I slept in since it was a weekend, but by the time I woke up, it was already past nine AM, breakfast for stone dorm was by seven AM if you missed it its gone. Its not like I bothered with breakfast on weekends anyway.
I didn't really dwell on it since I wasn't that hungry.
I was in the middle of getting dressed when I heard it, a polite, rhythmic tap that was distinctly different from Magnus's enthusiastic pounding or the way faculty would knock with authority.
"Coming!" I called out, hastily pulling on my shirt. Asura was still buried under the blankets, only her white hair visible. Maya had disappeared somewhere, probably exploring the Academy grounds as she often did in the mornings.
When I opened the door, I found Sera standing there with two paper-wrapped parcels in her hands and an almost sheepish expression on her face.
"Good morning," she said. "I hope I didn't wake you anything."
"No, not at all." I stepped back, suddenly very aware of the state of my room bed unmade, books scattered across my desk, Asura's growing collection of candy wrappers in a bowl by the window.... Candy.... Asura!!! Shit. I sprinted back to my bed and covered her completely with the blanket an then dropped the two pillows on her as a desperate attempt to hide her from Sera, then I walked back to the door.
Sera was taken aback by my weird attempt to cover my bed. She then asked "Umm are you sure I'm not disturbing you?"
"No... Not at all. Did you need something?"
"Actually..." Sera held up the parcels. "I brought breakfast. I thought maybe we could talk? If you're not busy."
Talk. Just talk. Like we used to.
"I'd like that," I said honestly.
Sera smiled, her smile had this way of making me feel bubbly in my chest, her smile always put a smile on my face. She stepped inside. Her eyes swept over the room, taking in the state of the room, the chaos. "It's smaller than I expected."
"Stone Dorm doesn't exactly come with luxury accommodations." I grabbed the chair from my desk and offered it to her while I sat on the edge of my bed, professionally using my body to block Asura's silhouette under the blanket . "What's in the parcels?"
"Meat pies from the kitchen." She unwrapped them, revealing two golden-brown pastries that were still steaming. The smell made my stomach growl audibly. "I know you missed breakfast today, so I figured..."
She'd actually paid attention to my schedule and remembered. I don't know about other people but to me, a girl paying attention to my schedule has made my day.
"Thank you." I took one of the pies, the warmth seeping into my hands. "You didn't have to do this."
"I know." Sera settled into the chair, looking oddly nervous for someone usually so composed. "But I wanted to. Besides, we haven't really... talked. Actually talked. In a while."
That was true. Our conversation in the Student Council room had been about apologizing and asking for help with Marin. Before that, we'd barely exchanged words.
I took a bite of the meat pie, savory, perfectly seasoned, probably from the Diamond Dorm kitchen which had significantly better resources than Stone Dorm. "This is really good."
"Lucas recommended them." She smiled slightly. "He has surprisingly strong opinions about food."
There was comfortable silence as we ate. It was strange, I'd spent so much time recently agonizing over how to approach Sera, what to say, how to make amends. But now, sitting here with breakfast and no particular agenda, it felt... easy. Natural.
Like maybe some part of our old friendship had survived after all.
"I saw your assessment yesterday," Sera said after a while. "You and Magnus Crowley. Others might say you shattered all expectations and whatnot, but when I heard it I just felt you could do better."
The way she said it made it feel less like critique and more like a complement.
"... I know you, you could have gotten first place easily. I don't get it. In terms of combat ability and finesse you are more powerful than some third years."
"Magnus was just not able to keep up," I said flatly, trying to hide the guilt from lying to her again.
Sera set down her half-eaten pie. I still wasn't used to Sera defending me. It felt wrong and right at the same time.
She looked solemn now, I instinctively felt the conversation was about to take a turn.
"I'm sorry"
I looked up at her. "What do you mean?"
