A FEW MINUTES AGO...
"I need to write a letter to him!" Carter said abruptly. He turned to look at Sera and she had her eyes closed and her attention completely focused on casting the spell, a small hue of sparkling light began to surround her. He paused for a while to admire the change in the environment but quickly shook his head afterwards. 'Quickly' he thought.
Carter then rushed to a corner of the study room to find some paper and pen he could write with before Sera would be done casting the spell. He glanced around for a while and found a book with notes behind it, 'There' he tore of the pages with the note and grabbed a pen from a drawer to proceed with writing his letter.
Carter stared at the paper for a while and finally brought his hands to write the words he intended to. _Dear Richard....._.
After a few seconds, Carter was done writing and smiled at the content of the letter. The words he had written were pretty much too vague to explain what was happening to anyone who read it except for someone who knew him all too well and that was none other than Richard.
"Phew" Carter let out a sigh of relief at that moment. 'Now, to place it somewhere only he could find it' he thought for a matter of seconds until, 'That's it!'
Carter walked over to a desk next to a large window in the study room, it was his favorite desk due to the high level of ventilation he got from that area. He then placed the paper on it with the pen to hold it in place. 'Whose gonna come over here anyways' he shrugged at the thought.
"Are you done?" Sera's voice jolted him back to reality and he was soon reminded of what was actually at stake there. She had an arm on her waist and stared at his with furrowed brows.
"Um...you're done casting the spell?" Carter brought himself to ask.
"Pretty much" Sera said with a faint smile and looked forward, she then stretched out a hand towards him. "Hold my hand" she said.
Carter nodded and walked over to her and did as she had demanded. The next moment, both their bodies were suddenly engulfed with sparkling lights.
"Return!" Sera's voice echoed in the study room and they both disappeared as well as the light from earlier.
The moment they were both gone, the door to the study room came swinging open and three bodies rushed in. Richard being one of them paced back and forth around the room but it was all to no avail.
His eyes widened in fright. "W-what is this?". He turned to the other men present and they both had clueless expressions on their faces as well, this only made him even more frightened. "They're no where to be seen!"
"Check outside!" A man spoke from the door. "They might've snuck out through the windows!"
The two men in black suits immediately rushed out of the study room upon the order.
Richard turned from the door and looked around once again with a dejected expression on his face, 'This can't be happening'
"And who might you be?" The man who had given out the order to the two men from earlier looked up at Richard in curiosity. Richard turned towards the door and noticed the short man with a bald head who had a black suit on. Black suits were worn by the authorities whose duties were to oversee the activities of the school, it was why it was so easy for him to blend in amongst them. Although a large number of students especially those in the same year as Carter already knew he wasn't an authority, the short man before him must've not recognized him.
"I'm Carter Hubert's bodyguard" Richard said bluntly.
"Oh, the kid who caused all this ruckus" the short man scoffed. He seemed to have a displeased expression on his face.
Richard simply nodded.
"Ha" the man sighed. "You might as well just step back for now, we the authorities will make sure to find Carter and the girl" he said blandly and turned to leave. The students from earlier were still gathered around them and this made his face twitch in exasperation. "Return to your classes, all of you!" He yelled and they retreated immediately.
Richard stared at the floor blankly. 'What in the world is going on Carter?' He wondered. He stood there in deep thought for a couple of seconds, how was it that both Carter and the lady disappeared into thin air? He couldn't cross out the possiblity of them jumping out the window as it was the only option and the study room was on the first floor but....
'They wouldn't just escape into somewhere with even more people' he wondered.
Richard looked towards the window at a far end of the study room and he caught sight of the familiar desk next to it. Carter would usually sit on the desk and look outside after reading a few pages of his book. Whenever he asked him why he couldn't sit on the chair, Carter would giggle and say something about it being uncomfortable.
"Shoot!" Richard cursed and facepalmed at how careless he had been, the moment he decides to let Carter roam around school without his escort, this happens.
'What do I do?' He wondered in obvious panic. He then looked up and stared at the ceiling for a matter of seconds, 'No, standing here won't solve anything! I have to search every nook and cranny of this school' he thought in determination and soon turned to leave the study room but something caught his eye in the nick of time.
"What is that?" Richard caught sight of a piece of paper on the desk at the far end, the desk which triggered his memories. He slowly moved closer to it and noticed something written on it.
