Chapter Text
Vera had been met with a coach carriage outside her front door.
Its polished mahogany wood stood out against the bright, white marble and glittering gold that made up the buildings on the Island of Woe. Satin curtains colored in a deep green and adorned with intricate golden filigree covered the allotted space for its windows, while two large, black draft horses were hooked to the front of the carriage. Their manes and fur were the sort of navy-black that blended with the night sky, and their eyes glowed with an abnormal, pale green, signifying that they were conjured beings instead of natural.
"Well, aren't you a magnificent sight?" she muttered, stepping out of the doorway and into the cobbled street. She slowly approached the two magical animals, a hand stretched out to pet one of their dark manes.
"Who is it?!" A shrill voice called from inside the house behind her before she could touch the horse, and Vera's hand quickly pulled away.
She didn't immediately respond. The harsh clicks of footsteps rapidly began to approach the front door, and Vera turned, her gaze meeting a woman with long, plum-colored hair and harsh, amber eyes. She stood at around one-hundred sixty-three centimeters, just three centimeters shorter than Vera when she wasn't wearing heels. The woman crossed her arms with narrowed eyes when she spotted the carriage, and for a moment, she was silent.
Only when she seemed satisfied with what she saw, she spoke to her daughter. "See? What did I tell you?" Her voice was pointed and sounded almost boastful. "There was no need to apply to that disgusting Verdant Grove Academy. Mystic Cauldron Academy would be insane to turn someone like you away, especially with who I am."
Vera thought her mother was partially correct; Mystic Cauldron Academy was indeed the school that sent the carriage that evening. Studying the sight in front of her while she was no longer mystified, she noticed that the leather of the saddles had the school's crest carved into it ─ A cauldron decorated with the visage of the Phantom King surrounded by seven jewels.
"I was going to apply to both schools regardless," she tried to defend herself, but deep down she knew that her mother would never understand. VGA was rivals with MCA, and her mother was an alumni of the latter school.
The older woman sniffed, her nose pointing upward. "This just proves that you didn't need to, like I had told you."
"Right," she stated, keeping her voice as even as possible despite the sass that begged to drip into her tone. "I suppose I should pack, then."
Her mother nodded, and Vera took that as her cue to leave.
It didn't take her very long to make it to her room. Once her door was shut behind her, she opened the footlocker that sat at the edge of her bed and began to transfer her belongings inside. It was mostly stationary, empty notebooks, and necessary clothing ─ underwear, socks, pajamas, a few pairs of heels, a pair of sneakers, and a few leisure dresses that she doubted she would have time to wear ─ that she focused on packing. Vera then moved on to her vanity to collect her makeup and began to put her skin care products in her toiletry bag along with her shower materials.
As her hands reached toward her hairbrush, the final addition to the bag, her eyes locked on her appearance in the mirror. Her hair was the same color as her mother's, something she despised deep down, yet she couldn't deny that it suited her complexion. It was currently down, as her mother often required of her while she was at home. Vera hated it. She hated the feeling of her hair on the back of her neck and itched to pull it into a ponytail the longer she paid attention to the fact that it was down. To suppress the urge, she forcibly moved her gaze to rest on her eyes. They were a dull teal, often fogged with a layer of composure she had to build up over the years. Despite that, she noticed the faint glimmer of excitement shine through, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
She would be free.
Her eyes fell to the picture frame on her vanity, lingering on the image of a small boy with similar features to her own.
'Maybe...'
Vera shook her head. It was unlikely. Besides, she still had a task to complete. She grabbed the picture and carefully included it with the rest of her belongings.
The final items that needed to be placed in her footlocker were packed with a swiftness Vera didn't know she had within her, as she found herself standing in the doorway gazing upon the carriage once more before she knew it, this time with the footlocker trailing behind her. Her mother hadn't moved from the carriage, and she raised her nose in approval at the amount of time it took for Vera to return.
"You will behave yourself," the woman commanded. "Everything you do reflects on me and your father." Venom followed the last word.
"Yes, mother."
She nodded at her daughter, then, with a flick of her hand, the footlocker Vera had been holding onto levitated off the ground and made its way to the boot of the carriage. "Right. Well, off you go. Make me proud."
Vera's feet led her straight to the carriage, and her head never turned to glance at her mother even as she passed her. She ascended the steps beside the door with an eagerness she could hardly contain. She would be away from the Island of Woe, away from her mother, away from the responsibilities required of her. She could just learn witchcraft at MCA in peace.
When she opened the door, all Vera saw was a cauldron before everything went black.
