Despite the initial surprise of her encounter with Henry, it didn’t take long for them to pick up from when they’d last seen each other. The two of them meandered about the park, following the well-maintained pathways bustling with other pedestrians enjoying the weather like they were. Layla, excited about recent developments, attempted to steer the conversation toward the event that had her in such an enthusiastic mood.

  “The call finally came through this morning, Henry!”, she exclaimed. “And do you know what they said?”

  Henry didn’t fault her for being excited. After all, simply landing on the campus’s radar himself had had him similarly ecstatic when they’d invited him in for testing. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where she was going with this, now that the final admissions round was reaching a close.

  But with the way the topic was shifting, it felt like a bit of a gut punch to be reminded that he hadn’t made the cut. Not wanting to be a buzzkill, he did his best to dodge the question.

  “Hold that thought,” he interjected. “I think I know what you’re about to say. So, how about we take a little trip over to a cafe or something first, get something nice to celebrate it with, and you can tell me all about it there? My treat.”

  Layla frowned quizzically. “Are you sure? I thought you said that money was rather tight for you at the moment…”

  He waved his hand dismissively in response. “I’ll be fine. I’m not about to break the bank over a few teas, even though they like to hike the price of them to a ridiculous degree.”

  “If you say so…”

  They lingered at the edge of the park for a short while, discussing options of where to stop for the afternoon. Bantering back and forth on which shop had the better atmosphere, Henry tried to drive a hard bargain on one that closer when considering walking distance. Layla, for her part, would not take no for an answer and insisted that since the outing was his idea, it was only fair that she picked the venue. Eventually, he relented on that front, and they journeyed forth into the city for refreshments.

  As they wandered along the lanes of the city, they took time to admire the urban scenery. Multitudes of brick-and-mortar structures towered in the distance, the ones close by mostly consisting of residential buildings like Henry’s own flat, but occasionally interspersed at the bases of them were the occasional small shop or retail store. Typical city fare, for the most part.

  Every so often, though, there was something in the city that broke the mold. Most often nowadays, such events were derived from the world’s rapid adoption of Domains.

  “Look!”

  Layla nudged him and pointed to a street performer further down the street. “There’s a street mage performing a water opera down that way!”

  He had to line his head up with her arm to see where she was pointing, but eventually he did see who she was referring to. Indeed, there was a mage near the approaching street corner plying his talents towards one of the hottest new forms of fine art. Before he could even react, Layla grabbed Henry by the hand and pulled him along so that they could get a closer look before they missed the end of it.

  Reaching the edge of the crowd, the two of them filed in and found a spot where they could get a good view of the artist. It was a man, dressed in a simple tweed jacket and round-rimmed glasses. In his hand, he held a stainless steel hip flask, currently uncorked. From the mouth of the container, a thin ribbon of water hovered out over his outstretched palm, impressing passersby as the stream snaked about in an almost hypnotic pattern.

  Up, down, over itself, flattening itself out to an edge at some points in order to twist about itself in increasingly complicated movements. Always in motion, following a path that only the artist knew where it would flow next.

  It was often bragged to be one of the most difficult applications of the Water Domain, requiring the caster to visualize the entire shape simultaneously in order to correctly structure the path of the water through the air.

  The small audience gathered around him applauded cheerfully as the liquid wove intricate designs several feet off the ground, motes of a faint glowing blue light flickering in and out just beneath the water’s surface in a dazzling display. As what was apparently his grand finale came to a close, the water flooded back into the flask, which he then re-stoppered and took a bow.

  “Thank you, thank you!” The bespectacled man called appreciatively.

  “This has been my rendition of the late Embla Hendriksson’s Aurora Over Trondheim, considered by many to be one of her finest gifts to the world of magecraft on a whole! In a week’s time, I will be performing this – and a multitude of her other works – at the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington, in conjunction with the London Mage’s Society for Operatic Performance. Thank you for your time, and do please come see the show!”

  With a bow, he wrapped up his speech politely and left. The gathered crowd chattered amongst each other about the remarkable ways that magic was being used for artistic purposes, these days. Some referenced existing works, like Earth Domain mages turning to sculpture, while others speculated on what new forms might be yet to be invented.

  Those conversations, however, were a secondary concern to Henry. The name the performer had mentioned was all too familiar to them both, and its presence was enough to ring alarm bells concerning Layla’s mental well-being.

  Glancing over at her, he could already see the troubled look on her face. He gave her hand a squeeze, hoping the sudden burst of attention would keep her from thinking about the worst of her worries.

  “Hey,” he spoke to her to pull her away from what he knew she was remembering in that moment. “You okay?”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Yeah…”, she sighed to herself, clearly trying to believe her own words. “…It’s just, when I see someone talking about Mom, how much she did for the world at large, all that…”

  A beat of silence hung in the air, as they both watched the water mage leave.

  “…It makes me miss her all over again, for just a little bit.”

  Henry nodded in understanding. “I know,” he answered. “I know.”

  < -|- -|- >

  A short walk later, and they both arrived at an out of the way coffee shop that catered mostly to locals like themselves. One of the outdoor tables opened up just as they received their orders, which they promptly commandeered to enjoy their respective iced drinks. A bit on the pricey side, but well worth it on a warm day like today.

  “So,” Henry began before taking a sip of his own iced coffee. “Liverpool Institute, eh?”

  While she’d previously been slightly gloomy on the walk over, returning the conversation to more positive aspects of her life did wonders to brighten her mood.

