The Majarlican Demigod

10: Visiting the Court

The Majarlican Demigod

Chapter 10: Visiting the Court

My fight with Brighton will not end up over breakfast, and as I have promised, I will continue to investigate. He is more suspicious than yesterday. I found my chance during lunch when I saw Indigo Salazaria, who is next to me, in line.

Me: Hi!

Indigo: You're... Lady Althea of First District of West!

We both moved to a table next to the food service.

Me: Yes, I am. Glad you remembered! How old are you, dear?

Indigo: I'm eleven.

Me: Oh, very young. Are you close to your older brother— Brighton?

Indigo: Um, not very much because he's always out for work. You know, my brother is actually a nice and caring person.

Me: Really? Well, I'm dying to know about this. Is he naturally outspoken and loud?

Indigo: Brye was always quiet when we were kids, but after the accident, he became like that. Why are you asking?

Me: Huh? (Gulped) Well, I'm just curious.

Indigo: I see. Brye was comatose for 30 days when he was 13 due to the accident. Our parents thought that he's never going to wake up again like the Medicus told us. But then when he woke up, he forgot some things after that accident and began to focus on studying. He insisted on studying here because Zephrias' child would be here in Centralia. We don't even know who in the world that Zephrias is.

Right. My mom was never known for her Zephrias since she used the name Zenia.

"People said that Zephrias is the name of a goddess from Olympus. I read that in one of our history books. If I remember correctly, she is the goddess of a fatal disease. Urgh!" he shivered. "That's very scary!"

On the contrary, my mom doesn't look fierce or scary. She's pale like we don't get any sun rays, weak like she can't even exercise, and looks like gonna fall apart because she's so thin.

"Hmm... She must be terrifying." I said.

"Yeah! And the funny thing is, she runs away with a celestial guardian," Indigo continued chewing his pasta.

I know. Zephrias was with my father. "The book said that? Which book?" I asked.

"It was an old book of my grandma, and we don't know where it is now. I forgot the title of that book already, but I really like reading it," he responded.

I respond, "Oh. That's too bad. I hope you will find that book soon."

"I hope so too. I also remembered that according to that book, Zephrias was Artes' accomplice, but she was also the one to help the Olympians arrest him. They found out that he enticed her to live among Majarlicans because she was lonely. She fell for his words, she enjoyed living in Majarlika, but then he used it for her to cause the fatalities. I never thought that gods have the same emotion as us." He's young, but he can understand these things.

Now I’m curious about that book, "Did the book said who she was with?" I asked.

"The book said that the guardian is 1166. There were speculations that they changed appearances because after Artes has been arrested, they were gone. -"You know what, Lady Althea, the funny thing is that the guardians do not have emotions. It's peculiar." He said.

My father was guardian 1166. Mother said that he was a guardian when they met. They worked together to arrest Artes that's when she fell in love. He's a guardian and does not have feelings. He wanted to be a mortal to know how mom felt about him, so he decided to give up his immortality. Father than was given the body of Socrathetius West, who died because of the fatal disease.

Many people thought that the Lord of the West was still alive. They didn't know that his soul left its body and a celestial guardian was inside. Father forgot some of the things my mom and he had before. He forgot that she is not a human and many other things. The West family blamed Mother for Father's change, and they never liked her. They despised her when she left us even though they didn't know the real reason behind it.

"Lady Althea?" the kid was looking at me.

I looked at him, "Yes?"

"I'm sorry about my brother's attitude earlier. He is not in the right mind," Indigo said.

I pat his head, "No, kid, I'm not mad at him or anything. Have you ever felt that Brighton is a different person from the one that you used to know?"

He was silently thinking, "Sometimes."

Now my mind is doubting itself. Brighton might be the guardian, but he can also be Artes.

"Excuse me," a girl walked to us holding a tray, "Can I sit with you?" her voice is sweet, and it suits her small face. She's not very pretty, but she looks nice and neat.

"Sure," I said, then she took her seat beside me.

"Hi Lady Althea, I'm Idina Holster from South Second District. Hi Indigo!" she greeted.

"Hi." Indigo blandly greeted.

We were almost done with lunch when Imman came to us. Indigo and I have to excuse ourselves from them. I'm curious about these siblings because I always see them outside the library in the dormitory. I mean, there were people in peers, but whenever they are together, they always seem to talk about something super serious. Like they don't laugh or smile. They don't go with other people.

"Indigo, do you know what Idina's ability is?" I asked while we were walking towards the courtyard.

"She is a mind-master. Her ability is still developing. You can easily resist it." Indigo answered, "By the way, Brighton promised me that I will go with him later in the court."

"Court?" I tried to clarify.

"Yeah! Maybe you would like to come with us? We're just going to hang around in his office and check the hall." he enthusiastically said.

That's not a bad idea. "I hope your brother wouldn't mind if I tag along."

"Of course, he won't. This is a secret." he wants to whisper something, so I bow a little, "Brother is always worried about you because he said that you're clumsy."

I stand straight. I don't know what to feel.

"Don't worry, it doesn't mean he likes you. That's what he said." he's trying to reassure me.

"Alright," I said.

Brighton is coming to us. "Indigo."

Indigo walks to him dragging me, "The lady of West wants to be with us later. It's going to be fun, right?"

We exchanged furious looks again.

"Brighton?" Indigo tried to cut off the accumulating tension.

He looked away already, "If the Lady of the West wants to come. Tell her to be quiet when we get there."

I cannot wait until the end of this day. What is it like to be in court? I'm bringing my notebook, so I won't forget what I have observed. I patiently waited until it was time to go outside. The minors always go home earlier than us, so when I go outside, Indigo is already there.

"Hey, Indi! What's up?" Hans greeted Indigo.