⋘ ──────∘⋄❀⋄∘────── ⋙
1 || Mystic Cauldron Academy
⋘ ──────∘⋄❀⋄∘────── ⋙
Everything was hazy to Vera. She felt distant from her surroundings, like smoke carrying in the wind, yet she could still feel her body.
She didn't know how long she was there; time seemed to almost slip away in the darkness. The only constant she knew was the buzzing of magic against her skin. She wasn't skilled enough to determine what type of witchcraft ─ or even school of wizardry ─ that it was yet, but she felt it resonating with her very soul like a warm embrace.
Then, in a flash, Vera fully awoke.
The candle lights on the large chandeliers above her were almost blinding. Vera shielded her eyes with her arm instinctively, and it took her a few moments to blink her eyes back into focus. Once her vision returned, she noticed the constant flow of green mist emanating from the large cauldron behind her that obscured the majority of the room. The sea of students beside her struggled to regain their bearings, most tugging at the sleeves of hooded robes colored in a deep green, gold, and black.
'Oh,' she realized. 'I was brought to MCA.'
The same robes adorned her body, as well as a simple, gold, chain necklace that went down to the top of her sternum. The necklace's embellishment was an oval made of gold, yet it dipped inward as if it were meant to hold a gemstone that was not present. Vera's fingers found themselves clutching the cool metal in anticipation as the low mumble of students filled the chamber.
"Welcome, ladies," a deep feminine voice echoed against the walls, "To Mystic Cauldron Academy."
A light gust of wind followed her statement, and the green mist was drawn to the middle of where Vera and the other students stood, swirling upward for a moment before dispersing to the edges of the room. There, a tall, thin woman stood with a bony hand outstretched. Her pale ears were pointed, and six, small horns protruded from her head almost like a crown. She wore a long, black dress with draping lace sleeves that reached the floor, giving her the appearance that she was floating.
Around her was the rest of the chamber. There was a section of empty space at her feet, but behind her, down past the couple of stairs that indicated where the raised portion of the room ended, was where the second and third year students of MCA sat. Their faces were obscured by their hoods, yet Vera could still feel the intensity of their eyes studying her and the other first years. The castle-like walls of the room were arranged in the shape of an octagon, and the ceiling was made of stained glass that was separated into the same number of sections.
Each piece of glass had its own design. The one immediately above Vera's head seemed to depict the Dark Cauldron, while the others, from right to left, had imagery of a flower, a wave of water, a flame, both darkness and light, a spirit, a crystal, and an eye. When her eyes moved away from the ceiling and back to the upperclassmen watching, she noticed that their seats were separated into seven sections, seeming to gather underneath their respective piece of stained glass. Each group had a number of empty chairs in front of them, and Vera figured they were meant for the first years.
The woman smiled. "For those who may not know, I am headmistress Arawyn Adelaide. Today is our entrance ceremony for our first years. Here is where you will be chosen by your magestone, the very item that you will connect with and allow you to practice magic. Tomorrow morning, you will decide your first type of witchcraft to study, and that can very well be influenced by what stone chooses you tonight."
"'Chooses you'?" a girl to Vera's left with brown hair and ears that looked like a tiger's muttered with furrowed brows. "Wouldn't it be the other way around?"
Either Adelaide didn't hear the question ─ nor the others that arose from the students ─ or she chose to ignore it. She only turned away from the group of girls and waved her hand. Arising from the floor in response were seven pillars, all with a different colored gemstone seated on top. Each pillar aligned with a section of the ceiling.
"Who among you will go first?" the woman prompted, her head turned to glance over her shoulder. Her green eyes stared in challenge.
Vera was silent. She had been since she emerged from the Dark Cauldron behind her, and she had hoped to stay that way. Unfortunately, the other girls around her had noticed.
She felt hands nudge at her back and push her forward. She stumbled, almost falling face-first into the stone-like floor of the chamber. Luckily, she was able to regain her balance, and she smoothed her robes against her legs. For a moment, Vera felt all of the eyes in the room on her, and she desperately wanted to hide from view.
But she couldn't.
And so, she raised her head high, forcing down her nerves, and took a proper step forward.
The headmistress seemed to approve, if the slight nod of her head was any indication. "Step into the center, then state your name, child."
"I am Vera Krínos," she declared once she stood in the middle of the space. As soon as the words fell from her lips, the gemstones illuminated, floating just a few centimeters above their respective pillars.
A soft grin tugged at Adelaide's lips as she faced her. She gestured a bony hand forward. "Let your magestone choose you, Vera."
Vera found herself nodding, yet she was unsure what she was supposed to do. She was the example, after all. Her eyes darted to the pillar immediately to her right, and something within her stirred. Slowly, she approached, her footsteps echoing against the walls of the room, until she stood in front of a carnelian.
