A/N: This was inspired by the picture on twitter of Noelle and Asta as children. Hopefully you like it :)

Noelle couldn't believe what her brother was saying, but no matter how much she wish that she misunderstood him, the meaning of his words stayed the same.

"We can't have such a failure in our family so you'll do your best to not shame the family name. I found a sensei for you. He lives at the outskirts of the kingdom in a small village called Hage. You'll live there until you can control your powers."

The ten year old girl didn't know if she should be happy to be away from her family or shocked that they were just giving her away to a complete stranger. To her relief her brother wasn't completely heartless and sent her closest maid with her. The woman had always been by her side and was the only one who looked after her, so Noelle was glad that she didn't have to go alone.

A few days later she found herself in the village that her brother had chosen for her. It was such a stark contrast to the busy capital and all the richness she knew. All her life she had been sheltered in the Silva mansion and despite that her siblings had never cared for her and mocked her every time they had the chance they had at least made sure she got everything she needed. Now that she set foot into her new home for the first time she realized what a luxury the mansion had. The house was small and had only all the necessaries, but somehow Noelle didn't find herself minding it too much. This house had a more welcome atmosphere than the cold white halls of the mansion and maybe she would finally get to be herself without her siblings around.

Her maid pulled her out of her thoughts by reminding her that they were about to meet her sensei for the first time. The old man in front of her seemed like a normal commoner to her, but after her first lesson with him Noelle was convinced that he could help her. However years of her siblings telling her that she was a failure made her insecure. A week into their training the old man noticed her lack of confidence and gently suggested a solution for her problem.

"You don't trust yourself. You can control your powers, but the first step is to believe in yourself. Maybe you should meet someone special. He is a guy without any magic, but he is still convinced that he'll be the magic emperor one day."

"Why would I want to meet a commoner without any magic?" Noelle asked arrogantly.

"It'll be good for you. No matter how often others tell him that he will never reach his goal he is confident that he'll be the magic emperor. He has a self-assurance that you're lacking. Meeting him could benefit you."

"It's worth a try, but you better not disappoint royalty."

Sometime later after dinner when she lay in her bed she thought back to her conversation with her sensei. How could someone without magic even think about becoming the magic emperor? It was a dream that would never come true. It was just like her dream to finally control her powers. No one believed in her, but unlike this guy without magic, she knew that they were right. Even if her sensei had said that she was making progress she didn't believe that it was possible for her to get as strong as her siblings. Sighing she tried to push her negative thoughts aside and fell asleep.

The next day after breakfast her sensei picked her up and they walked deep into the woods. On a small clearing Noelle saw a boy doing push-ups. By the look of it he was the same age as her.

"Hello Asta." Her sensei greeted him and Noelle took notice of the boy grinning brightly at them.

"How is it going? I haven't seen you in a while." Then he seemed to notice Noelle. "Who are you?"

Without giving her the chance to speak up he walked closer to her and held out his hand.

"I'm Asta, the future magic emperor. Let's be friends."

His smile was friendly and she could only feel sincerity in his words. Except for Mimosa, who was also her cousin and therefor didn't really count, she had never made any friends. Her life in the mansion with her siblings was a lonely one. This guy didn't even know her and still wanted to be her friend. However her past with her disappointing relationship with her family made her suspicious of people and an so easily offered friendship had to be fake. With that thought her self-defense mechanism kicked in.

"As if I want to be friends with a commoner." She said arrogantly before she turned away from him and walked away.

Later that night she lay awake once again, but this time her thoughts only circled around the guy who she had met today. He was a strange one. A commoner without magic, but he was still so sure of himself. She had treated him so arrogantly while he had been nothing but friendly to her. Thinking about her behavior she felt bad. All her life she had been taught to treat commoners dismissively, but with him it felt wrong. Sighing she decided to apologize tomorrow.

The next day came too soon for Noelle. She was still tired when her maid came to wake her up. Today she would look for Asta and tell him that she was sorry. It was the first time that she ever apologized to someone else than her family and somehow she was nervous. Walking into the woods it didn't take her long to find the clearing where Asta was training. Just like yesterday he was doing push-ups. Shyly she approached him.

"Could you stop for a moment? I have to talk to you." She almost winced at her tone. She wasn't sure how to apologize, but surely ordering him around wasn't a good start. However despite her tone he smiled at her and walked over to her. "I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did."

"Don't worry, it's alright. I'm used to that. People always say things like that, but you know once I'm the magic emperor I'll protect everyone and they will see that they were wrong."

The confidence with which he said it was still surprising to Noelle, but she smiled at him before holding out her hand.

"I'm Noelle. Let's be friends."

With a bright grin he shook her hand. His shinning eyes and happy smile made Noelle blush. He was the first friend she ever made and it was a boy none the less. Somehow she was sure that her brother would find it improper, but with Asta in front of her she found herself not caring. She could already tell that he was someone special. It was the right decision to apologize.

Asta didn't waste any time after their newly formed friendship and pulled her with him to a place that he told her was amazing. The warmth of his hand, that was still holding hers, made her feel like she finally found someone who cared for her. While she stumbled after him with a blush still on her cheeks Noelle thought that this could be a new beginning for her.

A/N: This could be just a one-shot or the intro to a whole story. I'll let you readers decide. Please review and tell me what you think :)