Celica wandered around the corridors of the Priory. She was unable to get much sleep the night before and concluded that she was the only one awake judging by the eery silence.

The young girl had many thoughts whirling around in her mind. She found herself rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb, the one with the strange mark. It was the only thing keeping her connected to Alm. She missed him so much. This place made her feel so alone.

She walked by the statue of Mila, admiring how the morning light shining through the windows put a spotlight on her, giving the carved marble a powerful aura.

Celica stopped to pray. There was something about praying alone that comforted her greatly. In that room, it was just her and Mila.

She lost herself in thought, kneeling below the statue, and didn't realize how much time had passed. She was startled into reality by light footsteps creeping up on her. There stood another girl, even younger than Celica. She had fluffy, peach-colored hair that ended at her chin and a long lilac dress that reached her feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The girl said softly. She turned around to leave. Celica didn't want her to leave.

"Wait! You're alright. Please stay." She pleaded. The other girl turned around, slightly surprised by Celica's reaction. She had always been taught to respect others' privacy, especially if they were at the statue of Mila.

"O...okay," The smaller girl said, and the cocked her head to one side, seemingly in confusion. "Are you new here?"

"I am. I arrived last night." Celica explained. Thinking about it resumed the painful thoughts that she was just beginning to disregard. She sighed.

"It'll be alright, don't be sad. It's not that bad here." The girl said sweetly, taking extra care to sound bright for Celica's sake. "My name is Genny."

Genny was making Celica feel a bit better, she had to admit. Talking to her was the closest she'd felt to normalcy since she'd left.

"Thank you, Genny. I'll try not to be sad." She laughed gingerly. Genny's smile widened. "It's sort of hard, though," Celica added.

"I know. I've been here for a long time. It can take awhile to stop feeling sad." Genny sympathized. "But that's why Mila is here. To help us feel better."

Celica felt as though she was on the exact same wavelength as Genny. Perhaps living at the Priory would strengthen her connection with Mila. And possibly Genny, too.

"I'm eight. How old are you?" Genny inquired, changing the topic of conversation to something more lighthearted.

"I'm ten."

"Oh, wow. Mae is ten, too!"

"Who's Mae?"

"She's one of my friends." Genny beamed. "She's practicing magic outside with Boey."

"Boey?"

"He's my other friend! He's nine, though."

"Oh. That sounds quite interesting."

"I'm trying to learn that kind of magic, too, but Nomah says I'd be better at healing magic," Genny remarked.

"Would you like to see? Whenever you're done praying? I came to pray, too, but I can do it later." She suggested. "Mae and Boey usually need me to be there to heal them when they're practicing anyways."

There's no way Celica could refuse. She could always visit Mila again later.

"Of course I would like to see. Would you show me?" Celica asked.

A few minutes later, the two girls were venturing off into the main corridor with Celica following Genny's lead. Celica started up a new conversation.

"Do Mae and Boey live here, too?"

"No, but they come here every day."

Outside, Genny led Celica to an open field where a girl and a boy were standing. The girl had short pink pigtails and a red flame floating above her open palm. The boy, who had tan skin and snow white hair, was watching her with a scowl. As Celica approached them, she could hear his voice clearer.

"Mae, hold your hand up more!" He chastised. "You'll burn yourself like that."

"I'm fine. I know how to do it, Boey." Mae hissed.

"Mae? Boey?" Genny said quietly but was able to capture their attention nonetheless.

"Oh, hi, Genny. And...hello." Boey greeted, unsure of how to acknowledge Celica. Genny took care of it for him.

"This is Celica. She just came to live here."

"Hello, Celica! I'm Mae." Mae introduced herself cheerily, taking her eyes off of the flame in her hand for a moment. Unfortunately for her, she forgot to keep her hand in the right position. "OW!"

Boey sighed.

"It's nice to meet you," Celica spoke politely. "That was a very beautiful flame, Mae."

Mae lit up. "Thank you!"

"Have you ever tried magic? Um..." Boey began to ask but trailed off once he realized that Celica's name had already slipped his mind. Genny came to his rescue once again.

"Celica." She whispered. Celica pretended she didn't hear. Mae laughed.

"Have you ever tried magic, Celica?

"No, I haven't."

"It's so fun! Do you wanna try it?" Mae offered. Celica was a bit overwhelmed by the idea.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. Mae can be intimidating sometimes." Boey commented. It was Mae's turn to scowl.

"Actually, I'd like to try! If that's okay with you."

"Will I still get to show you my healing magic?" Genny reminded Celica.

"Of course! There doesn't seem to be any injuries around here, though. Perhaps you can show me later." Celica suggested.

"Okay then, I'll let you use my spell book." Mae offered.

For the rest of the afternoon, the three taught Celica many different spells, ranging from the simple healing spells that Genny used to the flame one Mae was practicing. There were lots of failed attempts, but Celica wasn't bad at all. In fact, she was enjoying herself a lot. The time she spent with them was helping her to get her mind off of the other things.

She may have lost the friends she had in Ram Village, but she had already made some great ones during her first day at the Priory. She would be okay here.