Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. They are owned by Kore Yamazaki. I just play with her characters.

Author's Notes: There will be racial discrimination in this chapter. I do not condone it, of course, it is just part of the plot.

Chapter 3: A Friend, A Foe, and A Monster in the Shadows

It took two weeks, but Chise finally got the hang of things in the College, her new environment. On a school day, she would wake up at around 7 am, take a shower, and get dressed. Then she would have breakfast at the dormitory cafeteria. Sometimes, Alice would visit her and they would have breakfast together while telling each other stories about their previous day. Then they would head off to their respective classes. All day, she would sit beside Lian, glad that he never complained about it and that he even welcomed it. At lunchtime, she would join Lian and his friends at the education building cafeteria, and though she felt like a wallflower at times, she was glad that they didn't mind her or reject her silence. There was nothing interesting that she had to say anyway.

The highlight of her week would always be the last period of a Tuesday or a Thursday. Simply because it was the Magecraft class. And while she felt like she was sinking and drowning in a sea of confusion for her other classes, in Magecraft she felt like she was swimming like a dolphin in the waters. She would like to attribute it to the fact that she was a Sleigh Beggy, but she felt like there was more reason behind it. She found the subject of magic alluring because of how free it seemed, highly unlike the sorcery subjects which always operated on laws, formulas, and rules. Not to mention that she found Professor Ainsworth a very dedicated and diligent teacher that it inspired her to do her best in his class. Nonetheless, Magecraft was only one subject, and she couldn't deny that she was failing in the other six.

It was on a Saturday that Chise found herself back in the Research Labs with Tory Innis. They requested for her visit a day before through a verbal message by Alice as they ate breakfast together, and Chise was reminded of why she was in the College in the first place. She was a specimen bought from the auction to be studied and experimented on. As she stood in front of the door of the Research Labs, she shivered at the thought of what that truly entailed. Still, she had no choice but to come. She knocked, her heart beating loudly in her chest at the same time.

"There you are! Come in, come in!" It was a cheerful Tory who opened the door and ushered Chise inside.

"Um… Alice said you wanted me to come here?"

"Yes, just for a quick examination. We'll just check how your magical binding is holding up. Take a seat here, please." Tory gestured to a chair beside his desk. Chise sat and observed her surroundings. There were stacks of paper strewn all over Tory's desk, but what caught her eye was a white, boxy device that was connected to his computer. Tory asked for her left arm where the magical binding was placed, and he connected it to the white device. "We're just going to look at your magical output for the past two weeks. See if there is any irregularity and such. While we're waiting though, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Chise shook her head, and Tory took out a clipboard and a pen. "Have you ever felt a sudden surge of magical energy inside you for the past two weeks?"

Chise thought hard about her answer. She recalled the time she did her crystal flower experiment with Alexandra and compared the times she used magical energy in her school laboratory exercises. "No. If I could compare it with the crystal flower experiment with Alexandra, that was like a waterfall. Now though, it feels like a faucet that I could switch on and off."

"Whew! That's great to hear. At least we know the magical binding is working in that regard. Still, there's no substituting concrete evidence." Tory remarked, and then the white, boxy device Chise's magical binding was connected to beeped. His computer screen reflected a graph with an almost steady green line. There were slight fluctuations, but they seemed too insignificant to be called irregular. "Let's see here, yes… the magical output is at a constant normal range according to the device. So, I think we're all good, Chise."

"T-That's it, then?" Chise asked, a little dumbfounded. She was expecting her visit to the Research Labs today to be more unpleasant. She couldn't believe that her task for the day was that simple.

"Yes, we're done. Though we may need to do this kind of monitoring every two weeks." Tory wrote on his clipboard the data he saw on the computer. After he was through, he looked back at Chise's confused face and suddenly laughed. "Why, are you expecting something more?"

Chise's cheeks flushed red. "Well, Mr. Renfred said that I am to be a specimen and…"

Tory heaved a sigh and placed his clipboard and pen back on the desk. "To be honest, Chise, we're really in the dark. There is not a whole lot of relevant literature regarding Sleigh Beggies. So the best we can do is observe for now. The unpleasant bits… I assume would come later."

Chise nodded, unsure if she should feel relieved or not. Alexandra mentioned that she only had three years before her body completely breaks down. To know that even the Research Labs did not know where to start their research to cure her was not reassuring. Nonetheless, she took solace at the fact that they were not doing hard experiments on her yet.

"Anyway, Chise. Will you tell me how your last two weeks have been? How do you like being in the College so far?" Tory asked as he disconnected the magical output reader from her magical binding.

