The next day Iris and Luna sparred on the rocky shore facing Peach Tree Bay. It was hotter out than usual, and the Ice Evoker was drenched in sweat. But regardless of the uncomfortable heat, digging in her heels and getting stronger was her top priority. Though she did wish she had more time to do so.

“Shield.”

A shield made of swirling water appeared in front of the Abjurer, cutting off her line of sight. The elf had been careless enough to cast a volley of Ice Flex in an attempt to distract the other sorceress, and her current strategy for trying to overwhelm her wasn’t working.

It didn’t matter how talented the elf was, water was an excellent affinity for abjuration and transmutation spells, which made breaking through Iris’ defense difficult. However, the advantage she had against the girl was that she could freeze sections of Iris’ shields and other spells with well-timed spells of her own.

“Ice Bolt.”

The cantrip flew off her carefully aimed hand, striking the center of the shield. The cold energy it contained caused part of the surface to freeze. Immediately, Luna began incanting the follow-up spell, but it seemed like Iris knew exactly what she was going to do.

“Water Coffin.”

A large glob of water shot out from each side of the swirling shield. Each made a wide arc before changing trajectory, dead set on the Ice Evoker. Even though it took a moment for Water Coffin to converge on its target, it was a substantial feat because both Shield and Water Coffin were both spells that required concentration. If Iris hadn’t had her shield up, it would have made its way to its target directly instead of taking a longer path.

If the Ice Sorceress canceled her spell, the feedback of mana flooding her system would feel awful and she ran the risk of being unable to freeze the globs of the Water Coffin. If that happened, she’d be forced to yield immediately. Once she was trapped in a coffin Iris could drop her shield and focus her full attention on keeping her ensnared within the coffin.

Luna’s only choice was to hope that she could divert Iris’ attention enough to get a few shots in at her directly. Instead of aiming directly at the other girl, Luna adjusted her aim to the top of the shield and hoped her calculations were correct.

“Iceball.”

The Tier 3 spell shot out from her hand with a whirr. Immediately, Luna began to incant the controlled version of Ice Flex, which would burn a little more mana and time but definitely take out one of the globs of water mere meters away from her.

“Ice Flex.”

A blur of icy blue liquid burst forth towards the mass of water approaching from the elf’s left, freezing it in place. Immediately she turned to the right, but the other mass of water was already on top of her. With little effort, it broke through her mana shield and collapsed onto her. Though it wasn’t able to fully hold her in place, she wasn’t able to escape its attempts to drag her down to the ground.

The sound of the Iceball exploding, however, signaled a shift in momentum. All at once, the water around her lost its strength and dropped to the ground. In front of her, Iris had shifted her shield up to block the blast of the Iceball, leaving her lower-half completely defenseless. It was an opportunity she couldn’t afford to waste.

Quickly, the Ice Sorceress raised her hand and incanted another Ice Bolt. If this hit, it would definitely knock the Water Abjurer off-axis and leave her open to an Ice Flex and Ice Bolt barrage. Iceball would be great too, but it was a little too lethal and slow.

“Ice Bolt.”

“Control Water.”

Iris, however, had rapidly recovered. She must have already been incanting when she raised her shield. The water around the Ice Sorceress quickly sprung to life and started grabbing at her body.

Meanwhile, the Ice Bolt struck the other sorceress’ mana shield, which weathered the blow, being more robust than a normal sorceress’ mana shield because of the girl’s school. But there was now an opening. If Luna could fire off enough Ice Bolts, that shield would break.

“Ice Bolt. Ice Bolt.”

“Water Coffin.”

Before she could fire off another one Ice Bolt, the water wrapping itself around her fully expanded itself and completely encased her, cutting off her air supply for at least a minute. She could barely make out Iris slowly walking toward her when she was finally given an airway.

By then there was only one thing on her mind.

“I yield!”

Instantly, the water dropped to the ground all at once, leaving her thoroughly drenched. It took a few moments for the bluette to catch her breath. When she finally looked up at her sparring partner, she was met with a face of mild agitation.

“Luna you’re being too hasty. It’s been nearly an hour and you have yet to best me even once. Normally you break my shield or overwhelm me half of the time.”

“I know,” the elf reluctantly acknowledged. As she spoke, she rubbed the back of her neck to make sure her shield resonator was still in one piece. She had a habit of checking it after every sparring session. It was better to be safe than sorry. After all, if she died here, then who would Iris have to rely on?

“Let me guess, you’re trying to come up with new strategies to impress Polaris’ friend?”