  “M-hm!”, she nodded cheerily, setting down her own iced tea mixed with a dash of honey. “I got the call this morning… and, as you might have already guessed… I got accepted!”

  He smiled, clapping along in celebration for her success. Wouldn’t do to let her down right after what had happened earlier, after all.

  “Well, might I be the first to say, congratulations,” he said, returning to his drink. “Any idea what you might get your training in yet?”

  “I don’t know… Water Domain’s the obvious first choice, but I’m not sure that feels quite right…” she trailed off a bit. “I feel that that would just end with me getting compared to Mom even more, you know?”

  “I can see where you’re coming from, there,” he admitted.

  “But then that still leaves three other trainable Domains to choose from,” she continued. “I guess out of all of them I’d lean more towards Air Domain than either Fire or Earth, but… I don’t know.”

  “What,” Henry said teasingly. “The great Layla Hendrikkson-Smith isn’t going to shock the world to the very core by being the first to train themselves in one of the more prestigious magical aptitudes?”

  Layla softly laughed at his attempt at ribbing her. “Jerk.”

  “Oh, I can see it now!” He swept a hand across the horizon, cranking up the cheesy showmanship in response. “Forget Air, Water, Earth of Fire! They’re all too basic! Even the rarer Domains – Day, Night, Flora, Fauna – they’re all a bore, she got tired of those a week ago! No, there’s only one Domain suitable for the greatest success story the world of magic has seen since its debut in 1986!”

  He slammed both hands on the table, going all in with his act. Layla held a hand over her face, attempting desperately to hold in her laughter as she felt slightly embarrassed at the amount of attention his dramatics were garnering.

  “Behold!”, Henry proudly proclaimed, one hand outstretched with the other firmly clasped to his heart. “The first trained mage to master the Domain of Law! Innate ability passed her by, and yet she was undeterred! Ghost of Tolkien? Never knew the guy, who needs him anyway! With her own two hands, she will take the world by storm!”

  She finally cracked as he made thunder noises while impersonating a certain wrinkly emperor of science fiction fame. A single snort eventually broke out into her hearty, raucous laughter.

  “Haah! Oh, stop! You’re embarrassing me!”

  “Am I?”, he replied with an exaggerated eyebrow. He was able to hold the expression for almost a solid second, before he too imagined what he looked like in the moment and began laughing as well.

  Layla managed to gain control of herself first, wiping a tear that had gathered in the corner of her eye as she did so.

  “But - *snrk* - seriously now, Henry. Can you believe it? I mean, the Liverpool Institute! One of the few campuses in all of Europe equipped to train new mages, and I got accepted to it!”

  “Yeah, yeah, it’s the dream job that every tech company is still trying to crib notes on,” he propped his elbows on the table, forearms raised upward in acknowledgment as he nodded along. “Tell me that they at least offered you a good deal on tuition, or a scholarship or something.”

  “Nothing about any of that just yet,” she admitted. “Though that will probably change once I get there.”

  “Not worried about going into higher education three years late? You’d be going in as a freshman at the age of most upperclassmen, after all.”

  “Nah, mage academies generally aren’t picky about that considering how sporadic Domain talent is,” she dismissed as Henry took a large swig of his coffee. “But what are you asking me for? You applied there, too, didn’t you? Wouldn’t you be in the same boat as me, then?”

  He choked slightly, only just barely avoiding doing a spit-take right in her face. His face scrunched up in mild discomfort as he forced the rest of it down while simultaneously trying to cough.

  “Ack… well…”, he began nervously, taking a deep breath to choose his words carefully. “I, um… I didn’t make the cut.”

  There was a moment of stunned silence between the two of them.

  “Didn’t…? Henry, wait… did they also call you this morning?”

  “Afraid so,” he admitted. “Guess I’ll have to find another way to Liverpool, huh…”

  “Wait, you still plan on going?!”

  “Yeah? It’s where you’ll be, isn’t it?”

  “Well, yes, but… I don’t know… where would you even stay? What about your apartment you have now?”

  “Hey, not every job needs a trained wizard to do it,” he said defensively. “I can find some work there, find someplace temporary to live, no big deal, right?”

  “But what about your job at Dad’s pub?”, she insisted. “What about your life here?”

  “I, well, um…”, he stammered, scratching his head. His heart pounded in his chest, and small beads of sweat began to make his brow damp, despite the shade and the cool drink in his hand.

  “You’re…”, he continued to flounder. “You’re, uh… kinda… my life here.”

  Layla’s drink dropped back to the table with a clatter, mouth agape.

  “… Sorry… say that again?”

  “You’re my-”

  “Okay, okay, so I heard that right then. Um, well…”

  Layla began stammering herself now, unsure of how to address the open admission. Her cheeks flushed a bright shade of red.

  “I- um… not sure how to think about that one, honestly…”

  “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, no, just…” she took a deep breath in and out. “I didn’t know you felt that way until just now, and now… well, it’s a lot to take in all at once.”

  “Oh,” Henry replied lamely. “…Maybe I should-”

  “I…” Layla spoke over him, sighing once again. “I need time to think about this on my own. See you at work in a few days… and, ah… sorry about the application.”

  She pushed her seat back, and walked off onto the street again, rubbing her forehead as she processed what had just happened.

  Henry, for his part, was doing processing of his own, though his left him frozen where he sat, staring at the spot where she’d rounded the corner. After about a minute passed, and he was certain she was well out of earshot, did he snap out of the trance he’d been in.

  “Well… shit.”