Lessons continued for the next week, until Leo arrived in my room. He had knocked, but by then I was already awake, unable to find rest while the shadows swallowed the deepest corners in spite of the gentle light tucked by my bed.

"May I come in?" I heard Leo ask, I opened my mouth, trying to find how to answer him. "I have your meal." He said, closing the door behind him, and with the tray in hand, remained standing by the door. "It's something different, you've been taking to the meals well enough so…Yuna and Hawkins thought you'd be able to find a sandwich appetising."

I stared at him the whole while he approached, and with a tentative care he placed the tray down, then took a few steps back after scooting it closer to me, "it's a very simple sandwich though, just some meat with cheese, there's also a salad and some bread." He had given me more space, basically back to the door where he stood and folded his hands behind his back. I waited for him to move, to twitch with eager cruelty before gathering my food and taking it away.

But, he only stood, keeping his gaze down, his hands behind his back, waiting. I inhaled and then began to eat, I picked apart the sandwich, nibbling each part with fervour. "Next sandwich you should try eating all of it at once." Leo mentioned, "that's my favourite way to eat one."

"Was I supposed to eat it like that?" I asked, picking at the greens before me.

"No, but it tastes good." I blinked up at him.

"I like this food."

Leo smiled, showing a bit of flesh with his white teeth. "Me too."

"Do you like to read, my friend?"

"Friend?" I asked Leo, looking up at him with scepticism.

He nodded, seeming unfazed with a soft expression. "Indeed, you enjoyed the food I prepared."

"What?" It was difficult to blink through my mumble. "You—made this for me?" With a glance down at the empty plate.

"Yup, and I'm honoured that you enjoyed my food so thoroughly. But that's a pretty small thing to be excited about. Especially since I can bring you a book if you'd like?"

"I don't know how to read that well…" A hard knot in my throat made it difficult to form the words.

"Why not start now then? I imagine Lady and Lordship Anshel will allow you pretty much anything you asked for." He paused, "you're safe here." With a hum I pushed away the annoying pout that trembled with my lip.

Leo did return with books, something simple that he placed at the foot of the bed. I reached for one when he stepped away, it was a learning book, with letters, and numbers. "Do ya' know your alphabet?" He asked, and I nodded. "Numbers?"

I nodded again. "I was taught. But big words are hard to find out how to say." He nodded with my whisper.

"I understand, this book," he tapped the back of his finger upon the old cloth binding. "is a dictionary, it has pretty much every type ya' could want. There are other editions too, but this one is fer people learning Alvarian for the first time."

"Elenice mentioned that before, what is an Alvarian?"

"Us." He said, pride unhidden with his smile, he pointed to his ears that wiggled with his gesture.

"Are there others that aren't Alvarians?"

"Yes, they're called Humans, or Rutharians. But that's 'nother lesson, ya' should spend yer time reading." He said.

"Will books teach me more?"

"Yup!" He slowly sat at the end of the bed, moving a book away from the edge. "Books have a huge amount of knowledge. That can teach ya' anythin'." I opened the dictionary then pushed myself back against the headboard. Leo stayed for most of the day, but eventually left me for the remainder of dusk. Where I continued to read and fell asleep with the book beside me, nearly finished.

Chike arrived first, a blank scowl glaring down at me when I woke. I startled briefly before I sat up, and rubbed my eyes before I turned away from him onto my stomach. "Hey, don't ignore me." He said, with hardly an interest of acknowledgement, I pulled the covers over my head. "Hey, Kid, have you been reading these?"

I turned my head, "re-reading. Leo hasn't brought new ones." My words were muffled by the pillow.

"How many times have you read this? Kid?" Chike had moved to shake my shoulder.

"Twice." I said.

"Setria…" he gasped.

"Why?"

"Nothing, anyway, I've been sent to fetch you…Yuna and Hawkins are waiting" Chike sounded dazed slightly. "Do you need help getting ready?" I inhale slowly.

"No." I sat up and reached for my crutches.

Once I returned I found Chike leaning upon the table. His arms crossed, he wore a long-sleeve green jacket over a black-buttoned shirt. Grey pants were belted to his waist with green shoes covered by the hem.

"Finally…" he sighed. "Come on." He said as he stood. He stood by the door and gestured for me to follow, which I did. Trying to swallow the pounding ache in my ears and heat settled against my palms.

Chike led me through the halls quickly, hardly stopping to check how far I had fallen behind until I lost him at a flight of stairs. Where he stood, already at the bottom and staring up at me with a raised brow. He inhaled slowly, walking up until he stood beside me and crouched.