The Abjurer was almost right. It wasn’t that she was trying to learn a new style. Her aptitude for combat was great, but she wanted to push her finesse further. Though she wasn’t confident that she could push it further, especially given Iris’ statement about her non-stop loss streak so far. Perhaps it was best that she returned to her normal manner of fighting. But would that impress Polaris’ friend?

“Yeah. I thought about what you said the other day, and since it only makes sense that they’d be at least a Magus, I want to make a good impression.”

“Sis I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Just fight like you normally do. Polaris complimented your spellcraft, didn’t she?”

That was true. Polaris did say to keep practicing and honing her spellcraft. In that regard, Iris was right.

“She did.”

“Then what do you have to worry about? Come, let’s do another round. And take it slow this time, just do what naturally feels right”

Smiling, the girl took several paces back and lifted her left hand up, making a ‘come at me’ gesture.

The Evoker dug her feet into the ground and stared at the Abjurer for a moment. Then she lifted her hand, aiming it directly at the girl.

“Ice Bolt.”

“Shield.”

A mote of ice mana flew from her hand and slammed right into the shield of water. Unlike before, Luna would wait for Iris to make the next move. Whenever the girl split her attention, she created openings that could be easily exploited.

A momentary standoff ensued. However, Iris must have realized Luna wasn’t going to move. About half a minute later, she began her offensive.

“Water Pillar.”

A large pillar of water burst forth from the shield with high velocity. While it was fast, it was still slow enough for the bluette to dodge by simply sidestepping.

With little effort, Luna moved to the side of the pillar’s path and began to incant the controlled version of Ice Flex. The goal was to freeze the as much of the top of the Abjurer-Transmuter’s shield as possible. With the entire top frozen, it would take longer to adjust its positioning.

“Ice Flex.”

Waving her hand in the direction of the top of the shield, a long drag of bluish liquid flew forth from her hand and hit the top length of the shield, freezing it. Now, all that was left was overwhelm the other sorceress. A flashy spell-like Iceball would be more than enough to divert her attention. And while the girl was distracted, the elf could relentlessly assault her.

“Iceball.”

A ball of condensed ice soared from the elf’s fingertips toward the swirling shield’s peak. Iris took the bait, sluggishly adjusting her shield and leaving enough of a gap for several spells to get through to her mana shield.

Instantly, Luna dropped down onto the painful, jagged ground and began incanting her Ice Bolt cantrip. Aiming for the narrow gap between the shield and the rocks, she closed one eye to aid her aim. If she was a little too high or a little too low the bolt of energy would likely crash into the shield or ground.

“Ice Bolt,” she shouted, a mote of icy mana flying off the tip of her finger as she did so. Rapidly the Evoker began incanting her cantrip again. She had yet to hear the sound of her Iceball explode, but had to assume Iris would take notice of Ice Bolts flying under the shield after the first one. “Ice Bolt. Ice Bolt. Ice Bolt. Ice Bolt. Ice Bolt. Ice Bolt.”

Six more motes of icy mana shot out from her hand and flew toward the gap. Just before her second bolt reached the opening, the Iceball exploded, creating a spiky mess of ice that nearly broke the shield the Abjurer had produced, which was now well stretched out trying to contain the explosion.

The last Ice Bolt was cut off as the shield dropped to the ground. Iris must have noticed the first one fly right underneath her shield.

A moment later, the swirling shield of water lost its form and came crashing to the ground. Iris stood behind where it had, wearing a delighted smile.

“Shield break. That was smart thinking, I hadn’t even realized I’d left that much of a gap. See, you’re already great Luna, you just need time to improve is all.”

Time. That was something that the elf didn’t have. Polaris’ friend would be here soon. Then again, it was ridiculous to think she could profoundly improve her fighting style within a month when it was already impressive on its own. After all, she wasn’t a beginner when it came to fighting.

“I admit, you do have a point.”

The Water Sorceress walked over and put her hand on the elf’s shoulder.

“You’re still young Luna. You’ve got lots of time, but no one expects you to be a highly experienced fighter. Not yet at least,” the girl reassured her.

“I know. It’s just, I really want to impress, for both our sakes.”

A long-term goal Luna had was attracting the interest of a master who was skilled in aerial combat. Though now that she thought about it, she was going to run into a much larger issue. She wanted to learn under Polaris, but she also wanted to further her knowledge of spellcraft. She would likely have to ultimately choose one master if that were the case.

