I sprinkled the mint leaves on top of the flower petals in the teapot. Living Accursed was sitting open on a section I had gone over it far too many times to gain new insight at this point, but it was the only resource on curses I had easy access to.

My wrist was numb today, luckily it hadn't spread up to my hand. But I still needed to keep my magic usage limited where I could. Not that I was in the habit of using magic for anything.

I sighed as I sat back down and let the tea brew.

The one symptom of my curse that hadn't been explained or even mentioned was the dark green liquid the mark discharged at times. Lightning made sense to me. Energy was energy. But why did I bleed green sometimes?

"I hope I'm not interrupting something serious."

I looked up to see Vivian sitting down across from me with a stack of papers nearly as thick as the book I was failing to read. How busy was she?

"Don't mention this to the others, but it seems this year's…uniqueness has caused a higher than anticipated number of visitors. Headmaster Pan and Administrations Head Centauris and I are trying to find solutions."

I had nothing to say to that. I didn't have nearly enough information to offer anything. "Want some tea?"

She quirked her head and hummed for a moment, "Why not?"

I poured her a cup and pushed it over.

She took a sip and for a second I felt a rush of nervousness. "Elder flowers, mint, and chamomile," she observed.

"If there's one thing I can be confident about, it's that me being stressed and agitated is bad for everyone."

She let out a chuckle, "Can't argue with that." She swirled the mug slowly, "Just surprised you drink unsweetened tea."

"Mom always overloads it with honey, but too much sugar messes with my head."

She didn't comment and her silence felt heavy while she drank more tea.

I went back to trying to read.

Curses, at their core, are foreign invasions of magic your body doesn't understand nor is equipped to handle. The longer one is cursed the higher the risk of this unnatural energy corrupting your own.

Corruption. A lifetime of being cursed had to mean my magic was corrupted by that time. Especially since the curse was intertwined so closely to my own.

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But curses like mine weren't common enough to get their own section.

I sipped at my own mug of tea. I liked the taste, I wasn't sure if the balance was perfect. Maybe less mint and more chamomile. But it did the job. The numbness in my wrist faded just a little.

But maybe in time I wouldn't have to deal with this at all.

(*********)

"I'm still furious!" Celica exclaimed. I looked over to see Fethris rolling his eyes as she and the other two bickered.

I was staying out of it.

"I cannot believe they called it a draw. How could you let them do that?" Celica continued to rant.

Russel sighed, "Draws are always a risk."

Celica turned to Jarec, probably looking for her usual partner in crime. Probably for help and support.

"I mean, I had higher hopes for you buddy, but it happens to the best of us," Jarec shrugged.

I thought about how Russel likely did better in his duel than I ever could. I didn't think that saying that out loud was a good idea.

Russel shrugged as he spoke, "My honor wasn't the one on the line. If anything it being a draw looks way worse on the goblin. He picked a fight and didn't win it."

I wondered what that meant for Anubis. Picking a fight with someone younger than her and losing. Or did it not mean anything because Fethris dueled for me? Politics were just as complicated here as they were back at my old school.

My wrist itched.

I scratched at it for a second to look up to see Fethris' eyes staring back at me.

I gave a small smile. An attempt to convey that I was alright without having to say anything. My voice didn't feel like working at that moment.

Maybe mornings filled with bickering weren't so bad.

(*********)

Spellcraft, on the other hand, was not so pleasant.

We were learning another fire spell. Ignite. The power light objects on fire with a tap of our right index finger. I had seen Mom cast this countless times. No fussing with matches or lighters.

Thinking about it now, I couldn't help but wonder if Mom had cast more magic around the house before I was born. Before we learned about my casting complications.

Maybe during her visit I could talk to her about it. Maybe try to convince her that it was okay? Or maybe just let her know that I wanted to see her cast more? Would I have to play up the trying to learn angle? But maybe now that we know why she won't worry about upsetting me as much.

I glanced over to where Angelina was sitting as red magic flames switched over to natural orange ones. My fingers twitched as I looked down at the cold piece of wood in front of me.

I was going to get through this.

(*********)

I think it said a lot about me and my Tower that when Celica first pulled me aside and into the workroom so it was just the two of us my first worry was about what she had done this time.

But then I realized she didn't look smug enough for that.

She looked a little worried.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"The parent visit. You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"If Vivian tells me about anything related to that I will tell everyone. I promise. Right now the only news I have is that there's more parents than usual."

Celica sighed. "I guess with it being so close I'm getting nervous."

"You and me both. Just be assured that if I hear anything I will share it. Even if I don't think it will mean changes."

She nodded, "That's all I wanted to hear."

"I may still be furious with you for sticking this job on me but I will at least try my best to do it right."

All I got was laughter. It was filled with smugness that wasn't weighed down by an ounce of guilt, it also had a hint of pride.

If this was all being Representative was, I probably wouldn't hate it so much.

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