Chapter One - Flint

Flint dashed past Kiara, the housekeeper, fully dressed and backpack ready on his shoulders.

“Now where do you think you’re heading off to, young man? The sun is not even close to rising from the horizon! I was just about to wake you to get prepared, but I see you’re one step ahead of me.”

Flint gave Kiara a shy grin. “Oh you know why I’m up so early. Today’s the day! I couldn’t sleep anyway, so I thought I’d best get ready.”

Flint laughed at Kiara pulled a look of ‘surprise’ and pulled him into a tight embrace. “It’s today? Gosh the time passed so quickly, it completely slipped my mind that you’re starting your first day as a magical student already!” exclaimed Kiara, her short speech given with the grace of a bad actress.

“Oh get off me already!” Flint yelled out jokingly as he pushed Kiara away. Flint gets slightly annoyed by how Kiara loves to treat him like a little boy, even though she’s 20 - only 4 years older than himself. Kiara had light brown hair, and is a few inches shorter than him. She had been the housekeeper of Flint’s family for the past year. Coming from a poor family, she had worked various odd jobs over the past years to raise enough money to enrol into Galdur’s School Of Healers as a healing student. When she got the job at the Leofrid’s residence, she thought the family was nice and the pay was good, which got her to stop her job-hopping ever since.

Kiara laughed off Flint’s push. “Breakfast still isn’t ready yet, tyke. Mind waiting in the kitchen for a bit while I set up the table?”

“Not at all!” Flint replied, face still lit up with his wide smile and his obvious excitement over the coming day. He exuberates joy from his very skin.

Today, Flint was starting his first day as a magical student in Galdur’s School Of Magic. He had worked hard to pass his Theory Of Magic test which allowed him to be enrolled into Galdur’s most prestigious school of magic. His family, with his parents being professors in Galdur’s School Of Magic, are very well off and hence, the extremely pricey fee was of no issue to them.

Flint sat at the table in the kitchen and started snapping his fingers. Not in a rude way, but softly under that table. It was a habit he developed while idling and doing nothing. It just keeps his mind a bit more relaxed because a quiet environment tends to get his mind racing and thinking of random, irrelevant things. Like how the vase that held exotic flowers from the Outer Lands have such intricate runes that didn’t belong to this century, or even the last for that matter. Or how Kiara had this way of humming notes when she moves from one end of the kitchen to the other. She doesn’t hum any particular song, just random notes, but the notes are so harmonious they could have easily been a song. The way she moves in unison with the music is so graceful it seems like..

“Flint!” yelled Kiara from the other end of the kitchen. “Stop daydreaming! I asked you how many pancakes you wanted.” There was a tinge of song in Kiara’s voice.

“Three please.” Flint replied, slightly embarrassed that he didn’t notice her asking the first time.

While waiting for Kiara to make his pancakes, the sun had risen well above the horizon. Flint heard the shuffling of footsteps behind him a few seconds before his parents emerged into the kitchen. Alfred and Theodora Leofrid, two most respected magicians of Galdur who teaches magic at the intermediate level, which means that Flint won’t have them teaching him for another two years. Alfred specialises in offensive magic whereas Theodora specialises in defensive magic. They seem to be the match made in heaven. The dynamic duo. These two were unbeatable in double duels where two magicians face off another pair.

“Oh you’re up early!” Theodora spoke first. Flint’s dad had always been the quieter one. “Undoubtedly excited for your first day, am I right?”

“Yeah, I am.” Flint replied, a bit too bluntly.

“Well, we’re heading off to the school for a meeting before the new students come in today. See you soon then, Flint!” Theodora said, followed by a kiss on Flint’s head, and off the pair went. Straight out the door without another word.

Flint was never really close to his parents. They were always busy, being renowned magicians and all. Teaching magic to students all day, and meetings when they’re not teaching. Flint had grown up mostly alone, and he was okay with that. He didn’t really have any close friends before Kiara came into his life.

“Have your parents left?” Kiara asked as she set the plate of pancakes on the table in front of Flint. Kiara was so obviously occupied with her pancake-making (and humming) to notice the excruciatingly short conversation between him and his parents.

“Yeah they have.” Flint replied. “Thanks for the pancakes! They smell amazing!”

Kiara smiled as she sat beside Flint and watched him as he gobbled down his pancakes ravenously. After he was done eating, Flint said his goodbyes to Kiara and he stepped out the door. It was a new day.