Tears ran down a young lady’s face.  She felt so stupid, it was humiliating.  She threw a piece of chocolate candy into the waste bin in the school hallway, along with a paper card she had torn to pieces.  It was given to her by a very nice boy in her class, and it made her genuinely happy until she learned he had placed such a gift in every single locker in the school.  The triviality of the gesture stung, and she stormed down the hallway to hide somewhere, anywhere.  She regretted ever skipping eighth grade and coming to this high school, separated from her old friends, alone and surrounded by idiots and jerks.  She rushed toward a nearby bathroom, turning confused heads as she tried to hide herself.  However, as she ran inside and tried to close her stall, a hand grabbed the edge of the door and pried it open.  She found herself cornered into the bathroom stall by four sneering faces.

“Hi, Lea.  What’s the matter?  Did someone break your heart?”  The giggling faces surrounded her, cutting off any escape.

“I bet it was Yanaes.  She must have thought his Maimon Day chocolate was sooo romantic.”  The laughter intensified alongside mocking kissing noises.

“What an idiot!  A little know-it-all like you should have known that Yan is a slut.  He doesn’t care about you.  Why would anyone?”  Lea buried her face and covered her ears as the laughter drowned out her sobs.  She tried to push past them, but they forced her back into the stall.

“Leave me alone!” Lea cried out, but to no avail.

“Or what?  You’re gonna tell your mommy?” the leader of the girls mocked her.  “You must think you’re soooo smart because you skipped a grade, but guess what?  You’re still just a dumb little nerd.”

“Since she likes learning so much, let’s teach her where her place is,” one of them jeered.

“Hey, here’s a math quiz; how much do you think we can sell her underwear for?”  The question made Lea’s blood run cold.

“Oh!  Dunno, but we’ll get way more if we provide pics.”  Terror and revulsion gripped her as another girl pulled her phone out and pointed the camera at Lea.

“Hold her down.”

Lea pressed herself against the back of the stall, but there was no escape as they grabbed her and dragged her out of it.  She screamed and cried for her life as their hands grasped at her clothes, until a slamming door petrified everyone.  The four girls turned toward the intruder, and three of them backed away.

“What do you want, you weird-eyed freak?!” the ringleader spat at a tall pink-haired girl.  Her eyes were hidden behind her overgrown bangs, but her mouth was clenched in a silent, angry scowl.  The four girls gawked as the pinkette yanked the trash can from the bathroom wall and swiftly shoved it over the ringleader’s head, all of its contents spilling out over her and onto the floor.  The other girls fled while the last one threw the trash can down, covered in wet garbage.

“Y-you bitch!  You’re gonna pay for this!”  She ran past the pinkette, who turned to Lea and offered her hand.

“Are you okay?”

A sharp alarm awoke Lea, lying in her tossed bed and clinging to a pillow nearly as long as her.  She rolled over in her frilly pink pajamas to reach the small alarm clock atop her nightstand.  Her painted pink walls were accented by carved mahogany furniture and decorated with plaques and trophies for Lea’s many achievements.  A music stand sat in the corner of the room, and a violin case rested against it.

Yet sprinkled throughout the room were plushes and figurines from shows and games that she enjoyed, and pictures of herself with her friends, predominantly Yanaes, Tsubaki, Aire, and most of all, Eleris.  She stepped into the bathroom connected directly to her room, washing herself up before changing into a solid white t-shirt and dark blue jeans.  After retrieving her glasses, she grabbed her cell phone from its charger, and that was when she noticed there was an unread message; it was from Lucii, the friend that helped her with her summer project.

<Hey lea.  This s gonna sound weird, but have you seen miari?  She didn’t come back 2 dorm yesterday or today.  No posts either.>  Lea looked at the time stamp for the message and noticed it was from the night before.  Confused, she began to reply.

<Sorry I missed your text last night.  I haven’t seen her, either.  Have you asked her cousin?>  Lea was about to close the messenger when the message was marked as “read”, and Lucii began to reply.

<Not yet didn’t think of that.  But dad seems worried.  I don’t think she’s supposed to be on leave.>  Lea was only more confused, thinking for a moment before responding.

<Miari only has a few relatives she talks to, I’m sure one of them has to know.> Almost immediately, Lucii began to type back.

