The Beginning After The End (Beckoning Fates Book 3) (7 page)

Fortunately, he just grins back as
Sylvie hops back on top of his head. “Thanks.”
 
I stare at his back as he starts heading
to his dorm when he turns back around, surprising me.

“I almost forgot!”
 
He takes my hand and brings it up,
placing something from his pocket into my palm.

“Here!
 
This will probably help you a lot.”
 
Letting go of my hand, he gives me a
playful wink before turning back around as Sylvie waves her small paw at me.

He didn’t even give me the chance
to thank him.

Looking down, I study the small,
dull green orb.
 
It didn’t seem
pretty special but it did mean a lot to me just because it came from Art.
 
Knowing him though, this isn’t just some
sort of decoration he wanted me to have.

“I wonder…” I will a bit of mana
into the orb and I almost drop it from surprise, my hands trembling
uncontrollably.

“T-this is…!”

ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

‘Papa you’re really happy.
 
Is it because you made up with Mama?
’
 
Sylvie teases me as I walk up the
stairs back to my dorm room.

‘Can it Sylv.
 
And can you stop calling her Mama?’
 
I pinch my dragon bond’s ear, making her
squirm.

“Room 394! Finally…” We walked
pretty slowly and stopped in between while we talked so it was pretty late into
the night.
 
I opened the door
carefully just in case Elijah was asleep but I almost jump in surprise to see
him sitting cross-legged facing the door, his eyes bloodshot from staying up so
late compared to when he usually sleeps.

“Err… I see you’re still
awake.”
 
I wave awkwardly.

“Hell yes I’m awake.”
 
He crosses his arms and uses his chin to
point at my bed, signaling me to sit.

“Haa…Go on.”
 
I sigh helplessly as I let my best
friend release his barrage of questions.

___________________________

It was almost 4 A.M. when he was
finished, the two of us sprawled out on our beds, tired both physically and
mentally while Sylvie fell asleep a while ago.

“I can’t believe you were h-hugging
her.”
 
I see him shake his head
while he was lying down on his back.

“I told you I’ve known her since
she was 5.
 
It’s not surprising that
she’d be more comfortable around me.” I simply state.

He shakes head again.
 
“After you left, some of the students
knew that it was the President that used the vine spell since she’s the only
one that could use it to that degree.
 
Do you know all of the things the students called her?”
 
He gets up and looks at me.

“What do they call her?”
 
I ask, a bit interested.

“There were two I heard the
most.”
 
He leans in closer.
 
“One.
 
The Untouchable Princess.”
 
He states.

“Untouchable?
 
Why?
 
Is she that much stronger than everyone
else?”
 
I ask.

Ignoring me, he says the
other.
 
“Lunar Goddess.”

“Huh? Why Lunar Goddess?” I chortle
at the juvenile nicknames.

“Because she’s like the moon
Art.
 
The Moon looks so close that
you can grab but no matter how much you try, you’ll never touch the Moon. But
you!
 
You t-touched the MOON! You
HUGGED the Moon!”
 
He flails his arm
in defeat and plops back into bed.

“Go to sleep.”
 
I retort.
 
Both of us too tired to even try and
wash up.
 
My head is already hurting
at the thought of how tired I would be in the morning.

Thoughts about what happened
tonight kept me up.
 
I kept
imagining if I did the right thing at the dining hall.
 
It was a habit I acquired from being a
King to overthink my past actions and always plan my future actions.
 
To my side, I could hear Elijah fast
asleep, mumbling something about the Moon again.

_____________________________________

“Wake up!”
 
I smack Elijah on the stomach as I
finish fastening on the shoulder strap for the knife that represented that I
was a part of the Disciplinary Committee.

“OOF!”
 
Elijah bolts up in surprise but groans
once he realizes how tired and in pain he was.
 
“I can see why you don’t like being
woken up like this.”
 
He mumbles as
he rubs his stomach.

Smirking at my friend, I walk to
the door. “I’m leaving now so hurry up and get ready.
 
I’ll see you in first period.”
 
Without looking back, I give him a wave
and head towards the auditorium.
 
I
was supposed to formally meet all the other members of the Disciplinary
Committee in the small waiting room inside the auditorium so I was a bit
excited as to what kind of people they might be.

Sylvie “Kyu-ed” in excitement as
well as she was swaying her head from side to side.
 
After today, everyone will know that I’m
part of the Disciplinary Committee.
 
I grinned at myself after imagining what the Ravenpor group’s face would
look like after becoming aware today what my different uniform meant to them.

Arriving at the back entrance to
the auditorium, I straightened up my shirt, vest and strap and opened the door,
feeling tired, sleepy and very curious.

As I opened the door to the back
entrance of the auditorium, I was met with an unexpected greeting.

“GROOOAAARR!!”
 
My hair was blown back along with
Sylvie, who was grabbing unto me to avoid falling off.
 
Along with the deafening roar of the
mana beast that greeted me came bullets of saliva that showered my face and
upper chest.
 

