Chris arrived at the garden earlier than planned.
The path leading to it curved gently away from the main academy grounds, swallowed by hedges trimmed just enough to look intentional. The farther one walked, the more the noise of students faded into something distant and harmless. At the center sat the old bench beneath the tree. Its stone surface was cool even in the afternoon sun, edges rounded smooth by time. Moss clung stubbornly to one corner, as if refusing to be removed.
Aurelia's place.
Chris sat there now, notebook resting on his lap, though he hadn't opened it yet. He watched the leaves overhead sway lazily, sunlight slipping through in thin, shifting lines. The garden felt unchanged, and yet he didn't. Ever since the previous day, his thoughts had been heavier, more deliberate. He understood himself better now. Understood what he had inherited. What he had taken responsibility for.
Footsteps approached along the gravel path.
Chris looked up.
Aurelia emerged first, walking with her usual composed posture. Her blonde hair flowed neatly behind her, her expression calm in a way that suggested control. But there was something different from before. She no longer looked like she was bracing herself for judgment with every step.
A girl walked beside her, half a step behind. Small and slender, with brown hair braided down her back and large round glasses that slipped slightly down her nose. She clutched a wooden box etched with faint magical runes to her chest, fingers tense around it as if it were a shield. Her gaze stayed fixed on the ground.
Chris straightened a little.
Aurelia stopped in front of him. "Sorry," she said. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"You didn't," Chris replied. His voice came easily now, without the stiffness of their first conversations. "I got here early."
His eyes flicked briefly to the girl beside her. "I didn't know you were bringing someone."
"I ran into her earlier," Aurelia said. "This is Mira."
Mira startled slightly at hearing her name. "H-hello," she said, bowing quickly. "I'm sorry for intruding."
"You're not really intruding," Chris said calmly.
She hesitated, then nodded, hiding behind Aurelia slightly.
Aurelia glanced at him before continuing. "She asked me for help. With studying."
Chris felt it then.
Not alarm. Not certainty. Just a quiet tug at the back of his thoughts.
Why Aurelia?
The academy was full of capable students. Popular ones. Tutors. Seniors who offered help openly. Even study groups advertised on notice boards.
Why her?
He didn't ask out loud. Instead, he let the question settle quietly inside him.
"She came all this way to ask you?" he asked, keeping his tone gentle.
Mira nodded quickly. "I- I didn't know who else to ask. If I fail this semester, I'll be held back."
Her voice wavered at the end. She swallowed hard, eyes shining behind her glasses.
Aurelia didn't hesitate. "I agreed," she said quietly. "I couldn't refuse."
Chris watched her as she spoke. The way her shoulders squared slightly, as if she'd already accepted the weight of it. Responsibility clung to her as naturally as breathing.
Of course you did.
He exhaled slowly and nodded. "That's fine," he said. "We can study together."
Mira's head snapped up. "R-really?"
Chris smiled faintly. "If Aurelia is helping you, I'll help too."
For a moment, Mira looked stunned. Then she bowed deeply, almost dropping her box in the process. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
Chris noticed how she still avoided his eyes. How she stood closer to Aurelia instead.
He closed his notebook and shifted slightly on the bench, making space. Aurelia sat beside him without hesitation. That felt new. Comfortable. Unforced.
After a while, Mira opened the wooden box carefully, revealing a small stack of board game components tucked neatly inside: rune tokens, tiny spell-track boards, and a folded rulesheet.
Chris blinked, surprised. "These are yours?"
Mira's hands tightened slightly. "I… um… yes. I like strategy board games." She hesitated, then added quickly, "I know it's childish. People say it's a waste of time."
Aurelia frowned gently. "Why would it be childish?"
Mira stared at the pieces, embarrassed. "Because everyone else studies properly. I'm the only one playing games."
"Its nothing to be embarrassed about," Aurelia said. "Strategy games take focus. Pattern recognition. Decision-making. None of that is useless."
Mira's eyes flicked up, startled. "You… really think so?"
Aurelia nodded. "If something makes you be happy, it's not embarrassing."
Chris leaned back a little, watching Mira relax by the smallest margin. Her shoulders weren't quite as curled in anymore. The tension in her fingers eased, and she closed the box slowly.
"That makes sense," she whispered.
"Alright," Chris said, shifting the topic as he looked between the two girls. "What exactly are you struggling with?"
Mira drew her shoulders in, almost as if bracing for impact. "A lot of things," she murmured. "Mostly memorising. I understand ideas when I hear them, or when someone shows me with examples, but when it's written in the textbook… my brain stops listening. It all turns into a wall of words."
Chris nodded slowly. "So you're good at visual stuff? "
"Yes." Mira exhaled in relief, as though someone had finally said it aloud. "If someone explains it like a story or a shape or… something I can imagine, it sticks. But the exact definitions? The steps? The formulas?" She shook her head. "It's like trying to hold a fog."
Aurelia leaned forward slightly. "What subjects are giving you the most trouble?"
"History," Mira answered immediately. "And elemental theory.…" She winced.
