Book of Aniela: Sins of Amphaesia

Chapter 4

She eventually found Beth.

Well, Beth eventually found her.

Alora searched every part of the church she knew--which was much to begin with but she tried. Eventually she sat down in a back row of pews, Beth almost immediately appearing by her side, this time making her presence known without scaring Alora.

"Hello, dear. I believe we have a lot to discuss." Alora knew she was being genuine, but an adult wanting to discuss anything in private immediately made her nervous.

Beth led Alora back upstairs, through the small hall and to the dorm she had woken up in. Since she was now in a more focused place of mind, she could actually take in the contents of the room.

Aside from the bed she had woken up in, there was a small dresser against the wall on the left side of the room, and on the right was a small table with a single chair. A circular window would have let in enough natural light to see in the daytime, but since the sun had set a while ago Beth summoned a small ball of fire into her palm, using that to light their way and then to light two candles on the table and a big candle sitting on the bedside table.

Alora sat down on the bed after Beth took a seat in the chair, putting them back into the position from this morning when she had woken up.

Alora had excect her to ask questions, like why was she here and what she had run away from. That's not what she got.

"Be one of my students."

Alora started.

"You ended up here for a reason. Cophaesia led you to his church, and there must be a reason. I sense something in you. I cannot tell what it is yet, but you're being guarded by a sort of spell, one keeping all magic away from you. Do you know of any mages in your life?"

Guarded?

"I... I do but he'd never go out of his way to protect me, I-"

"Who?"

"Mathias Agell, my mother's husband."
Alora could see the gears turning in her head. "You did not call him father. Why is that, dear?"

Alora didn't answer right away. "Because he isn't my father."

Beth nodded. If she was judging Alora on behalf of her mother's affair, she didn't show it.

"I've heard tales of him. He's a very powerful mage. It is odd to me that even without being your father that he'd never offer to teach you any magic."

Alora shook her head, "He hates me. He can't be the one who put the spell on me, he'd rather me dead than protect me."

There was a minute of silence as Beth thought, and Alora waited for her to speak.

"Even if he didn't teach you magic, I will. If you'll decide to take me up on that offer of course. You have all the freedom you want here, although there are a couple ground rules. Even as one of my students, you can come and go as you please, even get a job if you'd like. There's a lot of small shops nearby that are always needing extra help."

Alora thought about the offer. "What are the ground rules?"

"They're very simple. The first is respect, and be respected. The others here might get a little bit of a power trip from time to time, but even as one of the youngest here, they must treat you with the same respect as you must treat them.

The second isn't a very hard one to break. As one of my students, you're learning angelic magic only. Multiple types of magic being mixed together at an early stage in your education is dangerous and deadly. As I'm sure you know, demonic magic is strictly forbidden by law, but magic of faefolk and merfolk isn't. If you mix impure with pure magic, the results can be as light as nothing and as heavy as death and madness."

"I see..." Alora turned that over in her head.

"As you've seen, everyone here is kind and welcoming."

"Yes, they are," she thought back to dinner and how easily conversation came.

Alora didn't see any other option. Nor did she see any reason to deny Beth's offer.

Alora looked at her and smiled. "I would love to be your student, Beth."

Beth grinned back, "Wonderful."

She got up, "Rest tonight, dear. Tomorrow we will go through a ritual to get rid of the remnants of the spell on you, because as long as it's in place, your magic is locked, in a way. I do not know exactly how long it'll stay in place, but I can see in your aura that it is long lasting, and has been renewed many times."

She opened the door, stepping out, "Oh, and thank you for helping clean up. I haven't seen Caleb smiling that much in years."