“
There
there.”
While wiping off the spit of the mana beast, I nonchalantly proceeded to pet
its face that was inches away from my own.
 
This mana beast that stood about 2 meters high while it was still on all
fours had thick dark brown fur and a deep red mane around its head.
 
Two vicious teeth spouted out from its
top jaw, making it all the more menacing, but comparing to Sylvie’s dragon
form, I could only see it as an overgrown kitten.

Even Sylvie looked at the Mana
Beast with little interest as she just settled back on top of my head.

“Woah... he didn’t get surprised at
all…” From behind the mana beast peeked out a student that looked to be a
couple of years older than me.
 
He
had a very dull, light gray hair, almost white, that came down in bangs.
 
He had narrow eyes that were virtually
slits and had a smile on his face that didn’t come off as pleasant but more so
mocking.
 
Body wise, he was rather
thin and tall, his overall frame looking quite frail.
 
His uniform was very different from
mine.
 
He wore a dark gray oriental
style loose robe that covered his arms and came down past his torso.
 
His loose pants were black and he had a
sash tied around his waist that was gold.
 
Peeking out of the inside of his robe was the insignia that all of the
Disciplinary Committee had to carry around, the silver knife.
 
Something about him made me wary.
 
He seemed mysterious and a tad off
somehow.

“You must be the last DC officer to
arrive!
 
My name is Kai Crestless a
fourth year!
 
Just call me
Kai!”
 
His expression didn’t change
at all, his eyes still narrowed and lips still smiling, but he put up his arm
in a welcoming gesture, revealing his hands that were completely wrapped in
bandages so that it looked like he had gloves on.

“Hello.
 
My name is Arthur Leywin.
 
Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
 
I shook his bandage-wrapped hands.

“Bah!
 
Another frail looking pretty boy!
 
Why aren’t there any more REAL men in
this Committee?”
 
Looking around, I
spot where the voice came from and I couldn’t help but remember what Elijah told
me yesterday before dinner.

A female dwarf that stood around
145cm tall with limbs as thick as tree trunks hopped down from where she was
sitting and came up to me.
 
The
indication that I could tell she was a female was by her long brown hair and high-pitched
voice, neither of which didn’t suit her masculine appearance.

“Looks like we’ll be working
together so I might as well introduce myself.
 
I’m Doradrea Oreguard, a first year like
yerself
.
 
Let’s get along ey?” She said simply while firmly smacking my waist,
sending a jolt throughout my body.
 
What power.

“Arthur Leywin.
 
Nice to meet you.”
 
I replied, rubbing my back.

“Well, come on now.
 
Follow me.
 
Kai and I waited in the front to see who
the last guy was going to be.
 
The
rest of the DC officers are in the other room.
 
Director Goodsky didn’t really mention
who the final member was going to be so everyone is curious.”
 
She led me through a hall, Kai following
behind us with the mana beast.

“EVERYONE!
 
THE LAST GUY IS HERE!”
 
Doradrea shouts at the top of her lungs
as we reach a room at the end of the hall.
 

Inside the gigantic room that I
figured was used to hold events, I see 5 other figures.
 

Without further ado, I walk up
closer and greet them all at once.
 
“My name is Arthur Leywin and I just started attending this Academy as a
Scholar Mage Student.
 
I am a Dual
Elemental attribute Augmenter capable in Wind and Earth.
 
I give a curt bow.

“Arthur Leywin?”
 
The first voice that speaks up sounded
surprised.
 
Looking back up, I see a
boy that appeared to be around 17.
 
He had deep, mahogany colored hair that was spiked out, making him look
almost like a lion himself.
 
He had
fierce sword-shaped brows and his brown eyes produced a striking gaze.
 
It took me a couple of seconds but I
soon realized who he was.
  

“If I remember correctly, you must
be Prince Glayder?”
 
The longer I
look at him, the more confident I became that he was Curtis Glayder, son of the
King of Sapin.”
 

“I can hardly call myself a Prince
now ever since the 3 kings and queens dismissed their title and called
themselves The Council.
 
Just call
me Curtis.”
 
He spoke very
charismatically, his deep voice carrying a certain depth.
 
His expression was a bit troubled though
since his father’s guard did cause some problems for me the last time we
met.
 

“Nice to see you again Curtis.
 
You must be a 5
^th
year now,
right?”
 
I just respond cheerily
which eases the troubled look he had.

“Yup!
 
5
^th
year fire attribute
Augmenter as well as a Beast Tamer.
 
Nice to see you again.”
 
He
announced while we grasped hands.
 
While Kai’s uniform was styled in a robe, Curtis’ uniform looked much
more intricate.
 
His outfit reminded
me of an old-fashioned military uniform without the cap.
 
His black military blazer had dark gray
accents and gold buttons.
 
His right
shoulder had a military cord that was attached to the collar of his blazer,
giving him a refined, yet fierce aura.

“Ahh that World Lion that greeted
me must be the one your father acquired at the Auction several years
back.”
 