Its orange glow drew her in, and without much thought, her hand reached forward. Her fingers brushed against the gem, and for a moment, the light within it was brighter. Then, it faded, and the magestone gently floated back down to the pillar beneath it.
She frowned, raising an eyebrow, but continued on.
None of the other gems immediately caught her attention. She walked past the blue moonstone to the left of the carnelian, then the red jasper after that. The clear quartz resonated a little within her, but it was weaker than what she had felt with the carnelian, and that seemed to fail based on the stone removing itself from the selection. The angelite waivered as she walked past before it placed itself back onto the pillar, and the green fluorite didn't seem to draw her in more than the clear quartz.
The final magestone was an amethyst. Vera felt a connection almost as soon as she gazed upon it. The pull it had on her was stronger than the carnelian ─ and any of the other stones, for that matter. She found herself in front of the pillar that cradled it faster than she anticipated, and her fingers brushed against it. It too, illuminated brighter, however, this time, it did not fade. The light was almost blinding, and when Vera instinctively closed her eyes, she felt the stone fly away from her fingertips and impact against her sternum.
She stumbled backwards, forcing her eyelids open. Her hand moved to clutch the necklace she had been given, and when she looked down, the previously empty embellishment had been filled with the very amethyst she had presumedly connected with.
Applause erupted from the seated upperclassmen. Vera turned to face the headmistress, catching her approving expression as she gestured for her to exit the raised part in the floor. She followed the nonverbal order, and stepped down to the seated area.
Three students in the section of seats immediately to the left, matching with the placement of the amethyst and the stained glass depicting an eye, stood. They looked to be triplets from what Vera could briefly see under their hoods as she approached, and moved almost in sync as they gestured for her to take one of the empty seats in the first few rows. She inclined her head and did as she was requested.
The rest of the entrance ceremony continued on without a hitch, each new first year being chosen by their respective magestone and sitting in their corresponding section. Vera sat in silence, observing the event. She was the first out of around two-hundred first years that were to be sorted, so she sat there for a while, joining in with the applause when the other students around her prompted it.
When the last student was sorted, the headmistress spoke again. "Welcome again to Mystic Cauldron Academy, ladies. Here is to a wonderful year of study. Student council members of each gem, please lead your new first years to their dorms. Classes will begin tomorrow afternoon. I bid you all good night."
Vera and the other first years that were also chosen by the amethyst magestone were led along by the three upperclassmen that initially welcomed her, who eventually introduced themselves as Chloe, Laine, and Ayla Moirai. They exited the Cauldron Chamber ─ which doubled as an auditorium according to the whispers of the students behind her ─ and walked along the dimly lit halls of the main castle on campus. The ceilings were painted with depictions of the souls the Phantom King summoned from the Dark Cauldron, all marching away from the Cauldron Chamber where the very item was. Vera supposed that if she got lost, she could follow them as signs.
She didn't remember much else from the walk to the dorm, only that the trim on the walls glittered with amethyst the closer they moved to the entrance. The dorm was marked with a large, polished, purpleheart door, and was framed with white marble pillars inlaid with golden leaf-like filigree. When one of the student council members ─ Chloe, if Vera remembered correctly ─ opened the door, the hallway buzzed with magic. The dimly-lit common room on the other side of the doorway seemed almost impossibly larger than it should have been, and Vera swore she saw the air separating the hallway from the dorm subtly ripple when Laine stepped through.
The students towards the front of the group didn't hesitate to follow Laine inside the dorm. Vera, who found herself falling closer towards the back with Ayla, eventually passed through the threshold. A wave of energy flowed through her as her heels clicked against the wooden floor, washing away the weariness she felt and leaving her chest feeling a little lighter. She spun around, her eyes trailing the ceiling as she took in the golden chandeliers with low, flickering, yellow-orange flames until her gaze rested on the door. On the top of the doorframe were seven selenite sticks, and Vera briefly recalled a passage in the textbooks her mother had supplied that it was a crystal used for cleansing energies.
Ayla was the last person to enter the dorm, as she had let Chloe inside first. Her arrival was punctuated with the echoing shut of the door, the sound seeming to startle a few of the girls who had been lost studying the interior. One of the sisters began to speak, but Vera found herself unintentionally tuning out her voice. Her mind struggled to catch up to her eyes, which were violently moving around the room. First they settled on the midnight purple walls, then the frosted glass tables that held a multitude of crystals and incense, then the amethyst, satin sofas and chairs with gold legs, and finally the various tapestries that decorated the walls with imagery of a singular eye overlooking hands tangled in strings of fate.
