It had been several days since their visit to the library, and Alex had been training daily to use the flight magic by going through the steps illustrated in the book that his teacher borrowed from the library. The method involved him jumping to get off the ground, hovering to stop himself from falling, and flying to keep flying through the air.

“Like I said, it’s one of the most difficult spells to learn, Alex,” his teacher said softly. “It’s a matter of getting the hang of two different magic spells before mastering a third magic spell.”

“I know, miss, but that makes it all the more worthwhile to master as soon as I can!” He replied with determination.

Focusing his mind on himself, he muttered, “O spirits of life, please gather and keep me floating.”

Then he jumped into the air and remained hovering there as the wind kept him from falling. However, the tricky part arrived when it was time for him to move around.

“O spirits of life, please carry me to that tree.”

He said that and waited while he remained floating. For a moment, he could feel the wind respond and move him slightly towards it before the wind completely dissipated and caused him to fall on his bottom.

“Ouch!” He cried out in pain.

“Alex!” Lucia exclaimed, rushing forward and kneeling before him. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? I’ll administer healing magic if you’re hurt.”

Wincing for a moment, he finally looked up at her and smiled wryly as he replied, “I’m fine, miss. Please help me up.”

She nodded and took his hand before helping him get back on his feet. Then he glanced around to make sure nothing had happened before sighing wearily.

“Why do I keep falling? I don’t understand?” He asked with another sigh.

“I think the Spirits of Life are having trouble shifting from one spell to another when the user forgets to include the instructions to keep you afloat.”

“But they did try to keep me afloat and move me, miss. You saw that, didn’t you?”

“I did, and that’s what surprised me. Normally, the Spirits of Life need to know the full instructions of what they must do, otherwise, they can become cheeky and not do anything at all,” she said with a wry smile.

“Oh. So, the Spirits of Life are kind of like kids?”

“I don’t know,” she replied and shrugged with a small smile. “From my experience, that’s how I thought of them; kids that are both intelligent and silly.”

Alex nodded and asked, “So, would you mind showing me how you do it, miss? I never really took notice of your flight magic.”

She looked surprised before chuckling and saying, “Alright. Well, I started out the same; confused and not sure how to go about it. So, my father taught me to work around a way to communicate and tell the Spirits of Life what I want them to do.”

His teacher stepped forward and turned to face him before saying, “O spirits of Life, please come and carry me through the air to my desired destination.”

As she finished, she leaped into the air just as the wind suddenly started blowing quickly around them. Alex covered his eyes a little before uncovering them and looking at his teacher in amazement as she hovered off the ground without falling and began moving around him with the support from the wind.

“Wow!” He exclaimed, feeling surprised at the sight of his teacher moving around so freely.

She went around him in circles for a moment before gently landing back down and smiling serenely at him.

“That was so cool, miss!” He said, coming forward and looking amazed. “I get it too! Your chant simply contained that you wanted the wind to support you from falling and take you to your destination.”

“That’s correct,” she replied with a smile. “However, you’d notice that wasn’t really flying and it was more of less that I was taken around per my directions.”

She waved at him to step back, and once he did as he was told, she flapped her wings and leaped into the air. In an instant, she soared high into the air and hovered there, appearing as though there was no wind that supported her flight.

“See the clear difference, Alex?” She asked him from above and when he nodded in amazement, she gently landed back down and smiled at him.

“Tell me what difference that you understood.”

“Well, different was that the wind just didn’t seem to be there when you flapped your wings and flew high into the air,” he stated from what he understood.

“Good,” she said and nodded in agreement.

This confused him and made him ask, “Really? Why though? Why was there no wind to support you, miss?”

“That’s the advantage of having wings,” she remarked and made him look surprised.

“I see,” he said and looked a little disappointed while glancing over his shoulders at his back. “I suppose I got some time before they grow.”

“Only three years to go considering you’re twelve-years-old right now,” she said and winked at him. “Anyway, wings are part of nature that help an individual to achieve flight, and for those without magic, the wings become a signal for the Spirits of Life to provide support without any excess use of magic.”

