Thanks to YenaSora for following Lilia's Curse!
Reviews are appreciated. I do not own Wizardess Heart.
Chapter 3
Lilia was making her way to class the next morning when she heard her name being called. She looked behind her and smiled, "Oh, hi Luca."
Luca's eyes lit up. "You remember my name?"
She laughed, "You made an impression yesterday. It'd be hard to forget you."
"Now that's what I like to hear," he laughed. "So, I heard you screwed up in class yesterday.
Lilia groaned, "You weren't even there. What do you know about it?"
Luca swung an arm over her shoulder. "All information comes my way eventually. All I heard was that you lost control of a spell, and it managed to partially get past a Goldstein tool. That's pretty powerful magic you have there."
She closed her eyes. "I'm never going to live that down."
He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Now, I wish I would have stayed for class and that's saying something. The lecture would have been worth seeing Elias' face as you got past his father's magic. I laughed really hard thinking about it last night."
She chewed on her lip. "He was pretty shocked." She suddenly wasn't looking forward to class. "What if I screw up again? Klaus will get really mad, and he already hates me being his Buddy as it is."
Luca tapped his fingers on her shoulder before straightening. He said, "Cast a relaxation spell on him. If he wasn't so uptight, I bet he'd be nicer."
She thought it over for a second. "It could work. I'll try it, thanks Luca."
He smiled at her. "No problem, that's what friends are for." He let go of her shoulder. "I'm heading out, see you."
He was skipping again? Lilia frowned as he left. How was that guy even in the academy? His grades should be terrible.
She got to class, but didn't see Elias. She did see Yukiya, and decided to sit in front of him. She turned to look at him, and smiled. "Hey, I didn't get to introduce myself properly yesterday. My name's Lilia."
He just stared at her, saying nothing. It wasn't the comfortable silence she had with Klaus. She was just going to turn around, but he said. "You have interesting eyes."
She blushed, remembering Klaus comparing them to stars. She opened her mouth to say something, but he was already staring out the window. Shrugging, she turned back around to find Elias staring at her.
She held in the scream that wanted to escape. She counted to ten before saying, "Hey Elias."
He said, "How are you doing? I know Professor Schuyler was mad, but I know you didn't intentionally try to hurt me."
She smiled at him. "That means a lot Elias. I was afraid you were mad at me."
He shook his head. "If anything, I'm impressed you were able to get past my father's magic. I told him about it last night, and he demanded he be given the tool back to see if it's weakened any. I told him you were just that powerful, but he has his pride. He wants to meet you. I heard him telling Klaus."
She raised her eyebrows. "Meeting the parents already, Elias? Don't you think we're moving a little fast?"
Elias blushed and stammered, "That wasn't what I meant, Lilia." At her grin, he glared at her. "You're teasing me."
She grinned, "It is hard not to. I love making you blush."
His blush only deepened; causing her to laugh in delight. He was quick to change the subject. He said, "How's it going with my brother?"
Her grin turned into a frown as she thought of Klaus. "Is he always so bipolar?" she asked.
Elias' brows furrowed, "What do you mean?"
Lilia said, "One minute he hates me, and then the next he's being kind and understanding. He gave me these stupid nicknames even though I have a name. He…" She trailed off at Elias' horrified look.
"Kind and understanding?" he whispered, "Nicknames? That's not Klaus. Something must be going on with him."
The bell for class rang, so Lilia left him to his thoughts. It was clear Klaus was never anything but mean. What did that mean for her? Maybe he had been sympathetic to her situation, even if he didn't know the whole of it, and had decided to take it easy on her yesterday.
"All right, it's time for class," said a white haired professor as he walked in. His smile was kind, and she could tell he had a gentle personality. He was like the exact opposite of Professor Schuyler.
He spotted her, and introduced himself as Professor Merkulova. He taught History of Wizardry, Medical Magic, and Magic Potion Pharmaceutics. He said, "I hear you are great with healing magic, so I am going to see about moving you to my advanced class in Medical Magic. For now, though, just bear with today's lesson."
When she nodded he started talking to the class. "We'll be covering different kinds of wounds today. Can anyone tell me what the wound is called when you are poked by a needle, or another sharp object?" He turned to her. "Lilia, do you know the answer?"
