“Hey, are you here?” Asked a figure in a dark corridor with a small voice, after knocking on a particular door. Yet, even after seconds, nobody answered his calls. This made Dzer believe that Gabriel Neferles was sleeping: such a consequence would only be normal.

“Well, then.” He thought to himself and sighed. “I could’ve avoided the fight with my fiancée if I had known of this first... but well, that helped me free a lot of emotions.” That was what the blonde haired boy thought, not truly caring about the reaction of the girl that had talked to him.

“After all, she’ll be a loyal dog tomorrow, won’t she?”

-=-

The next day Gabriel Neferles wasn’t in the class either. When someone was unable attend their lessons in the Royal Academy, though, they’d be forced to make a call to the school management explaining the reason.

While this was used to avoid random absences, Mr. Neferles had not done such a thing prior to being absent. As such, in the first hour, the Magic Professor had already shown his anger towards the student who refused to abide by the rules.

“Who does he think he is?! Just because he got first in the rankings?”

Lyra, now alone in her seat, definitely agreed but, with knowledge of what had happened the day prior, she felt as if something was missing.

“Maybe he really was arrested...” she sighed. “If it was this important, I should probably apologize.”

The other lessons went along without a hitch. Other than the absence of Neferles, it seemed like everything was back to normal and the rest of the day had gone on without anything problematic happening.

That was until Lyra had to get back to her dormitory, though.

As the noble girl walked through the halls of the school without making eye contact with anyone, not having anyone to talk to and, in general, not feeling lonely at all despite all of that, something caught her attention.

“There’s a light?” She thought, amazed. The corridor was full of people and this side was the one with the laboratories next to it. Right there, in the half-open door that led to those places that nobody was allowed to go to, a light shone in a seemingly dark room, coming from powder.

Having seen nothing quite like that, Lyra felt curious. At the same time, though, she knew that it had been wisely told to her she should never be in this side of the dormitories and in the labs.

“But it’s not night, it should be safe...” she remembered the words of the history professor, while still debating inside her mind.

While Lyra seemed like a person with clear cut values, it was actually not quite the case. Yes, she believed a person shouldn’t risk with no gain involved, but at the same time her natural personality was distorted by the noble teachings she received, which were the same for most noble girls: be quiet, listen and obey. Be graceful, get admiration, try hard.

None of these values included “being curious,” it was just how the person herself was like. That was the reason why she didn’t think Dzer passing the laboratories was a good idea, or part of it. It was an useless risk.

But that experience had also changed the noble girl drastically.

The first question that popped inside her head was:

“Why?”

Why should she continue living this life when she can’t choose anything, despite the fact that the person she’s entrusted to won’t even appreciate her?

What’s the point in sacrificing her life, if not for a figure that’s a white knight? Why should she deny herself in favor of that... kind of person?

Thinking of her loved ones and what they told her, Lyra had previously sighed and accepted it was going to be her destiny, but now she wanted to feel somewhat free.

So she entered the laboratory room while nobody seemed to notice.

Closing immediately the blue-wooden door at her back, she was met with a trusting darkness. Only the powder seemed to light up the room.

But what seemed most incredible to her was neither the machines working with the highest-advanced magic possible at light speed, nor the statute of such a bright powder that managed to light up a big part of the floor.

It was the lifeless body of someone she knew being put right inside a circle of blighting powder, a familiar face seemed trapped in a magic circle.

“Is this what Professor Neratur said I shouldn’t find?”

Different thoughts ran inside her mind as she gazed at Gabriel Neferles.

plaY

unbelievably small chapt but dw guys it gets better when i have more time,  felt like posting bc everyone was forgetting this story exists