The Apprentice's Apprentice

Part 26

Cora had barely opened her locker in the morning when Warren appeared. She flashed him a smile before she went back to dumping her books out of her backpack, humming. He moved so he was standing right beside, his arms folded. "So," he said as she watched her. "What's up with that Philippe guy?"

She paused and frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"How do you know him and stuff?"

"Oh," she said, going back to what she'd been doing. "He lived near me when we were kids. He moved in when I was like five and we used to play together all the time. I was a crybaby then, and he acted like a big brother, keeping the bullies away. I used to follow him everywhere and he let me. We used to go on adventures."

Cora smiled as she remembered the time they'd gone running through the park near their houses, how he'd helped her climb up a tree and then acted like she was a princess and him a knight protecting her from the bad guys. He'd always gone along with whatever she wanted, even when she was being selfish. Philippe really had been one of her favourite people growing up.

"But he moved away," Warren said, face blank.

"Yeah. It was pretty sudden. I was around ten then. I remember crying and crying when he left," she said, then chuckled as she remembered something else. "He kept joking about hiding me in a box and bringing me with him and his family. I was actually looking for boxes big enough right before they left."

"What were his parents like?"

She shrugged. "I didn't seem them that much. Most of the time Philippe came over to my house. They were nice, very friendly. I think they were having some issues before they left though. Things were a bit tense one of the last times I was over there, and his mom was really interested in what we were doing. Looking back, I'm wondering if they weren't having some kind of money problems. It would explain why they had to move so suddenly, if his dad got a new job that paid better. His parents both seemed kind of relieved that they were moving. Philippe was as upset as I was though."

"He was crying?" Warren asked, voice neutral though his eyebrows were up a bit.

Cora shook her head, chuckling. "No. He just kept promising me he'd keep protecting me, even when he was gone. And he promised he'd be back one day as soon as he could. Guess he kept that promise."

"And you had no idea they were...like us?"

"No, no idea. I mean, thinking about it now, there were a couple of times when we were playing together that Philippe said stuff that I didn't really understand that were probably references to, to all the... stuff. I dunno though. It was a long time ago."

"He really seems into you," Warren said after a moment of silence, his black eyes shuttered.

Cora smiled. "Like I said, he was basically my big brother growing up. And me and Zoe are probably the only people he still knows from when he used to live here. He didn't have a lot of friends. Zo's really interested in seeing him again. Says she always wondered how he turned out, if he was still acting like a mini-knight the way he was when we were kids. I still think that was his mom's influence on him. She had quite the views on chivalry and the way boys should treat girls."

"Huh. Well, I talked to that hag about them because if they were in town as Line mages she'd know them," he said quietly. "She didn't know too much. Just that they moved to town for a while, had a son, and were of a line that ran pretty heavily to mind. She said they left pretty suddenly. But it was right around the time their son was hitting the age he'd be able to do magic, so she wasn't entirely surprised. Some families like to move to be closer to their children when they're learning magic. Not the same town, but nearby. And if the kid's an only child it's far more likely."

"Philippe doesn't have any siblings so I'm not surprised. I think that's one of the reasons he let me follow him everywhere," she said then frowned. "What's with all the questions about Philippe? Is something wrong?"

He rubbed the back of his neck for a minute then shrugged. "Nah, just interested is all. New mage moves to town, I want to know everything I can about them. And he seems a bit...different. Then again, he is a full mage. They always have a different air about them," Warren replied, jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "And I probably won't have too much to do with him. I mean, I'm still in training and it's not like he's involved with it or even has the same specialities. You're his friend though, so you'll probably see him more."

"I hope so," Cora said. "I did miss him."

Warren smiled slightly at that. "Having a full mage for a friend's no bad thing. Anyway, I'll see you after school. We didn't really get a chance to make any progress yesterday so we'll have to make some of it up today. I hope you're ready."

Cora groaned at the wicked grin he wore. That expression promised that she'd be completely exhausted at the end of today's lessons. So much for getting caught up on her manga tonight.