Secrets of Magic

Chapter Seven: The Council's Conclusion

(Jim POV)

Everything was okay. Master Kelton and Hunter arrive 5 minutes before schedule, which spared Emily five minutes of panic, and Livana and Jim five minutes of second-guessing.

Emily didn't look good, but that was standard. Disheveled hair, wide, panic-filled eyes, flushed cheeks. Somehow, weakness made Emily look stronger, though Jim couldn't fathom why. Maybe it's the whole concept of yin and yang. A balanced scale.

"Breath, dear." Master Kelton's incredibly slightly trembling voice held gentleness. Hunter and Livana were busy putting damp towels on Emily's forehead and passing various medical kit tools to Master Kelton.

"What happened?" Emily's voice only shook slightly. Jim could see she was confused. Ruefully, he thought to himself still curious after a near-death encounter. Only Emily could die and ponder how she died. No room for grief when your brains filled with questions.

Jim replied steadily, "You've accepted your magic. That's basically the process whole process of acceptance. You go through a nightmare that, on the first night, leaves you physically drained. But, afterwords nightmares are a lot easier to deal with."

Emily looked relived. "That's it?" she asked.

"Yep."

Hunter looked up at the clock on Emily's brown nightstand.

"Should we be going to the Council meeting?"

Master Kelton followed Hunter's gaze, brown eyes resting on the time. His face wrinkled into a slightly surprised face, white eyebrows raised.

"Oh, dear me, we should get going." He cast a glance at Emily.

"Are you well enough to walk, dear?" Emily nodded. Her cheeks had slowly started to return to their normal, rosy color, instead of the angry red that had dappled them moments before. As she nodded, Jim noticed that her red hair was still slightly frizzy from sleeping. However, her eyes were the same cobalt blue, curiosity shining on their surface, while almost un-noticeable pain lurked in the corners.

"Then, we should get a move on." Kelton started pushing the wheels on his gray wheelchair with his surprisingly strong arms. "The Council may be a nice bunch, but their meetings are quite important."

Emily stood up. "Should we get changed first?" Looking around, it seemed that she noticed that she was the only one in her pajamas. Blushing, she meekly said "I guess I was kinda unprepared." Livana smiled kindly.

"We can wait," the healer replied. "Beside, Lucas is usually late anyways, so we have lots of time."

With that, Jim, Hunter, Livana, and Master Kelton walked out of the room and congregated in the bedroom corridors. Light brown walls were decorated with doors of differing colors and names. Students of contrasting height, shape, and visual appearances milled around, obviously bored. School had just let out, leaving students with plenty of time on their hands. Of course, they could go to the training centers, but people often saved those for when they were bored out of their mind.

The door flew open, revealing a flushed Emily. Her hair bounced around her head as she smiled eagerly and happily stated, "Let's go!"

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(Emily POV)

Emily was actually excited for the Council meeting.

She got to see something completely new! How awesome was that?! Besides, this meeting would probably provide some answers. Apparently, those were hard to come by when you were trying to not die by the hands of your crazily insane father.