Disclaimer: I own nothing, and know nothing.

Author's Note: My first fanfiction. Unfortunately, my English is not of the highest quality, so expect grammar errors and other mistakes.

Cross-posted on AO3, as well as Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity.

One

"Headmaster, please explain."

I remember being calm and collected when I spoke with the headmaster. I had no feud with him and, as an elder, he deserved a measure of respect. I even held a position in the academy at times and taught students. But Anya and Nekane, the good female companions of Negi, my son, who were standing at the side of the hallway with him as we conversed, later swore that they felt a great disturbance. I am sure that they were just exaggerating.

The elderly headmaster coughed. "It is as written on the diploma. The young Springfield must become a teacher in Japan to complete his training."

"While I agree that he needs a great deal of further training to become a great mage, perhaps this is beyond the ability of novice mage?" I said, wondering just what kind of logic determined that teaching people years older in a foreign country across two continents was a suitable quest for pre-pubescent children.

I continued: "I learned from this academy, that being a teacher means you have a responsibility for the futures of dozens of students. Do you truly believe that my son can bear such a burden, such a duty?"

Conflict and nervousness were shown in Negi's face as he heard me. I was speaking the truth, however. He was a ten-year-old boy who had just finished his primary education. I wasn't just worried about Negi, but also what effects he might have on those students.

The headmaster looked apologetic. "Your Highness, I am afraid that the arrangement has been already made, and Mahora has accepted that. Even as a headmaster, I cannot just change that, especially when it is an international matter." Then, he added with a more positive tone. "I assure you that he will be safe in Mahora Academy. The school is under the protection of Japan's Kanto Magic Association, and the headmaster is an old friend of mine."

I did not object further. I still did not like this arrangement, but I realized that I won't be able to change it. This assignment did not feel like it had malicious intent behind it, either. Instead, I decided to inquire about Mahora.

"Tell me more about this school."

"As I said, the headmaster is a friend of mine. His name is Konoemon Konoe."

I had heard of that name. "The father-in-law of Eishun Konoe, the leader of Kansai Magic Association?"

I have not met Eishun after our farewells. I kept my distance from the remaining members of Ala Rubra. But I had occasionally received the news and rumors, including Eishun's marriage into the Konoe family.

The headmaster nodded at my word. "Indeed. There is also another. One of Your Highness' comrades in the past, Takamichi T. Takahata, is also a teacher in Mahora."

The headmaster appears to believe that I would be put at ease at hearing that. I wasn't, although I did not show it.

The presence of Takamichi, and perhaps others from Ala Rubra, could become a complication. I was not their enemy, or at least I hoped so. But in my heart, I knew that I can no longer call myself one of them.

I had made a choice. I made a deal with an enemy. She told me that it will save both the Old and Magic World, that it will make them safe for my son, but that does not change that I have colluded with the force that Ala Rubra had fought and died against. I have become a villain that my defamers painted me as.

I did not want my former friends, or Negi, to find them out. The gravekeeper may not have fought us directly like the rest of her kind, but she was still one of them, a servant of the Lifemaker.

I have not seen the gravekeeper for many years. I prefer to keep it that way. I kept telling myself that our deal was for the sake of Negi and the two worlds. Unconvincing, and a cowardly excuse.

But, despite all those guilt and potential troubles, I did not want Negi to go alone.

"I will raise no more objection. But I would like to go to Japan together with Negi." I spoke. My voice was hard as steel, and so it was done.

We rode on a bus back to our village, to our home where Negi and I lived together.

Negi was quiet throughout the ride. I fear that I have offended him, by questioning his ability in front of the headmaster.

Do not mistake that for the lack of faith. I knew he would grow up to be the great mage and hero he wished to be.

"Like you and dad!" He told me that once. I was ecstatic, but also sorrowful underneath the smile. I felt that I was deceiving him.

Still, I tried my best to help him to achieve his wish. I taught him how to use his power. I imparted him the knowledge of magic as much as the school did. I even told him of my own past, as well as of Nagi and his comrades, albeit with some parts carefully censored out, as a lesson in the strength of morality and the harsh reality he must face.

I did not wish to expose Negi to the darker, dangerous side of the two worlds. But I knew it was necessary. His parentage meant that he will be always in danger. I was well aware that our enemies were ruthless and vicious, that they will not care that Negi is his own person, not me or my husband. They will not hesitate to kill him or worse, just to get back at us.

Ignorance was not a defense, but a surrender. His blood will attract them like sharks. Someday, I will no longer be able to protect him, so he needed to know himself and his enemy, everything that is required to protect himself, and perhaps to change the world for the better, into a safer one for him where he will never have to live in the shadow of her parents' pasts.

Sins of the Parents. I hate myself for that.

Negi did forgive me sooner than I thought. It helped that both Anya and Nekane, bless those two girls, had the same concerns as well. There is that core of goodness within him, reminding me of his father. I love him for that, and I will gladly sacrifice myself for him.

My father, His Majesty the King, would have had a heart attack if he had seen me sharing a pint of beer with a commoner at some village pub. Yet, that was exactly what I am doing right, and he was in no state to call me out.

