Fragarach

Visit Part II: Pressure and Tea

“That’s is not even a –“

Iris’ eyes widen as he saw the person standing behind the gates is then he immediately kneel on the ground. Iris’ immediate gesture surprised Raven as he slowly turns back towards the gates and saw an elegant elf standing just a few paces away from him.

“Good day young ones.” The elf said with a smiling face.

[Huh? Why is this young one here? Is he the person that Cassiopeia was asking permission for?] Blade Lenus thought as soon as he saw the familiar hair color in front of him.

“Good day Sir, we are classmates of Cassiopeia.” Raven said with a humble tone he as bows his head.

[He looks a lot like Cassiopeia so I guess he is her father.] Raven thought without looking up.

[Is he an i***t? That man in front of us is revered as the most powerful person from the main families and yet Raven does not even kneel to show a high level of respect?] Iris thought as he starts to break some sweat. [I knew that if I come here I will get to meet the strongest person from the main families but I never expected to meet him right after the gates opened. Look at that majestic and elegant looks, elves really are the pinnacle of strength and beauty.]

“You guys must be the persons that my dear Cassiopeia were talking about, come on in.” Blake said as he made way for them.

[He seems really hospitable towards humans. No wonder Kai and Cassiopeia did not find it troublesome to reach out to me.] Raven said to himself as he looks up.

Iris on the other hand was taken aback by the hospitality of the person that is renowned as the strongest person from the main families that he froze in his knees.

[I did not expect for him to be this hospitable, is it because that we are his daughter’s guests? No, he must be up to something. Is he going to kill us if we show some sort of ill intent? I hope not. I still have so many things to do in my life, like continuing my experiment and some sort of stuffs.] his face turned pale as the thoughts flooded his mind that turned him into a statue for a few minutes.

“Come on Iris, let’s go inside.” Raven said as he shakes him back to his consciousness

But Iris did not have any reaction at all. Concerned about what happened to the young man, Blake Lenus decided to walk towards Iris and pat his back.

“Young man, no need to be so stiff. Hurry, Cassiopeia is waiting for you guys to arrive.” Blake said with a majestic tone.

In Iris’ head he imagines Blake Lenus as someone scary, a person that would instantly erase his existence in a single move.

“Good day, I, Iris Laken greets the honorable Blake Lenus!” He greets frantically with a nervous tone.

His immediate greetings surprised Raven and Blake.

[What is going on in this kid’s mind?] Blake asked himself. “Well if everything is fine. Let’s proceed shall we?” he said with a gentle smile.

Both Raven and Iris walk towards the huge mansion and saw the beautiful decorations and nicely carved statues just in front of the house.

“Woah! This manor is pretty beautiful. Look at all those statues, they pretty detailed and the mansion is quite humongous.” Raven said with enthusiasm.

“It’s not as grand as other family’s mansions but we want to keep it as simple as possible.” Blake Lenus said while walking along with Raven and Iris.

Iris scoot over to Raven to whisper something.

“Hey, Raven I can’t think of a reason why you are so cool with everything that is happening right now but please be mindful of what is going out of your mouth so that we can still return home safe.” He whispered softly in Raven’s ears.

“O-okay.” [Maybe he still hasn’t recovered from awe earlier. I admit that when I first saw Cassiopeia’s father greeting s personally, I was taken aback a little. I never thought that her father would personally come and fetch us from the gate.] he thought as he nodded in agreement to Iris’ reminder.

Raven saw how agitated Iris’ expression is and wants him to calm down so he brought out his bottle with the tea that he brew earlier.

*KUCHUK*

The fragrant smell of the tea immediately reached Iris’ nose.

[Hey isn’t this the same tea that instructor Edward was drinking the other day?] he thought as he look intensely at the bottle that Raven is holding.

[This might calm his down since he seems to be a little enthusiastic the moment Instructor Edward bring out his tea during the physical ability test a few days ago.] “Here, this might calm you down a little.” He said with a smile as he handed the bottle to Iris.

Clouds of mist are still rising from the tip of the bottle indicating that the tea is still warm. Without any doubt in his mind, Iris immediately took a sip from the bottle.

*CHUG!*

[So refreshing. I feel like I have been born again.] he thought as he felt that his body and mind has been cleansed away of negative things.

At that moment the wind blew in front of them that the fragrant smell of the tea reached Blake’s nose that immediately took him by surprise.

“What is that beautifully fragrant thing?!” he exclaimed as he popped in between the young ones with a surprised face trying to find out where the scent was coming from.