“Really?” He asked, looking puzzled.

She nodded and raised a finger as she began to explain, “I guess I never told you this, but the longer the spell, the more rigid it becomes and causes some difficulty for the Spirits of Life to work. So, keeping the chant very short makes their task that much simpler. Then you wouldn’t be using too much magic and appear as though you’re floating without any support from magic.”

“I see,” he said and nodded in understanding. “That’s more the reason that I should make a contract with a Spirit of Life.”

She chuckled and replied, “Well, I, too, want to form a contract with one of them, but let’s see if it’s achievable. The Forest of Lone is a dangerous place after all.”

“No matter, miss! I would risk my life to become better and stronger!” He replied in a firm voice. Then he thought, “Well, since I died once already and am having a second chance at life, I must make sure to stop the destruction before it becomes to problematic.”

His words caused her to blink in surprise and ask, “Why go so far, Alex? What is it that you’re aiming to become?”

He hesitated for a moment, thinking of how to explain away his desire to get stronger and quickly without making it sound like he was crazy. It was then something made him speak naturally as if it was his true self that wanted

“I want to learn many things, gain a lot of knowledge and then bear witness to the progress of the world,” he told her much to her surprise.

There was a moment of pause before she said, “I see. So, basically you’re saying you’ll walk on a lifelong path of learning endlessly until you reach the end of your road?”

“That’s right, miss,” he replied and smiled sweetly at her.

“Won’t it be, I don’t know, boring?” She asked tentatively.

“It’ll be fun,” he replied easily with a big grin. “Just imagine all the knowledge the world holds, all that I could see happening, and what I might be able to achieve by adventuring around the world.”

“No. I can’t imagine that at all,” she replied flatly, bemused by seeing her student looking so excited for such a strange reason. “Why did you come to think that way, Alex?”

To that, he answered her with a question by saying, “Isn’t it the duty of a mage to witness the world’s progression to the end?”

“I,” his teacher began hesitantly, “I don’t know, Alex. I’m sorry, but I don’t think anyone would agree to that.”

“I see,” he said, looking as if that was a shame. Then he looked bright again and said, “Well, it just means that I’ll have to set the trend when I grow up and become stronger!”

“Yeah…! Just make sure you don’t end up becoming a wanted criminal,” she replied wearily, but he took it lightly and simply laughed. Then she shook her head and said, “Let’s get back to training.”

He nodded and was about to return to training his magic when someone flew in and landed gently on their lawn. The man was wearing the uniform of the mailing service, and he rummaged through his bag before pulling out a neatly contained letter.

“Is it for someone named Lucia?” Lucia asked as she stepped towards him.

“Yes. How did you know?” The mailman asked, looking surprised.

She shrugged and replied, “It was easy enough to guess.”

Once she took the letter from him, he nodded at her and at the kid before taking flight and flying away from there to wherever he has to deliver the letters at next. Meanwhile, Lucia ripped opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper before going through it very quickly. Alex watched in silence as his teacher read the letter and saw her expression brightening.

“What is it, miss?” He asked, although, he felt he knew what it was about.

“It’s from father,” she said and explained the contents of the letter. “It says our departure is scheduled for tomorrow and that he’s acquired a wagon for our transport with a trustworthy driver and paid him the full amount for taking us to Huizhou and back. In addition, he added that an escort to take us into the Forest of Lone will meet us on our arrival at the capital. Fun.”

She folded the letter and pocketed it before looking at her student in a brighter mood than before and said, “Looks like we’re going to go.”

“Awesome!” Alex said, looking excited and feeling very happy about it.

[ ====== ]

Lucia and Alex went inside and informed both Sarah and Luna about their departure, which made both of them excited, it particularly made Luna very joyous. Her reasons for being even more excited than the others was due to the fact that she felt she could meet her parents at Taoqing, the capital of Huizhou.

“I can’t wait to get going!” She exclaimed happily with great energy.

Sarah, however, quickly lost her energy and appeared sad at the thought of them leaving the very next day. She walked over to the hall and sat down quietly while they followed after her and began speaking soothing to her and trying their best to cheer her up.

