It was a bright sunny day, and it felt like it was going to be a pleasant morning. Iris Elaine decided to clean, which was unlike her, and she couldn’t figure out why she was in the mood to do so. Maybe it was because the sky was so clear, the air was clean and the world outside was filled with pleasant sounds. She woke up in the morning and suddenly decided that she wanted to clean up the place, and had opened all the windows, and got stuck into some chores.

House fairies stood on the table and tilted their heads in confusion as Iris didn’t normally do the housework; the house was kept neat by eight of them usually. The sheets were always fluffy and smelled like sunshine. The fragrant tea scent always awoke Iris from sleep, and the morning sun, penetrating the curtains was always soft and gentle. There was nothing Iris needed to touch.

“Your cleaning is perfect, but,” Iris looked into the vial and turned to the house fairies, “I still have to clean up the vials. I always tell you to clean the vials too.” She smiled and thanked them anyway, and the house fairies smiled back proudly with their different faces.

“There always seems to be more and more every time. The last time you cleaned the vials was two hundred and twenty-two days ago! And it was over four hundred days before that!” Iris complained, in a slightly annoyed tone.

The babbling house fairies flinched their shoulders at the fierceness in her eyes and then they scattered, mumbling that they suddenly remembered things they had to do.

Iris began checking the labels of the vials again. It was a mess. What’s even written on there? She tried to see what she’d written down with her bad handwriting, by holding the label in the sunlight. A house fairy flapped and sat on her shoulder. It was Leiden, the first house fairy created by Iris. Leiden was first created when Iris learned life-creation magic when she was in the Magic Tower. He was also the creature with the most magical powers.

“What can I do for you, Leiden?” She asked him softly.

“Is something wrong?” He blurted out.

“Why do you think that?” She knew that he knew that every time she cleaned the house there would be a bad visitor. “It’s not like that today.” Iris put down the bottle of medicine she was looking into and didn’t say anything for a while. Then she continued in a rather low voice. “It’s such a nice day and it reminds me of the day I met my teacher.”

*

Iris Elaine was twenty-eight years old this year, but her life has been tough. She was born as a count’s maid, in an empire where the treatment of illegitimate children was harsh, and she lived a life like a maidservant. The first time her life changed dramatically was in the spring when she turned twelve. Two burning wagons arrived at the mansion she was serving. The flaming carriages were, as everyone knew, a symbol of the Magic Tower.

The Count’s family were very nervous when the wagon of the Magic Tower appeared. It was an honor for the family to have someone that knew how to use magic. If the eldest son, the first, their heir, entered the Magic Tower and bore the spirit of the wizard, the family would continue to have a prosperous life. It didn’t matter actually, whether it was the second or a third son either. It would be a little unfortunate if it was the youngest daughter, but still, a woman that knew how to use magic was always in demand in the marriage market. There was nothing to lose either way. It was then that the Count gathered the four siblings; the eldest, the second son and third sons, and the youngest daughter, and hurried down to meet the messenger of the Magic Tower.

“The teacher has gone to see the apprentice.” The man standing in front of the wagon said calmly. The man, with a red hood covered around his eyes, must be a follower of the Magic Tower.  The man continued, “I heard that the followers strengthen their magical power by diminishing their senses as much as possible. They don’t hug, shake hands, eat delicious food, or listen to good music until they have some freedom to be able to deal with their magical powers. They focus their senses solely on magic.”

The Count was puzzled by the man’s attitude. The followers of the Magic Tower were not polite to the aristocracy. They were individual beings who were completely separated from class society. But the Count was still offended because he had nevertheless secretly expected them to be polite to him. He couldn’t show it though because their respective counterparts were limited to the higher members of the Magic Tower royalty. They showed courtesy to royals, not because their opponents were royalty, but rather, because royals were born with magic.

“What do you mean, an apprentice? All my children are here?” said the Count with a look of confusion on his weather-worn face.

The follower was silent for a moment. But it wasn’t long before he answered. “There must be no apprentices here.”

He couldn’t see the eyes of the man because of his deep hood, but he could hear by his voice that he was frowning. The Count was bewildered as he asked, “Where is the apprentice if none of my children are chosen? I don’t think you’ll be able to find one anywhere!”