She nodded, "Any wound caused by a needle, or sharp object is called a puncture wound."
He smiled, "That is correct, very good." He addressed the class. "Today, we will be learning magic that will heal puncture and burn wounds. Natural healers, like Lilia, can use their magic without the help of an element to heal. It requires the healer have energy, and therefore can be dangerous when it comes to more serious wounds. For us normal wizards, when dealing with external wounds, it is most common to use wind medical spells. However, using wind medical magic on these two wounds is counterproductive. Lilia, tell us why."
Lilia hated how the attention shifted to her, but she said, "Puncture and burn wounds can easily be healed from the outside, but the real damage is on the inside. Therefore, a wind medical spell would not work to actually heal the wound. That's why, while they are classified as external wounds, they require a water medical spell to wash and heal them."
Professor Merkulova praised her, and she hoped he would stop asking her questions. It was bringing attention from her classmates, and not all of it was welcome. Some of the girls were glaring at her, and she really didn't want to be known as a know it all. Professor Merkulova said, "The better you are at controlling the element is how effective you will be with the spell. Water is a bit more difficult than wind, but we'll be trying it out today. The spell goes like this; O sacred water, mend this wound with thy cleansing power, Sanatio Aqua!" He took out his wand. "Now, let's have a demonstration. Apareo Umbra!"
A shadow appeared, looking a lot like Professor Merkulova. He said, "I will need someone to demonstrate the spell." Oh man, please not her. "Elias, would you care to try?"
Elias stood up, "Of course." He went to the front of the classroom. "Sanatio Aqua!"
It wasn't a surprise to Lilia that the shadow was fully healed. Elias' magic was very controlled and precise, almost textbook. She wondered if Klaus' magic was the same way.
When the class ended, everyone started to file out. Professor Merkulova had requested she stay, so she walked up to him once everyone left. He said, "Lilia that was very good in class today. I know I picked on you a little bit, but I needed to test your knowledge. Prefect Klaus informed me of your wand situation. Any trained Healer could probably teach the magical healing classes, but I want to put you in my advanced class to help with your wand control."
She smiled, "Thank you, I know casting without a wand is more ideal, but I want to learn how to use one too."
Professor Merkulova nodded, "Yes, being able to cast without a wand is great. Just remember, you'll never know when a wand might come in handy."
She thanked him again, and made her way to Klaus' office. She wondered what they would do today. Even if it was technically her third day here, he hadn't really helped her training wise. It wasn't his fault, but she didn't want the training to be too intense.
Lilia reached his office, and knocked just as the door opened. With a muffled shriek, she fell against a large chest, arms coming up to steady her. Klaus said, "What do you think you're doing?"
She stepped away, "Obviously, I'm running into you."
He made an impatient noise. "You're late."
"Professor Merkulova kept me after class to discuss putting me in his advanced magical healing class," she said.
He nodded, "That's good. Any true healer is wasted in that beginner's class. In any case, I was going to come looking for you. We are going outside today."
They went to the courtyard, where it was mostly empty. It was a little hot, so she took off her cloak and jacket. She said, "What are we doing today?"
He smirked, "You are making tornado's today. I will be instructing you. The spell is Turbo Ventos. The idea is for you to control what comes out of your wand. Do not take your mind off the spell as soon as you cast, like you would without a wand."
She cast the spell, the vortex forming slowly. She was able to keep it small, almost ignoring Klaus when he told her to make it bigger. She decided to listen to him, not wanting to feel his wrath. She was slowly increasing its size when it happened.
Pain gripped her as she felt like her throat was being cut. It lasted only a second, but it was enough for her to lose control of the spell. The tornado grew massive as new winds turned it from a vortex to the hurricane like winds the spell was named after. It threatened to sweep her away, and probably would have, if she hadn't heard "Quies!"
The winds disappeared, but Lilia was a little stunned at what happened. The pain had been her entire world for that one moment. It took her back to Oatu, where pain was the constant threat for failure. The tense silence meant Klaus was mad, and she couldn't blame him.
He said, "What happened? You were doing fine, and then you lost concentration when it started to get bigger."
What could she tell him? "I don't know."
"You don't know?" He said. His voice was filled with disapproval. "You need to know, because with your power a simple mishap like that could have taken out the entire courtyard. It's a good thing not many students were around. How do you expect to pass your judgement when you can't do basic control? Magic..."
