Chapter 12: A Mother’s Last Gift

Elara:

For a moment my exhausted brain simply stared at him before the obvious finally clicked into place.

Lorien Moonveil... Moonveil Academy.

Of course.

The academy carried his family’s name. It wasn’t difficult to guess how someone so young had become the headmaster. The position had probably remained within House Moonveil for generations.

Before I could think any further, Professor Fenrith looked toward me.

"Princess." He smiled reassuringly. "I’d like you to meet Professor Elowen Astralis." He gestured toward the brunette woman standing beside him. "She will be conducting today’s assessment alongside me."

Professor Elowen Astralis smiled politely before walking toward me. Unlike Professor Fenrith, who carried an easygoing warmth about him, she seemed quieter, almost gentle in the way she moved. There was a calm confidence in her eyes that reminded me of doctors back in the human world - people who had repeated the same procedure so many times that nothing surprised them anymore.

"Relax, Princess," she said softly.

Easy for her to say. I wasn’t even sure my lungs remembered how to breathe normally anymore. Still, I forced myself to stand still.

Professor Elowen stopped directly in front of me. Instead of asking me to perform some strange ritual or recite an incantation, she simply lifted one hand and held her open palm a few inches above my head without touching me.

Then... she whispered something. The words sounded unlike any language I had ever heard - soft, ancient, and beautiful - even though I couldn’t understand a single syllable.

Almost immediately, warmth bloomed inside me. Not the strange burning sensation I’d experienced when Reign had grabbed my wrist the previous night. This was different. Gentler.

It flowed through my body like warm water, beginning at the top of my head before slowly washing over my shoulders, chest, arms, and legs. Every aching muscle relaxed beneath the sensation. Even the exhaustion from staying awake all night seemed to fade for those few brief moments.

I closed my eyes without realizing it. The warmth lingered, then slowly disappeared. When I opened my eyes again, Professor Elowen had already lowered her hand.

She stepped back. Her expression had become noticeably more serious. She turned toward Vice Headmistress Noctis and Lorien... No... Headmaster Moonveil.

"The seal is still intact." Her calm voice echoed throughout the otherwise silent classroom. "It has only developed a minor fracture."

No one interrupted.

Professor Elowen remained thoughtful for another moment before speaking again. "The spell’s foundation..." She paused. "...consists primarily of Ice Magic... and Illusion."

The instant those two words left her mouth, something changed. I didn’t understand why. I barely even understood what she meant. Yet every other person in the room reacted.

Professor Fenrith’s brows drew together. Vice Headmistress Noctis looked toward Headmaster Moonveil. And he... he turned to look straight at me.

None of them spoke. They simply exchanged silent looks that somehow carried the weight of an entire conversation.

I frowned.

Had something gone wrong?

Professor Fenrith finally broke the silence. "Could the spell have actually been placed by..." He stopped himself and didn’t finish the sentence.

But oddly enough, he didn’t have to. Because the others already seemed to know exactly what he had intended to say.

Vice Headmistress Noctis stood immediately. "I’ll confirm it myself." She announced then walked toward me without another word.

I remained standing exactly where I was. She stopped before me and raised one elegant hand, mirroring Professor Elowen’s earlier gesture. Her palm hovered above my head, and then, I felt the warm sensation again. But this time it felt slightly different, less like water and more like countless tiny threads drifting gently through every part of my body, searching, examining, weaving through places I couldn’t even describe.

It lasted only several seconds. And then it was gone.

Ms. Noctis slowly lowered her hand. Then gave a single nod.

The atmosphere inside the classroom instantly shifted. Professor Fenrith exhaled slowly and Professor Elowen looked almost relieved. As for the Headmaster, his expression softened in a way I couldn’t quite understand.

I looked from one face to another. No one explained anything. They all seemed to know something I didn’t. Finally, I couldn’t bear the silence anymore. "Would someone please tell me what’s happening?"

All four pairs of eyes shifted toward me.

It was Vice Headmistress Noctis who answered, but with a question of her own. "Do you remember our conversation yesterday? Where I told you we believe it’s the Reapers who placed the seal on you?"

I simply nodded once.

She folded her hands together as she continued, "That was our initial conclusion." She paused. "But now it appears... we were mistaken."

I blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"The spell’s foundation consists of Ice Magic and Illusion." She spoke slowly, making sure I followed. "Those are not random choices. The late Queen Seraphina Argentis, your biological mother, possessed mastery over both."

For a moment, I simply stared at her. "My... mother?"

Ms. Noctis nodded. "Our original theory was that the Reapers sealed your powers to prevent us from locating you." She began pacing slowly across the classroom. "Because it explained why your magical signature disappeared completely after the night you were abducted. Because without an active magical signature, finding one child among billions of ordinary humans would have been nearly impossible."

I remembered what she had told me yesterday. It had taken then twenty years to find me. And it’s because my powers had remained hidden.

I watched as she stopped walking and turned to face me. "But we failed to consider another possibility. What if the seal wasn’t created by your enemies... but by your mother herself?"

Silence settled over the classroom.

I could barely breathe, not sure where all this was leading.

Ms. Noctis continued quietly, "The Queen was among the most gifted magic users of her generation. If she realized the palace was about to fall and if she understood she could no longer protect her daughter, then creating a seal would have been the logical final decision."

My throat tightened.

"The seal accomplished two purposes. It concealed you from Starfall."

I frowned. "Wouldn’t that be bad?"

"It delayed us." She admitted. "But it also delayed the Reapers."

I looked at her in confusion. So she explained. "They intended to use your power. But they couldn’t because the seal prevented anyone from accessing it. It concealed your magical signature and locked away your abilities. It forced the Reapers to keep you alive. They couldn’t simply kill you because they needed you. And they needed the seal broken."

Her voice became almost thoughtful.

"In doing so, the Queen bought time. As long as the seal remained, they couldn’t use the Moon Child. And eventually, we found you before they could."

The classroom grew quiet once more.

Ms. Noctis looked directly into my eyes. And for a fleeting moment the calm professionalism slipped ever so slightly and a trace of warmth entered her voice. "Your mother protected you, Princess, even in death."

The words struck somewhere deep inside me. I had no memories of Queen Seraphina. No face. No voice. Nothing. Yet, for reasons I couldn’t explain... my eyes suddenly burned. A woman I’d never known, a mother I’d never met, had spent her final moments trying to save me.

Ms. Noctis took one slow breath before her usual composed expression returned. Then she stepped quietly aside.

Almost instinctively, my gaze lifted.

Lorien Moonveil had begun walking toward me. And a few seconds later, he stopped directly in front of me.