“We’ll be back before you know it, mum,” said Alex reassuringly to his mother.

“I know, but… it’s just… surprising to know that you’ll be leaving tomorrow,” she replied in a sad voice. “I was thinking you probably had a week or two before the departure was settled, but… this is too soon.”

To that, Alex and Lucia had no idea on how to cheer her up. She was a mother that was already feeling the loneliness that comes with when her children go on a journey. It would mean that she would be left all alone at home while her husband goes off to work, taking away the happiness she had been experiencing for the past twelve years.

It was Luna, who came to the rescue and said brightly, “Mother, if you’re going to sit around and be sad, then you won’t be able to cook anything delicious for Alex to eat on the journey!”

Surprisingly, this seemed to work better because Sarah looked up in shock and said, “Oh! That’s right! What’s the time?”

She had asked that and turned to check on the clock hanging from the side wall, becoming shocked by the number it showed.

“Oh, my goodness! It’s already evening! I don’t have any time to waste!”

With that remark, she rose to her feet and addressed each of them.

“Lucia, can you please look after the laundry and wash the clothes with your magic this one time, please?”

“Sure,” replied the magic teacher with a smile.

Nodding at her, the mother turned to Luna and said, “Luna, go upstairs and help with Alex pack his things and pack yours as well. Once Lucia is done with the laundry, help her with her packing as well.”

“Yes, mother!” Luna replied in a firm voice.

Lucia, however, denied the offer by saying, “There’s no need for Luna to help me, Sarah. I can pack my things. There wouldn’t be much for me to pack anyway.”

Sarah nodded and said, “Well, do what suits you. Now, I’m off to cooking,” and she moved out of the hall and headed towards the kitchen.

Once she was gone, both Lucia and Alex sighed before turning to look at Luna in amazement.

“That was quick thinking, Luna,” said Lucia appreciatively.

“Yeah. Mum didn’t even listen to me even though I tried to reassure her,” said Alex with a wry smile.

Luna giggled and replied, “Well, mum likes cooking, and I thought it would get her mind off this travel business and get her focusing on what she wants to make for you, Alex.”

“That’s true,” admitted Alex in agreement. “Well, time to go pack our things,” and they rose to their feet and headed off in different directions to do the things they were told to do by Sarah.

[ ====== ]

A few hours later, Samuel came home from work. Sarah called him into the kitchen and informed him of the journey that their children would be doing the next thing tomorrow. At first, he was surprised, but then he smiled and said he was happy for them.

“Are you, by any chance, upset?” He asked her curiously.

“Yes!” She remarked, focusing on cooking the food that her son really liked. “I’m not going to be able to see my son for over a month from tomorrow onwards! Of course, I’d be sad!”

He chuckled and left her to cooking while heading upstairs and into his son’s room to find him slowly packing his things into his bag. In the next room, he could hear similar sounds being made and guessed that Lucia was doing the same.

“Dad,” said Alex, noticing him and smiling happily at him. “Come in and sit down.”

“I heard that you’re going on the journey tomorrow,” he said, walking into the room and sitting down on the edge of his son’s bed.

“Yeah. Miss Lucia received a letter from her father detailing about it,” his son said while continuing to move back and forth in his packing of clothes, books, and other things he might need during his journey.

“Are you excited?”

“Yes!”

Alex replied energetically to his father’s question, and Samuel smiled happily to see his son looking so happy. Then he thought about tomorrow and realising that he had work, he groaned wearily.

“What’s wrong, dad?” Alex asked curiously.

“I got work tomorrow,” his father replied weakly. “Maybe I should skip out on work for tomorrow.”

“What?! No!” Alex snapped, pausing in his movement and turning to stare incredulously at him. “Don’t take leave just for me, dad! Your work is very important.”

“But, Al, you’re more important to me than my work!”

“Maybe so, dad, but your work is what brings money into our home and lets us eat peacefully. I don’t want to end up causing you some problems with your boss by you needlessly taking a day off just because you want to send me off.”