She didn't remember when she snapped out of her stupor, but Vera remembered her and the other students being ushered to their new rooms shortly after the sisters finished speaking. When she entered her room, she found that her footlocker already sat inside waiting for her at the foot of one of the beds. The inside seemed to match the same theme as the common room, only it felt emptier without much decoration.
Vera truly didn't know what to feel. She was happy she was away from her mother, but Mystic Cauldron Academy wasn't her first choice in a magic school. Before she could dwell on her thoughts for much longer, fatigue took over. She barely remembered taking off her ceremonial robes and putting on her nightgown before flopping down onto the bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, her eyelids closed, and Vera faded into the comforting clutches of sleep.
∘⋄❀⋄∘
"You look like you could use some help."
Vera looked up from the pile of papers in front of her to see a girl with long, white hair that shone with lavender when she shifted under the candlelight and intelligent sea-foam eyes. She wore the same white dress shirt, deep green tie and blazer, and black skirt that Vera wore, but instead of the amethyst that occupied the necklace she had, this girl had a blue moonstone.
"I'm Vanya Ashengrotto, a second year, and student council member. If you need help picking your major for this year, I can assist you," she prompted again at Vera's silence.
She blinked. "Oh... That would be very helpful."
Vanya smiled and slid into the seat across from her in the cafeteria. "So, what seems to be the issue?"
"I'm honestly not sure what I should pick," Vera admitted. "All of the basic types of witchcraft seem interesting to learn." She bit down the fact that she didn't want to learn witchcraft.
Vera loved magic. She always had since she was a child, even past the expectation for her to learn it. It was wonderful and powerful, and infused into the very world she lived in. The most she had felt alive was when she tapped into its energy the few times she had practiced on her own.
What Vera hated was being forced to learn witchcraft. Her mother was a witch from a long line of witches, it was just another thing expected of her. Her father was a wizard, though, and in the rare times he had interacted with her, she felt the beauty and allure to wizardry through his magic. When she voiced her desire to learn his aspect of magic to her mother, it was immediately shut down.
“Women should not learn wizardry, it is unbecoming, especially for one of your pedigree.”
Vera would come to learn that those words were the popular opinion of the magical community, even if there were history books that proved them wrong.
"You have to pick at least two basic types during your time here, so there's room to experiment if you'd like." Vanya craned her neck to look at Vera's necklace. "You have an amethyst, which often means affinity to Divination Witchcraft. Starting there might be easiest for you."
Vera's hand reached up to grasp the necklace as she snapped out of her thoughts. “I'm not entirely sure I'm interested in divination,” she answered honestly, her eyes darting back down to the stack of papers on the cafeteria table in front of her. There, centered on the page she had been reading, was the list of basic types of witchcraft offered at MCA; Green Witchcraft, Water Witchcraft, Fire Witchcraft, Void Witchcraft, Spirit Witchcraft, Crystal Witchcraft, and Divination Witchcraft.
Vanya hummed, tapping her chin with her pointer finger. “Is this your first proper introduction to witchcraft?”
Her eyes moved back to make eye contact with Vanya. “No, my mother had me practice on my own every now and then. She suggested I dabble in Technological Witchcraft, but I don't see that listed.” While her words implied otherwise, Vera was rather relieved at that fact. She never liked working with technology, it reminded her too much of her mother.
“That's a secondary type, only available to second and third years who passed their Crystal Witchcraft courses,” the older girl explained. “Magestones and crystals are the basis for all technomancy, whether it be developed through witchcraft or wizardry, so it would make sense to master the basic type first.” When Vera nodded in understanding, Vanya continued to speak. “Were there any specific things you would experiment with when trying to practice on your own?”
“I liked to make flowers grow with magic,” Vera supplied. “There isn't a lot of foliage where I come from, so I suppose it was always something that interested me. I never tried anything too extreme with it, though. I was often warned about blot buildup when casting without a magestone.”
A grin made its way onto the girl's face. “Well then, why don't you major in Green Witchcraft? I'm taking it myself this year, mainly for its requirement for Kitchen Witchcraft, and how both are extremely helpful with alchemy.”
The younger girl's eyebrows furrowed as she contemplated the thought. She figured that learning a type of witchcraft she was at least somewhat interested in would make her time at MCA a little more enjoyable.
“Thank you for your help, Ashengrotto-senpai. What do you want in return?”
Vanya's eyes shone with an emotion Vera couldn't quite place. “Of course. I am here to assist as part of my position, so there's no need to repay me. But if you insist…” The corner of her lips curled into an almost cruel smirk as she rested her chin on her hand. “Your name is what I would like to have in return.”
