After their work was over for the day, Luke and Samuel took to the skies and began heading towards the location of the magician tutor that Luke had mentioned during the lunch break. Samuel was actually following Luke from a little behind because he had no idea where that place it.

“Is it far?” He asked his friend curiously in a loud voice.

“Not that far,” replied Luke loudly.

The two men continued to fly for several minutes in silence until Luke announced that they should descend. So, Samuel followed his friend by flying towards the ground and landing gently next to him.

“Here we are,” said Luke in a businesslike tone.

Samuel stared at the building with a raised eyebrow, stunned by how bad it looked. The area they were standing in was a well developed area, but this building was anything but developed. It was slowly falling apart, with cracks and holes in walls and moss covering its outer appearance.

“This person… She lives here?” He asked, unsure whether his friend was being serious.

“She has to live somewhere,” replied Luke with a shrug. “I guess I forgot to tell you but she is living on her own because she doesn't want to depend on her father's help even though he's a council member and all.”

“Wow,” said Samuel, looking amazed. “She's got a strong will.”

“Yeah. She does, but don't get too shocked when you meet her, okay? Things end up becoming a little crazy around her when she gets carried away,” said Luke, warning his friend with a broad grin on his face.

“Crazy? What do you mean?” Samuel asked, perplexed to see his friend grinning like that.

Luke shook his head and said, “I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it's great entertainment to watch.”

Samuel looked puzzled as he followed his friend through the half hanging door and into the building. Even the interior was shabby looking, and the paint on the walls were faded.

“Hello?” Luke asked in a carrying voice. “Lucia? Are you there?”

Immediately, a response came from the back as a girl's voice said loudly, “Yes, yes, yes! I'm here! I'm here! Please wait! I'm coming now!”

Her voice was filled with an overwhelming energy that did not fit well with the building she resided in. Those were Samuel's thoughts as both men waited until they heard footsteps coming from the back of the building.

A moment later, a young girl walked out of the threshold and began saying, “Welcome–!”

Before she could say anymore, she suddenly tumbled and fell flat on the floor with her face to the ground. Samuel's eyes shot up in shock as he realised she had bumped her shoe against the bottom frame of the entrance and ended up tripping over.

Luke nudged closer to his friend and muttered, “See what I mean? Entertainment.”

“How the heck did that happen?” She asked slowly, looking around her.

Then she remembered that she had guests and quickly shot up to her feet while setting her nose before beaming at them.

“Welcome, guests. My name is Lucia Hartford and welcome to my workshop,” she introduced herself with a wide smile.

“More like your home,” commented Luke with a laugh, causing her to look very surprised when she recognised him.

“Luke!” She said, looking amazed.

“It's good to see you're doing good,” he said with a pleasant smile.

“I'm doing good? Is that how you describe this?” She asked him in exasperation, gesturing at the lifestyle she was leading.

“Exasperated as always,” he remarked with another laugh.

Lucia smiled faintly and turned to Samuel to ask, “Are you, by any chance, his friend?” When Samuel nodded, she drew closer to him and whispered, “Do be careful with him. He's a bit of a smart mouth.”

“I can hear you,” said Luke from the side in a sardonic voice wipe Samuel laughed.

“I'm Samuel. Call me Sam if you like,” he said, extending his hand out.

“Hi, Sam!” She said happily, clasping his hand and shaking it firmly. Then she looked at Luke and asked, “So, what brought you and your humble friend here today?”

Luke snorted and said, “My friend's in need of your help.”

“By help, you mean lessons in learning magic?” She asked him, looked curiously at Samuel before looking back at Luke. “Sorry, but I only teach kids.”

“Not him,” said Luke in exasperation. “It's his son that needs your help.”

“His son?!” She exclaimed happily, leaning forward and looking at him with glittering eyes full of hope. “How old is your son? How many kids do you have? Has he tried feeling his energy? How long had he been trying to do it? Did he fail?”

Samuel was taken aback at the sudden energetic rapid questions he was bombarded with. He looked at his friend in wonder, who smirked as he seemed to be enjoying the spectacle, however, as she got carried away with her.

“Wow! Wow!” Luke said loudly, waving his hands at her in a gesture of waving her down. “Calm down, Lucia! You're scaring my friend!”

His words made Lucia come to herself and made her realise she had been carrying away. She looked shocked for a moment before looking towards Samuel and beginning to apologize to him.

“I'm sorry!” She said, and she deeply bowed her head. “I’m truly sorry if I scared you.”

“It's okay, Lucia. You don't have to apologize. In fact, this idiot's pulling your leg,” replied Samuel, eying his friend in amusement.

Suddenly understanding that she was tricked, she turned and said to Luke in a threatening voice, “Luke, I'm sure warning you, I'll turn you into an animal if you annoy me.”

Realising that she was serious, he quickly put his hands together like in praying and said, “No. Anything but that.”

