Next Mage
59.Light-3

Elvira grinned at me slyly, and I flushed harder. Then her expression changed.

"Oh, Marilla, I have some news to tell you," she said, as Oliver hastily vanished into his dorm, looking like a blond strawberry. "Wh-what is it?" I asked, my embarrassment fading into curiosity.

"The Elders have informed me that they want you to go back to earth. Your mother still has memories of...that incident, and they want you to tell her that everything's all right over here. It's so that she won't worry, you can come straight back for the feast after you tell her the news. You can even bring her, if you want," Elvira added hastily.

I nodded, suddenly feeling a wave of homesickness as I thought of my mother.

"Sure. I'll do that," I agreed. "Who's opening the portal?"

"Aureole," Elvira replied. "We'll leave the portal open in your room, so don't worry about getting trapped on earth."

"Okay. Let's go."

another dashy line thingo

Stepping into the portal, I felt the warmth embrace me as I flew towards earth.

A strange feeling overcame me, like I was being pulled by an invisible force; my skin felt like it was about to be removed from my body, my limbs dragged downwards as I readied myself--

I crashed onto my bedroom floor, thankful that there was a soft, thick carpet to brace my fall, and sat up dazedly. Looking around, I suddenly jerked back into alertness and scrambled off the ground, hopping to my feet and walking out of my

room.

Entering the living room, I noticed my mother sitting on the couch, the TV drawing her attention. She looked terrible, like she had been worrying about something for days on end; she had dark circles around her eyes and her hair was a mess, and she looked years older.

"M-mom?" I said tentatively, and mom's head swiveled around to look at me, her eyes widening into shocked circles.

"Marilla!" She cried, jumping up from the couch and rushing over to squeeze me into a hug, tears running own her worn-out face. "You're alive!"

"I-I am," I stuttered.

"How's Emma? And Oliver? And all of your other friends?" Mom asked anxiously.

"They're fine, mom," I replied exasperatedly. I decided not to tell mom about Emma. Not yet, anyway. "Mom, would you like to come to Myragon for our celebratory feast?"

"C-celebratory feast?" Mom stammered, dumbstruck. "You defeated..." Her voice trailed off in awe as I nodded my head. "Oh, Marilla," she said, embracing me once more. "I would love to. Just let me freshen up first, okay? I look like I just got out of bed."

I nodded, trying not to giggle, and strolled back to my room, feeling relieved as I sat down on my bed. Suddenly, a small, folded piece of paper fell out from underneath my pillow and drifted to the ground. Feeling curious, I picked it up and examined it.

A letter.

From Emma.

My fingers fumbled to unfold it, and tears pricked at the back of my eyes as I read what it said: To my dearest BFF: it read.

Hey Rilla!

I have something very important to tell you. Or rather, I have some very important things to tell you.

Firstly, if you're getting this after we battle (and hopefully defeat!) the Ragnarok, I may or may not be dead. Don't worry, I'm probably NOT dead (probably. I said probably.), maybe I could be missing a few limbs or something, at the most I'll probably be unconscious for a while; I don't really know. ANYWAY, never mind that.

Secondly, the reason I may be dead is because of my Ultimate. I've named it 'Self Destruct'. Pretty cool, huh? Well, maybe not so cool. It sounds pretty scary, now that I think about it. Anyway, my Ultimate basically consists of me blowing up the Ragnarok, and probably blowing myself up too in the process. Please don't get your mom-friend personality going, I'll be fine, don't worry.

Well, that's all the news I can tell you right now, you're going to be coming back from the toilet soon and I don't want to get caught writing this. If I am dead, please ask a Spirit mage to wipe my family's memories, but please, please don't forget me.

Take care of yourself and Oliver and my family and all the others for me. Be the super-amazing mom-friend you are. If I'm not there at yours and Oliver's wedding, I'll be watching and cheering for you from heaven. I love you. Never forget that.

From your supastic, ultra-fabuloso bestie (just kidding lol),

I Emma

My fingers traced the fabulous curly writing as I finished the letter.

"Oh, Emma..." I breathed, my voice cracking.

Then, not bothering to hold them back any longer, I let tears flow freely down my face, thanking the universe that Emma was still alive. there are a lot of dashy line thingos

When mom and I arrived in Myragon, it was already nearly evening.

Warm colors bathed the sky with their glowing light, and I smiled blissfully as we walked towards the Academy.

"Marilla!" Oliver said, when he saw my mother and I walk into the dormitory hall. He was dressed in a sort of formal suit.

He looks...really good, I thought, before shaking my head in embarrassment as I flushed crimson.

"O-oh, hello Mrs Waterson," he flashed a grin at me before striding off in the direction of the dining hall, and I beamed at him in return.

"Hey Marilla," Mom whispered, "are you guys dating?"

I turned beetroot and glared at mom, flustered.

"U-um, I don't know if you'd consider it dating, but..." I looked back at Oliver's retreating form and nodded.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you, sweetie," mom gushed delightedly. I resisted the urge to giggle.

"Here's my dorm, mom," I opened the door and walked in. Rika, Carissa and Terra were getting dressed for the feast, and Carissa and Terra were chatting with Rika furiously; they obviously had missed her loads. "Oh, I'm so sorry sweetie, did you get a dress?" Mom asked apologetically. I nodded.