"It has been great. The College is unlike any school I've been. The professors are nice, and the students are friendly." Chise answered, remembering how quickly the two weeks passed her by. She was grateful none of her professors were strict, and she also felt blessed that she made a friend in Lian.

"Hmm, I know, right? How do you find your classes?" Tory enquired, his cheerful, inquisitive tone coming back.

"Actually, I need your favor regarding that…"

xxxx

Chise passed through rows and rows of bookshelves as she tried to find the books she was looking for. Before leaving the Research Labs office, she finally admitted to herself and unwillingly to Tory Innis that she had been having difficulty keeping up with her Sorcery subjects. For her with no background knowledge, she found that she was very behind compared to her classmates that it wasn't even worth it to make a comparison. In every class other than Magecraft, it felt like she was being asked to cook a kaiseki-ryouri when all she knew was how to make a tamago kake gohan, or an 'egg on rice'.

So, Chise really had no choice but to ask for help. It was a good thing that Tory Innis indulged her. Through a quick search in the online College library system from his computer, he put together a list of books that would supplement her studies. This was what led her to a trip to the College library. She was holding five books now as she scanned her list again for their call numbers. The last one was something for Magical Theory. She winced as she remembered that she received a score of 3 out of 10 from the last quiz. She would really need a book that would help her understand it more. She finally found the aisle of the said book's call number, but as she turned to enter it, she unfortunately collided hard with someone, the books she held falling from her arms.

"Are you fucking blind!?" A girl with long black hair yelled loudly at her, but it took a while for Chise to register what happened. She was knocked down to the floor by the impact, and she scrambled to stand up quickly and pick up the books she dropped. However, being ignored seemed to infuriate the girl even more, so she suddenly pushed Chise to the bookshelf with a hard shove. "I'm talking to you." She hissed with so much rage.

"I-I'm sorry… I wasn't watching where I'm going and…" Chise tried to explain, even when the girl's forearm pressed heavily on her neck that it made hard for her to speak.

"That's right, you weren't watching! So use your eyes next time, bitch!" The girl shoved Chise again against the bookshelf hard that Chise's head bumped it.

"I-I will. I'm sorry…"

That seemed to satisfy the girl and she released Chise from her hold. She then looked at her again as if realizing something. "You're the newbie, aren't you? Red hair and green eyes. They talk about you in my class too. From Japan, right?" The girl leaned close to Chise, and her hand brushed Chise's strawberry-colored hair softly. "Funny, you don't look like a chink at all." She told Chise with so much malice and spite. And even though Chise didn't fully understand the word, she knew it was meant to be an insult towards her.

"Must you really torment someone even in the library, Lucy?" A boy's voice echoed in the aisle they were in, and both girls turned towards its direction. It was Lian, and Chise felt relief wash over her for she didn't really know what to do in this situation.

"Webster, Scrimgeour. I don't remember giving you permission to use my first name." Lucy Webster snarled at Lian who only shrugged his shoulders.

"Lucy, Webster. What's the difference? It doesn't change the fact that you are a horrible person."

"Why you—" Lucy was about to say another insult to Lian when one of the College female librarian stepped into view.

The librarian saw books on the floor and wondered what the commotion was about. "Is something the matter here?" She asked in a knowing tone, eager to stop what was happening between the three students.

Lian immediately smiled and wore an innocent face. "Nothing, ma'am. We were just arguing where one of the books we were looking for is. Lucy here was about to check the other aisle when she bumped into Chise. Hence, the books on the floor."

The female librarian picked up some of the books and handed them to Chise who seemed silently grateful for her sudden appearance. Who knew what would've happened if Lucy and Lian's fight escalated into a full-on brawl. "Alright, but need I remind you that this is a library and rowdiness of any kind is prohibited."

"Yes, ma'am. We'll keep that in mind." Lian assured her, the innocent smile on his face never fading. It was not until the librarian was out of sight that his countenance changed and became dour. He looked at Lucy Webster with stern eyes. "I saved you this time, Lucy. Now go your way, and leave us."

"Don't think that you'll get away with this, you runaway heir." Lucy huffed and left the two.

Chise released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She looked at Lian who had an unreadable expression on his face. Just what did Lucy mean about being a runaway heir? Chise went closer to Lian and placed a hand on his arm. The boy was suddenly knocked out of his reverie and gave her a small, sheepish smile. "I'm sorry, Chise. Lucy just likes to get the last word every time."

Chise shook her head, letting Lian know that no forgiveness was needed. "You helped me. Thanks, Lian."

