[A Fractured Song] - Chapter 12 - Fantasy, Isekai (Portal Fantasy), Adventure

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About two nights later…

Edana locked the door to her room behind her and made for her beau. Once she sat down on the chair, though, she didn’t take off her outer dress but pulled a small crystal from under her drawer.

She waved the crystal over the dresser’s mirror, singing a soft lullaby-like melody, watching the mirror fill with color and solidify into a table filled with men and women holding glasses of wine, or whatever alcohol they preferred.

“Master Edana!” Godfrey exclaimed from across her.

Edana gave her former student a wan smile.“Good evening, Godfrey. I’m sorry I’m late everybody. I was busy trying to fix my student’s bed.”

“A handful is she?” quipped a flame-haired woman to Edana’s left, scarred hands holding a whole bottle of wine

“Oh no, Frances is…” Edana’s voice trailed off and despite her best efforts, she grimaced. “Alice, can I answer your question later, after I get my choice of poison?”

Those at the table seemed understandably confused, and Alice’s eyes narrowed before she said, “Of course.”

Smiling gratefully, Edana reached under the dresser and groaned. She’d forgotten her drink. Grumbling to herself, she was about to get off her chair, when she heard a knock on the door.

“Master? Um, I think you forgot your drink.”

Edana reached for the door and sang a note, unlocking it. “Come in!”

Her student walked in, whistling merrily because she was holding onto a wine bottle and goblet with her hands, whilst a small cask of ale hung in the air behind her.

“I wasn’t sure which one you wanted, Master, so I grabbed wine and the ale.”

“Oh. Why thank you, Frances. You can set them down beside the dresser,” said Edana. As Frances moved to do so, Edana gestured to the mirror. “Frances, these are my friends. You’ve already met Godfrey.”

“Hello!” exclaimed Godfrey.

Frances put the ale cask down and gave a quick curtsey, “Good evening, Master Godfrey.”

“Why aren’t you a well-behaved little girl,” said Alice. “I’m Lady Alice Trollhammer. Pleased to meet you.”

Curtseying again, Frances bowed her head, “Pleased to meet you, Lady Alice.” She shifted herself slightly, looking up. “And you are, sir?”

Edana hadn’t realized that she’d noticed William, who’d been quiet the whole time. He quickly smoothed his black hair and coughed officiously.

“Ah, Lord William, knight of Erisdale. It’s-uh, good to meet you, Frances,” he said.

“Glad to meet you, Lord William.”

“And I’m Igraine of Leipmont, now fuck off,” grumbled the last person on the table. A woman hooded in a daub green cloak to Edana’s left.

Edana whirled on the woman, the view in the mirror centering on her. “Igraine!”

“What?” Igraine whined.

“Of course, miss,” said Frances, bowing and looking entirely nonplussed. “Master, may I take my leave?”

Edana ripped her glare from Igraine and smiled at her student, “Yes, you may. Thank you for bringing me the drinks. Feel free to make yourself some Hearthsange before you go to bed tonight.”

“Really? Thank you, Master! Oh!” Frances curtsied to the mirror, “Excuse me, everybody,” and with that scurried away, shutting the door behind her.

Edana, smiling tiredly, uncorked the bottle and filled her glass. She deliberately ignored the flat stare her former student was giving her. “So, Godfrey, so how is your student?”

“You’re not distracting us that easily, Master—” Edana glanced at her former protege, and he sighed. “Alright alright. Well, my student Jeremy is being quite a handful. Complains a lot about the lack of something called a ‘computer.’ I have to constantly watch him practice his magic or else he’d just run off to ride the horses.”

Alice sighed. “You too? Oh by Amura and Rathron, it’s the same with my student. She says she wants to be a warrior but keeps saying she gets tired and hates running. Says that she wants to be on a diet and doesn’t eat enough— this and that. How spoiled were these Otherworlders?”

Igraine’s eyes narrowed, and her grip on her cup tightened. “One of my students, a girl called Ginny, quit. She summoned herself back home. Said she was sick of the lack of running water and the food was bad, and that she missed her parents.”

Edana winced. She knew her ranger friend was prickly, but she’d been so eager to train the Otherworlders in the craft of ranging.

William snorted. “Although your training would make Amura and Rathron cry, Igraine, I do not think you should blame yourself. That girl did not seem to have her heart in it.”

“Like you said…” Igraine groaned. “Should have listened to you, Will.”

The knight graciously didn’t comment on it and merely smiled. “As for George, he is a good boy, if a bit distracted. I understand why, though. He misses his friends. I think we’ll have to schedule some sessions together to address that.”

All eyes now turned back to Edana, who sipped her cup of wine. Her brow had been furrowed, but one eyebrow rose as she regarded her friends.

“What?”

“Well we talked about our students, it’s your turn now, Edana,” said Alice.

“I—” Edana pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m still trying to organize my thoughts on Frances, to be honest.”

