Elyon wanted to cry. The magic arrow had stuck into her side just above her hip. She only held back because she knew if she relaxed enough to allow a single tear to drop, she would start screaming from the pain. The arrowhead was sending out subtle waves of magic that were disrupting her own body's magic causing it to react strangely. She bit her tongue and tried to ignore the pain.

At some point the girl had run off and left Elyon there on her own. Eress had flown out of her bag and quickly left to find help.

Elyon took in a few shaky breaths. The magic from the arrow was making the flow of her magic move in ways it was not supposed to. She couldn't tell if it was the pain or the disruption of her magic that was making her feel so sick.
She had tried to climb to her feet before, but she had blacked out for a moment and slumped back down on the ground.
The girl was still going in and out of consciousness, and she was starting to feel scared. It felt wrong. Something felt wrong, but she couldn't understand why or what.

She closed her eyes and tried to distance herself from the pain.

I'm not here.

She took in a deep breath.

This doesn't hurt.

She released the breath.

I am not here.

A sudden noise made the girl open her eyes. She looked around and found herself back in the hallway full of doors.

"Stand up, Elyon," a feminine voice ordered.

The girl shakily climbed to her feet. She realized the pain was gone. She traced her hand over the blue fabric that covered where the arrow had once been. She lifted her head and looked around.

"Who are you?" she asked, "You're not the woman who chased me before... right?"

"That woman, as you call her, was a trespasser. I wish you no harm."

"I thought so... You sounded different from her, but I wanted to check..."

"Elyon, it seems you are not as safe as you once were. One of the seals has been broken, and I fear the trespasser will be able to find you more easily. You don't have much time to unravel the mysteries that surround you."

"Wait, what?" Elyon drew back. "What seals?! What do you mean the trespasser is hunting me?! Why?! And what mysteries must I unravel? And who are you?"

The voice was silent for a moment. The girl was afraid she'd been abandoned.

"... Freja. My name is Freja. The one hunting you is dangerous, but the reason she pursues is not because of anything you've done. I'm afraid I cannot explain. I don't know everything, but I have brought you to my domain, the Hall of Memories. There are only a few who know the whole story. This hall contains the memories of your mother. You must piece together the story from what you know and what hides behind these doors. I've been able to lock doors that are irrelevant, but beyond that is up to you."

"What... What about my friends? Joel and Eress need help, too."

"Your paths have aligned for a reason. The answers you seek lie at the end of that path."

The air suddenly felt empty. Elyon was certain Freja had left. The girl rubbed her head and started walking down the hall.

My time is running out? Does that mean... is the person hunting me planning to... kill me?

Elyon hugged herself as she made her way past the doors.

How do I know which one I need?

She traced her hand over one of the doors. The wood of the door seemed to pulse with magical energy. There was something almost comfortable about the energy. The girl pulled her hand away and looked at the door. It was the same dull pink as her mother's locked journal. The girl carefully opened it and made her way through.

...

...

Elyon found herself standing in a classroom.

It had more instruments than it did seats, and Elyon realized it had to be the music room. She looked around and saw a young woman with brown was singing. Objects around her were floating.

"A spellsinger..." Elyon murmured.

When she could finally pull her gaze away, Elyon saw a younger version of her mother sitting by the window. She was writing something down in her journal. Elyon moved closer and saw the shine of a small metal object.

"That must be the key..."

"Hey! I'm done with practice for today," the spellsinger suddenly announced.

"Sweet! I just need a quick second, Penny." Evelyn stood and locked the journal before tossing it in her bag.

When Penny started for the door, Elyon watched her mother quickly jump behind the piano sitting by the wall. By the time the spellsinger had turned around, Evelyn was already back on her feet with her bag slung over her shoulder. As the girl walked by, Elyon reached out. Evelyn walked through her hand and Elyon felt a pang in her heart.
Just as her mother walked through the door with the older girl, the ground gave way beneath Elyon. She had no time to think before she fell into the darkness.

...

...

"Elyon, are you okay?" Klaus was holding her shoulders.

