It's in the blood

Ray went to a long cabinet beside the wall and searched for something while Iris followed him with excitement. He soon found what he was searching for, a little bottle with a golden substance in it that he presented to Iris.

"If you want to be tested, you must drink this potion and after that, I will have to read you."

"To read me?" she exclaimed.

"It's just a way of saying, my magic will try to bring yours to the surface, if there is any, and then I can study its intensity and quality. The ability of one's magic is defined at birth but can be changed. One with low magic quality has to work much more to materialise it than one with a better quality, but in time and with much study, they could be comparable," he explained, giving the potion to Iris who took it reluctantly.

In the end she drank it. The potion seemed to flow in her blood and she felt it going through her whole body. She raised her head to look at Ray who was studying her.

"Please sit here, my lady," he said, leading her to the same chair the knight used before. "I have to hold your hands in order for my magic to reach yours, so with your permission…"

He kneeled in front of her, stretching out his hands towards her, waiting for her move to. The moment Iris took them, an electrifying sensation went from her fingers to every part of her body. It went looking for something, searching desperately and, when it found it, a bubbling sensation erupted from that place, growing until it reached Ray.

His eyes, which were closed earlier, opened suddenly, growing wider and wider. They looked at each other for a long while, letting the magic flow from one to the other. Then the mage smiled. A wonderful smile which lightened his whole face, and Iris felt it in his hands she was still touching, making her lips curl as well.

"My lady, you are a wonder," he whispered. "Such Intensity. It's the first time I witnessed something like this."

Iris felt her heart overflowing. With magic, with answers and with something else, something warm and tingling. Suddenly, she realised how close they were and let go, breaking the sensation and letting her feel a little empty.

"What happened? It disappeared!" she asked, scared that it wasn't her earlier, that it was actually his magic she just felt.

"It didn't disappear, you are just unable to reach it alone yet?"

"What? Why?"

"You didn't have your awakening yet," he explained and continued upon seeing her puzzled face, "You have to awaken your power by citing an incantation and training to be able to use it."

"Awaken my powers?"

He stood up, going to his desk, making her stand as well.

"Yes, my lady. It's a ritual where you have to draw a rune on your face and recite some words while you have your prefered element nearby to use as fuel. First, we'll need to find your affinity, that's easy for most people, if you don't have some rare affinity like lightning. And then I can teach you all you need to know. You have an enormous mana vessel which just waits to be filled."

Ray started pacing through the room and talking quickly about what she should do next and which path should be pursued, but Iris was hearing only half of it.

She couldn't keep her eyes from staring at her hands, already missing the sensation of magic. She never felt something like that before. The thrill, the tingling, the warmth. Those were already missed by her body which screamed for it.

At the same time there was something else inside, a thought, an unsure one that kept asking 'what if' questions. One that attenuated the need, one that was trying to pull her away from this discovery.

"... and of course, I have to send a letter to the headmaster and maybe they'll bring you to the academy for testing. But that would raise other questions as well…"

The words woke her up and when she looked at Ray, the mage was already sitting at his desk with a sheet of paper ready. He was looking for something to write with while continuing his monologue.

Of course, there would be questions, she wasn't supposed to have magic. Normally, people are tested when they turn 10, she felt like an anomaly. Wasn't her family 'barren'? That was the answer she expected, not the one she desired, but the one nearest home. Her family wasn't in that academy book Ray mentioned before. She never told anyone about her ancestors because her mother warned her. No one knew, besides her family. No one. Until now.

Her hands felt sweaty and cold at the same time, while her knees threatened to give in. She stared at him for a few seconds before her words could come out. "N-no… wait!"

The mage stopped with the pen above the paper, looking at her with raised eyebrows and waiting for her next words. He seemed to not know what to wait for.

"You mustn't! Don't send anything!"

"But, my lady, this could be a big discovery. We have to know why you can do magic if your name's not in the Magic Bloods book."

"Just wait… wait a little so I can process these new events," she came closer to his desk.

"But, my lady…" he insisted.

"Like you said, this can become something big, many questions will be raised. I-i… shouldn't have magic. Something happened… I know my ancestors were related to the old kings…. Mother never told me anything else…."

Iris paused, her eyes looking everywhere in the room, stopping suddenly at a point behind Ray. He waited, eyebrows still raised. His mouth was a little open, waiting to say something.

"What will Benjamin say?"

"I'm sure my lord will welcome a strong mage with open arms. You've seen a fraction of what I can do and I'm only a lower case," he tried to convince her, unsure of the situation. " And that's not all. Mages can aid both warriors and simple people greatly. My lady only needs some lessons and training and…"

"You don't know," she interrupted. "You've never seen something like this. You said it yourself. What if I make a fool of myself? If the others reject me? If my husband pushes me away?"

"What if not?" Ray tried to reason but her mind couldn't focus on anything. How could it when hundreds of thoughts went spiralling in her head.

"I beg of you, don't tell anybody. Not even my husband. Promise me you'll wait!" she leaned on the table, looking directly in his eyes.

He studied her flushed face and whatever he saw there made his eyes soften and he nodded. "I promise, my lady."

The tension in her body was released a little and she sighed deeply to calm her hands. "I appreciate it, " she said, turning to leave, but his voice stopped her.

"I don't know whether there is fear or excitement, and it might not be my place to interfere, but hiding something so big and powerful, most likely, from your husband is not a good idea."

She stared, wide eyed at him, at a loss for words.

"I-i know. That's not my intention at all. I just need time to think about it. It's so much to take in. I'll come back after…I'll just think about it."

She turned on her heels and left as quickly as she could.