A cold sweat broke on the back of Vera's neck. Was she so careless that she had dug herself into a debt with a fae? Her mind raced as she studied the girl in front of her once more. There was indeed something so otherworldly about her that only seemed to make itself known in that moment. Vanya's pupils were slit sideways, her skin glistened as if it were constantly covered in a light spray of water, and her shadow seemed impossibly larger than her frame.
Vera went to reply, but as soon as her mouth opened, Vanya laughed. The slight buzz of magic that had been forming between the two of them fizzled out at the sound. The first year was stunned.
“Oh, your face was priceless!” she exclaimed through giggles, hunching over as she gasped for breath. “There's no need to be so serious, I couldn't even take your name if you gave it!”
“Right…”
“I'm one of the merfolk, not fae, so there's no need to worry. I was just asking for you to introduce yourself.”
Vera blinked. “Oh, I apologize… I'm Vera Krínos, it is nice to meet you Ashengrotto-senpai.”
Vanya's joyful expression was interrupted as she cringed. “It's nice to meet you Krínos-san, but please call me Vanya. It just sounds like you're addressing my brother when you use my last name.”
“You have a brother?”
“I do! Oh, little Azul is such a sweetheart,” she gushed. “He's always acting so serious. Your reaction was so similar to his own when we were younger.”
Vera's lips pulled into a small smile. “You seem to care a lot about him.”
“Of course,” Vanya replied. “Do you have any siblings?”
Her smile turned almost wistful. “Yes, I haven't seen him in a while though. His name is Luka.”
The merfolk's eyes studied Vera's expression for a moment before she spoke again. “I hope you get to see him soon.”
“Me too.” Vera swallowed a lump that began to form in her throat.
“Anyways!” Vanya clapped her hands together as she gestured toward the stack of papers. “It's almost noon. You have to submit your choice before classes start.”
Vera gathered the stack of papers with a nod, standing from her seat on the bench. She bowed towards the older girl. “I appreciate your assistance, Ash— Vanya-senpai.”
Vanya also stood. “As I said, it is my obligation. I'm glad I could be of help. If you have any more issues, feel free to find me. See you!”
“Goodbye.”
∘⋄❀⋄∘
Shortly after Vera submitted her selection, she and the other first years experienced an orientation assembly that explained how their schedules would function for the rest of the year. As soon as headmistress Adelaide finished speaking, they were ushered out of the Cauldron Chamber and to their general classes, all of which would take place each afternoon following lunch, and would cover material appropriate for their year. From what Vera could glean from her course titles — Alchemy, History of Magic, Magical Analysis, Manipulating Energies, Spellwork Tools and Writing, and Defense Against the Dark Three — most of her afternoon would be filled with magical theory regarding witchcraft.
It wasn't until the next day that she would begin her courses relating to Green Witchcraft. Each morning, all of the students would partake in mixed-year lessons with those who chose their witchcraft major for the year. These classes would cover all the material needed to pass that type of witchcraft, and would end around lunchtime each day.
Vera also learned that Vanya had not lied when she said she would be taking Green Witchcraft as her major that year. When she arrived in the classroom, she already saw the older girl sitting at one of the paired desks, waving her over. Reluctantly, Vera took the invitation. Her mind reasoned that it would be rude to decline the offer, but her heart reasoned that Vanya was the only other person she was familiar with at MCA.
For the rest of her first year, both girls spent the majority of their time in the greenhouses on the outskirts of campus. Green Witchcraft dealt with the natural side of witchcraft, growing and identifying herbs and plants with magic. Most of what they were required to learn about and tend to were the differences between medicinal, alchemical, edible, and poisonous flora. Though, professor Fiore — who Vera swore she was a flower fae despite the woman's protests — had mentioned that more focus would be placed on the specific properties of these types of flora in the secondary level, Kitchen Witchcraft.
That was enough to entice Vera into possibly taking Kitchen Witchcraft her second year. Vanya said she would take it, as she had mentioned she would when they first met. Throughout the year, she had grown a little closer to the girl, and learned that in order for Vanya to attend school on the surface, she had to take a specific potion every two weeks. She had explained that her unique magic allowed her to change her form, but that it wasn't permanent, and the potion helped when her unique magic couldn't. However, other merfolk students had to take it more frequently, and Vanya stated that she wanted to use the knowledge from both Green and Kitchen Witchcraft majors to assist in the development of better options for merfolk to access the surface.
Vera found that admirable, yet there wasn't anything she could share about her aspirations in return — nothing that Vera could act on, anyways. She just played it off as being unsure about her future goals whenever the conversation came up, and Vanya said she understood. Yet, the older girl's eyes seemed to have more questions than she voiced.
She spent summer vacation with her mother back on the Island of Woe. She had no choice; her father hadn't allowed her to visit that year. Most of the time that passed was spent in her room reading her textbooks, desperately coming up with excuses to not be forced along to work with her mother.
