Rumerra - The Journey Begins

Chapter 2 - A dream come true (part IV)

School was over for that year and summer was ahead. Velvet went to the field to practice her magic every single day for hours. The time she did spend at home, she was buried in books on magic her teacher supplied from her grandfather just like she promised. The surprises kept on coming to the Crow household, though. Just a week or two after school ended, a package arrived at their door.

"What's this? I didn't expect any mail," her father said to the man delivering it.

"Are you Mister James Crow?" the postman asked.

"Yes, I am," he answered.

"And is your daughter Miss Velvet Crow?"

"Yes, she is."

"Then this is your package. Have a good day, sir!" Greeting him, he jumped back on his carriage and rode on, leaving the surprised man standing in the doorway with the package in hand.

When the father brought it inside and opened it, a letter immediately popped up on top of it. There were a bunch of other papers along with it. At the top of the letter it was written in bold: "LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE"

Below, a short paragraph said the following:
"Esteemed Mister James Crow. We are delighted that you have chosen to enroll your child, Miss Velvet Crow, to the Everdale Academy of Magic. Our academy is renowned across our kingdom as one of the best and we stand by that with our high standards of accommodation, teaching, and decades of experience. Across the years, we have produced many great sorcerers and sorceresses and we are fully committed to our cause.

By entrusting us with your child you have given us the responsibility of molding them into a great mage. You have entrusted to us their hopes, dreams, and aspirations. We hereby promise you that we will do everything in our ability to help your child achieve his or her highest potential. Looking forward to meeting you!

Sincerely,
Headmaster Argus Finkleshore, tier four sorcerer, and member of the Council of Mages

P.S.
All additional information regarding accommodation, teaching program, benefits, and expenses can be found on the papers included in this package."

"What..." The man scratched his head upon reading the letter. "What the hell is this?"

He looked through the rest of the paper. The first thing that immediately stood out and piqued his interest was a paper titled, "BILLING AND EXPENSES." Looking through the list of services included among which he saw teacher's salaries, accommodation, food, activities, equipment, and uniform, he came down to a total of 300 RGP (Rumerran gold pieces) per school year, which for all five years of the program cost 1500 RGP.

"WHAT?!" he yelled out loud, nearly falling off his seat. "Are they out of their damn minds?! I can buy my farm three times over with this amount! Where am I supposed to get this kind of money?! I haven't even applied for anything and they send me a bill like this!"

When he glanced down at the paper again, however, he saw something written at the end of it. "Amount paid in full on 11th of Jodayn, year 46 post-racial war." Below this, at the very bottom, there were two signatures. One for the headmaster signed by Argus Finkleshore and one for the consignee, signed by...

"Robert Corwell," James said under his breath upon reading it. Leaning back in his seat he looked up, staring blankly at the ceiling. Please allow me to provide everything she needs to follow the path she wants to. Those were his words.

"This man..." he muttered to himself in disbelief. Without saying another word, he got dressed and in a few minutes, was already standing in front of the Corwell's house, without even himself knowing how he actually got there. As soon as the man opened, he lifted up the paid bill with a shaky hand. "What...what is this?"

"What do you mean?" Robert cocked his eyebrow. "You know how to read, don't you?"

"I can but...are you sure about this?" the unnannounced guest said with a quaking voice.

"Ah, not this again..." The merchant sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look James, why are you questioning a done deal? This is the number one rule of selling. Once you've made a sale, don't look back on it and second guess it. You're really making this hard for me. Just say thank you and be on your way. I am doing this for the sake of your daughter."

The father's eyes filled up with tears. "Thank you. Thank you!" He hugged the man. "Me and my daughter will never forget this. You're making her dreams come true!"

"That's the beauty of money," Robert said, patting the crying man on the back. "Sometimes, it can make dreams come true. And when it does, I feel it is worth every penny."

The farmer took a step back, realizing he may have overstepped his boundaries with the hug.
"Sorry about that," he said, wiping his tears. "It's just...you don't know how much this means to Velvet."

The rich man smiled. "Oh, I think I do know. That is why I did it. A life for a dream. As a merchant, I think that's a fair exchange, don't you?"

"I really misjudged you," the father said after a brief silence. "I went my whole life thinking rich people just don't care about anyone but themselves. You could have just sent me and my daughter away with a smile and a thank you. But instead, you do all of this."

He stopped to wipe his tears again. "You opened my eyes and showed me that there are people whose heart does not rot when covered in gold. It only shines brighter."

