“It’s nice to see you too!” I choked, laughing.
“I can’t believe you and Alex are still here!” Derrick told me, his shout muffled by my tunic.
“Nei-ther can I,” I said between deep gasps of air.
“Ryiah.” I glanced up from my brother’s curls to spot my father and mother shortly behind, patiently awaiting their turn.
“Get off me, you lump!” I pried my little brother off me and then turned to my parents.
“Mom, Dad!” I hugged them fiercely and then stepped back, so I could remember exactly how they looked. It had been so long… My vision started to blur, and I realized I was crying.
“Has it been that terrible?” my father asked, concerned.
“No,” I stammered, “it’s just…I missed all of you so much!”
“Well, you and Alex will make sure it was worth it!” Derrick circled me, taking in the changes to his older sister’s appearance. “You’re so fit now!” he crowed.
I snorted. “Not even close. Wait until you see Sir Piers. Or my Master of Combat, Narhari! He’s like—”
“You chose Combat? I knew you would!”
“Not Alchemy?” My mother was puzzled. “I would have thought you and Alex would take after your father. You two are so well-versed in herb lore and tonic making…”
I grinned. “Alex chose Restoration, Mom.”
My father didn’t look surprised. “You and your brother have always been stubborn. You two are fans of the long road.” He sighed. “Choosing the easiest path has never been a part of your destiny.”
I smiled, wiping the tears away. “Remind me to listen to my father next time around.”
He grinned. “You wouldn’t be my daughter if you did.”
As I led my parents off the field, I caught sight of some of my friends exchanging tearful reunions like my own. My twin was nowhere to be found.
Ruth’s and Ella’s families were much more refined. Each had come from nobility, though their attire was much less decorated than some of the other highborn families’ I had seen today. Ella’s father had the looks of a retired knight, a shade past his prime. Ruth’s parents gave me the impression they might faint under the direct light of sun. Ruth was a stark contrast to the timidity of her parents. She had no siblings who had come to visit.
Ella, on the other hand, had her older brother Jeffrey, and was in the throes of a huge, spinning embrace. Jeff was five years her senior, with short-cropped hair and the same amber eyes as his sister. Though Ella had once told me her older brother was a bit of a gambler, and a lazy one at that, it was clear she and her parents still loved him very much.
I was about to bring my family over to introduce them when an excited voice broke out behind me.
“This is her! This is the girl I was telling you about!”
I recognized the voice and turned to find Clayton, his parents, and a younger sister trailing behind. Clayton raced forward to grab my arm and drag me over until he caught sight of my own family.
“You must be Ryiah’s parents,” the boy said, addressing both my mother and father with a hand outstretched. My dad shook it with a raised brow as my mother smiled.
Derrick stared at the first-year pointedly. “And you are?”
“Ryiah hasn’t told you about me?” Clayton glanced at me and then shrugged, still smiling. “I’m Clay. Ry and I are in Combat together.”
“Ryiah, you never told us you made friends!” My mother said, placing a special emphasis on that last word.
I cringed.
“So, this is the mysterious Ryiah, the girl we have heard so much about.
I blushed and wondered exactly what Clayton had told them. Clearly they were under the same impression as my mom.
“I hope the stories are not all bad,” I said.
His mother smiled at me, a little too fondly for my liking. “Most definitely not.”
I fell silent, not knowing what else to say.
“Are you going to introduce me?”
I whirled around to find Ella and her family grinning broadly behind us. I immediately brought her over to my family, sidestepping Clayton.
“This is Ella,” I told them eagerly. “She is the reason I am still here!”
Ella’s brother chuckled. “She seemed to imply it was the other way around.”
Our families exchanged greetings, and once they had finished listening to some of our shared stories, I noticed Ella looking for Alex. He was still out there in the center of the field but he was surrounded by several girls from Restoration.
“Alex hasn’t changed at all,” Derrick remarked.
“Is that the boy you were talking about?” Jeff asked Ella.
My friend looked away, embarrassed, and her brother grinned. “He’s not the type you usually go after, that one.”
I laughed, and Ella shot me a glare. “He wasn’t until it was too late,” I told Jeff.
“Now that makes more sense.”