"I really want to slash his head off," Caelum whispered, his eyes narrowed into glares fixed on Aristotle. He reached down, picking up two practice swords, one for himself and one for Elias.
Elias laughed, taking the sword Caelum offered. "The cloak suits you," he commented, admiring the blue fabric Caelum was now wearing, which seemed to drape perfectly over his shoulders.
"It does go well with my hair and eyes," Caelum agreed, a soft smile gracing his features as he ran a hand over the material.
"That it certainly does," Elias replied, returning the gentle smile as they both took their ready stances and began practicing their sword forms.
They both noticed how Arnold, the instructor, kept glancing nervously in Elias's direction, his brow furrowed with concern.
"He's scared the poison might trigger," Caelum sighed, lowering his voice so only Elias could hear.
Elias stopped his movements and walked toward Arnold, gently pulling Caelum along by the hand. "Uncle, do you have a minute?" he asked respectfully.
Arnold looked from Elias to Caelum, his eyes still holding a hint of worry, but he nodded. He took a few steps away from the other students, though not far enough to lose sight of their training.
"Why are you wary of me now?" Elias asked, getting straight to the point, his expression calm but serious.
"I'm not wary of you, Prince Elias," Arnold said, sighing deeply. "I fear the poison acting up again. I heard from Alma about yesterday's incident," he admitted, his voice low with apprehension.
"It has been acting up every day for five months now, Uncle," Elias pointed out, folding his arms across his chest with a weary look.
Caelum, ever vigilant, smoothly took the practice sword from Elias's hand so that he wouldn't accidentally injure himself if a spasm occurred. He then quickly erected a shimmering holy barrier of pale, golden light around the three of them. Just as he finished, a wooden sword hurtled through the air, aimed right at them. "Seriously?" he muttered, a sound of profound annoyance escaping his lips.
The sword harmlessly struck the barrier and clattered to the ground. Caelum immediately canceled the protective spell, making the light fade, and picked up the abandoned weapon. "Who threw the sword?" he demanded, his voice sharp and commanding. As he spoke, he channeled his magic, using the 'ice blade' spell to form a jagged, deadly looking blade made of solid ice in his arms. With a controlled motion, he demonstrated his power by incinerating the wooden sword in his other hand, reducing it to a fine pile of broken ice pieces for all the students nearby to witness.
"He's protective, isn't he?" Elias whispered to Arnold, who was staring intently at Caelum, a look of both awe and slight intimidation on his face.
Arnold broke his gaze and looked at Elias, nodding slowly in agreement.
Caelum turned back around, his ice blade held ready. "My prince, please don't move," he instructed, his tone urgent, as he threw his ice blade directly at Elias's head.
Elias, with absolute faith in Caelum, stood perfectly still despite the deadly looking projectile hurtling toward him.
When Arnold instinctively started to move, intending to intervene, Elias placed a hand on his arm, stopping him.
Caelum's ice blade vanished an instant before it reached Elias and then instantly reformed behind him. It struck a wooden arrow that had been silently loosed and was aimed squarely at Elias's head, shattering the arrow into splinters.
"When did you learn that maneuver?" Elias asked, walking over to Caelum and leaving a thoroughly shocked Arnold rooted to the spot behind him.
"Recently," Caelum replied with a small smirk. "And why are the second years practicing here? This is usually our spot," he added, looking pointedly at Arnold, who finally regained his composure and walked over to them.
"Their literature class was canceled, and the knight who is their instructor took over the time slot and brought them here for training," Arnold explained, recovering his professional demeanor.
"That sword," Elias said, looking at the sword in Caelum's hand, the one that was hurled at them after the holy barrier dropped and Caelum had caught it while destroying the wooden sword. "It has the Ravenloft crest carved at the hilt," he observed, his expression hardening slightly.
"Do the Ravenlofts have a link to your poisoning?" Caelum whispered, his glare returning with full force and settling upon Aristotle, who at that moment realized which sword he had foolishly thrown in Elias's direction.
Elias nodded slowly, his sigh heavy with implication.
