I'm currently in the end of my semester. It will take longer for me to update, at least until mid May. It's a miracle that I'm actually able to post this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it :)

Special Chapter 4: Palladium Thoughts

It's been a few days since the incident. I made sure that Onyx was healed immediately from what happened to her from the witches. Every time the witches are mentioned now, she gets that scary look in her eyes. I hope she gets her mind off of them. I don't want her to get in trouble because of a few misbehaved witches. They don't deserve her attention… Hopefully headmistress Griffin takes some disciplinary action when she receives the letter that headmistress Faragonda sent her regarding the incident.

Every time I see Onyx these days, I feel as though I just want to hug her and touch her… I am aware of my feelings towards her. However, student teacher relationships are not appropriate in a school environment. I should try and keep my feelings in check. I don't want to cause her any trouble or make her feel uneasy.

Today is the Day of the Rose. The day we're supposed to celebrate our mothers. I'll be travelling home to go meet up with my family. After packing up, I head for the Alfea gates. On the way there, I say goodbye to a bunch of my students. I wonder if I'll run into Onyx… Oh! There she is!

"Hey, Onyx!"

She turns towards me.

"Professor…"

Her voice is a bit shaky.

"I just uh… wanted to say goodbye before leaving."

"Yeah… Bye…"

For some reason, it's really awkward talking to her, knowing about my own feelings and all. It almost seems as though she can read through it, with the way she's acting. She probably doesn't want anything to do with such a thing.

"Are you going to see your mother too?"

She shakes her head without really saying anything.

"Oh. Do you… want to talk about it?"

"It's okay. You should go spend time with your mother while you can."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then."

She smiles and waves at me. I wave back and leave for my trip home. Onyx must be having problems back home as well, considering what she is. Even her mother, though? Does even her mother not want her? And here I am worrying about my own feelings when I should be more concerned about how Onyx is dealing with all these things. I should come back as soon as I can. I need to at least be there for her when her parents aren't.

After celebrating my mother, I start heading back home.

As I'm walking to the library, I see a familiar figure pass by.

"Oh! Onyx!"

SheI turns around towards me. A beautiful smile graces her lips. I feel myself uncontrollably smiling back at her.

"Professor Palladium! You're back?"

"Yes, I just got back. Are you heading to the library?"

"I am."

"May I join you?"

She nods at me. What a nice coincidence. We both head to the library while making small talk about how our days went.

There's no one but us in the library.

"What kind of books do you come to read here, Onyx?"

I ask her while looking for a book through the shelves.

"Well, I mostly read some books about light magic."

I turn my head towards her. Our eyes meet and she immediately looks at the floor. She's not being honest with herself.

"Is that what you enjoy reading?"

She shakes her head.

"What do you enjoy reading then?"

"Um…mostly occult books."

"It's hard to find that here, isn't it?"

She nods.

"Come with me. I'll show you a section that's usually off-limits to students unless they have special authorization."

She follows me. I lead her to one of the restricted areas, unlocking the door for her.

"This… Can I really read these books?"

She turns to me. I can see the excitement in her eyes.

"Of course you can. Besides, you'd probably understand these better than anyone else here."

"Thank you so much, Professor Palladium!"

"I told you to just call me Palladium when we're not in class."

She giggles. Seeing her so happy makes me feel insanely good.

"This is the happiest I've seen you so far, Onyx."

I smile at her.

"I'm just so grateful…"

I pat her head affectionately.

"Onyx, don't force yourself to be someone you're not. You're amazing just the way you are and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

Tears then start welling up in her eyes. They then roll down her cheeks and she tries to dry them off as best as she can.

"I-I'm sorry! It just happened all of a sudden-!"

I can't hold myself back anymore. I want to hold her. I want to comfort her. Without thinking twice about it, I wrap my arms around her and pull her close into my arms. We stay like this for while, without any of us saying a word.

The next day, I teach my class as usual. Not much happens until later that day. One of my good friends sends me a message about a certain event that went on in Magix. Turns out that a dark Ankelon… completely overpowered a group of witches, and almost killed three of them. A dark Ankelon… Three witches… Magix… Onyx! She didn't do that, did she? I'm sure something provoked her. She wouldn't just go find them and do that to them.

While lost in my thoughts, I bump into Musa.

