“Yes, a great deal of stress was done on his head but this should help the pain fade.” the nurse told Professor Amora as they walked back over to where Jack was sitting on a bed. The nurse held a bottle of some liquid in her hand. Professor Amora stayed at the foot of the bed while the nurse went around to Jack. “Alright, dear. Drink this and you should be just fine.” the nurse told him, opening the bottle. Jack just groaned quietly in response. Professor Amora’s spell had worn off.
The nurse gently lifted his head and held the bottle to his lips and helped him drink it. The liquid was a bit thicker than water and it had a sweet taste. It helped almost immediately. The pain started to fade away. “Lay back for a moment dear then you can go about good as new.” the nurse told him, pushing his shoulder lightly so he laid down. Jack didn’t protest. Then the nurse took the empty bottle and told something to Professor Amora before walking away.
Professor Amora walked over and sat on the edge of the bed beside him. “Are you alright?” she asked him. “Yeah, it’s going away.” Jack murmured. “In a few minutes I’ll take you to the library. You still have a good amount of time you can spend in their before you come to my classroom to meet me and the Headmaster.” she told him. “Okay.” Jack agreed. She was quiet for a few moments.
“I’m sorry that all of these terrible things keep happening to you.” she said finally. “Yeah, this might just be the world getting back at me for hating attention.” Jack said with a small laugh. Professor Amora smiled a bit. “You really are a sweet boy. You shouldn’t be suffering this much.” she told him, her smile fading. “Maybe it’ll get better.” Jack said. He really hoped it would. “Hope is a wonderous thing. You should hold onto it. It is one of the best things to combat fear.” she murmured. “I will do my best.” Jack replied.
“I think the others are worried about you. If you’re feeling alright, I can take you to the library now.” she said, softly. Jack sat up and hesitantly hugged her. “Thank you, professor.” he said quietly. She smiled and hugged him back. “Of course. Now let’s go.” she said. She brought him to the library and she managed to make him laugh and help him feel better. The pain in his head was nearly gone as they reached the doors to the library. She opened them and walked inside with him. He saw the others sitting at a table. None of them were bothering with the books in front of them and it looked like they had tried to start their essays.
He saw Bethany say something to Alicia and she just shrugged it off. Luke was fidgeting with his quill. “I will see you shortly.” Professor Amora told him with a kind smile. Jack nodded and gave a small smile in return. She turned and exited the library. He moved closer to the others. He was out of view because of a few bookshelves and he was about to walk over to the table but then he heard Alicia’s voice. “Do you think he’s okay? You heard what that guy said. He was in the infirmary and he was seen with the Headmaster.” she said, quietly.
“Maybe that’s a good thing. He couldn’t have gotten in much trouble and maybe he was in the infirmary because of the bruises he got from that little fight.” Bethany replied. “You heard what he said. The nurse had to help him drink something and they also said he was pale as paper.” Luke added. “W-What if that thing came back?” Alicia whispered. “I don’t know if that happened. If it was really serious then a teacher would’ve told us he was in the infirmary.” Bethany said. Then there was silence. Jack replayed the conversation in his head. They were concerned about him and apparently someone had seen him in the infirmary. He took a deep breath then came out from behind the shelves. Alicia’s back was to him and the chair beside her was empty.
“Is this seat taken?” he asked as he walked up. Bethany and Luke looked up and Alicia immediately got to her feet. She just hugged him. “You’re okay.” she whispered as she hugged him. Jack hugged her back. “Yeah, I’m alright.” he told her. “What happened to your hands?” Bethany asked. “Even you wouldn’t get into two fights in one day.” Luke teased lightly. “Yeah, I’m not that epic.” Jack replied with a small smile. Alicia released him and smiled at him. She seemed happy he was here. Then she looked down at his hands. She hesitated then light held them in hers.
“What happened?” she asked softly. “I….” Jack trailed off. What was he supposed to tell her? He didn’t really want to see her reaction. They were all silent waiting for his answer. “I was punching a wall.” he murmured finally. Alicia looked up at him with such concern. “Why would you do that?” she asked quietly. “I don’t know. The Headmaster found me and... he helped me calm down.” Jack said his voice quiet too. Bethany and Luke were silent. Jack figured they were going to let Alicia talk to him. That was probably a wise decision.
“Were you really in the infirmary?” she asked. “Yes, I was but not for this. The Headmaster took care of my hands. I do appreciate you, you know. I don’t think I’ve said it enough but thank you for trying to helping me.” Jack said quietly. Alicia blushed a bit but a small smile came to her face. “Why were you in the infirmary? Some idiot said that the nurse was helping you drink something.” Luke cut in. Jack looked over at him. “The sword...was in the Headmaster’s office and something happened. There was this terrible noise and only I could hear it. It caused a lot of pain in my head so the nurse gave me something so the pain would fade away. I’m fine now.” Jack replied.