<Yeah your right.  Gonna text her cousin.  Keep you posted.> Lea couldn’t help but sigh.  She told herself that Miari had to be fine.  She was a tough and resilient young lamian woman, surely she was alright.  After finally convincing herself not to worry, she stepped out of her room and into the immaculate hallway of her house, descending the curved stairway and making her way to the dining room.

“Good morning, Miss Lea,” a sunny voice addressed her.  A slender woman, a maid, stood at the ready, with soft green eyes and a white headdress adorning her short, sandy-blonde hair.

“Good morning, Georgia,” Lea responded with a smile.

“Are you hungry, young lady?  I have prepared raspberry pancakes and Argenite boar sausage with roasted potatoes.  Your father has already eaten, but I still have enough for you and your mother.”

“Mother is home?  I thought her flight was tomorrow,” Lea asked with interest.

“She canceled the flight she originally booked and chartered a private plane late last night.  It seems she didn’t want to spend another moment in Upper Edge.”  Lea winced upon learning that both of her parents were home.  “Oh Miss Lea, don’t let your mother’s unexpected return ruin your appetite.  Nothing pleases your mother more than your accomplishments, and doing your best requires a stomach filled with a healthy diet.  I would know.”  Georgia gave Lea a wide smile.

“Yes, Georgia.  Please bring me my breakfast.”

“Of course, Miss Lea.”  Georgia promptly returned with a plate of the food she mentioned, as well as a bowl of assorted berries and a glass of orange juice.  Lea quietly ate her meal, and made sure to eat every berry.  She happily savored Georgia’s cooking, and wiped her mouth clean with a cloth napkin.

“Thank you, Georgia.  It was very delicious.”

“You are welcome any time, young lady.”  Georgia smiled warmly as she collected Lea’s plate and utensils.  Lea sat up from her seat and walked past the livingroom to see her father sitting in his recliner.  He was a tall, gaunt man of six-two, with short receding blond hair and dark green, scrutinizing eyes.  He was already dressed for work, wearing black dress pants, a white button-down shirt, and a flat gray tie.  His nose was buried in his large folding tablet, undoubtedly reading the news.

“Good… Good morning, Father,” she bade him, but her greeting earned little more than a brief glance.  She was about to return to her room when she saw her beautiful mother descending the stairs.  She was of average height, just above five-foot-seven, but her appearance was anything but.  Her build was full and fit, and her posture was confident.  Her sleek blonde hair cascaded about her shoulders, swaying slightly with each step along with her cozy green bathrobe.  Her steely blue eyes softened at the sight of her daughter, though her face remained stern, and tired.

“Good morning, Lea.”

“Welcome home, Mother.  How was your flight?”

“The pilot couldn’t fly the plane fast enough,” she groaned.  “Did you already have breakfast?”

“Y-yes, Mother.  I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you, I didn’t want to disturb your sleep.”

“Don’t apologize,” her mother commanded.  “You did nothing wrong.  Come and join me in the dining room.  It isn’t often I get the chance to speak with you before you go to school.”

“Yes, Mother,” Lea obeyed, following her into the dining room and taking her seat again.  There was an elegance in how her mother carried herself even when doing something as simple as sitting at a table.  There was a part of Lea that wondered if she would look like her mother when she reached her age.  Georgia quickly brought Mrs. Zeal her plate, her utensils already set on the table.

“Your breakfast, Lady Alice.”

“Thank you,” she bade Georgia, promptly digging into her meal.  “How were your first two days of class?” she asked Lea in between her bites.

“Very… interesting,” Lea answered nervously.  “Yanaes and I mapped out the first quarter of our AP Calc syllabus in study hall yesterday, so I feel much more confident about the material coming up.”  Georgia quietly approached Lea and handed her a glass of orange juice, to which she mouthed a sincere ‘thank you’.

“I see,” Alice said with a hint of disdain.  “Well, at least the boy is good for something.”  Lea barely had time to clench her fist when her mother continued.  “And Elemental Studies?  Are you using that elective to its fullest?”

“Oh Mother, you wouldn’t believe what I did in that class yesterday!  Miss Rangers showed me how to manifest my mana, and I was able to do it in front of the class!”  Alice canted her head with interest.

“Show me,” her mother commanded.

“R-right now?”

