Thankfully my inner clock had developed over these last few weeks, so when I woke up, Jahi was still in a deep sleep. Untangling myself from her arms, I looked around our room. We had moved in last week, and thankfully we managed to change the color pallet from pure, blinding white to a dull grey.
Moving over to the dresser, I removed both my clothes and Jahi's, before making my way into the bathroom. Looking around, it truly was a copy of the Marquess' room, as almost every stone was placed exactly in the same place. Whoever created these rooms really took the whole 'make the rooms identical' to a whole other level.
Approaching the bath, I activated the water and fire crystals, allowing the water to heat up. Exiting the bathroom, I approached the bed, smiling when I saw Jahi frowning slightly in her sleep. She was reaching around the bed, searching for what was missing. I continued to watch her search before gently shaking her shoulders. She groaned, before slightly opening her eyes.
"Good morning, Jahi. It's time to get up."
Grumbling again, she turned around, burying herself into the sheets. Sighing, I grabbed the sheets before dragging them off of her. She growled slightly, flipping over to glare at me. Seeing her glaring, I smiled, staring at her. For a few moments she laid there, before finally sitting up. Grabbing me, she pulled me onto the bed next to her, wrapping her arms around me.
Leaning into her, I let her hold me, as this was the easiest way to wake her up that I had found. I had tried simply dragging her out of bed, but she was much stronger than me. I had also tried simply waking her up before moving into the bath, but she had refused to move. We were late to classes that day.
Jahi stood up, dragging me towards the bath. Helping her out of her nightwear, I watched as she entered the bath. Quickly folding her clothes, I undressed as well, placing my clothes next to hers.
Entering the bath, she was sitting on the stool in front of the shower, yawning slightly. Kneeling next to her, I started gently washing her. After rinsing her off we switched spots, allowing me to enjoy her gentle caress.
Moving to the bath, we sat next to one another. Sighing, I looked up at her.
"Are you nervous? You awaken your core today..."
She smirked down at me, ruffling my ears.
"Nope. Why would I be nervous? Any magic is fine, and I KNOW I will awaken a core today. You've seen my Mom effortlessly use her fire magic, and you were there when Mother used her lightning magic. Besides, even if I am atrocious at magic, as long as I can learn basic spells I still have the ridiculous strength all demons are born with. So it's fine Kat, really. Relax."
Saying so, she wrapped her arm around my shoulder, gently leaning her head onto mine.
We sat there for a few more minutes, before I rose from her embrace. Moving back towards the door, I grabbed a towel. Looking back, I could see Jahi staring at me, her eyes wandering. I quickly made my way back to her, dragging her out of the bath. Drying her off, she continued to smirk at me, making me blush slightly.
Pushing her out the door, I quickly dried myself off before moving outside. Jahi stood next to the bed, tapping her foot while her arms were crossed. After that whole little speech claiming she wasn't nervous, yet here she was, displaying a tic that I had only seen once before, when the Countess had almost demanded we have separate rooms. Jahi had begged and pleaded with the Countess, and the whole time we were together during the Countess' deliberations she had looked just like this.
Smiling, I took her clothes and dressed her, before dressing myself. Making sure that everything was on correctly, I stepped back, nodding.
"All set. Are you ready, Jahi?"
She nodded, before grabbing my hand and leading me out the door.
The awakening ceremony would take place in the same hall we practiced dance in. Making our way there, Jahi would periodically squeeze my hand, making me squeeze hers back. When we reached the door, Jahi took a deep breath before entering.
Inside, a large ritual circle was chalked onto the floor, with the Marquess, Countess, and Arch Mage Kolia forming a triangle. In the center of the circle was a small mat and little crystal ball. Taking another breath, Jahi walked to the center before sitting crosslegged.
I moved off to the side, standing next to my mother and Baroness Estra. Baron Jilk was standing opposite us. Looking up at my mother, I saw that she was slightly worried.
"Does awakening a core hurt?"
She looked down at me, smiling. "No, it doesn't. It feels like... like you just drank something warm after being cold all day. Lady Jahi will be fine."
The Baroness nodded her head. "When I awakened my core, it was like being submerged in a bath. Sadly, my mana capacity is quite low..."
Looking between the two, I took a deep breath before turning back to Jahi. Seeing her grab the crystal and close her eyes, I continued to observe her.
Moments passed, and the trio started muttering, activating rune after rune on the circle. Gradually the circle started glowing white, and the crystal ball in Jahi's hands started to shine.
My breath caught in my throat when I heard her breathing heavily, and I had to hold myself back from jumping into the circle to comfort her.
Time kept passing, and the glow of the circle and ball kept increasing. The trio had backed away, watching with bated breath.
The brilliant white light slowly started turning a wonderful gold, a more vibrant color than the Countess' lightning, which was always tinged in a cerulean blue.
Seeing this, all of us gasped in surprise. As I had started devouring books about magic, as well as talking to Arch Mage Kolia, I knew what colors were what when seen in a crystal.
Obviously, fire was red, wind green, water deep blue, and earth brown. Lightning was yellow, metal was silver, nature a dark green, and ice was a pale blue. Light was gold, and darkness was purple.
Space and Time weren't recorded, but it was theorized that space would be rainbow, while time was a pale green.
Staring into the crystal, the brilliant gold was almost blinding. Looking towards the Marquess and Countess, both of them had their mouths wide open in shock. Arch Mage Kolia had a giant grin on her face.
Slowly the light started dimming. When it had disappeared, all the chalk on the floor had been erased, and the ball had cracks all over it.
As Jahi continued to sit there, silence descended in the hall. All of us held our breath.
lightsΝοvεl ƈοm
Her eyes fluttered open, a brilliant gold. Blinking a few times, her amethyst eyes returned, and she took a look around the room. When her eyes met mine, I shivered, as they flickered between amethyst and gold. Getting up, she walked towards me, ignoring the others.Stopping in front of me, she tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes. Meeting her gaze, I flinched slightly at the intensity. It felt like a predator looking at prey.
A wide smile spread on her face, and she pulled me into a tight hug. For a few moments I stood still, shocked. Looking over her shoulder at the Marquess and Countess, I saw both of them had a similar grin.
Returning the hug, she clenched me tighter. Arch Mage Kolia walked forward, sighing slightly.
"Kat, just as a reminder, but mana amplifies a persons emotions, and in your case... well, being bound to someone already amplifies them, so good luck."
The Marquess laughed, wrapping both of us in a hug.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You have someone who loves you quite a bit. What really matters is that Jahi awakened to Light Magic! The only other person who can use it is the Empress' first wife, Joana D'Arcon."
Jahi kept nuzzling into me, and I started stroking her hair. Looking around, my mother was looking at me with slight pity, while everyone else was focused on Jahi.
The fact that she has such rare magic...
I smiled, knowing that in a years time these people would yet again receive a huge shock...