Sain Clare Academy (gxg, 18+)

Chapter Fourty

"Why did you save me?" The boy's small voice rang through the still air of the small room we were in.

Another day had passed since the incident, and we had managed to reach a small town bordering where our target lie. Grace, despite the sputtering indignance of her knights, had selected a small, poor inn to stay in. She was in a room by herself, the largest the inn had to offer, and the boy I had rescued was staying with me in a room I suspected might actually be the largest. Still, it was Grace who selected the rooms, so only Grace knew.

I played dumb. "How do you mean? I merely spared you; I knew you weren't working out of your own free will." The boy glowered at me, and I was slightly impressed at hit guts. Despite everything, despite all he had been through, his eyes held a fire I had once seen in my own long ago.

He was out for revenge.

For what, and for who, I did not know.

"That isn't what I meant," he rebutted, "and you know it." Swiftly, I smiled, straightening myself and flicking two of my fingers together. The boy's lips sealed together.

"I am your master, and you will address me with respect," I scolded him gently. "This is not the world you once lived in. You now serve the Duke's family-- acting with such vulgarity will only bring shame upon my name and upon the lady's name. I will not tolerate that." Then, i slid my fingers apart.

"...Understood."

"And fix your posture," I barked, the nostalgia of teaching washing over me once more.

God, I missed the Academy.

He straightened his back, silent. I could see the questions burning on his tongue, and was mildly impressed when he didn't ask them right away.

"Your name?" I asked, knowing the answer. There was no way a child with the Mark of a mage would be given a formal name. He had probably been a slave all his life.

"I do not have one," he said, yet no shame cluttered his gaze, testimony of his internal strength. I smiled softly back at him.

"Then I will give one to you," I told him, flexing my mana into the air around us. It swirled, thickening with the contract I had begun between us during the advent of the attack. "I am your master, and you are my apprentice. Your name, Felix, will be proof of our bond. You will serve under me, and I will provide you with wisdom and protection." I swiped my finger, clotted with the magic of our contract, over his pale forehead. The bond sunk into his skin, pulsing with the red of my mana and fading.

"...Thank you, master," he said, low, lowering his gaze.

"Good. You're a fast learner. Make sure to stay that way, and serve Lady Belloway well."

"I will serve you well," he said instead, and I had to stop myself from grinning. Feisty brat. I waved him away.

"The bonding ritual is just a formality, don't pay it any mind. I saved you so that you might be of assistance to the lady, not to me-- I am your master, yes, but orders given by Lady Belloway will take precedence."

"I want to serve master," he fought, eyes still lowed to the ground. His posture was rigid, sure; he wouldn't give in so easily. I sighed.

"Look at me, brat," I said, and our gazes met. His red eyes were certain. unmoving. "You don't owe me anything."

"..."

"What I did was out of my own volition, and you don't owe me anything for it."

"But--"

"Felix," I warned him. I would have to put him through formal etiquette at some point.

"I respect Lady Belloway," he said in a rush, as if he were scared I would cut him off again, "I will serve her. I will. But, master, I cannot comply with any orders but your own. You... I..."

I knew what he was thinking. The bond between us was stronger than a regular master-apprentice relationship.

During the attack, when I had paused time, I had noticed two things. One, that the boy was being forced against his will in an enslavement contract. Two, that I could remove it.

The choice hadn't been difficult.

A curse that strong couldn't be removed easily or quickly, but as to not endanger Grace I needed to get it off of him as fast as I could. To do that, I managed to transfer the curse to myself by opening a contract with him.

I had been planning on binding him to Grace, have her as his master, but she hadn't wished for that.

"Ask your question," I allowed, seating myself in the hard chair lining the corner of the room. Felix stood rigid, as if he were trying to hid his unease.

"How are you able to..." He didn't continue.

"An enslavement curse does not work on me," I explained to him, crossing my legs. "It's magic is too weak, it is diluted within my own. It should disintegrate after a few months." Felix's eyes widened at my statement.

I didn't blame him. Enslavement magic was extremely strong, impossible to resist to even the strongest of mages. However, I was different.

I had been born with an immensely large pool of mana, and more than that, I could pull mana from outside of my body. Curses had little effect on me.

Still, there were consequences, ones that became increasingly obvious as our days in the town continued.

A/N:

Felix <3