"Remember when you challenged Lucas two years ago, I just saw... A little boy throwing a tantrum because he didn't get what he wanted." Sera's expression was thoughtful now, almost sad. "But looking back, knowing what you'd just gone through with your mother... I think I missed something. I was so angry about what you did that I didn't see the person drowning underneath."
The words hit harder than I expected. My throat felt tight.
"That doesn't excuse it," I managed. "What I did to you. How I acted."
"No," Sera agreed. "It doesn't excuse it. But it helps me understand it." She met my eyes directly. "You were hurting, and you hurt me because of it. That's not okay. But I can see now that you were just... lost."
"I was," I admitted. "I still am, sometimes."
"But you're trying." She smiled slightly. "That's more than a lot of people can say."
We lapsed into silence again, but it was comfortable now. Sera finished her pie while I worked on mine, and for a few minutes we just existed in each other's company without the weight of past mistakes pressing down on us.
Then Sera spoke up again, her tone lighter. "So. Tell me about this Magnus partnership. How did your new found friendship happen?"
I couldn't help but smile. "Long story. I needed help with... a project. We made a deal."
"A project?" Sera leaned forward, curious. "What kind of project?"
I hesitated. The lollipops weren't exactly a secret, but explaining them meant explaining Asura's sweet tooth, and talking about Magnus's alchemy obsession which meant either lying or dancing around the truth.
"Candy," I said finally. "We've been working on a new type of candy."
Sera's eyebrows rose. "You... Making candy? Why?"
My lie engine started running. "Ummm... I went to the capital sometime last month and...."
"You know what..." Sera said, interrupting me."Don't tell me... You'll just end up monologuing and as much as I would love that. This is supposed to be a conversation." She ended that last part with a chuckle.
I smiled and kept it short
"Magnus handles most of the technical stuff. I just... provide ideas. And funding."
"Sweet." She grinned at her own pun. "No pun intended. What kind of candy?"
"It's called a lollipop. Hard candy on a stick that lasts a long time." I pulled one from my desk drawer, one of our more successful batches, amber-colored and perfectly clear. "We're still working out the business side of things."
Sera took the lollipop, examining it with genuine interest. "May I?"
"Of course."
She unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes widened. "Oh. Oh, this is really good. The flavor is intense but not overwhelming, and the texture..." She pulled it out to examine it again. "How long did this take to develop?"
"A few weeks. Magnus is the real genius, he figured out the exact temperature and timing to get the consistency right."
"You could actually sell these," Sera said thoughtfully. "Students would definitely buy them, especially at a reasonable price. And if you marketed them right..."
"That's the problem. Neither Magnus nor I know anything about marketing or sales."
Sera was quiet for a moment, still working on the lollipop. Then she said, "I might know someone who could help."
I looked up. "Really?"
"Adelaide Hartbrook. Fourth-year, Duke's daughter. She's brilliant with numbers and strategy, and she's been talking about wanting to do something practical before graduation." Sera smiled around the candy. "She's always complaining that most Academy projects are theoretical nonsense. This might actually interest her."
"Would she be willing to help a first-year with a terrible reputation?"
"Let me talk to her." Sera pulled the lollipop from her mouth. "But I think she'd be more interested in the product than who's making it. Adelaide is practical like that."
Hope sparked in my chest. "That would be incredible. Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. I haven't convinced her."
A comfortable silence settled over us. Outside, I could hear students passing by in the hallway, probably heading to morning club meetings. The winter sun streamed through my small window, casting Sera in warm light that made her blonde hair look almost golden.
"I missed this," Sera said quietly.
"Missed what?"
"This. Talking to you. Just... being around you without all the anger and hurt in the way." She set the lollipop stick aside carefully. "When we were younger, you were one of my closest friends. You listened when I talked about my dreams. You took me seriously when other nobles just saw me as 'the viscount's pretty daughter.' We'd spend hours just talking about everything and nothing."
Memories surfaced, afternoons in the Ashford gardens, Sera chattering excitedly about a book she'd read while I listened. Her defending me to her other friends when they said I was wierd.
