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An uneventful week passed almost instantly.

On this particular day, the members of the orphanage were congregated near the outskirts of the village. They were here in preparation to send Kano off on his journey with Goran Rasmus.

"Remember, Kano. Talk less, listen more. And think twice before speaking. You will be following Mister Rasmus, so we mustn't cause him any troubles," Guy instructed.

"And make sure to eat your food on time. Don't be picky and eat whatever you are given!" Grace added while suppressing her sobs.

"Matron Reva, Teacher Larks, please don't worry. Kano will be in safe hands. Besides, we will be back before you even know it!" Goran said to alleviate the affected woman.

"M-M-Matron..." Kano mumbled with a low expression. He rubbed his eyes with his sleeves and promised, "I'll return quickly, okay? Please don't cry..."

"I'm not crying," Grace denied vehemently, however, the gushing stream of tears indicated otherwise.

Kano leapt forward and hugged Grace, "I'll miss you, Matron!"

"I'll miss you too, Kano!"

The woman and child cried uncontrollably in each other's embrace. Although dramatic, no one wanted to interfere lest they received Grace's undiverted wrath.

After two minutes of tears and hiccups, the two separated. Kano was led into the carriage by Goran, which departed almost immediately. Kano's little head popped out of the side and he started waving while yelling at the top of his lungs, "Good-bye! I'll be back soon!"

Grace waved back with equal gusto.

A minute after the carriage receded around the treelines, Grace turned around and spoke with a dismayed tone, "Let's go back."

"Huh? Where's Dora?" Grace inquired.

"She's back at the orphanage. She refused to come down," Marie responded with a frown.

"What's gotten into her? She didn't wish Kano safe travels?"

"She seemed a bit grumpy..." Markus explained.

"That girl...-"

"Let me go talk to her," Marie interjected, and then turned and walked up the inclining path towards the orphanage at a brisk pace.

____

"Huuuu *sob* *sob* huuuun," a monotonous and suppressed wail resonated from behind the closed doors leading to Kano and Dora's room.

Marie approached the door and knocked, "Dora?"

"Go away! Huuuuu *sob*..." A quivering girl's voice barked back.

"Dora, I'm coming in," Marie declared as she slowly pushed the door open.

Dora lay facedown on her sleeping mattress sobbing vehemently. Marie approached the girl and gently pulled her in for a hug.

"Why are you crying, Dora?" Maria voiced calmly. "Do you miss Kano?"

"NO!" Dora screamed between hiccups. "That jerk! He left without me. Huuuuu."

Marie slowly patted Dora's head and explained in a soothing voice, "He isn't going out to have fun, you know? He wants to learn how to become a better artist. It would have been so boring, why would you want to go?"

"*sob* I wanted to go to the city too," Dora replied.

"It's okay. We can go together once you grow up," Marie responded to assuage Dora.

"But that will take so long... Huuuuu."

Marie didn't know what to say to the girl. In the end, she simply hugged her closer and let Dora cry herself out.

"*sob* Marie..." Dora murmured.

"Hmmm?"

"Will he be okay? Will Kano be okay?" Dora asked with worry in her tone.

"I-" Marie wanted to reply that he would be fine. But she couldn't voice it. She couldn't say for sure.

Instead, Marie said, "He's with Mister Rasmus..."

Would he be fine? Marie was worried too! The last time one of her siblings went to the city, he returned a complete wreck. Or at least he would have if not for the timely intervention of Teacher Larks. Hearing Markus' earlier outburst, Marie had a pretty good idea of the situation. She had falsely assumed that the city would be any better than the rest of the world.

'It's all the same.'

In her effort to scrounge up money for her family, Marie had to go through a lot of struggles. There were things she'd seen and experienced that haunted her to date. Being of a disadvantaged gender, she had to put up with the worst this world had to offer her. Over time she had grown immune and cynical, unaffected by things around her.

Yet, as long as her family thrived, it would all be worth it. As an orphan, Marie was starved of love in her life. After losing her parents at a young age, she had to fight against the world on her own to survive. By the time she hit seven years of age, she was already working multiple jobs to the bone to earn a morsel to fill her emaciated tummy.

So one could imagine just how elated she was when Matron Reva found her and took her in. After years of being deprived of even the most basic of human decencies, Marie finally received the love and care she yearned of.

