Rimholm University: Clandestine

Chapter 45

Mira heaves out a deep breath of relaxation as the warm water created its contact physically with her skin. She gradually pulled up the gauze that covered the wounds that she earned back from the games to ease the pain. It's all cleaned up and even the fluid from the herb dried up alongside the wound. Mira can hear their conversation from outside yet it's all ambiguous due to the water splashing against the cold and tiled floor.

'There's wrong in here. I'm sure of it. It's not from Juinstye or Phillestonean participants. It's not right to blame them knowing that I don't grasp even a single detail of what happened when I passed out.'

Mira started reminiscing the past events when she closed her eyes yet, deep inside her something dragged the other half of her through the depths. She shook her head to erase the sudden feeling. After all the efforts she made to wipe it out, there's a thing that remained missing inside of her. As if there's a hole in her chest.

'We win, I become a part of it, why there's unsettling in me?'

Mira lifted her trembling hand to touch her clothed chest in combined restlessness and inquisitiveness knocking in her skull. She scanned the bizarre yet swollen wounds on her hands. The longer she takes a look the more she wonders. Mira can't recall her mind falling from the branches to make it feel like her heart leaves her body. Even having thought of joyful things doesn't seem to work at this moment.

'What is wrong with me?'

A warm liquid streams down from Mira's eyes out of frustration. Thinking of what's wrong makes her eager to find things out yet she doesn't have any clues to where to start. It drives her crazy.

"Why don't you seek for your desire?"

Mira almost got rooted from a certain spot as if the ice restrict her feet to move. The voice is too familiar to her. It's combined with a voice of people coming from the deepest hole crying out for help. It renders shivers to be like thousands of pins sticking all over her body now.

"A desire that you used to hide on the deepest part of your mind." Mira snapped and turned around. There's no sight of someone behind her. There's no unknown presence around her. Her eyes wandered inside the cold walls, it's all like what they used to.

"Why so afraid of me?" The voice laughs as if it's just right beside her; speaking on her ears. Mira took a step back, making her back thump to the cold drain. She panicked right when she realized that the door is away from her and her throat runs dry.

"Ohh, nothing but disappointment who lied to herself, are we?" Mira balled her hand into a fist when she gathered all the courage she can have.

"W-Who are you?"

"Everyone doesn't like your existence. You're just a pest on their eyes, are you aware? Think again, do you think those smiles and laughter that you shared with them are all true?" Nevertheless, the question caught Mira off-guard.

"You can't deceive me." Mira bitterly laughs, "Trust me, you can't. When you spoke up, it's soon as I realized, you're just all in my mind."

"I'm not deceiving you, my dear. I'm telling the truth. You don't possess to take an act of lying after all. I know it. Soon you will open your eyes to realize."

"When I open my eyes, will you be still there?" Mira twisted the knob then look at the mirror, wearing a lopsided smile.

"If that time comes, who knows? Maybe I'll ask for you to lend a hand though I don't know who you are."

"That's the best resort we can have here. Shifters assault everyone near them when their mating time is coming. That's why I requested to assign you hybrids. They got a good grip on themselves rather than other races. The dorm leaders can give you protection but once the mages find out, this simple issue gets bigger and the rest of the seven empires can consider this as a diplomatic affair. However, I already sent a message to the empress. Perhaps we can solve this problem of yours." Zachary added.

Mira walked towards them with a lack of intention to jump on their conversation, she decided to sit on her mother's table and lean on it. The thought of the voice speaking up with her strengthened the curiosity on her mind. She watched her friends and Zachar discuss something she have in between of have and lack of interest.

"If one of the seven empires are after you, once you passed through another empire's border, they can't do anything to you. Unless the seven imperial councils and the nations' leader issued an arrest warrant on you or consider you a terrorist." Salem scanned him from head to toe, "Inside out, there's no hint of you being a terrorist. If Chief Callis allows you to set a foot on her territory, she can sense purity in you. So am I."

"Then why did you almost kill me?" Aldreon asked her, emphasizing the phrase 'almost kill' that makes Zachary chuckle. Mira darted her gaze at Salem. She can't even crack a smile on the humor.

"Salem Zenith's way of greetings. She's a spawn of mischief and violence. I deeply apologize on my behalf. She's often giving me headaches when it comes to that term. Because of too much knowledge, she turned insane."

"You can pass being a lady-in-waiting." Salem emotionlessly leaned her jaw on her hand, "It's not like I'm looking down at your capacity but I can say you're not annoying as Mira's lion shifter friend. And you should shut up your loud mouth, Zachary Johannes Beaumont Levine." Still, doesn't have any empathy for the words that escaped from her mouth. Face to face, another fight will occur again.

"I'm your superior."

"Who cares about superiority? Don't scare me with that."

"Fine!"

"Anyways, I bought sweets. Want some?"

"Give me one."

"Go buy your own next time." Salem rolled her eyes in sarcasm when she handed him the stash of snacks.

"So, by the way, what happened to the Byzantium crystal?" The two shifters darted their gazes back at Adlreon.

"I got it under someone's care. I assure you that the crystal is on the right hands at this very moment."