As if knowing it was something important, Richard yanked the pen away and grabbed the paper to read it's content and what he saw made his eyes widen.
_Dear Richard, I'm off to chase my dreams. Do take care of yourself, lots of love_
"What is this?!" He exclaimed. He flipped the paper to see if there was more but that was all to his dismay. There was no doubt that the Richard mentioned in this letter was obviously him and it was all boldly written in Carter's handwriting.
"Chase his dreams?" Richard's arms trembled and he kept blankly staring at the paper. At that moment, the pieces came together.
A young lady with unusual red hair managing to set foot in the Aspell law school for dignified men, Carter running off with her and their sudden disappearance as well as this letter. It all became clear to him.
"Carter has encountered a witch"
"Woahhhhhhhhh!!" Carter exclaimed excitedly at the sight of his surroundings. "This is..."
The moment they had disappeared from the study room, they arrived at a bright and colorful place with clouds and coloured wind swirling around them. They were currently at the top of a cloud then.
"Woooo" Carter stared down from the cloud and was met with a never ending trail of fog and swirling wind.
"You seemed dignified when we first met minutes ago, I never imagined you'd be this wild and excited" Sera chuckled. "You might wanna step back a little though, there's no telling where you'll end up if you fall" she warned
Carter let out a few coughs and took a few steps back. He then turned back to stare at her and tried his best to maintain his composure, he had let himself get too excited and had almost forgotten about her presence. "What is this place anyways?" He asked
Sera smiled "This is the magical mistvale"
"Magical mistvale?"
"It is the place which separates the territory of witches from both the southern and northern country. The land of endless possibilities that keeps our magic intact, without this place we won't be able to perform spells anywhere at all, our magical energy would practically be dead"
"Woah" Carter looked around in astonishment. "So, this is like the place that gives birth to witches?"
"Bingo, you got it" Sera flicked her fingers as she said that.
"Then those flying colours..."
"Oh, those?" Sera turned to stare at the sparkling colours that swirled around them.
"Those are magical energy that either choose to remain here or go into the body of a baby girl born into a family at the witches territory..." She then slowly turned to Carter, "Or in your case, a boy born into a not so magical family"
"More like not magical at all" Carter scoffed. "Besides, I have no magical energy so you're mistaken" he bluntly said
"No I'm not" Sera turned to him in surprise. "There's no way a witch reincarnate isn't born with magical energy, that's exactly why you look like Gressil Helenor"
"I don't believe it" Carter's eyes widened. "I've had magical energy in me this whole time?!". All this while he had thought he was born with the potential to develop magical energy if he learnt how, the idea of having had magical energy ever since never crossed his mind.
"Yep, it's true" Sera smiled and couldn't help but giggle inwardly at the sight of his shocked and wowed expression.
"It's alright Carter, I'll teach you everything you need to know about witches. For now, let's go to our territory and get to witchdom academy" She spoke, her smile not wavering in the slightest.
"Please tell me this isn't a dream" Carter couldn't help but get overly excited once again. The thought of going to witchdom academy, the school that created a witch as outstanding as Gressil only triggered his dopamine even further.
"No, you're not" Sera chuckled. 'He's so adorable'
At that very moment, the cloud came to a halt and they arrived in front an enormous golden door.
Yet again, Carter was astonished.
"Brace yourself Carter, this is our last stop" Sera spoke and turned to look up at the door, she then raised and waved her wand and closed her eyes obviously to cast a spell.
Carter stood still, he could feel the rapid beating of his heart. This was it, once this door opened up, he was going into the territory of the witches, the creatures he had adored for the past seven years now.
After what felt like seconds, Sera's eyes flew open and the enormously large door slowly flew open, a gust of wind from the mistvale speeding up the process.
Sera walked closer to the entrance and turned to look at Carter with a smile. "Follow me"
Carter gladly followed her out the entrance and the door closed behind them immediately. He turned to look back and unlike before, it had lost it's spark and was now of a bronze appearance. 'It's no longer golden'
"Alright, let's go. Hehehe" Sera chuckled excitedly and Carter diverted his attention to her and the view of the witches territory. They were at the top of a small hill with stairs leading downwards and the view of a small town presented before him.
"Race you to the streets!" Sera suddenly began running down the stairs in a child like manner.
"H-hey wait for me!" Carter was taken aback by her actions but could only follow after her and run down the stairs as well.
