August 26, 2152
Sunlight poured in through the window onto Emory's face, an unfamiliar sensation as she had been getting up before dawn to train recently. She pulled the covers over her head before she jerked up in her bed suddenly with her eyes wide open.
Sam giggled, "So you're finally awake, sleepy head. Come on, it's past time to get up."
"How did I get here?" Emory groggily asked, "I remember coming to the room but then it gets fuzzy."
"I caught you and put you in bed," Tana laughed. Emory blinked a few times and looked at the three girls. Sam wore a bright green sundress with cheetah print leggings, a definite glow-up from her usual garb. Wearing a three-piece black suit with her sword on her back instead of around her waist, Tana too had dressed exceptionally. Surprisingly, even Tethys had elevated her attire, opting for a solid shiny black dress instead of her normal floral print dress.
Emory squinted, "Why are you all dressed up? Is Parents' Weekend really that important?" Having been on her own for so long, it was difficult for Emory to understand why they had dressed so well just to see their family.
"My family called ahead," Sam half squealed, "My aunt is coming! Do you know what that means? You're going to meet a Council Witch!"
"That's great," Emory faked a smile. She had expected someone from the Council to approach her today since she had received the note from Betty last night. But between all the new introductions and her throbbing hands, she wasn't in the mood to meet another important person. At least since this would be a public meeting, she wouldn't have to prove herself again.
"Let's get a move on," Tethys snapped, "I helped these two get ready, and you're going to be a much more challenging project then they were. Especially since I already took the liberty of looking through your clothes and found nothing." Emory huffed, but she knew it would be futile to resist. Hopping off the bed, she grabbed a towel and undergarments before heading to the bathroom.
Tethys called, "Don't take forever, but make sure your hair gets thoroughly washed."
"I know how to take a shower," Emory sarcastically shot back. Once she was out of the shower. Tethys rushed into the bathroom and started working on the curly mop. She brushed and tried to style it a few different ways, yet the curls, much like the person on whose head they resided, defied very attempt to be contained. Eventually, Tethys stopped fighting them and instead leaned into their nature, curling them tighter than usual. By the end, she looked like a movie star from centuries ago with rolling red curls that just went past her neck. Outside, the door out of the dorm room slammed followed by several sudden plops on the ground.
Gwen's voice carried, "Tethys, I got as many options as I could. But I've got some bad news as well. Families are already starting to gather in the courtyard, so we've got to pick it up."
"You heard the girl," Tethys pushed, "Let's get a move on." Emory huffed again but rose obediently from the seat and walked out into the common room.
"I didn't know what you liked or what would make you look the best, so I got a variety," Gwen sighed as she rubbed her arms. Four bags, each filled with different high-end dresses, surrounded the glitzy petite girl. She was wearing a black and red dress that matched her jet-black curls, though these were significantly shorter than Emory's.
"Even you dressed up," Emory groaned, "I thought you were hoping to keep a low profile."
Gwen moaned, "I was until I heard about the Council visiting us. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if my family showed up out of the blue today too. So, I have to look my best for my father."
"And what are those?" Emory shrieked as she looked in the bags, "I've never worn a dress in my life. Not even to my parents' funeral."
"There's a first time for everything. Now, I want you to try on this blue one, this black one, and this silver one," Tethys chided as she ignored Emory's complaints. Emory dragged her feet as she snatched the dresses from Tethys and clomped to the bathroom. Although the blue and black ones looked stunning, the other girls gasped when she came out wearing the silver dress. It was a little longer than a sundress, and when sunlight hit it, the dress sparkled with a rainbow glow.
Tethys smiled, "That's the one. You are literally glowing." Gwen, Sam, and Tana nodded in agreement with big smiles covering their faces.
"And there's one more thing," Sam whispered as she pulled out a black box, "I think you should wear these too. We're sorry; we took a peek while you were sleeping." Finally, Emory's face turned to a slight smile as she recognized the box being handed to her.