"But we can still inform His Majesty about the incident, Prince Elias," Arnold stated, his own glare now fixed on Aristotle.
"Please, keep the report silent until it officially reaches my father, the King," Elias requested, his voice firm.
Arnold nodded curtly, acknowledging the instruction.
Practice resumed, but Caelum and Arnold kept a shared, vigilant watch on the second-year students training alongside them.
The moment the class finished, Elias quickly teleported them both back to their dorm room with a flash of light.
"Poison?" Caelum asked immediately, turning to Elias. Worry was clearly visible in his striking eyes, which searched Elias's face for any sign of distress.
Elias shook his head. "If we had stayed there any longer, I knew you would have been tempted to stab Aristotle," he confessed, a small, wry smile on his lips.
Caelum sighed, a sound of conflicted frustration. "I was tempted, I won't deny it," he admitted. "But I won't do it. Not until we find the antidote for the poison in you," he promised, his voice resolute.
"Then what will you do?" Elias asked, intrigued by the vindictive look forming in Caelum's eyes.
Caelum gave him a slow, utterly vindictive smile, a terrifying sight of cold malice. "I told you, he experiences the same pain as you do, my prince," he reminded Elias, his voice a low, chilling purr.
"I pray for my enemies in the future," Elias murmured, shaking his head slightly.
"Don't," Caelum countered, his gaze intense. "If they plan to kill you, they deserve death. It's already in the law," he stated simply, as if it were an undeniable truth.
Elias smiled at his steadfast protector and nodded. "Alright," he conceded. "Now, explain what the alchemy professor explained about runes and their applications," he ordered, shifting the mood.
Caelum's face lit up with a familiar enthusiasm. He smiled and pulled out his heavy alchemy textbook, settling down to begin explaining to Elias about each rune, its proper incantation, the deep meaning behind the symbol, and its intrinsic link with the ancient Futhorc Runes they had learned in their literature classes.
"Literature is being used in alchemy? That seems strange," Elias questioned, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
Caelum nodded. "The ancient runes, the ones we study in literature, they amplify the alchemical runes if we push magic into them correctly. We aren't learning it just for literature class, but to let us understand what the ancient runes mean and how to correctly write them to maximize the effect," he carefully explained.
"That is why you're so good at both alchemy and literature," Elias suddenly realized, a look of understanding dawning on his face.
Caelum nodded again. "But I really need you to understand why my potions never work," he said with a dramatic sigh, his excitement dampened by a long-standing frustration. "I've been trying to learn all I can, but Sky Manor never had any books about potions, only combat and history," he explained.
"When we go to my manor, I promise I'll leave you in the library," Elias offered immediately, knowing exactly how to cheer his friend up.
Caelum's eyes brightened immediately, shining with pure joy. "Thank you, Elias," he said, the gratitude evident in his tone.
Elias smiled to himself. 'He loves books as much as he loves swords, huh!' he thought, a wave of affection washing over him. He paused, a different thought coming to mind. 'Would he like me back the same way I like him, though?' he inwardly questioned, the hope and uncertainty a familiar pang in his chest. "Can you explain our alchemy assignment again?" he asked, redirecting his attention.
Caelum readily nodded and began explaining precisely what the professor had asked them to draw and what the intricate alchemical runes were meant to achieve.
"You explained the entire assignment for me," Elias said, realizing the extent of Caelum's helpfulness.
Caelum simply shrugged, dismissing his own effort. "It doesn't matter. As long as you understand what they're supposed to do," he said warmly.
Elias shook his head at Caelum's casual generosity, then picked up his quill and began writing down everything Caelum had clearly explained to him.
When he was finally done with the assignment, he stretched his arms out above his head, letting out a satisfied groan. He noticed that Caelum was already finished with his own work and was deeply engrossed in reading the next few chapters of the alchemy textbook.
"Let's go and have dinner," Elias suggested, walking over to Caelum and gently taking the book from his hands to get his attention.
Caelum nodded, instantly alert, then swiftly gathered his hidden daggers and left the room with Elias, heading toward the bustling cafeteria.