Chapter 8

Words: 1503

The four of you dashed into the cafeteria. Deuce and Ace were throwing spells left and right out of frustration.

"Argh! Stop jumping around like that!" Ace yelled out before stopping in his tracks.

Grim was somehow climbing onto the wall and jumped into the chandelier. "Heh heh heh! Catch me if you can!"

You stared at him with wide eyes, your jaw literally laying on the floor. Yuu's expression perfectly mirrored yours.

Sure, you were able to run up the wall to a certain point and jump towards him but it was more then clear that would not work.

Deuce groaned from beside you as he stared at Grim in the chandelier. "No fair climbing onto the chandelier, you coward! I haven't really learned flight magic yet... What could I summon to hold onto him.... Hmmm..."

"As long as it's not a cauldron again, that would get the chandelier to come down to the ground." Yuu mentioned with a slight chuckle.

"Oh! That's it!" The navy blue haired boy suddenly jumped up from where he was standing and turned towards Ace.

Said ginger looked at Ace with a smile. "Did you come up with somethi-" His expression turned to a terrified one when he was faced with Deuce's mage pen.

"Oh, hey hey hey hey hey! Stop! What are you doing?! Why are you pointing your pen at me?!" He took a step away from his classmate.

"Because I'm going to launch you." He had a determined look on his face as if it wasn't the most ungodly idea ever.

"No way does this end well." Yuu was terrified with Deuce's idea, and so were you.

"Hey... Deuce... Ha ha. How about we DON'T do this? Like Yuu said the chandelier could come crashing down you know..?" You tried to convince him, but he didn't seem to want to hear it.

"Are you kidding me?!" With a flick of Deuce's pen Ace was suddenly floating in the air. "Seriously, do not launch me! Abort! ABORT!"

Deuce ignored all of your begging for him to stop. "Just make sure to grab him tight! I've got him in my sights, and... Go!"

"BWAAAAAAAAAH!" Ace screamed out in fear as the cyan eyed boy launched him at the chandelier.

"Deuce you fucking idiot!" You cursed at him as you stared at Ace clinging onto the chandelier. Said chandelier came crashing down towards the ground in less then a second.

"Ace! Let go!" You shouted at him over his own yells.

He luckily did what you asked without questioning. You jumped up on the chandelier when it was close enough to and snatched Ace out of the air.

You both crashed down on the ground, but at least the chandelier didn't fall on his head.

You left Grim there tho. He kinda deserved it in your book.

"MYAAAAAH?!" Grim screamed out aswell as he, together with the chandelier, slammed onto the ground.

"Now what have you done?! The chandelier is a complete wreck!" Yuu ran over from the spot where he had taken cover. He quickly went towards you and Ace to check if you were allright.

Ace was coughing loudly, and so were you. Your ears were glued flat against your head, and your tail was trembling between your legs. "I cannot believe you just did that!" Ace yelled at Deuce. Yuu gave you a few quick pats on your back to help stop your coughing.

"Myaaah..." Grim was laying on top of the broken chandelier in a daze.

"Oh, right! I probably should have come up with a way to soften your landing after you caught him..." Deuce muttered.

Ace stood up and ran up to him. He looked like he was about to strangle his fellow freshman. "You complete and total moron! We got Grim, but we broke the chandelier! If the headmage finds out about this-"

"If I find out about...what, dear Ace?" Crowley was suddenly walking and you were still coughing up the dust that came up from the chandelier, but quickly stood up at his arrival.

"Ah! Headmage Crowley...!" Ace's head fell down in shame at the sight of the masked man.

"YOU. FOUR. AGAIN. What have you done this time?!" Crowley yelled out in anger as he looked around the cafeteria in shook.

"Myaaah... Everything's spinning..." Grim was swaying on his feet. When you finally stopped coughing you picked him up right before he passed out.

The crow ignored the passed out cat and continued yelling. "Burning a statue wasn't enough for you? Now you've destroyed a chandelier?! That was the last straw! All of you are expelled."

You all gasped in shock. "Whaaaaaaaaaat?!"

