Work Text:
13 years old
Maybe she should have thought better about this.
At least, that was Olivia's opinion as she stood in the palace's courtyard, trying her best to sustain the golden-orange magical shield she had put up for the last part of her magic placement test, and which she had to have been keeping up for at least five minutes now, under the attentive eyes of her second magic teacher as he walked in circles around her.
Sure, she had been the one volunteering to learn under him as well, and the one who had to persuade her parents to let her do it, and the one who had agreed to let them attend the lesson with her. But now, as said magic teacher scrutinized her work, she couldn't help but feel her heart pounding with fear. Even though he was not as skeletal as before, and was no longer wearing his hair in that slicked-back, pointed look, just knowing who he was made him look threatening by default.
But he was not 'acting threatening', and she knew she couldn't afford to look scared in front of him anyway. All stories she read said that villains sniffed out weaknesses like bloodhounds, and she had no reason to think that would be unrealistic. Even if said man really was not a villain anymore, it was best not to take risks.
Unaware of her thoughts - or simply not caring about them - Fiero stopped after taking another turn around her shield.
"You can let it down now," he told her as he raised his clipboard.
Olivia pretended she hadn't heard him as he raised his free hand and pointed his index finger at the clipboard. A bolt of magic shot out of his index finger and started moving all over the page, as if it was writing something on the paper.
She held back a frown. Even Mateo couldn't do wandless magic very well yet. If Fiero was better than Mateo at this, just how many more things could he actually be better than Mateo at?
The bolt vanished as Fiero lowered his clipboard and looked back at her.
"I said you can let it down now," he insisted, although his voice remained as calm as before.
Her eyes narrowing, Olivia lowered her shield, her breathing deeper than usual. Shield spells weren't usually difficult to keep up for a bit, but she had never kept one for that long. If Fiero decided to turn on her, she'd be in trouble. Sure, her parents were sitting close by with crossbows they looked all too ready to use on him, but she didn't want to find out if they'd be quick enough to stop him.
But Fiero wasn't making any aggressive gestures. Instead, he looked strangely thoughtful, as if thinking about what to say and the best way to say it. In a way, it looked too much like the face Mateo would make when he did the same, only on a much older face with much sharper features.
Eventually, he asked, "You said you are an apprentice to the boy?"
Her eyes narrowed further, and her hand which wasn't holding the tamborita curled into a fist.
"His name is Mateo."
There was no change in Fiero's expression at her words.
"He taught you surprisingly well for such a young teacher," the malvago went on.
"He's more than good enough to have defeated you twice," Olivia snapped, her voice coming out unexpectedly raspy from her heavy breathing.
"Which proves he knows that raw power and skill with magic aren't everything," Fiero replied, now with a touch of respect to his voice as his features seemed to soften the tiniest bit. "A lesson all wizards and malvagos should keep in mind. Myself included."
This time, Olivia couldn't help a puzzled expression. It hadn't been the kind of comment she would have expected from him. While in some ways it seemed Fiero was calling himself the superior wizard, he was also calling Mateo better than him in some ways. She wouldn't have expected that.
But then, a flicker of fear bloomed in her. From his words, it sounded as if Fiero really had been holding back in both his battles against Mateo. A suspicion Mateo himself had had since the malvago's unexpected reappearance. If it really turned out that he was lying about wanting to help them, they'd be in big trouble.
"Something the matter?" Fiero asked, again with an edge of seemingly genuine emotion - this time concern - in his voice.
There was a blur of movement behind Olivia, and she could tell that her parents were both taking a menacing step forward. But Fiero didn't even blink at them.
Searching her mind for something to say in response to Fiero's question, Olivia managed to ask, "Are you insinuating I'll be a malvaga? Because I'll never be a malvaga!"
She spoke the last sentence as if she was throwing a spear, but again, Fiero didn't wince. But this time, there was an actual change in his expression, if an unexpected one. Rather than glaring or scoffing at her, a strange bitterness came over his features.
"I hope not," he stated.
And for some reason, it sounded like he meant it.
Then, his eyes widened as if he'd caught his robe about to fall down in front of a crowd and was hastily trying to keep it up.
"You can take a break for half an hour while I plan your class," he told her. "Then we can begin."
Unsure of what else to say or do, Olivia went back to her parents as Fiero raised his clipboard again, both her father and her mother visibly loosening. Neither lowered their crossbows, but both put the safety on their weapon.
Again, Olivia wondered how much good these crossbows would be if Fiero decided to turn on them. After all, he had the reputation of being the most dangerous malvago in Avalor. But it had been her parents' condition for her when she had wanted him to also be her magic teacher, and she couldn't help but think they might be needed at a time when other dangerous malvagos were threatening the kingdom.
And to be fair to him, Fiero had already saved many of them once, herself included. So it seemed possible he was being genuine.
Olivia only hoped for two things.
For one, that Fiero was really being sincere in his wish to help them and turn over a new leaf.
For another, that his help would be enough to get them through the latest threat the kingdom was dealing with.