“Well let’s start from the obvious first question. Is she disobedient?” Godfrey asked.

The question prompted Edana to stiffen in her chair. It was innocent enough, but it had arisen an oddly defensive feeling.

“No! You saw her just now. She’s the most polite, considerate and hardworking student I’ve ever had!” she exclaimed.

Igraine slammed her cup on the table. “No way. All of us—all of our colleagues—we are all having trouble with the Otherworlders and you’re saying she’s been a dream student?”

“But she is! She’s an absolute pleasure to teach, but always happy to practice. She hangs on my every word but asks questions if she doesn’t understand the material. I really like her, Igraine.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could realize it. She wouldn't deny or take back what she said, but she felt her brow inch together.

She wasn’t the only one who seemed surprised at her admission, Godfrey was staring at her blankly.

“Master, it’s not even a week since you started teaching her.”

Edana nodded. That was true, but for whatever reason, she did connect with Frances in a manner she hadn’t quite done so with her other pupils. She suspected part of it was because of how determined her newest student was to do her best. However, she knew she had taught other hard-working students.

Rather, Edana suspected her feelings had something to do with how Frances seemed to value everything that she taught her.

“There’s something you’re not telling us,” said William, immediately after. His blue eyes were narrowed.

Edana nodded. “Well… there are warning signs. She insists on cooking me breakfast—”

Alice slammed her tankard back on the table. “Woah, hold up. Edana, have you gone a bit kookoo? Cooking breakfast as a warning sign?”

“Not that! She said that she always did it for her family, but for some reason, she’s not eaten enough. And considering that most of what the Otherworlders have told us suggests that they come from a rich, plentiful world with technology beyond our comprehension, the fact that she was so… so thin just… it doesn’t make sense.”

Edana held up her hand to briefly forestall questions from her curious friends. “Then there was our first lesson. Frances fainted because I told her to do her best and so she drained herself of magic. That… and…” Her shoulders sagged. “My student seems… terrified of me and I don’t know why!”

“Terrified of you? I mean… you’re stern but hardly terrifying,” said Godfrey, perplexed.

Edana felt like she wanted to cry, so she downed another glass of wine.

“I know, or at least I hope so. But she… I can’t reach out my hand without her flinching. If I raise my voice, she jumps. When she ripped a page from a book and curled up in a fetal position. The other day, she couldn’t sleep and while looking accidentally read one of the advanced books I told her not to touch. She was terrified and… she wouldn’t say, but she acted as if I was going to hurt her. When I said I forgave her, she looked so… taken aback by it. Like it’d never happened before.”

The mage heaved a breath and refilled her glass.

Igraine’s eyes were narrowed. “Wait, is there more?”

“Yes.” Edana pinched the bridge of her nose. “Her opinion of herself is so low that she seems completely surprised when I do simple, normal things like, teach her how to sing. I think that was the happiest I’ve ever seen her. Trust… trust seems like a fantastical concept to her. I told her I would trust her to keep her reasons private and she looked at me like I’d grown a second head. And then… I’ve heard it only a few times, but whenever she’s apologizing, she keeps referring to herself as a “bad girl.”

“When she’s the opposite…” muttered Godfrey, an uncharacteristic frown on his features.

Edana nodded fervently. “The oddest thing is… all of your students are homesick in some manner? Or they miss their family, or want to see their friends right?”

More nods and ayes.

“My student barely talks about them, or anybody. It’s like there’s nobody else in her life!” Edana buried her face in her hands. “I mean, am I overreacting? Am I seeing ghosts when there’s nothing there? She’s a model student. A perfect student! But why… why when I look at her, I feel like I need to treat her far more carefully than any other student I’ve ever taught?”

The others glanced at one another, but they had no answer.

“Take heart Edana, maybe she’ll share what is bothering her. I do believe something is on Frances’s mind, but with your care, and concern, she will grow to love you like all of your students,” said Alice.

William was deep in thought. “Your description… reminds me of something I encountered in my travels with the Chief Justice… it was… an ugly situation involving children. I’ve long put it out of my head, but I can check my journal tomorrow.”

That caught her off guard. Will prided himself on little, but as one of the kingdom’s foremost investigators, he was particularly proud of his ability to remember his past cases and details.

“You don’t recall it, Will?” Edana asked.

“No I do, but… I tried for many years to forget it. But what you describe is alarming.”

Edana frowned, as she briefly wondered if she wanted to know. However, her curiosity and concern won out.

“Thank you, Will. It will be greatly appreciated,” she said.

William smiled. “You’re welcome, Edana, but do be careful… from the little I recall, your student is not fine. There’s something wrong with her for sure.”

Author's Note: Am slightly concerned that the last update didn't get much likes but ah well, onward we forge ahead. I know this chapter was a bit filler, but did you enjoy getting into Edana's head and learning more about her circle?