The second time I woke up, it was dark around me.
When I squinted up at the ceiling, I found it was made of rough oak branches. There wasn't much around me—torn clothes scattered over a muddy floor, and a wooden box filled with stones. This place wasn't meant for living. It was just a shelter from the sun.
The walls were made of raw wood, the bark rough and untouched, the logs tied together with rope.
I arched my back to straighten it and slowly pushed myself to lean against the wall facing the door. My breathing was heavy, like even these small movements had drained my strength.
The pain, though duller than before, still radiated through my body like beams of light.
Once I leaned back and the pain eased… the thoughts began to settle.
"Damn, Shirley's going to be mad…"
Not just that.
"She's probably out there in the forest looking for me."
Ugh, I failed…
I failed them terribly as their child.
Alton was barely gone… and now I disappear? The worst possible timing. What was I going to tell her when I returned? If I told her I ran into a bear and Fae, she might never let me roam the forest again.
But if I didn't tell her… what would explain all these scratches?
I wasn't blind—I wouldn't just fall down a slope that steep. And they knew I wasn't stupid.
In the middle of my spiraling thoughts, I heard a tearing sound above me. Then one of the ropes holding the wooden beams dropped right in front of me, and suddenly I was tipping backward with the whole wall, until I was lying flat on the ground.
Above me, the sky was black and overflowing with stars. The most beautiful sight anyone could see.
"What a view," I said softly.
"You little shit!" a girl's voice yelled beside me.
I turned my head and saw two girls.
Riam was sitting on a dead log, a large pot steaming in front of her.
"My house!" Riam shouted.
Yeah… I accidentally knocked down one of the walls. I mean… what kind of crappy wall falls from a five-year-old leaning on it?
"Rory, are you alright?" asked the other girl—Shirley.
"If he's got the strength to destroy houses, I'd say he's just fine," Riam muttered as she got up and stirred the pot with a wide sword.
Good use for a weapon, I guess.
Shirley approached and sat beside me. Her soft hand brushed my cheek, and her eyes began to shimmer.
"Look at your body, covered in bruises," she whispered, her tears spilling. "I'm so sorry… we don't have a healer in the village."
Why did she apologize?
Why would a person say sorry for something that wasn't their fault?
"I'm sorry," I said. "I was reckless. I won't do it again."
"It's alright. The important thing is you're safe," she replied.
Then she glanced at Riam.
"Miss Ryam came by around dusk. She told me you fell down a steep cliff and you are injured.."
As Shirley spoke, I glanced toward Riam, who was still mixing the pot's contents without once looking at us.
Maybe Riam wasn't actually a bad person. But she had bad intentions—of that I was sure.
Maybe something from my past was chasing me—something that made me distrust everyone. Still, I believed suspicion was better than blind trust.
Shirley slipped one arm under my neck and another beneath my knees and lifted me like a princess.
"I can walk," I muttered, cheeks flushed, eyes avoiding hers.
"What's with the shyness, Rory? Just hush and come eat something."
Was it shyness?
Maybe.
But it was also not wanting to trouble Shirley—her five-year-old son now looked more like a ten-year-old.
She set me down next to Riam on the log. Pain flared across my back like a tree with too many branches.
Probably because I couldn't lean on anything.
Riam stirred the pot's contents with that same wide blade, while Shirley sat on the other side, glancing between me and Ryam.
"Rory," Shirley said, drawing my attention.
Her eyes grew serious for a moment, and she took a deep breath. It was clear she was about to say something important.
"Miss Riam says you have talent for magic," Shirley began. "She wants to teach you its basics while you're still young."
She paused, glanced at Riam, then looked back at me.
"I know you don't trust people easily… and I know for some reason, you're uncomfortable around her. But if you're interested, Alton and I fully support you."
Riam scooped some stew into a wooden bowl and handed it to me. The smell was… not great.
I placed it gently on the ground.
She ignored me and filled a second bowl, handing it to Shirley, who sipped it without comment.
Then Riam filled her own and drank.
"Needs more salt," Riam muttered.
"More than just salt, needs actual spices!" Shirley chuckled.
I looked down into the bowl: potatoes, onions, some odd vegetables. No meat. No strong aroma. But I decided to taste it anyway…
Then politely set it back down, doing my best not to fling it into Riam's face.
"I can hear you," Riam muttered.
???
Can she read thoughts?
"Sometimes," Riam answered.
So she knew I didn't trust her.
"You only trust your parents," she added.
No more thinking, then. I'll just stare at Shirley. This world really isn't safe.
Shirley smiled gently at me and kept drinking Riam's poison stew.
I didn't know what to say…
And I didn't want to learn too much from this weird dinner. But clearly, Shirley wanted me to get to know Riam.
"Riam is a free-mana user. She'll teach you the basics of the art. Magic isn't a small thing, Rory. It gives humans great social standing. If you show talent, Alton and I won't plan to keep you here—we'll send you to Sektika, the capital of the central continent, so you can grow among nobles and merchants. Maybe even study alongside them at Sektika Academy."
The central continent, huh? The land shared by the three major races, governed by humans after their victory over the halfbloods. That peace led to the human tongue becoming the common language taught to all races.
And out of gratitude to Sasha, the humans were entrusted with ruling the central lands.
Apparently, they did well.
I understood that humans there were far more advanced than those here. And I… I wanted to travel there, to spend time in that place.
"You'll really send me there?"
"Of course," Shirley said.
"With you?" I added.
Shirley paused for a moment, then answered: "Maybe."
Maybe?
I didn't like that answer.
"Sektika is nothing like Thialis," Riam chimed in. "For example, humans there don't use candles for light. They flick a switch, and lights turn on."
Hmm…
My eyes widened for a moment.
So there was progress in this world—just in smaller pockets.
"A famous name in Sektika can bring fortune to your family and village. The king—especially Helen Thale, the current monarch—would pour riches into a poor village if a genius asked for it."
A genius?
"What I see in you isn't ordinary," Riam said. "I see something rare… something great."
My cheeks turned red. I didn't know what to say. I hadn't even tried using magic yet. I felt like Riam was trying to con my parents.
Looking at the facts: I was the child of two poor villagers from a backwater town. From what I'd read, people like me didn't get magic talent.
Riam sighed then fell silent. And I began to suspect she was still listening to my thoughts.
Then the wind picked up and Riam decided to walk us back home.
The road wasn't easy. Shirley wasn't strong enough to carry me the whole way, so I walked part of it, slowly, but without complaint. Even when the pain spread through my back, I kept silent.
Riam barely spoke. I spent the walk talking to Shirley about Alton, his journey, its costs… Then something clicked between her words.
I understood why they never spent much money. They were saving. Saving… for me. So I could reach the central academy.
Something I didn't like at all.
Because if there's a real hell out there it would be school.