"I'm glad," the other man said. "I wish you and your daughter all the best. Feel free to come to me if you need anything. If it's a monetary problem, I can probably solve it. Or even if you just want to stop for a cup of coffee. I just had a marvelous new blend imported from the dwarven lands. You should try it."

"Thank you for your kindness. That sounds delightful." He accepted his invitation and said his farewells before walking back home.

When he arrived there, he took a look at the rest of the package, which he had just left on the kitchen table because of the shock. In the additional information, he read that the classes start in the fall on the 1st of Sokayn, which is the 9th month of the year. This was around two months from now. They encouraged students to arrive earlier though, to get to know their classmates and accustom themselves to the new environment.

Since everything was already paid for regarding Velvet's accommodation, she could technically go there tomorrow if she wanted to. Below the pile of papers detailing everything, he found a neatly folded uniform. They already had it made and sent it over. A beige shirt with a black skirt, vest, and necktie. A leather jacket was included for colder days. On both the vest and the jacket "C. Velvet" was sewn in with a golden thread. He held it up and looked it over.

"What's that?" The girl just stepped inside, coming back from practicing in the field.

"Guess where you are going?" Her father smiled upon seeing her. "You've just been accepted into Everdale Academy of Magic. This is your uniform right here."

"You're kidding me, right?" she said, not believing what he said at first. "Well, whose name is written on this letter of acceptance here?" He walked over with the paper and handed it to her.

She kept looking over it for a while without saying anything. Her dad waited for a reaction, but it never came. Instead, he only saw tears that started dripping onto the paper.
"I...I can't believe this is happening," she finally managed to get out. "I love you, Dad! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" the girl shouted, hugging him tightly.

"Don't thank me," he said caressing her hair. "None of this would have happened if you didn't save that girl. You did it all yourself. I'm so proud of you, Velvet. As proud as a father can possibly be."

They let their hug linger while she cried tears of joy. After composing herself, she immediately tried on her uniform which fit her perfectly. Spending the rest of the day wearing it, she started packing her things after her father told her they can go there any time she felt like it. Just a few days later, a carriage was waiting in front of the Corwell's house.

"Thank you for arranging this on such short notice." Mister Crow thanked the man for once again doing him a huge favor. "I knew Velvet would be eager to go as soon as possible, but this is a bit too early even for me if I am being completely honest." He laughed. "I don't think I am ready to let my little girl go just yet."

"I'm not that little anymore, Dad. I will be just fine," she said looking up at him. Penelope walked up to her. She wasn't pleased at all that her new friend was leaving so soon after they only started getting along. "Well..." she said looking at the ground and playing with her hands. "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess so." Velvet only just realized that as well. Despite not really spending all that much time with the girl, she grew fond of her and didn't feel good leaving her behind so hastily.

"I will come to visit you in the summer!" she said, breaking the silence that fell over them.

"I'd like that." The blonde girl smiled. "It's funny, you know. Just a few weeks back I thought magic was stupid. And then you saved my life with it." She paused for a moment. "Do you remember when you said in your presentation that you wanted to become a witch because you love magic? And I made fun of you, saying that's a stupid reason?"

"Yes, I do. Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden though? I told you I forgive you."

"It's not that. I was just thinking about it, you know. My mom loves cooking and she makes the best food. My dad loves selling things and talking to people. That's why he is the best merchant. And Mister Bigmin in town, with his fruit stall. You know him, right?"

Velvet nodded, not sure where she was going with this.

"Well, I know he loves growing apples. That's why his are the best. Everyone who is the best at something loves it. What I am trying to say is, that your reason was not stupid at all. It's the best reason. The only reason you need. So go do what you love and I just know you will be the best at it!"

After saying that, she took off her silver hairpin and stuck it behind the rim of the black cloth around Velvet's pointy hat.

"Keep it," she said to her. "As a token of our friendship. If you could make an idiot like me start liking magic, you can make anyone fall in love with it."

"That's...wow." The young witch was taken aback by the speech she gave. "I see you're just as creative with giving compliments as you are with dishing out insults. You really took after your father, you know that? You have your way with words."

"Thanks! I'm practicing a lot you know. I want to be as good as Dad one day!"

"You're going to be even better if you keep this up," Velvet assured her.

"I'm going to miss you," Penelope said, hugging her.

"Same here," the other girl replied. After they broke their hug, Velvet got on the carriage where her dad was already waiting for her. She waved at the girl and her father standing at the side of the road as they slowly started moving. A long journey to the capital city of Everdale was ahead of them.

Thank you for reading! I appreciate it!

Velvet's dream of studying magic is finally coming true! But will the academy and the people there be what she expected?