“We are gathered here today to determine the academic fate of Evelyn James.” He paused, scanning the room. Two of the representatives from Bosany weren’t even human. They were some sort of gray, humanoid, looking species. They glared at Evelyn, and she shuddered under their dead eyed gaze. She glanced over at the Epiwith’s box, and noticed one alien. The alien was of the same species as the one that she had maimed earlier. She immediately hoped that they weren’t related. Thinking back, she realized that even the majority of the guards weren’t human. This world was more diverse than she first realized.

“President Mazikeen Morningstar of Bosany, you may present your argument first,” he commanded and turned towards her, head listed to one side. President Morningstar elegantly brushed her chestnut curls over her shoulder and fluttered her long lashes. Her angular cheekbones helped give her a naturally menacing face; stunning, but deadly.

“Of course, Leader Vordur.” Her voice was deceivingly soft, but Evelyn could tell that she had darkness lurking in her, beneath all the pleasantries.

“Bosany School of Dark Magic, would like to train Miss Evelyn James. She would be a valuable asset to our school and Dark Magic alike. Only at Bosany, can she get the education she requires. Epiwiths cannot not suit her needs.” President Morningstar stopped, momentarily smirking at the President of Epiwiths. His pleasant facade faded, and his lips twisted into a unhappy scowl. President Morningstar looked pleased and continued.

“At Bosany, we will teach her to control her Dark Magic, and how to safely use it. Epiwiths will not provide such essential teachings.” She leaned on the edge of the box, and gave a pointed stare to President Woodside, “What will happen if her Dark Magic spirals out of control? How can the school of Light Magic teach her how to not harm others and still use it? Light Magic is far inferior to Dark Magic. It’s less of a threat. If we are allowed to teach Miss James, we will be protecting society as a whole.” She stepped away from the edge and crossed her arms, finished speaking, and happy with the points she made. They were valid, and they even made Evelyn consider going there. The other representatives from Bosany nodded approvingly at Mazikeen’s speech, and seemed to be whispering their praises to her.

The representatives from Epiwiths were murmuring amongst themselves as well, most likely trying to find some counter arguments. Hillary was included in the conversation, gesturing largely with her hands, and Evelyn became extra curious about the discussion. With nothing else to do, Evelyn began to absentmindedly mess with her sleeves, pushing them up and playing with the hem of the cuff. When she happened to look down at her left arm, she saw that the blood from earlier was still there, and her heart jumped. She quickly yanked the gray sleeves back down to cover it up before anyone could notice. Internally she kicked herself for not remembering, and on the outside her ears burned in embarrassment. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

After a brief period of whispering, Leader Vordur coughed, and the buzzing became silent. “Are you finished President Morningstar?” he appeared to be pleased with her speech, but anxious to continue with the proceedings.

President Morningstar painted on a sly smile and purred, “Yes Leader Vordur. Please, may we hear President Woodside’s case?” She turned to Amenadiel, and gave him an innocent grin. He huffed, and rolled his eyes.

The Leader acted like he was used to this squabbling and said, unfazed, “Yes of course. President Amenadiel Woodside, you may now tell us your side of this case.”

President Woodside bowed his head, a formality that was unnecessary but showed great respect, and replied, “Of course Leader Anexis Vordur. It would be my pleasure.” He stepped to the front of the box and clasped his hands together behind his back. He’s so solemn Evelyn thought to herself.

Just then, she heard President Morningstar snicker and whisper to her fellow representatives, “What a stick in the mud.” The aliens surrounding her giggled softly.

President Woodside stopped and gave the President of Bosany a cold stare.

“Do you mind, Maze? This is a matter of utmost importance. I, and the entire courtroom would appreciate it if you kept your immature remarks to yourself,” President Woodside’s voice was deep, and he kept an even tone, though he looked like he wanted to throttle her. His levelheaded comeback made the corners of Evelyn’s mouth twitch upward, and she would’ve shouted, “Ooooo, you just got burned!” if this was a room full of her peers.

President Morningstar’s smugness had dimmed and a grimace had taken its place, along with crossed arms. “Make me, Amy.”

Amenadiel rolled his eyes at her petty nickname for him. “Sister, why must we do this now? Can’t you at least wait until court is over?” he admonished, exasperation and anger lining his tone.

President Morningstar sighed. “Fine, brother o’ mine. We can sort out your...” she waved her hand in his direction, gesturing to all of him, “this...later,” she insulted, a hand resting on her hip.

President Woodside shook his head at his sister’s lack of self control and continued. “Epiwiths School of Light Magic, would like to teach Miss James. We are concerned about the possible consequences if she is taught Dark Magic instead of Light Magic. If she learns Light Magic, she’ll be a larger benefit to society. Learning Light Magic will keep her responses from becoming volatile.” President Woodside snuck a quick glance at Mazikeen, and found she was wearing a dismissive look. “Because she is the first person to possess both Light and Dark Magic, we need to air on the side of caution; if she learns Dark Magic instead of light, she could become destructive and malicious. However, by learning Light Magic, she will be focusing on positive uses of magic, helpful magic, healing magic–”

“Objection! Blood Magic has the power to heal others!” President Morningstar shouted.