"Oh...is that so? Well.." Aldreon swings his hanging foot while thinking of any method to change the subject, "About the foreign and national affairs, I'm still reluctant of staying here. The council of the four countries won't stop hunting me down. They might eliminate me for being the only living witness of that nightmare. They might kill me." Anxious to say, the man chooses to let out what's making his stomach hurt every time he thinks of it. Closing his eyes, taking deep breaths, and trying to think of good things doesn't work anymore. When he closes his eyes it reminds him of nothing but the disturbing sound of agony and fear as if it's right there, face to face. Sending him shivers that ended up like a thousand needles sticking up to his skin.

'I feel the same as him. Both walking in shards of glass.' Mira thought.

"If we didn't move and immediately tell her majesty about it, they might consider you a national threat. You need someone powerful and influential who stands for you."

"They are after you thinking that you might spread the so-called 'plague' but you already went near to the crystal. That's the tear of purity from the father of the cosmos. No wicked creature can go near it nor touch it without draining its life away. Even those people with illnesses can be get cured. In other words, there is a chance that you got cured. I cannot see any reason to worry about it. Say, how did some mere merchant found sell that? Even the treasure hunters who tried to find it ended up failing. Only the seven of it fall from this world from Karajaan Dewa. The God of Weaponsmiths created the rest of those as weapons for the royal deities."

"Or maybe they don't want a living witness wandering around carrying the real story." Salem nonchalantly seated beside the man. Aldreon almost jumped from his spot, creating a creaking sound, making Zachary and her rub their ear in discomfort.

"Sorry." He mumbled, "But what do you mean by a living witness?"

"Gee, that's not me, fish legs."

"It's me." Mira waved her hand as she dried her hair with another. Alderson tilted his head in conclusion, "What do you mean by that? Students here don't take easy on me. Three of you already make my head spins."

"What I mean is, the four kingdoms are rumored to be crooked." She clarifies and forced a smile.

"It's not a rumor, that's true," Salem commented.

"Mira is right, maybe they don't want any living witness or may they got other reason or.." Zachary caressed his chin using his index, "They got other tricks under their sleeves. The news has spread across all the nations. The imperial families kept their people in silence after they learned the news."

"What news?"

"So curious eh?" Salem raised a brow. Aldreon scratched his cheeks in embarrassment, "I was curious. It's new for me."

"People didn't mention the news eighteen years now. Along with the whole nation's population, when you asked them about none of those people who you can hear a word escaped to their lips. Forbidden things shall remain forbidden." Mira and Aldreon's veered back on themselves, knowing that there's nothing more on it. The story ends there, "But not for me."

"They enslaved one-fourth of the sorcerer's population in each country. The citizens from the fallen kingdom are all to be punished under the guillotine. None of them walked into the physical world by now." Salem eyed Mira, "Everything got engulfed in flames."

"What fallen kingdom?"

"The nation of sorcerers who practices the one of the forbidden magic." Zachary retorted, "Back to the topic. I can't completely assure you that the knights won't catch you. The four kingdoms' princes and princesses are here. All we can advise is to better distance yourself from them. I don't want any war. Yet."

"I'll do that, Beaumont. I won't fail you. You got my loyalty for this. But may I ask something?"

"Sure go on."

"Did you know about Midari and Lancelot? The old man told me that if I was failed on looking for you, I shall find the two of them." Zachary eyed him with a frown then glanced at Salem who shrugged. Alderson seated straight right when the realization hit his mind again, "I also should look for the girl who turned the clock."

"Salem Midari Zenith! Where have you been?!" Mira and Aldreon both flinched before looking at the doorway. In mere yell of a worried older brother, the thing that puzzled Aldreon's mind was solved. Everything came upon his face like the violent breeze hits the tree and its branch residing on the cliff.

"I'm back in a piece, Kellion Lancelot Heilderwyn. Stop yelling."

"Are you whispering or something?"

"She speaks on that way. That tone is high all ready for her." Mira explained. She drawback her attention back to the siblings. Zachary tapped her shoulders, "That's normal for an adolescent boy."

"Don't be like that," Mira commented in an empathetic way.

"Mira!" Freddy yelled in excitement then sits beside her energetically.

"Mira! Finally, you're awake! Gracious divinities! I thought it'll draw many days for you to wake up!" Kellion rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her small body. Seconds later, he pulled away to scan her as if he were a mother with a child who got involved in a fight. Mattheo and Julius watched the three of them getting along together.

"What did you feel? What do you want to eat? I can have Julius bring it to you right away. Should I call your parents? What can I do for you?"

"I'm alright, I guess. But I also wanted to see them. Zachary told me that they were out to lend a hand for the celebration."

"Rain, fetch them for me, will you?" Kellion asked the vampire, Julius blinked in surprise before leading his way to the exit, "Right away, boss."

"Already contacted them but it appears that they're not aware of telepathy." Zachary shrugged. Soon as Julius' silhouette leave the infirmary, Kellion, and the three shifters also Freddy, exchanged their looks. Considering the situation of the girl in front of them. In the meantime, puzzling Mira.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Mira, we have something to tell you when they arrive."