Whispers of Worlds Beyond: A Series

After nearly two long, dragging weeks filled with endless bed rest, magical treatments, and Miss Seacole's relentless hovering, Aiden was finally given clearance to leave the infirmary.

Well... sort of.

"You may leave," Miss Seacole had said with a stern gaze that could level mountains, "but only in a wheelchair. Your feet haven't fully healed, and if I catch you even thinking about standing- "

"You'll tie me to the bed," Aiden finished for her, sighing. "Yes, yes. You've said that five times already, Miss Seacole."

"I mean it."

Moments later, a wheelchair was brought in- a rattling, rusty thing with a seat cushion too stiff and wheels that squeaked if you so much as breathed on them. Adrian took one look at it and puffed his chest out.

Adrian, ever the volunteer of ridiculous causes, slapped his chest. "I shall push you. Like a noble steed. Or a very stylish chariot driver."

And so, Aiden's grand re-entry into the halls of Genvah Academy came not with the quiet steps of recovery, but rather the gentle creak of wheels.

Five minutes later, Adrian was hunched over, sweating bullets as he shoved the chair up a slight incline leading to the Academy's west courtyard.

"I take it back," Adrian muttered, struggling to keep the chair straight. "There's no honor in this. No dignity. Just back pain and humiliation."

"You could've said no," Aiden offered, already slouched in the chair with his arms crossed. "I can roll myself, you know."

Adrian looked at him, deadpanned.

"You were literally wheezing two minutes into brushing your teeth this morning. You are not rolling yourself."

Sevan walked a few steps behind, nose in a book as usual, though he kept casting glances at them, clearly waiting for something to go wrong.

Which, as fate would have it, didn't take long.

Adrian stopped in his tracks. "Okay, hear me out."

"No," Aiden said instantly.

"I have a brilliant idea."

"No."

"Levitation runes."

"Adrian, no."

Adrian dug into his coat pocket and pulled out two small karatula stones.

"I had these pre-etched," he said smugly. "Levitation runes. Just in case."

"In case what, exactly?" Sevan asked dryly.

"In case I had to push a half-dead boy up the Genvah slopes to death! Duh."

Before anyone could stop him, Adrian bent down and stuck the stones to the bottom edges of the wheelchair, careful to avoid the wheels. "The rune's drawn in, so once the two karatula stones activate in sync…"

The runes pulsed with soft blue light.

"…boom. No more manual labor. The chair floats."

The runes glowed faintly… and the wheelchair lifted.

At first, it was gentle. Graceful, even.

Aiden's eyes widened. "Okay… okay, I'll admit. This is kind of cool-"

Then the chair tilted. And began to rise.

Quickly.

"ADRIAN!" Aiden shouted as he was hoisted five feet, then ten, then fifteen into the air.

Adrian screamed. "I FORGOT TO SET THE HEIGHT LIMIT!"

Sevan was already casting water spells, trying to form a cushion below. "He's gonna crash into the roof!"

"I CAN SEE THE COURTYARD STATUES FROM UP HERE!" Aiden yelled in terror.

It took a full hour of chaos.

Professor Ylang-Ylang's Divatas had to fly up to slow the ascent. Sevan created floating water domes to hover alongside Aiden, guiding him away from a tower spire. Adrian climbed onto a ledge, trying to toss a rope, which Aiden absolutely refused to grab because Adrian looked one gust away from falling off himself.

Aiden, meanwhile, shouted increasingly aggressive threats at them from the roof. Mostly aimed at Adrian.

By the time the situation was finally under control and Aiden was back on solid ground- legs trembling from the adrenaline and arms sore from clinging to the chair's sides- Professor Flinders was already waiting near the infirmary doors.

He stood there silently, arms folded, looking like he found the perfect opportunity for his best students to be served detention.

Adrian froze. Aiden slumped in the chair.

"Mr. Caleena," Flinders said slowly. "Do you want to explain why a wheelchair just became a rogue airship?"

"I-it wasn't supposed to fly that high!"

"You put levitation runes on both wheels," Sevan pointed out with the air of someone who told-you-so far too often. "And no anchors."

Flinders turned to Aiden. "And you?"

"I was… present."

"That's enough," Flinders declared. "Detention. All three of you."

"What?!" Adrian protested. "Why me?!"

"You enchanted the wheelchair."

"Sevan helped!"

"I warned you not to but of course yes, I somehow helped," Sevan muttered.

"Aiden was just- just enjoying the ride!"

"He was screaming the whole time!" Sevan said.

"I was being enthusiastic!"

Flinders raised a hand. "Detention. This weekend."

