B.A.S.I.C.

There are five basic rules of life, with these five concepts, you are then a “perfect” being and you will be granted anything you desire. The person needs to have confidence, amnesty, loyalty, integrity, and kindness. However, there is no person with all such fortunate grants. Some have loyalty, morals…but lack confidence. What a day it will be when such a person exists.

Recently, a rumor has come to settle upon the human race. These concepts have materialized into physical objects; they are all for the taking, no matter if you have or deserve this quality or not. What a day it will be when such a person grasps all the basic rules of life.

The air was humid, sticky with stilled moisture from last night’s thunderstorm. As the crowd began to press forward expectantly, the terrible pressure of heat swallowed the small quad. They watched their old grizzled headmaster inspect the two young men before him. The younger of the two smiled his expression unafraid and confident. The older boy’s face was grave, which made his young face look weary.

The headmaster of Beta Academy, a school for those magically gifted, observed the two carefully. The younger, Kai, had bright cyan eyes, which danced as he smiled, a pure motion of honesty and warmth. The boy listened well and gave good advice to his peers, despite his young age. With all those qualities, Kai was also a powerful seer. The seventeen year old had predicted catastrophes, which would have befallen the country if it was not for his gift of foresight. The boy could protect the school and his powers would only grow with time. He was a very good candidate for the future headmaster.

His counterpart, Zachary, was a slightly older and taller boy. His eyes showed a great depth of gray like the dark clouds above. His chestnut brown hair was cropped to his neck. Zack, as so many called him, was a weather mage and frequently used this ability by request of the staff in the school. Unfortunately, the young man had little control of his emotions, which usually led to mighty storms that wreaked havoc. Therefore, most of the time, Zack kept a very straight expression on his face, never laughing, never smiling, and never anything at all. Because of his nonchalant behavior, Zack was not as well-liked as Kai, but his looks gave him a boost in popularity with girls.

The Headmaster sighed, he could choose one boy, and unfortunately, that one had to work well with others.

The osprey perched on the windowsill eyed Zack as it preened itself. The mage glanced at it once before turning away. Now the sea hawk had turned its full attention to him and hopped over to the young man’s right side. It bumped its head affectionately against his arm. Zack raised an eyebrow and took a step farther away from the bird. Was this normal hawk behavior?

“Oh, she’s here,” the Headmaster said, closing his office door behind him.

The hawk tilted her head then stretched out her leg, where a bundle was tied there. The Headmaster carefully detached the package and allowed the osprey to hop onto his arm.

“Message from my old friend, quite the mage he is…very talented…” The Headmaster looked over the letter, before turning his attention back to Zack. “I would like you to visit him.”

Zack frowned at the suggestion. “Why?”

The old man pondered before he responded. “It would do you some good to leave the school for a while. Look at the world through a different perspective. Besides…I need you to control your temper.”

The young man fought to understand, but kept his mouth shut.

“Perhaps my friend can teach you…you’ll like him.”

Zack could hardly contain his frustration. What good will it do to have an old man look after him like he was a child?

Zack descended down the stairs to get to his room. Deep in thought, he grimaced as he remembered the obvious happiness that spread on Kai’s face. He ignored the swarms of other students as they made their way to the dining hall. There would be a feast to congratulate the young successor to the famous Academy of magic. However, Zack wanted nothing to do with it.

He debated his own attendance to the meal at first, but decided against it in the end. His own pride would hurt if he stayed any longer in his rival’s success. Zack sighed as he lounged onto the common room’s many couches. He surveyed the fireplace next to his seat. For a moment, the fire sparked dangerously as Zack scolded himself over his failure, and then it drew itself inwards before expanding into a normal size.

A small shadow crept up to the young man and stood behind the couch. Zack grimaced before tilting his head back to stare up into a pair of amethyst eyes.

“Zachary, I… um…brought you some food.”

He turned his body to face the girl, who hugged a small box to her chest. Her pretty, sparkling eyes were framed with long lashes. Her auburn hair, with some of it pinned into a tail at the side of her head, curtained a soft, sweet face. She was a beauty, though the girl did not seem to notice it as she shyly dismissed her looks. Zack knew the girl well, as did most of the other students, who studied here. She was one of the princesses of this country, the first daughter and second child the Majesties had. Magic-wise, she was a culinary mage. Culinary mages were gifted with skills in managing food.

“Princess Kylie?” he eyed the box in her dainty hands before swinging his long legs down from the couch to stand.

