Footsteps echoed throughout the long hallways of the company building as Leo navigated Rose to a door near the far end. The silver haired man reached into one of his pockets and brought out a key, proceeding to unlock the door and open it for the woman.
"This is will be your living quarters." He announced, handing her the key. "But before you get settled, Gaius wishes to speak to you."
"He's the Scholar who's looking after me isn't he?" Rose asked.
"That is correct." Leo answered as he closed to door and motioned for Rose to follow him down the hall. The pair eventually came to a stop as Leo knocked politely on the door and waited for a reply.
"You may enter." Came Gaius' voice from the other end. He had no need to ask who it was as he could always tell who approached by the pattern they knocked - or in a certain Miqo'te's case, didn't knock at all. The two entered to find the Au Ra sitting at his desk, hastily arranging various sheets of paper into a neat stack that had been lazily sprawled across it.
"Ah Rose, I had wished to make a proper introduction, please, take a seat. Leo you may leave us now, thank you for your assistance." Gaius instructed. Leo gave a slight bow before nodding reassuringly at Rose and exiting the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Rose awkwardly crept over to the chair near the desk opposite from where Gaius was sitting and followed his instructions.
"My name is Gaius Nassau, and I will be your new mentor. I doubt I can quite live up to the standards Faltyr must have set for you, but he is getting on in age and I would dare say I am one of the best practitioners in the art of magic in the land." He introduced himself before leaving his seat.
"I am really grateful for this opportunity sir." Rose spoke quietly yet sincerely.
"Would you like a drink?" Gaius offered as he made his way over to a small table across the room. "I just had some fresh tea brought in before you arrived."
"Yes, please." She answered politely. Rose wasn't thirsty and didn't have a liking for tea, but she didn't want to appear rude in front of the man who had kindly taken her in. Gaius poured them each a cup and gently placed hers down on the desk in front of her before returning to his seat and taking a sip.
"Now..." Gaius began as he cleared his throat and place the cup down in front of him. "Let me hear about you. Your previous mentor filled me in on the information about your 'affliction' and vague past, but I wish to hear the full story from you." Gaius instructed. Rose turned her attention away and gazed down to the hands she held upon her lap in discomfort. Gaius rested his hands together on the desk and leaned forward slightly, deepening his gaze on the woman with a serious expression on his face.
"Miss Belle if I am to help you overcome the trials you have been facing your whole life then I will need to know the darker, detailed aspects of your life. I understand that this may be difficult for you, but you will have to put your trust in me." He explained. Rose continued to stare down blankly for a moment before clenching her hands tightly together and slowly looking up and nodding softly.
"It all started with this..." She said as she parted the left side of her fringe that covered half her face, revealing a large scar running down from her forehead to her cheek, overlapping her milky white eye.
"That's quite a wound." Gaius commented. "I presume you have no vision out of it, although your lack of visionary senses could help to boost your others so it could prove to be mildly useful. Please, continue."
"When I was seven years old I wandered off into the forests near my village home. My parents used to constantly scold me for entering them but... I needed an escape." Rose began.
"All the other children used to bully me constantly, it was only when I was wandering the woods alone that felt safe and secure. One evening when I was wandering the forest whilst hiding from the other children I saw a bright light illuminating through the trees in the distance. I was curious so I went to take a look, but it turned out to be a rift to the void that just opened. I had no idea what it was at the time and had no instincts telling me to run, I was just captivated by the strange site. Then, suddenly a Voidsent emerged from the rift. Noticing me almost instantly it lashed out at me, slashing my face and sending me tumbling to the ground. It threw itself onto me and latched it's sharp claws onto my shoulders tightly, but instead of killing me it began siphoning some kind of energy into me. The pain was excruciating and before long I passed out. I awoke a week later in my bed at home. My parents had told me that the village Conjurer had taken care of me and that there had been no signs of any life-threatening injuries, although I would no longer be able to see out of my left eye. Ever since that incident I would constantly have nightmares about those monsters slaughtering people and razing our village, but the Conjurer just said it was the traumatic experience causing these visions. And then, two years later..." Rose stopped, her voice beginning to tremble near the end. She looked down again and held her hands tighter together.
"Rose?" Gaius spoke calmly, asking her to continue. She looked up again, looking back at the Au Ra with welled up eyes.
"T-two years later... my parents were killed." She continued. "I killed them." Gaius' briefly raised his brows before returning to his previous, inquisitive expression and waited for Rose to continue.
