"This man, who called himself Xavier, was one of the commanders of the terrorist group that attacked our proud academy, Stellanova. During the attack, he came after sensitive files of every student in the academy, and because of the severity of it, we have lost one of our own. We have reasons to believe that someone within the school was the source of giving them information on places to hide in the country. But rest assured that his death is only the beginning. We will find the rest of them and serve utmost justice to bring peace and prosperity back to not only Elarion, but to Luminaris."
The crowd roared in celebration at the king's statement. But midway through this, King Augustus raised his hand, and all who were present stood still in silence.
"That's not all. We will be creating a new force that will be directly under the Magus Sovereign, which will be called 'The Astryx'."
The crowd stood in awe after hearing the name.
"They will be firstly, individually chosen by each Captain based on their power, skill, ingenuity, and determination to fight. Their level of authority will be below the level of the Captains."
As he was saying all of this, one of the people loudly asked,
"Who was the person who killed that guy!?"
The others among the masses asked the same question. The Captains and the others looked at Nathan, along with King Augustus, from a distance. He smiled and replied,
"The identity of the person who landed the killing blow on Xavier will not be revealed."
The crowd sighed in disappointment.
"Don't be displeased about this. Today calls for a small celebration. A step closer to stopping these criminals."
He raised his hand in salute and shouted.
"For Elarion!"
The crowd joined in.
"For Elarion!"
After his address, he walked back into the castle, and the crowd slowly dispersed. Nathan took a long sigh of relief. He leaned back into the chair and thought to himself.
[Thank goodness it's all over. I can somewhat rest in the meantime.]
As he began relaxing, Captain Cedric and Regina called him and Seraphina over. He reluctantly stood up, and they walked over to them, leaving Eleanor and the other guests with them. The four of them started discussing Daniel's possible whereabouts. Until Captain Ashbourne's guest came over to them and asked,
"I apologize for my rudeness, but may I ask what this boy is doing here in the Captain's building? Every Captain brought one guest, so that leaves him as a standalone."
[What the hell?]
Nathan was shocked to see someone casually interrupt a conversation including Captains. This caused people around them to begin asking questions about why Nathan was there. Captain Regina stepped forward and said,
"The situation is complicated at the moment. You will all understand it properly in due time."
After saying this, King Augustus suddenly appeared behind them with a grin on his face.
"There's no need to stall it any further, Captain Regina. I will happily say it to stop any more confusion."
Augustus stood beside Nathan and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"This young man is the one who killed one of the commanders single-handedly."
Everyone who knew this was silent, but those who didn't were surprised, along with Eleanor, with their jaws almost dropping to the ground. Captain Cedric's guest asked whether or not King Augustus was speaking the truth. Cedric glared at him in anger. Augustus continued.
"I know you all have a lot of questions, but they can all wait. For now, we should all be congratulating Nathan on being victorious in his battle with one of the 'Heralds of Life'."
Everyone proceeded to clap, but some had an untrustworthy look at Nathan. He didn't really care about what others thought of him at the moment, because his focus was on Eleanor's reaction. She idly stood there with her hands between her back and gave him an awkward smile.
[I'm not surprised. Trying her hardest not to look afraid. Who would blame her? A person she's known for years just so happened to be a murderer.]
"But I need all the Captains to come with me to discuss more important matters. You may all stay and talk amongst yourselves, or leave. But know that whatever has been said here should never be heard by the public. Understand."
They all agreed and bowed their heads.
The Captains left with King Augustus, and the room went on to discuss other things. Eleanor went over to Nathan and Seraphina.
"I'll leave and go back to my carriage and leave you two alone."
Seraphina gave a thumbs-up and left the building.
"So, how have you been?" Nathan asked awkwardly.
"Not as hard as you." She replied with a stiff expression.
Silence was the only thing that came from both of them until each person simultaneously spoke over the other.
"You first, El."
"I just wanted to ask if you're hurt anywhere. I can heal you if there's anything wrong."