In that moment it all became too much; his anger, the strange pain. Her magic was nothing but a curse anyways. She didn't mean to, she just snapped.
Her hands clenched into fists as she let out a short scream of frustration. Klaus' voice stopped abruptly. Thunder sounded, and then bright light lit up their area. Her eyes widened, realizing Klaus had been in the spot the light hit.
He was off to the side now, having moved out of the way just in time. He was looking very unhappy. He said, "What do you think you're doing?"
She really wanted to cry. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened."
She waited for him to yell at her, she deserved it. She'd thrown lightning at him. If he hadn't moved back in time… Klaus surprised her when he said, "Your emotions were high. I know you wouldn't have done it otherwise. Now, let's do the exercise again."
Lilia groaned, but complied. They worked at it for hours, but her concentration was shot. She'd almost killed Klaus today, of her own free will. The one thing they had never made her do was kill another human being, and she'd almost done it voluntarily. What sort of person did that make her?
Finally, she sat on the ground exhausted. She said, "I'm sorry, just give me a moment."
Klaus shook his head, "It may be best to stop for today. You're doing so bad I'm surprised half the school hasn't been destroyed. Really, I don't think you'll ever be able to use a wand effectively."
That did it. Determined, she got off the ground to try again. She took her stance, but Klaus stopped her before she could say the spell. "Your stance is weird. I should have realized you wouldn't know how to wield a wand properly."
He came up behind her and placed his hands over hers. "Hold your wand like this, and relax this hand." He moved her hands accordingly, not noticing the blush that had overcome her with him being so close. His chest was pressed against her back. She could feel the taut muscles in his arms and abdomen. His body engulfed hers.
Awareness made her feel the slightest bit of movement that came from him. His breath brushed against her skin as he leaned his head down to instruct her. Her pulse was a jackhammer, the beating so fast. "The most important thing is that you've visualized it in your head. The speed, size and force need to ready before you even cast the spell." His lips brushed against her ear. "Loosen up, you're still too tense."
That was not going to happen. She was way too aware of him.
"Match my breathing." His mouth brushed her ear again. Soon, they were breathing at the same time. His grip on her hands had gentled, his arms caging her in like an embrace.
She couldn't look at him, not knowing if it would break the bubble of awareness that had seemed to engulf both of them. Neither of them said anything. She had leaned into his arms, and if he decided to release her, she'd be dead weight.
Vaguely, she remembered she was supposed to be creating a tornado. Wanting him to be proud of her, she chanted the spell, their hands moving together as she waved her wand. The tornado formed, the force reduced to a gently breeze. She held it for a minute before her exhaustion got the best of her, and it disappeared.
Klaus stepped back, and cleared his throat. "That was very good. For homework, create one the size of your palm. Keep extending the time until you can hold it for thirty minutes."
Lilia nodded, not really paying attention to what he said. Why was she reacting to him the way she was? She had been around men all her life, and never had she had these feelings for any of them. Sure, they'd been her jailers, but Klaus was mean and full of himself.
He was staring at her, his expression a little amused. "What?" she asked.
Klaus said, "I didn't realize you had a lot of hair, it's always in those partial braids."
Lilia touched a hand to her head. Her braid ponytails had come apart. It must have happened during the massive wind storm she'd conjured. Blushing at the attention, she gathered her hair and put it into a side ponytail, using the ribbon to hold it. Klaus said, "That's not your usual."
She shook her head, "It'll take too much time to braid them again, at least for any good braiding."
Klaus chuckled, "Either looks good on you, Starshine." At her surprised look, he cleared his throat. "It's getting dark. We should get you back to the dorm before curfew."
They gathered their things, neither in any hurry to get back. Their encounter was on Lilia's mind. How could it not be? She wondered if he was thinking about the same thing. He was quiet, which wasn't unusual from the short time she'd known him. Still, right now she felt the need to fill the silence with conversation. "What's your favorite food?" she asked.
He didn't look at her. "Why are you asking?"
She rolled her eyes. "Can't I get to know you better?"
"No." He said nothing more as she fumed in silence.
This man was impossible. What was so wrong about knowing his favorite food? They were Buddies. They should at least make the best of the situation. What happened to her nice Klaus? "Fine," she muttered. "Be antisocial."
