The Sight Beyond The Haze

Chapter 64: More People Makes the Room Too Crowded

Everyone was well-dressed.

Cocytus and I have only just arrived at the great hall of the academy and everyone was just entering like that two of us. I would not say that there was this extreme makeover when I saw my face on mirror. I was only just surprised to see that they have managed to make my sleep-deprived self look normal enough to pass decency. Even Cocytus looeked somehow disheleved on his current attire.

We were supposed to have matching suits, but I ditched my own on the very last moment.

Although looking very disheleved and disoriented, Cocytus still managed to look dashing. Like a prince, I must say. Both of us were decorated with golden light butterflies, Cocytus on his wrist and me on my hari. The golden light butterflies' wings were stilled and motionless. I was half tempted to touched their delicate wings just to make sure that they were all still well.

We easily found our table. Easily, because Caspian has been waving us over with his long arms, creating a distracting motion for everyone else. I took a steo back, not really in the mood to socialize with people.

"What about Anasthasia?" I asked Cocytus. "Will her make-up really take her a while?"

"Yes, otherwise we wouldn't be here without her, would we?" he snapped back at me. Then he immediately realized how he sounded and bent down his head in exhaustion. "I'm sorry," he muttered, our steps have become slower so we would not be arriving any sooner to our designated table. "I'm just... Father has been rather upset, he thought it would be dangerous for me to stick around him for a while. At least as long as the Hybrid hasn't been caught just yet. And..." I heard Cocytus sighed heavily. "There are other things too."

I did not quite hear the last part but I did not ask any longer since we have arrived at out stop. Caspian was the one who immediately stood up to greet the two of us. Then there came Layla Gwen and Hazel Imbert.

Hazel smiled at me with that kind of delicacy that could only come from her. She was very beautiful with blue hair braided behind her back and her violet ballgown.

"My Lady Alaric Elliot and Mr. Amitiel," she greeted us both with that smile. "We are all so glad that you have managed to attend the ball."

"Yes," I answered, looking at Cocytus with an accusing look, "because this is a quintessential experience, is it not?"

Cocytus ignored and just sat down without anyone inviting him. I saw Layla Gwen and Caspian's brows rose with Cocytus arrogance whereas I only scanned the people on the table. There were some other people sitting besides the ones that I knew. Of course, Zachriel and Hermes were there. Both of them were wearing elegant suits that matched the occasion well.

Everyone has stood for me so I gave them a small smile, feeling that it was too forced, I quickly hide it with a cough and gestyred everyone to sit down.

"It is nice being among my peers," I said to them and nodded.

I could feel the awkwardness and the tension seeped through my bones with how eerie everything was. It was apparent to me that not every person on the table wanted me to be around them and was only courteous enough to receive me on their table because of my position and rank. That only made me awkward, my eyes finding the knife beside my plate and played with it while I carefully look at everyone with as little intimidation as possible.

But I have always been so detached from people I do not know. I was not like Eris who could be a social butterfly nor was I Cocytus that grew up with luxury and does not care what the other people think of me. I was not even Caspian who does not know what was going, oblivious he was with the tension.

"I heard the appetizer has garlic on it," he said obliviously, his eyes lingering in anyone who might pick up the conversation so he could talk with them, but no one did. "I mean only idiots would do that, right?" he even attempted to no avail.

"I heard that the Lady Elliot would be taking the Elisnore as a header," one of the children said with a great emphasis on the word Elliot and the Elsinore clan.

"Samantha," Haziel called out to the person who talked, there was a warning on the harshness of her tone.

"What?" Samantha, her name was, demanded with an incredulous glint on her eyes. "She has been running around the inside of the Academia Amitiel, not even cooperating with us."

"Well she took it upon herself to patrol the area," another one of them said with an accusation tone on his voice. "Even discarding Lady Imbert. Just who does she think she was?"

Haziel's forehead knotted wih that statement, while I was still playing with the knife beside my plate. The glint of the knife caught the attention of Zachriel who looked as though he was ready to throw hands on the people present on the table.

Meanwhile, Caspian has finally taken a hint and was forced to sit down properly by Hermes while Layla shifted uncomfortably on her seat.

"She disappeared for almost a decade with no trace and she will resurface thinking that she owned the Eirini," Samantha said.

Other people on the table statted to get brave just because two of them have voiced out their opinions. Cocytus and I remained unbothered by it all. I was certain that they only knew my appearance within the walls of the academy and not why I was here and could not reclaim my spot when I just entered.

"I can still remember the outbreak in Paris," one of them said bravely. "She abandoned us all."

On this one, I could not bear to just listened. Many have died for me in Paris, when we were attacked. I may have not remember every single scene on that memories, but I have heard of the story from Caspian and Haziel themselves. I have seen the fury and the grief on their faces.

"Were you there?" I suddenly asked the girl who brought up what happened in Paris. When she did not answer my question, I reiterated in a clear voice. "Were you there when the incident happened in Paris?"

