"What have you accomplished today, Andrew?"
"The Academy wishes to honor me with an award for an excellent academic record over the last three years," he responded evenly.
Paul Hanbridge was pleased. "You've done well to have earned this award. You have made me proud," he praised his son.
"Thank you, father."
There was once a time when Andrew craved his father's praise. He hated how his heart jumped just a little when he received it now.
In no time at all, his father had arranged for a celebration in honor of his accomplishment. He had pulled out all the stops. It was a grand event, loaded for bear with work colleagues and fellow nobles to impress.
He scoffed when he saw that they had even brought in a grand piano to decorate the foyer.
He knew full well this party wasn't for him. It was for his father to show off how successfully he had raised his son to be a perfect protege. Oh well, at least his friends would be there to ease the boredom.
The night of the party came, and it was even more unbearable than Andrew thought it would be. He was made to stand by his father all evening, forced to listen to his colleagues lavish compliments over them both.
"Thank you for coming to celebrate my son's achievement," he smiled to the guests.
Other nobility would talk about him to his father as if he wasn't standing right there.
"He's been at the top of his class for three years in a row at a school as prestigious as Appleton, how impressive!"
"Such an outstanding young man! It's no wonder your father has such high hopes for you, Andrew. I'm sure you'll be a great statesman like your father someday."
"I certainly hope he will," his father said carefully.
"Excuse me." He had had enough.
Just then, his friends appeared with Frank in the lead. "You don't look like you're in too good of a mood," he smiled.
"I'm getting tired of all this lip-service," he said.
Frank, always easily distracted by girls, was sidetracked by the sight of Diana Cavendish.
"It seems that you've been working hard," Diana said with a smile that didn't quite reach up to her eyes.
He chuckled lightly. "I see you've taken time from your busy schedule to grace us all with your presence. I'm honored." His sarcasm was thick as molasses, but he couldn't care at that moment.
What happened next was little more than a hazy memory. He vaguely recalled attempting to throw Miss Kagari and her friends out of the party. A sharp sting and then...nothing.
Not until he had reached the outdoor courtyard and the cool night air cleared his head just enough to kick-start his brain.
In his magically-induced stupor, he didn't hear his father approaching until he sternly spoke.
"Andrew."
His father looked fairly livid. This wasn't going to be pretty.
"I've heard that there are witches from Luna Nova in our house."
"Yes, sir."
"Did you allow this? Knowing how I despise them? Magic is an evil craft left over from ancient times. As statesmen, we must ensure that the future of our nation is guided by our hands. Witches are useless."
"You think we should distance ourselves from them entirely?" he asked.
"It's just politics."
How many times had he heard that before. How many questionable things had he done under that flag he flew?
"You have a tendency to be captivated by useless things...like when you wanted to take piano lessons as a child."
Andrew felt it. He felt the thorns threatening to crush his heart again.
"But father, I haven't played in ten years. Just as you instructed," he lied.
"As it should be. You will be a respected leader of this country someday, you don't have time for distractions. Make sure those witches leave...understood?"
With that, his father was gone. He could only stand there, motionless, crushed for a second time by Paul Hanbridge's careless words.
"Well what are you waiting for? Kicking us out isn't any harder than quitting the piano," Miss Kagari's voice came from the shadows as she marched toward the fountain haughtily.
"Who knew you were just a coward who does whatever his dad tells him to do?"
That stung. It was partially true, but how could she understand? How could she say that, not knowing what he had gone through, how much he had endured...and he couldn't explain it even if he wanted to. He decided to give a canned answer.
"I highly respect my father. Both as the head of the Hanbridge estate as well as an esteemed politician. It's my duty to follow in his footsteps."
"Your duty?! What about following your dreams? You do have your own dream, don't you?"
Oh if only she knew. She kind of sounded like Frank. Making too much sense for his liking. Still, he couldn't bring himself to open up to her.
She was a witch after all, dependent on magic. A quick-fix in a world full of problems and he just didn't have the luxury of quick-fixes like that.