His sudden actions startled both Raven and Iris that they immediately moved away from Blake Lenus.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just surprised to smell something so fragrant so I did that without thinking.” He apologize and saw that the scent was coming from the bottle that Iris was holding.

“Is that tea?” he said as he points to the bottle that Iris is holding.

Both of them nodded in answer to Blake Lenus’ question, after confirming that the scent came from the bottle that Iris is holding he approached Iris while smelling the fragments of the sweet scent that travelled in his nose.

[What is this addicting smell. If this is tea then all the tea that I have tasted my entire life would be considered as fake.] “May I have a taste?” he asked.

Without any delay Iris nodded his head a couple of times.

The three of them stop in a moment while both of them focus intensely what kind of reaction Cassiopeia’s father will be having.

[Smells good.] he thought as he smells the scent from the bottle.

*GULP!*

[- ] “Ahhhm.”

[I hope he will find the tea amazing but since he is the most powerful person from the main families, I’m afraid that the tea will not suffice for his taste.] Iris thought as his heart starts to race that he himself can hear his heart beating wildly.

*BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!* *BUDUMP!*

Raven saw how nervous Iris had become and got concerned if there is some sort of problem that he is suffering from.

[He turned even more pale than earlier, is he having a fever? He looks like he is on the verge of death. Maybe I should have given him the elixir earlier instead?] Raven thought as he holds a bottle of elixir in his magic bag.

[How can this be? My fears earlier turns out to be true.] Blake Lenus’ eyes widen as soon as he got a taste of the tea.

Iris was barely holding his ground while watching the expression that Blake Lenus will show when suddenly Blake Lenus’ hand grabbed one of his shoulders that immediately sent chills to his spine.

“Hey young one-“Blake’s gloomy and dark voice pierced through Iris’ ears that almost made him lose consciousness.

[I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead. I will not be able to continue to live the life that I wanted. Good bye my future experiments, good bye my future life. I will not be able to reach my dreams because it seems like this is the end of the rope for me.] he told himself as soon as Blake grab his shoulder.

“Where the heck did you get this tea?! You know this is the good stuff! I can’t believe that the tea that I was drinking in the past is not the greatest, all of those tea fall out for this one! Man, never in my life that I would find something precious as this in my old age.” He said with an enthusiastic tone that manage to drop both of Raven and Iris’ jaw wide open.

[Huh? He liked it? And says that it is the greatest among all the teas that he have tasted hi entire life?] he thought as the corners of his lips twitch with the unbelievable turn of events. [I thought I was going to die, but it ended up the opposite. Give me my mourning back!] Iris cried internally as he forms a fist.

[-wait. I can make this work. Yes, this tea. This tea, is my ticket to escape everything in my life. If the powerful person amongst all the family heads like this tea then there is no reason for my parents not to like it as well. And it looks like he got hooked with a single gulp that he is finishing what’s left inside the bottle. If he likes it that much then he will be desperate to know where that tea is from. If I can use it in my advantage, then my fearful thoughts earlier would never happen to me, ever.] he thought as he flashes a grin in his nervous face.

“Hehe. This is great.” He softly said as he adjusted his glasses with a chuckle.

Iris’ vitality returns to his almost so life-less body after all that negative thoughts that flooded his head upon entering the gates of the Lenus’ manor.

[Looks like he is fine now. He must be pretty agitate after seeing Cassiopeia’s father right after arriving at the manor. Well then, it looks like the elixir is not needed anymore.] he thought as he put the bottle of elixir down his magic bag.

“Can I just finish this bottle?” Blake Lenus ask with a joyful tone.

Immediately after hearing the most powerful person from the main families ask something Iris responded accordingly.

“Yes, please help yourself.” He said with a huge grin on his face.

“Then here I go.” Blake said as he gulps down every single drop from the bottle.

[The more he drinks of that tea, that more likely that he will be a prisoner of it forever. And he will not be able to do something to us whenever we visit their manor in the future. What can I say, maybe he will be a regular if I can manage to recreate the tea that Instructor Edward make.] he thought as he chuckles and adjusts his glasses.

“Ahhh! That was so refreshing! That really is the good stuff. Where did you manage to get your hands on something as good as this?” he said as he turns to Iris.

[I don’t know how Raven have the same tea that the instructor was having, but I can worry about that later since he doesn’t mind that the family head of the Lenus family gulp down every single drop of tea in his bottle.]

He thought as he looks at Raven hoping to get something as a response but Raven only answered with a smile, he smiled back and turns to the head of the Lenus family, Blake Lenus.

“That tea was made by Instructor Edward from the academy.” Iris said proudly.