Remilia's Talent

Remilia at the banquet ended up drunk as well. Though it was only low-proof apple cider, the girl had still successfully knocked herself out at the table. Seeing Roderick return, Remilia affectionately called him brother. Dressed in her sleepwear, she threw herself at him and hung her entire body from him. He tried to push her away, but instinctively held her instead, breathing in her fragrance as the breath against his ear carried the sweet scent of apple juice.

The satisfied girl hugged her brother's arm, gently swaying it as she coquettishly said, "Brother, I'm hungry. I want the little gingerbread cookies and cream of mushroom soup you make."

"Don't tell me you skipped lunch. Didn't I prepare steak for you? Oh, right, Albert will be coming over later. Go wash up first..."

"Ah, why didn't you tell me sooner? I need to wash my hair and change clothes... Brother, hurry up and heat some water."

After a bout of chaos, Remilia finally got herself ready and waited for her brother's dinner and Albert's visit. She wore a plain dress whose hem fell just to her knees. There were no excessive decorations, only several transparent glass buttons running from her collar down to her lower abdomen. Her hair was simply tied up, with a red bow adding a touch of color to her appearance.

"Albert, why have you been reading at home? I came looking for you several times, but you never came out."

At those words, an embarrassed look appeared on Albert's face. He formed a strange gesture with his fingers and quietly chanted a spell. A miniature girl flickering with golden light immediately appeared in the air, identical to Remilia as she frowned and pretended to be angry. Remilia instantly grew excited and repeatedly gestured, while the tiny figure in the air copied her movements, making the girl beam with delight.

"Fine, I forgive you, Albert. This magic is so fun." As its duration ran out, the Remilia in the air gradually faded away without a trace. After the pleasant dinner ended, Roderick asked Albert, "Can you sense it?"

"There's absolutely no trace of magical power. Are you sure about your judgment?" Albert could not sense the slightest trace of magic from the familiar girl.

Roderick could only turn to his sister. "Remilia, imagine that we're surrounded by Undead right now. You're watching your friends die one after another beneath their blades, and you want to help, but there's nothing you can do."

"Don't I have you and everyone else? Besides, I can pick up a sword and defend myself. When I was little, I received the same training as you." Remi said indistinctly as she nibbled on a little gingerbread cookie.

"Right now, you're just a frail young noble lady. You can't beat the Undead."

"In that case..."

"Yes, that's the feeling. You need to immerse yourself more. Think about when we retreated to Arathi that year, about those brave warriors who died in battle. They used their lives to protect everyone..."

Although she did not know why her brother wanted her to do this, Remilia followed Roderick's instructions and slowly sank into sorrowful memories. The fleeing crowds, the painful farewells, the brutal battles, the roars for the kingdom ultimately drowned beneath an endless army of Ghouls.

Her emotions were completely consumed by those memories. Those monsters that could never be killed all seemed so close, as if she could smell their pungent stench again. All those Undead were damned monsters. Damned monsters...

Remilia slowly closed her eyes, her emotions growing more intense. Even Albert could now feel the air around the girl faintly trembling. Small objects on the dining table began to shake. Bang, bang, bang—the sounds came without end as the glass and plates before them shattered one after another. Albert was so stunned by the sight that he could not say a word.

"That's enough, Remilia. It's all right. Your brother and everyone else are here to protect you." As Roderick took Remilia's hand, the disturbance in the air gradually subsided. The girl opened her eyes and was also too frightened by the wrecked dining table to speak. "Did... did I do this?" "Albert?"

"This is a magical disturbance caused by innate affinity for magic, an ability possessed only by the direct bloodline of Blue Dragons. It is the magical talent most envied by all mages. Remilia is a natural-born mage. She can cast magic without even sensing magical elements. Roderick, do you understand? Remi will become a great mage in the future. She'll have a magical palace of her own in Dalaran and become someone admired by all." Only then did the excited Albert come to his senses and launch into an endless stream of words.

"Remi, did you hear that? Our future archmage." Roderick instinctively patted his sister's head again and asked affectionately.

"A mage? Albert, does that mean you can teach me the magic you know in the future? I won't have to water those honeysuckles myself anymore. Oh, and if I run into Undead, I'll just throw a big fireball at them! Haha!" Thinking of herself displaying such might in the future, the girl immediately brightened.

"No, no, Remi. You don't understand how enviable your talent is. How could a minor mage like me be qualified to teach you? You need to go to Dalaran. Every mage in the Kirin Tor Council will fight to become your mentor. In the future, you'll stand alongside legends like Rhonin and Medivh."

"Then forget it. I want to stay with my brother. If I have to leave Southshore, I'd rather not learn magic at all. Besides, my brother will protect me." The girl refused without hesitation.