"You would never understand. There are some people who are fated to uphold their proud lineage."
Just as he was sinking into despair, something hard hit him in the back of the head.
When he turned to look, Miss Kagari, she gave a passionate speech about her dream, her idol, Chariot. She echoed his sentiment, "I'm sure someone like you wouldn't understand at all."
On that, at least, they could agree. Two different worlds, they might as well be universes apart. But instead of isolating him, he felt closer to her somehow.
Maybe it was that, or maybe it was her enthusiasm. Hell, maybe it was whatever strange enchantment that came over him in the foyer, but he couldn't stop the words as they came, "You know...you're pretty cute."
She blushed wildly. "Well, you don't really think that. You got stung by an enchanted bee earlier."
"Did I now?"
Wait...did he now? A vague hazy memory swam to the surface of a pain in the back of his neck just before he blacked out. Maybe...
"Hey, there it is!" she suddenly shouted. "You should help! If we squash the bee, you'll go back to normal."
Yes, he would have to help, wouldn't he? There was no possibility of letting her run loose in the house without his father attempting to stop her.
His father...
Mr. Hanbridge's words came swimming back in his mind. His hatred for witches, his political ideals, his derision for Andrew's love for the piano. It all came to bear, and enough was suddenly too much.
The perfect plan dropped to the forefront of his brain. He would provide a distraction long enough for Miss Kagari to deal with the alleged enchanted bee, and he knew just what to do.
As he ascended the stairs back to the foyer, a nervousness greater than he had ever felt before began to unfurl deep in his belly. His father would find out. He would know. He would be openly defied and what would he do then?
Andrew decided the consequences would be well worth it. He would show his father that he hadn't been completely crushed. With a final deep breath, he gathered his courage.
"Guests...may I have your attention? A dangerous bee is on the loose, and Miss Kagari is trying to dispose of it."
"Uh, Andrew?" Miss Kagari whispered.
"Please continue," he gave her an encouraging wink. Was that the enchantment? Or was he trying to boost his courage? Either way, it didn't matter now.
"Meanwhile, for your listening pleasure...Flight of the Bumblebee."
He placed his fingers and they began to fly almost of their own accord into the depths of the melody.
He couldn't even hear the commotion of the chase or the mass of guests falling under the cupid bee's spell. He couldn't hear anything except the music.
For the first time in ten years, the joy pushed to the surface. The music filled his heart and pushed away the ugly wall of thorns that had grown so tall and so hard. He glimpsed a lush garden, a sanctuary, just as it was when he was six years old and could barely reach the pedals. He had found his way back...at last.
It was over much too soon. He played the final notes, closing the path once again.
It was at that moment that Akko Kagari smashed the bee against Paul Hanbridge's forehead with a sickening crunch. The enchantment lifted from the guests, his father and himself.
The joy that so thoroughly filled him gave way to a nervous fear as he realized what he had done. The fear only ran wildly out of control as he felt a congratulatory patting on his back.
"That sounded amazing! You're great at the piano, Andrew!"
iNo, don't call attention to it. I gave myself away, don't make it worse./i
The old thorns roared to life to protect him and he fell into a cold familiar pattern.
"Well, of course, I'm perfect after all. I work hard, unlike you."
It was harsh, even for him. The stunned look on Miss Kagari's face made his gut wrench in regret but it was already too late.
Then her elegant gown magically faded, replaced by a common school uniform...a witch school uniform.
He smirked and left her standing in the foyer, feeling justified in his actions in that moment. She was a witch, after all. Using magic to crash the party, to make it seem like she belonged.
But his gut wrenched again. She had helped him, and he should have been more grateful.
What had changed? What brought the joy back? Was it her? Was it the enchantment brought on by the bee?
Andrew couldn't stop his mind trying to blindly feel for an answer. Even his worry about his father's wrath had faded.
In actuality, Paul Hanbridge was so thoroughly embarrassed by the bee incident that he hadn't the bearings to punish his son's defiance.