Jade blushed a little that the king had kissed her hand and replied softly, “Thank you, and it’s my pleasure to meet you. This is my third day in this world.”
The king frowned a little, muttering softly, “Strange, why haven’t I heard anything before this then…?”
Jade smiled a little helplessly. “I believe Eric included it in his report of my admission to Dracona. Apart from that, it’s probably a case of everyone either forgetting since it’s been so long or thinking someone else had already taken care of it. They’ve all been quite helpful, so I think it truly was just an accident.”
He raised his brows. “You’ve been admitted to Dracona already?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes, just yesterday. When I woke up in this world, I was in a room at the Green Dragon. Raphael gave me a day to adjust and explore before taking me to the examination.” Okay, she might be twisting the story just a little bit, but she didn’t want Raphael, Eric, Stephen, or Jarom to get in trouble for forgetting.
Derrick nodded thoughtfully, then smiled and conceded, “Very well. We can speak more of this after you’ve met the rest of my children.”
At his signal, one of the older boys walked forward, though, by older, she meant he looked to be in his early twenties still. He was a bit more built than the rest of his family, and his hair was styled into a higher swoosh than the others. He was sporting a morning shadow on his square chin, and his hands were also more callused as he too took her hand lightly, bending over to brush his lips against it. So handshakes weren’t a thing here, but kissing was. Interesting. She didn’t really want to put her lips on anyone… Well, whatever. “It’s lovely to meet you, Jade. I’m Victor, the eldest.”
She greeted him warmly in return. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Victor.” In her head, she was mentally calling him the crown prince, then had to stop herself from snickering when she realized she could call him crown Vic. Probably not to his face, though.
He grinned, straightening and pinning her with a charismatic gaze from his darker blue eyes. “I’m in my fourth year at Dracona, so you’ll see me around. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask.”
“That’s very kind of you. I may just take you up on it. As you’ve guessed, I have many questions, though having access to the library has helped tremendously to cut them down a bit.”
He perked up in interest at this, asking curiously, “Oh? And what have you been studying at the library?” She noted that every member of the family was paying close attention to her answers and that she was going through a mini-interview with the royal family.
A little more nervous once she realized that, she tried to mask it as she smiled, “Everything I can get my hands on, really! But I suppose my main focus has been magic.”
He smiled. “Fascinating, isn’t it? We’ll have to test your aptitude to see if you can learn any of it.” She could tell he was curious on top of trying to be helpful, but rejected the offer anyway.
“Oh, that’s not really necessary. I believe I have an aptitude for everything.” They were all giving her the blank stare. She was good at inducing that in people. She smiled and continued to cover the awkward silence. “You see, I’ve already started learning Healing, Water, Wind, and Light magic. I’ve been wanting to play around to see if I could learn metal magic since I saw Eric using it, but I’ve yet to find any scrap metal to practice on, and I don’t want to ruin something by practicing on it without permission.”
Derrick interjected at this point. “I’m sorry, did you just say you’ve already learned four magics? In the two days you’ve been here?” She nodded, and he looked incredulous before continuing. “May I ask what levels they’re at?”
She smiled. “Of course, let me just check really quick.” She mentally started clicking, but not on her profile. Instead, she grabbed the last four dots she’d gotten.
You have touched William Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Deception, Sleight of Hand, Small Blades, Stealth, or Wind Magic.
You have touched Ashanna Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Charm, Diplomacy, Life Magic, Perception, or Sense Motive.
You have touched Derrick Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Diplomacy, Earth Magic, Blades, Mental Fortitude, or Perseverance.
You have touched Victor Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Diplomacy, Earth Magic, Insight, Blades, or Perseverance.
She glanced over the skills briefly for a moment, noting that Victor seemed to be a mini-Derrick, then mentally minimized them and pulled up her skills, searching for what she wanted before reporting on it. “Let’s see, my healing magic is at beginner 9, light is at intermediate 4, water at beginner 10, and wind at beginner 6.”
One of the girls bumped Victor out from in front of her gently, and she smiled at Jade, minus the evil eye she’d been giving Will earlier. She was utterly lovely, her long blonde hair coming down to mid-back in soft curls. Her skin seemed flawless and glowed a fantastic golden color. While not quite as impressive as her mother, she was still well endowed and wearing a dark blue dress that emphasized all of her loveliest features, matching perfectly with her eyes.
“That’s incredibly impressive.” She leaned forward, pecking Jade on the cheek as she said warmly, “I’m Camille. It’s lovely to meet someone as interested in magic as I am. Perhaps you can teach me your secrets.” Her eyes were twinkling, but Jade was reasonably sure she did want to compare magic notes. Clicking on her screen briefly, she could tell why.
You have touched Camille Ri’Cloch, Siphon activated. Assessing stats and experience...
Choose a stat to siphon: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Magic, Charisma, or Luck.
Choose a skill to siphon: Diplomacy, Earth Magic, Insight, Life Magic, or Water Magic.
“I’d love to compare notes sometime, though my secret isn’t really a secret, sadly. I was given a special ability called accelerated growth, and it’s been helping me immensely.” It didn’t occur to her that she was gaining points quickly because of her effort and stubbornness as well.
Camille seemed a tiny bit put out upon learning her fast growth was due to a special ability, but still smiled serenely to cover it up. “That’s okay. Simply being able to discuss and practice with others is extremely beneficial for mages. I’m also at Dracona, in my second year, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing quite a lot of each other in the magic sections at least, I suspect.”