“Of course.”  Lea nervously trembled before composing herself and complying.  She looked at her hands and noticed that the ink from Miss Rangers’ marker was still faintly visible.

“Okay,” she muttered before closing her eyes and breathing deeply.  She focused on her breathing, listening to her own breaths and the beating of her heart.  She focused more intensely on her pulse, feeling her blood flowing through her hands and fingers as she placed her palms together and pulled them apart.  She could feel a burning warmth between her hands, and she opened her eyes to see an ember flickering into a small flame before her.  Georgia gasped, and her mother stared at it in surprise before a smile stretched across her face.

“That’s it?”

Lea’s ember immediately disappeared at the sound of her father’s voice.  He walked past them on the way to the kitchen as he grabbed another cup of coffee.  “I knew that class was a waste of your time.  You should have taken something you’d have actual talent for.”  His words stung Lea, causing her to droop in her seat, dejected.  It was next to impossible to please the man, as usual.

“I’ll be the judge of that, Thomas,” her mother called after him.  Her sharp eyes softened as they returned to Lea, reassuring her daughter.  “Well done.  Tell me, how did your presentation go?”

“I-I think it went well,” Lea answered with a shaky voice.  “Everyone seemed to enjoy it, at least.  Lucii and her friends gave me some really good footage to use, and…”  Lea’s voice trailed off as her mother wore a notably unhappy face.

“You think it went well?” she asked with a short tone.  “I thought you spent enough time on it to be certain it would go well, but if there was still room for uncertainty, then perhaps you didn’t focus on it as much as you could have after all.”  Alice rubbed her brow with her fingers in frustration, adding, “I should have known letting you study with those kids from Zoren Grel was a mistake.  Perhaps you need to spend some time apart from them.”  The words sapped the color from Lea’s face.

“N-no, I… No!  Everyone really liked my presentation, really!  I-It wouldn't have come out as well if they hadn't helped me!” she pleaded, her heart catching in her throat.  Her mother always did this, twisting her words against her.  It always seemed to happen, and it was almost always out of her control.

“Well, that’s a convenient change of tune,” Alice retorted.  “Explain to me, why hasn’t your teacher posted your grade for the presentation yet?”

“I-I don’t know,” Lea answered, on the verge of tears.  “M-maybe because the transferred students haven’t given their presentations yet.”

“Then I suppose I won’t be certain of your performance until your teacher posts your grade.  So until then, you won’t have any interactions with the children from that boarding school, online or otherwise.  Do I make myself clear?”  Lea swallowed hard as tears crawled down her cheeks.

“Y-yes, Mother…” Lea responded in a strained voice, restraining a sob.  A brief silence was broken as Alice sighed with frustration at the sight of her daughter crying.

“Lea, stop crying and look at me,” she commanded.  Her daughter obeyed as best as she could, removing her glasses and wiping her eyes with a table napkin.  “You’re going to be an adult soon, working out there with other adults.  Some of them will be nice.  Others will be crueler than an archdemon.  You need to be better than all of them if you’re going to be successful.  And that means you can’t show weakness.  So dry your tears, and get ready for school.”

“Yes, Mother…” Lea answered dejectedly, rising from her seat and sulking up the stairs.  Georgia remained motionless as Lea returned to her room, crying.

“Lady Alice, I don’t…”  Georgia’s tongue betrayed her, and she quickly covered her mouth to halt herself.

“What is it, Georgia?  Do you wish to critique my parenting?” Alice asked with a leveled glare.

“...No, milady.  Do you need more coffee?”  Alice continued to stare daggers at Georgia until she finally responded with a “Yes,” and the maid quickly and quietly refilled her cup.

As Lea returned to her room, she pulled out her phone to see if Lucii had replied.  She had, but as Lea tried to read it, the contents of the message were censored from her.  Her mother had already enabled the parental control features on Lea’s phone, blocking Lucii and all of her other friends from the Zoren Grel Academy for Control and Discipline.  In her anger, Lea threw her phone at her bed and grabbed a pillow to bury her face and yell into it.  Then, after finally composing herself, she grabbed her phone and started texting Eleris.

<El, could you please let Lucii know I can’t talk to her and the rest of the group for a while?  My mother is being unreasonable.>  Eleris quickly began to write a reply.