Everything clicked as the
mana beast that so kindly greeted me sat down behind Curtis.

“Ah… did Kai use Grawder to scare
you?”
 
He shoots a look at Kai who
just shrugged back. “Anyways, yes.
 
I remember you were with us when we purchased him as a cub.
 
We formed an equals contract last year
after he reached
A
class.”
 
He tried to sound humble but I could
tell he was extremely proud to call himself a Beast Tamer.
 
I didn’t mind because it really was a
great feat that he accomplished, especially the fact the he was able to form an
equals contract instead of a master-servant contract with his beast.
 
“Looks like your bond changed a bit as
well!
 
Although it didn’t really
change much in size.”
 
He rubs his
chin while studying Sylvie who was asleep on my head.
 
Just by analyzing his internal mana
circulation, Curtis didn’t seem to have gone through assimilation since the
World Lion’s beast will wasn’t too strong for him.

“Yeah, her growth rate seems
awfully slow.” I say indifferently.

“It’s okay!
 
Even though there are quite a bit of
students here that have bonds, most of them aren’t beast tamers and not many of
them even have equals contracts.”
 
He pats my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

Looking closely, Curtis and his
World Lion looked oddly similar.
 
Curtis’ hair and Gawrtor’s
mane
was of
comparable color and both of them having a fierce look.
 

“Ah right! You remember my sister
Kathyln, right?”
 
He continues.
 
The petite, black-haired girl that I
remember being pretty gave me a silent bow.
 
She was dressed very similarly to his
brother except instead of pants; she wore a skirt that came down above her
knees much like all the other girls in this academy.
 
The only girl I’ve seen so far that
hasn’t worn a skirt was Doradrea, which I didn’t complain about… at all.

“Nice to see you again.”
 
I give a simple bow in response.
 
She has grown to look more and more like
her mother.
 
The stark contrast of
her flawless porcelain skin and her jet-black hair and dark eyes with long
lashes made her look like a doll.

“Nice to meet you once more,
Arthur.
 
I am a first year as well
coming in as a Scholar Mage student.
 
I am a single specialist Conjurer in Ice Attribute magic.”
 
She bows once more; her expression was
set like stone.

I see… She’s a deviant!

“I guess I’m next, although the
order is off! My name is Claire!
 
Claire Bladeheart.
 
I’m a 6
^th
year Battle Mage student with dual attribute in fire and wind and I’m also the
leader of the Disciplinary Committee!
 
I’m an Augmenter like yourself so just ask me if you have any questions!”
This upperclassman oozed out positivity and passion from her very pores.
 
She wasn’t nearly as pretty as Tess or
Kathyln but she did have her own charm, with her scarlet red hair that came
down to her chin.
 
Claire wore a
military-styled uniform as well but instead a golden cord like the Glayder
siblings, both her shoulders had gold epaulettes, which were basically
ornamental shoulder pads along with an embellished collar that went up around
her neck.
 
That, along with her
light gray and gold accented skirt with knee boots gave her uniform a much more
royal feel compared to my simple one.
 

I tried imagining myself in a
uniform like Claire’s and I shuddered at the thought.
 
While it looked great on her, I
preferred a much less flashy uniform.

It took me a second to register but
I suddenly remembered why her name sounded so familiar.
 
“Are you perhaps related to Kaspian
Bladeheart?”
 
I quiz.

“Oh?
 
Do you know my uncle?”
 
She tilted her head to one side.
 

“No.
 
I’ve just heard many great things about
how strong Kaspian Bladeheart is from my father’s ex party member.”
 
I gave her a warm smile as she nodded in
understanding.

“I see.
 
Well, I’ve received training from my
Uncle as soon as I awakened so much of my techniques are similar to his.
 
Of course I still have a long way to go
though.”
 
I see her place her hand
on the golden hilt of her rapier that she had strapped on her left side.

“Well if it isn’t Arthur
Leywin.
 
Long time no see!”
 
A tall blonde elf that looks to be a
couple of years older than me walks up, crossing his arms while he looks down
at me.

“I apologize… Do I know you?”
 
I really had no idea who this elf was
until Sylvie mentally transmitted who he was.

“Ah!
 
You’re Feyfey!”
 
I point at him in surprise.
 
Boy did he get big!
 
He was at least a head taller than me
and he did turn out to become quite the pretty boy.

Feyfey’s face instantly turned beet
red as he placed both hands on my shoulders.
 
“It’s FeyRITH…Feyrith Ivsaar III.
 
And although I’m a first year like you,
I’m still a couple of years older than you so don’t call me by nicknames.
 
I’m a Water specialist Conjurer by the
way.”
 
I could see veins popping
from his forehead.

“Haha!
 
Long time no see!”
 
I exclaim as I shake his hands while he
just looks at me, bewildered.
 
His
uniform was completely black with gold stripes across his shoulders.
 
It was simpler than everyone else’s but
it fit him well.

“Last but not least, this is
Theodore Maxwell!”
 
Claire gets in
between Feyrith and I and directs my attention to the last member.