped out into the open.

Most of the school had gathered outside, both the professors and the students seemed lost as to what to do. His gaze wandered about, searching for a certain person. It took him a while to find her among the crowd, and as soon as he did, he dashed towards her.

"We need to talk to mom about- hey, wait!" Clara ran after him.

Aether stopped as soon as he reached the person he was looking for. Mara had covered her nose with a scented handkerchief, but from her disgusted expression alone, he could see it wasn't working.

"Is it wildmagic?" He asked, skipping the usual pleasantries.

Mara seemed startled at first, but then quickly shook her head. "No – it's black magic. Smells like a rotting corpse." She clenched her fist. "But no one can control dark magic – it's just a myth!"

Clara's eyes widened. "The only person who had succeeded in it died five years ago." She glanced at Aether. "We must find mom – if there is a new dark mage, we must stop them before they are corrupted by their own power."

"Go." Aether said with a quick nod. "Mara, find Professor Cross and tell her to get everyone indoors."

"What about you?" Clara asked. Aether gritted his teeth. "I'll alert the guards at the gate to get indoors as well, and I'll come join everyone else. Now go – dark magic is too dangerous to be left alone."