"I didn't get the chance to tell you all yesterday, but I got these from Serah Boyle. She said these were my mother's," Emory fought back tears as she donned the gauntlets, one silver like her dress while the other gold that complemented it perfectly. When she did, a surge of energy rushed through her body, and she could feel the magik laced in these gauntlets. Even the air around Emory had changed, rippling as if a breeze emanated from her.
Seeing this, Sam smirked, "Well, are you ready to go now?" Emory smiled back and nodded, so the four girls left for the courtyard. They blended in with the rest of the students headed that way, though blended wasn't the correct term. It would be more precise to say that they walked in the same direction, but these four stood out like celebrities among normal citizens. Word had gotten around school which hundred students had been selected from the assessment, and everyone knew these girls stood at the top of that elite group. Coupled with their jaw-dropping looks today, the crowd virtually parted before the girls. When they exited the school building and stood at the entrance, hordes of people turned and stared in amazement at the four. The others didn't notice, but Emory did; in fact, she felt like everyone in the area was gawking at her. However, it didn't take long for Sam and Tana to spot their families which allowed Emory to make a quick getaway. Gatrie, Innes, and their families were also there since everyone was from the same habitat unit.
"Samantha! My darling!" a middle-aged woman with similar green hair called, "You look gorgeous!"
Sam hugged the woman and motioned to Emory, "Mom, this is the girl I wrote to you about. This is Emory Reiss."
"Pleased to meet you Mrs. Rice," Emory bowed.
"My daughter wasn't lying," Mrs. Rice laughed, "You do indeed have wilder hair than our sphere. Please, call me Lyn. I'm glad my daughter has made a new friend, though she does it quite easily. Samantha, aren't you going to introduce your aunt?"
Sam cleared her throat, "Excuse me. Emory, please meet Lady Rice, leader of the Rice clan and a witch of the Council. My lady, please meet my friend, Emory Reiss." Emory bowed to the bosomy woman who accompanied Mrs. Rice.
The woman returned the bowed and spoke softly, "Good morning, Miss Reiss. I am Lady Rice, and I come on behalf of the Council of Witches. It is good to meet you." She extended her hand, which Emory quickly shook. Yet, when they touched, Emory felt an odd sensation course through her body as if Lady Rice was trying to determine how strong Emory was.
"It's amazing to meet a Council leader," Emory commented, "Though I don't really understand the Council, I do understand the role you are in."
"Thank you, Miss Reiss, perhaps we could speak alone while Samantha and her family catch up. I've heard so much about you; I'd like to get to know you a little more if I could," Lady Rice continued, though Emory could tell there was a hint of worry in her voice.
"Certainly," Emory smiled as she began to understand the reason for Lady Rice's worry, "This courtyard is quite large." In her head, she assumed the tension in Lady Rice's voice was due to the strength felt in Emory, meaning this woman was weaker than Emory. The pair strode off towards the entrance where there were far less people.
Lady Rice quickly probed, "I've heard that you practiced the Arcane sphere. Do you know that sphere is very important to the Council of Witches?"
"Yes, ma'am, I'm aware," Emory chuckled, "Sam freaked out when we discovered it. If it makes things simpler, you may call me Miss Aurelias." Lady Rice froze when Emory said this fact so casually.
"So, it's true then? You are from the Aurelias clan?" Lady Rice whispered.
"Through my mother," Emory casually continued, "Though I don't know much of my family's history or legacy in your community. I was mostly raised by technology and other family."
Lady Rice pushed a little harder, "When you say other family, who do you mean? Your father's family."
"No, I've never met anyone in my father's family," Emory shook her head, "The Blacks were my family when my parents died. When they were gone, it was just Jask and me."
"You poor child. Literal princess and you were raised by a soulless creation. I'm sorry for your loss, even though I never met your family," Lady Rice apologized.
"It's in the past; nothing to do about it now," Emory shrugged, "So, tell me, why did you come all this way to meet me? Sam told me you live on Earth."
Lady Rice gleefully replied, "Actually, it's not entirely the Council's fault for my arrival. Yes, we did receive intel that you were a student here, but I also never met Lady Aurelias in person. So, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Besides, your arrival has sent shockwaves through the Council."
"What's the big deal?" Emory scoffed, "I'm not the first of my clan or anything new."
