Pretending To Be Gilead's Prince and Master Wizard

The school was in a fuss when I arrived the following day. They were talking about an upcoming event to be held in school, with some special guests from a different village in a different country. I had no idea actually what is going on around here.

Yet thank goodness, i had spotted my friends Maggie, Ariella, and Cailin sitting next to each other in class. They were having some discussions on their own when I got here, and they only stopped upon sensing my existence being here.

"Krisella! I thought you would like to hear this very great news from us," Ariella was the one who first greeted me. My forehead wrinkled as I looked at her.

"That actually sounds great, indeed. So, what news would that be?"

"November has always been known as the international healers' month, you know that right? Considering that you have come from a village known to have the greatest healers in the world," Ariella explains, and I paused for a moment.

Now, thinking about it, I have never been aware of such a title that our home village holds, and I have been so wrong for not asking about it either. All I know is that my father was once the master wizard of the village and country of the neighboring country of Valen., that's it. 

It all makes sense to me now. The strict protocols about women only taught the ways of healing and prohibited them from fighting or learning the ways of fighting. 

But nonetheless, I will still choose to fight. To protect innocent people like what my father has done. To protect the people's smiles… like what I had said in the past.

"Yes, it is," Ariella continued, snapping me out of my thoughts. "In regards to the worldwide celebration in honor of the great healers who continue every nation to blossom, a group of healers from your home village was invited by the school faculty to teach us the art of healing. Isn't that great?"

I was speechless for a moment, like my brain was taking its time to process this new information that I have learned just now. If the healers from our village were truly invited to come to our school in honor of the said event, then that only means one thing and one thing only to me.

I would get the chance of seeing my mother in flesh. Again.

Surely, my father was the master wizard of the village. My mother, on the other hand, was known to be the head of the healers of our village who travels country after country either to heal the sick or heal the soldiers into the battlefield.

Every woman in the village was already expecting me to follow my mother's footsteps, and that was truly a pressure for me knowing that I don't want to be a mere healer alone. I want to fight, and heal at the same time. That's why I left the village without even saying a word to my mom.

After what seems to be an eternity, I lifted my head, plastered a halfhearted smile, and spoke to Ariella.

"Yes. It is great news, indeed."

But in the back of my head, I was already worrying. If I ever see my mother tomorrow, what should I say to her?

These thoughts have been lingering to me until the time I went back to the castle and was dressed as the fake prince. After careful thinking, I think it is best if I will tell my mentors what might happen in tomorrow's school event. If I'll have the chance to see my mother, like my brother… she would surely ask where do I currently live and would ask to see it for herself. 

I don't want everything to be so spontaneous and confusing as it was during my big brother's visit.

"I never thought your family is really that prominent in your village," Lancelot spoke after I gave them the details.

"Neither are my classmates too," I said. "I left home so that I could keep a low profile here while studying magic to my heart's content at the same time. The pressure is… unbearable, you know, to follow in both my parents' footsteps."

"Turns up you ended up in the opposite path, I suppose." Alex chimes in.

I looked at him and said, "Yes, you are definitely right."

"Should Krisella's mother decide to know the place where she is currently staying, we would still use the same excuse like when her brother visited the country." Lancelot started laying out the plan to us. He looked at Alex and continued.

"We would still use Alex's house as the decoy house, had her mother introduce it to his grandmother if necessary, and I suppose yours and Lucas's presence are not needed anymore to ensure that everything's well to prevent any burst of outrage from her mother."

"Agreed." both Lucas and Alex said at the same time. 

I suddenly remember last time when my brother suddenly burst in anger upon seeing the both of them entering the house, thinking that I might be sleeping with one of them or something like that.

Now, I don't want my mother to have the same thoughts as that of my brother.

"I think the plan is already settled. Krisella can now resume her magic training with Alex," Lancelot says. And both of us have been excused from the prince's office to go to the open field to practice… which is on the rear portion of the castle.

That night, I had a dream. A not-so-pleasant dream, that is.

My mother was there, on the stage, giving her speech as the head of the village healers. Not a spare look I received from her, like she was totally ignoring my presence… which I totally understand knowing what I have done to her and to our family in exchange of chasing for my dreams.

I had a talk with her, a brief talk, when I finally spotted a chance to see her. 

"I do not know you anymore," she says, looking at me with a disgusted expression in her face. "It seems that you are not the daughter I have raised in the past few years."

I was there, standing in front of her, sobbing, as I watched my mother walking away in my face. I knew from then on that she had disowned me. For good.

My dream came to an abrupt end when I decided to leave that awful state, silently thanking the gods above that it was just one of those silly nightmares I had. 

She is still my mother, after all. Even if I ran away from home, or have stolen her money to get here… she would still love me and not abandon me. I know she will…

Wouldn't she?

The next day, half of the classes were suspended in the morning in regards to the school event that came along with it. However, my classmates cannot fully celebrate that since there will still be classes in the afternoon, and in that case… they would still be seeing their most hated strict teacher which happens to be Mr. Wimbshaw. (But I sincerely love him because of how he delivers the discussion to the class.)

Students of different years and sections have all been gathered into the student hall to welcome certain guests from our home village of Ziv. The dean of the school gave his welcoming speech, as usual, that almost bored all the students present here, including me.

But in the next part of his speech, my senses suddenly were awakened up.

"Healing, as we all are aware of, is a noble job brought to us by our ancestors and has been passed down to every generation to preserve our lives. It is as important as learning the offensive ways of battle, and should not be taken lightly. In some areas, like the village where our visitors for today came from, healing is mostly passed down to women… for they believe that women have more delicate hands than men, and therefore are more effective in the art of healing as men are more effective into battle."

By hearing our dean's words, I guess I degraded my mother's work too much that it resulted in me running away from home. But I also believe that chasing one's dreams is not so bad either.

My neck craned a little, my eyes searched on every woman who was now sitting on stage with the school faculty. I tried to search for my mother, but every one of them is at least wearing our village's outfit which consists of a blue fur coat, a hood that covers their faces, and blue cotton pants that should protect us from the harsh cold weather in the village.

That was what I was wearing on the day I first arrived here in Citadel.

And for their identical apparel, it's hard for me to search for my mother.

"And now, may I present to you, the head of the healers herself who are best known for their exceptional healing skills in the world and the wife of the late master wizard of Valen, David Lancaster, ladies, and gentlemen… Eleanor Lancaster."

All people began applauding after that. Once the principal left the stage, a petite, elegant-looking woman appeared in front with a microphone in one hand.

It was just a brief moment… but our eyes had definitely met in that exact minute before she started speaking on behalf of our people.