Julie, with a bored expression, sat at a wooden desk, filling out paperwork and enduring a small history lesson about the so-called unseen world. The lesson seemed endless, cramming her brain with information.
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She despised being in school, remaining still, and enduring know-it-all teachers who tried to stuff her brain with facts she struggled to retain. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to remember everything. Julie hated that most of all—the inability to recall certain facts. She looked down at the wooden table, doubting this would ever change.
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"Ms. May, I hope I'm not boring you," said her instructor, standing in front of her, no longer engrossed in the small book in his hands.
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"Um, sorry, Mr... Bramble?" She hoped she got his name right.
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Honestly, for the first time, Julie didn't want to be rude to this guy, apparently in charge of giving her a brief lesson on this new world she had entered. She found herself captivated by Mr. Bramble's appearance the first time she saw him. He was definitely a pretty boy, with flawless, sparkling skin, pink hair, and green eyes. Though she wasn't sure at first, now she was certain he had pointy ears, which fascinated her. She almost wanted to ask if he was an elf but stopped herself, unsure if it was rude.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMDknuleCm
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Mr. Bramble smiled and walked towards Julie, sitting down right next to her.
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"What's so funny?" Julie asked, curious about the small giggles Mr. Bramble was giving her.
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"I'm sorry," he said, looking at her with his piercing green eyes. "I'm not an elf," Mr. Bramble said, his charming smile widening. "And even though it's not rude to ask, it's not all that polite either."
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"Um..." Julie said, her eyebrows raised as she looked at her teacher.
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Mr. Bramble's smile began to disappear. "I'm sorry, I've been told that reading people's minds can be rude."
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"You read my mind?" Julie asked.
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Mr. Bramble nodded with a smirk. "It's my gift," he said.
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"That's amazing," Julie said, almost mystified.
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"Thank you," Mr. Bramble said, nodding. "I've had that gift ever since I was young." He looked away, his grip around his book tightening. "I am a Descenfael, after all."
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"I'm sorry, Descenfael?" Julie asked.
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Mr. Bramble's expression turned slightly stern as he looked at Julie. "I was right," he said. "You didn't pay attention to the lesson."
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"Um, sorry," Julie said with an awkward smile.
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"In this world, there are the Halbenfael, also known as half-bloods, and then there are beings known as the Descenfael, the descendants of half-bloods," Mr. Bramble explained. "That's what I am."
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Julie slowly nodded, absorbing the knowledge she found interesting.
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"I come from a long line of Descenfael, going all the way back to my great-great-great-grandfather, whose father was a forest fairy," Mr. Bramble said, his eyes lowering as he thought deeply about his family history.
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"My gifts are rare, which of course is unusual among most Descenfael who are born powerless," Mr. Bramble said with pride.
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"So what about me?" Julie asked.
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Mr. Bramble raised one eyebrow in confusion. "What about you?" he asked.
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"I was told that I was a half-blood, I guess what you call a Halbenfael," Julie said, trying her best to pronounce the word correctly. "So, um, where are my special powers?" she asked.
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"Um..." Mr. Bramble said, putting his hand to his chin. "That may or may not be true," he said.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35TdT7Tvya
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Julie's expression turned panicked. "What? But Tora said—"
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"Look, those kinds of mistakes are made a lot," Mr. Bramble said. "I mean, almost every few months, a VoinGarde wrongly claims that someone is a Halbenfael when they are not."
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Julie remained silent for a moment, thinking about Mr. Bramble's words. "But the things that I see, have seen... Why am I even here if I'm not one of you?" she asked, feeling frustrated.
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"Slow down," Mr. Bramble said, putting his hands up as if on the defense.
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"First of all, I said you may or may not be one; I didn't say that you weren't," Mr. Bramble clarified, putting his hands down and looking straight into Julie's eyes. "And second of all, the Luminal Accords are for anyone who can see or even sense the other world. As soon as you were gifted with the sight, you became eligible for its protection."
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Julie wasn't sure why, but she was beginning to calm down.
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"So then, if you're not sure if I'm a Descenfael or even a Halbenfael, how do we find out?" she asked.
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"Yeah, that's the tricky part," Mr. Bramble said. "The thing is, we don't actually have a surefire way of knowing that."
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"What?" Julie asked.
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"The thing about the spirit world is that it's tricky, literally. It's filled with tricks," Mr. Bramble explained. "Everything in that world is meant to deceive you: making you walk down wrong paths that lead to cliffs, eat delicious-smelling fruit that turns you inside out, or drink crystal-clear waters that trap you in your own delusions forever."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8ethc8T1a
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"Okay, okay, I get it," Julie said.
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"The point is, it's a tricky world; therefore, anything that comes from that world would also be tricky."
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Mr. Bramble waited for a while. "Like fairy DNA," he said finally. "No scanner on earth, supernatural or otherwise, can detect it."
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"Why?" Julie asked.
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"Because fairy DNA will always blend itself into looking like human DNA or half-blood DNA or even the DNA of a Descenfael," Mr. Bramble explained.
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"You talk as if it's alive, fairy DNA," Julie said.
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"Uh-huh," Mr. Bramble said, nodding. "It almost seems to act that way when we've tried to observe it. Either way, it's tricky to see."
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"So then how will I find out what I am?" Julie asked.
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"Well, you could be many things. You could even be a regular human with blight," Mr. Bramble said, crossing his arms.
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"Blight. I know that!" Julie said with excitement. "That's when a regular human gets a supernatural injury that leads to a spiritual infection, giving them the ability to see the supernatural world."
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Mr. Bramble smiled. "Correct. I guess you were paying a little bit of attention. You could also be someone gifted with a supernaturally charged object, giving you the power to see the other world," he explained.
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"Yeah, no, I would probably know if I had something like that," Julie said.
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"But there's only one way to know for sure," Mr. Bramble said, then stopped talking.
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"Well, don't stop on my account," Julie said, impatient to hear the answer.
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"Your parent, your supernatural one, would have to reveal themselves to you, or you could—"
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Mr. Bramble stopped talking as a loud alarm went off and the whole room began to flash red.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1BqwWwrQv
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"What's happening?" Julie asked.
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Mr. Bramble got up from his seat, his face filled with panic. "That's the level 3 emergency alarm."
***
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Author notes: Please support my work on Patreon for early access to new chapters. https://patreon.com/DarkMatteromniverse
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