He needed to trust them. The Headmaster was right. They cared and they wanted to help him so he just had to try to trust them. Especially Alicia. He had hurt her and he hadn’t made it easy for her to be his friend yet she was still here. “My gosh, Jack.” Alicia whispered, hugging him again. He welcomed her embrace and hugged her back. “Did anything else happen?” Bethany asked. “No, but I think it was a message...for me. That shadow can hurt me whenever they want to.” Jack murmured.
“D-Did the Headmaster help you at least?” Alicia asked quietly, pulling away so she could look at his face. “Professor Amora was there and she..she helped me. The Headmaster helped me too.” Jack replied. “How did the Headmaster help you?” Bethany asked. “He just helped me realize that I’m not alone.” Jack murmured. A tear fell down Alicia’s cheek. “Alicia, what’s wrong?” he asked, brushing the tear away. “Nothing. I’m just glad you finally realize that.” she whispered. Jack hugged her. “He also told me that I should listen to the opinions of the people that matter most to me. I’m pretty positive that means you.” he whispered so only Alicia heard.
“Then you don’t run off like that and scare the heck out of me.” Alicia told him. Jack laughed quietly. “I’ll try my absolute hardest.” he promised. She pulled away and sat down in her seat and Jack sat down beside her. “So what did the Headmaster do...when you know..” Luke trailed off. “He grabbed my wrists and embraced me. He told me to stop and that it was okay.” Jack replied. They all looked kind of surprised. “What?” he asked them. “He just..doesn’t seem like the type to hug people.” Alicia said. “It was actually very much needed.” Jack muttered.
“He talked to you. He said a lot of things that meant a lot to you.” Bethany said softly. Jack didn’t say anything. “What did he say?” Luke asked, his impatience baiting him into asking. “He just told me a lot of ways that he relates to me because he knew that I felt like I couldn’t relate to anyone. He also gave me a bit of a history lesson about The Three and just..talked to me.” Jack murmured in response. “Well, now that you’re here let’s work on this essay.” Alicia said, changing the subject before the other too could pry anymore. Jack smiled at her gratefully.
“It’s so stupid.” Luke groaned as Alicia passed Jack some paper, quill, and ink. “It isn’t that bad.” Bethany told him, picking up her own quill and starting to write. Jack started writing as Bethany and Luke had a small debate on whether or not the essay was stupid or not. “Still not fair how good your handwriting is.” Alicia told him with a small smile as she worked on her essay too. Jack laughed a little bit. “Not fair how talented you are in general.” he said. Alicia blushed and looked away. “You know I think you’re blushing because the compliment is true.” Jack added. Alicia blushed more. “Just shut up and work on your essay.” she muttered, nudging him lightly. However she’d made sure it wasn’t while he was writing so he didn’t mess up.
Jack laughed at continued writing. Bethany and Luke were still debating by the time Alicia finished. He was on his last paragraph. “Guys I’m already done and Jack’s finishing. Just get it done.” Alicia interrupted finally. Bethany fell silent and continued writing while Luke grumbled and was a bit more reluctant to start writing but he did it. Suddenly Bethany dropped her quill. “What is it, Bethany?” Alicia asked. “Think about it. The shadow knew that the spell wouldn’t kill Jack and it said it didn’t want to do that. It also called Jack weak and said that was how it was supposed to be. Then there was that noise today that Jack heard. What if the shadow wants Jack for his magic? What if they just want to use Jack?” she said after a moment.
Alicia lightly put her hand on his. Jack didn’t want to believe that but yet it did make sense except for one thing. “Why would they want to use my magic? It’s uncontrolled and I can’t even use it without pain.” Jack murmured. “I...haven’t figured that part out yet but it seems like the most likely option. I mean it’s obvious they want you to be afraid and they probably want you to feel alone but you aren’t.” Bethany replied. “What if they wanted to steal Jack’s powers?” Luke asked after a moment.
Bethany looked at him surprised. “That is actually a decent theory.” she said. Luke rolled his eyes and grumbled something. “But..why?” Alicia asked quietly. “Jack will deny it but we know he’s powerful. I mean he controlled the wind and Alicia proved that elemental magic is difficult to cast and we also checked if Raven’s information was correct and it was. Light is one of the hardest things to cast.” Bethany stated. “Should we tell an adult? I mean this is serious.” Luke said. Jack was about to say something but Bethany cut in. “No. As of right now we can only truly trust each other. We don’t know who this ‘shadow’ is and we can’t risk them figuring out how much we know.” she told them.