"That night, the children were picking on me again. Although instead of hurling the usual insults, one of them decided to take it too far. The oldest boy shoved me into a puddle of mud in the ground, saying something like 'you should look more like a boy, and be treated like one as well' before he began kicking at me repeatedly as the others watched, laughing and cheering him on. I was consumed by sadness, anger and hatred and then suddenly this powerful feeling surged inside me, one I had never experienced before. Almost instantly I lost control of my actions and it felt as though my body was being piloted by someone else entirely. I rose up from the mud, ignoring the pain from the beatings the child had given me and grabbed a large stone from the ground nearby. it would normally be too heavy for me to lift properly yet I managed to pick it up with ease and swung it across in front of me, striking the bully and sending him down to the ground. I knelt over him while he was dazed and then.. I just... lifted it and struck it down on his skull again, and again, and again... the stone was already bloody by the time his friends came to subdue me. Several of them tackled me, grabbing my arms and legs as another sat over me and began to strangle me. All of this only managed to fuel the anger and hatred inside of me even more. I didn't... i didn't want that to happen, I didn't want any of it to happen!" Her voice got louder and audibly upset as she continued.
"But I had no control over my body, the more I struggled and the more they did to me, the less control I had. I began feeling a burning sensation in my hands. it hurt at first, but then it felt... comfortable, soothing. The next thing I knew the children who were on top of me jumped up screaming, and my attacker trying to strangle me immediately became engulfed in flames. He leaped off of me frantically screaming as he tried to put out the flames, yet that... wasn't successful. As I stood up I began walking forward towards the center of the town. While moving I noticed my hands her also engulfed in flames, although in this case it seemed... controlled. By then the villagers became concerned with the noise and some left their homes to investigate. And I... set them all aflame. one by one. Not just the concerned men looking to investigate the commotion either. I killed the women, the children, the animals... Even my own parents. Nothing escaped my fury. I expelled fiery magics relentlessly until finally I passed out. When I awoke the next day I realized I had control over my body again and I stood up but all I could see was the debris of destroyed houses, some still smoldering from the fires and charred corpses of.. the people who I... who I once called my... friends and... f-family. I looked down to my side and noticed a small camp fire and an old man in a large cloak sitting, waiting. It was Master Faltyr. He helped to ease my pain of what had happened the night before and offered me help and an explanation. He said if I came with him he could help me control the power inside me and prevent something like this from happening again. I agreed and spent the past nine years living with him in solitude, hiding myself away from the world. He taught me that the power inside me feeds upon negative emotions and that if I give in to my rage or sadness it may very well take me over again. Although he also told me it was a powerful source of black magic and that I had the potential to become a powerful mage one day. I devoted myself to this cause and decided to become a new person. After that day not only my life changed but I changed as well."
"Oh really? How so?" Gaius asked, sipping away at his drink.
"I... wasn't born a woman." Rose began, waving her hand in front of her face as it glowed slightly. "My real name isn't even Rose." She said, this time in a deeper yet still somewhat feminine voice.
"I have always looked quite feminine and was often mistaken for a girl, it's mostly why the kids in the village picked on me all the time so it's easy for me to look the part, and I learned how to use magic to alter how others perceive my voice. Please do not tell anyone about this. This is my identity now, the young boy I was nine years ago is dead."
"Whatever we speak about inside these walls is strictly confidential between you and me, no one else will hear about any of this." Gaius reassured her. "It must be difficult for you to reveal all of this to a complete stranger, I both respect and appreciate this."
"You're my only hope of learning to control myself. If I can't trust you to teach me, then I'm practically a Voidsent's puppet already." Rose explained grimly.
"How true those words are." Gaius responded. "And it is my duty to make sure that doesn't happen. Therefore we will begin your training immediately. I would like to analyze your abilities with my own eyes so head to your quarters and prepare yourself swiftly." He instructed.
"W-where are we going?" She asked with concern.
"There is a mine in Thanalan that has been overrun with monsters, we were commissioned to clear it out. I think it's the perfect opportunity for you to display your combat abilities. Now go and collect your things, don't make me repeat myself again." Gaius ordered.
"Y-yes sir!" Rose said in a panic as she exited the room hastily. Gaius walked behind a long wall that divided his room in two and approached a large cage as he opened it's door and stuck his hand inside. A small squirrel quickly ran up to it and made it's way along Gaius' arm and onto it's shoulder. He reached into a box and grabbed a small treat for the pet.
"This should prove to be a most interesting challenge." He said to himself. "But it's nothing I'm incapable of, aren't I right? We'll make a powerful mage out of her yet." He exclaimed proudly to the creature that was happily munching away at the treat he gave it.