Samuel chuckled and said, “Al, that wouldn’t be a problem. My boss is pretty lenient about me taking leaves. In fact, he told to take a few days off since I had a few stockpiled from working hard. It’ll be okay. Trust me.”

Alex could not fight back against the argument his father made, so he sighed and simply said, “Okay, but don’t blame me if your boss scolds you.”

“Haha. You’re so childish,” His father said and chuckled happily.

Samuel sat there for a few seconds, watching his son packing his bag, before deciding to take his leave. He advised his son to not pack too many things and only take those that he feels are necessary because carrying too much on a journey is a burden.

“I think Luna could do with that advise,” remarked Alex, and the father and son enjoyed a moment of hilarity.

[ ====== ]

That night, the entire family, including Lucia, sat at the dining table and enjoyed one of their best meals that Sarah made for dinner. They spent the night talking happily about the life they lead for the last few years before it was bedtime and everyone headed to their respective rooms to sleep.

The next morning, Sarah woke up early in the morning to continue to cook the remaining of the food that she could not manage to complete last night. Samuel got dressed in his casual clothes and flew off to his work to say he was taking the day off because his son was going on a journey.

The morning fog slowly cleared and it was finally morning before Alex, Luna, and Lucia woke up. Since there would be no need for training, the kids slept in and enjoyed sleeping for a few extra hours. Once they woke up, they performed their final check on their luggage, taking out stuff they did not need, and finally dragged each of their luggage into the corridor.

Each of them was carrying a medium sized bag containing their clothes and other items that they deemed were necessary for the journey. Then Lucia used her magic to levitate the bags down the stairs and into the hall to wait.

“Why are we waiting, miss?” Alex asked curiously.

“Father had written that the wagon he hired would come to our doorsteps and just wait,” replied Lucia. “I thought I told you this yesterday.”

“You didn’t,” he replied and shook his head.

And so, the three of them waited for several minutes in silence while sitting in the hall. Luna was shaking slightly from the extreme happiness and energy she felt at the prospect of going on a journey along with her childhood love and his magic teacher. She did not confide in anyone, but she secretly wished it was just her and Alex going on a journey together, which she would really love to do.

A while later, they heard an unfamiliar voice calling out from the entrance, “Hello? Is this the residence where Lucia Hartford lives at?”

“Yes!” Lucia called, jumping to her feet and headed outside to see a man dressed in travel clothes.

“Hello, miss. I’m George Fielder, hired by your father, Matthew Hartford, to take you to the capital of Huizhou and bring you back once your expedition is done,” he introduced himself and bowed a little.

“It’s nice to meet you,” replied Lucia, and she looked outside to see a wagon stationed there being pulled by two horses.

Then, her expression changed to shock when she saw a familiar person get down from the back of the wagon and slowly walk towards them.

“What’s with that face, Lucia? Is that how you appear when your father comes to send you off?” Her father, Matthew, asked with a hurt look on his face.

“W-What’re you doing here?” She asked, looking dumbfounded.

“I just told you,” he replied and winked. When Alex and Luna arrived, he smiled at the kids and greeted them with, “Hello, youngsters. Ready for the journey?”

“Yes!” Alex and Luna said simultaneously.

He nodded and smiled sweetly at them before hearing someone land behind and turned to see Samuel having just arrived back at home.

“Oh! Sir Matthew! It’s an honour to meet you,” said Samuel, recognising him instantly and greeting him as politely as he could.

“Be at ease, um,” said Matthew and left his sentence hanging as he did not know of Samuel’s name.

“Samuel, sir. It’s Samuel Degan,” said Alex’s father with a smile.

Matthew nodded and said, “Be at ease, Samuel. I came here as father of your son’s magic teacher. That’s all.”

“I see,” said Samuel, and he turned to look at Lucia, who appeared very annoyed by her father’s presence being there.

“So, has everyone packed their things and are ready to go?” Her father asked, turning around to face them.

“We sure are,” replied Alex excitedly while Luna nodded vigorously.

