[A Fractured Song] - Chapter 17 - Fantasy, Isekai (Portal Fantasy), Adventure

Cover Art

Summary: 13-year old Frances was summoned with her entire class to the fantastical world of Durannon to fight the monsters invading the human kingdoms. Struggling from the trauma and self-loathing inflicted on her by her abusive parents, how will Frances survive as she is thrust into this war?

[The Beginning] [<=Chapter 16] [Chapter Index and Blurb] [Chapter 18=>]

Before Frances entered her Master’s study, she used her left hand to open the hand mirror she’d bought from the town market with the allowance she had from Edana. Brown eyes stared back, as well as hair that had finally returned to normal. She’d also changed her slightly ozone-smelling white robes to a new set.

Humming softly, she returned the mirror to a pouch she had on her belt, whilst her right hand held onto her wand, which was pointed at a floating tea tray. Continuing to hum to maintain the spell, she knocked on the door.

“Frances?”

“Yes, Master Edana.”

“Come in!”

Frances pushed the door open and floated the tea tray in. By now, she knew her Master’s study so well, she could navigate it in the dark. There were two areas. A work area with a cauldron on top of a burnt and battered desk off the side, where magical potions were brewed. Shelves and cupboards filled most of the walls of the study, which were stacked with books.

Behind a large desk stacked high, though neatly, with letters and documents, Edana sat. In front of this large desk was a seating area, consisting of a large comfy couch, two smaller chairs, and a coffee table.

“Oh, is that chamomile tea?”

“Yes, and bitter-rue biscuits,” said Frances. Made from bitter-tasting blue flowers called Bluebrights, the biscuit was a snack she’d grown to rather enjoy.

“You read my mind,” said Edana, walking over to the couch. No further words need to be exchanged as the pair sat on the couch, grabbed cups and plates, and made themselves comfortable.

Frances waited, quietly nibbling a biscuit.

“So Frances, my dear student, you channeled lightning,” the master grinned. “I am very proud of you, and a bit scared.”

The student blushed, smiled, but also felt like she wanted to sink into the couch slightly. So she did.

“Sorry, Master. I didn’t realize it was so dangerous. I didn’t think it would work, and when it did, I couldn’t help but try doing it again because I couldn’t believe it worked.”

That was something Edana could definitely relate to, and she chuckled. “No apologies are needed. I do want you to give me your notes tomorrow so I can review them, though. The safeguards you had in place were adequate, but the spell will need tweaking.”

Frances gave a short nod and finished a biscuit. She reached for another one and continued to nibble on it, whilst watching her master. It seemed Edana, who was sipping from her tea, was thinking about something. Frances would have liked to know what her teacher was thinking, but she also was quite sure that she’d be told what she needed to know in all due time.

“Frances, I have made my decision on this, but I would like to inform you of a discussion concerning you. You see, I have been corresponding with Prince Sebastian of The Kingdom of Lapanteria, requesting that I send you along on a campaign with the Grand Legion of Lapanteria.”

Frances swallowed, and not because she was finishing the biscuit she held as several thoughts ran through her mind.

First, the hesitant, quiet tone in her mentor’s voice was alarming. She never sounded this uncertain.

Second, the war. Frances was aware that the White Order and the existing human forces were doing their best to hold off the forces of the fae-kin and the Demon King Thorgoth. She’d learned some things about the fae-kin, such as the different species, but not much about the war itself. There’d been so much training to do, which she enjoyed, but it took up much of her time. She was now glad of every bit of it.

Edana continued, noting with no small worry her student had stopped nibbling on her biscuit and her eyes were affixed to hers.

“Since you’re only fourteen, I don’t think you are ready for combat, and I dismissed it out of hand. However, he’s revised his suggestion and will arrive in a few days to try to convince me directly. Instead of being a combat mage, he wants you to join the campaign as a healer.”

“But why me? I’m just… me.”

Edana sighed. “We are fairly desperate for mages. A single sixteen-year-old mage can turn the tide of a battle, or fight off an entire raiding group. Furthermore, as you know, when I took you on as my personal student, I agreed to send reports back to the Human Alliance’s War Council on how you progressed on your training. I also allowed observers from the War Council to view your training and tests.”

Frances nodded. Most of these were knights or other civilian officials who had made a lot of notes on their papers when they watched her practice, or fulfill a test.

“They’ve been comparing your tests to those of your fellow Otherworlder heroes and heroines. Due to your hard work, and sheer talent, you are outperforming the Otherworlder mages in training by a wide margin. Your physical strength and stamina are only average, but as I’ve reminded you, years of malnourishment and trauma will need time to heal.”

Frances blushed at the compliment, but she also found herself sighing. Her weak body had been rather hard to accept and was probably what she was most angry with her parents about.

Edana had ensured Frances got routine physical training. She’d also begun weapons training for her so that she wouldn’t be helpless without her magic or if someone got close. In both, Frances had found her body seemed to hit a wall. It was downright aggravating that other trainees could lift weights so much heavier than hers, or keep running when she felt near collapse.

After feeling miserable for being unable to find an explanation for why she seemed to underperform, Edana had taken her aside and explained to her that it was because of her parents' treatment of her. This had relieved Frances, but for the first time, she’d been so angry at her mother and stepfather. It was an odd feeling, or perhaps it was the right feeling to have? Frances wasn’t sure, but she was glad she now knew the cause.

