It was months after the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony. Freya was practicing each day since then, making large clouds that make the task of watering plants much easier. As for you, you're mastering the ability to summon a vast number of butterflies with your magical attribute. Which you can do with ease because of the immense amount of mana you have. You usually practice inside the forest to hide from the blonde's eye. You don't want her to know that you heed her wishes to try the Magic Knights Entrance Exam, it will only make her inflate her ego. Nobody wants that.

Laid at the lush grass with tall trees surrounding you, you lift a finger and summon a lone blue-colored wing butterfly, whose wing slowly flutters but remained perched on your finger.

-

It was nighttime.

You and Freya were supposed to be at home.

Ms. Sho told the two of you to stay put inside while she sells some of the freshly picked flowers down the nearby store. To buy some dinner, the woman arranged the grown flowers that the three of you got from your field. The money you'll get from it wasn't that grand, only a couple of coins to buy yourselves some loaf and water if she managed to sell it to the unkind old lady. But Ms. Sho was taking too long and Freya was getting too hungry to remain stayed put in the worn house. Being the adventurous little kid that she is, she managed to coax a quiet kid like you into her mission.

When you were much younger, Freya's mother brought you two on her trips on the market to sell plants so even now, you knew the direction and the outskirts you could take to get there. Despite the one who thought of getting out of the house and away from the warmth it offers, the blonde-haired kid with you was afraid of being separated from you and has a tight grip on your small hands. (You voiced out that she must've brought you along with her so that she wasn't alone, she just squeaked and shyly nodded. You could only sigh the longest sigh that a kid your age could muster.) Upon reaching the last turn before reaching the flower shop, a scream made the two of you stop in your tracks. Freya, who was already a shaking mess before, looked close to fainting. She was shaking and your heart couldn't take it to make her peak to see what's going on on the other side.

You pushed her and yourself flush on the wall and carefully peaked at the edge.

It was three drunk grown men. They were swaying on their feet, flushed faces, and smelled funny (their disgusting smells were that pungent). What makes your eyes widen was the familiar face by their feet. Ms. Sho was seated on the ground, crying as she desperately tried to collect the fallen flowers that were once a part of a presentable bundle. Your eyes were easily filled with tears as the men stomped on the plants that the three of you take care of, watered daily, and talked to on the daily basis. Seeing the woman who gave her all into raising you and those plants that are currently under the filthy shoes of the laughing men is an insult that you couldn't take and wouldn't accept as long as you live.

Full of rage, you ran to the crying woman and frantically pushed and punched the legs that are standing over what your family worked hard for. You didn't mind the string of curses from the men, the surprised acknowledgment from the woman nor the terrified cries of the crying blonde child behind the wall.

"What do you think you're doing, brat?!" one of the men screamed as he flipped you off his foot. You ignore the outburst and hurriedly salvaged the flowers that you could still sell. "You tainted my precious clothes, you filthy peasant!"

Thankfully, a handful of the remaining flowers are safe and can still be bought. You looked for the disregarded newspaper to put the flowers but then a sound of a slap echoed. You heard the sound of impact before the actual pain that began to blossom in your cheek as your vision was turned to the paper was now looking at the ground. Your face felt hot and is stinging. Your flesh felt swollen and you wince as you touch it. You didn't notice the shocked faces of your family as they witness how the nobles treat a kid such as your age.

Even so, you remained composed and willed yourself to be tough as you leaned down and wrapped the flowers into the paper. Carefully putting it together, you gave it to Ms. Sho, who was still seated on the ground and with glossy eyes. As she took the bundle, pain from your scalp ripped a scream from you that was quickly drowned by the laughter from the men. Even with your age, you knew that they were mocking you as the other kids do to you and Freya when you guys played. The difference was these guys are nothing like the kids from the village. These nobles have magic that they can use and can get away from it because of social status.

This world was unfair, you knew that.

How the high status looked down on people, peasants they called them, just because of the lack of both money and magic. How they deemed other people like dirt and treated them as such. How they thought that the world is only for them to live in and that they are the predators at the top of the food chain.

Life isn't fair.

"Mom! y/n-chan!"