"I might have made matters even worse though." Lian said as he picked up a piece of paper from the aisle floor. It was Chise's list of books to get. He looked at the books in her hand and saw that she was still missing one. "What book are you looking for? Is it somewhere here?"

"Yes, it's for Magical Theory."

"Let's see… Dante Vector's Magical Theory: Beginner to Advanced." Lian scanned the bookshelf for the proper call number that matched with Chise's list. After a few seconds, he found it placed on the next level of the shelf. "Ah, here it is." He pulled the book out and handed it to Chise who took it and shyly said thanks. They looked at each other quietly for a few seconds, until Chise decided to break the silence. She had questions in her mind that needed answers.

"How long have you been there when Lucy…" Chise trailed off, unsure of how to describe Lucy Webster's rude actions towards her.

"When she called you a 'chink'. I was walking along the other end of this aisle then. "

"I see. What does it mean though?" Chise asked with curiosity, glad that she had Lian talking again.

"A racist term to describe someone of East Asian descent."

Chise felt a shiver run up to her spine. So, there were still people like that in these modern times. People who look down on other people's cultural background and ethnicity. Chise held her books tightly, uncertain if she should ask her next question. Still, she wanted to know. "And what did she mean when she called you a runaway heir?"

Lian sighed as he gestured his arm and open hand towards her. Chise looked confused at first, but she finally understood that Lian was offering to carry her books. Each was thick and heavy after all. "Let's find a table, and then I'll tell you."

They walked together silently through the main aisle, passing by rows and rows of tall bookshelves. Finally, they reached the main sitting area of the library, and Lian chose an empty table located at the far end. They placed the books on the table, and sat on the chairs. When they were settled, Lian took a deep breath and explained, "Have you ever heard of the Seven Shields?"

Chise shook her head, and Lian continued, "They are the seven noble families or houses that founded the College. Their goal primarily is to prevent the knowledge of Magic and Sorcery from dying out. These families are Roseingrave, St. George, Rickenbacker, Hoenheim, Nightingale, Webster, and Scrimgeour."

Chise's eyes widened when she realized that Lian and Lucy's last names were of the noble families. And not just the two of them, some of their classmates' surnames were mentioned by him too. "Then Lucy…"

"She is the heir of the House of Webster. In these families, every generation has an heir. So are Violet and Jasmine St. George, Veronica Rickenbacker, and… well, me." Lian explained casually, but was abashed when he mentioned himself. "Well, former heir, I suppose. I abdicated. That's why Lucy called me a runaway heir. Still, don't take these heir and house things seriously. Honestly, the only one who struts in here and thinks their family name is important is Lucy."

"Why though?"

"Out of all the houses, they are the biggest patron of the College. The Webster's craft is to use spiders to create copies of grimoires and ancient texts. This whole library exists because of them. Not only that, but they also give the most financial donation to the College. So Lucy acts as if she owns the place." Lian shifted from his seat as he finished his explanation. He couldn't know what was on Chise's head though as she was staring at the empty space before her. Maybe she was remembering how Lucy treated her. Wanting to change the topic, he decided to make light of the situation. "So, what are you up to by the way? Library on a Saturday? And all these books?"

"I…" Chise blushed in embarrassment, afraid to say her reason. But since Lian opened up to her, she thought she might as well do the same. "I'm failing in the Sorcery subjects. Frankly, I don't understand anything the professors are teaching, and I don't even know where to begin. So someone recommended me these books, and I just thought that I could study them just to catch up to everyone's level."

"Hmm. You're right. Judging from your lack of background knowledge, it would really be hard to be at par in studying the middle school level." Lian surmised, then an idea crossed his mind. "Tell you what, I'll help you in your studies, but I have a favor to ask from you in return."

"What favor?"

"Can you help me in Magecraft?" Lian looked at her with a certain seriousness in his eyes that Chise couldn't help but comply.

"Alright, but I don't even know how to help you in that too. I've only begun studying it too, you know." She told the blonde boy.

"But you're good at it. I saw you. The Fae liked you too. As for me…" Lian trailed off, not wanting to disclose more, but the uncritical look in Chise's eyes made him continue. "The Fae didn't like me. She said I smelled like rust."

"Have you tried talking about it with Professor Ainsworth?" Chise asked, wondering what smelling like rust meant for the Fae. She most certainly did not know herself.

"He said I should not force it. But I could still come to the class if I'm still interested, because Magecraft isn't all about Fae." Lian admitted. Then he smiled and extended his hand to Chise. "So, what do you think? Do we have a deal?"

