The Changelings

Chapter 6 : Designation; First Case

We arrived at Nexus the next day using the portal.

We had to wait until the next day to get the results because every groups analysis and conclusions has to be analyzed again by our superiors.

We were dismissed until our superiors have confirmed our analysis then we'd be designated to our various positions.

I sincerely hope we are right because I don't want to give my father a reason to denounce me as heir to the throne.

Jess followed me to my room where we spent some time gisting about random stuff. Then her mood changed all of a sudden. She looked like she was contemplating whether to ask me a question or not.

Come on Jess I know that look on your face.. ask already.

She smiles while shaking her head. I was just thinking. " If not Andrew then who would you mate with?? As far as I know Andrew is the only Male changeling you interact with.

Why do you ask??? Its not like am in a hurry to mate with anyone right now.

You do know that if you do not present a worthy match to your father as a mate,, he will force you to mate with anyone he chooses for you.

I know Jess. You think it doesn't bother me?? I know he'll definitely force me to mate with someone in the council just to create an alliance so he can always influence the council's decisions. But right now what other choices do I have than to pray I meet him one day.

Who's him??? Don't tell me you have a crush on someone already??? Come on spill it out!! Who is he?? Is he a warrior or a council member?? I certainly hope he's not a mere guard or a domestic staff because your father will definitely hang you without blinking his eyes or thinking twice about it. Come on Bells,,,tell me already.

I looked at Jess. The curiosity was so evident in her eyes. Can I trust her with my deepest secret??? I love and care for her like a sister. sometimes I really want to tell her everything but I keep holding back. Something tells me that this secret cannot be shared carelessly. So instead of telling her the truth,, I settled with telling her half truth.

Cut it out Jess. Chill ok. If I have a crush already you'll surely be the first to know about it. What I meant was that I can't do anything about a mate right now until I meet the right person. I know I'll definitely meet him one day.

True... You know for a second there I thought you had a crush on someone already. Maybe someone from the council even.

Right back at you Jess. The way you keep mentioning the council members,,, have you fallen for one already???

Do you see any qualities of a good mate in me?? I may end up beating the crap out of anyone that chooses me as a mate. good thing am not in your shoes though.

Are you saying you have no plans of mating with anyone?? As in Never ever??

Yap she said emphasis on the p. Dont look so surprised bells. I mean take a good look at me.Am not built for that.

The king wont accept that. Even if you're not his heir,,they'll still have you mated so our population will keep increasing. you know my father believes in the strength in numbers.

Good thing my best friend is going to be queen soon. Dont tell me you'll force a mate on me also.

Even if I don't,,the council won't stand for it. You better start searching on time before all the cute ones get mated and your left with no choice but to settle for lesser ones.

I'll search for mine only if you'll agree to start searching for yours too. Agreed???

In your dreams Jess I laughed at her trying to get me to find a mate.

We were distracted by the sound of the speaker from the Aquarium. " All cadets, report to the Aquarium immediately " The sound was so loud that you could hear it wherever you are.

My heart started beating faster. We've been so engrossed in our discussions that we forgot about the results of our investigation.

We stood up immediately and made our way to the Aquarium. Fear of the unknown was so evident on my face.

Along the way we met other cadets also heading to the Aquarium.

Someone isn't so sure of her groups report,, Queenie said trying to get my attention.

I ignored her and kept walking along. What is at stake here is bigger than whatever issues I have with Queenie.

Ignore us all you want. But after we get selected as the best group,,we'll see who the real sidekicks will be Brian said mockingly.

Maybe the king will save us the stress and kill you before you bring shame and disgrace to us all Queenie added.

Why don't you both do us a favour and book a ticket straight to hell Jess retorts.

Ignore them Jess. What's at stake here is greater than two wanna be. And just to be clear,, even if I don't become Queen,, I'll make sure the throne never gets to either of you fools I shot back at them.

We all stood there glaring at each other when Andrew walks towards us. He did not need to ask what happened because he knows what Queenie and her group are capable of. He simply put one hand on my shoulder and the other one Jess shoulder and lead us away from our glaring contest. We silently followed him leaving Queenie and her group of idiots behind.

Nice timing Andrew. If you hadn't come along am sure we'll be trading punches by now,,I said to Andrew with his arm still on my shoulder.

Nice work Andrew. You didn't even do anything or say anything to those bunch of idiots. You really are our hero indeed Jess mocks him as she shakes off his arm from her shoulder.

We both laughed at her childish behaviour.

