The Princess and the Weakest

Wind carried leaves along the paths of Zars. Zars was the only city of magic in the entire world, considered neutral ground for all countries. This enabled the school to own an entire school dedicated to magic without anyone being able to interrupt in its ordeals. But the neutrality of the city also limited its possibilities of expansion, thus limiting the amount of students it could admit. Many a noble though would try to get their students admitted if they showed aptitude in the art, sadly though failing at admitting their children sometimes for their weak ability. But this isn’t the story of the school or its history, it’s a story of a student in the school of Zars with an incredible mental barrier to overcome, and a wandering alumni, an alumni who was known to have had the worst score in the entire schools history.

Zoe Galvin walked down the hallways of Zars’ school of magic, ready to go to dinner. She had been thinking about her last lesson when she heard steps behind her, not the soft steps emitted by the fur soled boots every student was forced to wear along with his uniform, but rather hard steps, created by sturdy leather boots intended for travelling. When she turned around she saw a man in a dark green cloak, striding past her. Zoe followed him through the hallways of Zars, until they both stood in front of the looming double doors that led into the dining hall. The cloaked man push the doors open and pulled off his hood. All eyes were turned on the man who stood there for a second. The teachers started to widen their eyes, some frowning afterwards, some smiling fondly. The man walked up to the wall on which two fighting dragons were depicted. He bowed before it and then walked up to the principal. He knelt before her and said: “Principal Telon, I, Lukas Fehrweather, have returned to pay my respects to the dragons of Zars and the school of Zars.”
Mutters could be heard throughout the entire dining hall, Lukas Fehrweather, the worst student to have ever graduated from the school of Zars, the stain of the school’s history, barely managing a spell second years could do with ease. But he still graduated, and how no one knew, no one except for his examiners and himself. It was also a well-kept tradition that those who travelled around the entire known world would pay their respects to the dragons and school of Zars, but of course, travelling around the entire known world wasn’t a simple feat, rather, one could more easily lose his life than one could live through that. But Lukas Fehrweather, the worst student managed to complete the journey. No one was willing to believe it, but there he was. Zoe was amazed at first, then surprise turned to frustration, turning to controlled anger afterwards. She was frustrated to know that someone who couldn’t manage the spells she learned in her first year managed to travel around the known world, and she could not accept it. She wanted to walk up to Lukas Fehrweather but he had left. Zoe had decided that she could wait, because tradition required the one who paid respect to stay for one week. Zoe was tempted to go there right away to have a question answered, but she decided against it and ate her dinner before going to her dormitory.

Her dormitory room was a simple room with four bunk beds and a closet for each bed. A door connected the dormitory room with a bathroom that the eight of them shared. The school of Zars did not believe in social rank within the school, they were of the opinion that roommates were teammates so they would have to learn how to share, a problem for many of the nobility.
When Zoe got into her bed she tried her best to suppress a shudder that went through her and closed her eyes. She felt her body float in midair, and let the nightmare she experienced over and over again begin.
She was back in her castle, her place of birth with people crowding around her. Everyone had a false smile on, trying to get into her good graces, the future heiress of the king, the princess. She tried to block out the sweet words, but she couldn’t. She tried to ignore the soulless gazes the nobility gave her, but she couldn’t. Fear took over her and she cast magic, the signature fire spell of the royal family, purple flames encasing some of the nobility. Tears ran down her eyes when she cried: “No, no, no, no, please no. NO!”

The fire would continue burning for the rest of the dream and she would feel the pain and suffering of her sin. But then the fire went out. Someone came into her dream, a man in an elegant black suit with a top hat and white gloves. His face was covered by a smiling mask and he bowed down to her, handing the dreaming Zoe a bouquet of flowers. The man gave a slip of paper and walked away, disappearing from the dream. Zoe looked at the paper and read: ‘Smile, a princess should not show insecurity, smile and live a happy life.’
Zoe couldn’t help but be astonished, for the first time her nightmare had changed, for the first time she slept ordinarily and for the first time she woke up feeling refreshed. She dressed quickly and got ready for lessons, her roommates waking up one after the other, every one of them asking themselves the same question: ‘Did I get used to Zoe’s cries of panic?’

Lessons went by in a heartbeat and Zoe decided to go visit Lukas Fehrweather. Lukas Fehrweather was a weird man she had heard from her roommates, preferring his carriage over the rooms of the castle and always sitting in front of the lake of the school, reading a book or just looking at the leaves. Zoe luckily found him in the carriage while he was about to leave and Lukas looked at her. Four years separated them, she just entering the school when he left. Lukas though remembered her, the fiery red haired girl of the royal family, the silent princess, someone he had actually not minded. He beckoned her into his carriage and Zoe understood why he preferred the carriage. Inside the small carriage there was a huge lush field of grass and a cozy house. When she gave him a questioning glance he winked: “Let me have my secrets.”