Chise smiled in return and connected her hand to his in a firm handshake. "Deal."

xxxx

The next day, Chise found herself in the library again. Lian was true to his word and met with her after tea time. They first began their studying by doing their weekend homework, with Chise asking Lian about things she didn't know about from time to time. It was then that Chise realized how helpful Lian was to her. Instead of just blindly guessing her homework like she usually did before, she finally thought that she perhaps understood some of it. Still, a day of studying with Lian was not enough for her to cover all the material she needed to learn in order to fully comprehend the Sorcery subjects. But it was a good enough start, and she felt that she made progress. It was after dinnertime in the cafeteria that Lian bid his farewell, and Chise was by herself again.

Feeling strangely full and satisfied, Chise went back to the College library again. She already finished her homework, and so she was hoping to read a different kind of material. She searched through the online catalog system and found what she was looking for. A book about Magecraft, or more specifically, tales about the different Fae in existence in Great Britain. She immediately listed down its call number and went to the rows of bookshelves to find it. When she did, she went back to the sitting area and read. And she read and read, fully absorbed in the book. She learned about Tir na Nog and the different kinds of Fae. She didn't know there were so many! There were entries about Ariels, Banshees, Church Grims, Brownies, Changelings, Elves, Fire Sprites—she remembered Bael, Muryans, Selkies, Leannan sidhes, Cat sidhes, and Vodyanois. And there were many more. She wasn't even halfway through the book yet, and she would have gladly read if it wasn't for the hand that patted her shoulder, knocking her out of her trance. She looked up and found one of the female librarians looking at her.

"Would you like to check that one out, dear? I'm afraid to tell you that we're closing for the day now." The librarian gently told her, and Chise observed her surroundings. She was the only one left reading in the sitting area. All the chairs were empty now. Then she remembered that the library often closed at 9 pm on a weekend instead of the regular 12 midnight on weekdays to make time for book sorting.

Chise turned to the book in her hands. Should she check it out? If she did, she might just abandon her Sorcery studies and just read this book all the time. So, she shook her head and replied, "I'm sorry. I'll just return this, and then I'll be on my way."

The librarian nodded and began to walk back to the staff's station. Chise went back to the bookshelves and returned the book she was holding to its former place. Then she waved her hand as a goodbye to the librarian and exited the library. When she was outside, Chise took a deep breath. What should she do now? Normally, if it was a weekday, she would be in her dormitory and work her way through her homework. But now that her homework was finished, she had nothing else to do. She didn't want to go back to her dormitory yet, so she decided to explore the school grounds first.

Without having any particular destination in mind, Chise just let her feet guide her. She passed by the education building, the greenhouse, and the zoo-compound. It wasn't until she was in front of the hedge maze that Chise's feet stopped its walking. She remembered Alice telling her that there was a hill at the north, past it. She had never seen it before, and so she decided to try her luck and see if she could find its entrance by solving the maze. Chise entered it, her feet walking slowly and somehow uncertain. As it was nighttime, the path was illuminated by garden lights. It was straight but after a few meters there was an intersection. She chose left and continued to walk, this time the path split from north and south. She decided to go north, surmising that the hill was to the north. She continued this pattern over and over until she faced a dead end and had to retrace her steps. Finally, after what seemed to be fifteen minutes, she found an exit, but it didn't seem to be a hill. There was a tower in front of her, and beside its huge, wooden double doors, the sign 'Tower of Remnants' shone under the moonlight.

Chise sighed. So, she miserably failed in finding the hill. Maybe she would have a better chance at it next time when it was broad daylight. Deciding to return to her dormitory, Chise turned her back and started walking again. It wasn't until someone's voice somewhere behind her made her stop on her tracks.

"Oh, what's this? A lost little puppy, perhaps?" The voice was male and dark. Chise turned around to see a man standing in front of the tower's wooden doors. Where had he come from? He was tall and had a long, black, undercut, curly hair, tied in a ponytail and braided on the ends. He slowly walked towards Chise, and as he came nearer, she saw that he was wearing sunglasses. At night? It was weird, but that wasn't what really perplexed her. There was something about the man, something ominous and foreboding regarding his presence. He was already two feet away from her when he exclaimed, "Ah, not a puppy. But a Sleigh Beggy."

"H-How did you…?" Chise was lost for words. Why did it seem like people always knew she was a Sleigh Beggy without her telling them about it?

"This tower's walls have eyes and ears. And besides, you don't want to know the things they make me get just for you." The man said, eyeing Chise up and down as if she was a piece of meat he wanted to eat. Chise stepped back, fear travelling down her spine. The man just laughed at her. "I'm bored and with nothing to do. I think tonight you can entertain me. What do you say about running as fast as you can, Sleigh Beggy?"

