[A Fractured Song] - Chapter 11 - Fantasy, Isekai (Portal Fantasy), Adventure

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Edana turned, one eyebrow arched. “Pardon?”

“I read one of the books.” Frances’s trembling hands put down the book she was holding, and wrapped around her elbows. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep last night and was looking for something to read. I was so tired and distracted that I just grabbed a book and started reading because it was so interesting and only then did I realize that I had read a book from that shelf.”

Edana stared at her student. She didn’t look angry, but Frances didn’t know how long that would last.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Edana asked, quietly.

“I was scared!” She sobbed. Frances sniffled, trying to wipe her tears. “I didn’t trust you when I should have and I’m sorry, and I know that sounds like an excuse, and it is, but I—I didn’t want you to hate me but I was so afraid of trusting you! But I ended up betraying your trust and I’m sorry I was just so scared that you’d h—”

Frances just managed to clamp her hands over her mouth, her blurry eyes wide as she looked up at her mentor.

Edana knelt, putting her staff down, and shuffled up to Frances’s corner. She looked… confused, and somewhat wary. Reaching into her robes, she pulled out a handkerchief and held it out.

Frances carefully took it and wiped her face with it, watching Edana.

“Frances, you read the book by mistake, right? Which book was it?” Edana asked.

“On the Performance of Shield Magic and Its Dangers,” Frances whimpered, pointing to where she had put it.

“Huh, that explains why it was there. I thought I put it in the wrong place.” Edana exhaled slowly. “I’m not mad, Frances. It was an honest mistake and you told me anyway.”

That made Frances straighten up, so suddenly that she winced at how the bruises on her back contracted.

“But I should have told you right away and I broke the only rule you ever gave me? And you’re… not mad?”

“You broke it by mistake.” Edana shifted herself so she was now sitting cross-legged. “I am more concerned about why you didn’t tell me earlier. I’m more worried about why you are so scared of me.”

Edana’s calm, questioning voice brought Frances’s gaze up, at least for a second. She immediately looked back down.

“I panicked. I didn’t want to be punished. Like I should be. I’m sorry,” she whispered. What could she say? That above all else, she dreaded the very thought that the person who showed her the most kindness would punish her for something that she deserved?

Her mentor seemed to start at that, and Frances cringed but found herself frowning.

Because Edana seemed to be shocked, and her eyes had suddenly moistened. As if she was about to cry?

“Why do you think you should be punished, Frances? It was just a mistake. And… do I scare you that much? Is there something I did? Something I said?”

“Of course not. It’s my fault. I broke your trust, broke your only rule, and didn’t tell you until now.” A thought crossed Frances’s mind and her hold around her knees relaxed. “You’re not going to punish me?”

Edana shook her head emphatically. “I would not do that for a mistake that you confessed to me. And even if I did, what were you thinking I would do?”

Hit me? Throw me into a closet? Leave me without food? Isn’t that what happens to bad girls like me? Frances thought.

And yet, Edana continued to stare at her in confusion.

She really wasn’t going to hit her. That realization was so… odd that Frances found herself staring at her master, her mind blank at that epiphany.

“I… sorry. I was silly and I panicked,” she murmured finally.

Edana wiped her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Alright, I sense you won’t tell me, so let me clarify a few things. First of all, if you do something wrong, Frances, I will not hurt you. The punishment I will give will be something like… correcting the mistake you made, doing extra homework, fixing any damage you inflict, things like that. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

Frances stared at her mentor. Promises could be broken, but Edana had a stern, no-nonsense look to her face. She wasn’t smiling, but Frances was inclined to believe the mage.

“Oh.”

“Second of all, you say you broke my trust. However, I would say you telling me this despite how scared you are has reinforced my trust in you.”

That dropped Frances’s jaw open. “It… it does?”

Edana nodded. “Yes. I only ask that you try to trust me. Slowly. It doesn’t have to be all at once, but I want to help you, Frances. Do you believe that?”

Oddly enough, Frances found that she did. It was a small, strange feeling to believe that the woman across from her did want to help her, did want to see her succeed. A day ago, she wouldn’t have thought so, but Edana hadn’t been angry even once after all of this. She hadn’t even tried to touch her without permission, aside from moving her from the library to her bed on the first night, but that had been nice of her.

And so, Frances found herself nodding to that.

“Yes, Master. I… I do believe you.”

“Well, that’s a start. So let me make this very clear.” Edana leaned forward a bit, smiling tiredly. “I forgive you.”

She couldn’t remember the last time an adult had said those words to her. So it took her a full second for her to understand that her mentor had forgiven her. Another second was needed for Frances to shut her eyes and wipe them with the edge of her sleeves.

“Thank you, Master Edana,” she croaked, just managing to get herself under control. Crying from being forgiven? That would be unnatural.

“You’re welcome, Frances,” she said, getting up and going back to her book.

Leaving Frances watching her master’s back, unsure what to think, a light, fluffy feeling in her heart despite how confused she was.

Because even if she wasn’t sure why she believed Edana wasn’t going to hurt her, she was beginning to trust her master… and that felt right.

Author's Note: Good news, I am working on the third arc, but the problem is that I realize that if I need to keep my update buffer, I'm going to need some more time. Thus, I'm switching to a Monday and Thursday weekly update schedule.

On that note, do you like this fluffy feeling you're getting? XD