"I missed it too," I said. "More than I realized."
"Can I ask you something?" Sera's tone turned more serious.
"Of course."
"Why did you really challenge Lucas that day?" She held up a hand before I could answer. "Not the surface reason your ego and all that. The real reason underneath."
I thought about it carefully. I owed her honesty.
"Because I was terrified," I said finally. "My mother had just died. My father was shutting down. I felt like everything good in my life was slipping away, and I couldn't control any of it." I looked down at my hands. "But I could control you. Or I thought I could. When I saw you talking to Lucas, saw you smiling at him the way you used to smile at me... I panicked. I thought I was losing you too."
"So you tried to force me to stay?" Sera said softly.
"Yeah. By making myself look strong, making him look weak, proving I was better." I laughed bitterly. "Didn't work out that way."
"No. It didn't." Sera was quiet for a moment. "You know what the really sad part is? If you'd just talked to me, told me you were hurting and scared, I would have been there for you. I was your friend. I wanted to help. But you pushed me away while simultaneously trying to control me, and that... that I couldn't accept."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"I know you are." She stood up, brushing crumbs from her uniform. "And I meant what I said. I'm giving you another chance.
Now, I have to go, I have a club meeting, But maybe we could do this again? Breakfast and talking?"
"I'd like that."
Sera headed for the door, then paused with her hand on the handle. "Oh, and Aldric? You might want to hide the candy wrappers before someone visits. It looks like a small child lives here."
Heat rushed to my face.
She laughed—a genuine, bright sound I hadn't heard in years. "Relax. I'm kiding. See you later!"
And then she was gone, leaving me standing in my room with a half-eaten meat pie and the lingering warmth of actual, genuine friendship.
The blanket rustled behind me.
"She's nice," Asura said, her voice muffled. "I like her."
"I thought you were asleep."
"I was. The talking woke me up." She sat up, white hair sticking up in every direction. "But I'm glad you two are talking again. She seems like a good girl."
"Yeah," I agreed quietly. "She is."
Over the next few days, Sera and I fell into an unexpected routine.
She'd stop by in the mornings on weekends sometimes, bringing breakfast or just sitting in my room while we talked.
It wasn't exactly like it used to be. There was still a careful edge to our interactions, boundaries we both respected. We talked about safe things—Academy gossip, books we'd read, memories from childhood that didn't hurt to remember.
But slowly, gradually, we were rebuilding something.
One afternoon, I found Sera in the library's fiction section, pulling books from the shelves with a focused intensity that suggested she was looking for something specific.
"Need help?" I asked.
She jumped slightly, then smiled when she saw it was me. "Actually, yes. I'm trying to find this adventure novel Maya recommended to me last year, but I can't remember the exact title. Something about a Guardian of a tomb?"
My chest tightened at Maya's name. Sera didn't know Maya was still here, watching over the Academy as a ghost. Didn't know her friend hadn't truly left.
"'The Vault Keeper's Legacy?'" I suggested, remembering a title I'd read at some point in my life but couldn't really place.
"Yes! That's the one." Sera started scanning the spines. "Maya had such good taste in books. She was always recommending things to me." Her expression grew sad. "I miss her."
"I'm sure she'd be happy you're still reading her recommendations," I said carefully.
Sera found the book and pulled it out, running her fingers over the cover. "She was so excited about this one. We were supposed to read it together over the break, but then..." She trailed off.
"She was a good friend," I said.
"The best." Sera clutched the book to her chest. "Sometimes I still catch myself thinking I should go find her to tell her about something that happened. Then I remember..." She shook her head. "Sorry. This is morbid."
"It's not morbid. It's grief." I pulled another book from the shelf without really looking at it. "There's nothing wrong with missing someone."
Sera looked at me with an unreadable expression. "Your mother. You still think about her a lot, don't you?"
"Every day."