"Come, we don't—" I turned away from him and lowered myself to the floor. "Hey, you're going to—"

"Go away." I said.

I heard Chike audibly sigh, "give me your crutches." He stooped to pick them up and waited for me at the bottom. He grabbed under my arm and with a clean yank, pulled me up. I swatted him away when I grabbed my first crutch, breathing hard with exertion. "Fine—" Chike scoffed, raising his arms while he stomped off down the hall.

His muttering was drowned by the large foyer, the carpets were expansive, and I felt small when I looked up at the glass ceiling. The walls were supported by grand pillars tied down by thick vines that blossomed into multi-petalled flowers, yellow in colour that carried a muted scent. The gentle yet spicy smell of Chike was far more fragrant even with him waiting by the end of the hallway.

"Why do you smell so strong?" I mumbled.

"Is it really necessary to insult me?" He smiled through frustrated scoff, and I looked towards the floor. Observing the continued intricacy of vines, flowers, anything green and beautiful. It didn't help the unease that I felt, or the frustration angling Chike's shoulders further until we reached a grand door carved from metal and still in the motif of plants, to continue.

It would have left me awestruck if my stomach wasn't twisting in horrible knots from the pain in my hip and how Chike opened the doors with a slow gesture as if I was walking into a terrible choice. "Don't mess this up." He said and followed behind.

Hawkins, Yuna, and Elenice were standing in front of a grand seat, carved into a vast, almost red, deeply rooted tree. The blossoms from it were pink, bright, and made the air buzz with power which shivered almost uncomfortably down my spine.

The room was white stone, with black veins splintering and shattering the void monotony and vanishing between wide, complicated windows. The main hall was large, warm, and we passed under empty pews of seats, the stairs were hidden on the far wall. Long, purple flowers consumed the railings they hung from, and far above was silver trimming merging from the coloured-glass down into the decorative carvings of eight people equipped with various weapons; from a man with a pair of large fists crossed over his chest, to a woman who posed her hands a top a great-axe.

At the base of the unnamed statues were long cylindrical shaped flowers amidst an abundance of grass. The rich-green stems dragged up from the ground and weighed upon each other. The bunches of flowers clumped together and were different colours, from white, to dark pink, and a mixture of both in-between. The room predominately smelled like Chike's savoury spice, who had stopped at the end and stood before his parents.

His father was a towering man, his brown skin and short black hair strikingly perfect. Green eyes stared down at me like I wasn't even worth being focused upon, and they moved towards Chike for only a glance, a regard that I couldn't decipher without feeling like I would incur wrath upon me. Chike shared the same expression of disinterest, but his eyes were searching over me, continuously picking away at how my clothes were still too large for me, how I leaned on my crutches nearly wheezing while trying to catch my breath and adjust myself away from the pain aching through me.

I shuffled away from them. Startling wholly when Yuna stepped towards me, whispering quickly. "Here, let's help you to the floor."

Elenice looked down at me with pity before she spoke, and I sat on the floor with Yuna still kneeling in front of me. "We are gathered here to grant you a boon immortal graced upon to us by our Ever-Mother Setria, Goddess of Life and Giver of Names. I, Queen Elenice Unafey-Leafet-Sigurd, oversee the burning passion within you, and grant you a name worthy of carrying the burden of destruction." Yuna's jaw clenched, her grin was stringent but her softness remained wholly upon me.

"Ladyship Anshel."

She reached for my hands, her warmth gentle as she rubbed my knuckles. "I welcome you to the Divinity of Fire Mage, Raymond Arthur Nada. May you use its power to warm the hearts of the people around you and purify the wicked demons plaguing the weakened." I stared at her, then glanced up at Hawkins, who bore a proud smile. Chike's brow was pinched, until I realised what she had said.

"A name?" I blinked, looking towards Hawkins again, who had somehow spread his smile wider. I was stuck trying to find my words. "It's a name?" I asked again, Yuna reached up slowly, brushed away a tear that fell down my cheek.

"Do you like it?"

My vision was blurring with the tension in my throat. "Why? Why have you—I can't repay—"

"Hush, now." Yuna said, pulling my gaze up to hers with a lift of my chin. "You don't have to repay a priceless gift." She tutted, brushing her fingers through my short hair.

I gasped aloud, leaning heavily against the palm stopped at my cheek, Yuna leaned, pressing her lips against my forehead briefly before she rested her brown upon mine and smiled. "Hello, Raymond." She whispered.

I coughed out a loud cry, the whine gasping up my throat as I raised my fists to my cheeks to stop the overflow of tears pouring from my grimace. Yuna had pulled my close, her hug tight as I buried my sobs against her neck and clutched at her shirt.