It seemed to bide her about a month of freedom before her mother had enough.
The first week of July had Vera paranoid when her mother seemed to act kinder towards her, and her intuition proved correct when she had dropped the news of an arranged marriage. Vera lost it, she was barely seventeen, and she hadn't been in a relationship before. She couldn't fathom what made her mother decide it was a good idea for her to eventually be married. That was, until she found out it was about the money that the Andreas family would offer.
Vera was unable to worm her way out of the arrangement, but was able to convince her mother to let her finish attending MCA before any preparations would take place. She agreed, but still forced Vera to spend time with her apparent fiancé, Zephyrus Andreas, during the summer.
Zephyrus didn't seem like a terrible person from what Vera could tell; he was kind, charming, and quite the smooth-talker. He had told her that he was a student at Royal Sword Academy, but the way he said it felt a little sour in Vera's mouth. Anything he said about himself had an air of overinflated confidence, but he never talked down to Vera or insulted her as a way to look better. As much as she hated the idea of the future union, Vera thought that she could get used to being around him easily enough. Zephyrus eventually suggested that they should keep in contact through magicam while they attended school, and she agreed.
September rolled around too slow for Vera's liking, but she was eager to return to Mystic Cauldron Academy. Chloe, Laine, and Ayla had all moved on to their fourth year internships, leaving the newly third year, horse therianthrope, Nessa Potamo in charge of the dorm. Vera didn't know the older girl very well, but Nessa didn't seem to like anyone in the dorm, and it only left her wondering why she took the position on the student council in the first place. But, as long as Vera kept to herself and stayed out of trouble, she wouldn't have to interact with Nessa. She did her best to keep it that way.
For her second year, Vera went through with taking Kitchen Witchcraft as a secondary level. She continued to spend time with Vanya during their morning classes, which, as professor Fiore said the year before, went into more detail regarding medicinal, alchemical, edible, and poisonous flora and what they could be used for in a witch's domain. The girls often worked together to replicate different foods to both be edible and have additional magical properties — whether malignant or benign — with the flora they had learned to grow and tend to in their Green Witchcraft courses. There was also a focus on protection and warding magics, and Vera found herself to be quite skilled in that aspect.
The beginning of the year continued on without much issue. Vera enjoyed Vanya's company and guidance, and she had been able to avoid getting on Nessa's bad side. She and Zephyrus continued to communicate through magicam, and Vera could feel herself falling a little for him, even if she didn't entirely admit it to herself.
There was a tonal shift in his messages in early December. He took days to respond, his responses having less and less words, less and less care.
At first, Vera had figured he was busy. Royal Sword Academy was a prestigious school for wizardry, after all, and it was close to the end of the term. But something within her told her otherwise.
Vera had noticed whenever she became — what she believed was — paranoid about something since attending MCA, dreams would accompany those thoughts. Normally, they would be small scenes. Nothing more than showing if there would be a test during the week or if one of her plants had wilted overnight in the greenhouses. Vanya had always insisted that it was because of her natural affinity to Divination Witchcraft. Vera chalked it up to heightened emotion.
But the first vivid dream Vera experienced that had her questioning if her upperclassman was correct happened right before winter break. She found herself walking through mist in what appeared to be Zephyrus' bedroom, watching as he video called another girl. She couldn't remember what she looked like, but he had said he loved her before the call ended. He sighed, looking down at his contacts. His thumb hovered over her own, and as Vera willed herself closer, she watched him type out the exact response she would receive when she awoke in the morning:
Sry, super busy. Gn.
Vera had understandably begun to press Zephyrus about how busy he truly was in the weeks that followed. His messages grew more hostile and defensive with each question until he finally revealed that he was cheating on her. He had apparently despised her and their arrangement according to the lengthy paragraph sent her way before she was blocked on magicam. Vera agreed that their arrangement was less than ideal, but had found herself falling for Zephyrus, and learning that it all was an act hurt her more than she wanted to admit.
When winter break began after midterms, Vera decided it was best to return back home to the Island of Woe to speak with her mother about the union between her and Zephyrus. While she would normally opt to stay on campus to keep Vanya company, as the Coral Sea was too frozen over for her to go home, trying to speak to her mother over the phone was worse than in person, and with the news she had, it was something best said face-to-face.
Her mother was livid. The deal with the Andreas family had been set since July, and the money had already been sent over. Calling off the marriage meant putting her mother in debt — at least, that is what her mother insisted. Vera, to be honest, didn't really care about her mother's financial state. That was her mother's fault for spending the money, and it was Zephyrus' fault for the choices he made.