"W-What?" Chise stammered, mostly confused by the man's last sentence.

"I said run, little miss Sleigh Beggy!" The man laughed again and then sprouted insect legs out of his back and his arms. Chise was shocked, but she scrambled to make her shaky feet and legs move. She ran back towards the garden maze, no longer thinking about which direction to take. How could she when there was a man chasing her who seemed to want to do something extremely unpleasant to her should she be caught? So, she ran and ran, silently wishing that she might see someone who could defend her. She didn't realize that she ran towards the direction of the hill without meaning to, until she was face to face with it. She groaned in her stupidity. There was no place to hide here as the hill was completely bare save for a big tree standing on top of it. Perhaps she could climb it and hide among the branches? She was about to move towards it, when the man who was chasing her suddenly appeared behind her.

"Tsk. Tsk. You surely don't put up too much of a fight, don't you, Sleigh Beggy?" The man remarked, slowly walking towards Chise who was rooted to the spot she was standing on, filled with fright. She continued to step backwards as the man who was hunting her inched closer to her. "All that magical energy… such a waste—" Then the man stopped in the middle of his sentence, and his face immediately went pale, as if he saw a ghost behind his prey.

Chise turned around to see what made the man so afraid, and she saw someone she never thought she would see: Professor Ainsworth, without his human glamour on, his eyes glowing red and his skeleton jaw ajar and menacing. He then growled loudly at the man, puffs of his breath coming out white from his mouth and into the autumn air.

"W-We were just playing tag, Ainsworth. Come now, no reason to get mad—" The man tried to say as an excuse, but Professor Ainsworth would have none of it. He roared loudly at the man, and the man stumbled to the ground, shaking.

"Leave, Zaccaroni." Professor Ainsworth commanded firmly, his voice several pitches lower than the normal one Chise hears in his classes.

Zaccaroni nodded his head and hurried to his feet. Then he scurried away back to the garden maze, his tail tucked firmly between his legs. Only when he was completely gone did Chise acknowledge her rescuer.

"Thank you, Professor Ainsworth." She said wholeheartedly to him, and he only nodded his head in silent acknowledgement.

"You should leave, too—" Professor Ainsworth wasn't even able to finish his sentence when he suddenly fell to his knees. Chise was surprised and deemed that perhaps something was wrong with him. Shadows were dancing around him, engulfing his form that was constantly shifting in different black shapes. Numerous long vines with sharp thorns broke out of his body, and then his ochre horns lengthened, with another skeletal pair growing just behind his skull. A long coat of thick black fur emerged on top of his head, and bony ribs began to adorn his chest and torso. Then finally, as if as a last addition, a long dark violet fish tail appeared and curled around his lower limbs.

Chise was at loss at what to do. For the second time this night, she watched a person transform into something that she couldn't call human anymore. She was so scared by that Zaccaroni guy, but this right now was Professor Ainsworth, someone she trusted. Maybe if she called out to him, he would come to his senses. She didn't know if it would happen, but she thought that it was worth a try. "P-Professor Ainsworth?" She called out to him hesitantly.

But the instant his name fell out of her mouth, Professor Ainsworth suddenly rose to his full height and was swiftly in front of her, his jaws opened wide, wide enough that they could devour and swallow her head whole. Chise could only look up, unmoving, even as she felt drops of his saliva falling on her left cheek. The air was still, and they stood there motionless for a few seconds, until Chise reached out her hand and softly touched Professor Ainsworth's mandible.

His open jaws closed, and he bowed his wolf-skull of a head. Then his wild, glowing, crimson eyes locked with her green ones. There was something there that Chise finally figured out. "You're in pain…" She said in a whisper, piercing the silence between them with a simple truth that she observed.

The two crimson eyes disappeared and reappeared. Chise assumed that he blinked. But as soon as she finished that thought, Professor Ainsworth abruptly vanished, taking his shadowy form with him. It was only then that Chise noticed that there was blood splattered on the grass from where he had stood.

xxxx

Additional Notes: When I outlined the plot of this story into chapters, this should have been two separate ones. One chapter didn't reach my target word count however, so I just decided to combine them. I also changed Lucy Webster's character in this story. All for the plot, of course. I'm also not sure if Lian and the St. George twins are heirs in their houses in the manga, but I made them heirs here anyway. :)

Also, unfortunately, real life is catching up to me, so a weekly update would now be impossible. Perhaps a fortnight would be more suitable. As always, feel free to share your thoughts by dropping a review. It is highly appreciated. :)

BlueNachturne: Once again, thank you for your kind words on your review of Chapter 2. I am happy that the Elias I imagined was acceptable to you. :)