But love can become an addictive drug to those deprived of it from a young age. After tasting the bliss of familiar love, Marie was unwilling to lose it. Not this time!

Marie had learned the only people she could depend on in this life were the people close to her. Her family. So, she was willing to sacrifice anything as long as her family could thrive. As long as she could keep her family in one piece, safe and secured, it would all be worth it...

It was for that very reason that Marie supported Markus' decision to pursue magic. The family needed protection from the forces that sought to hurt it. Marie had suffered under many arrogant young masters and mistresses, drunk on power.

Although Marie and her family were relatively safe here in this out-of-the-way village, one could never predict when misfortune may strike. Marie would have loved to become the shield, however, her logical brain knew that Markus was in a better position to learn magic. He was younger. More malleable.

But Marie failed to consider the human element! She hadn't accounted for the bullying Markus would have to go through in that ruthless crucible. She had already experienced the vindicativeness of those rich young masters. But, what about the rich young masters with magic in their arsenal? They could only be worse!

She had been too selfish! She had offloaded all the burdens she carried onto Markus, the poor boy.

Thankfully, she didn't lose him. Thankfully, Teacher Larks had saved him.

But this decision to send Kano away... It was eating away at her! It came out of nowhere, and contrary to Marie's expectations, when Matron Reva agreed to it.

Although she trusted Matron Reva with all her heart, Marie couldn't suppress the growing unrest within. She hadn't performed a satisfactory risk assessment.

'Will he be okay?'

"The boy will be fine. If that's what you're worried about," an elderly voice interrupted Marie's train of thought.

Marie snapped out of her trancelike state and observed her surroundings. It seemed as though in her preoccupation, she had subconsciously descended from the orphanage and arrived at the village.

"Ah! great master Krish Nara," Marie greeted respectfully. Although she hadn't interacted much with the old soothsayer, Marie had heard a lot of things about him from the villagers. Interestingly, nearly all of them showered praises on the old man and his uncanny power of future sight.

Marie scratched her head as she pondered how to approach the topic in a better way.

"The boy has good fortune written in his fate. He will amount to great things," Krish added while closing his eyes.

"H-How can you be sure?" Marie retorted hesitantly.

"Are you doubting me, girl?" Krish replied with a frown.

"No!" Marie quickly denied while waving her hands. "It's just... How can you say for certain that Kano will be fine? What evidence led you to that conclusion?"

Krish chuckled as he answered, "Why should I have to tell you all of that? This is a matter of belief, isn't it?"

"But that doesn't assuage me one bit," Marie responded.

"How is that my problem? I offered you my insight regarding the trouble you're facing. It's up to you whether to accept it," Krish clarified.

Marie sighed in dismay. "I want to believe you, I do! I can convince my heart to accept your claim. But my mind constantly urges me to question its validity. Unless I can verify and substantiate the claim, I don't think I can believe it. It's not you, great master."

"If your Teacher Larks made the same claim, wouldn't you believe him?" Krish asked probingly.

Marie furrowed her brows in contemplation before answering, "If it were Teacher Larks, he would probably provide sufficient evidence to back his claim. So yes, I would believe him!"

"You have great faith in the man?"

"That's just the kind of person he is," Marie clarified. "He never makes a claim he isn't sure about or cannot prove."

Krish laughed heartily as he reached into his bag. While pulling out his almanacks and conch shells, he declared, "Now you're making me jealous."

"Look carefully, girl! I won't repeat this again," Krish declared and grasped a handful of conch shells in his palm. He dropped them on the flat wooden table in front of him and observed the spread with his Heavenly Eye.

"Hmm... Three overturned... Let's see... Similar spread as that time..." Krish muttered as he intermittently cross-referenced through the pages on an almanack.

"See here?" He finally said while pointing at a paragraph in his book. "The spread is similar. The conditions are also similar. This indicates that the boy's travel will be fruitful and will result in positive growth."

Marie squinted her eyes as she read the squiggly lines on the page. "Your handwriting is unbearably illegible," she murmured.

Krish snorted as she immediately shut the book, "I didn't write it down to share it with other people! Anyways, as you can see I've corroborated my claims. Now, do you believe me?"

Marie showed a wry expression as she replied, "A little. But it isn't enough."

"HA!" Krish bellowed mirthfully. "Fine! I can reveal more to you. But..."

Krish paused for dramatic effect and leaned closer. He wore a serious expression as he declared, "I will need you to accept me as your Master."