“<Sure.  What happened?>

<Mom is basically grounding me from talking to them because Miss Rangers hasn’t posted the grades for our presentations yet, and she thinks I was goofing off when I was studying with them.>

<But your presentation was great.>

<THAT’S WHAT I TRIED TO TELL HER!  DX>

<I’ll pass it along to Lucii.  Do you need a hug?>

<Yes, please…>

<I’ll see you at the station.  ~<3 >  Lea sighed as she packed her bookbag, strapped her violin to it, and grabbed her hoodie.  As she came back down the stairs, Georgia was already waiting for her with a bagged lunch, ready to walk her to the subway station.

“Thank you, Georgia,” she bade her as she received the bag and packed it away.

“Of course, Miss Lea.”

“Have a good day at school,” Alice called out to Lea, but Lea didn’t respond.  Her brow furrowed as she spoke again, her voice louder, sharper.  “I said, have a good day at school.”

“Yes, Mother.”  Lea opened up the door and walked out before Georgia, catching the maid off guard as she followed after her into the streets of downtown Zarrid.  Lea walked at a brisk and frustrated pace before eventually slowing down.  As Georgia caught up to her, she placed a hand on the young girl’s shoulder.

“Miss Lea, I’m sorry that your conversation with your mother was… less than ideal.”  Lea didn’t respond, simply not wanting to talk about it.  “I know your mother can be rather harsh, and I don’t always agree with her methods, but you must know she deeply cares about you.”

“I know, Georgia.  It’s just… she can be so unfair!” Lea groaned.

“I know it feels that way, Miss Lea.  But you know, from what I’ve gleaned from her conversations with your grandfather, he was just as strict with her, if not more so.”

“I suppose… that doesn’t really surprise me,” Lea said as she looked down at the marble sidewalk.  She wasn’t particularly fond of her maternal grandfather, who was a man just as intense as her mother.  It was easy for Lea to see where her mother inherited her demeanor from.

“And now your mother is a strong, resourceful, and brilliant woman, which she worked very hard to become.  She just wants to raise you to be as successful as she is, and that’s a very high bar that she had to clear herself.”

“I… I know,” Lea sighed.  “It’s just, sometimes I wish she was more like you.”  Georgia slowed to a stop before leaning down closer to Lea’s height.  The young lady turned around to face her, confused as Georgia placed her hands on Lea’s shoulders, smiling.

“Miss Lea, you shouldn’t say such things.  Your mother loves you very, very much, even if sometimes she doesn’t show it very well.  But, I’m happy that you think so highly of me.  Because I love you very much, too.”  Lea gave the maid a tight hug, burying her face in Georgia’s shoulder as she hugged her back.

“Thank you, Georgia…”

“You’re very, very welcome, Lea,” she whispered softly to her before slowly standing upright.  “Now, we must be on our way, or else we’ll miss your train.  And your mother will be very unhappy with me if I allow you to be late.”

“Yes, Georgia!”  The two of them picked up the pace and hurried to the subway station.  As they reached the terminal, Lea turned and gave Georgia one last hug before stepping through the gate and walking down the stairs to the platform.  As she took her seat on the train, Lea texted Eleris to let her know that she was on her way.

Time crawled for Lea as she watched two stops pass her by until it was time for her to leave her train and platform, rushing out and up the stairs to scan her pass at the terminal.  Eleris was already there waiting for her, and Lea broke out into a sprint to meet her.  The powerful pinkette scooped Lea up off her feet, but Lea didn’t whine or protest, simply clinging to Eleris and hugging her tightly.  It caught Eleris off guard.

“Shit, Lea, did your mom upset you that much?”  Lea simply gripped Eleris tighter and nodded before kissing her on the cheek.  Eleris gave her a peck back on the lips, holding her gently.

“Where’s Yan and Aire?” the tiny blonde finally asked.

“They were at Aunt Vrelli’s when I left, spending time with her and Maro before school.  So it’s just you and me for an hour.  What do you wanna do?”

“Anything.  Take me anywhere, I don’t care where,” Lea answered.  “Just take me with you.”

“Okay.  I think I have an idea.”  Eleris set Lea down and grabbed her hand, leading Lea out of the station and into a world all their own in a city full of strangers.  For the next hour, nothing and no one else mattered.