Just then, the heavy wooden doors at the far end of the courtyard creaked open, and a familiar figure strolled in with the slow, deliberate ease of someone who rarely hurried but was always right on time. Headmaster Kairos, cloaked in his long robes of navy and gold, moved with the quiet confidence of centuries of wisdom tucked into the folds of his sleeves. His eyes twinkled warmly as they landed upon the floating wheelchair- now finally grounded- surrounded by three very sheepish boys and one particularly scowling Professor Flinders.

"Well, well," Kairos said. "It seems I've missed quite the eventful afternoon."

Professor Flinders immediately straightened. "Headmaster Kairos. I was just assigning detention. These three managed to levitate a student unsupervised in a wheelchair no less. There was clear disregard for school safety."

Kairos raised a hand gently, the way one might when calming a skittish bird. "Come now, Flinders. No need to summon the wrath of the gods just yet."

He turned his eyes toward Aiden, who looked like a very exhausted balloon that had barely survived a storm. "He's only just been discharged from two weeks of enforced stillness. Can we truly blame a soul for wanting a… slightly elevated perspective of the school grounds?"

Adrian snorted. Sevan gave him a look that screamed don't push it.

Professor Flinders' jaw twitched. "It was not an accident. He used karatula stones. He planned this."

"Yes," Kairos said with the mildest chuckle, "but surely there's a line between dangerous intent and a rather poorly executed attempt to avoid some light cardio. Besides," his eyes gleamed kindly, "we mustn't snuff out the spark of ingenuity. Even if, occasionally, it does result in a student orbiting the north tower like an impatient spirit."

Aiden coughed to hide a laugh. Adrian grinned so wide it nearly reached his ears.

"Still," Flinders muttered, "rules were broken. Magic was misused."

Kairos placed a hand on the professor's shoulder, calm and grounding. "Then let the consequence match the tone of the crime. A warning, perhaps. A lecture on rune safety. And then we allow the boy to breathe air that isn't infused with lavender poultices and Miss Seacole's wrath."

Professor Flinders sighed in defeat. "Very well. No detention… for now."

"Excellent," Kairos said, with that serene finality only he could conjure. He then turned to Aiden. "And you, young Aiden… I do hope your short flight gave you something to smile about. The heart recovers fastest when it is allowed joy."

Aiden nodded slowly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "It did, sir. Until gravity kicked in."

Kairos laughed, light and low. "Ah, yes. Gravity. The most consistent teacher of all."

With a final nod and a knowing wink to Sevan, Kairos swept past them with his robes trailing like the breeze. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've a scroll from the Council that smells suspiciously of bureaucracy. Enjoy the rest of the sunlit hours, boys. Let's try to keep our feet on the ground, at least until dinner."

Adrian let out a long, impressed whistle the moment Headmaster Kairos disappeared around the corner. "Okay," he said, flopping dramatically into the nearest bench, arms spread wide like he'd just witnessed a divine miracle. "He's my new favorite person in this entire cursed school."

Aiden blinked. "I thought your favorite was Lopt."

Sevan raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say, and I quote, 'Lopt is the blueprint of theatrical genius and emotional chaos' just last month?"

Adrian sat up and pointed at them both. "Yes. Yes, I did. But I am a man of growth. And I have seen the light. And Lopt was a bitch for using Aiden."

He swept his arm grandly toward where Kairos had walked off, as if the headmaster was some ancient celestial being ascending into the clouds.

"Did you hear him?" Adrian continued. "The way he shut Flinders down with a smile? It was like getting hugged by the cosmos."

Aiden laughed, wincing slightly as his ribs protested. "You're being dramatic."

"I am dramatic," Adrian said proudly, hands on his hips. "But admit it. He just saved us from detention and made Flinders look like a grumpy blueberry. I'm replacing the portrait above my bed with one of Kairos immediately. Lopt has officially been dethroned."

Sevan looked skeptical. "I give it a week before you switch favorites again."

Adrian leaned in conspiratorially. "Only if the next headmaster floats down from the sky in a cape of starlight and recites poetry while juggling spellbooks."

Aiden shook his head, smiling despite himself. "You're insane."

"I'm a visionary," Adrian corrected, pointing to his temple with exaggerated wisdom. "And right now, my vision says Headmaster Kairos deserves a fan club."

Sevan muttered something about needing a nap, but even he was smiling as they wheeled Aiden slowly back toward the dorms- at ground level this time. The golden sun filtered through the academy's stone arches, and for the first time in weeks, Aiden felt something that had long been buried under injury, betrayal, and exhaustion.

Hope.