But as much as Vera didn't care, her mother did. The only way she would let Vera call off the marriage was if she promised to eventually take her position in STYX.
Vera knew that her mother's position working with the company was part of the agreement she had with her father in order for the divorce to be finalized. Her mother had always wanted to be rid of it, and often pushed the idea for Vera to eventually take over when she finished school. Vera despised it. While she disliked working with technology, the feeling growing even more when she completed her Green Witchcraft courses, she hated the idea of living in a loveless marriage forced upon her more.
Vera took her mother's deal, crushing any possible dreams she might have developed for after graduation.
∘⋄❀⋄∘
The majority of the second term continued on in a haze. Vera's mood was significantly soured. Her heart was broken, her future was out of her grasp, and her only friend was about to go off to her fourth year internships at the end of the year. Her only hope was the rumor of an exchange program between MCA and another school that began to circulate around early April, but the details were vague for general students such as herself.
Towards the end of the month the student council members had been called to multiple meetings to discuss what exactly the exchange program entailed. On one of those days, Vera sat in the cafeteria around lunch time awaiting for Vanya's return from said meeting.
“Vera-chan!” Vanya all but screeched as she appeared at her usual seat, her hand slamming a stack of papers in front of her.
Vera turned to face her upperclassman with a raised brow. “What happened?”
“What happened?! We just got told the complete details of the exchange program and I grabbed you an application!”
“What?” Vera blinked. “Who is it with? Why did you grab me one?”
Vanya took a moment to calm her breathing and straighten out her uniform blazer. Once she was satisfied, she pushed the stack of papers forward, her index finger planted on the infamous image of the Dark Mirror with a raven inside holding two magical keys. Vera couldn't believe her eyes.
The exchange program was with Night Raven College, a prestigious wizarding school located on Sage Island, and the very school her father had graduated from.
“Isn't NRC an all boys school?” Vera found herself asking, reigning in her excitement.
“It is currently,” Vanya answered with a grin. “The headmistress’ goal with this program is to prove to the magical community that women can also practice wizardry and vice versa. Only current first and second years can apply, and you'll have to take a knowledge exam, but I think this would be a once in a lifetime chance!”
Vera's hands found their way to her necklace, her fingers fidgeting with the golden chain. “It would be…”
The upperclassmen's grin faded for a moment. “Why are you so apprehensive? You looked so excited just seeing the logo.”
"Well, I…” She didn't know how to respond. ‘What would my mother say?’ is what she wanted to ask. She already took so much from her that year, she didn't want to risk any more heartache, especially with the subject of wizardry.
“Come on, Vee. This is a wonderful opportunity! I know you aren't always enthused about witchcraft specifically— Don't give me that look, I know you well enough to notice how you feel about it. You love magic, this is just another way to learn about it. Plus, if you get accepted, you'll get to meet my brother!”
Vera opened her mouth to reply with something contradictory but decided against it. After all, Vanya was right. Maybe disobeying her mother's wishes for this instance wouldn't be so bad. What else could she do? Her future was already sealed, so why not do what she wanted for the time being?
“Thank you, senpai,” she found herself saying, pulling the stack of papers closer toward herself so she could properly look them over.
To qualify for the exchange program, their grade history for their time at MCA would be evaluated, both for their majors and their general studies. Once the qualified students made the list, they would have to pass a knowledge exam with material that would be learned from any year they would attend MCA normally. It seemed that while wanting to prove the magical community wrong, headmistress Adelaide wanted to send the best witches she could to make a good impression.
While the end of year preparations were taking place — the third years submitting internship paperwork and the inter-school tournament held with Verdant Grove Academy — the exams for the exchange program began. Vera had heard back quite quickly when she submitted her application paperwork that she had qualified, and she was ecstatic. If she passed the exam, she'd be able to finally learn wizardry.
Vera was one of the first people to finish their knowledge exam, and was quickly ushered out of the room. Most of it consisted of review questions about things she learned in her first and second years. There were a few questions about subjects she would learn as a third year that caused her to think carefully on, but with hanging around Vanya, she was confident she picked up enough from the upperclassmen talking about her afternoon classes. All she had to do was wait for the results to be announced.
Headmistress Adelaide made an announcement in late May after MCA had lost to VGA in the inter-school tournament again that the results for the exchange program would be revealed in September, as over the summer, her and Headmaster Dire Crowley of NRC would comb through each and every candidate's profile until they were satisfied with their choices.
However, while Vera couldn't wait for September to hear where she stood, she dreaded the beginning of June.