"Your appearance has caused a split in the Council. You see, many of the leaders in the Council are young like me and became leaders after Lady Aurelias and her aura were far away. Council Witches learn a special spell that allows us to feel the general size of the mana pool of a person. This magik works better if either you're close to another person or if the source is extremely powerful. I'm sure you know that you are already incredibly strong despite your youth," Lady Rice explained.
"So that's what you did when we shook hands, right? As a new leader, you had to test my magik to see for yourself," Emory mused with a hint of annoyance, "Okay, so what's the problem? We're on the same side."
Lady Rice blushed, "Traditionally, an Aurelias of your strength would be Supreme Witch; however, your ignorance about the ways of the Council is a sticking point for one camp on the Council. Unfortunately, this said camp also has some lingering issues with how Lady Aurelias handled certain issues in the last war which have transferred feelings of resentment towards you. With both factors combined, these people would prefer you were on their side and abandon your claim to the position." Emory stopped walking and glared at Lady Rice. Magik began radiating away from her body, and her eyes had changed directly to the fierce sapphire and copper colors. Lady Rice cautiously took a step back, never taking her eyes off Emory, and slowly raised her hands in surrender. "Please forgive me, Lady Aurelias, if I gave you the impression that I belonged to this camp I mentioned," Lady Rice stuttered, "I belong to the other group, and we believe that you should be in charge of your own destiny, free to work with us or alone." Immediately, the magik receded as Emory calmed down.
Emory apologized, "I'm sorry for that display. I have a problem with bullies. You just came to meet me and warn me."
"Don't apologize for your magik," Lady Rice smiled, "If only those people could have seen that display. Yes, you are correct; I only came today to meet and warn you. Yet after meeting you, I want to do more, if I may." She reached in her pocket before retrieving a small cloudy crystal about the size of a finger. It changed to a glowing green when Lady Rice closed her eyes for a minute, moving her lips while doing so. When it returned to an obscured quartz color, she handed it to Emory.
"What is this? I mean, thank you, but I'll need some explanation," Emory politely accepted the crystal.
"As you may have guessed, there are some specialized spells witches haven't shared with the general public," Lady Rice confessed, "One of those spells is telepathy. What I gave you is called a link stone. All the Council Leaders have one, so you can use this to reach any of them whenever you like, no matter how far away you are. Just think of the Lord or Lady's name, pick up the link stone, and wait for it to turn green. Once it changes, that means the person you were trying to reach has 'picked up' so to say. Finally, if someone is trying to call you, the crystal will flash yellow and vibrate."
"That seems very useful; thank you again. If I can help you in return, please let me know," Emory bowed slightly after examining the crystal.
Lady Rice bowed in response, "No, thank you for working with us. I can't wait to see how strong you can grow. Obviously, I gave you my link stone, so you won't be able to reach me until tomorrow. Also, if you can't reach me or want to talk to someone with a bit more knowledge, please call Lord Ide. He's the oldest witch and the one who sent me today."
The two had walked quite a distance away from the crowds towards the entrance and were on their way to head back when Emory saw Gwen talking to an ogre of a man. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was staring at the ground while the brown-haired giant seemed to be expressing his frustration to the smaller girl. Seeing that her companion had stopped, Lady Rice looked over as well at the scene before gulping audibly. They watched for a couple minutes as the scene slowly deteriorated. Once again, the air began to vibrate when Emory stomped towards her friend.
"Hey, I don't care who you are! No one deserves to be berated like that!" Emory yelled as she approached Gwen and the large man.
"Mind your business!" the man snapped, "This is a family matter, so butt out." The man hadn't turned and assumed the commenter had walked away, so when Emory grabbed the bully's arm, he was quite stunned.
Emory enunciated every syllable, "Look here. I don't care if you are her father or the Supreme Commander; you will not speak to my friend like that again." The man stared into Emory's dichromatic eyes and didn't move a muscle, not that he could have. The ginger had taken in more magik on the walk over than she had used to stop the Supreme Commander's sword, and she could tell this man was weaker than that. Gwen finally looked up to see Emory holding onto her tormentor.
