I'd Give Up The World For You

Ciara tilted her head and regarded Ira with such deep, dark eyes that he felt they were staring into his soul. "What kind of project?"

Why was she being so persistent?! Though when he thought about it, this could potentially be a good thing. He didn't know how trustworthy she was but she did have powerful magic. They could really use her help. 

Professor Lucien had specifically said not to talk to anyone about this though, barely giving permission for him to tell Sarabeth. He wasn't sure he would be able to get away with telling someone else even if it was someone potentially useful. 

"A secret one," Ira said lamely. "I'd like to tell you but I'd need permission first."

"From Sarabeth?" Ciara asked in an unfathomable tone. 

"No, from Professor Lucien."

A look of vague surprise crossed her face. "Why would he tell you to keep your project a secret?"

"…you'll have to ask him."

"Very well then." 

Ciara linked her elbow through his and began marching him toward the Magical Theory classroom. He had never been dragged anywhere like this in his life! They had barely exchanged five minutes of conversation with each other altogether so why did she think it was okay to grab him?!

Ira was too shocked to even question her until they arrived and she released him. His face was on fire and he hoped it didn't look as red as it felt. She was acting like what she did was perfectly normal. 

She knocked on the door and Professor Lucien answered it almost immediately. Well, Ira hadn't been gone long. It made sense that he wouldn't have left yet. 

"May I help you?"

"Ira says you need to give him permission to tell me about his project," Ciara said straightforwardly. "I would like to be involved so please give it to him."

He looked at Ira blankly. "…you really didn't need to ask. I guess she got to you before Professor Gallagher got to her. She was planning on asking her if she was interested anyway. Go ahead, Ira."

"Thank you, Professor!" 

Ciara linked her arm through his again and steered him away toward the greenhouse consisting of vegetables. No one else was in there right now and she signed them both into the student volunteer log before grabbing some tools, handing him a pair of gloves, and looking at him expectantly. 

Why had she chosen this as the location to talk? There wasn't anyone else in here considering what time of day it was. All of the older students were in their extra classes right now and the younger ones were taking advantage of their free time elsewhere. 

The privacy was nice but it was still a random choice. He volunteered in here sometimes but he had never seen her around. They must have always come at different times because she seemed very familiar with the place. 

Ira sighed, not quite knowing where to start. "Do you remember what Professor Lucien said about fire magic the other day?"

Ciara nodded. "He mentioned that it might be a lost art following the fall of Katalya."

"That made me curious about it since I have been to Katalya before and hadn't heard anything about its destruction. We had a rather interesting conversation that left me with more questions than answers…"

He explained everything from there. His involvement with Sarabeth, what they had discovered, and how it all tied into what Professor Lucien had updated him on this morning after meeting with Professor Gallagher and hearing her story. All of it down to the fact that Rukelion Blaze needed to be stopped. 

Her brow furrowed deeper and deeper as his explanation went on. When it ended she looked up at him. "If I understand this correctly, the only reason you wish to get involved is to protect your mother."

Ira looked down at his gloved hands, one of which held a fistful of weeds. "Yes. Otherwise I wouldn't feel the same sense of urgency. She's my surrogate mother—my real one died when I was young—but she's all I have. 

"I want to believe she'll be safe since her husband is in the military and supposedly strong but I don't even know what's happening with him. If Rukelion Blaze took over that as well he might be in a sticky situation. The timing of all of this is terrible since they're expecting their first child. 

"I want her to be safe but I also want her to be happy. I would be nothing right now if not for her. She gave me a place to stay but she also gave me hope again after I lost everything. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her." 

"She must be very special for you to care about her like that," Ciara said softly. 

A lump formed in Ira's throat. "She is. She's warm, beautiful, and smart. She taught me everything I know about budgeting, caring for animals, gardening, and plants in general. She ran a whole farm all by herself ever since she was fourteen before moving to the capital. Everyone thought she would fail but she didn't.

"She taught me a lot of things herself but she also bought me books even though she didn't have to. I was a farmhand but she let me stay with her for free and still paid me wages, which allowed me to come to the academy in the first place.

"I was always more her family than her employee. She took very good care of me. Perhaps even better care than my real mother. She's a much warmer person. She's practically the human embodiment of sunshine."

"…like Professor Lucien?"

A small laugh escaped him. "No. He's much brighter to the point of almost being blinding. Miss Veronica is dazzling but her most noticeable trait is her warmth. She's a genuinely happy person and she spreads that happiness to everyone around her."

"She sounds really nice," Ciara replied in such a muted voice he could hardly hear. "I can see why you would do anything to help her."

"So does that mean you want to join us?"

"I am not sure how much help I will be against a fire mage but yes. I will have to devote my free time to training for this mission. We have a few months. It is better than nothing, especially if we focus our cores every day as Professor Lucien taught us. My magic has already increased since the start of term."

Ira didn't feel like he had made much progress in the few weeks they had been here but if she was seeing real results… "Do you think you could help me? You're great at magic—I need mine to be stronger. Maybe we could practice together."

The first smile he had ever seen on her serious face appeared. Her white teeth glinted in stark contrast to the rest of her. She practically seemed to be made of shadows. 

"It would be my honor. We can get started as soon as we are done here. It's rather peaceful being among the vegetables, isn't it?" Ciara asked offhandedly. 

"It is. It reminds me of home."

"Same here. I didn't grow up on a farm but my mother does love having fresh fruits and vegetables rather than negotiating with people at the market. She grows most of what we eat herself." 

They began comparing crops after that and the rest of their shift in the greenhouse passed quickly. Earlier weirdness aside, Ciara was a surprisingly comfortable person to talk to. You simply had to get past her rather intense aura and some of her behaviors. 

When that was done they went to the cafeteria to get lunch together before finding an empty classroom to meditate in. She demonstrated first and the darkness emanating from her as she did it was nearly as strong as the halo of light always surrounding Professor Lucien. Ira was undeniably impressed. 

His attempt wasn't nearly as successful but he did manage to feel the water flowing through his veins on a basic level. That was where he needed to start. 

Based on what they were learning in class, first and foremost he needed to expand his magical core in order to become stronger before experimenting with new spells. Though he wanted to focus on healing he needed to learn some attack spells now. 

Misting people when it was hot wouldn't cut it anymore. He needed to be able to extinguish the flames of a strong fire mage. That was going to be easier said than done. He only had a few months to practice this so he was going to have to devote every moment he wasn't studying to it. 

Three people. Five if you counted the professors. That was all they had to go up against someone who managed to overthrow a kingdom without most people being any the wiser. 

They really had their work cut out for them! Ira desperately hoped that the professors would be able to recruit more people but what if they couldn't? What if they were truly on their own trying to save Miss Veronica and everyone else in the capital?

They had no way of knowing what sort of ruler this Rukelion Blaze would be. Especially since he seemed to hold a serious grudge toward Mirea. An understandable one considering what he had been through but still. 

When you were upset with someone for doing something you usually didn't overthrow the government.. That was an extreme reaction.