Araceli pulled her lower lip in and chewed on it nervously as she eyed the Ysali and Ayrala orbs she had laid out for her to take with her. She glanced over at her mirror and the medal that now hung from it’s corner. Had she really earned it? Was she really all that brave? She chewed on her lip more and finally let out a small sigh, frustrated with the thoughts her mind had went to.
After receiving the medal, Ara’s parents had quickly scooped her up and took her off to celebrate. The events had flown by so quickly that it was late when they had arrived back at the Celestial Planes. Her mom, however, had not let her go to bed. Instead, the two had moved out into the back yard to talk. Her mom had informed her that she thought it was time for Araceli to move on in her training. Ara’s eyes had widened in nervousness. Did her mom mean that she would have to go and see Marcus yet again?
The next day Ara had awoken to find a beautiful dress laying out for her. She sighed as she had slipped it on. Now she stood staring at her reflection, taking deep breaths to help calm her nerves. She grabbed her pack and stuffed the orbs quickly into it, slinging it over her shoulder and heading down the steps. She stopped briefly to say bye to her parents and was out the door quickly before she had a chance to change her mind.
The trip through the city and to the celestial fortress had been a blur. A few had called out her name, recognizing her from when she had gotten her medal. She mumbled her greetings and continued on. She couldn’t stop. If she did, she might lose her nerve. She introduced herself when she arrived and whisked away into the fortress and to Marcus. Ara’s gaze wandered over the room that she had been left in, taking in the opulence of it.
Her eyes finally fell onto the man she had come here to see. A blush creeped up her neck and into her cheeks at being caught oogling. “It really is a lot, isn’t it?” He asked her, a gentle smile coming to his face. Ara could only nod in response. “Ah, you’ve brought your orbs, young one?”
Ara’s head bobbed in a nod as she quickly dug into her pack and brought the Ysali and Ayrala orb out and held them out in her palms. “I...I brought a Ysali orb and an orb from my own clan, Ayrala.” She said as she stared at the Ayrala orb.
“An Ayrala Dovaa, eh?” He glanced down at the orbs and then up at Araceli, smiling gently. “You’ve done well Araceli. Not only with your training but with the acts of help you showed in the caves on Eowyn. All of Magesc owes you.” Marcus said as he took the orbs from Araceli’s hands.
Her cheeks turned even more red. She wanted to argue with him about that. She hadn’t done much except fail at her weak magic. She bit the inside of her bottom lip to keep her from voicing her thoughts on that. “Thank you, sir.” Ara said as she bowed. Marcus nodded. She turned and head out of the room and fortress and back to her house.
Word Count: 568
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