Then again, what human would take on a demi-human apprentice. They’d definitely never be considered an official apprentice of their master, but the knowledge gained would likely far outweigh everything else, depending on the master.

“I know you want to impress, but trying too hard might work against you too.”

“Yeah,” Luna responded while biting her lip. The thought of her spellcraft stunting was unfathomable, yet that very reality may present itself to her soon.

Iris smiled softly.

“How about another round?”

“You’re on.”

***

After their morning sparring session had ended, the pair enjoyed a late lunch and then continued to spar throughout the afternoon, recovering mana between bouts. Luna returned to her usual style, which caused her to win roughly half of the bouts with Iris. Eventually, they retired to have dinner.

Having enjoyed a delicious meal cooked by the elf, they now sat on the deck, staring out at Peach Tree Bay.

But the Ice Sorceress had a nagging feeling gnawing at her. If she hadn’t been trying so hard to prepare to impress Polaris’ friend, she and Iris likely would have only sparred for an hour. They could have spent time furthering their skills in other ways.

“Hey Iris?”

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry about earlier. I wasn’t a good sparring partner and because of that we spent all day sparring.”

“Don’t worry about it, I had fun. It was a nice change of pace from the usual routine. But Luna, even though a lot of good things are happening, you have to remember to be you, not someone else. Everyone has taken an interest in you for a reason, so you have to be a little more confident in yourself.”

A little more confident in herself, huh? If only liquid confidence existed like liquid courage did. Then she’d be confident all of the time. But that just wasn’t her.

Perhaps it was her lifestyle or personality, but she’d always been sorely lacking in the confidence department when it came to anything other than spellcraft and combat. Those were two aspects of her life where she couldn’t show any weakness. Being weak in a critical moment could easily lead to death.

“I’ll try to,” the bluette half-heartedly promised in a confident-sounding tone. Only time would tell if she could keep that promise.

“Good,” Iris replied, turning her head to look out at the bay.

The elf did the same. This was the first time she’d slowed down since last Friday. A whirlwind of events had happened in the time since, but by no means was that bad. Compared to the previous couple of months, the change in pace was welcome.

But something was missing. Her life currently felt like a puzzle that was missing a piece, but she couldn’t quite name the missing piece.

After thinking for about half a minute, she realized what it was: Felicity was in London. She’d been so wrapped up in the past few days events that she’d forgotten entirely about Felicity. And now she was disgusted with herself. It felt as if she was going to be asphyxiated by the guilt welling up within her.

But it wasn’t like Felicity’s disease was something that could be easily managed. Luna knew that well enough.

The Water Enchanter had Yarnick’s Disease. Without proper medication, trace amounts of mana would build up in and around her heart until eventually the magical energy reached a high enough point that her heart would essentially rip itself apart, killing her. The medication required to treat it certainly wasn’t cheap to make either, in part because the prices of the ingredients were ridiculously high.

The pain of being so useless was eating away at her. But that wasn’t the only thing eating at her about Felicity’s situation.

It was a magical disease. The best healers in a Frontier city being unable to do anything about it was one thing, but clerics from London being unable to cure the disease was another. Unfortunately, there was no way she could disprove what the healers here had told them. She had never been to London before, nor did she have any medical experience.

But still, something didn’t seem quite right. It never really had.

The elf turned to her companion to ask her opinion, but Iris had that same look of contemplation she always did when thinking about something serious. There could only be one matter on her mind that caused her to think in such a way.

“You’re thinking about Felicity, aren’t you?”

“I’m worried about her. What if we don’t see her again,” the Abjurer nervously asked.

It made sense that the girl was thinking of her sister. While they were relaxing, their elder sister was likely sweating bullets or in some sort of uncomfortable situation in London.

“Hey, we’re going to get her back,” the bluette reassured her adopted sister.

“But what if it’s too late. Yarnick’s progresses rapidly without proper medication.”

That was true. The disease was ridiculously aggressive, which is what made it so dangerous. If it hadn’t been found when it had, it could have killed Felicity in a matter of weeks.

There was nothing that she could do to ease Iris’ concerns though. Luna knew all too well that the odds were stacked against them.

The main issue was that they couldn’t personally get involved, else the Towers would get involved and then it would indeed be a very public fiasco. And even if they were able to get Felicity out of London, the issue of either finding a way to procure her medicine or cure her still needed to be solved.

But who would even be willing to help them with this present situation? Who would be able to get away with whisking away Felicity while keeping her disease under control?

Luna dug deep into her mind, searching for an answer.