Silence befallen the table, not even a chatter could be heard and just the noise from the other people on the neighboring tables. From the knife that I was holding, I looked up to the girl. She does not look familiar in my eyes, but her words cut deeply.

Was that what I did?

Did I abandoned them? Left them there to die?

"A year ago, I cannot remember who I was," I started, the warmth on my eyes was leaving and I could tell from the way her eyes got wider and the way she seemed to wanted so much to get out of my stare. "Just that I was a child of a family in Paris. When the Haefen attacked what I thought was my real family, many in the Eirini have died in my stead. For that, I will always be burdened if I was doing enough to compensate the value they placed upon me. I removed the patrol because I wanted all of you to get better rest, I want you all to be comfortable while inside the Academia Amitiel. I have created countermeasures for the people waiting outside the walls of the academy and I erected more barriers. If my presence have offended any of you, then I shall gladly go. I see that my place among my peers have faded away along with my memories. And along with that is your respect to me."

"Are you guilt tripping us?" Samantha demanded to me. "Just because you suffered doesn't mean that we didn't!"

"You are protected by your families," the boy snapped at me. "And what about us? We are trapped here just because of your family's incompetence. Lady Alaric can't even bother to protect us."

"Because you aren't even part of Eirini," Cocytus said lazily. "You are with the people of Eirini, but that does not make you a part of them. In all honesty, only five people in this table are actually part of Eirini. Lady Alaric have authority, but isn't most of your families are part of the Noble Families or of the noble descent? That means not only does the obligation fall to the Lady Alaric Elliot, but to each one of you. You all have to protect the people of the Dalcanorian Territories. Why does it sounds like she owe you something?"

Cocytus raised his brows to them.

"And who are you, but a peasant?!" the second girl who spoke spat at him with acid.

"Isn't that nice?" Cocytus snorted, his lids have been drawn closer to his eyes making it seemed like he was looking down on the girl when she was so far in distance from him.

Although Cocytus was ignorant of the way most people treated his family with a lowly glance, he was not angered. Maybe he was pissed, but not to point that he would burst out with his emotion. He regarded the girl with that intimidating glance, daring for her to go deeper and to continue what she had just said.

"Now, that is quite enough," Zachriel said, coming in between us. His gentle voice was only enough on its firmness and gentleness. "We are here to celebrate and have fun, not to discuss any political matters, please refrain from saying anything of the sort to Lady Alaric Elliot."

"And address her to her rightful title, y'all," Hermed finally said, he sighed and shook his head, his fair hair caught the shimmer of the golden light of the chandelier. "I know that most of you are still kind of torn by Lady Alaric Elliot, but she's doing her best honestly."

There was a meaningful look on his once ferocious but was now tamed eyes.

He knew, I thought with a sudden realization, he knew of my fight with the Hybrid.

"You knew," I said to him and he nodded.

"I was just passing by, getting some stuff from my customers but then I saw you giving off some serious magical levels and I saw that, maybe a hunter. I wanted to help, but it seemed that you got it covered."

"Yes, we both did, but we do not want to intrude upon my lady so Zachriel suggested that we let you be and tried to find Mr. Amitiel."

I looked back at Cocytus who suddenly evaded my glance. So that was why he was running towards me at such speed.

"It seemed that Cocytus have forgotten to tell me that detail," I said in return and smiled stiffly. And that must be why he insisted to go depsite being told to back off by his foster father.

He was interested how I would fight to the death.

I pursed my lips, I was certain that it was only the Hybrid and me on that were present. The commotion must have attracted them both to come near us that they were certain it was an intruder.

On my periphery, I saw that Zachriel was looking at me.

I nodded at him. I knew that he must have been aware that I was onto something. I suspected that when I realized that he never said anything to anyone, not even Haziel has noticed, that I was able to command the light butterflies.

The light butterfly was the great symbol of the Deity of Light, everyone knew that as they were more commonly known as the Fire Butterflies. For the average child from the Dalcanoraz, they were told of those stories at their childhood and grew up knowing they were actually true and real, roaming about the world and could be seen.

And Zachriel must have known that the matters in the present must be related to that, thus why he led them off yesterday and not even a word was breathed on it otherwise Haziel and Hermes would definitely be on my back.

"But Lord Legrand is right," Haziel told them and agreed with Zachriel. "This must be an occasion for celebration, not to graple political matters for our families."

"Well this is uncomfortable," Cocytus whispered to me. I gave him a sideway glance, feeling quite uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the other people around us as they all agreed with Haziel and Zachriel with their reasoning and logic.

I discreetly sighed and let go of the knife I have been gripping since earlier when the tension started to go up.

Then I wondered if we were overworking our stay on this table as people threw daggers at both Cocytus and me.

Would this scenario be repeated as I take up my position within the Noble Family Seats? Just a bunch of people trying to gaslight me into agreeing with whatever it was they were trying to say. I have no interest in politics but my life seemed to have been leading me right into it.

And I wanted to grab the metaphorical brakes of my life and just go back to a standstill when everything seemed to have stopped and nothing moved forwards or backwards.