Matthew nodded and instructed the wagon driver to carry the luggage over and load them into his wagon. As instructed, he followed Alex into the house and into the hall, where the man carried one bag for each trip he made to the wagon and back. Just as he was loading the third bag when Sarah came out carrying a small bag that contained within them all that she had prepared for them to eat during their trip.

“Here you go, Alex!” She said, handing out the bag to Alex for him to hold onto. “Now, it has biscuits, sweets, and various other things that you’ve come to like eating. Make sure to eat them without fail and share them among the others.”

 

“Sure thing, mum,” replied her son, and she beamed at him and ruffled his hair fondly.

“Is that all?” Matthew asked, glancing around at them.

“Yes. I think that’s about it,” replied Lucia in a firm voice. She turned to Samuel and said, “Thank you very much for having me stay here and help teach your son. I promise I will look after your children on the journey and help them become truly great in their own way!”

She did not mention that she taught Alex magic because the wagon driver was there and finished off with a promise that she planned on upholding. Samuel simply smiled and nodded in return. When she did the same to Sarah, the older woman chuckled and nodded silently as well in understanding.

“Alright. Let’s go,” said Lucia to Alex and Luna, who were looking very excited.

“Yay!” Luna said, and she first turned to hug Sarah warmly before running over and hugging Samuel.

“Be safe, okay?” Sarah said when Alex turned and hugged her.

“Make sure to travel safely and enjoy the trip,” said Samuel as he was hugging Luna at that time.

After Alex hugged Samuel, Matthew, who was touched by this heart-warming scene, turned to his daughter and spread his arms out wide in a welcoming gesture for her to hug him. Lucia saw this and wore a strange look on her face and took a step backwards in alarm.

“Why are you backing away?! I’m not some fiend or anything!” He exclaimed, looking hurt. “I just want to hug you, Lucia. I just want to hug my daughter! That’s all!”

With everyone watching them, Lucia coughed a few times before looking at her father and saying, “I’ll hug you when I return.”

“Huh?!” He exclaimed in shock, and his arms slumped weakly at his side. “When you return? Does that mean I have to wait for more than a month?! No way! I can’t wait that long!”

“I can,” she replied, and smiled cheekily at him before walking over and climbing into the wagon.

She helped Alex and Luna climb into the wagon and sat down while Samuel, Sarah, and Matthew came around the back to look at them. At the same time, the driver got onto the wagon that was being pulled by two horses and called out to them.

“Ready to go?”

“Yes, please!” Lucia replied cheerfully.

So, with the command given, he whipped the lines tied around the horses and made them move forward and pulling the wagon. As they did, Samuel and Sarah began to shout after them.

“Make sure to travel safely!” Sarah shouted.

“Make sure to have fun on your journey!” Samuel shouted after them.

“We will!” Alex and Luna replied, and they, including Lucia, waved goodbye at them as the wagon slowly trundled away along the wide road.

They stood there and watched the wagon disappearing into the distance until they no longer could see them. Then, as they turned, they saw Matthew standing there looking very disappointed.

“Now, I have to wait for more than a month to hug my daughter. How depressing,” he remarked, and flapped his wings before soaring into the air and disappearing towards his home.

The parents watched him leave before turning to face the direction the wagon disappeared at before Sarah said, “It’ll be lonely from now on.”

“Yeah, but time will fly by very quickly,” her husband said with a smile, walking over, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. “They’ll be back soon.”

“Yes. I’m hoping really soon,” she commented in a hopeful voice.

He looked at his wife and asked, “It’s strange that you didn’t even shed a tear. Didn’t you drink enough water?”

“What’s that got to do with me crying?” She asked him, turning and giving him a look that suggested that she thought he was crazy. As he smiled cheekily, she shook her head and said, “No. I wanted him to leave on a happy note and not feel bad for leaving us to go on a journey. After all, he won’t be staying with us forever, and must pave his own road in the near future.”

“Yes. You’re certainly right,” her husband said in agreement, and the two turned back to look in the direction that the wagon carrying their son disappeared at with hopeful expressions on their faces.