Serene’s POV

Rows after rows of cages lined up in the vast room we had just entered, enclosing numerous creatures inside them. It was dimly lit with white lights that shimmered in lanterns.

The roof was at least 60 feet high to be able to cage enormous creatures that dwelled there. Some cages were glass while others had metallic bars. Creatures of all shapes and sizes shuffled and rested, while some stared back at us, others screeched and roared.

Mariela Sensei opened two glass cages, one after the other and let loose inside the creatures we had brought, they were still tiny from the spell they had been placed under.

"Mariela Sensei, how many creatures do you have here?" I asked while Zeph and I skimmed along the cages and observed the creatures she had been keeping.

"Roughly about thirty, but the number can rise or dwindle. Some I have created myself by fusing different creatures. Others I can conjure like the Schlangto you people fought, I just have to keep the details in my mind while conjuring one. And we few that have been captured, which I study closely with Lavaria so we can understand them better." This had us in awe, her powers were absolutely unique and this prompted us to learn more about them.

"Mariela Sensei your powers and spells are so advanced and rare. Do the creatures listen and obey you always?" I inquired looking closely at a creature that had a round redhead and a wobbly body like it was made up of clear jelly which revealed its organs inside.

"All those I create and conjure are bound to me as I control them, but they can be mind-controlled by someone with superior power. Captured ones I can’t control though, She explained while offering a raw piece of meat to a creature through the metallic bars of its cage.

"The creatures we brought are new to your collection? Will they be of any help?" Zeph asked curiously while leaning against one of the pillars in the room. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"They are and will be beneficial in understanding them better, to learn their weaknesses and teach novices by showing." She had straightened up and moved to the next glass enclosure, where a creature with sea-blue eyes was staring back at us. She tapped the glass and it pressed its long snout to where her hand was.

"We found this too, don’t know if it will be of any use." Zeph took out the vial from his pocket which held the silvery black insect and handed it to Mariela sensei.

Her eyes grew wide in astonishment as she said: "Never thought I would see this one in my lifetime. It’s a rare Silvina Bug, it releases a chemical from its silvery lines which have healing properties. Thank you for bringing this, it will be very beneficial in making new potions."

"It was climbing up Serene’s leg and she almost killed it," Zeph smirked while I threw him an angry glance.

"I don’t like insects," I told her in a small voice.

"Don’t worry about it Serene. Not everyone can love such creatures, it takes a lot of patience to care for them." She offered me a small smile, which made her face brighten up, appearing so beautiful. I wished she would smile more.

"I know Sensei and I honour you so much for it. Especially how you came to our aid in our hour of need." I could never express the gratitude I felt for my Senseis.

"We will always come for you Serene, no matter the situation we will stand together." She walked toward me and placed her hand on my shoulder. I smiled and nodded my head.

"Let’s go out now," she announced and we followed her outside the vast room. She placed the vial Zeph had given her on the table. We decided to take our leave but Mariela Sensei spoke: Serene, can I speak with you alone?"

"Sure Sensei," I nodded at Zeph.

"Come to the Dining Hall, I will wait for you." With these words, he walked briskly, closing the door swiftly behind him.

Once he was gone I gave my full attention to Mariela Sensei, who appeared awkward and tensed. I had always seen her exhibiting confidence but today she seemed underconfident making me wonder what the issue was.

"Serene, I don’t know how to ask you this but I have thought long and hard about it and I want to take my chance." She spoke lightly while settling down in her chair and pointing toward the other chair for me to sit as well.

"About what, Sensei?" I was getting rather curious, Mariela Sensei was not the type of person who would say something like that, ever.

"I want to ask you some questions about Kilamin, will that be alright? Also, I want this conversation to remain between us. Can I count on your discretion?" I could see her cheeks getting flustered at the mention of Kilamin’s name, and a hint of a smile tugged at her lips.

"Umm, yes sure. I would try to answer to the best of my knowledge." I wasn’t sure what or why she wanted to ask me about Kilamin. Was she trying to extract some information about him because he was such a mystery to everyone? His good looks and dark personality always seemed to allure the ladies to him. But, Mariela Sensei was not that type of a woman.

"Is he engaged to someone?" She asked a bit shyly. I almost choked on my saliva, I gulped so hard at her question. She had totally caught me off guard. No words came out of my mouth for a while as I stared at her in bewilderment. She blinked at me nervously and I realized I haven’t answered her question.

"No, Sensei he is not. Not that I know off, he is very secretive." Although I knew he had no interest when it came down to love, he has made that abundantly clear to me several times, even trying to make me quit my love life as well. I didn’t want to reveal to her that he was my brother.

"Anyone he loves, he is your general so maybe you have some idea." There was a twinkle in her eyes, I understood my answer had made her happy. This was indeed strange, Mariela taking interest in Kilamin, of all the people she chose him who was not even interested in talking to girls.

"Sensei! he is very goal oriented and focused on his royal duties. According to him, he doesn’t have time for mediocrity that’s called love in his life. These are his words, not mine." I told her the brutal truth. A hint of sadness crossed her face but she kept her emotions in check after that.

"I understand, and is there anything you can tell me about his family? I know his mother passed away but what about the rest of the family? What about his father? Any siblings?" Her question made me nervous and beads of perspiration began to trickle down from my temples, and my hands went cold. How was I supposed to tell her the truth that I was his sister and he was my family? I had to lie to her.

"I am sorry Sensei, I don’t know. You will have to ask him about it." I replied, my heart thudding heavily in my chest from the lies I just told my Sensei. But he was my brother and I would never let anyone judge or harm him. He was one of the most important people in my life.

"I see, so there is no chance he could like someone, especially someone as ugly as me? Or is there a chance for me, as I feel he prefers brains over beauty?"

Her statement had me flabbergasted, was she in love with Kilamin? A slight tremor like an electric shock went through my whole body. And why would she call herself ugly? Was this the reason she had lost so much weight? Just to get noticed by him? Wasn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder? Plus I had no clue what beauty standards Kilamin had, or if he even had any.

"Sensei, you are not ugly. And as far as I have known him he prefers only the brain. Stupidity and stupid people annoy him." I responded meekly, knowing that Mariela Sensei was nowhere near stupidity, she was one of the smartest people I had known.

"I know how I look like Serene, you don’t have to make me feel better. But I was always confident about myself with no insecurities until I met Kilamin. He always showed keen interest in my powers and would discuss miscellaneous topics at length with me. We had so much in common, and I found myself at ease while talking to him. He occasionally smiled at me too, I had never seen him smile with anyone else, except you sometimes. This made me feel wanted but I began to feel uncomfortable in my skin. I felt I wasn’t beautiful enough for him to take whatever we had to the next level."