Lyla Grimwood's Perspective

After the encounter we had with the bullies, Mia and I reported the incident to the school in the hope that it would put an end to any future conflicts. That same afternoon, after eating our dinner, we hurried our way over to the dorms to avoid any complications.

When it was finally time to call it a day, we both found ourselves lying in our individual beds, ready for bed. However, as time passed I was unable to get a wink of sleep. My mind wandered back to the three boys and all the bad things they did to me, like pushing me around, sending me on their errands, and breaking my toys.

Letting out a deep breath, I closed my eyes, attempting to clear my mind and settle down for the night. "Lyla..." Just then, a hushed whisper reached my ear. "Lyla!" the same voice came again, a bit louder this time.

It's Mia! As soon as I came to the realization, I immediately snapped my eyes open and turned to gaze in her direction. "What?" I whispered back. Since it was dark, the only thing I could make out was her silhouette.

"Ha, I thought you were awake," I heard Mia mumble before asking, "What are you doing?"

"Well, trying to sleep but I can't," I replied.

"Me—" Before Mia could finish what she was going to say, our other roommate from the top bunk interrupted with a hushed, "Shhh! Keep it down, girls!"

"Sorry," Mia replied. There was a moment of silence as Mia rustled out of her bed. Quietly, she stood up and tiptoed her way over to me, her presence barely discernible in the dimly lit room. She then picked up the blanket I was under and nestled herself beside me. "I can't sleep either," she whispered, causing us both to let out a small giggle. Once we settled, she asked, "Are you worried about those boys coming after us again?"

"Yeah, a little," I admitted, thankful that the lack of light was shielding my expression.

"We reported them to the school so don't worry, everything is going to be okay," Mia spoke, her words confident and assuring.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, my tone coming off the complete opposite of hers.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure," she replied, lacking slightly her previous enthusiasm. "But I have an amazing big brother and a big sister if the boys come after you again, I'll tell one of them."

"And what will they do?" I asked, curious about her siblings she spoke so highly of.

"Both my brother and sister are in the advanced combat class so they'll make those bullies sorry that they ever messed with us," she answered, this time her words were laced with absolute trust and confidence that one of her siblings would come to our rescue if the bullies came again.

Hearing this, a smile crossed my face, and I felt grateful that I now had Mia to call a friend. "You said your brother and sister are both in the advanced combat class, did you not wish to follow on their footsteps?" I asked, Mia's words putting me at ease.

"Well... I tried," she answered, her tone dropping slightly into an unmistakable pitch of sadness. "But it's as if I inherited my mother's lack of skill in the sword and my father's lack of skill for magic, I just couldn't get into either one."

Whoops, didn't mean to make her sad. "I don't know, that attack you launched at the bully seemed pretty effective," I commented, evoking a small uncertain giggle to escape Mia's lips. "Don't worry, I don't have much talent either, perhaps together, we can find something we both like," I said, followed by a long, weary yawn.

"Yes, I agree," Mia replied, her voice taking on a yawn-laced tone, a subtle mix of agreement and our shared drowsiness.

At that moment it felt like everything had been resolved, that we would be saved from the grasp of the bullies, and with that, I could finally allow myself to sleep. Unfortunately, that just wasn't the case.

***

The following morning, Mia and I eagerly dressed ourselves for the day ahead. Just like that, the day passed without incident. As my mind was beginning to get at ease, I let my guard drop, and that's when the three boys came to confront us again. This time they dragged us to an isolated place behind one of the many buildings. Since all the students were headed to the dorms it was highly unlikely that anyone would stumble onto us.

"Which one of you thought it would be funny to report us to the school," the leader of the three boys said while the other two chuckled mischievously behind him.

As he took several steps my way, determined to get his answer, Mia stepped forward. "I-I did!" she exclaimed, standing in front of me in an attempt to protect me.

Hearing this, the boy remained still for a moment, and then he brought his hand up and smacked Mia across the face. With a pained yelp, she fell to the ground beside me. Immediately, I reached forward to check on her. "That's just not going to run with me," he said, the corner of his lip curved up into a smirk. "From here on you'll do what we say. Do you understand?" Following his words both Mia and I remained silent which angered the boy. Taking a few menacing steps toward us, his brows furrowed in anger as he repeated. "Do you understand!"

