Slice of (magic) Life

Chapter 10 - Elaine

Elaine felt the immense magical energy even before Mist opened the door to reveal the flower. She could feel the intensity of its magic from where she stood. The flower emitted a soothing heat which invigorated Elaine. 

They approached it as Mist explained, "This is a Flare Flower. It will help us get in touch with Monique quickly." The plant rose a little from where it grew, as if it knew there were people inside the room with it. "I thought you could communicate to other Magicians through any living thing. What makes this flower so special?" asked Elaine curiously, to which Mist replied with a smile.

"A Flare Flower is a special plant that, when you project your mental message to it, will lead directly to a specific person. Monique gifted me this flower to commemorate The Academy's construction. If I ever needed to reach her, this Flare Flower is linked to her specifically."

Axle moved closer to it, studying it all around. "Amazing..." Elaine heard him mumble.

Elaine wanted to examine it as well but the amount of power she was sensing was too strong for her to get any closer. She stayed behind for fear something might happen to her if she was too close to such a magic-imbued flower.

Mist cleared his throat and gestured for Elaine and Axle to step back. "You might want some space when doing any kind of magic communication, just so you know."

Elaine obeyed and stood behind Mist with Axle by her side. They watched as Mist let his magic flow from his hands to the flower, creating a bright glowing mixture of blue and red auras. Elaine was mesmerized by the whole process. It looked like such a magnificent and beautiful way of communication when in reality they were using it as a distress signal.

While most of her brain was focused on all the magic, a small voice at the back of her mind was thinking, I wonder what mom will think about this. As much as Elaine wanted to keep her secret, she was still considering what Monique said about having them. Maybe I could let her down gently? How do I even do that?

Elaine felt the outline of her phone in her jeans. She pulled it out to examine it, already getting a little bored of the flowing magic process in front of her. She  sighed internally, I guess the sooner I tell her, the better.

Mist stopped interacting with the flower and gave them a thumbs up. "Alright, that should do it. I'll keep an eye out for any signs of Monique. Or more accurately, I'll keep my mind open for her to contact me."

Elaine couldn't help but comment, "Phones exist for a reason you know? You could find her faster with a phone too."

"That's true," answered Mist. "But Monique doesn't usually have hers with her since she's almost always out on the field doing dangerous work. And... it would be rude not to use such a beautiful gift too."

After watering the plant, Mist led them out of the Flare Flower's room and back into the foyer. It still amazed Elaine a second time stepping into such a magical and mystical-feeling place, even if it was just the mansion's foyer.

She walked around the room, admiring the tinier details she missed in the woodcraft of the walls and banisters of the stairs. "I'll have to leave you two for a moment. I just have to do a routine checkup on the students and the detained magicians in here. It's my job after all."

Elaine was surprised by this and asked, "Really? You run The Academy? I thought you were like the student body or something." Mist laughed out loud at her comment. He responded with a big smile on his face, "Of course I run The Academy. I was the one who started the sub group, so I think it only seems fair that I lead them."

Getting more curious, Elaine asked another question, "Huh, that's cool. But are there even adults here that supervise you guys?"

"Like I said," the older teen spoke smoothly, "the Celestial Alliance does all the monitoring. I'm just in charge so that no one ends up burning down or otherwise destroying the mansion while they practice their magic."