I knew there was nothing more to say Jess besides we need to get to the Aquarium on time Andrew replies her.

That's right..We need to arrive on time because even if we win,,as long as it's my group,, we'll still be punished for coming late.

We soon arrived at the Aquarium. Luckily we were not late.The settings on the Aquarium has been changed. Chairs have been set. on the training grounds sat my father and some elders from the council who will be assigning us to various departments.

Lord Harry and some other instructors stood by the side facing us as we all stood at the other side facing our instructors.

There was a big screen facing us all.I could see the king staring at me coldly. I tried to read the expression on his face but I could not. Since I can't tell what he's thinking at the moment,,I decided to relax and let our maker to decide my fate.

After all formal acknowledgement and greetings,,the screen was turned on various images could be clearly seen.

Every detail was analyzed in front of us all.

Then they compared each groups analysis to the conclusion that they have. It was discovered that two groups came closest to solving the case.

Lord Harry stood up and summed up everything about the case. He said the crime was committed by a rebellious organisation that calls itself " La Verdad " and that is Spanish for The truth. For now we don't know their true agenda and we have no leads or evidence that directly points to them.

All we do know is that the leader of the organisation is a fairy and over the years this organisation has been recruiting more followers. We also know that some werewolves are vampires and many other supernatural creatures are faithful to that organisation and the leader. The king himself is trying to see what they do in their camp but the fairy leader used a magical cloak to shield all their activities and their shields are always up that's why we can't see them and we don't know what they always do.

From the evidence we gathered,,the case you were sent to investigate does not involve only a fairy. A vampire and werewolf was present too.

So for the two groups that scored above 90% in their investigation. You'll be charged with the responsibility to bring in the perpetrators.

Only eight people who played active roles in the investigation will be picked out of the two groups to form the Elite team.

Group C and group H come forward.

We all stepped forward. we were sixteen in number.

Even though I was super excited at this very moment,, I hid my excitement and put on a blank face because I still don't know if I'll be picked among the eight that will be selected to join the elite team.

I looked to the other side only to meet Queenie's eyes. she smirked at me. that's when I discovered that group H is actually Queenie's group. Could this get any more awkward?? What kind of fate is this?? Why did Lord Harry even put Queenie,,Brian and some of their friends in the same group?? its definitely a recipe for disaster. This is pure Bad luck.

I still had a blank face on because I don't want anything to disqualify me. Everyone's eyes were on us. But I could sense a burning gaze directed at me. I looked up to meet my father's eyes. I looked down immediately to break eye contact with him.

Soon Lord Harry passed a list to my father who will then call the names of the eight people that will be in the elite team.

Being in the elite team meant special treatments and we will be privileged to handle special cases.

King Arthur stood up and glanced at everyone before he started calling the names one after the other.

He called Queenie Lorenzo

Jess Morgan

Brian Lorenzo

Andrew Harrison

Cleo Alfonso

Jefferson Gerald

My heart started beating faster than ever before. I know my father my father may choose to remove me from that list if he chooses.

Maybe that's why he's been looking at me. He wants me to react in a negative way so he'll have a reason to expel me from the team but I won't fall into his trap.

My father kept his eyes on me as he calls out the names.

I refuse to give up hope. I kept calling on our maker to soften his heart for me today.

After calling one more name,,my father finally announced that the last person on the list has been appointed as the leader of the elite team.

I closed my eyes dreading the outcome. My mind immediately conjured his face. seeing his face always calms me down. I could see him smiling at me and I felt energised immediately.

I opened my eyes to see everyone looking at me. I felt confused because I don't know why they are looking at me. I turned to look at Jess who mouthed to me " You're our Elite leader "...

I was beyond excited. I nearly jumped and screamed in joy but that would embarrass my father so I just walked forward and knelt in front of my father and collected my team's Lama. Our lama would be used to open the portal from earth so we can return to Nexus after a case is solved.

A knife was handed to me so I slashed my palm and let few drops pour into a bowl held by a senior council member. Each member of my team came forward and did the same after which he/she used the same bloody hand to touch mine. This is a binding ritual done to only the elite team.

After the ritual we all bowed to the king and the council members. We also bowed to our superiors before we made our way to our rooms to await further instructions.

I was so happy. Now am sure our maker has not abandoned me.

I can't wait for everyone to sleep so I can go into the chambers. its been long I saw him and I miss him so very much.

I also want to share my happy news with him.

I know he'll be proud of me... I just know it