"Let him go, Emory," Gwen sniffled, "He was just leaving anyway." A slight rip was heard as Emory released the man's arm, but she continued to stare him down. Even a mark wrapped around his forearm, a clear indication of her strength.
"Gwen, don't forget what I said. And stop associating with such rude manners; it's not becoming of someone like you," the man grunted and huffed as he left the school grounds.
"Are you okay?" Emory asked with concern, "Who was that man?"
Gwen sighed, "That was my father. I'm fine; can we go back now?" Emory nodded as she hugged Gwen before the two walked back towards the school. Strangely, Lady Rice had left during the conflict as she was nowhere to be found.
"I don't want to pry," Emory spoke softly, "But you can talk to me about what happened if you want. I think it's pretty clear I'm on your side."
"He was just yelling at me for running away and complaining about all the trouble it caused him. He also offered to get me out of school to come back to Earth, but I don't want to go home," Gwen exploded into tears.
"Then you don't have to," Emory replied firmly, "I haven't gotten a chance to catch you up from dinner, but they gave me a high-ranking post. And you got the letter of achievement, right? So, you can go far away, out of his reach."
Gwen wiped her tears away, "Emory, why are you sticking your neck out so much for me? A month ago, we didn't even know each other. I don't know if I made this clear or not, but my father is a Council Witch and very powerful. He's not the type of person you want as an enemy."
"Listen, I've been alone most of my life. I lost all my family and kept everyone else at arms' length. But these last few weeks, I've felt more whole than I can remember. When the war happened last time, I wasn't strong or old enough to do anything. This time, nothing is going to take my friends away," Emory proudly claimed. Gwen smiled a little as the two finally reached the rest of their friends except Tethys. Fearing another incident, she frantically looked around for her, an action not unnoticed by the group. Tana nodded her head over her shoulder at Tethys and Viktor talking twenty feet away. There didn't appear to be any tension, which was a little odd considering Tethys had ignored the Commission all week. After evaluating the situation, Emory decided to closely monitor it but stayed away for the time being. Tethys smiled and nodded politely, but every time her eyes met Viktor's, they narrowed slightly. After fifteen minutes, Viktor left, and Tethys returned to the group. The Rice Clan gathered everyone and took them all to dinner off campus. Of course, they had planned to do this from the start, so they rented a party in the back of a pizza place, somewhere nice and casual. The conversation was light, though Emory hardly paid attention. She wasn't used to this much attention and was a recluse by nature. Still, it made her happy to see all her friends laughing and smiling together in one place. Soon they would be sent out to explore the greater world.
When dinner was finished, the party returned to campus. Most families were saying their goodbyes because even though it was called Parents' Weekend, most families only visited on Saturday. Lady Rice pulled Emory aside and whispered, "Lady Aurelias, good luck on your journey beyond the Sol System."
"Thank you, Lady Rice," Emory smirked, "You didn't just pull me aside to wish me well; what's up?"
"Do you know that man you argued with earlier today?" Lady Rice asked in a hushed tone.
"I learned he was my friend's father after he left," Emory shrugged, "Why? Who is he?"
Lady Rice scowled, "He's the leader of the group I spoke to you about. He wants to be Supreme Witch and sees you as a threat. Be careful what you talk about with his daughter around."
"You don't have to worry about her," Emory shook her head, "Gwen and her father don't get along. Although it is a good feeling to put a face on an unknown group. It helps me separate friend from foe." Her fist balled up as she finished the last line. Lady Rice nodded as she understood the meaning behind the young girl's words.
"The former Lady Aurelias never left the Sol System or, at least to my knowledge, never tried to use the link stone beyond it; however, distance shouldn't matter. Please contact us if you need anything or have any questions," Lady Rice bowed. Emory returned the bow as the families walked towards the entrance. Even though it was early for a weekend evening, the group decided to turn in early. That way, they could all get a good night's sleep before deciding squads for the upcoming mission. Though it was Emory's decision at the end of the day, she valued the input of her friends. This would be a decision that affected these hundred students' lives forever after all.