"Lady Althea and I will go to Brighton's office," Indigo replied with a big smile.

Hans and Talia looked at me with indifferent smiles, "Oh, really?" Hans said.

"You're going with this kid and Brighton?" Rupert asked me.

"It's for research purposes, Rupert," I said.

Suddenly, I felt like I was explaining to him. This is me when I'm being distracted. Brighton went out.

"You two, walk fast," Brighton said as he passed by.

I waved goodbye to Talia, Hans, and Rupert. We reached the gate.

"How are we going there?" I asked.

Brighton transformed into an eagle-looking form and became 2 feet taller. He grabbed me in the waist on his left and Indigo on his right. My heartbeat raced as we flew up in the air. I'm torn between being nervous because I'm afraid to fall to the ground and being scared. After all, this arrogant councilor is holding me.

"You don't have to look down if you're scared, Althea," he shouted in the air. It's too windy can barely hear him.

"I'm not!" I responded.

Indigo seems to really enjoy flying up here. After few minutes, we reached the court. Brighton talked to the security guard in the entrance and we passed through quietly. The court is enormous. Too many doors. Grand lobby and many stairs. We entered the room that had Junior Councilors Brighton Luke Salazaria sign on it.

"If you want to go to the lobby, feel free. But you two cannot enter the court. There will be gathering later." Brighton said.

"What?" Indigo is disappointed. "That's too bad. We really need to see it."

Brighton sighed with irritated look on his face, "Fine. You can go there, BUT you need to get out of there before 5:30, okay?"

Indigo became lively again, so we walked down the hall and went to this huge room. The ceiling is 10 feet high, and there's a lot of chairs and tables. Both of us were amazed at the view. I indulge myself with the beauty of the office. We walked to each place to feel the furniture. Each table has the name of the officer who owns it.

It's not that long when we start to hear people walking towards the court. Brighton would be in trouble if we will just run outside. Indigo is near the giant flag hanging on the stage, so I go there as fast as possible and grab Indigo to hide behind the flag. The chairs began to make noise around the hall as the officials filled in space. The sound of a pounding hammer on the desk is heard.

"Welcome to our session, council. Today, we accept the resignation of Youngster Chief Chalcedony West from her position to take on another journey as a government ship developer." The lower minister announced.

My heart is protesting against my own self.

"She will be given a chance to have her farewell speech to the Youngsters after this session. Along with Chalcedony, a few more graduating senior students from Premiera de Academia Centralia sailed along with her as they met the requirement to develop ships aboard. Their graduation will be at the end of this month," he added, "Since Chalcedony West is vacating her position, we voted for the person who will replace her because the Vice Chief of Youngster did not accept the job. The most voted persons are Councilor Kadeen and Councilor Maestra Saphrias. We let the junior councilors vote for this matter to cut the tie, and our new Youngster Chief is Councilor Maestra Saphrias West.

The court was filled with applause.

So, it's true! That's what I saw in my vision.

"The new Youngsters Chief will take the floor to give off speech." The other unfamiliar voice announced.

"Thank you, Council and Lower Court, for giving this opportunity. This is one accomplishment that a Majarlican could hardly have, and I feel so honored about it. I promise to give my best to serve and guide our youngsters with all my heart." Saphrias said.

She's contradicting herself. She could have refused the position.

"The first project of the youngsters club will be monitored by Councilor Kadeen." The minister said. He pounded the gavel on the table again. "Session end."

I don't know if I should be thankful that I was here or regret it. We waited until everyone left the hall first before we showed ourselves. We saw Brighton standing in the doorway. We walked to him and stopped.

"They're still outside," he warned in a lower voice.

"Sorry, brother, I thought they would be here earlier," Indigo said.

"It's fine. I didn't expect that too," Brighton responded.

"Are they gone?" I asked.

"Shh..." he's trying to listen.

A moment of silence.

"They're in the lobby already," he said. "Let's go."

We left the hall empty and went to Brighton's office. I sat on the couch, trying to calm myself down.

"Are you okay, guys?" He asked.

"I'm okay!" Indigo said.

He asked me again, "Althea, what's wrong?" He sounded soft this time, like a brother to his younger sister.

"Nothing. I feel sad about Chalcedony's sudden departure. I know it was going to happen but not this soon." I said without looking at him.

"Don't be sad, Lady Althea." Indigo pats my back.

"You two... We're going back to dormitory," Brighton said.

We went back the same we did earlier. We get there an hour before dinner.

"Ally!" Rupert is running to me, followed by Talia and Hans.

Brighton and Indigo left for their room.

"You don't seem to look good. Did something happen?" Talia asked.

"Did Brighton do something bad?" Hans asked.

I must look depressed, “I'm okay. Brighton didn't do anything bad."

"What happened then?" Rupert asked with his hand on my shoulder.

"I heard that Chalcedony is no longer the Youngsters Chief starting today. Saphrias is the new Chief." I announced, “In addition to that, the Lower Court Minister Enrico El Mundo supervised Councilor Kadeen. She will supervise our first project, so we really have to make sure that we will do our best.”

They looked shocked too.

"Don't worry, Ally, I'm sure that Maestra Saphrias will bring her A-game." Talia tried to comfort me.

"We should help out Maestra Saphrias with the best we can. Councilor Kadeen is not for youngsters. For sure, she wants more powers than what she has right now." Rupert said.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We'll be testing water tomorrow, but for now, let's rest." Hans stated.

He's right. Kadeen is not someone powerful but can be a significant hindrance for us. A slight mistake will be her entrance. That night I prepared everything I needed for the first project. I can still continue my investigation about Brighton's real identity, and if someone shows the same sign, I will add them to my list.

(To be continued)