They sat down in a kitchen inside of the small house and he gave her a cup of tea. She reluctantly drank it and Lukas pulled his coat off, throwing it over a chair and sitting down himself: “So, what leads you to me?”
“I want to know how you passed the final examination. So many people failed, but you who always had the worst scores barely passed, how did you do it?” Zoe asked bluntly.
Lukas gave her a smile: “That, is a secret, but I can assure you that I legitimately took the examination and passed, no bribery involved, mostly because I was pretty poor.”
Zoe sipped a bit of the tea and silence reigned. She looked around the house, seeing maps of different areas and a small closet, a small bed and a statue. A few paintings here and there and a bookshelf filled with books. A chest at the side of a desk that was cluttered with ink, feathers and books. A chestnut aroma wafting through the air and the table’s smooth birch surface making her hands search for an excuse to stay in contact with it. Finally Lukas decided to break the silence.
“How is Zars academy?” He asked.
“Normal, I guess… We don’t do a lot of missions as students any more though, it changed three years ago,” she answered.
Lukas clicked his tongue and when Zoe was done with her cup of tea, she left, thanking him for the cup.
The rest of the day was a normal day, having dinner, going to sleep, just that the nightmares disappeared.

The sleep filled nights created a wonderful new routine for her and she attended school well, ate healthily and slept well, until the night before Lukas left. She had a new nightmare, a nightmare where she killed her own parents in panic, burning them alive and her mother cursing her. She awoke with a start, grabbing her face and softly sobbing. Her roommates woke up and tried to comfort her, not wishing to know what the problem was.

In the morning she sat in the lesson she dreaded the most, magic. Her teacher Mrs. Thistle was a wonderful woman, but the new assistant teacher, an alumni from the same generation as Lukas Fehrweather, Paul Liston made the lesson a hundred times worse. He was in charge of practical magic lessons and forced her to cast fire spells although he was well informed of her trauma. This time as well, she heard her name be called ten minutes into the lesson.
“Zoe Galvin, show us a tear five fire spell, the royal family should be able to handle one,” a smirk apparent on his face. Her classmates were about to object but she stopped them and went up to the front, trying to find the words that were drilled into her from a young age.
“Earth, Ash, Wind, Fire, Light and Heat, may you reign supreme on the court of elements, I call upon you, Crown of Fire.” It was a simple spell, nonetheless not just anyone could cast it. It was the sign that someone belonged to the royal family and was worthy of becoming the next ruler of the country, a crown made of fire. The crown appeared before her, but then the fire spread. It became violent, losing control and spreading all over the room.
“Zoe Galvin! Cancel the spell this instant!”
Zoe faintly heard Paul Liston shout over the roaring flames. But she barely registered it because she held her head, tears running down her face.
“Make it stop, please just make it stop!” She shouted to herself.
“My oh my,” Zoe heard a voice she never thought she would hear,
“I came here to say farewell to everyone but it seems like I’ll have to deal with this,” the voice belonged to Lukas Fehrweather, he stood in the doorway with a smile on his face.
“Fehrweather! Leave! I can handle this!” Liston shouted but Lukas looked straight at him with a death stare.
“Greasy Paul, let me tell you this right now, I won’t risk the lives of these students because you hate me, so shut up.”
Lukas pulled up his hood and grabbed something from the inside of his coat, a smiling mask. He covered his face with it and walked, straight into the fire.
“NO!” Zoe shouted, fearing her killing someone again, but the fire didn’t hurt Lukas. Lukas held out his hand and slightly hit the flames, the flames disappearing on contact.
The room turned silent in an instant, only the heat remaining as proof of the fiendfyre Zoe had accidentally created. Lukas left the room, handing Zoe a book.
“Don’t panic. You’re a princess, a future Queen, fire is the most powerful and also the most unforgiving element. Don’t let it see your uncertainty, walk straight, be confident. Most importantly though: Smile, a princess should not show insecurity, smile and live a happy life.”
Lukas walked off, leaving a stunned Zoe behind. Mrs. Thistle smiled and said: “Let me tell you kids, of Lukas. Lukas is probably the best student to have ever attended this school. He could cast magic like no other and make himself look more unskilled than a first year. He is mostly known by the world by a different name though, Archmage of Zars. He proudly carries that name and is the most skilled Archmage to ever exist, becoming one at the age of sixteen. Now he has carried that name for five years, remember this day kids, carve it into your brain, the day you met a living legend.”
Zoe looked down to the book she received from Lukas: ‘The different flames of magic, a history and a guide.’

Lukas was riding down a road when he heard a shout from behind him. He turned around and saw her, Zoe Galvin, standing there, cheeks rosy from running.
“THANK YOU FOR THE BOOK!” She shouted as loudly as her lungs would let her.
Lukas smiled and waved his hand, Zoe’s clothes changed into an elegant burgundy red dress, a message of fire appearing before her: ‘Become a great Queen and let the debt be settled.’
Zoe smiled while Lukas’ form became smaller and smaller as he went away.

 

Darkness. A dark room and you are looking forward, not aware if your eyes are actually open or are closed, that is how our mind works. Now you see light, a stage, red curtains and a man steps out, a white suit with a black shirt and white bowtie, a smiling mask on his face.
“That was the first story of the smiling masks, I hope you will enjoy the others.”
The light disappears, and your eyes look at darkness again.

Author's Note

So... yeah... been some time. I hope this actually makes me read more, but well, can't promise anything. I hope you like it and I appreciate all reviews. Have a nice day.
Picture: Pillars of Creation (They used to exist, were destroyed 1000 years ago, existed in space).