The girl blinked and tried to understand what was going on. A pair of amethyst eyes bore into hers. For moment, she was mesmerized.

"Elyon!" Joel shouted.

His voice snapped her out of her trance. She turned and saw Joel sitting next to her. He looked panicked and she could see sweat on his forehead.

Oh, Joel... He must have run here. I didn't want to cause him so much anxiety...

She smiled at him.

"I'm alright."

He let out a sigh of relief before turning to Klaus.

"Um... thanks."

"Of course. As prefect, I'm supposed to watch out for all of the students." Klaus let go of her and stood up.

Elyon looked down and found that the magic arrow was gone, along with the pain. Joel helped her climb to her feet.

"Thank you, Klaus!"

The golden haired man paused to give her a polite nod before he continued walking. She watched him leave before turning to Joel. The girl drew back when she saw the infuriated look on his face.

"J-Joel?"

He looked like he was holding back as he took her hand and started walking. From his pocket, Elyon could Eress looking anxious. The girl gulped. Joel remained silent as they walked past the crowd of students, through the schoolyard, and down one of the stone paths. The air around them was painfully tense and Elon was growing more nervous with each silent moment that passed. When they finally arrived at their usual spot in the forest, the boy dropped her hand and stomped a few steps away. The faery flew away from him and ducked into Elyon's bag.

"I... might've mentioned the bullying..." she whispered.

"Oh..." Elyon cringed and looked up.

Joel was glaring at her now. The girl fidgeted. Her buddy had never been so silent in his angry. Elyon was unsure of whether she should say something or to let the boy speak on his own. The choice was soon made for her.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" he snapped, "Why didn't you say people were giving you such a hard time?!"

"Y-You were stressed out already. I didn't want to make it worse."

"Make it - You got shot! You got shot by a magic arrow! How do you - Gods, you were passed out by the time we got there! You were so pale, your lips had turned white! W-When Klaus removed the arrow and cast a healing spell, you didn't wake up and..." He buried his face in his hands for a moment before running them through his hair. "How is that better than just telling me? I'm here for you, Elyon. I want to protect you."

The girl furrowed her brow.

"I'm sorry you were so scared, but I can't be held responsible for her actions. Everything else I could handle, but she just snapped. I'm not so stupid as to keep silent if I'm being attacked by other students!"

"Just tell me when you're having trouble! I want to prote-!"

"I don't want to be protected!" Elyon snapped back. "I'm not some child that needs to be coddled! I can protect myself. I don't need to hide behind other people!"

"You could have fooled me with your level of magic! You couldn't even make a proper shield!"

Elyon froze at his insult. Joel drew back realizing he crossed a line.

"Elyon, I didn't mean that. I'm sor-"

"You are such a - such an ass!"

With that, the girl whirled around and stomped out of the forest. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she would never let him see that. She would only be further proving his point. What hurt most was how right he was. If she'd properly cast that shield, she would have been fine. If she'd stood up for herself earlier, the bullying might not have escalated like it did. Instead, she had just ducked her head and admitted defeat. The bullying had not slid off her back like water; they'd weathered her down like waves on stone. She had allowed that.
But he didn't have to point it out. He didn't have to be so cruel about it.

Elyon kept walking, ignoring Eress's attempts to comfort her.

That wasn't fair! He wasn't being fair! I didn't want to burden him! I was trying to be considerate!

She bit her lip and tried to hold back her tears.

I was scared, I was upset, I didn't want any of these problems! I thought things would get better!

The girl could only make out blurry shapes as she quickly made her way down a path away from the school. She didn't want to be around other people.

I was so scared when my spell didn't work! It hurt so horribly! I didn't want to fight with her!

Elyon eventually came to a stop. She buried her face in her hands and tried to hold down her sobs. She hated the tears welling up in her eyes. She hated the pain in her heart. She hated how much his words had hurt.

A sudden presence made her open her eyes. Leon was standing there, staring at her in confusion. They remained silent for a few moments.

And then the dam broke.