There was one person who may be able to help, but the woman had no reason to help her with such a request as far as Luna could tell. On top of that, she had no idea what Polaris’ desires were and what would motivate the elf to aid her in this situation.

But it was possible the elf would help them. That alone was enough to put Luna at a little ease. Getting Iris onboard, however, was going to be another matter.

“Do you think… Polaris can help us?”

Upon hearing this, the blonde regarded her with a confused expression.

“Help us?”

“The Towers and us can’t intervene, but she can since she’s not part of the agreement. What if she knows someone who can cure Felicity?”

“Is that even possible?”

The Evoker wasn’t exactly certain if it was possible. But as far as she knew, elves were regarded for their deeper understanding and connection to magic than humans. That alone was something that indicated it might just be possible.

Plus, she had a gut feeling based on what she felt when circulating her essence that Polaris would be able to help.

“Well she is an elf. Who knows what she can and can’t do. Yarnick’s may resist magical healing, but can it resist elven magical healing?”

“You may have a point. But why would she do it?”

It was obvious Iris wanted to believe in her, but still had doubts.

“I don’t know if she would. But it’s something I’ll ask her about when I get a chance to. I don’t mind indebting myself to her if that means Felicity can finally live a normal life.”

Iris bit her lip and looked out at the bay. A nervous habit she had when she wanted to avoid a topic that made her uncomfortable. Her expression was one of contemplation.

Luna knew that the girl was internally fighting with herself over the elf indebting herself to the mysterious elf she’d only met in a pseudo-dream. An entirely reasonable thing to do.

But what other choice did they have? Felicity being in London was already a nerve-wracking situation for both of them, and it wasn’t going to just fix itself. Even if Polaris agreed to help, until the Water Enchanter was standing before them and hale, they would worry.

Though the elf had to admit, if the last couple months were nerve-wracking, this was going to be hell. Knowing someone was looking out for Felicity would at least take the edge off.

“Are you sure you want to do this,” the Water Abjurer asked using her serious tone. When their eyes met, she could sense the girl’s reluctant determination.

If they were going to go down this path, then they would walk it together. If it meant Luna indebted herself Polaris, then she was also indebted. That’s what her expression said. And so Luna had to convey how serious she was.

“Iris, I care about Felicity just as much as you do. She’s my adopted sister. Plus, I have this odd feeling that Polaris would be willing to help. Just a weird gut one you know. As long as Felicity’s safe, that’s all that really matters.”

Instantly, the girl’s expression melted into one of gratitude.

“I-I don’t know what to say,” Iris said, her voice quivering. “Thank you, Luna. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, we still have to convince Polaris. But I bet we’ll have her back before you know it.”

By now, a tear was beginning to stream down Iris’ face. It was clear a weight had been lifted off of her. Perhaps soon, she wouldn’t have so much to worry about anymore. The last few months had been quite difficult, and her mind could use a well-deserved break.

Speaking of giving the mind a break, dessert always seemed to help with that. While the elf was making dinner, she also decided it would be a good idea to make cupcakes as a way to make up for the sparring mishap earlier. Now seemed like the perfect time to enjoy them. And they would shift the topic before things got too sappy.

“Hey, how about I make us some dessert?”

“You made dessert? I’d love to try it.”

“Great, I made these cupcakes earlier that I think you’ll love.”

With that, the pair headed back into the glyph-cooled house to enjoy the delightful treats Luna had made.

London.

Felicity sat on the bed of her ‘new bedroom’, staring out the window at the bland landscape of London, the unsettling sight of The Shard within view. The trip to London had been unpleasant to say the least. At times, she doubted whether her father would be able to control his terrible temper or not. Fortunately he managed to do so. Otherwise, she’d likely be waiting in a hotel for his release.

When they arrived in London, they were greeted by her parents’ families, who were excited to see their children and grandchild. A welcome home party was thrown by her grandmother, a noblewoman from Devon. Fortunately for the Water Enchanter, she’d become terribly sick from the constant long-distance teleporting, and was thus excused from the festivities, which were undoubtedly a charade for her mother to rebuild her network of contacts.

The Water Sorceress was never one for parties anyway. She was more interested in pushing herself to become a better enchanter, though she had to admit it wouldn’t hurt to begin dabbling in another school.