"I'm sorry. I knew she died, but I don't think I really understood what that meant for you. Not until..." She gestured vaguely. "Until everything happened."
"You couldn't have known. I didn't exactly communicate well."
"Still." Sera set the book on a nearby table and sat down. I joined her. "What was she like? Your mother?"
It was the first time anyone had asked me that in years. My father refused to talk about her. My siblings either didn't care or actively resented her memory. But Sera was asking because she genuinely wanted to know, she had asked me the exact same question on the day of my mom's funeral.
"She was kind," I said slowly. "Patient. She used to read to me every night before bed, even when I was old enough to read myself. She said she liked hearing the words out loud." A small smile tugged at my lips. "And she was clever. My father's other wives would try to play 3D chess and their mind games, spread rumors, undermine each other. But my mother never engaged. She just focused on being good at what she did managing the household, helping the staff, making sure everyone felt valued."
"That takes real strength," Sera said. "It's easy to fight back. It's much harder to just be kind when everyone around you is being cruel."
"She made it look easy. But I think it wasn't." I thought about those last few months, how tired she'd looked sometimes. How she'd hide worry behind smiles. "I think she knew someone wanted her gone. She just didn't know who or how to stop it."
"Do you still want to find out who killed her?"
The question hung in the air between us. The honest answer was yes finding my mother's killer had been one of my driving motivations for getting stronger. But it was also dangerous territory. Investigating meant digging into my own family's secrets, potentially using dark magic, risking exposure.
"Yes," I said simply. "But not yet. I'm not strong enough."
Sera nodded slowly, accepting that. "When you are, and if you need help... you can ask me."
The offer surprised me. "You'd help me with that?"
"We're friends, aren't we?" She smiled. "Besides, your mother was always nice to me when I visited. She deserves justice."
Something warm settled in my chest. "Thank you."
We sat in comfortable silence for a while after that, Sera eventually opening her book while I pretended to study. But mostly I just felt grateful for this moment, this quiet rebuilding of trust, this small piece of normalcy in my otherwise chaotic life. I couldn't help but glance at Sera at regular intervals. I still liked her after all.
When we eventually parted ways, Sera heading to a Council meeting, me back to my room.
Maybe I really could be better than I was.
Maybe some things could be repaired after all.
That evening, when I returned to my room, both Maya and Asura were waiting for me.
"You look happy," Maya observed, floating near the ceiling. "Did something good happen?"
"Just spent time with Sera," I said, setting my bag down. "We're... we're actually becoming friends again. Real friends."
Maya's smile was bright and genuine. "That's wonderful, Aldric. I'm so glad."
"Me too." I flopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. "It's strange. For so long I thought I'd completely destroyed that relationship. That there was no way back. But she's actually giving me a chance."
"Because you've earned it," Asura said, appearing on my pillow in her chibi form. She'd been practicing shifting between her ten-year-old body and her tiny fairy like size, claiming it helped conserve mana. "You apologized. You meant it. And you've been actually working on yourself instead of just wallowing."
"Still," I said. "I don't deserve..."
"Stop that." Asura's voice was unusually sharp. "Stop saying you don't deserve good things. That kind of thinking is what got you into trouble in the first place. Accept that you made mistakes, yes. But also accept that you can grow from them and build something better. How the fuck does a demon have a better moral compass than a human"
I looked at her, surprised by the intensity in her tone.
"Sorry," she said, softening. "It's just... I've been watching you punish yourself since we met. And while taking responsibility is important, at some point you have to actually let yourself heal. Sera is giving you that chance. Take it."
She was right. They both were.
"Okay," I said quietly. "I'll try."
"Good." Asura curled up on the pillow, her tiny wings folding against her back. "Now can we talk about something more important?"
"What?"
"When are you going to make more lollipops? I'm almost out."
I threw a pillow at her, which she dodged with a laugh that sounded like tiny bells ringing.
And for a moment, everything felt almost normal.
Almost like a family.