. : Laura of Neverland : .

Sebastian was coming along surprisingly well.

It was suspicious.

Laura watched as he moved around the dim library. They really shouldn't be out this late. Attacks had begun on the castle-- presumably by Sophie and her band of Nevers-- and there was a night patrol creeping around at all hours. It had been nearly two weeks since the first training, and he was taking it in stride. His movement was becoming more fluid, both in the was he used his magic and the way he used his sword.

Part of her was gnawing away, wondering if she was making a mistake. She had no doubts about her ability to overpower him and his magic if she needed to, but Clarissa had gotten to her. Maybe she was making a huge mistake by beginning to train him. Or maybe it was the disbelief that the person she considered her enemy, the bane of her existence, had been surprisingly open to the magic.

"What?"

Laura snapped her gaze back to Sebastian, who held a ball of water above his fingers. The only light in the library was from the candles that floated far above, and the small flame she had bouncing over her fingers. In the shadows, his face looked sharp, but his eyes were focused on her. She hummed a questioning noise.

"You're making a face," He supplied as a way of explaining.

Laura frowned. "I am not making a face."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow but didn't push the matter. Instead returning to the drills. The water drifted around his head in a rough circle and flattened out into a sheet before turning back into a ball.

Laura drifted her attention to her hands, picking at her nails. The cardinal balance certainly liked Sebastian as the Water Sage, and her magic didn't mind either. She had never doubted her magical intuition before, even when it had seemed like the worst possible choice. Still, Sebastian was a hard choice, and to justify it to the council at the next meeting was going to be hell.

Maybe Clarissa was right, and she just needed to finish the job.

She squirmed at the thought. Laura had sworn off intentional murdering ever since she first discovered her magic. She could always get one of the Never sages to do it, but then she wouldn't be much better for letting him be killed when there was no real reason to.

She had been so focused on her thoughts that she didn't notice when Sebastian dropped the ball of water and stepped toward her.

"What are you thinking about? You've got the face again?"

Laura shook her head. "It doesn't concern you."

She did notice the way Sebastian rolled his eyes, but she didn't press it. He leaned on the table across from her.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes and leaned to face her. "You know you get a fate worse than death if you don't get an invite to the Snow Ball."

Laura snorted but averted her eyes already. "What about it?"

Sebastian shrugged, but a deadly smile came across his face. "I know someone who is interested in asking you."

Laura glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Aren't you supposed to be doing your drills?"

"What? You don't want to know?"

He was baiting her, trying to get her to slip up or share something. He wanted something. 

"Either get back to your drills or change the topic, or else I will walk away and you can scramble through training yourself."

Sebastian huffed, but he dropped the Snow Ball. Laura drifted her eyes away again, staring at the candles. She could feel the fire bouncing. She twitched her finger and a single flame extinguished. Another flick and it relit. 

Maybe she should take him to the council. She would never be able to forgive or forget what he had done to her, her people, and her home. Immense guilt had begun to build up. How could she betray her people, standing here, training the enemy? 

But then again, he had given her his word. Havfrue would no longer be an enemy of Neverland's after she was finished training him. It was for the safety of her home, to prevent any more slaughter of her people.

"How did you find out you were the Fire Sage?"

Her eyes snapped to him. "What?"

"I told you how I found out--"

"No, you came and begged for help--" Laura cut in.

"--Tell me how you found out."

Laura squeezed her hands into the edge of the table, holding herself upright. She hadn't thought about it in years. She couldn't. Not without revisiting the horror she had caused. The pain on her parents' faces, her brother's eyes as he found her. The scent of smoke and ash. The entire western wing was in ruin. Who knew how many innocents were dead?

Laura shook her head, rage bubbling up. "No."

Sebastian frowned at her. "What do you mean no?"

"I said no," Laura snapped, standing up straight. "We are not friends, and we are never going to be. I will never tell you anything of that sort."

She stepped towards him, and he leaned back, fear spiking in his eyes. Laura relished it.

"You will never know anything about me. You will never know who I was or who I am."

Sebastian glared at her definitely. "You won't tell me anything? Aren't I entitled to some sort of information?"

Laura clenched her jaw. He wanted information, she would give him information. Usually, the Sages found out the past three in their line when they started training, but she had been hiding it from him. Maybe to spare him, but now, with the way her irritation was spiking. The reminder of everything he had done. She had no guilt.

 "I am the Fire Sage, and that is all I will ever be to you," She paused, allowing a small smile to cross her face. "You want information? The Water Sage that trained me, the one before the most recent? Her name was Urla of the Eastern Sea. I think you're familiar with her."

Sebastian's face blanched, and his mouth opened slightly. "Is this a sick joke?"

"No," Laura responded. "Urla was the Water Sage that trained me. The very same woman that your parents butchered twenty-five years ago."

"Fuck off," Sebastian shoved her back, his fingers cold through the thin pink fabric of her uniform, and Laura laughed, despite a lack of amusement.

"You are the one who wanted information. You have information, was it worth it?"

He snarled at her, and stepped towards her, as if ready to fight. Laura sidestepped him, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around, so she had him in a chokehold. She stepped back so he was off balance. One finger lit, and she held the tiny flame close enough to his throat that she knew he could feel the heat. His auburn hair tickled her face and he smelled faintly of coconut water and salty sea breeze. He struggled against her, but she had him tight.

"Do not ever ask me anything like that again," She hissed into his ear, holding the flame closer. "We are not friends, and we will never be anything but enemies. I am helping you because the cardinal balance is more important than anything else, but if you ever misstep, question me, or push boundaries ever again, I will personally be responsible for the destruction of your kingdom."

She extinguished the flame and pushed him away. "Training is over."

She walked away, well aware of his glower on her back. Laura ignored it, slamming the door to the library behind her.

~~~

Laura leaned her back against her bed as she sat on the floor. The exhaustion of the last few nights was wearing on her and she had nearly slept. She could feel her magic protesting at the exhaustion and silently vowed to sleep more.

Agatha was cradling her head in her hands across from her. Her dark hair fell in heaps around her face, curling loosely in her fingers.

It was still dark out, the sun just beginning to peek through the gauzy curtains. It made the shadows in their room long as they crept away from the window to hide. 

"I just can't stop having these dreams," Agatha murmured through her fingers, peeking her dark eyes through her fingers to look at Laura in the grey light. "They follow me everywhere. It's just this face, but the closer I get, the more I can make out, and they feel so familiar."

Laura chewed on her lip. She had heard of these before. Her mother had had them about her father long before they ended up together. She didn't know students could get them too.

"It sounds like you are having dreams about your prince," Laura continued before Agatha could interrupt her. "I know it seems ridiculous, but from what I know, almost every Ever girl has dreams at one point in time or another."

"What does it mean if I'm--" Agatha shuddered. "If I'm having dreams about a prince."

Laura shrugged, trying to suppress the small smile that was creeping onto her face. "I think it would mean you've been in the right school all along,"

~~~ 

A/N 

Hello all, here is yet another chapter because @Grapecow653 demanded it be released tonight and not tomorrow. I hope you all enjoy it.

Until next time

~ Indigo