"I'm alright. King Augustus healed most of my injuries, and the others healed over time."
"But did you have any trouble sleeping?"
"No. I slept fine."
She lightly pressed her finger on the dark circle below his eye.
"(chuckle)You can be a terrible liar sometimes."
"I thought you'd be afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Afraid of me. I saw how hard you tried to smile after King Augustus told everyone that I killed that guy."
She took her hand away and started fidgeting with it.
"I wasn't afraid of you, Nate. I just… didn't know how to react after hearing that. I knew that one of us, either it was Sera, Ari, Noah, or even Oscar and Daniel, would end up killing someone since, you know… that's why we enrolled into the academy. To help people, but when it came down to it, a life would be lost."
Nathan looked at her with a desperate look and asked,
"Are you okay with this?"
"Nate, you know the situation back home. I would try to not get involved in all of this, but it'll be futile to even do it. But for right now, all I can say is hang in there. If you want to talk about it, come to me."
Nathan agreed, and they both went out of the building. Eleanor offered a lift to his place in her carriage, but Nathan politely declined. She playfully pulled him inside, and they both started laughing all the way there.
Once they arrived, Nathan got out of the carriage and waved Eleanor goodbye. He got inside and saw his mother rush over to him with a stressed look on her face. She kept asking questions about where he's been all day and why he looks tired. He told her that they were playing with Seraphina's little sister the whole time. He sat down at the dinner table, and Lawrence appeared behind him with a plate of food.
"Why is he here?"
"He helped me run the shop, and he's a surprisingly good cook when it comes to meat."
Lawrence placed the food on the table and thanked Eliana, Nathan's mother, for using the kitchen.
"Anytime, Lawrence. It's nice to have someone else cook every once in a while."
They all sat down, and Lawrence winked at Nathan to signal that everything went well, and he nodded. The table was quiet while they ate, but they were all satisfied afterwards and went to bed.
During this time, the Captains held a meeting with King Augustus. They all sat in a circle, and each one of them had a note in their hand. King Augustus started off and said,
"We're here to select the members who will be enlisted to join the Astryx. Each Captain chose one person to join with them, having the necessary requirements I mentioned this afternoon. You may all start with your selections.
Captain Cedric:
"I enlist Oscar Beaumont of the Beaumont family and also recommend him as their leader."
Captain Carter:
"I enlist Ariel Sinclair of House Sinclair."
Captain Regina:
"I enlist Seraphina Regina of House Regina."
Captain Ashbourne:
"I have no one I want to enlist."
The other Captains looked at her, but King Augustus told them to continue.
Captain Ravencroft:
"Same as her. I have no one I want to enlist."
Everyone in the room sighed in frustration. Captain Carter looked at both Captains and asked,
"Why don't you choose any student from the academy so that we can be done with this?"
Ravencroft responded,
"There's no one else who fits the requirements."
"Why not Eleanor?"
"Not included."
"Why?"
"Because she doesn't cut it."
Amidst their bickering, Captain Ashbourne asked King Augustus if they could enlist anyone that came to mind, even if they had no connection or affiliation with them. He agreed to the question.
"I enlist Eleanor Ravencroft,," said Captain Ashbourne.
"How dare you!" shouted Captain Ravencroft.
King Augustus demanded that he control himself and she shouldn't be threatened for who she picks.
"All that's left is one person." Said Cedric.
Ravencroft stood still without a word. So, they discussed among themselves who was the last person. Captain Regina and Carter recommended Noah, but Cedric mentioned William, Oscar's cousin. They all looked towards Ashbourne, and she picked whoever Captain Regina chose, which was Noah.
"Are we done now? I'm getting tired."
King Augustus smiled and said there's one more. They all looked in confusion and asked who the sixth choice could be if there are five Captains.
"The sixth choice will come from me."
He took out his note from his pocket and placed it on the table. Everyone was in shock after seeing what was written on the note, except for Captain Cedric and Regina, who expected him to be included.
King Augustus:
"I enlist Nathaniel Valen into The Astryx."