Edana’s sigh interrupted Frances’s thoughts. “So despite your age, your skills have convinced some of the other War Council members that you would be a prime candidate to start getting involved in the war against the Fae-kin. They hope that you might bring back observations that we might have overlooked and can be applied to training the other Otherworlders. That, and the war is getting desperate. We’ve lost territory, and while we are holding the Fae-kin back, it’s costing us lives. In their minds, even a single powerful healer could make a difference.”

As her teacher paused to sip from her cup, Frances slowly chewed her biscuit.

The war. Always in the background, as she practiced in the courtyard, ate in the canteen, or read in the library. Lately, the whispers had gotten… more worried, about how the halls, apparently once full of mages in training, were empty, about how this mage had been wounded, about how this army had been beaten back.

And meanwhile, Frances couldn’t help but think about how she was safe in the White Order’s castle, whilst others were fighting a war she had been summoned to fight. She couldn’t help but think how much fun she was having whilst others were getting hurt.

“Master, if the war is that desperate, why don’t you let me join as a healer?”

Edana turned to her student so fast, the tea jolted in her cup.

This had been precisely what she was afraid of. That her student would want to go to the front.

“For many reasons. First of all, you’re fourteen. I am not sending a fourteen-year-old to a war zone, even if it is as a healer. Also, I don’t think you’re ready. You are a good healer, but this is a war. If something goes wrong, you’ll have to fight, you’ll have to kill, or else you will be sent back to your world.”

That made Frances pause. She didn’t want to fight or kill anybody. She knew that people got hurt in a war, and if she was killed, she’d be sent back. The very thought of going from Durannon back to Earth, back to her parents' house, made her stomach twist. They had a plan if that happened, but she didn’t want that to ever come to pass.

But still…

“Master, I don’t mean to argue, but I can’t help but notice that you seem very busy of late. Maybe you can get some work done while I go away—”

“I’m fine, Frances.”

Edana smiled when she did so, but Frances had spent nearly every day over the past year with her teacher. She now had a pretty good handle on her mentor’s expressions. Her mentor was very sincere and quite honest with her. Even when she was holding onto secrets, she’d tell Frances she was, or explain that she couldn’t answer her question. While Frances appreciated this openness, it also meant she could tell when her mentor was putting on a brave face. The particular tightness to Edana’s smile, the bags under her eyes, and the way she seemed to sink into the couch instead all confirmed something Frances had suspected for a while.

Her mentor desperately needed a break.

Over the last few months, Frances had increasingly noticed her mentor staying up late after their evening lessons. She knew because whenever she had a bad nightmare and just needed to talk to Edana about it, she could find her in her office, looking at documents. Every day, the older mage downed cup after cup of strong, pungent tea, her special “At Attention,” blend. She was never late for their lessons, but she was finding her mentor frequently napping on the couch in her study before their next lesson. Edana would always wake up and teach her, and then race off to a War Council meeting, a lecture on magic, or back to her study.

Frances truly looked forward to every day, but it hurt and made her rather indignant that Edana wouldn’t trust her. Why could she not trust Frances with her problems? She’d experienced, and seen far worse. Yes, Edana was right about the war’s dangers, which Frances was avoiding. Safe and useless in a castle. Whilst other people and dying on her behalf.

Wouldn’t she be a healer, not a combatant? Why did her Master think she wasn’t ready for that? She’d healed some terrible wounds from those brought back from the front. Unless…

Edana, noticing Frances’s silence, forced herself to smile wider and nudge her student’s shoulder with her elbow. “Truly, I am fine, Frances, and don’t worry. With the war going the way it is, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to contribute, when you are ready that is.”

Frances nodded numbly and muttered. “Of course, Master. I understand.” She didn’t look at her master’s eyes though, because a terrible thought had occurred to her.

What if, her master thought she was useless? Maybe that’s why she needed to put in so much effort into their lessons? Yes, she was doing better than her classmates, but a big part of that was because she was being tutored privately. What if she wasn’t advancing fast enough? And if she wasn’t good enough of a student, wouldn’t Edana eventually get tired of her and take on a better student instead? More talented, without her nightmares, her shyness, her trauma, and her quirks?

A student who sometimes secretly wondered if she was just a waste-of-space who someone had taken mercy on?

A tired, sleep-deprived, Edana, being quite glad that her student seemed to have accepted her reasoning, if a bit reluctantly, relaxed, and refilled her teacup. “Thank you, Frances. Now, I’d love to keep talking to you, but I need to write up the lesson plan for tomorrow.”

Sliding off the couch, Frances bowed. “Thank you, Master, and goodnight.”

“Goodnight Frances,” said Edana, completely unaware of the turmoil gripping her student.

Author's Note: Don't forget to click on the link to my temporary Cover art, which is Frances at 15-16 ish by the extremely talented Earthsong9405. You readers are super consistent in your karma upvoting and that gives me a warm feeling. Here's a fun question for today, I plan to follow Frances for a while (until 21) and am wondering what kind of alcohol she might end up liking. What do you all suggest? Real World examples/alcohol suggestions are totally welcome.