CHAPTER 303: BACK HOME II

I was reading a book of spells, one of the few that Freda had allowed me to take from her library, when I heard a knock on my door.

I stopped, thinking I had imagined it. But the knock came again—soft, as if probing, as if unsure, as if wondering if I was awake.

A smile touched my lips, as I figured it was probably Raul, coming for a nightcap. We hadn’t seen each other since the introductory session with a select few of the community.

Closing the book, but making sure to put a bookmark where I had last read, I stood up, removed the robe I wore around my flimsy, see-through nightgown, and started out of the smaller room.

I stopped midway, however, when I realized that if Raul wanted to see me, he would have sent a text to know if I was awake. It was almost midnight. And even if he had wanted to surprise me, his knock... was different.

I frowned, retraced my steps, and picked my robe back up, engulfing myself into it. Raul wasn’t at the door.

So who was at my door at this time of night?

Duke?

I shook my head. Duke was a friend, not a night crawler.

I shifted on my feet, waiting by the door, making wild guesses.

Maybe Isla? But she had left my room only a couple of minutes ago. It couldn’t be the Queen either, because our meeting was supposed to be held in the early hours of the morning, when most of the world was still asleep.

So who was it?

Feeling omnipotent, I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly, and opened the door—shock touching my features when I saw who was, or rather who were, standing there.

My family.

"Mother!" I whisper-yelled, opening the door wider when they seemed hesitant, like they were afraid I would turn them down.

Haa! As if I could.

It made me wonder what rumors they had heard about me from my matron, who sent letters to the Queen about my wellbeing once a month or thereabout.

When they entered, I hugged them all at the same time, our hands going around each other, Laura taking the cue to weep on my shoulder.

"I thought... I thought..."

That I would be a lost cause? A person who scoffs at family because of a higher position? That could never be me.

I was there for whoever had been there for me. And if you were on the opposing side, then woe was your lot.

"Diana..." I called to my sister specially, both of us giving tearful hugs, refusing to let go of each other, until Laura mentioned that they had limited time with me, so as to keep up the façade in the palace, in the community.

"You are all grown up," I noted, scanning a blushing Diana from head to toe.

"And so is my magic," she chimed, twirling around, really proud of herself.

But I was proud too.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

She pouted under her parents’ curious gazes. "Not at all. All my time has been spent on training. I need to be a better right-hand man to you when the time comes..."

My smile ceased then. I looked at my parents. "Won’t that be telling? It’s why I came with Isla. She is my pretend best friend."

Diana pouted more. "What about me?"

I ruffled her hair. "I am sure we can build a rapport that would seem natural to outsiders as time goes on."

She smiled, nodded, and hugged me again. "I missed you so much." Her voice cracked as she clung tighter.

"I missed you too, Diana."

But I could understand why the Queen had stopped them from visiting. It might have interfered with my training; emotions weren’t a good place to be in.

"So, tell us..." Peter started, after more hugging sessions, more crying sessions. "How was the institution? I’ve heard both good and bad about the place, but any place owned by Freda is bound to be that."

"You know Freda personally?"

Peter and Laura exchanged knowing glances.

"Not really. But she was the late Queen’s friend. And not a favorite of the community, because most think she had played a role in the Queen’s death, that she had tipped the Lycan King on what to do..."

I nodded slowly, not actually seeing. Freda didn’t seem like one who would betray a friend, and worse—for a dog.

"That apart, she was always mysterious even though we all grew up together. She just had this aura around her... this..."

I nodded again, this time understanding Laura’s words. It was what made Freda more intriguing than other magic wielders I had come across, including the Queen.

She carried herself like she knew the deep secrets of the world. When she stared at you, really looked at you, it was like she could see into your inner being—and most times, she did.

"But tell us more about the school... we would love to hear from the horse’s mouth."

And so I did. I told them about the little community of students there, the harsh climate which made trainings harder than usual, the human society which was close to the institution, the teachers, the trainings themselves, my few lessons—but of course omitting the drastic changes that had occurred with me, and the private lessons I had with Freda.

"Doesn’t sound half as bad as the rumors usually made it be," Peter said first, and I held back a snicker.

It was just as bad, but they didn’t need to know that, didn’t need to worry about me.

"And that matron deserves a slap too. In her letter, she writes you are a menace, that you go out during ungodly hours, probably sleeping with different men, that you are disobedient to the teachers..." Diana stated, scoffing. "I need to punish her myself."

I laughed, part amused by the matron’s pettiness, part pleased with Diana’s defense.

I was finally home.