Chris huffed a soft laugh, but not unkindly. "History I understand. Those dates are ridiculous."
"And they expect us to remember who signed which treaty," Mira added, bringing her hands to her temples. "Why does the year matter so much? The story is what's important."
Aurelia smiled faintly. "You remember the story?"
"All of it," Mira said without hesitation. "Every event, every conflict. Just… not the numbers."
Chris exchanged a look with Aurelia, and for a moment their shared understanding felt almost warm. "That's not the worst problem to have," he said. "We can work with that."
Mira's eyes widened. "You can?"
"Of course," Aurelia said. "Let's try something. Pick one topic you're struggling with."
Mira paused, then breathed, "The Treaty of Halden."
Chris almost groaned. "Why would you pick the worst one?"
"Because it's the one I keep failing questions on," Mira said miserably.
Aurelia lifted a hand gently. "Alright. Tell us the part you remember."
Mira's expression brightened, not dramatically, but enough. "It started after the border conflict between the Northreach clans and the Haldenian council. The clans wanted autonomy, not just ceremonial permission. But the council kept ignoring them until the new leader rose and-"
Chris watched in fascination as Mira spoke. Her voice wasn't loud, but it flowed, steady and precise, as if the events were unfolding in front of her. She didn't search for words; she painted them.
She remembered motives, personalities, alliances, broken promises, turning points, the ambush in mountain passes. It was all threaded together with vivid clarity.
When she finally paused for breath, Chris leaned back slowly. "You remember all that, but not the date?"
Mira wilted. "No."
"But that's like… ninety percent of the exam," Chris said, baffled.
Aurelia agreed, glancing at him. "If she understands the logic of the events, the sequence, and the reasons behind the treaty, we can attach the dates to the parts she already remembers."
Mira blinked. "Attach them… how?"
"Think of the date as part of the scene," Chris said, warming to the idea.
Aurelia nodded approvingly. "Yes. Anchor the number to something already in the story. For example, if the treaty was in AE-214, you could imagine the council chamber having two tall walls, one broken window, and four signatures on the document."
Mira tilted her head slowly. "So… I don't have to remember the numbers alone. I can tie them to something visual."
"Exactly," Chris said.
A small, hesitant smile touched her lips. "I can try that"
"Good." Aurelia tapped her notes. "Let's move to elemental theory. What happens there?"
Mira grimaced. "The terminology. The classification tables. All the technical names for energy patterns. I understand the concepts when someone demonstrates them. But the tables feel like… punishment."
Chris snorted. "They kind of are."
"Chris," Aurelia said, elbowing him lightly.
"What? They are." He turned to Mira. "Which table is the worst?"
"The resonance categories," Mira whispered. "Minor, intermediate, major, unstable, flux-tied…" She rubbed her forehead. "My mind knows what they look like when someone performs them, but the list doesn't match the picture."
"Then we reorganize the list," Aurelia said simply.
Chris raised an eyebrow. "We can just do that?"
"We're not changing the test," Aurelia clarified. "We're changing how she remembers it."
"Oh." Chris nodded. "Right. That."
Aurelia tapped her quill thoughtfully. "Show me how you picture them."
Mira hesitated, then used her hands to gesture small shifting shapes in the air. "Minor resonance feels like a soft ripple. Intermediate is a thicker wave. Major is loud… like a bell. Unstable flickers and Flux-tied is like a swirl"
Chris looked at Aurelia. Aurelia looked at him. They both had the same thought.
"That's actually incredible," Chris said.
Mira looked startled. "It is?"
"Yes," Aurelia said firmly. "Because that means we can give each category a visual label. Something you can hold onto. Then match the technical name to the visual."
Chris rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. "Sort of like translating it from textbook language to… Mira language."
Aurelia gave him a sidelong glance. "That's a surprisingly good way to put it."
Mira stared at both of them as if they had given her a secret spell. "I didn't know studying could be like this," she whispered. "It always felt like there was only one correct way to learn."
"Well, whoever decided that was wrong," Chris said.
Aurelia nodded. "Your mind works beautifully. We're just helping it speak in the dialect the Academy expects."
Mira let out a laugh that sounded like it surprised even her. "I… think I can try again. With this."
"Good," Aurelia said warmly. "We'll do it together."
Chris found himself smiling without meaning to. Something about the moment settled in him. Quiet, simple, unexpected. He couldn't help glancing at Aurelia again. She caught the look and returned it, a small curve at the corner of her mouth.
They were getting better at this. At trusting each other. At moving like a team.
And yet, somewhere in the quiet of his thoughts, the earlier question returned, humming like a thread being pulled.
"Why Aurelia? Why ask Aurelia specifically?", Chris thought to himself.
Chris didn't voice his suspicion. The atmosphere was too gentle, too fragile, and Mira looked relieved to finally be understood.
For now, he simply closed his notebook, listening as Aurelia began explaining another concept. Her voice was steady, calm. Mira listened with focus. And the garden. No. Their garden, felt strangely warm today.