“What about Professor Amora and the Headmaster?” Jack asked. “Better safe than sorry, Jack.” Bethany replied. Jack nodded and what were they supposed to tell them anyway? There was some devious plot to steal his abnormal powers? It sounded stupid even in his head. He was afraid though. He felt Alicia squeeze his hand lightly then let go. “Alright so what now?” Luke asked.
“Well, you two have detention in a few minutes.” Bethany told them. “No, Luke does. I have lessons with Professor Amora and the Headmaster. Then I get to go to detention.” Jack said. “What lessons?” Alicia asked him. “Hopefully, lessons that will teach me how to control this cu- I mean my magic.” Jack replied, looking away from her. “You were going to say curse weren’t you?” Alicia asked softly. “I have to go.” Jack muttered, getting to his feet. He rolled up his essay and turned to leave.
Alicia got up and grabbed his arm. “It isn’t a curse and neither are you.” she told him. After a moment she let go and Jack stood still for a moment then turned and left the library. He wasn’t really sure how to react with what Alicia had told him. She really did seem to believe it. Another thing he was worried about was going to see Professor Amora and the Headmaster. After what happened…
He shook his head and took a deep breath. “Mr. Larmen.” a voice said. Jack recognized it and it took a lot of self control not to just run. He turned to face the voice. “Professor Formento.” he replied, forcing his voice to be polite. “Heading to your lessons are you?” Professor Formento asked, walking forward to stand in front of Jack. He nodded and looked down at the ground. Professor Formento firmly lifted Jack’s gaze. “Please let go.” Jack murmured. The only thing he could think about was when the shadow had touched his face. He was afraid to move.
“There really is nothing normal about you is there? Even these…” Professor Formento trailed off, moving his hand and touching Jack’s face near his eye. Jack flinched away from him. “Very sensitive.” Professor Formento teased, grabbing the front of Jack’s shirt and yanking him forward. “P-Please stop.” Jack whispered. “I just wanted to let you know that we will be meeting at the thirteenth floor for your detention.” Professor Formento told him with a grin.
“W-Why?” Jack asked quietly. “I do not have to explain my reasons to you.” Professor Formento snapped, releasing him. “I was just…” Jack started but Professor Formento smacked him. Jack was silent. Memories of his father doing that raced to his mind. Usually a smack was followed by far worse. “Enjoy your little lesson. I will see you after it is done.” Professor Formento said, chuckling at Jack’s reaction. Jack immediately turned and once he rounded the corner, he ran to Professor Amora’s classroom. He wasn’t going to speak about what just happened. He didn’t want to. It would only make it worse. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Come in.” Professor Amora’s voice called. Jack opened the door and slipped inside, shutting the door behind him. Professor Amora and the Headmaster stood in the center of the room. It looked like extra padding had been set out and Jack felt a sort of tingling feeling as he touched the wall. He quickly pulled his hand away and walked over to stand in front of the two adults. “Are you alright, Mr. Larmen? You look rather...shaken.” the Headmaster told him. “I’m fine.” Jack murmured. Honestly he wasn’t. What had happened with Professor Formento and the sword. Just everything...it had been a very long day.
“Well, today we were just going to try some simple things to get an idea of how your magic works.” Professor Amora said. Jack looked up so he could meet her gaze. “I...don’t know if my magic can even be controlled.” he replied. “It will most likely take much practice, Mr. Larmen. I doubt that you have received any sort of training or guidance.” the Headmaster stated. Jack nodded after a moment.
“However, one thing we do know is that you don’t seem to need words to cast a spell.” Professor Amora said, walking over and gently lifting his hand. It was still bandaged but she didn’t comment. She turned his hand so his palm face upward. She then set a small stone in his hand. “Try to make the stone levitate.” she instructed. “I don’t know how.” Jack replied. Professor Amora opened her mouth to say something but the Headmaster interrupted. “Let us not give him specific instructions yet.” he said then looked back to Jack. “Use your instincts. You’ve been told to block your magic out to shun it. Now let it in.” he told him.
Jack gave a hesitant nod then looked at the stone. Let his magic in? He thought of the energy that seemed to buzz from the walls in the silence. He thought about the stone in his hand. He imagined it levitating just above his palm. He felt something surge through his body. It wasn’t like before. He gave a quiet gasp as it flooded through him. Then he brought his attention back to the stone. He concentrated and it began to move. It slowly rose into the air. It hovered a few inches over his hand. He’d done it. He’d….his thoughts were interrupted. Curse. His father’s voice said in his head.
