Ronan could not sleep all night while thinking about the principal’s words. On one hand, he knew that the right choice to make was to give up on learning fire spells. However, humans were irrational creatures driven by emotion, and Ronan’s emotions did not let him let go of the obsession so easily.

Hence, the next day, Ronan decided to talk about the matter with Percy and take his opinion on it. He knew his brother would give him the most frank and unbiased opinion, which, in turn, would help him come to a conclusion. Hence, during lunch break, he approached Percy’s table, sitting beside him.

Percy raised an eyebrow when he saw Ronan come beside him; his head down, staring at the lunch plate, not looking at Percy even once. For a moment, Percy thought his little brother loved the sweets given for lunch today and had come here to silently ask for it. Hence, being the elder one, he silently slid the sweets in his plate, smiling at his little brother.

Ronan instantly gulped the sweets and looked towards Percy with a satisfied expression. He said, “I need to ask you something.”

Right when Ronan said this, Percy’s eyes turned crimson as he glared at the other Green House students sitting beside him. Within seconds, the entire table was emptied.

Percy’s eyes returned to normal as he said, “Speak.”

Ronan replied awkwardly, “You know how I’m not much suited for fire wielding like you, father, and grandfather because I’m more of a thunder element user. I was wondering if it’s okay to learn thunder spells…”

Percy answered while taking a bite of his food, “Of course you have to learn thunder spells. Why would you even want to learn fire spells when it’s inferior to thunder?”_.

Ronan weakly replied, “Because I’m a Draco… I don’t want to be the black sheep of our family.”

Percy listened to Ronan’s answer, his eyes widening in surprise. He put down his cutlery and looked square into Ronan’s eyes.

After a while, he gave a kind smile to Ronan as he said, “Your eyes…they are the same as our mother, you know…and your face is the spitting image of Dad. It’s almost like he made a clone of himself with you. However, your eating habits of sneaking sweets when no one is looking is just like grandpa Augustus, while your fascination with learning about the origins of various spells is like our grandmother.

“What makes you a Draco is not what element you were born with, Ronan. You have the upbringing of our family and the blood of our ancestors. You are literally the darling of our family! If anything, you will be the most spoilt, but you will never be the black sheep.”

Listening to this answer, Ronan’s eyes became watery. It seemed like he was worrying about a very useless thing.

However, Percy’s next question hit him right where it hurt, “Why are you only level 28, Ronan? Is school making you complacent, or is being the best in your year enough for you? Do you plan to surpass me this way? These are the questions you should worry about… Think about it, brother.”

Percy left the table after saying that, as he felt his heart ache at being too harsh on the little one.

However, it was necessary for him to be harsh on Ronan. The kid was such a monstrous genius, to see him waste his talents was a pain.

Although Ronan felt incredibly frustrated over the same fact that Percy pointed out, he knew it was true.

Every single day Ronan felt his heart ache at the fact that he was not achieving anything tangible. But now, with his inner demons regarding the pursuit of fire spells being resolved to some extent, he might progress rapidly if everything worked out well.

Just as Ronan was about to stand up from the table as well, he saw a small chit placed at the location where Percy was sitting. It had the following words written, “Winter Games: Over the top battle royale – 1st year VS the 2nd year. Show me your strength there, brother.”

It was a challenge! Percy issued him a challenge right before the winter break would roll around in December, four months from now.

Looking at that piece of paper, Ronan felt his blood pump again. He had something to dash towards. However, as he was resolving his mind, he heard a girl’s voice.

“A love letter?”

Ronan turned to see that the same girl who was pissing him off in the library was here again.

“No.” Ronan replied as he turned and started to walk away.

However, much to his dismay, Maddy followed him, saying, “Oh, come on! You are so handsome, you must get confessions everyday.”

Ronan replied in a bored tone, “Not interested.”

Maddy giggled, “Why are none of them your type? Oh! Oh! Oh! Tell me, tell me, tell me! What is your type…”

Ronan had now reached the limit of his patience.

“Not annoying like you.” He replied while walking away.

This reply completely stumped Maddy. She stopped in her tracks and stood rooted to the spot she was standing on, not believing what Ronan said.

Didn’t boys usually like highly energetic girls who were cute and laughed at all their jokes? Then why was Ronan annoyed? Why did he not give her any attention? Was she not pretty enough?

Maddy felt her emotions run wild as a tears formed in her eyes. She puffed her face.

“Rude.”

Unfortunately, Ronan was not around to hear that comment. Maddy could only run to her dorm in shame and defeat.

■■■

(Meanwhile in Avalon)

The northernmost village of Srinagar was having a normal day. Children played on the streets and farmers ploughed their fields. However, suddenly, a loud explosion was heard near the village’s entrance.

The men of the village rushed towards the explosion site while the women ran to get their children and be on guard for anything untoward.

7 men dressed in full black gear, wearing snakeskin masks, engaged in a fight with the village security.

The moment the reinforcements from the village men arrived, with the farmers carrying sickles and the blacksmiths holding their hammers, the snakeskin men slowly started to retreat, using powerful spells to create a distance between themselves and the villagers.

When the dust settled and questions about the incident were asked, it was discovered that the unknown men had targeted the village outpost, their sneak attack costing the lives of two outpost guards in what could only be classified as a dastardly terrorist attack.

The village was naturally on guard now, as they expected an imminent invasion. News about the incident was written in an official document by the village chief, and the fastest rider in the village was given it to deliver the message to the king at the fastest pace possible.

Although it was the first incident, it won’t be the only one or the last, as the peace and stability of Avalon was going to be affected for a long time now.

/// E/N : Like the chapter? Why not leave a comment at the end to encourage the author? 🙂///