“Hmph!” She said firmly, satisfied to see him cowering before her and turned to Samuel. “So, how may I help you, Sam?”

“My son's turned twelve five days ago and begun trying to feel his energy. I'm also raising a daughter of a friend because of a complication on their family end. Anyway, she's managed to feel her energy on the second day and even managed to form a small energy ball in her hands, but my son still hasn't been able to feel his energy in the slightest.”

Lucia listening silently to his explanation, and once he finished, she nodded her head in understanding.

“Okay. I got the picture,” she said, and smiled reassuringly at him. “There's nothing to worry about, Sam. Most kids are able to feel their energy by five days and rare cases takes ten days. However, the fact that they can't even detect their energy by the fifth day means that they're able to use magic.”

“How can you be is sure, Lucia?” He asked her curiously.

“If they can't do that one, they can do the next one. It's that simple,” she said as of that was obvious. “We Angels are capable of much more, but the council members let their power get to their heads and cause them to diminish the chances of the society being able to use magic.”

“You're sure that my son can learn magic?” He asked her once more to make sure.

“I am completely sure of it,”she replied firmly, “because I too failed to feel my energy by the seventh day. It's then that my father began teaching me magic, and I discovered the truth behind our society. I didn't like it, and so I came out to try spread awareness with my teachings and letting society know that there is an alternative.”

“Your father's part of the council, right?” Luke asked, and when she nodded, he continued to ask, “Then why don't you request him for some help?”

She shook her head and said, “No. I don't want to rely on my father because it'll put him on the spot and cause him trouble. I'm also more inclined to trying my best on my own to achieve my goals instead of leeching off my parent's wealth.”

“Oh,” said Luke shortly, nodding in understanding.

“That's a good of you to depend on yourself,” commented Samuel with a smile.

“If I can't depend on myself, I wouldn't be capable of teaching my students,” she replied with a smile.

“Yeah. Good work staying positive but the reality states otherwise,” stated Luke, gesturing once again at the state of her lifestyle. “The council sure are suppressing your attempts to spread word of your attempts to teach magic and spread awareness.”

Lucia nodded sadly, but she quickly put on a brave face and exclaimed, “Even so, I won't give up! I'll keep my fighting spirit till the end!”

As Luke laughed, Samuel smiled and asked, “So, will you be interested in teaching my son–?”

“Absolutely!” She said quietly even before be completed his sentence, causing him to look at her in surprise. “Also, as for the fee, simply share your meals with me. That's all I ask for.”

“That's it?” Samuel asked, looking amazed. “Don't you need more income to establish your career?”

She shook her head and said, “Spreading awareness comes first because that's where I'm currently at. Once that's done, I'll be able to build my career and share my teachings with others.”

Samuel nodded in understanding, and said, “Okay. So, how will you teach? Will you stay over at our house or–?”

“I'll stay at your place,” she said quickly, stopping him in mid sentence. “Um… This place is falling apart and, um, I don't really know where else to go so… is it okay to stay at your home? If it's on the floor, I can adjust!”

As Luke chortled with laugher from the side, Samuel smiled kindly and said, “I'm okay with it, and there's no need for you to sleep on the floor. We have a big house with separate rooms. There's only one bathroom, so we'll have to share it. If you want to use the kitchen, you'll need my wife's permission.”

Lucian chuckled at his last sentence and stated, “I'm sorry, but I'm not very good at cooking, so I'll just eat whatever you give me. That's beneficial for both of us.”

“That's understandable,” said Samuel, nodding his head in agreement.

“Okay! Well, I'll go pack my things and get back, so please wait a few minutes,” she said excitedly before hurting through the entrance way into the building.

As soon as she left, Luke came to stand next to his friend and asked, “Are you satisfied now?”

Samuel nodded and replied, “Yeah. I'm now filled with hope that my son has a bright future ahead.” He turned to face Luke and said gratefully, “Thank you very much, Luke. You really helped me out on this one.”

“Don't mention it, man,” said Luke with a laugh. “Helping a friend out is the right thing to do. Besides, I also wanted to see her achieve her goal as well, so it's partially selfishness in my part. So, you'll have to forgive me if I wasn't being fully honest with you.”

Samuel laughed and said, “It's fine. You did it with good intentions so I'm not bothered by it.”

“Thanks, man! That makes me so happy to hear it!” His friend replied happily.

A moment later, they heard footsteps from the inside of the building and heard Lucia say, “Sorry for making you–ah!”

Her words got cut off when she suddenly cried out when she bumped her shoe against the entrance frame and fell flat on her face once again. The big bag she had been carrying stood firmly on its feet in contrast to its owner.

“It's just that… you'll have to contend with her clumsiness and getting carried away with her excitement,” Luke muttered, advising his friend with a wry smile on his face.

“I agree,” replied Samuel with a nod, but he smiled as his worry for his son had finally been cleared and was replaced with a bright ray of hope.