The stone dropped and Jack crumbled, with a scream. The burning had come and it was worse. He’d barely used any magic. Why did it hurt worse? He writhed on the floor unable to focus on his surroundings. Finally it stopped. He opened his eyes which he hadn’t even realized were closed. Professor Amora was kneeling beside him with concern in her eyes and the Headmaster stood just behind her with similar concern reflected in his eyes. Jack took a deep breath and sat up.
“Jack…” Professor Amora trailed off, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I-I’m alright, Professor Amora. I’m used to that.” Jack murmured, pushing himself up to his feet. He stumbled for a second but Professor Amora had stood just as he did and was able to steady him. “Mr. Larmen, would you mind if I attempted something?” the Headmaster asked him. Jack hesitated then shook his head. Professor Amora stepped aside as the Headmaster stood in front of Jack. He lightly touched Jack’s head and closed his eyes, murmuring words Jack couldn’t quite make out.
Jack felt an odd sensation for a moment then the feeling was gone and he felt...fine. The exhaustion and pain had faded away. “Give him the next task.” the Headmaster said, taking a few steps away from Jack. There was something in his voice but Jack didn’t know what. He was confused and he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. “Now I want to see if you can make this flower bloom.” Professor Amora told him, holding out her hand. In it was a withered brown flower. “It’s dead.” Jack replied.
“I am aware of that. Just try to make it bloom.” Professor Amora said with a small amused smile. Jack looked at the flower. This felt wrong. Letting his magic in didn’t feel natural or right to him. He was so used to having to hide it and pretend it wasn’t there. He didn’t want it to exist but it did. He took a deep breath and let the energy rush through his body again. He looked at the flower and thought about it blooming and even visualized what it would look like but nothing happened. He thought of the flowers in that clearing. Still nothing happened. Alicia suddenly came to mind. She would say he could do this and she would want him to think that too.
I can do this, he thought. He looked at the flower again and reached out, lightly touching the stem. There was a dim glow then the flower came to life. The stem turned green and the petals a beautiful pure white. He let the rush of energy fade but… there was no burning and there was no pain or exhaustion. However he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. The Headmaster stumbled and moved to the wall to support himself. “Headmaster?” Professor Amora asked, concerned. He didn’t reply. He looked like… Jack now knew what the spell the Headmaster had been doing had done. He went over to the Headmaster quickly. “Undo the spell, Headmaster. It’s my pain and exhaustion. You don’t have to do this.” he told the Headmaster in a quiet voice. “You shouldn’t have to feel this pain.” the Headmaster murmured. Jack touched the Headmaster’s arm. This man was willing to feel this pain for him and he was trying to help him. He had been helping him.
Jack didn’t want him to suffer the pain that he himself was supposed to. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He could almost feel the energy and power of the Headmaster’s spell. He thought about cutting it off, undoing it. Then the pain came rushing into his body and he screamed in surprise and pain. The Headmaster caught him before he fell and eased him gently onto the floor. He jerked as the burning consumed him and his ears rang. He cried out and he was breathing hard. Finally, after a few minutes, the pain faded enough so it was bearable.
The Headmaster helped him sit up and waited for him to calm down. He told Jack to focus on taking deep breaths instead of the ragged gulps of air Jack was sucking in. “Mr. Larmen, is that what happens every time you use your magic?” the Headmaster asked him quietly. “I-It varies. The amount of pain and exhaustion but yes that’s what happens.” Jack murmured. “I think that’s enough for today.” Professor Amora said, softly. “As far as using magic, yes we are finished with that for today.” the Headmaster said. He then looked at Jack once again. “What else is there?” Professor Amora asked.
The Headmaster didn’t look at her or reply. “Mr. Larmen, can you tell me what using your magic feels like? When you let your magic in?” he asked Jack. He was quiet for a moment as he thought about it. “It’s like… like a surge of energy going through my body and I could almost feel energy radiating off the walls. It’s...kind of easy to think about what I wanted to happen like with the rock and the flower. I don’t know how to describe the feeling of letting it in besides the fact that it’s very overwhelming.” he said finally.
“I have seen you cast elemental magic as well as casting light. Both are very difficult to cast. Even adults have a hard time casting magic similar to that. I am guessing you did not exactly try to cast those things however.” the Headmaster replied. Jack shook his head. “Wait, when did you see me cast elemental magic?” Jack asked after a moment. “At the Selection.” the headmaster stated. Jack didn’t say anything else.
