Two heartthrobs

"Whoa, so complicated," Crystal exclaimed, her eyes wide with interest, as Marina chuckled in response. "But how would you know if someone is your soulmate or twin flame?" Crystal asked, leaning forward in her seat, feeling engrossed in the topic as well.

"Well, with soulmates, they share dreams or visions that depict their past or future lives together. You just know when you meet them, or experiences bring you together. But for twin flames, it's quite the opposite. The two of them feel an inexplicable, irresistible attraction towards each other, which may be accompanied by physical sensations such as heat or electricity. Despite getting off to the wrong start sometimes, those two cannot help getting attracted to each other."

"Then, have you found your soulmate or twin flame?" Crystal asked with a teasing smirk, and Marina blushed, looking away from her. "Oh my God, you did! Tell me, tell me," Crystal insisted, and Marina covered her face with her palms, getting extremely shy.

Marina's cheeks turned pink, and she covered her face with her palms, getting extremely shy. "It was last year when Chroma and I went to the faerie market to get faerie plant seeds for her garden," Marina began. "The son of the shop owner had just returned from completing his education at this academy and took charge of the shop. I felt it that day, I felt that electricity, and so did he. It was the most wonderful experience."

Crystal felt giddy for Marina. It must be nice to have someone that you can't wait to spend your time with. "That sounds incredible," she said, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"I have not found my soulmate or twin flame yet," one of the other faeries chimed in, drawing everyone's attention. "But I do hope it's Ambrose Magnus. He is the most handsome fae I have ever laid my eyes on."

Some of the other faeries murmured their agreement, while others scrunched their noses in disagreement, especially Chroma, who had always found Ambrose Magnus to be arrogant and self-centered.

"That aloof crown prince. I would rather die than have him as one of my potential mates. He looks like he is just ready to kill someone, ughhh." Chroma stated with a frown.

Now, most of the faeries seemed to agree with Chroma, and Crystal mentally noted to stay away from someone who looked like he was ready to kill her.

"I would rather have my dear Aurelius by my side. Those dreamy eyes and such soft features. He should have been the real prince instead," Chroma said with a dreamy sigh, looking hypnotized, and Crystal chuckled.

"But your dear Aurelius does not mingle much anyhow," said the faerie who was vouching for the fae named Ambrose earlier.

"But he does not brush off others just because he is above them like your aloof crown prince." Chroma did not step back from clapping back, although they were clearly just joking around.

The jokes kept going around both sides until it came to Crystal again.

"You tell us, Crystal, as someone who is sensible and from the Earthly Realm with a different perception of different things, who would you prefer?" Chroma asked, putting Crystal at the center of attention once again.

"Uhh-- I think aloof and cold boys are really trendy, but I too would choose someone who is warm and compassionate."

"I must say, Crystal, that you seem to be rather lacking in the fun department. It almost seems as though you are trying to please all of us," Chroma joked with her squinted eyes and playful smile as all the faeries giggled along with Crystal, her acknowledging Chroma’s words.

…

The next day, after another class of Legends of Magic history, the students were given a short break before their next class on the Flight technique.

Marina, who wanted to explore every corner of the academy along with Crystal, had to join Chroma for her advanced spellcasting class as her partner or, more like, a rat in a science lab.

So, in the end, Crystal had to resort to going around the academy by herself. She figured that what could be the worst that could happen to her on the ground.

As she walked ahead towards the west garden, which she had already explored on the day of the welcoming ceremony, she noticed a lake emerging around thick trees. The trees were of a different nature than the ones she had seen outside the walls of the academy, resembling the ones from Earth.

Crystal took a few more steps ahead, but she stopped as a familiar melody reached her ears. It was the same melody that she would hear in her dreams or sometimes out of nowhere. Crystal was now hyperventilating because it did not look like the melody was coming out of nowhere. It had its own direction, which scared her to her core.

“Come on, Crystal, don’t be like this. Take a deep breath and walk ahead. You need to know if there is anything hidden behind this melody.”

Crystal took a deep breath and stepped inside the woods, trying to reach the melody. She stopped again when the woods cleared, and behind them, the lake continued from earlier, and right by the side of the lake, a huge tea-pavilion was situated, made out of white marble, standing in all its glory.

As she approached the tea-pavilion, she noticed a guy standing inside with his eyes closed. He was playing the same melody that had been haunting her for so long with his flute.

Crystal’s heart was racing as she realized that she had finally found the source of the melody. Never in her dreams could she imagine she would, but there it was.

She could not resist the urge to get closer and climbed the two stairs of the tea-pavilion. The guy continued playing the melody, unaware of Crystal's presence.

She was entranced by the way he was playing that melody that she did not realize she stood in front of him and was staring at him as if he was a piece of art.

His pale green messy pixie hair and his bronzed yet seemingly smooth skin made him almost a foot taller than her. He was wearing what looked like a sleeveless vest and long trousers that reached his ankles. Both were made of cotton and resembled the texture of lead. A belt made out of vines was resting on his hips.