"W-We understand," I stammered, my voice cracking slightly as I crawled back a few inches while having a firm hold on Mia.

"Good," the boy breathed, coming to a stop. "Now, to make sure you two don't do something like that again... some sort of punishment is needed."

Hearing his words, I felt my heart drop to my stomach. Oh no, what is he going to force us to do? Make us grovel? Eat dirt? Lick the ground? Or perform other demeaning actions. I wondered, hoping for some sort of miracle to save us as Mia and I stayed close together.

Just then, a hand appeared from behind the boy and tapped on his shoulder. That single action seemed to freeze time around us, all the tension that was in the air just seconds ago was completely replaced by an eerie silence. I could tell there was somebody standing behind the bully but due to the position Mia and I were in, we couldn't tell who it was.

The boy, the leader of the three bullies, slowly moved aside and turned his head, worry evident on his face. Behind him stood another boy, his long hair was a deep black color, and even though his face lacked any sort of recognizable expression, reflected across his grey eyes was an unmistakable spark of anger.

This unknown boy who had just gotten here, seemingly out of nowhere, looked a bit familiar to me. Have I seen him before? As my thoughts wandered my attention backed fixed on that boy as he tilted his head slightly to the side, his hair leaning in accordance with this movement. In the next moment, his grip hardened around the bully's shoulder. The bully's face of pain was the last thing I got to see before the boy standing behind him raised his arm and tossed him back with little to no effort.

The bully got flung back, over the boy's head, and with a pained grunt, he landed right in the middle of his two followers. "W-What the hell!" one of the two followers exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock. "We were cautiously keeping a lookout and didn't sense anyone nearby!"

"Just who are you!" the bully demanded, slowly getting up from the floor while rubbing his shoulder. His face had contorted into an angry frown, his confusion overtaken by his anger at the boy who tossed him like a ragdoll.

The boy, on the other hand, didn't bother to answer his question as he began walking forward, his determined gaze fixed solely ahead toward Mia and I, or rather just on Mia. As he closed the distance between us, he knelt down and looked at Mia up and down, holding her with so much care. Seeing them together, close up, I couldn't help but think that they looked a bit similar to each other.

"Hey!" the bully shouted, now being some distance away from us, his anger palpable. "I'm talking to you!"

Just then, I thought I saw was eyes widen slightly at the sight of a red bump on the side of Mia's face. "Did they hurt you?" the boy asked, his voice soft, devoid of all emotion as he moved strands of hair out of Mia's face. Mia, with her lips pressed tightly together, held back her tears as she nodded. With only a trace of his hand, the boy healed the small injury on Mia's face and, without another word, he got up, turned around, and stared down at the three boys.

In that moment, with the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a wolf making its way to us. Its fur, a pristine white like an untouched canvas, rustled with the flowing wind, and its blue eyes shone with a higher understanding and intelligence surpassing that of any regular beast. The wolf remained close to Mia and me, standing in a protective stance as it stared ahead, teeth bared and growling. A boy with a white wolf... it's Mia's brother! I realized.

The three boys stood their ground, cautiously looking onward for any sign of movement the dark-haired boy might make. "I do hope you are fully aware that this girl you just hit..." Mia's brother began, signaling down to Mia with a motion of his hand. "Is part of the Arathel noble house, as am I."

"What!?" hearing this, the three boys instinctively took a step back at the same time, each of their faces flickering with fright for that moment.

"What to do..." the dark-haired boy mumbled, bringing his hand up to tap his chin. "I mean you're screwed either way. If I report this incident to the school you're families will surely pay the price for laying your hand on one of our family members." The three boys were now left at a loss for words, only left to reflect on their actions. "But I don't think I'll do that," Mia's sister continued, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lip.

"S-Screw this! I'm out of here!" exclaimed one of the two followers as he began running away.

In a blur of movement, the dark-haired boy's figure disappeared from my sight, only to reaper a couple of seconds later, right in front of the boy who tried to run away. In the next moment, that same boy was sent flying, and by the sheer force of the impact he tumbled across the pavement until he settled onto the floor, his hands desperately clutching his stomach.

None of us could see what happened but it was clear that he was struck in the stomach. "I think I'll impose my own punishment," said Mia's brother, taking a few steps forward. "Now, who's next?"

"Tsk!" the bully clicked his tongue, and with an angry scowl and fierce yell, he charged forward at Mia's brother. Bad idea, was the only thing that crossed my mind as I witnessed this.

