Hazel eyes stared up at mine, welling up with fear, but with a sense of eagerness bubbling below it. It was understandable though. The grand hall is a mess of eccentric gold trims and red velvet carpeting; Us mages are very subtle. She calmed down once Ruby put her arm on her shoulder, it’s amazing how fast she works. This girl just became a mage, and Ruby has already declared her as her next child. “Go on sweetie. He’s part of our team, and he’s going to help you get situated here.” Ruby nudged the girl to come towards me. I met her halfway and extended my hand.

“Nice to meet ya! You don’t have to give me the doe-eyed treatment, I’m not gonna hurt ya...not yet anyway.” I laughed, and the girl shrunk away from me. “Relax. I’m just kiddin’ I would never hurt a teammate.” The girl turned to look at Ruby who nodded.

“I’m Layla.” Her voice shook with each syllable.

“Layla..what a pretty name for a pretty girl. I’m Ruslan, but most of the mages call me Garnet except for-”

“RUSLAN”

“Ah, there she is..”

Yev, or Diamond as everyone else called her, had finally bothered to make her appearance. “Stop flirting with the new recruit. Your job is to train her, not seduce her. Her gorgeous green eyes sneered at me like snakes ready to strike, but her discontent seemed not only to be directed at me but at our new member. She wasted no time in introducing herself.

“I’m Diamond and the leader of this group. I will be taking you to the throne room to meet Grandmaster, who is our mentor, and the leader of the mages.” She sighed heavily. “Grandmaster likes us to be as diligent as possible, so be prepared to go on a mission in the next few days.” Layla’s eyes widened, and her breathing sounded more forced.

“In a few days?! I haven’t even- I haven’t.” Her breathing went from strained to beleaguered as she spoke. I started to walk towards her, but Ruby reassured her before I even finished lifting my foot.

“Don’t worry, that is ample time. Diamond is an excellent trainer, and I’m sure that Grandmaster will give us more time due to...recent events.” Ruby’s voice trailed off with those words. She couldn’t bear to look at Yev. I was only able to muster a quick glance, her eyes were pierced with grief. No one said anything for what felt like hours but was probably only a few seconds. Yev broke that silence, as duty-driven as ever.

“Come on, Grandmaster will be waiting for us.” She turned and rushed out the door. Layla faulted for a moment but scuttled after her soon enough. Ruby and I exchanged knowing glances, then followed in pursuit of the two of them.

Our footsteps echoed through the empty hallway, acting as a drumroll to Grandmaster’s reveal. That undertone of excitement crept back on Layla’s face, but it disappeared whenever Yev glanced back to see if she was still following her. As the entrance of the throne room came into my line of sight, my heartbeat quickened, but not for myself.

When we entered the room, the light was blinding. The ceiling light was reflecting off the gold throne in a gaudy, twinkling display. Grandmaster stared us down but said nothing. Yev walked towards him and knelt down.

“Grandfather. Ruby has initiated our new recruit, and we are ready and eager to hear your orders.” Grandmaster smiled at her as she rose.

“Now child, don’t be so formal. Ah! So you must be Layla, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am glad that you will be joining such a skilled group of warriors. Now then.” He cleared his throat and Yev stiffened. “Since we now have a Sapphire warrior, you are ready to go on a mission. There is a herd of Manx encroaching on a daycare, so I want the four of you to stop their movements, either by getting them to flee or attacking them, whatever you feel is appropriate.”

“So when would we be going?’

“Now.” Yev gawked at him, her anger bypassed her better judgment.

“What?! You can’t be serious. This girl doesn’t even-” Grandmaster slammed his fists down on his arm rests. “That is enough. It is your duty to fight. Children’s minds are at risk here, and you dare say you aren’t ready? Who is to say that they are ready to be taken over by those heathens.” Yev backed down and locked her anger back where she thought it belonged. Ruby had rushed Sapphire out into the hallway so she could breathe again. When I went back out into the hallway, Sapphire looked invigorated, boisterous even.

“Well, that was a stunning change. You went from shaking like a leaf, and heaving like a fat person on a treadmill, to this. What happened?” Sapphire sighed, the corners of her mouth turning upwards.

“While I am scared, this is all I’ve ever wanted: A purpose. I’ve always been in the background, but this is my chance to be the main character.”

“Easy there. Who said you were the main character in this story? For all you know, you could be my love interest.” Ruby rolled her eyes at me, but Sapphire blushed, covering it up with a “tsk”.

Suddenly, the doors swung open, and Yev emerged, glaring at Sapphire. “Alright. We have five minutes to get our shit together before we leave. So, Layla, you are getting a crash course in how to fight, and if you don’t absorb all of it, I’m not taking responsibility when we inevitably have to save you .” At this point, Sapphire had managed to muster up some courage.

“That’s fine. I don’t want your bleach blonde hair anywhere near me. It’s probably poisonous, I mean, look at what it did to your attitude.” I whistled and Ruby sputtered out a laugh. At that point, I knew I wanted to protect her. 

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A/N- "Faceting" is the process of cutting/shaping a gemstone