Chapter One:
“Dex-Hey Dex!” Voices came through the darkness.
“DEX!”
“What are you doing?!”
“Hey, let go of-”
“NEVER!” The sound of footsteps, and a maniacal laugh followed.
Ugh.
Dex groaned and rubbed his eyes to make them less blurry. Then his heart sped up; today was the day.
Dex Dizznee was actually going to Foxfire!
He stumbled out of bed and into his closet, changing out of his fuzzy T-rex pajamas and into his brand new, crisp Foxfire Uniform. He grinned ear to ear, even as he struggled to clasp his cape by his neck and hop into his itchy socks.
He’d been waiting for this day for so long. Today, he would show the entire elvin world that it didn’t matter he was the son of a bad match–whatever that meant, exactly. He would be the best prodigy Foxfire had ever seen!
Then. . . he looked in the mirror. And the smile faded from his face.
His uniform was, to say the least, not flattering.
He swallowed the small lump in his throat, closed his eyes, and shook his head.
Everyone else will be wearing it too, He thought. He plastered a smile on his face. It looked extremely fake, so Dex just shook his head and walked downstairs.
“HI, DEX!” Lex screeched, whizzing by holding Rex’s favorite stuffed animal; Harry the Jackalope.
Bex ran out of the kitchen, behind Rex and Lex. “OVER HERE!”
Lex flung it at his sister.
“NO FAIR!” Rex yelled.
Dex rolled his eyes and stepped around the chaos, taking a seat next to his mother at the kitchen table.
“Aw, Dex,” Juline said with a smile. “You look so grown up!”
“Thanks,” he muttered, his face turning warm.
The gnomes had already set out breakfast, and Dex tried to eat as quickly as he could to make sure he was on time—and to avoid his mom’s questions.
“Done!” he called with a start, his fork falling back to his plate with a clink. He stood up and pushed his chair in. “Bye, Mom. BYE, TRIPLETS!”
“BYE, DEX!” They responded.
“You should say bye to your Dad before you go,” Juline told him.
“I will.”
She hugged him, and he let himself sink into it for a second.
“Bye, Mom.” His voice sounded wobbly.
“I love you. You're going to do great.”
“Thanks. . . Love you, too.”
She ruffled his hair, and Dex quickly turned to the staircase. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve before he reached his Dad’s office. He knocked on the door.
“Come in!” Kesler called. Dex opened the door, but Kesler didn’t look up. “One second, Juline, I’m almost-”
“It’s Dex.”
Kesler whipped around, nearly knocking over the elixir he was mixing.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“Uh. . . I don’t know. But I’m about to leap to Foxfire, so-”
“Dang it.” Kesler wiped sweat from his brow. “I thought it was earlier. I have a present for you, but maybe-”
“N-no, go ahead,” Dex responded hastily. “I got up extra early, so I have plenty of time before I’m late.”
Kesler stood up and stuck his hand in his boot pocket. “Here.” He pulled out a small, square pin. It had a weird picture of a tree with branches made of alchemy tools on it.
“Uh. . . What’s that?” Dex asked.
Kesler grinned. “A special, brand new, family crest!”
Dex stared at him. “And why. . . do we need a new family crest.”
His dad’s smile faded. “Well, Dex. . . you know how I’m. . . You know. Talentless?”
Dex nodded slowly.
“Well. . . Your mom decided to take my last name, so she could show the elvin world they could call us what they wanted. We were trying to prove that some with an ability could marry someone talentless and be happy—which we are.”
Dex swallowed. He knew his parents were a “bad match,” but he’d never heard any more of it than that. He glanced down at the badge he was wearing; ombre colors fading to a black center.
“Different colors for each ability.” Kesler gave a crooked smile. “But the black center. . . that’s me.”
A beat.
“S-so,” Dex whispered. “We’re switching up our family crest so your. . . talentlessness isn’t on there?”
“Sort of,” Kesler muttered. “Juline and I decided a long time ago that we wanted to create our own crest to prove that abilities didn’t matter to us. But then we had you, and then the triplets, and, you know. . . you guys take up a lot of time!”
Dex nodded, thinking of the chaos.
“But I digress,” Kesler said. “Your mom and I decided that now would be a good time to switch crests—before you head to Foxfire. We landed on this design-” he gestured to the new badge. “-Because alchemy is something anyone can do, regardless of age, ability, or even skill level.” He paused. “So, anyway. I’ll let you get to school in a second, but just one more thing. . .”
“What?” Dex asked when Kesler didn’t continue.
“Kids might. . . make things difficult for you this year. And for all of the years after.” His voice sounded hoarse and hollow. “They might make fun of you and call you ‘son of a bad match.’ But you can’t let them get to you. No matter what. Do you understand?”
Dex hesitated, then nodded. He had more questions, but he really was about to be late.
Kesler handed him his new crest and pulled his son into a hug.
“I love you,” Kesler whispered.
Dex swallowed. “I love you, too.”
Kesler stepped back and handed him his new crest. Dex unfastened his old one and clipped his new badge into place.
“Go show them all how it’s done,” Kesler told him.
Dex smiled slightly. “See you after school.”
“See you,” Kesler sighed.
Dex turned and left, walking towards the Leap Master.
“Foxfire!” he called, his voice shaking. He took the crystal that fell towards him and stepped into the light.