“The exhaustion and such, does it pass completely or slowly fade?” the Headmaster asked. “It fades away after a little while.” Jack murmured. He could hear the fact that he sounded tired and his head was pounding. Professor Amora sat down on the floor with them and Jack noticed she was just listening. When he looked up, he met her concerned gaze which caused him to quickly look away again. “And how did you stop my spell, Mr. Larmen. Stopping spells is not a simple nor easy task.” the Headmaster continued. “I don’t know...it was like there was this..this stream of energy or something like that and then I just cut it off. I was focusing on stopping the stream.” Jack explained, hesitantly. He wasn’t exactly sure if he explained it right but that was the only way he could think to describe it.
“Very interesting. No one has ever described it in such a way before. You also seem to feel the presence of others. I believe it is affected by how much the person means to you. Which is why I ask you why Ms. Belle’s presence affects you the most.” the Headmaster said with a slight smile on his scarred face. Jack felt his face grow warm so he kept his gaze firmly on the ground. “I feel like I missed something.” Professor Amora stated. “Mr. Larmen seems to be affected by the presence of others. The incident I told you about in the forest is where it first happened. However it has become apparent that one of the other Selected’s presence affects him more than the fear of whoever was in the forest.” the Headmaster explained to her.
Jack felt his face grow warmer. He didn’t look at either of them. He continued to stare determinedly at the floor. “And so, Mr. Larmen, why is that?” the Headmaster asked, turning to him. “It’s complicated.” Jack mumbled, crossing his arms. “I am simply attempting to understand how your magic affects you and how it works. I am seeing if my theory is correct. You are the only one who can answer my questions.” the Headmaster told him. Jack could have sworn he almost laughed but he didn’t want to look up to check.
“It can’t be that bad, Jack.” Professor Amora said. She wasn’t as good at hiding her laughter as the Headmaster. “I don’t know. I just trust her and she actually cares about me. She wants to help me and I’ve hurt her and messed up a lot...yet she hasn’t done the one thing everyone else did. She is still my friend and she never even got upset with me because I hurt her. My sister did and she was the only one I had trusted. I didn’t really have any other option being how everyone wanted nothing to do with me. I guess I just trust her most.” Jack murmured. He couldn’t help but smile a little bit. Alicia was the person he trusted most. He didn’t understand how a girl like her could care about him but she did.
He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, he looked over to see it was Professor Amora’s. “Your family shouldn’t have treated you the way they did, Jack. It’s extraordinary how sweet and kind you are despite everything.” she murmured. “Do you remember when you asked all of us why we wanted to be at the Academy?” Jack asked her after a moment. “Yes, I remember. You wished to keep your answer to yourself.” she replied with a bit of confusion on her face.
“I wanted to come here so I could get away from my family and Luke at the time,” he muttered. “That is not a bad thing, Mr. Larmen. I also think that you want to find a place where you belong. Do correct me if I am mistaken.” the Headmaster said. “You aren’t.” Jack said quietly. He didn’t know why but it was easy to talk to the Headmaster and Professor Amora. He’d never really had adults that were easy to talk to in his life before.
“You can talk to us, Jack. We want to try to help you with whatever we can.” Professor Amora told him. “She speaks the truth, Mr. Larmen. I also want to ask.. You said that you wanted to get away from Mr. Ramos ‘at the time.’ What exactly does that mean?” the Headmaster added. “It is really complicated but in summary, Luke and I used to be good friends when we were younger but then he pushed me away. Apparently it’s because his sister passed away and his family hid the fact that she did. He never really hated me and he apologized for all of it. We aren’t exactly friends but we’re..getting along I guess.” Jack attempted to explain.
“Well, I suppose that is a good thing. It is very generous for you to give him a chance.” the Headmaster told him. Jack shrugged. “I guess.” “Is there anything else you want him to do?” Professor Amora asked the Headmaster after a few moments of silence. “No, I think that has been enough for one day. You will come back here for the next few days then the Test will begin.” the Headmaster said, looking at Jack. “A few days?” Jack whispered. The Test was in a few days? “Don’t worry, Jack.” Professor Amora said, getting to her feet and offering him a hand.
Jack took her hand and got to his feet as the Headmaster did. He looked at the kind face of Professor Amora then at the scarred face of the Headmaster. “Yes, do not worry too much, Mr. Larmen. You are dismissed so you may now go meet with Professor Formento.” the Headmaster told him. Jack kept his expression blank but he felt his stomach twist at the thought. He’d forgotten about it. Detention.
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The full chapter is now uploaded! I hope those of you who read this enjoy it!320Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMrnxht0etJ
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