"You're quite bold aren't you," Mia's brother said, grinning from ear to ear as he evaded the bully's attacks with ease.

Skillfully, Mia's brother caught one of the bully's many punches and, in one quick motion, met the bully's face with his fist. That single punch, resounding with the sound of his fist connecting with his flesh, left the bully a bit disoriented. Stumbling, he fell to the ground, completely defeated by Mia's brother's overwhelming power.

Finally, Mia's brother turned his sights on the third and final boy, causing him to shrink back in a panic. "Please! Don't hurt me!" the boy begged, his eyes wide with terror, body visibly shaking.

Without a word, Mia's brother disappeared in a blur and reappeared in front of the terrified boy. "If my sister begged you not to harm her, would you still do it?" he spoke, his question leaving the terrified boy stuttering for an answer. In a flash, the frightened boy let out a pained grunt and fell to the floor clutching his stomach as Mia's brother struck the final blow.

Letting out a sigh, Mia's brother stood tall and turned his attention to the leader of the three bullies. "Now listen closely," he began, speaking loud enough to make sure that all three boys were able to hear his words. "This is my one and final warning to you. Do not touch my sister... or her friend again or I will report you to the school, and trust me, it's better to stay on the good side of one of the kingdom's most influential families."

With that, he left them there and made his way back to us. "Brother!" Mia, who was next to me said as she ran up to him and gave him a hug. Mia wasn't joking when she said she had an amazing big brother.

With a small smile, he patted Mia's head with brotherly affection before turning his gaze to me. As his eyes scrutinized me closely, I found myself feeling somewhat nervous.

Arata's Perspective

With two ponytails at both sides of her head, short in stature, she looked up at me cautiously from where she stood. That girl... I wondered, I've seen her before. Oh, yeah, I remember now!

Flashback To A Couple Of Days Back

While walking to get my food in the cafeteria, I found myself walking beside Mia. "You should really make some friends of your own," I said, looking down toward Mia. It's been a week now and all Mia does is follow me and the others around.

"How do I do that?" she asked, looking back up at me, her eyes sort of yearning for a connection like that.

"I don't know," I replied, not being an expert in that field myself. "Just, talk to people and hope for the best, that's how I do it."

"But who?" she questioned further.

"That's for you to decide," I replied.

"Well, you never know, maybe I could stumble upon an evil person," Mia said, her voice lowering dramatically in conjunction with her fears.

"True," I breathed, now feeling slightly concerned by who she makes contact with. "Let's see..." Looking around, I found most kids already in friend groups. However, a girl with a unique fashion sense caught my attention. The girl in question, being too infatuated with her food ended up tripping over herself and dropped her lunch in the process. "Her," I said, pointing at the girl. "Go talk to her."

"Her?" Mia questioned, tilting her head slightly as if recognizing the girl. Turning back to me she took a moment before asking, "How do I know she doesn't have other friends?"

"She doesn't, trust me," I replied immediately, without missing a beat. "You can tell just by looking. Now go..." Raising my hand, I gave Mia a gentle push forward. "She's lonely, you're lonely, you two would make a great pair." Was the last thing I told her before leaving her side, eager to get my lunch for the day.

Back To The Present

"Come on, girls," I said, showing them a small smile of reassurance. I wanted to ease their fears, assuring them that this whole mess was over and nothing like it would happen again. "I'll walk you to your dorm."

With Mia and her friend on one side and Flare on my other side, we made our way past the boys I beat up and began walking forward.

"Arata, correct?" Mia's friend began speaking. Turning to her, I saw her awkwardly shifting her gaze away from mine. "How did you know we were in trouble?"

"Ah? Mia told me there were some boys bothering you guys, so I kept an eye on you mostly the whole day, but just now I took a restroom break, and... sorry, I was a bit late," I answered, somewhat embarrassed by the fact. It's true, I took it easy this afternoon since nothing seemed to happen the rest of the day.

"Well, thank you," the girl said, her cheeks growing with a slight blush.

"No problem," I replied, the corners of my lips curving up into a smile. I didn't really do it for her though, not to sound mean but, Mia was my main priority. Something that has me curious is, this girl's mana, there's no mistaking it, she's special-born. Perhaps I'll ask Mia about it sometime. I won't pry about it in front of her.