Julie, with a bored expression, sat at a wooden desk, filling out paperwork and enduring a small history lesson about the so-called unseen world. The lesson seemed endless, cramming her brain with information.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡci0BPp4fdn
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YpmsqUcCU
She despised being in school, remaining still, and enduring know-it-all teachers who tried to stuff her brain with facts she struggled to retain. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to remember everything. Julie hated that most of all—the inability to recall certain facts. She looked down at the wooden table, doubting this would ever change.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl51eHe5jfB
"Ms. May, I hope I'm not boring you," said her instructor, standing in front of her, no longer engrossed in the small book in his hands.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAzYpXGMXN
"Um, sorry, Mr... Bramble?" She hoped she got his name right.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmIpJ5ahuw
Honestly, for the first time, Julie didn't want to be rude to this guy, apparently in charge of giving her a brief lesson on this new world she had entered. She found herself captivated by Mr. Bramble's appearance the first time she saw him. He was definitely a pretty boy, with flawless, sparkling skin, pink hair, and green eyes. Though she wasn't sure at first, now she was certain he had pointy ears, which fascinated her. She almost wanted to ask if he was an elf but stopped herself, unsure if it was rude.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi53cnNehNv
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNaSF8lE0i
Mr. Bramble smiled and walked towards Julie, sitting down right next to her.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ItlEXKNt0
"What's so funny?" Julie asked, curious about the small giggles Mr. Bramble was giving her.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BIecOcyTD
"I'm sorry," he said, looking at her with his piercing green eyes. "I'm not an elf," Mr. Bramble said, his charming smile widening. "And even though it's not rude to ask, it's not all that polite either."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡME1M08ci8d
"Um..." Julie said, her eyebrows raised as she looked at her teacher.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpFtojIQP6
Mr. Bramble's smile began to disappear. "I'm sorry, I've been told that reading people's minds can be rude."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUsqeZj90r
"You read my mind?" Julie asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlXHesWbtW
Mr. Bramble nodded with a smirk. "It's my gift," he said.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2wec4bfKt
"That's amazing," Julie said, almost mystified.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfPfHOfPUa
"Thank you," Mr. Bramble said, nodding. "I've had that gift ever since I was young." He looked away, his grip around his book tightening. "I am a Descenfael, after all."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26AxcFvMBa
"I'm sorry, Descenfael?" Julie asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI1tpRcOLVf
Mr. Bramble's expression turned slightly stern as he looked at Julie. "I was right," he said. "You didn't pay attention to the lesson."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsQkuLM5vw
"Um, sorry," Julie said with an awkward smile.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQzNIstEZo
"In this world, there are the Halbenfael, also known as half-bloods, and then there are beings known as the Descenfael, the descendants of half-bloods," Mr. Bramble explained. "That's what I am."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZhjEY4ezU
Julie slowly nodded, absorbing the knowledge she found interesting.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uEz0Ujchx
"I come from a long line of Descenfael, going all the way back to my great-great-great-grandfather, whose father was a forest fairy," Mr. Bramble said, his eyes lowering as he thought deeply about his family history.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFNL3nBdMV
"My gifts are rare, which of course is unusual among most Descenfael who are born powerless," Mr. Bramble said with pride.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwl77TfW6Ex
"So what about me?" Julie asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFqxTcJJCn
Mr. Bramble raised one eyebrow in confusion. "What about you?" he asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkgUtdEwGe
"I was told that I was a half-blood, I guess what you call a Halbenfael," Julie said, trying her best to pronounce the word correctly. "So, um, where are my special powers?" she asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPb5hMuMJ5
"Um..." Mr. Bramble said, putting his hand to his chin. "That may or may not be true," he said.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnFeEZE0lZ
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKgSyHoibK
Julie's expression turned panicked. "What? But Tora said—"
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RYU1RadZB
"Look, those kinds of mistakes are made a lot," Mr. Bramble said. "I mean, almost every few months, a VoinGarde wrongly claims that someone is a Halbenfael when they are not."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFr4g21CTL
Julie remained silent for a moment, thinking about Mr. Bramble's words. "But the things that I see, have seen... Why am I even here if I'm not one of you?" she asked, feeling frustrated.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwquojzFfku
"Slow down," Mr. Bramble said, putting his hands up as if on the defense.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNldwHdPs6z
"First of all, I said you may or may not be one; I didn't say that you weren't," Mr. Bramble clarified, putting his hands down and looking straight into Julie's eyes. "And second of all, the Luminal Accords are for anyone who can see or even sense the other world. As soon as you were gifted with the sight, you became eligible for its protection."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYhJ5BH68r
Julie wasn't sure why, but she was beginning to calm down.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCldyhNLlnB
"So then, if you're not sure if I'm a Descenfael or even a Halbenfael, how do we find out?" she asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeFKLHDBt5
"Yeah, that's the tricky part," Mr. Bramble said. "The thing is, we don't actually have a surefire way of knowing that."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Wf2143NPu
"What?" Julie asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHp74qU1OD
"The thing about the spirit world is that it's tricky, literally. It's filled with tricks," Mr. Bramble explained. "Everything in that world is meant to deceive you: making you walk down wrong paths that lead to cliffs, eat delicious-smelling fruit that turns you inside out, or drink crystal-clear waters that trap you in your own delusions forever."32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdvjQn1mnc
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSJuq8XbPe
"Okay, okay, I get it," Julie said.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4kkGUemLo
"The point is, it's a tricky world; therefore, anything that comes from that world would also be tricky."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcYv4jTUpK
Mr. Bramble waited for a while. "Like fairy DNA," he said finally. "No scanner on earth, supernatural or otherwise, can detect it."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXGNLtkqUK
"Why?" Julie asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLm8c7Nb4KM
"Because fairy DNA will always blend itself into looking like human DNA or half-blood DNA or even the DNA of a Descenfael," Mr. Bramble explained.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFRKlZ6T8b
"You talk as if it's alive, fairy DNA," Julie said.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKuVN0bQoB
"Uh-huh," Mr. Bramble said, nodding. "It almost seems to act that way when we've tried to observe it. Either way, it's tricky to see."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGdzUmSDwq
"So then how will I find out what I am?" Julie asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNZeAIlPkC
"Well, you could be many things. You could even be a regular human with blight," Mr. Bramble said, crossing his arms.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2to4zbKgWt
"Blight. I know that!" Julie said with excitement. "That's when a regular human gets a supernatural injury that leads to a spiritual infection, giving them the ability to see the supernatural world."
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ywZmOKJI1
Mr. Bramble smiled. "Correct. I guess you were paying a little bit of attention. You could also be someone gifted with a supernaturally charged object, giving you the power to see the other world," he explained.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDYAKLpHfA
"Yeah, no, I would probably know if I had something like that," Julie said.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyv5911nOrQ
"But there's only one way to know for sure," Mr. Bramble said, then stopped talking.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9XgfWh6Zg
"Well, don't stop on my account," Julie said, impatient to hear the answer.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mnrF3z5nB
"Your parent, your supernatural one, would have to reveal themselves to you, or you could—"
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4sTndC01p
Mr. Bramble stopped talking as a loud alarm went off and the whole room began to flash red.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2nXNqS1j1
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoO6roa0Q7
"What's happening?" Julie asked.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RnKatPdwq
Mr. Bramble got up from his seat, his face filled with panic. "That's the level 3 emergency alarm."
***
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjonJudori6
Author notes: Please support my work on Patreon for early access to new chapters. https://patreon.com/DarkMatteromniverse
ns216.73.216.197da2