After a few steps, they finally reached the bottom of the stairs and were now in the town.
"Ha...ha...ha" Carter panted heavily. "You...ha..were...ha so fast" he spoke admist his panting.
"Of course. Not only am I tall, I'm also very athletic" Sera winked at him.
Carter didn't know how to interpret that. It felt like she was bragging and at the same time mocking him.
"Ha" he sighed. "I'm also quite athletic you know"
"I know" Sera laughed and Carter couldn't help but feel embarrassed at her reaction.
"Alright, let's go" She then looked away and began walking further into the streets. Carter could only let out a huff and follow after her.
As they arrived further, the bustling cemented street of the town presented before them. People flocked everywhere ranging from adults sitting in benches, driving vintage cars or trading several items to teenagers busy with their crazy talk or a few with their smartphones.
'Smartphones?' Carter was quite surprised and couldn't help but feel envious as well.
And then there were little children playing and jumping around or staying with their parents. The town was bustling with activity in general.
"Wow, I never expected such a sight" Carter spoke beside Sera.
"What, did you think the witches territory was gonna be filled with just witches performing magic all over the place?" Sera snickered
"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought" Carter couldn't deny it and Sera burst out laughing.
"Oh Carter, I've only known you for a few minutes but you never fail to amuse me" she chuckled. "It's called the witches territory not because only witches dwell here but because this is where witches dwell. Regular humans have always lived here, how do you think witches are born?"
"Ohhh" Carter couldn't hide his surprise. It made too much sense, why hadn't he thought of that?
"Sera Leuman, is that you?!" Just then a masculine voice called out to Sera from a distance causing both of them to look over. They were met with a tall handsome man with long blonde hair, he had a white fitted shirt with black pants and black boots on as well as a straw hat on his head. Little brown stains of dirt were visible on both his shirt and face and on his arms was a large basket filled with strawberries. He smiled the moment they turned to him.
"It is you"
"It is i indeed" Sera waved with a smile. "Follow me Carter" she said before walking over to the man.
With a sigh, Carter slowly followed her and stood behind her as she conversed with him.
"Magnus, it's been so long..." She smiled brightly
"I know right? What is our outstanding witch doing out here on a weekday?" Magnus asked with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, just you know...recruiting new students and making sure they get to school safely, hahaha" Sera waved an arm and laughed with a blush on her face.
Carter paused and shook his head at the sight. 'She couldn't be more obvious' he felt a sting of embarrassment run through him.
"Oh, is that so?" Magnus had a warm smile on his face, he then looked further at the person standing behind her. "And who could this be?"
"Oh" Sera pointed towards Carter. "This is Carter and he's the new student I'm talking about" she smiled.
"Wait, a guy?!" Magnus slightly exclaimed in a rather low tone
'What a reaction' Carter thought without the slightest hint of surprise
Magnus stared at Carter, his mouth agape. "A male witch, does this mean...."
"Yep, the great Gressil Helenor has finally been reincarnated" Sera chuckled at his reaction. She then brought herself closer to him to whisper "He's got the potential to do great things in the history of magic as well"
"Woah!" Magnus wowed. "Is that so?"
"Yep" Sera nodded
Carter looked from one to the other. 'What are they whispering about?'
Magnus looked over at Carter. "Then in that case I guess I'll have to keep your name in mind, Carter wasn't it?"
"Uh...yes" Carter replied in a confused state.
Magnus then looked down at Sera. "I guess you'll have to get going then. How about taking some strawberries for yourself, they're really tasty this season"
"Of course" Sera spoke with delight. "I'll have two bundles please"
"Coming right up"
After their exchange, Sera waved Magnus goodbye and walked away with Carter following her.
"Arghh, isn't he so dreamy?" Sera wrapped her arms tightly around the bags of strawberries with a blush on her face.
"I wouldn't really know" Carter simply replied.
"Urgh, you're no fun" Sera frowned.
"What the.....I am lots of fun!" Carter denied. "And besides, what were you both whispering about back there, I know it had something to do with me"
Sera chuckled. "Ease your mind, it was nothing serious". "What's important now is making our way to the witchdom academy!" She stretched out an arm excitedly and looked back at Carter with a bright smile.
"Ha, alright" Carter agreed with a sigh but as usual, inside of him was great excitement burning tremendously.