Embers || Ikemen Revolution || Sirius

Chapter 12 ~ Teatime With The White Rabbit & The Mad Hatter

The next day, Sirius told me to go out and have some tea with Blanc and his friend, the little kid, Oliver. I'm so excited to see Blanc again! He isn't as attentive as Sirius, so asking about Magic Crystals probably won't be as surprising for him. Maybe he'll even have some used up ones I could work with!

Humming to myself, I beamed when I saw a small cottage in the Central Quarter. It really did look straight out of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. So cute and cottagecore!! I wonder what it's like to live in a cottage for the rest of your life.

"Hello," I asked as I knocked on the door. I waved bye to the Black soldier escorting me here, and he went back to the headquarters.

The door opened to reveal Blanc, a smile on his face. "Good morning, Alice," he said, opening the door a bit wider to let me in. "Come on in. Oliver was just making some tea."

"Good morning," I said, waving at Oliver as I walked in, before pausing for a moment.

I never noticed when I first met him, but he was surrounded with magic residue. Like, it's all around him. Unless he uses magic a lot, that shouldn't be happening. And a kid like him shouldn't be playing with magic either.

"What're you staring at, dummy," Oliver asked, glaring at me.

Aw, he's such a tsundere!! What a cutie!

"Nothing, nothing," I said as I took a seat. "So, how've your guys' days been?"

"Good, good," Blanc said as he took a seat opposite to mine. "What about you, Alice? Are you adjusting to Cradle nicely?"

I nodded my head, taking this opportunity to ask about the Magic Crystals. "Yeah, everyone at the Black Army has been super nice to me. And, well, it's been interesting learning more about magic in Cradle, and Magic Crystals." I looked up at Blanc, eyes filled with hope. "Do you think I can learn magic too?"

Blanc smiled at me softly.

"Magic is too dangerous to be played with a little girl like you," Oliver said as he hopped into his own seat. He looked so mature with the way he spoke and talked.

"I'm not that young," I said, tilting my head to the side slightly. "And you yourself seem to be even younger than me."

Oliver glared, his eyes cutting into me like daggers. "Don't treat me like a kid," he threatened, but I just couldn't take him seriously with that adorable chubby face. He reminded me of those kids back at home that I babysat, those ones that pretended to be an adult to be taken seriously.

But then again, those kids aren't surrounded with leftover magic. I wonder if he'll notice if I just tug a bit...

No. No. You can't do that, Emberlynn. It'll be too dangerous. What if he's born with magic, like my brother? That'll explain the magic residue, if he uses that magic constantly. It'll be dangerous. Don't. Even. Try it.

"So," I said, swirling the tea subconsciously. "Do you guys use magic at all?"

"Of course," Blanc smiled. "But Oliver here doesn't use it as much as I do."

Yet your magic residue is hardly any match for Oliver's. By the way, why does that hat look so familiar?

"How old are you, Oliver," I asked, leaning forwards, placing my cup to the side.

"And why should I tell you," Oliver scoffed. "You won't even believe me, will you?"

I searched his eyes for a moment, before leaning back, my mind racing. He was definitely cursed. That was the only explanation for the huge amount of magic residue without any spells being casted by him himself. By then again, he could be just a magic born user. Still, using his magic recklessly like that won't be good for his lifespan.

And that man I remember seeing on my first night here, he had the exact same hat as Oliver's right now. Coincidence? I think not! Or maybe it is, maybe it's some family heirloom, who knows.

But that guy also had a similar speech pattern to Oliver, and even dressed similarly. Maybe Oliver learned from an older brother or a father figure? Maybe an uncle?

But I still have a nagging feeling that that wasn't the case. I still firmly believe that he's been cursed, somehow. For some reason.

"I'm just curious," I murmured as I took a bite of some scones Blanc had laid out. "You look so young, yet you act so mature."

Oliver sneered at me. "And what about you, huh? You look old, yet you act like a baby."

"Maybe I do," I smiled, but I have a feeling that it didn't quite reach my eyes. "Well then," I said, changing the topic. "Where do you guys think I can get some Magic Crystals? I wanna try my hand at some spells!"

Blanc smiled at me, grateful that I was letting the whole Oliver questions go, for now. "They're quite expensive," he said, tapping his chin. "But I can gift you one, if you'd like? A pretty rock for a pretty lady."

I blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thanks," I said with a small smile.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Don't, Blanc. She'll probably just blow the headquarters up."

I frowned at Oliver. "I may act like a kid sometimes, but I'm not stupid enough to do that!"

"Really? Cause I must've mistaken you for the idiot that you are."

Jeez, Oliver really is a snarky little brat. Does he really not know any manners?

"Don't mind him," Blanc said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a beautiful blue and pink crystal. "He's always like that. Plus, it'll be nice for you to have a defence of some sort."

"Defence?" I turned the stone in my hand carefully, feeling the magic glimmer underneath it's surface. "Isn't Cradle a peaceful country?"

I wanted to suck it dry right here, right now, but I don't want to do anything rash with people watching.

Oliver scoffed, yet again, but Blanc sent him a look. I frowned, looking between the two guys.

"Is there something I'm missing," I asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Blanc said. "Now, it seems that your time has come to leave. Feel free to visit anytime you'd like."

I nodded my head, standing up. "I'll see you guys around then," I waved, going outside to the Black soldier here to pick me up. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

A/N: 

Hey guys! I updated on time, whoo! Once again, thank you to my amazing friend Chaosangel767 for being such a lfiesaver!! 

Word Count (not including A/N): 1082 

2021/07/21