"Oh! Sorry about that, Professor Palladium."

"No no, it was my fault, Musa."

She was then starting to walk away when it hit me. I could ask her if she knows anything about what happened. She is one of Onyx' friends, so she might actually know something about it.

"Musa! There's something I've been meaning to ask you. Could you come to my office for a bit?"

Musa looks at me with a confused look.

"Um… Yeah, sure thing, Professor."

We go to my office and I invite her to sit down.

"Don't worry, I won't take much of your time."

I sit across the desk from her.

"Be honest with me on this, Musa, please."

She raises an eyebrow at me.

"What is it?"

I take a deep breath.

"I heard about a certain incident that happened in Magix today about a dark Ankelon and a group of witches."

Musa gasps. So she does know something about this.

"It was Onyx, wasn't it?"

Musa looks down and nods.

"Why would she do something like that? Please tell me."

"Professor, it's not what you think. Onyx… She protected me. She was just standing up for me! She would never hurt anyone intentionally."

"Protecting you? What do you mean?"

"Well… I was being chased by a group of witches. It was their idea of 'having fun'. Then Onyx appeared and protected me. She singlehandedly took them all on… for my sake. Then… the three witches, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy, appeared."

Musa pauses for a bit.

"Considering what they previously did to her, on top of being the ones behind the group of witches tormenting me, she lost control of her emotions… Onyx was furious. She attacked them… and…"

"…Almost killed them."

"It wasn't intentional, though! Believe me!"

"I believe you, Musa. I knew that she wouldn't just go and do something like that without having a reason for it. Thank you again, Musa. That's all I wanted to know."

Musa then left my office. I sigh in relief. I knew Onyx wouldn't hurt them without a reason. All along, she just wanted to protect her friend.

What am I doing? I'm giving one of my students special attention. This is not what a teacher is supposed to do. I have to treat everyone equally. I have to control myself. Tomorrow is a special day. I need to focus on teaching my class about the simulation room and get my mind off of Onyx for a while.

The following day, I go to the simulation room and wait for my class. When the girls arrive in the simulation room, nobody can help but exclaim at how different it looks from normal classrooms.

"This is the simulation room."

I announce to them.

"What is it exactly?"

One of the fairies asks.

"Well, it's the product of the most powerful magic and the most sophisticated technology. The light produced allows our powerful computer to create all kinds of virtual realities and environments. The replications are absolutely flawless."

"Uh, can it be used to simulate virtual dates with boys?"

Stella asks me.

"You'll be sure to get one then."

One of the fairies retorts as the whole class starts laughing. Stella blushes from the sarcastic remark.

"Yes, well… Why don't we simulate your final exam instead?"

Hearing this, everyone stops laughing.

"In the anticipation of the upcoming midterm, I've set up for you a simulation of some of the things that will definitely be on the test. Now, let's all go and have a look at the control room."

They then all follow me into the control room. I'm doing good until now. I've managed to keep my attention off of Onyx.

"From here, we can see everything that goes on in the simulation room."

I then sit in the chair and click a few buttons while all the fairies get closer to me to see what I'm doing. Hm… Onyx doesn't seem to be one of the closer ones. No! Palladium, concentrate!

"You'll be able to choose between two tests, look."

The simulation room's walls of it then start lighting up.

"Your first option is: Use magic to counteract the unfortunate results of evil spells cast by a group of wicked witches. Now, option number two: Use magic to produce positive results on a damaged environment."

I wonder which one Onyx would choose… Why can't I just stop thinking about her? I was doing so well earlier.

After finishing up with the lesson, all the fairies leave the room. I shut the computer down. When I turn around, I notice Onyx standing there. Why is she here? This is hard enough for me without having to face her directly. I smile at her.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Onyx?"

I should act like a teacher and nothing more with her. She kind of looks disappointed at how I'm talking to her. Believe me, Onyx… I don't like it either, but this is for the best.

"I… just wanted to know more about the simulation. I'm a bit worried about it…"

"You shouldn't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do great. Now, I still have a class to teach after this, so I'll see you tomorrow for the midterm."

I then pass by her and leave the room. I feel really bad about just leaving her like this. I shouldn't get any closer… The closer I'll get, the harder it'll be later. My position as her teacher should not become more than that. I'm her teacher, and she is my student. That's all we'll ever be.

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