I was sitting at a table with Stan, or Old Man Stan as my son called him, a local elderly mage. Between us was a simple, humble fare, which I learned to enjoy during my years as fugitives and then an inhabitant of this small village. Although, I admit that there are some foods that I can still only tolerate.

We already had a jug each and were feeling the effect of alcohol within us. It was strange thinking about how used I have become to a life without the royal comfort and luxury of the palace, but such was the story of my life.

I was thinking about the best way to deal with the inevitable scrutiny in Mahora when Stan spoke to me.

"So, I heard you are leaving with Negi?"

"He needs someone to watch over him in his assignment, and I need to continue his training." And, a part of my mind quietly whispered, to keep him from accidentally revealing something to Ala Rubra that can lead them to my secret.

The old man smiled with approval as he stroked his long beard.

"Good, good… The boy still needs his mother, especially since his father is no longer around." He then started to mumble several words, something about 'That irresponsible, troublemaking idiot.', meaning Nagi, my husband.

I did not react, as I knew he had no real hate behind those words. Stan was a jaded elder, who complained that he had to clean up after the numerous hassles and headaches created by my husband during his boyhood, something that was corroborated by other villagers who remembered him.

"I like Negi. He is… so unlike that scamp. Smart, responsible, and never skipped school."

Stan was talking about the fact that Nagi was a dropout. I was surprised when I learned from Nagi that he never even finished his primary magic school, running away at nine and becoming a mercenary several years later. Who would have guessed that the Thousand Master, a great hero who saved the entire Mundus Magicus, and one of the strongest battlemages of his era, came from a background like that? It did explain a few odd things about him, but it did not diminish his heroism, and I still loved him regardless.

I did, however, had to coach him on several subjects, most notably etiquettes.

"He is… certainly somewhat different from his father." Which was true, but Negi actually got more from Nagi than Stan wanted to believe. Courage, determination, a strong sense of justice…

My hope was that I would not see the day when the last one turns against me. I will rather slay myself than hurt Negi in any way, Yet, even that would still inflict a grievous wound on my child. There was no escape from this dilemma.

"He got them all from you, Your Highness. Blessings upon you!"

I simply smiled and nodded. I was not a heroic princess and the best mother as Stan and Negi made me out to be, even disregarding my countless failures.

Stan suddenly became quiet, and when he spoke again, his voice was a whisper, with a hint of sadness.

"Keep Negi out of trouble, please. Don't let him run off and involved in foolish ventures like his father. Don't allow the boy to die like him, far away from home and leaving not even a body."

I assured him "I will," knowing that I was lying. Unfortunately for Stan, some things are just inevitable.

As I grow older, which is a most unexpected outcome, I have discovered a sudden passion for writing, motivated by a desire to preserve my deeds and those of others who I met and remember. For that purpose, I divided my life into several, measured chapters, each representing different phases of my life: The childhood, the Great War, the two years of imprisonment, the Ala Rubra years, the motherhood, and more in the future.

You have just witnessed the end of motherhood, and the beginning of the new chapter of my life, that came on the day of Negi's graduation, in the year 2002 of the Vetus calendar.

Before that, I spent eight years as a fugitive and a member of the warrior band Ala Rubra, alongside my husband, Nagi Springfield. I had done more goods for the two worlds during those years than during my time as a princess. Yet, now in hindsight, they were not enough.

The Ala Rubra was together until the last battle. I survived, with help, but Nagi was gone from me. With him, so was Ala Rubra, and we scattered, making our own lives in the Old and Magic World. The reunion did not come until many years after.

I made a decision to live in the home village of Nagi, raising the child we had. That was the start of my motherhood. It was mostly uneventful, but I did not relax my vigilance, knowing my enemies will never forget me. I was correct.

Prior to that, I was a condemned patricide and war criminal. I do not like to think about those two years. It contains only despair and pain. I will just say that I was sentenced to death for the charges of regicide and conspiracy. I was forced into the former, and I was framed into the latter. Nagi saved me at the site of my execution.

I have much to say about the Great War. My memories of that time are full of intense moments that will never pass into oblivion, and I don't think they can be described in just a few paragraphs. It was during this chapter that I met Nagi and the gravekeeper. I saw victory and defeat, and it ended with the extinction of my house my people becoming kingdomless refugees.

Conversely, my childhood is forgettable, not worth mentioning. I was a princess, sheltered and hidden in the royal palace of Ostia. That was it.

So, dear readers, you have received a glimpse of me. Arika Anarchia Entheofushia, former princess, a martyr and villain, a failed hero, a wife, and a mother. Perhaps you need more descriptions? I was thirty-seven years old. I am tall and slender, with blue and green heterochromia giving a decoration to my long blond hair. I bear the blood of the Lifemaker, an irremovable truth regardless of my own feeling. I prefer to use a conjunction of sword and spell in battle.

I know, dear readers, that you have questions. How did you manage to survive the last battle? Who is this gravekeeper? What was this choice you made, that put you at odds with your former comrades? Yes! All of them are important, there are many more subjects to reveal and all of them will be explained, but only in due time.

Continue reading, if you wish to learn more.