“Yes, when it’s not killing them!” interjected Hillary. The President of Bosany folded her arms, not wanting to start an argument defending Blood Magic.

“Please, continue President Woodside,” Leader Vordur requested.

Amenadiel nodded his head. “Essentially, allowing Evelyn to learn Light Magic will keep society and herself safe from the uncertainty of her powers. That is all. Thank you.” He bowed his head again, forever formal.

The Leader nodded. “You may converse for a moment. Do not leave your seats.”

The room became filled with chatter once more, and Evelyn felt hopeful about the possibility of attending Epiwiths.

President Woodside kept bringing up that if she learned Light Magic, she had a better chance of staying in control. I would prefer to learn both types of magic, but that’s not an option. If I had to pick one, I’d feel safest learning Light Magic at Epiwiths. Bosany does seem cool, and so does President Morningstar, but I don’t think I’d like it here. I’m tired of being negative, I want to be positive for once.

Just as Evelyn finished that thought, a loud voice bellowed her name.

“Evelyn James,” The Leader called, making her jump. The rush of noise that had filled the room dwindled down to a trickle. The hair on the nape of her neck stood up.

“Y-yes? Uh-uh Leader Vordur?” she stuttered nervously.

“Come forward,” he ordered. Evelyn took a few tentative steps towards his chair, stopping at the gate separating them. She straightened her posture, and clasped her hands behind her back like she had seen President Woodside do. Leader Vordur smiled kindly and gently shook his head.

“You may enter the gate. It’s okay,” he chuckled. Evelyn’s cheeks flared a bright crimson as she passed through the hinged gateway, the waist high doors swinging shut behind her. She halted a few feet before his throne, fixing her posture once more.

“I’m sorry,” she remembered Hillary’s instructions and added, “sir.” Leader Vordur grinned at her politeness. It had been far too long since a minor had addressed him with such respect.

“It’s fine. Simple mistake. You made up for it in manners.” He paused, leaning forward, bringing his palms together and resting his chin on his fingertips.

“Now, show me some magic!” he requested, beaming widely. His eyes were alight with fascination, like he was studying a new specimen. Evelyn’s heart jumped at his creepy expression, fear snaking down her spine.

“But...I don’t, I don’t know how,” she stammered. Evelyn felt more embarrassed as each second crawled by, Leader Vordur still staring at her, waiting for something to happen. Abruptly, he sat back up.

“Valerie!” he shouted, his powerful voice resonating throughout the room. Hillary looked startled, just as Evelyn had been.

“Yes Leader Vordur?” she answered.

“What magic has Evelyn performed so far?” He waited patiently as Hillary thought.

“Elemental, Necromancy, Blood Magic, Voyaging, and Combat, sir.”

“Hmmmmm, interesting,” he analyzed, stroking his chin, “Do we know what triggered her magic?” he asked quizzically.

“Yes sir,” Hillary confirmed. She hesitated in answering for a moment, not quite sure what to do.

“Well, get on with it!” he instructed her.

“Yes sir, sorry sir,” she apologized. “They were all basic spells as you may assume, and majority of them were triggered by emotional distress. Everything but the Combat Magic was triggered by emotions. The Combat Magic was used as self-defense.” She finished talking and awaited his response. He massaged his temples with his index fingers, eyes fixated on the ground, pondering this information.

“So...her defense mechanism was to use Light Magic, eh? And the majority of the magic she used was Light...interesting.” He tilted his head up to face her, scrutinizing her features. Evelyn fought the urge to scramble backwards, away from The Leader and his judgemental stare.

“Can you...hold fire in your hand? Or any element for that matter?” Evelyn pressed her lips together, considering her answer.

“Um...no sir. I-I don’t think I can. But I think I used fire magic–”

“Elemental.” Leader Vordur interrupted.

“Yes, but I mean I think I used the fire part of it before.” Evelyn cast her gaze downward, rubbing her wrist behind her back.

“Then why can’t you hold fire in your hand?”

“Beca-because I don’t know how I did it. It just...happened,” she defended shakily.

The Leader sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose while the veins in his neck started to jump irritatedly. His mood seemed to fluctuate quickly from pleasant to stressed. “JUST TRY!” he shouted, his face suddenly flushing scarlet. Evelyn heard gasps behind her as she jumped back, the court also frightened by his sudden change of tone. Her fingers started to tremble, and she tried her best to hide her shocked expression. Realizing his mistake, he softened his tone, and requested apologetically, “Just try. Please.”

Evelyn nodded mutely, not trusting her voice to remain steady. She gulped and tried to push down her nerves, willing herself to concentrate for the sake of the sliver of dignity she had left.