𝙰 𝚂 𝚃 𝚁 𝙾 𝙽 𝙾 𝙼 𝚈 - 𝒯𝐻𝐸 𝒪𝒲𝐿 𝐻𝒪𝒰𝒮𝐸

𝚈/𝙽'𝚜 𝚂𝚢𝚖𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚢

    Y/n woke up actually excited for school. Their bard teacher had signed the permission slip that allowed them to visit the bard coven head: Raine Whispers. Sure Y/n wasn't into the whole coven thing, but they weren't going to pass a learning opportunity. They might be good at bard magic, but they still had much to learn, and Raine could help. Y/N and Luz got ready and flew off on Waffle. They greeted their friends, and Y/N left straight to the Bard room.
     "Goodmorning, Mr. Lyrcil," Y/N greeted, startling the teacher.
     "Good morning, Y/n," He replied as he handed them the slip, "This is an extremely rare and prestigious opportunity I believe you can handle. Take this slip and go straight to the castle. I've already spoken to Raine and Kikimora. She will take you to Raine as soon as you land at the front door."
    "Yes, sir, thank you. But uh, I have to go to the castle? As in Emperor Belos' castle?" Y/n asked, toying with the permission slip. There were plenty of things that could- and would, go wrong if Y/N was inside the castle.
     "Yes. I assume you're mature enough to handle being in the castle. If you're not, then I will take this back and offer it to another student,"
     "No, no. I can handle it. Um, thank you, and don't worry. See you tomorrow!" y/N said as they left the room, "... If the emperor doesn't kill me." They sighed and left the school grounds, getting on Waffle and flying to the castle. Kikimora was waiting for them outside the palace, eyeing their Palismen as they soared. 

    "Greetings, Mx. Clawthorne," Kikimora greeted as they landed.
    "Hey," Y/N swiftly replied. They turned Waffle back into a Palismen, and she rested on their shoulder. 
    "As I'm sure you've been informed, this is a remarkably rare occasion. Students do not usually meet coven heads one on one. There's a reason you were chosen for this experience, and you'll need to prove it. The Golden Guard will be watching you and the coven head: this is mainly because of your previous stunts. Now, if you prove to be a sufficient student who excels at Bard magic, you will be given the opportunity to become an apprentice," Kikimora explained, "Any questions?"
    "Yeah, why are we at the castle?" Y/N asked.
    "The Golden Guard insisted on watching over you to be sure you didn't sneak off and get into trouble. Follow me."

     Kikimora led Y/N to a large ballroom with someone in the middle waiting for them. The person had circular rimmed classes and mint hair that faded due to their age. Kikimora left the room and left the two alone until the Golden Guard decided to join them.
   "Uh, hello? Mx. Whispers?" Y/N nervously greeted.
   "Hello," They meekly replied, "I assume you're Y/N Clawthorne?" Raine turned to face them.
    "Yep, that's me. Can't believe H- the Golden Guard is babysitting us," Y/N laughed.
    "It is a little strange..." Raine replied, "Do you happen to have any relation to Edalyn Clawtorne or the Clawthorne family?" 
      'Woah Eda's full name, forget she has that sometimes,' Y/N hesitated before shaking their head. They knew Raine worked for the emperor, they couldn't be trusted. "I don't know the Clawthornes, just a coincidence I guess." They nervously laughed. Raine's eyes narrowed, trying to decide if they were lying or not. Y/N shrunk back a bit.
    "Ah, well I was hoping you knew her because we used to be close," Raine said as they scratched the back of their head, "I wanted to make sure she was ok after the petrification ceremony."
     "I'm sure she's ok," Y/N replied. As if summoned, Hunter walked through the ballroom doors.
     "Hello, both of you," Hunter greeted, "I am here to make sure the student doesn't cause any problems."
     "Pssh, don't worry, Golden Gaurd. I'd hate to cause a ruckus in the castle," Y/N replied.
     "They seem like a good kid, what problems could they cause?" Raine asked.
     "You don't want to know," Hunter replied with a playful sigh before coughing. Y/N glared at him slightly, even if he had his mask on Y/N could tell he glared back. 
      "Alright, then Y/n, should we get started?" Raine asked.
      "If you'd like."

     Raine smiled, "Alright, show me what you can do with just your bard magic."
     "Dearest Golden Guard, may I demonstrate on you?" Y/N cheekily asked, just wanting an excuse to attack Hunter. He seemed to catch on as they failed to hide their smile. But nonetheless, he sighed and nodded, "Really? Thanks, GG."
    "Don't call me that." He groaned. Y/N only smiled and stuck their tongue out at him. Raine looked at the "threatening" Golden Guard. Usually, Hunter was stoic and robotic, showing no emotions in even the worse circumstances. But with Y/N, he was alive. He wasn't a robot, sure he was sarcastic and acted as if he hated them, but Raine could see past his thinly veiled act.
    "Are you two ready?" Raine asked. The two teens nodded and Y/N summoned a Violin. They began to play a low note the floor surrounding them lifted and crumbled. The pieces floated and turned into sharp spikes that went after Hunter's armor, careful not to hit the places that weren't protected. They laughed as Hunter tried dodging the spikes. They played a high note and the floor returned to normal.
    "I can also do this," They played a middle note and Hunter ceased his movements.
    "Hey! Stop that!" He shouted.
    "You're the one who agreed to be my punching bag," Y/N teased. They removed their violin from their shoulder and placed it at their sides, "I'm sorry, I'm not that good with Bard magic. I only know a few spells but I'm good at combining my magic tracks."
     "I didn't even know about the floor thing, I'm impressed," Raine complimented.
     "Thank you. But, uh, that's like the only thing I can do well. Even that freeze spell was a little rocky when I first tried it, despite how easy it is. Everyone gets impressed at the floor thing and thinks I'm some awesome bard," Y/N replied.
     "Well, that's why you're here, right?" Hunter asked, "To be an awesome bard or whatever."
     "Yes, we're here so I can teach you more. You're incredibly talented and by the end of today, you'll know ten times the amount of spells you already know," Raine smiled. Y/N had tears in their eyes they tried covering.
     "Are you crying?" Hunter asked with concern and a light laugh.
     "I'm a very emotional person, ok? Thank you both," Y/N smiled. Hunter smiled under his mask even though Y/N couldn't see it. But, honestly, he was happy they couldn't see him.