A few seconds later he sighed, "If you must know, its meat."
She smiled inwardly. "What kind of meat?"
"I like all kinds of meat; meatloaf, chicken, pot roast." She hadn't expected that. The unbidden image of Klaus as a lion eating a feast of meat came to her mind. It was kind of funny, and sick at the same time. Lilia was pretty sure she was a little green, but the image really made her want to laugh.
"Your turn to answer the question," Klaus said.
She smiled at him. "I like sweets. There are cupcakes, cookies, and brownies to name a few. The more sugar the better. I have a really big sweet tooth."
Klaus chuckled, "You have the stomach of a child. Can you make them?"
Lilia nodded, "I can cook everything. If I don't know it by heart, I can follow a recipe to the letter. I learned fast that relying on them to feed me was going to lead me to starvation, so…." She realized her mistake when he looked at her suspiciously. "I'll make you my pot roast when I officially enter the academy."
Klaus wasn't about to let it go. "Do you have any family, Lilia?"
Lilia thought about the memories she had from her village. Her life had been perfect then, until everything had fallen apart. She shook her head. "No, my family died when I was ten."
He looked surprised. "All of them?"
She could tell he wasn't going to stop asking her questions. "My entire village was wiped out, along with my family. I was the only survivor." The memories were too painful. Before Klaus could say anything she said, "Can we drop it? I don't want to talk about it."
Klaus nodded, though his face was full of questions. He wasn't an expressive person, but she could read him like an open book. When had that happened? She'd only known him three days.
Suddenly, Klaus stopped in his tracks, causing Lilia to stop abruptly or crash into him. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Don't move," he said as he reached his hand towards her. She tensed, not knowing what to expect. Was there something on her? Was it a spider? She hated spiders. She really hated the stupid eight legged freaks of nature.
She squeezed her eyes shut saying, "Oh man, take it off. Don't tell me if it's a spider. Please."
Klaus' voice was a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Shush, it's not a spider."
That did not make her feel any better. "I just told you not to tell me. I can't believe anything you say now. You could be lying."
He snorted, but said nothing else. His hands brushed just past her ear, causing a different sort of tension to run through her body. Why must she always react like this? He was rude, and not at all what Lilia's dream guy is supposed to act like. Not that she had a dream guy, but if she had been allowed to grow up normally, she was pretty sure her dream guy would not be Klaus. He had the looks, yes, but the rest of him was a no. Well, it had been a no. Now… she wasn't so sure anymore.
"You can open your eyes now." Klaus' voice was very amused.
She opened them warily, expecting the spider to be in his hands. Instead, he held a blade of grass. It must have gotten stuck in her hair during practice. Her cheeks turned red. "Why didn't you say it was a piece of grass?"
He smirked, "It was entertaining watching you internally freak out. I have to say, you being scared of spiders reinforces my image of you being a scared kitten."
She thought of the image of Klaus as a lion, and smiled. "Keep it up, and you'll start getting ridiculous nicknames as well."
Klaus rolled his eyes, and they continued to the dorms. Lilia didn't ask any more questions. In truth, she was afraid too. It shouldn't be possible, but she felt closer to him from this encounter. She was being stupid. Klaus probably felt nothing more than annoyance when he was with her.
They stopped in front of her dorm. She said, "Thanks for walking me back."
He shrugged, "It was on the way. Don't forget to practice." He walked off, vanishing as he turned around a corner.
Amelia was already asleep when Lilia got to their room. They really had been out late. Lilia slipped out onto the balcony. It'd be safer practicing here than the room. She didn't even want to see Amelia's face if she made a mess.
Lilia practiced for an hour, only improving her time by ten minutes. Klaus was not going to be happy, but Lilia was just so tired. She ate a couple Konpieto for a sugar boost, but if anything, she grew more tired. Finally, Lilia called it quits for the night. She still had some reading for class to catch up on.
Lilia settled into bed with her textbook. Maybe she could please Klaus with her studying even if she hadn't managed to hold the tornado for thirty minutes.
That was chapter 3
I've hit a block with the current chapter, but hopefully that will clear up in the next few days. I just have to get past a certain part.
Hope you guys liked the chapter! Review!
