“Owww…My eyes….”Niccoli could be heard whining from behind but no one bothered to look back and check on him this time because everyone else were preoccupied minding their own business.But unlike the other party who was making a big fuss out of this small inconvenience, the rest chose to just quietly deal with it. Using their hands, they shielded their eyes away from the sunrays that were directly hitting their faces. Apparently, the group was greeted by the blinding light of the afternoon sun the moment they stepped outside, and it took a couple of minutes before their eyes were able to get used to the change.It was relatively darker inside the library, more so, they had been at the darkest corner of it for hours. Precisely due to this reason that they needed to readjust first before seeing properly.After some time, the group continued walking with Audrey taking the lead. However, they have not gone far yet when out of the blue, Jace abruptly stopped on his track.“What the heck
During one of their first few nights in the vast open water, Nero saw, or imagined he saw, a vessel standing for them under a press of sail, as though it would run them down. Luna in particular affirmed that it was the ship that once sank due to a storm, and that it must certainly be it, or at least it was its the apparition. According from what she heard, there was once a ship that was lost off the {Cape of Good Hope, change the name}, and every soul on board perished. Wasting no time, the cats approached their masters to report this sighting. As they ran as fast as their four stubby legs could take them, they cried to their fellow members."Look out! Look out!"However, when Audrey rushed to deck to catch a glimpse, the object, a dark thick cloud, mysteriously disappeared. Apparently, it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared, prompting Audrey to think that it was never there in the first place and the pets were only making it up. So that night Audrey and Niccoli teased their c
"There is no need to stand on ceremony, no call to impress anyone."He insinuated when he noticed that the youngsters were being too modest in front of the table when he invited them to dine with him during their first night at the ship. However, Audrey and her friends remained hesitant to eat away their hunger. So the captain added,"You must be hungry."Meanwhile, as if hearing the magic word, the group of no longer stood on ceremony indeed and devour the sumptuous meal laid bare before them, like pack of hungry wolves.On the other hand, the captain did not even touched his food. Instead, he watched the group ate with amusement in his eyes. He even started pouring wine in the cup of the one closest to him, which happened to be David."Try the wine."He whispered and the other party gladly accept. "And the apples, one of those next."He suggested next before David could even finish his drink. So this time, he started to feel suspicious as to why the captain was being extra attenti
Due to the relentless pursuit of the leshen, Audrey's group was driven ashore again. Also, the delay caused by the fight that broke between them and the leshen, consumed their day and they were left with no choice but to take shelter for the night.Night might provide them a good cover. However, they still could not muster up the courage and afford taking the risk of venturing the Land of Dawn knowing its treacherous nature. Besides, no one thinks it was a good idea anyway. After all, it was an established fact that Land of Dawn was already fairly dangerous during the day so it only goes without saying that night is worse.Thankfully, they found a lighthouse nearby."Did you smell that?""That's whale's oil"Whale oil burns like no other. Once you set it on fire, it was nearly inextinguishable/ the possibility of extinguishing it was nigh ."Then rejoice, you all, for today, we were in luck. Finally, we ran out of misfortune!"Out of nowhere, an unfamiliar voice caught their attention
They managed to escaped their cell but they were not able to get far. They were captured again by another group of guards currently in patrol when they tried their escape. This time, they were taken directly to the queen.The queen indeed has tendency of being irrational and was quick to deliver punishment without due process. She put curse on her prisoners whenever she feel like it."Now, I will turn you into fish to exfoliate my royal feet!"Nero tricked the Queen by feigning fascination to its transfiguration magic. With an awe-struck face, he convinced the gullible queen into performing various feat, last is to turn herself into a mouse. Taking this opportunity, Nero wobble up the wicked queen whole while it was still in its mouse form.After defeating the evil queen, the trident needed to find its new owner, it was a sentient being however, it would be useless if there was no one to wield her.So making her intent clear, the trident chose her new owner and she send herself flyin
Hendrik Van der Decken is the captain of the legendary ghost ship known as the Flying Dutchman and an antagonist in nautical folklore. Story states that he deliberately implored a demon for the power to sail the seas unaffected by inclement weather. Some years since, a famous captain was renowned for achieving unusual cruising speeds on his voyages. Such were his exploits at the helm that many of his contemporaries suspected him of being in league with the Devil. It is said the devil himself had given Dutch pirate captain Hendrick van der Decken the power to make his ship the fastest ship on all the seas, after the man sold his soul to him one night with a full moon. No ship could travel faster than the reckless captain's ship: it broke the waves and broke the furious winds to reach port in a matter of hours or a few days. The sailors who traveled with Van der Decken respected and feared him at the same time, but they liked sailing with him because he was fair in sharing profits and
Naturally, Audrey went inside first without a question and Steve was just about to enter next as though it was the most normal thing to do. However, before he could even think about taking another step, Niccoli already shut the door to his face and firmly held it close.Of course, Steve was taken aback by this sudden interruption and his mind that was in a complete mess at the moment failed to comprehend why the other party would behave at such way that would make things more difficult than it already was.“You know well enough that this is not the right time for this.”He gave Niccoli a quick glance that only lasted for a second before turning his attention back at the door that stood in between him and Audrey, perfectly separating the other party to them.“Our friend is inside and she needs all the help she could get.”He insinuated because he reckoned that the only reason why Niccoli would be acting like that was because he would like to demand an explanation from him about what t
For a moment, Niccoli had the urge to help the cat as he noticed that it was struggling to bring Audrey’s pants that was twice its size. But he later on decided otherwise, as he found it more entertaining to watch the other party as he carried the piece of garment with his small mouth while at the same time trying his best to balance and orb placed atop his head.[Over here!]Monami beckoned to Nero as soon as she spotted the other cat.[What a handsome delivery man, you are!]The cat insinuated afterward when Nero was finally close enough to hear her purring. Nero, on the other hand, did not comment on this. But he sure enjoyed the praise as it was evident on the smirk hanging on his lips while he was playing on his whiskers.Meanwhile, Niccoli who could hear all of it, especially how his cat was openly flirting in the public, had to fight back the urge to roll his eyes. Nonetheless, he wordlessly let the cat enter the portalet. After all, judging from the items he brought with him,
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou