Glass Magic

Chapter 14

For those that didn't do the math, she has 363 days of school out of 485 days in the year, I've taken out the vacation days and Sundays already... Poor child of mine. FYI there are typically only 180 days of school in the US. That's half the year... I kinda feel bad for making it that way... At least it's only the lead school like this. Be prepared for a religious tidbit in the next chapter. (Also, her magic is weak but her brain ain't)

        I woke up with half the elites talking next to my hospital bed. No pain, no exhaustion. I see the healer fixed me up. I'll have to ask him how bad it was...

     "Lilith! You're awake!" Every head in the room snapped in my direction while I sat up, looking them over swiftly before smiling nervously remembering why it was that I was in here. The fact that they were holding the smaller vials didn't help. Miss H cleared her throated, pushing into professionalism, an unsure relief in her eyes.

       "We have questions," Came the deep gruff voice of the earth elite, his burly arms crossed, his face stoic and eyes calculating. The usually ruly fire elite silently staring intensely at one of the round vials, everyone else staring just as intently at me. Playing nervously with my hands I stared at my lap not really having a good explanation as to why I blew up the old wing.

     "No need to worry though! The other students are fine and told us they caused you to lose your grip on your potion!" Miss H rushed in quickly picking up on my soon to be retreating form. Running was the best option after all. I destroyed the old wing. "We were going to demolish the wing anyway so you won't be punished, we'd just like to ask about your potions," She added as the water elite opened their mouth.

      "Like where you got it," Grew the cold call of the earth elite, glancing at him I looked back at my hands silently. My throat suddenly very dry as my mind raced through ever possible punishment I could receive for practicing witchcraft without their knowledge. They could think I'm plotting against them. I could be trialed for treason. I could be executed. 

      "Okay-" She stretched, sitting on the edge of my bed with a soft smile, her professionalism melting the moment she gathered it. "You're not getting punished, everything's alright, no one was hurt, we're just a little curious on if you, perchance, brewed these or even bought them from another student, or even someone else entirely,"

        "I... I brewed it," I mumbled glancing up at her through my lashes, she licked her lips before smiling while she nodded gently, glancing at the other elites.

       "Alright, you did a very good job so I have a few more questions that you don't need to answer if you don't want to." They silently let her take the lead, her way working better than jumping in like the earth elite. "Where did you brew?"

     "The forest," I mumbled playing with my fingers some more.

      "Okay, where'd you learn to brew it?" My gaze snapping up as my back went rigid not having a proper answer as I didn't learn it. I just mixed up my failed batches. "It's okay- you don't have to answer," she cut in putting her hands up in surrender as I opened my mouth before swallowing. My throat so very dry.

      "I- I didn't mean to make it..." I muttered glancing at my bag, which was placed next to the bed, pulling it up I silently pulled out the book I had been using and my notebook. "I was just trying to do the one in my book." Raising the book she gently took it, careful to make sure I was alright with it before opening it.

       "This is... This is the ancient language, no one speaks it, Lilith," She said slowly, looking up from it while pausing in turning the page.

      "I- I mean... I can't really speak it but I can- I can read it," I rubbed my neck looking for something to look at that wasn't her face, my gaze drifting to the others and regretting that instantaneously as they did have kind or gentle expression.

       "You can... Read the ancient language?" The shock and suspicion in her voice had spiders crawling up my spine while I paled, thrusting my notebook up to hide my face.

       "And write," I squeaked, a moment later it was gently pulled from my grip while I resorted to hiding under the blanket.

        "... Do you mind me asking how you learned it?" She asked quietly, carefully. How do I answer that?

        "I... I have books that teach one to translate Laiyati to Occeanbic," I mumbled slowly pulling the blanket down to see her face. Which was pale. Very pale. I said the wrong thing. I'm going to die.

       "No no no, it's alright, it's alright, it's better than alright, you know not only the ancient language and its name but the holy language of the gods and their servants. That's..." She trailed before taking a deep breath while I attempted to process what she called Laiyati, something she previously brushed off. "How do you know the holy language again?" She strained, her voice a few octaves higher than her usually feathery voice.

       "I... Have books that translate Tibean to Laiyati,"

       "Aw, yes," She swallowed seeming to forget how to breathe, "A language the Windsor still speak, I see tradition has done your family well,"

      "Er, I don't want to add anything onto your plate but... Father did learn to speak it and grandma has passed..." I honestly thought it was lucky that I even knew Tibean as I doubt she would have done anything but give me a new language to learn if that.

      "Even better!" She wheezed putting her head in her hands, "And the Windsor is a family who partakes in an only child custom making you the only living person to know Tibean as well." I... I don't know what to say. How do I console her? I mean it was a very fortunate thing that I knew Tibean but I used that to learn a different dead language and continued onto another with my new knowledge.

       Speaking of, I'm surprised by how fast I learned both, I understood Laiyati fluently and Occeanbic was nearly as easy other than tripping up on a few words not to mention how my studies were coming together as if I wasn't having books cramped down my throat at an impossible rate.

       "Lilith, dear, how many languages do you know?" She asked defeated, pulling me out of my thoughts while I blinked in surprise, immediately looking to my fingers as I started counting them.

       "Five not including the one I'm currently learning in class." She made a strangled noise in the back of her throat as she stared at me in utter disbelieve.

      "... And what are they?"

      "Oh, well, obviously the common tongue, Tibean, Laiyati, Occeanbic, and... Stracesh." I almost called it-

      "Death's tongue, of course, the language of the damned, because you need to know that, because anyone needs to know that-" Cutting herself off with a few deep breaths she rubbed both her temples before looking at me with a very strained smile. "And how is it that you learn that one, another book I assume?" 

      "... My father chose to learn Stracesh over Tibean and taught it to me as is-"

      "Hex tradition," She grunted, "Right, your grandfather was a Hex, wasn't he?" I just nodded looking back at my hands as I played with my fingers. "Just to be sure, your father, a Windsor, chose to learn the necromancer tongue over the language of the cursed, then taught it to you while you learned the other from your grandmother which you then used to learn not one but two dead and ancient languages, one of which, belongs to the gods?"

      "... Necromancy wasn't illegal when he was given the chose?"