LATER that night, Claire came to my bedroom, asking to sleep with me. When she lay down beside me, I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Hehe… Claire, you always used to sneak under my covers after you had a nightmare,” I mentioned.
“Oh, come now, Sister. Wasn’t that from when I was a young child?” Claire corrected.
“Was it?”
“Most certainly!”
When she pleaded her case so seriously, I burst into a fit of giggles.
“When it was too cold, and you couldn’t sleep, you snuck into my bed a few times, too,” Claire added.
“Ah, yes! So I did,” I replied.
I was the most susceptible to the cold within my family, and I always tried to cling to someone for warmth. Father, noticing my struggles, bought a device made from magic stones that warmed my bed and placed it under my covers. Ever since, I haven’t needed to sneak into Claire’s bed.
“When you stopped slipping into my bed, I felt a touch lonely and a bit wistful,” Claire explained. “You were only after my body warmth all along.”
“Goodness, how horrible I must’ve been,” I replied.
“Quite so.”
We shared a hearty laugh, her presence blowing away the pain in my heart. Ah, I should tell her now.
“I’m sorry, Claire,” I said. “I’m sorry that I asked to attend a magic school out of the blue.”
“Don’t be,” she replied. “I always knew you had a grand dream, but your circumstances prevented you from pursuing it. Now’s a good opportunity for you.”
“Goodness, I suppose you saw right through my ambitions.”
“But of course.” She gripped my hands before gently bonking her forehead against mine. “The royal capital, where the magic school is, barely sees any snowfall, it seems,” she said. “Your hands will be warm there, even during the autumn months. Don’t worry about us, and head to the exams with confidence.”
“Claire…” I murmured. I felt like crying again and hugged my sister tightly, hoping to hide my face from her. “But will you really be all right?”
“What do you mean?” she inquired.
“You might be asked to suddenly become the viscountess one day.”
“Oh, I’ll do my best alongside Maris, should that time arrive. Maris is quite ambitious as well, so I’m sure he’d be ecstatic to rise to the challenge.” She made sure to tell me that I had nothing to worry about. She would handle it all. “If you do get into that magic school, will you write me tons of letters?”
“Of course!” I vowed. “I can promise you that much.”
I wasn’t even sure if I could apply yet, but I already felt like I’d gotten into the school of my dreams. With my sister encouraging me to pursue my dreams, I knew that I had to get accepted, no matter what. For that, my parents’ permission was vital. Claire and I vehemently prayed that I’d receive their approval.
✦ ✦ ✦
WITH the deadline for Vizer closing in, Father took only three days to reach a decision. Claire and Maris were present for the announcement as well.
“Misha, about the school exams,” Father started.
He flashed a stern grimace, and Mother looked sad. Claire and Maris were expressionless. I didn’t know what that meant. Are they going to reject my request? I wondered when Father said not a word and only offered me an envelope. It contained an application for Vizer.
“Father?!” I gasped.
“You need not worry about us, dear child,” he said. “Go on out there and give it your all.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
My parents nodded. Claire and Maris smiled at me.
“Oh dear… What do I do?” I murmured. “I’m so, so happy!” I clutched the application form as tears streamed down my cheeks.
“You need to get in first,” Father reminded me.
“Yes, I know! I know!” I cried.
It seemed my parents couldn’t wholly give their approval, but Claire and Maris begged them, pushing my wishes through.
“Are you two sure about this?” I asked the young couple.
“Of course,” Claire replied. “I know that you’ll get in, Misha!”
“We’re rooting for you,” Maris added.
“Thank you both, truly,” I said, my heartfelt gratitude bleeding into my words.
I felt guilty for selfishly living as I pleased, but even so, my family cheered me on. I wanted their kindness to pay off. I had to get in, no matter what. First, I had to fill out the application form—this also actually affected my chances of getting accepted. The most important bit was my innate elements.
Innate elements, as the name implies, were elements that one was born with. Four elements served as the base for innate magic: fire, water, wind, and earth. A maximum of forty students would be selected for each element.
Any other elements were called unique affinities or bases, including unusual elements such as dark, light, blaze, storm, thunder, rock, mist, and a myriad of others. Very few had unique affinities, and oftentimes, they couldn’t fill a classroom of forty students.
However, many were born without an element, and even those born with standard innate elements, also called the Four Basic Elements, were praised for their rarity. A person would know their element a year after birth when they received a blessing from the Holy Church. The bishop would usually break the news to the family. I was born with a unique element, snow, but I could only let powdery snow fall for a bit. It was quite useless.
“You’ve got the snow element!” Claire beamed. “I’m sure that you’ll get in!”
“I hope so,” I replied. “I’m aiming for a scholarship, though, and I’m not sure if I’ll make that cut.”
Vizer had shockingly expensive tuition among the schools. I couldn’t let my parents shoulder that burden.
“If you can’t get that scholarship, will you give up?” Claire asked.
“Hm, well… I might delay my attendance for a year and try again next year,” I said.
Father told me I needn’t worry about tuition and fees, but it costs a hundred gold coins a year, surely a decent blow to our finances. Luckily, Vizer’s scholarship could waive my fees, and I wanted to use that to study for free.
“Misha, actually, your Uncle Guy also attended Vizer,” Father revealed.
“Did he, now?” I asked.
I didn’t expect Lizzy’s father, the man who caused trouble when he fled with his mistress, to have gotten into Vizer.
“Guy had the snow element as well,” Father said. “I think he attended with a scholarship.”
I’d heard that House Ritual sometimes produced people born with the snow element, but I’d never dreamed that my uncle had the same element and even attended the school I was shooting for. Apparently, he withdrew from school midway, which was a shame.
“Misha, worry not about the school fees,” Father said. “Just focus on doing your best.”
“Right!” I agreed.
I first had to submit the application. I felt that I was a shoo-in for the application phase since the snow element was rather rare.