Foxtails and Fairytales: Facades and Fables of the Phantom Prince

[Arc 1] Ch. 7 Talentless Girl

Jules

I lay the blanket down after I finish stretching both my body and my magic. Magic circles are wonderful, I truly fell in love with them. Sebas gave me magic and opened my eyes to a world of possibilities but my love for him and my love for magic circles are both things I came to know on my own. Magic Circles are brilliant, there are so many possibilities, and drawing them has always been therapeutic.

When I learned Sebas had disappeared I didn't know what to do. It was like losing him all over again, the only thing that could have been worse was if they had declared him dead. To take my mind off of it I buried myself in my studies. I drew magic circle after magic circle. That was when I stumbled on the Creature summoning ritual. I worked tirelessly at it.

I drew it over and over again, I made alterations to enhance its potency. I don't know why, but I strove to make it perfect. It wasn't until it was perfect that I was able to finally make my wish. I wished for someone to tell me Sebas was going to be alright. Other than that, I didn't know how to put the rest of my wishes into words, so I put it into my magic and poured every ounce of mana into it. I cast the spell at noon and when I awoke, I was staring at the sky in the midst of a fluffy white cloud. When I looked around, I saw a beautiful giant white furred Nine-tailed fox with her tails curled around me.

She was laughing with Nelfa and I could hear her voice inside my head.

The fox introduced herself as Delynis Inari, she made a contract with me and assured me that Sebas was fine. A fox woman's intuition.

I've come a long way since then. Now, I stood on top of the sheet and powered the magic circle. With one smooth rush of mana thousands of magic circles appeared around me and thousands of creatures emerged from them.

Doves, mice, rats, cats, dogs, wolves, bats, foxes, ravens, eagles, hawks, bears, snakes, and many more unusual creatures appeared. The prize was the white Kitsune who stood above them all. I pull my rapier out and slid my finger along the side of it. it's a spell that lines it with a blade of magic that can make a dull spoon cut like a hot knife through melted butter.

My magic doesn't drain as fast as it used to, but I also have more contracted summons than I did when I started school. I have improved, but it's not enough. I concentrate as my summons stretch their legs, wings, and play. I go through the sword forms as I work up a sweat. My brain aches as I stretch my magic to it's limits, and my muscles strain as my blade practically disappears through the strokes.

"You're form looks good."

Someone said as she bounded toward me. I turned to see Meela who I had scheduled to meet with. The pretty blonde foxgirl has always been absurdly light on her feet but no more so than when she is on a dance floor or with a rapier in her hand.

"Hey Meelanyah," I greeted her.

"Lady Jules, is that who you address your teacher?" Meela giggled, but behind her jab... was a jab... and a stab followed by high kick that looked too stunningly precise.

I dodged, blocked, and ducked. "Princess Meela, you're as flawless nyas always." I say as I dispel the magic blade on my training sword.

"And you're pushing yourself too hard again. You are supposed to be warming up, not wearing yourself out." She held her sword pointed up in front of her in a formal stance.

"In order to cut a beast, you have to sharpen your sword. Nyah." I answer as I mirror her stance.

"But in order to survive the day you have to rest through the night." She responds.

I roll my eyes like I normally do. This has been our song and dance since I asked her spar with me. I don't have it in me to have mastered her unique dancing style yet, she's one of the best duelists in school. Normally, each year has a ranking and they are kept separate, but there is one school-wide event when the years cross to find out who is the best overall but only among the advanced courses. Meela competed in one of the school wide events and made it to the top 50 which was saying something considering the advanced courses were open to ages fifteen and older. She still had one more year to improve that ranking but it wasn't important since she wasn't applying as a Magic Knight, she was a princess after all. It wasn't like she needed a Job in Galavan.

But with even that said, both Meela and Tiera were terrifying in their own way. Tiera was a strategist to end all strategist, and Meela would smile as she struck you down. The others in the School's top 50 were veteran adventures, Elite wolf warriors, aspiring Magus's, and many other monstrously powerful adults.

After placing in the school's top 50, Meela approached Flint for an unranked match.

Many wanted to compare their strength against Flint, who was the Phantom Prince's peer. However, Flint refused to engage in ranked matches. The only unranked matches he engaged in were the ones that had the most dangerous set of rules. The secretly approved rules in some hidden rulebook that many felt were made-up until the Head Magus Roseline Shiro showed up cited the rules word for word and ruled them fair. Flint had indeed memorized ever set of rules that could be exploited and mastered their use in the same way Sebas was rumored to insult nobles with etiquette.

He never killed anyone outright, but the few matches he had fought were against the brave and foolhardy who ended up losing consciousness from lack of blood or surrendered when the pain of being cut was more than they expected. Meela was one of those who bled out.

She fought her heart out, but Flint overwhelmed her. She made him sweat since she came out of the door swinging but Flint had this sinister fighting style that did his name as Blackbeard's Demon justice. It started as a casual hack-and-slash and transformed with his grin into something fiendishly precise. The worst part was... that he never used his magic or his trump card. He beat her in pure technical skill and endurance. No matter how many times she struck him, he never flinched.

Flint had pure unrivaled skill and tenacity.

Sebas had unmatched ingenuity and resourcefulness.

They were polar opposites, and exactly the same in so many different ways.

They are so far away. From me especially. I have to work harder than anyone. I have to. I'm not a princess, I'm not a warrior, I'm not a prodigy, I'm not anything but a poor girl from the country. I'm barely a Magus Initiate. I collaborated with one of the top Magus in the world, I tricked her and her husband just to learn the barest amount of knowledge after both of them told me they wouldn't train me. By some fluke I summoned an interestingly powerful Creature, became an experimental grimoire for two untested 'mass crests', and made contracts with more creatures than most people see in their lifetimes.

Everyone around Sebas is fantastic and important. They're monsters, warriors, royalty, prodigies, master mages, and who knows what else. I have to work harder than anyone. Sebas was my only friend in Ralla's End for a long time, then I met Delynis and had hope. Then I put that hope to work for me and hard. I utilized her clever nature and pushed Nelfa to test her unique magic circle and crests. I'd pushed myself to get this far... but it still isn't far enough.