Maybe it was the boy's cold gaze, maybe it was the news that she was being hunted down, or maybe it was her buddy's cruel comment. It didn't matter. Elyon was sobbing and she couldn't stop. Leon tilted his head and just watched her for a bit. Eress flew out from her bag and hugged the girl's hand. She glared at the white haired boy.

"What's your problem? Why are just staring at her cry?!"

Elyon wanted to tell her friend to stop. She didn't want any more conflict. Unfortunately, Elyon still couldn't stop crying and so the faery continued.

"What should I do?" Leon looked at the faery.

"You ask her if she's okay, or what's wrong! You offer a handkerchief or a hug or a - Hey!"

Elyon had no time to process what was happening before she found herself wrapped up in a pair of arms. She looked up and found Leon staring at her.

"Does this... help?"

The girl started crying again. For the first time, a genuine emotion entered his red eyes. He looked almost sad. She stood and wept in the strange boy's awkward embrace.

After a while, Elyon was finally able to stop the tears from pouring from her eyes. She pulled away and looked up at the boy once more.

"I'm... sorry about that, Leon."

"Why?"

"It was improper of me to have used you as a shoulder to cry on." She wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.

"Why is it improper?"

"Here we go again," Eress grumbled.

"I..." Elyon sighed. "We still aren't familiar enough for that. I'm sorry, Leon. I'm going to head to my dorm. I'll see you another time."

"See you..."

The girl quickly walked off, heading straight to her room. When she got there, she laid down her bed with her face buried in her pillow.

"Elyon, are you okay?" Eress asked, sitting on the pillow next to her.

"... No..."

"I always knew that guy was a jerk, but I didn't think he'd go that far!" Eress growled. "I never should have gone to him for help! He can't even use magic! He wouldn't have helped anyway! And what's wrong with your classmates?! Are they all jerks?!"

Elyon sat and rubbed her eyes. Tears were welling up in them once again. Eress faltered and stared at the girl with a sympathetic gaze. The smiled.

"I think I'm gonna take a hot bath. Do you think you'll need anything while I'm in there?"

"N-No, I'll be fine. But-"

"Thank you, Eress."

"For what?" The faery stared at her.

"For always being on my side."

Without giving the faery a chance to respond, Elyon slipped into the bathroom.

...

...

Amelia was pissed.

She'd heard what happened to her young roommate, and she'd heard the rumors going around about her. Elyon, sweet shy Elyon, had not said a word about it. She hadn't complained or vented. She'd just silently taken it.

Amelia wouldn't accept that. The girl was too kind.
With a tray full of sandwiches, sweets and drinks, she headed straight into their room.

"Oh, hello, Amelia!" The girl sweetly greeted her.

"Hey, Elyon! I brought dinner and dessert!"

"Thank you!"

The pair sat down on her bed and started eating. Amelia talked about her day, but just as she was about to question her roommate, the girl spoke up.

"You must have heard what people are saying about me."

"I-I have." The older girl nodded, taken aback. "I'm doing what I can to get them to shut up, though. I know they're wrong, Elyon. Plenty of other people do, too."

Elyon smiled.

"Thank you. It's reassuring to know that people have my back." Her expression soon turned sad. "... But these rumors caused Joel and I to fight..."

"What? What did you guys fight about?"

The younger girl shifted uncomfortably before answering.

"... He was mad that I didn't tell him about the situation. He said he wanted to protect me. I... got annoyed and said I didn't want to be protected - that I didn't need to be protected, and... he pointed out how... bad I am at magic..."

Amelia drew back.

"He what?!"

The older girl's anger was renewed. That was a low blow on his part. What made it even more shocking was how much Amelia knew Joel cared for Elyon. She would have thought the boy would have been more considerate. Amelia could only imagine how much it had hurt the younger girl's feelings.

"He... was right though. I couldn't even make a proper shield to protect myself. I... I'm a coward and a weakling..."

"Ely-"

"But I want to change that!" Elyon looked up at her with a determined gaze. "I want to be braver and I want to be stronger. And so... I have a request."

I hope all the events in this chapter don't feel smashed together...

Thanks for reading and please leave reviews and critiques!

Have a nice day/night!