Deuce practically ran up to the headmage with his hands clasped together. "Headmage, please! Give me a second chance! I can't get expelled from this school! I need to be here!"

The navy haired boy's pleas were ignored. "Then blame yourself for your own foolish behavior."

"I'll pay you for the damages! However much it costs! Just please don't expel me headmage!" Deuce looked like he was about to get on his knees begging.

"That chandelier is no mere light fixture. It is a magical chandelier. Its candles are powered by a magical energy source, enchanted so that they will burn for eternity. It was created for us by a legendary artificer. Possibly their finest creation. It has been here since the school was established, and I imagined it would be here forever more. Considering its historical value, I would estimate its worth to be no less than a billion thaumarks. And you intend to repay that sum?"

If your heart hadn't sunken to its deapest point yet, it had now. You had no idea what thaumarks were, but you suspected it to be something like the mora from Teyvat.

"A... A billion marks?!" Deuce was staring at the broken chandelier with his mouth agape.

Ace chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Aha.. B-but I'm sure with your magical talent, sir, you could snap your fingers and fix it right up!"

You mentally facepalmed at the comment. God you wished you never got yourself stuck with Grim and Ace. You didn't mind Yuu, but Grim together with Ace got you into all of this trouble.

"Even magic has its limits." Crowley stated with a blank tone. "Furthermore, its magestone - the figurative heart of any magical artifact - is cracked. A magestone cannot easily be replaced. I fear the candles of this majestic chandelier will never burn again."

You were just gonna see magestones as visions that you were able to get somewhere else instead of being recognized by the gods.

"This is bad..." Ace mumbled to not really anyone. 

"Ah... If papa ever somehow hears about this he'll curse my name to the Archons..." You cursed out softly.

"What am I going to do?! How am I going to tell my mother...?" Deuce started stress walking through the room in small circles.

Crowley suddenly got an idea, and stuk one finger up into the air. "Ah...! But there may be one way." You all perked up and were hanging on his lips in less then a second.

"One tiny silver of a chance to repair this chandelier."

"There is?!" Ace and Deuce yelled out in sync. Your ears perked up, and you were slightly leaning towards the headmage.

"The magestone that powered this chandelier was mined from the Dwarf's Mine. If you can acquire a magestone with the same properties, it may be possible to repair it."

"Then I'll go find a magestone! With your permission, sir!" Deuce raised a fist. His eyes were screaming with determination.

"I should caution you that I cannot promise there yet remain magestones to find. The mines were closed quite some time ago. It is quite likely that all of the magestones have already been mined."

"I will do anything to avoid expulsion, sir!"

"Hmmm... Very well, then. I will suspend your expulsion for a single night. But if you fail to return with a magestone by morning, then all of you are expelled."

"I understand, sir. Thank you very much for this opportunity!" Deuce looked like he was about to salute to the headmage while Ace just looked annoyed.

The ginger sighed loudly. "Fine, then. Let's hurry down there, find a magestone, and get this whole thing done with."

"You should be able to reach the Dwarf's Mine instantly by using one of the gates in the Mirror Chamber." Crowley mentioned.

"Yes sir!" Deuce shouted back before you all took off to the Mirror Chamber. 

Grim who was still sleeping in your arms slowly gained consciousness again. "Myah! Wh-? Where am I?!"

"You may end up wishing you'd remained unconscious..." Yuu said to the cat and you nodded to what he was saying.

"I wish I let myself get crushed under that chandelier." You muttered out when following after the determined cyan eyed boy.

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You all walked into the Mirror Chamber and Ace groaned loudly. "Maaan... How did I end up in this mess? I swear, I have the worst luck."

"You started this yourself Ace. I don't know how many times I need to say this, but you should've just chosed to mind your day." You said to him as you all stepped up to the big mirror.

 Deuce butted in before either of you could continue speaking "We don't have time to complain. Let's go.

Dark Mirror! Take us to the Dwarf's Mine!"

✿༺ 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓈! ༻✿
✿༺ You really hoped Grim got crushed by that chandelier

✿༺ You feel in your bones Crowley forgot to tell you something about the mine
✿༺ You see magestones as a knockoff of visions

·.★·.·'¯'·.·★.·