"Remi, how can you be so willful? Roderick, hurry and talk to her..." The young mage could only seek help from the knight beside him.

"No, I'm not going to Dalaran. The mages of Dalaran are all strange old men with beards. Albert, my brother dotes on me the most. Your attempts to drive a wedge between us won't work, right, Brother?"

Albert was now so anxious that he could barely remain seated. "No, you have to go to Dalaran. You must..."

Roderick smiled and stopped Albert before he could explode. Turning to Remilia beside him, he said, "Of course I dote on you the most. Didn't you always pester Albert to show you magic before? That little golden figure just now was so pretty. If you learn it, you can practice it for fun every day."

"What if I miss home after going to Dalaran? And all those mages have such strange personalities. They hide in mage towers all day doing weird research. I don't want to become a weirdo. Oh, Albert, I wasn't talking about you. I meant those strange white-bearded mages." The girl, who had no real concept of Dalaran, continued to torment Albert's nerves.

"If you miss home, just ask your teacher for leave. Didn't Albert tell you before? Those mages can all open portals. Once you learn that, you can come home whenever you want. And not all the mages there are strange. There are also many magic apprentices from all over. Have you forgotten that mage we met last time, the beautiful female mage who was with Albert? Dalaran is the holy land of all human mages. Once you learn magic there, if my troops are surrounded by Undead, you can use magic to support us in battle." Roderick continued to persuade her.

Remilia was finally temporarily convinced by her brother and reluctantly agreed. However, the girl still insisted that if she did not like the mentors there, she would not go to Dalaran.

After calming the girl down, Roderick looked at Albert and asked, "What's going on with Remi's talent? She obviously isn't a Blue Dragon. And is her talent really as extraordinary as you say?"

Albert smiled bitterly. "I don't know exactly what's going on either. But magical disturbances only appear in Blue Dragons. There is no doubt about that. I'll report this matter to my senior, Archmage Morris. He will certainly take it seriously. A human mage with such talent is a treasure to all of Dalaran. The Kirin Tor Council will not ignore it."

"Then I'll leave this to you. You know Remi's temperament. She looks gentle, but she has a mind of her own. Once she's set on something, she absolutely won't change her mind. I'm afraid she won't be persuaded otherwise."

"I'll do my best. I've watched her grow up too, after all." Albert made the promise solemnly.

After Roderick finished clearing the dining table, he found his beloved sister sitting alone at the bend in the stairs. Her head was tilted as she stared motionlessly at the oil painting hanging on the wall.

The painting bore the marks of age. The colors in its four corners had begun to fade, but the warmth within the image had never dimmed.

The young Remilia was held in their mother's arms. Roderick, at the height of his bratty phase, stood on tiptoe so high that his head barely peeked out between their seated parents in the front row.

Their father, Field Northumberland, sat to their mother's right in a crisp Alliance military uniform. His beard was cleanly shaved, and he tried hard to look more serious, though his eyes were always filled with amusement. Their mother, Erin Northumberland, wore her favorite pale yellow silk dress. Though she held a child in her arms, it could not conceal her innate elegance.

Remilia sat obediently, her golden hair spilling down over a lace-trimmed dress. She looked even more adorable than a doll in a shop window. Meanwhile, mischievous Roderick held a wooden sword in one hand and made faces with the other.

Behind the family of four stood their two-story wooden home, with woods in the distance and warm sunlight shining down. Time seemed frozen on that ordinary afternoon. Roderick silently looked at the painting from years ago, then silently turned around and silently sat beside his sister.

The two sat quietly for a long time before Remilia finally said, "Let's go visit Mother tomorrow. We haven't gone since you were injured." Without waiting for Roderick to agree, she continued, "If Mother were here, do you think she'd let me go? I wonder whether Dalaran allows people to grow flowers."

"Brother, aren't you going to defeat the Orcs and the Undead? There is only Albert in the Guard who is a mage. If I learn magic, I can fight alongside you too. When that happens, Albert can be my adjutant."

"Brother, do you know? The way you looked that day when you said you wanted to rebuild the Guard and protect the kingdom was so cool. You were exactly like Father whenever he mentioned Lord Lothar. As long as you need me, even if Mother objected, I would still go to Dalaran."

Her voice grew softer and softer. "Ever since I was little, I knew that you would become a great hero someday. A lot of the time, you were very busy. I stayed home growing flowers and went to Albert to make him perform magic tricks because I didn't want to sit around alone with nothing to do."

"Brother, I want to learn magic. If I learn magic, I can always stay by your side and help you. When they carried you back last time, I really thought..."

Remilia's body grew softer and softer as she weakly leaned against Roderick. Half-conscious already, the girl murmured, "Mother, don't leave me..."