Chapter 3

She couldn't recall at what point the tears stopped and she finally fell asleep, but when she awoke, her room looked… odd. What time was it? She was used to waking at dawn to begin her studies, when the rising sun had just begun to turn the sky a cool blue shade. Now, a vibrant yellow streamed into her quarters through the small window at the foot of her bed. She lifted herself up on her elbows and immediately regretted it. The room spun and her mouth filled with saliva as if she were about to be sick. She lay back down and concentrated on her breathing. The feeling passed, and she forced herself out of bed. Dazedly, she headed for the washroom and began her usual routine. She felt absolutely wretched. Heavy, overpowering exhaustion permeated her whole being. The feeling wasn't a normal sort of fatigue. It was as if she'd been drugged, or poisoned. Slogging down to the garden, she plucked a few select herbs and concocted a simple remedy, confident it would cure whatever ailed her. She wondered suspiciously if someone had managed to slip her something to cause this awful feeling. Galerion. She wasn't sure how he'd done it but if anyone was to blame for this, it was that wicked backstabber Galerion. She sipped the potion, gagging and barely managing to keep it down, and awaited the relief she was sure it would bring. As the minutes passed, she began to realize it wasn't working. Well, that was that. She was a tough girl; she would just have to press on.

Trying her best to ignore the dreadful sensation that threatened to overwhelm her, Lilaena took a deep breath and made her way to her beloved Master's old study, hoping that against all hope, he'd have returned for his student and lover. Gripping the door handle, she braced herself for the reality that he most likely wouldn't be there. She pulled the door open and blinked. She saw the light hit a headful of long, gleaming platinum hair. Her heart leapt and tears of joy sprung to her eyes. But she quickly realized, as the figure turned to face her, that it wasn't her beautiful teacher. It was Galerion. They shared almost identical coloring, but their faces were nothing alike. Not to Lilaena, at least. People often speculated that they could be brothers, but she disagreed. While Mannimarco had more delicate features, with a straight, pointy nose; fine, white eyebrows and eyelashes, and the sweetest little babyish red lips, Galerion's features were much heavier. His eyebrows were thick and bushy, his nose bulky and upturned, and his thick lips always seemed twisted into a pout of disapproval and distain for everyone and everything around him. And the ears – he was missing those adorable long ears that protruded from her instructor's hair at a nearly perpendicular angle to his gorgeous head. She loved those ears.

Lilaena couldn't hide her disappointment and started crying again. Vanus Galerion sighed heavily. "Where have you been?"

"I was sleeping," she grumbled, sniffling. She wiped her nose on the sleeve of her robe.

"Sleeping one off, you mean," Galerion alleged with a sneer. "You look like shite."

"I wasn't drinking. I was crying… I think I was poisoned." She realized how silly this sounded, but she truly believed it. Even hours of gut-wrenching sobbing couldn't explain how awful she felt.

"Maybe your great Master came back to finish you off," Galerion supposed. He chuckled. "Don't worry, though. I'm sure he intended to reanimate your corpse. It's what he does, isn't it?"

She felt a passionate vehemence rise up inside of her and her heart began to pound. "How dare you? He would never…" All of a sudden, she felt faint and broke into a sweat. She grabbed the door frame to keep herself upright. "…He would never do something like that to me…" she continued, her voice trailing off into a whisper as she fought the urge to be sick.

Galerion continued, oblivious to her state of distress. "Enough of this dramatic nonsense, apprentice. We expect you to be on time for your studies if you intend to continue with the Order."

Lilaena was too preoccupied with trying to remain upright and control her watering mouth to comprehend much of what he was saying. Maybe the stress of the whole situation was too much for her and was causing physical symptoms. The very sight of Galerion literally made her nauseous. He continued to scold her condescendingly and she quickly realized her mental efforts weren't going to be enough. She clapped a hand over her mouth and dashed back outside to be sick in a bush.

Galerion followed and watched her as if she were some spectacle, his expression a mix of distain and amusement. "What is the matter with you?" He laughed with such false incredulousness that she was certain he was behind it.

As soon as she could speak, Lilaena told him he was making her sick. "You caused this," she choked, tears still flowing uncontrollably. "Get away from me. Leave me alone!"

Galerion waved her off, robes swishing. "You're not pinning this on me," he snorted, as if he found her accusation strangely hilarious. "I didn't cause this."

"You're making me sick. You - you probably poisoned me last night. You'd better get me something to fix it, too, or you'll be the next one to disappear. I'll make sure they all know what you've done!"

"Did you just threaten me? Dear child. I am quite sure I cannot cure what you have contracted. It is not my… field of expertise. And I most certainly am not responsible for it." His tone was one of sarcasm.

"Mannimarco didn't do this to me! He would never hurt me!" She knew she sounded to this prominent mage like nothing but a hysterical little girl in denial. She didn't care. She refused to believe he would have done anything to bring her harm.

Galerion rolled his eyes and sighed. "You're excused from your duties for today. Go back to your quarters and get some rest. Let's hope you're feeling better tomorrow."

Lilaena returned to her room feeling sick, sad and frustrated. She managed to choke down a few pieces of bread and went to lie down. As much as she wanted to sleep, her mind wouldn't allow it. She finally dozed off only to be awakened by a vivid nightmare about her former mentor being hunted by mercenaries. She had saved him from a vicious beating and carefully covered him with blankets to take him by horse drawn cart to a healer, but upon arriving, when she pulled back the blanket, he was dead. She sat in her bed and cried, again. She wanted to know what had become of him, to put her mind at ease. As upsetting as it was to think he might have willingly abandoned her, it was better than being left to wonder if he was suffering - if he was even alive at all.

It was highly out of character for Lilaena to be caught in such a state of despair. Even under the circumstances, she would normally have been able to carry on as though nothing was amiss, saving the worry and gloom for times when she could afford to indulge in such things. She tried to distract herself with her studies, but her mind was foggy. She couldn't concentrate. Her thoughts kept wandering back to Mannimarco and the many unpleasant scenarios that might explain his absence. And every time she thought of him, the tears would come again. Her chest hurt, which she surmised was probably from all of the sobbing. It felt as though she'd spent all day hauling piles of iron ingots.

The next morning, she awoke to the same symptoms as the day before. Her mysterious illness actually seemed to be getting worse. She was sick twice before she even left her quarters. She collected her thoughts and forced herself to walk to her former master's study. It was empty. She sat in his old chair and put her head down on the table, more tears sliding down her cheeks.