Morning light shined through the curtains and wakes Nathan up. As he was about to stretch, he was introduced to a sharp aching pain in his back. He gave out an inner groan and went to wash up. Afterwards, before walking out the door, Eliana called out to him in the kitchen.
"I can't believe you're actually going back there today."
"Don't worry, I won't take long. I just need to check up on things, then I'll be at Noah's for a bit if I don't catch him at the academy."
She let out a sigh and hugged him goodbye.
"Make sure to be safe, alright."
"Alright. Bye, mom."
He waved goodbye and walked out to Stellanova. To his surprise, not a lot of people today were as tense as he thought.
[I guess they trust the King that much.]
During his walk, a bright ray of light flashed in his eyes, caused by a reflection of one of the street vendors. He was temporarily blinded and began rubbing his eyes with his hands. But as he was about to regain sight, he saw faint blood on his hands, and it vanished instantly. His heart clenched in his chest, but he remained composed because of the number of people around him. He took a deep breath and continued on his way.
Upon arrival at the gate, 2 Imperial guards stopped him from getting in.
"Why are you guys stopping me?"
One of the guards responded, "Because only people with special permission are allowed past the gate."
"I understand, but I'm affiliated with the Headmaster. You can ask her yourself."
"How can I take your word for it if you don't even have your uniform on?"
Nathan quickly observed his attire and told the guards that it had been damaged yesterday in the attack.
"Almost every student's uniform has been torn to shreds, and you expect me to make an exception for you? For all we know, you could be just another commoner trying to check out the damage and spread it amongst yourselves."
The other guard beside him stepped forward and looked down on Nathan.
"Or maybe, he could be with those terrorists?"
Nathan was stunned at his statement. Anger fueled inside him, with his teeth gritting against each other.
"What did you just say?"
The 2 guards held their weapons as if they were prepared to fight, but just as the conflict was about to heat up, Captain Cedric appeared behind the guards and asked,
"What is the meaning of this?"
The guards turned around in a flash and bowed their heads.
Captain Cedric continued, "Were you just about to attack the Headmaster's beneficiary right in front of her academy!?"
The guards sincerely apologized with their heads still bowed down.
He averted his gaze towards Nathan and called him inside the grounds. He got in and trilled his tongue to them.
As they walked together through the rubble, they began having a conversation.
"Since when did she consider me a beneficiary?"
"When you were first enrolled. But there are some things that I want to ask you."
"Sure."
"Firstly, I understand that talking about this is a bit sensitive, and you can not talk about it if you don't want to. But the man you fought yesterday, can you tell me what you know about him?"
Nathan looked up into the cracked ceilings and sighed.
"It's fine."
Nathan began telling him everything, from the moment they first met up until now, and his superstitions about how he gained information about him.
"I see. Thank you, Nathan, that's very helpful. So, his name is Xavier, and he has someone who calls the shots, whom he calls 'Lord'.
"That's right. Along with the horn tattoo on his right hand."
"Speaking about the tattoo, others we've captured had that tattoo on the same hand, but only one horn and not two."
"So, there's a hierarchy."
"Most likely. The more horns there are, the higher the person."
"I see. So, what was the other question you wanted to ask?"
"It's about your father. Do you know where he is?"
"Not a clue, he left one day and said that he'll be back. Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing important."
"Is that all?"
"Yes. You've been a great help. Just keep this between us, Headmaster Celestia and the other captains."
"But Noah knows about this."
"Can he keep it to himself?"
"Yes. If it comes to things like this, he's someone I rely on."
"Interesting. What about your other friends?"
"I trust them, but I've known Noah my whole life. We practically grew up with each other."
"Noted. Make sure to keep those closest to you, because I'm scared of what comes later."
"Will do, sir."
As they walked down the halls, they spotted Seraphina talking to other student council members, Mary and Brant. Captain Cedric dismissed him, and Nathan walked over to them. Both Mary and Brant left, leaving Nathan with Seraphina.
"How's it been, Sera?"
"As you can see, a lot of rebuilding."
"Must be tough. Have you seen the others?"
"The only person I've seen was Oscar. Noah, Ari, Daniel, and Eleanor didn't show up. I understand why Ari and Noah didn't show up because of what happened yesterday. Daniel never shows up, but Eleanor? That's not like her."
