The Crystal Mines

13 Rion

I watched one of my students attempt to shoot their bow. I had them practicing each weekend in the evenings, taking up Lambert's old role of combat training and teaching Auramancy, light magic. This particular student was a determined girl that reminded me of the blue-haired friend who traveled with Taury, Garren, and Ameer to the market a few days ago. Sera, I think her name was. The girl in front of me was one of many of the new students this year that had barely passed the magic test. But her blood rang true during testing. She was the youngest age possible, eighteen. Leaving me seven years her senior. Though Eliza had just turned twenty, my student felt much younger.

My father fussed about the watering down of magic in Fae over the years and he was appalled at the turn out this year. He raged on for days after the testing and didn't return to the dinner feasts until it was time for the students to choose their team names for their trials. He had eyed this girl, Talay and chose her as his target one afternoon. He was asking of her lineage and had determined she was a Rustblood. I had stepped in, stupidly, offering to train her myself in magic and combat. He agreed so long as I was willing to take on any punishments for her failure. She had turned out to be quite the prodigy with the sword and I had moved to using bows after only a few months. I had not received any punishments from him yet.

She was aiming well with the bow, but her form was off. She had a bad habit of forgetting to turn the elbow of her bow arm. A bruise on her left arm shone proudly where the string kept snapping. I shook my head at Talay as time after time, the string hit her arm. There were tears in her eyes, but she picked up another arrow to nock.

"When are you going to learn to turn your elbow, Talay?"

"When my body has decided to learn its lesson." Her words were brutal, and she pulled the string back to her mouth, ignoring her black curls tickling her cheek. She took a breath and blocked out the sounds of her peers sparing nearby. The arrow flew the moment she released her breath, hitting the bullseye, and her arm, unharmed. I stepped forward to congratulate her when a scream came from behind us.

Whirling around, we saw a sparing session had gone into a full-blown melee. Two boys were fighting, the sounds of their swords ringing in the training grounds. One was clearly losing, bleeding from the gut. He remained standing, defending himself. I turned to Talay and ordered her to run and grab Eliza from the medical wing. She took off at a sprint, handing off her bow to another student. Having had enough violence, I went to intervene.

I tapped into my branch of earth magic inside and buried both boys' feet into the ground and cemented the earth. The wounded boy fell back while the other kept swinging, trying to kill him. After disarming them both, I checked the wounds.

"I'm here," Eliza breathed as she jogged to us, medical bag in hand. "What in the Hells happened?" Her look was incredulous and aimed at me. She bent down and got to work on the boy. I released the earth holding him but kept the aggressor at bay.

"I have no idea! I was helping Talay with her archery."

Another student spoke up, a girl. "They were fighting over a girl" She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. That got Eliza's attention and she paused in her care for the boy.

"Girls are not objects to fight over," Eliza looked at the boys in the grounds. "If you have to fight your friends for her, she is either manipulating you, or you think of women as less than what she deserves. I don't ever want to tend to another wound over a girl again. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Silence. She gritted out, "Do. I?"

I found myself fighting the urge to mumble, "Yes ma'am" with the boys. For a tiny thing, she sure knew how to hold her ground. Pleased, she returned to tending the wound. I wove my hand, dismissing the students. Before releasing the still angry boy, I promised him duty cleaning the horse stalls. With just Eliza and the boy left, I crouched beside them. She had knocked him out to avoid the worst of the pain.

"He is going to need bed rest and monitoring. Will you help me move him to the clinic?"

Nodding, I gently lifted the boy. I hated that I was terrible at remembering names. I had been teaching for a few months now and I only knew Talay's. I turned around and discovered she had not left with the others. Figures. I tried not to grin as she followed us to the clinic silently.

Eliza adjusted her bag, her white hair shimmering in the moonlight. "We need to talk about the other night," she whispered.

"Not right now, we don't," I said gruffly.

She looked around me to where Talay walked, indicating present company.

We need all the help we can get. She switched to speaking in my mind. Eliza was much better mind speak than I was. To me, it felt like talking through muddy water. I could do it, but my voice was muffled. Hers was clear as a bell and sung through my body.

Not Talay. I managed to say.

Though your protection of her is honorable, she can handle herself. We both know she won't be safe here without you to protect her. Or was that your plan, leave her here.

I hadn't thought about it. What leaving would do to my students. I adjusted the weight of the boy in my arms. Talay eyed us curiously, which I ignored. When we made it to the clinic, I laid the boy on the bed and sat on a stool. Eliza began mixing a potion and Talay silently helped. I let myself feel sorry for myself. How did I get here? Protecting a student, helping a rebellion, and sitting in the clinic. I rubbed my chin, not sure what to do with my hands.

We had to get out of here. Ameer's plan seemedfickle and had holes in it. I grew more nervous as the days grew closer. Elizaand I had kept our distance, knowing that my father could be watching my everymove. We had a week to escape and planned on leaving the night before the firsttrial. Father would be too busy with the event to bother trying to find us. Heneeded to keep up appearances after all. I watched Eliza and Talay and wonderedif I was making a mistake. I couldn't keep my brothers safe. How was I going toget them and the girls out?