The last day of her second year was arguably the worst day she had in a while. As she and most of the other students stood in line in the Cauldron Chamber in order to return to their respective homelands, Vera found herself struggling to keep herself from crying. Vanya tried her best to reassure her that they would keep in touch over magicam, but her words did nothing to ease the weight in Vera's heart, nor the fact that she'd have to spend the next year without having her best friend around as often. They exchanged hugs with their goodbyes when it was their turn to go through the mists of the Dark Cauldron, and Vera found herself alone once more on the Island of Woe.
Summer break was agonizingly slow for Vera. She had been forced to spend a lot of time shadowing her mother at STYX as she worked on a system called the Lethe River. It had apparently been developed by her ancestors on her father's side, the Theban family, shortly after the Age of the Gods, and was used to ensure the security of STYX and the Island of Woe itself. The system was designed to alter the memories of those who had visited for blot research, and Vera despised the idea. Memories were sacred, and magic or technology that messed with someone's mind was something that rarely anyone had the precision to get correct one-hundred percent of the time. However, being project lead was something she was going to inherit whether she liked it or not, both from her father's side of the family prior to the divorce, and the deal she made with her mother.
While at STYX, Vera had met the son of the directors, Idia Shroud. Her mother had forced the interaction when she was called to a meeting with the directors, and both children seemed equally uncomfortable with the situation. They barely spoke — in fact, Vera couldn't hear a single word the boy said.
According to the parents in the room, it wasn't their first meeting. They had met when they were both young children, which would explain why Vera had no memory of the event. Either way, she did not want to be present, nor did she want to be intimately known by the higher ups of STYX, as that would continue to seal her fate after graduation. Despite that, her mother continued to force her plans upon her, and she longed to return to school.
As a third year at MCA, similar to the year prior, Vera was called to school a week before the entrance ceremony to help prepare for the incoming first years. Most of the week went by in a flash, and despite the fact that she was not on the student council for her gem, a lot of responsibility was delegated to her by the ones in her dorm. She was in charge of checking in with each of the amethyst students' preparation tasks and reporting it to the representative of their dorm that year, Cora Brontes. When she asked the girl in the middle of the week why she was being included in student council duties, she simply replied 'You'll need it' and refused to elaborate further. Vera didn't like dealing with members of her gem for how cryptic they were at times.
The morning the day before the entrance ceremony, Vera had enough free time to sit in the dorm lounge. She had recently picked up embroidering as a hobby, and found herself stitching in a wreath of flowers on a piece of cream cloth secured by a metal hoop. The outline of the project had been tied off when a second year she didn't know the name of burst into the lounge.
"Oh! Uh..." she floundered, seeming out of breath. In her olive hands was an envelope colored in a deep green and sealed with golden wax. "Are... Are you Krínos-senpai?"
Vera raised an eyebrow at the underclassman, uncrossing her legs from underneath the embroidering hoop. "That's correct. What do you need?"
The girl straightened her posture and approached, holding the envelope outstretched toward Vera. "You've got a letter from the head office."
"A letter?" Vera repeated, taking the letter with a thankful nod. When it was in her hands, the underclassman bowed, then bolted out the door before she could say anything more.
The front of the envelope was addressed with her name, year, and gem. Underneath the neat handwriting was a phrase in small print:
This letter is on behalf of Mystic Cauldron Academy of Witchcraft on the Isle of Morva, Land of Dawning and is intended for the named recipient only. This letter is enchanted to disintegrate after one minute if opened not by the named recipient.
She thought the message was straightforward, and after confirming once more that her name was indeed the one addressed, she flipped the envelope over to open it. Carefully, she broke the gold wax seal with MCA's logo with a soft crack and pulled out the yellowed parchment folded up on the inside. Her fingers looped under the fold and flipped it back so she could read its contents.
Vera Krínos,
On behalf of Mystic Cauldron Academy of Witchcraft, I, headmistress Arawyn Adelaide, would like to congratulate you on your outstanding performance during the selection process for the exchange program with Night Raven College of Wizardry.
As of this day, you will be enrolled at Night Raven College as an exchange student along with four other students. As soon as you read this letter, you are requested to arrive at the head office with all of your belongings. Once you arrive, the details regarding your enrollment at Night Raven College will be explained in full.
I expect to see you soon.
Headmistress Arawyn Adelaide of Mystic Cauldron Academy of Witchcraft
Vera couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't remember how many times she read over the letter, searching for some sort of sign that it was an illusion. No matter how many times her eyes trailed the words on the parchment, nor when she tried to sense for any magic other than the enchantment previously stated on the envelope, nothing changed.
'I made it.' A wide smile curled onto her face at the thought. She would finally be able to learn wizardry, to do something she truly wanted for once.
She didn't even think of what her mother would say, she couldn't care in that moment. No, Vera's main concern was packing her things and preparing for her new start.