"I have a feeling I know why."
"What is it?"
"Black-haired and last name is Ravencroft. I'll give you a hint."
"I get the gist."
"But I'm surprised, didn't think your mom would just let you run around in this rubble."
"She's a captain, so she does tend to be busier than usual when it comes to these things. So, waiting at home would've bored me to death. But more importantly, she started pinching the back of his hand.) What do you take me for to say I'm running around? I'm just as strong as Noah and maybe even as strong as Ari."
"(chuckle) I'm sorry."
They later continue talking about everything they've experienced from previous events up until today. They both leaned on a wall, and Seraphina sighed before saying,
"All this 'Heralds of Life' bullshit is so tiresome. My mom's been running around the house holding papers about potential hiding spots they could be in."
Nathan stood still, staring at her, dead in the eyes.
"What did you say about hideouts?"
Seraphina stepped away from the wall and said, "You're scaring me, Nathan. What's up with your eyes? They look like a dragon."
His sharp gaze frightened her to the point she started backing away. Nathan placed his hands on his face and lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, Sera. I didn't mean to scare you."
She walked over and patted him on the back.
"It's fine, Nate. I was just surprised to see that look on your face. How about we go get lunch together? The maid packed too much food for me, so I have enough to share."
With his head still lowered, he asked something from her.
"Do you know where these hideouts are?"
"I only know one since my mom ran out in a hurry before I could see the others."
"Can you tell me where it is?"
"Nathan, you know I can't do that."
"Please, Sera."
"Do you know how much trouble I'll be in along with my mom if shit goes sideways? It's too risky. And even if I told you, you'd just get hurt."
Nathan bowed to his knees with his face to the ground.
"Please, Sera. Ever since Harry died, I couldn't think straight. I kept seeing blood on my hands, and his voice kept echoing in my head. I know that asking you is too much, but still. I can't keep living with this feeling inside myself, knowing that I could've done something to help him. His being alive out there is too much of an insult already."
Seraphina went down and asked him, "Do you want to kill him?"
"I'm not a killer. I just want to get him and bring him back here to face his crimes. If he gets sentenced to death, then I'll have no complaints."
"The last time you fought him, he killed Harry and was almost taking you out as well. Do you think he won't retaliate if you tried?"
"I understand. I'm not asking for much, just please tell me."
"Nathan, do you know how we would feel if you died? The others, myself, and your mom. We'd be grieving for as long as we breathe, your mom would have it the worst out of all of us."
A memory of what Nathan promised his mother came flashing back. He clenched his fists and said,
"I promised her that I won't. So, if things go wrong, I'll hide myself with magic and retreat."
She stood up and asked him to follow suit and stand as well.
"Let me see your face, Nathan."
He raised his head, and his eyes were holding back tears. She handed him her handkerchief to wipe them off.
"Promise me to leave right away when you can't do it."
She held out her pinky in front of him, and he did the same, with each interlocking. She then began to whisper to his ear about where they could be. Nathan's eyes returned to normal, but still had a fierce gaze in them.
"Since that's over, do you want to go have lunch?"
"Thanks, Sera. I owe you big time."
"You can start by letting me pick which platter to choose from."
"(chuckle) So that's what nobles would eat on a random day?"
"Don't be ridiculous… Our fishermen caught a big haul yesterday, so these are the leftovers."
They both laughed and walked down to the cafeteria.
Time passes with the whole day feeling like a passing breeze. The time for Lawrence to meet up with the mysterious person who sent him the note has come. The sun fell with him walking over a small but busy village with street food intoxicating the area. He arrived at the tavern that was mentioned and looked around to see who it could've been. A man wearing a cloak called over one of the servers and talked to her. She went over to Lawrence and pointed him to the direction of the man's table.
"I don't know who or what you want, so let's cut to the chase and be done with this. I have somewhere I need to be."
The man with his mouth stuffed with meat and rice laughed and swallowed before saying this,
"That's a bit rude, Lawrence. I can make time running a kingdom, but you can't make time to talk about your son?"
The man's eyes started radiating a gold color, placing Lawrence in a daze.
"King Augustus… what the hell is this about?"