But for now there were more pressing issues. Currently, she’d just finished filling out an application for Cambridge University, with the goal of getting into either Peterhouse or Sidney Sussex. Given that she was already a Tier 5 Enchanter who was likely near Tier 6 and just out of high school, it would be possible to attend the university so long as she relied on her parents’ connections and took extra tutoring before fully enrolling. And if she could keep up the act that she was indeed taking an interest in London, they would continue to supply her with her much-needed medication.

For now, all she could do was wait for Luna and Iris to save her. At least, that’s the appearance she wanted to show. She couldn’t solely rely on the hope of them coming though. Her only hope, as far as she could tell was Eden.

A quiet knock at the door drew her from her thoughts, followed by the sound of the door unlocking and creaking opening to reveal the face of her mother, her expression unreadable.

“Are you feeling better today, Felicity,” the woman asked in an emotionless tone.

While her mother was usually distant, she seemed to have somehow become even more distant than before. As far as Felicity was concerned, another scheme was currently in the works, which meant she needed to tread carefully. If she misstepped the consequences would be disastrous.

Though it made her want to asphyxiate, lying and acting as demure as possible to her mother would keep her alive. It was her only hope of staying alive now that she thought of it. London was as cutthroat as one could get especially given she was a member of the nobility. And from what she’d discerned, nobles were definitely assholes.

“Yes mother. I’ve finished my application for Cambridge,” the younger Enchanter meekly replied.

“Good. I suppose you still want Eden’s personal glyph?”

Felicity quietly nodded in response. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up, but she wasn’t going to say anything either for fear of not getting it. As far as her elder sisters went, she hadn’t heard anything from Eden in the past seven years, whereas she had to endure at least four LRC calls with Skylar a year.

While she wanted to have faith that Eden hadn’t abandoned her, she also had to consider that she hadn’t seen or heard from her sister in a long time. Would she still be the kind, loving older sister she remembered? Felicity could only hope that to be the case.

“Here,” her mother extended her hand, her messaging device displaying a glyph.

Immediately, Felicity copied it into her ‘new’ messaging device. Now all she needed to do was contact Eden and ask her to meet her at the university.

“Thank you, mother,” the younger Water Sorceress replied and bowed her head.

Her mother seemed to be enjoying the display of fealty. But that wouldn’t affect her opinion of her daughter, Felicity already knew that.

“Now then, you’d best prepare for your trip to Cambridge tomorrow. First impressions are important. You can’t afford to mess up your new life, can you?” Her mother emphasized the last part, adding a hint of malice.

It was a warning that if the girl messed this up, there would be consequences. Just thinking about what those consequences could be was enough to make her shudder. It definitely wouldn’t be pleasant. Not in the least. She felt a constriction rising within her chest.

“No. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity you have given me.”

“Good girl,” Elsie said before patting the girl on the head and standing up. “I’ll see you at dinner then.”

“Yes, Mother.”

With that, the elder Water Enchanter left the room, quietly closing the door and locking it behind her.

Felicity gritted her teeth. How long would she be able to keep up the act before she broke? Would she even be able to make it through the next week?

She needed to make her move. If anyone would be willing to help her, it was Eden. And so as soon as she could tell her mother was down the hall, Felicity pulled out her messaging device and called her eldest sister.

At first there was no response, and it took three attempts before the spell was accepted.

“Hello, this is Eden Fitzgerald. May I have your name and how you received my private glyph,” a familiar, albeit matured, voice asked over the spell.

“Sis is that you?”

“Sis? Who is… wait,” Eden replied, before pausing for a moment. “That voice. Felicity is that you?”

“It’s me sis.”

“I haven’t heard from you in years, why contact me all of a sudden,” the woman asked in a confused tone.

Years? But she sent letters to Eden every month. She even tried to get her to respond to LRC calls. How could it be that her eldest sister hadn’t known she’d been trying to get into contact with her ever since she left?

Unless there was someone interfering with the matter. But given she was currently no different from a bird locked in a cage, Felicity knew she was most likely being listened in on from elsewhere. Especially given the fact the messaging device was given to her.

Before she realized it, a distressed sigh escaped her lips. Immediately, she bit her lip to silence as much of the sound as possible, but it was far too late to hide it completely.

Silence awkwardly ensued as she tried to figure out how to salvage the situation. If she couldn’t get Eden’s help, then there would be nothing she could do and she’d be forced to be a puppet underneath her mother.

Before she could come up with something, Eden spoke first.

“Take the nine o’clock Great Northern train from Victoria Station. I’ll meet you at the station here shortly after you arrive,” the woman stated before ending the spell, leaving Felicity wondering if she’d just stepped into something that would make her current situation much worse.