It looked almost as though time itself had been stopped in the old building. Peeling paint, weathered wood. The scent of decay lingered in the air, mingling with the sharp tang of rust and damp. The sun cut thin shafts of gold through the airborne motes, painting them in the stillness, moving them across the shadows elongating into places of unseen motion.

Ela's nose scrunched up in distaste as she looked around. "Well if you just glanced at it one could say that. It has been abandoned for a little while." Her voice was colored the tiniest bit with a little pity, a little wonder. "Kind of sad. Isn't it?"

Irene's lip quirked with a hint of disbelief, but she could not deny the sense of possibility the forlorn structure held. "We could clean it up," she suggested slowly, carefully. "Make a little private place for you and me to get away from the palace."

A grin split Ela's features, her eyes sparkling with a giddy light. "Yes! A little hideaway just for us." Abeam and armed with determination and a shared spark of adventure, the two girls set to work, banishing traces of age from the dirtied building. Somewhere within the dust and laughter, a pair of girls wove history's thread, knotting promises of sisterhood and maintaining through ages their unbreakable bond.

As the sun slipped from the sky, lending dusk its shadowed peace, two young girls stepped away from their work. Though barren, their hands had worked a transformation. The building had stood vacant, lay abandoned no longer. Now it was a castle of their own making, its doors wide to admit them so that these two could shelter in the summer-scented forest, stretching back untraceably wild to its forgotten heart. As they settled in their sanctuary, into the lantern-lit cave of whispered wonder, Ela and Irene knew that even now, the adventure had barely begun. In these hours grown from a scrap of secreted solitude, carved amid the cacophony of rite and tutelage, Ela and Irene recognized the magic of that chanced upon pact of ages, sealed with the pledge of kindred beat.

It was a world still bathed in the warm, golden light of the late afternoon that filtered through the curtain of leaves that day, falling on the hidden away shack deep within the heart of the forest, as Ela and Irene lounged on makeshift cushions, their laughter intermingling with the soft sound of leaves rustling outside. It had been a few months after their impromptu discovery of the old, aging shack, and they had since then turned it into their hallowed, cherished clubhouse, safely hidden away from the formality and ostentatiousness of the palace.

"I'm the one who's shocked by all this," Irene chided, nudging her friend lightly with her elbow, the playful grin on her face rendering her jibes nothing but affectionate. "So? How were classes today? That arcane studies master of yours still giving you a hard time about unsealing your sigil?"

Ela leaned giddily into her friend's space at the question, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she quickly sat up to face her. "It was amazing, Irene! These past few weeks, I feel like I've made so much progress already—I swear! I can pretty much use every basic spell now, it's so easy for me..." Her tone suddenly disheartened a shade as she continued, "Though, with all that, I guess I don't feel any closer to unsealing my sigil." She shrugged hopelessly, her tone drained with mixed disappointment and self-admonishment. "Like, I've tried everything, you know? But, it's like, still..."

Irene's eyes blinked down at her subtly, her smirk teasing in the sweetest way as she went on to question, "Oh, really? 'Cause I was sure you were actually a natural talent under all that other-worldly beauty. My bad."

Ela wouldn't be entrapped so simply though—she chuckled, her smugness evident as she returned with an equal dash of teasing, "Well, I am a natural; a bit of hard work never killed anybody." She then flipped her eyes, playfully teasing as her grin sunk a notch. "...And for you, Miss Too Cool for School? Discover the secret of the universe in your runes lately?"

Irene widened her smile, responding with a slow shake of her head, "...Not really. I've been so pissed off on the daily, I can barely understand a word he's saying lately...KeyDownInterrupt

An impish twinkle glimmered in Irene's eyes at Ela's admission. "Oh, you're not trying nearly hard enough," she chided lightly, albeit with a most mischievous grin. "Listen to the instructors for once, instead of constantly fighting them, and you might finally get somewhere."

Irene snorted, her playful demeanor faltering slightly. "Please, Ela. You know I can't stand people telling me what to do — like a challenge to defy them."

Ela laughed, the melodious sound filling the little shack. "You do like to make things interesting with your study of magic, Irene. Maybe the discipline needed to follow rules will eventually make sense to you."

Irene grinned, faker clear in her twinkling eye. "Or maybe you'll finally realize that sometimes it's okay to break the rules and just have a little fun, Ela."

Ela gave a short, strained laugh. "Yes, I suppose sometimes it's okay to have fun, between the two of us. Although we should try to take our training more seriously most of the time."

"Says you," dismissed Irene with a wave. "The whole sigil obsession is overrated anyhow. We'll get there when we get there."

Ela frowned. "My mother would disagree. She never lets me forget how I'm 'behind' and how I need to 'try harder.'"