With a thump, your body surged forward and landed on the ground. You wince, the pain on your head remained and the newly acquired scratches in your knees aren't helping. A chocked sob made your skin crawl. There she was, Freya. The child you grew alongside was being chocked by the drunk and laughing nobles as they stomped on the already ruined flowers that you put your time, effort, love, and soul into nurturing. They were mockingly laughing at her face as she gasped for air, pleading them to release her so that she can take a breath and calm the frantically beating heart that was painfully hammering on her chest. Her green eyes were quickly becoming glossy and she fought the hand enclosing her air pipe. The child's mother wailed, desperately pleading for her daughter's sake but the other two men just pushed her and mock the pain she felt on seeing her precious baby being forcefully cut off the air supply.

"Stop. . ."

Laughter, cries, and pleads.

"Stop. . ."

Chocked sobs, whimpers, and wailing.

"STOP!"

A large gust of wind flew the damaged flowers around as the force of a swarm of butterflies encircles the nobles, completely freeing the gasping Freya from his clutches. Like colorful tornadoes, bodies of butterflies dance in circles, effectively drowning the screams of the grown men mid-air. Pieces of shredded precious and high-quality clothing floated down.

It was a sight to see.

A beautiful scene that hides a bloody encounter.

A hand grasped yours and pulled you along as the three of you run away from the screaming men. The trip home was a blur. Once Ms. Sho opened the door, she hurriedly ushered the two of you inside and locked the door before leaning on it, breathing heavily. A silent minute passed before Freya burst into tears, loud cries filled the small space in your home as she run to her mom and embraced her. The grown woman wasn't different, she was crying, much quieter than her daughter but the same tears and pain. You can only avert your eyes, a somewhat type of privacy for the family to cry on but then Ms. Sho softly called out to you, opened arms, and a motherly smile on her lips. You slowly approached her and wrapped your arms around them. Her grip on you was tight but not suffocating, firm yet comforting. Like a safety blanket, the one you need after encountering a traumatic experience.

"My babies. . ." she cried, clenching your battered clothes in her fists as she tried her best to soothe her cries and her daughter's, to let you feel the comfort of a mother that you lost when you were young. "I'm so sorry. . ."

-

"I was wondering where you went."

A voice spoke that made you sit up straight, the butterfly flying off somewhere as Freya walked to where you were seated at. She was smiling, eyes twinkling like she knew the reason why you were currently at the forest and not by the field planting some newly bought seeds. (She doesn't know shit and was merely provoking you to confess it yourself.) You clicked your tongue and stood, walked over to her to say "Am I not allowed to wander?" before passing to go to the neglected sack of seeds.

"Well," she paused, observing how you expertly dug into the dirt and fetching a seed to throw it in. "You don't normally go elsewhere though, so I was surprised, is all."

You trimmed some of the excess leaves from several plants while Freya created multiple miniature clouds for the newly buried seeds. Ms. Sho took a trip to the market to buy some papers for the bundles and something for dinner. Despite the fact that your best friend grew up along with you be continuously exposed to plants and flowers, she wasn't attentive to the field as you and her mother are. Because of this, most of the garden work was entrusted to you while she was in charge of watering because of her magic.

Frustrating fact; she only had one job in the field and sometimes, she doesn't do it in favor of goofing off somewhere and making fluffy clouds.

Flower stems perfectly trimmed and soils freshly watered, you let out a sigh. A month before the Magic Knight Entrance Exams will take place in the Capital, which wasn't that far from home. It will take about seven or eight hours to reach the venue by foot if you can leave the house at dawn. Packing food and water for the trip will be ideal because you can't be sure if the Exam will only take a day and be finished in one. You never knew taking an exam like this could be so much work. Maybe you should stay here and ignore Freya's arguments about wasting your potential and just lived a normal life with plants and flowers?

You sighed. "What a pain."

"What was that?"

"I said you're so plain."

"What the! You're so mean!"

"Sorry."

"At least say it like you mean it!"

In a span of one month, you trained yourself inside the forest, much farther than the last place to practice at and Freya found you. You helped Ms. Sho in the garden and worked twice as hard to gain money for your trip to the Capital. Your decision to take the Entrance Exam remained unknown to your family so to say that both of them were confused as to why you're more determined and hard-working nowadays was understandable. Still, they kept quiet and let you do your thing. They trusted you enough for you to know that every action has consequences you must face head-on.

When the fateful day arrived, it was still dark when you woke. Everything was already settled and you'll be good to go. Shrugging on the bag filled with the things you thought you'll need, you look back to your family to see them fast asleep. With a deep breath, you took a step away and another, until you close the door to the home you knew and opened a door to a new journey you'll be taking alone.