“I…don’t call me that,” she said, flushing when he bowed to her. “…and don’t do that. I tell everyone not to be so formal with me.” She held out the container of food. “I saw you heading this way…I guess you didn’t want to eat because…” Her voice drifted into the awkward silence between the two mages.

Unaware that he was staring at her, Zack began to wonder about the princess. She had been awfully kind to him since she arrived at the school years ago, though the two have never been friends, only peers.

“I have to go,” she said suddenly as the silence stretched. Kylie tore her eyes away from the dark gray ones, which observed her. “These are…leftovers…bits from the dinner...in case you were hungry.”

She shoved the box into his hands before fleeing out of the common room. The young man stared at the heavy container before sitting down to open it. He was hungry, he decided, and it would be rude to refuse an offer by a princess. As he lifted off the top of the box, an aromatic scent of fresh bread drifted into the room. As he admired the large helping of vegetables and meat, a weight settled down on his shoulders.

“Did Kylie give this to you?” a husky female voiced inquired. “I tried to ask her, but she only turned as red as a beet and literally ran away from me.”

He shrugged as a young woman lifted her hands away from his shoulders and jumped over the back of the couch to settle neatly into her seat. Zack could not bring himself to look into the brown eyes that belonged to his only friend and crush.

Yurina Thuban of Enowood was a charming girl, who strolled into the good graces of everyone. She was a mage, who controlled wind currents and therefore worked closely with Zack’s weather magic. Her straight blonde hair cascaded down her back in a plain fashion. Her hazel eyes were lightly colored with a soft lilac shade in her pupils. This was a genetic mark that branded Yuri as a relative of the royal family; in fact, she was the Kylie’s cousin. Yuri’s mother was the one with the brown eyes and blonde hair while Yuri’s father had dark brown hair and lavender eyes. Yuri was pretty though the girl was not as graciously beautiful or sweet-tempered as her cousin.

“It’s from the feast,” Zack answered when he regained the ability to speak again.

“Oh?” she peered at the meal and shook her head. “Nuh-uh. You know me Zack; I love food with an undying passion.” Yuri grinned mischievously at her particular quality. “And I ate a bit of every dish at dinner… these” she swept her hand over the honey-glazed turkey and the bread, nearly bursting with berries “dishes were not there.”

She folded her arms against her chest and smiled. “How did you get Kylie to act all sweet for you?”

“She’s not acting sweet for me,” Zack retorted, not wanting Yuri to think he liked Kylie, which he did not. “Princess Kylie is nice to everyone.”

Yuri rolled her eyes before inspecting her nails. “So anyways, I overheard your heated chat with the Headmaster.”

“You mean you eavesdropped.”

Yuri dropped her hand against her leg, her mouth quirked in an amused smirk. “I…the Lady Yurina, cousin to the royal line, the tenth successor to the royal throne, sneaking around and eavesdropping to such…”

“Alright, alright,” Zack said, shaking his head. Yuri had a proud nature, but she rarely used her nobility status as a crutch for exception. The noblewoman only mentioned it in joke and fun, hardly taking her own rank seriously.

“Zack,” Yuri murmured, leaning close enough to whisper in his ear. “I persuaded the Headmaster to allow me to go with you upon this journey.” She lifted a finger to his lips when he opened his mouth to protest. “I’m going for research, Zack, not because I want to stalk and follow your ever move.”

“Research?”

“Yes,” she said moving back to her seat. “You know the five concepts of life.”

“A legend,” Zack said scoffing.

“Legend perhaps,” Yuri said, raising an eyebrow. “but that’s not the point. I want to see if it’s possible for a person to have or develop these concepts over time.”

“You want to observe me?” Zack asked, hardly believing his ears.

“Yes.”

“Your research sounds flawed,” the young man said, returning to his food. “You want me to be a guinea pig to your flawed research, which you thought upon the spot so you could have some fun.”

Yuri grinned. “Good job Zack, you catch on pretty fast.” She lifted herself up to tumble off the back of the couch. “Come now…I also betted you would like my company am I wrong?”

Yuri winked and sauntered off before he could wonder if she knew about his feelings.

No, he thought, shaking his head. Yuri was a smart girl, but she lacked the recognition of feelings when they were directed towards her…not that she was heartless. He sighed as he began to cut the turkey into smaller pieces. It tasted excellent as was expected from the work of culinary mages, and therefore, Princess Kylie.