Irene snorted. "Your mother sounds like a tyrannical hag, no offense. My parents said sigils show themselves when you're ready. There's no need to rush it."

"Please don't be rude," Ela said automatically, eyes dropping down. "Mother only wants what's best for me."

"I'll take your word for it," Irene said in a doubtful tone, but she said nothing further.

An uncomfortable silence stretched. Ela eventually cleared her throat. "I wonder what our sigils will be like?"

She shrugged. "Who knows? Who cares? They're just fancy spell upgrades far as I can tell."

"Scholars say that our sigils are reflections of who we are and the experiences we've lived through," Ela explained hesitantly. "How Mother's silence sigil shows her ... bossy nature."

"Bossy?" she corrected wryly. "You mean cruel and controlling."

Ela winced, but didn't deny it.

The setting sun cast its lengthening shadows over the forest, and a soothing stillness fell across their sanctuary as the vivacious smile faded from Irene's face, replaced by a wistful look of resignation. "Ela, I hate to say it, but I probably should start heading back," She said, her words laced with reluctance.

Ela's features softened with understanding as she nodded. "Irene, you're right. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your parents again."

Irene sighed, a mixture of frustration and acceptance clouding her expression. "Exactly. They'll be furious if I'm late again..."

The collective sigh shared by Ela and Irene matched the one that emanated from the couple as they both rose from their cushions. The sound followed them as they made the way back to the forest's edge that met the palace, where a refrain heavier than the melancholies of the coming separation weighed upon the air.

"I'll walk back with you," Ela spoke with the gentleness of determination. "Just to make sure you get there safely. That and...I'm fairly certain mother will hear of my absence if I linger any longer..."

Irene replied with a gratitude as genuine as her eyes that held it without words. "Thank you, Ela. I appreciate it."

They navigated the forest's serpentine paths hand in hand, their journey accompanied by an unspoken kinship deeper than simple friendship. But as they neared the edges of the palace, the realization of their parting struck, casting a shadow upon their farewell.

Once they reached the gates, Irene turned her face to Ela, warmth and affection ever present, but now carried a touch of jocularity. "Thanks for today, Ela. I must say, it was quite enjoyable..." The cockiness in her expression did nothing to hide the sadness beneath its casual layer. "...I suppose I'll grace you with my presence again next week, and who knows..." The mischievous hint returned to her eyes. "...I might even surprise you."

Ela mirrored Irene's smile, her heart equally burdened by the parting. "Absolutely, Irene, brace yourself for the brilliance," she jested in return. "I'll make sure dazzle you once again soon. Oh, and the only thing that would surprise is you managing to finish your assignments, and please finish them... I wouldn't want you falling behind in arcane studies."

The Grace Palace is gradually left behind and replaced by a grander view as Irene makes her way back to her own palace. The softly arching, elegant forms of the palace are replaced by the grand lines and spirals of Irene's family estate, whose sprawling mansion is situated amidst blooming gardens and trees that tower into the sky. She travels through the familiar—a path that winds between stone statues of living things mixed with the forms of mythical monsters, a gurgling fountain surrounded by histories in stone, large and small, and finally great gates with stone lions on either side, watching with interest or threat, as the moment takes them, as Irene passes beneath their serious gazes.

Inside, she is enfolded in a warm hug by a man who seems a fair bit taller than she, with a chest that could break rock, a voice like thunder, and a gentle grin upon a face hidden by a thick mustache.

"Ah, my dear Irene! How was your day!" In a call that could fill the foyer of the mansion, were there anything to contain it.

"Did you have a splendid time with Ela? You must tell me all about it!" Irene is grinning in return, and there is a clear affection shining in her eyes as she answers. "Yes, Father, it was quite enjoyable. And yes, I said hello to Ela's parents for you."

"Good, good. You always were such a polite young lady." The man releases her from the hug, but plants a kiss on her forehead as she pulls away. "I love you my little girl."

Irene wrinkles her nose at the kiss and pushes away from the hug. "Father, I'm technically an adult now."

"Ah, yes, of course, my dear. But you'll always be my little girl in my heart." Irene smiles and pulls away, padding down the hall toward her room with the comfortable, fluid grace of a jungle cat. It's perhaps fitting for the challenge she now faces, that every movement, every gesture is not just full of grace, but that she gives grace to every touch and motion. The way this is not a forward roll or flip. It is the embodiment of litheness and deftness. She knows that it is a sign that besting Ela is what she cares about most in the world. No. That wouldn't be true to her on a day like this. The reality is simply that showing the girl that she is better and that she can do so by solving her sigil, is the order of her day today. Her lips peel back slightly, baring her teeth in a self-satisfied smirk as she contemplates just how she means to show that off to her rival and friend.