Saithilien

Chapter 9 - Train of Consumptions

In an empty cabin at the very last car of the train. Penelope, Kasey, and Anna sat quietly and waited for someone to start the conversation. They all looked at each other with suspicion. The angry storm and flashing lightning made the scene even more intense. Anna couldn’t cope with it so she spoke.

“What’s Kasey doing here?” She was confused.

“She’s part of the plan,” Penelope smirked.

“What do you mean?” Anna turned to her, still confused.

“As far as I can remember, locking me inside the storage room is not part of the plan.” Kasey glared at Penelope. Her eyes obviously showed that she felt betrayed. Penelope just smirked at her, not showing any feeling of sympathy.

“What?! That was a setup?” Anna was dumbfounded and surprised at what she heard. Kasey became a little uncertain and worried about Anna’s reaction. As a sign of relief, Penelope turned to Anna and said. “Don’t worry she won’t tell, right Anna?” She laughed and rolled her eyes. Anna was anxious and not sure what to say, she began to sweat and trembled in hesitance. 

“You can’t back out now, I promise you, you will have a token and will surely not regret it.” Penelope asserted. Anna looked at Penelope’s convincing eyes and sighed, still unsettled.

“Yeah, her father has quite the authority and has the connections in the higher-ups,” Kasey added, laughing forcefully. 

“What’s all this going to do with Monique being a Zel?” Anna asked and was confident. 

Penelope looked at her and took a deep breath. She gazed at the rolling clouds and bit her nail. “Zels are outcasts, isolated from the rest of Saithilien yet very extraordinary. Years ago, King Cyrus and Queen Felina had a daughter, the first female child they had. She grew up beautiful, graceful, and elegant, but when her 16th birthday came she fell ill. A mysterious disease that no one, even the greatest doctors in the whole of Parthenia, can’t identify. It’s a curse and incurable they said. It made Queen Felina desperate. Princess Lucia was close to dying when a faith healer came to the palace.” Penelope crossed her arms and sighed. “The faith healer which they called Synesius healed the princess. Synesius became a royal subject and vowed to serve the king. He was loyal and trustworthy. Months had passed and the princess changed. She became obsessed with black magic and witchcraft. The King and Queen were disgust by her actions, even her appearance had changed, dark energy surrounds her. The Queen was in deep sorrow, as a result, King Cyrus exiled her daughter together with Synesius to a remote town island of Zelethea. On the westside of Saithilien. From then on, they closed the town, built tall brick walls, and made it their own kingdom.” Penelope turned to Anna and saw her still puzzled. “I still can’t get it,” Anna said.

“Well, the King believed, it was Synesius doing, that made her daughter into a witch. Since they were sent to Zelethea, the town became dark. People who lived there, the Zels, were believed to be cursed by Synesius passing the existence of black magic and witchcraft. Zels were known to practice black magic and have the capabilities of solving unimaginable events. That can be used to end chaos here in Saithilien and making our country superior to all of Parthenia. But no one ever tried to visit nor break into the walls of Zelethea. Zels, who were caught outside their town, was burnt to death by the people. My father told me that he and the higher-ups were eager to catch a Zel to be used as a tool for Saithilien’s superiority. But they’re hard to find without the people knowing.” Penelope stood up and closed the cabin curtain.

“And Monique’s the only chance.” Anna sighed and was troubled that she’s about to betray a friend but it was replaced by the will of gaining power. 

“Earning her trust is now our priority.”

“That’s a bit hard for me.” Kasey groaned.

“If you stop looking at Kaya and start to focus on Monique, it’ll be easy!” Penelope turned to Kasey and exclaimed. Kasey paused and kinda embarrassed.

“Oh, you like Kaya.” Anna teased Kasey. 

Penelope cleared her throat and opened the cabin door. “I’m counting on you two.” she brushed her hair and left. Anna gasped and suddenly leaned forward to Kasey. “What’s the purpose of you being bullied and locked up?” 

“It was to confirm Monique’s capabilities.”

“Was it proved?”

“Yes. Penelope and his father were certain.” 

Anna sighed and opened the curtain a bit and peeked outside. How come Monique’s a Zel? She’s not even from this world. She thought.

The train lights had finally brightened up again. Monique, Navya, and Katsuro decided to have their lunch. In the dining area, the room was filled with St. Catherine’s students. As they entered, Christiaan waved at them. They greeted him back and the others as well then sat on an empty table near the window. Moments later, Monique saw Arya entered the room. She noticed the empty seat across Navya so she called her. Arya smiled and approached them. She sat across Navya, beside Katsuro. 

“We didn’t finish our conversation last time. I was wondering if we could continue” Arya nodded and called for a waitress. They ordered a salmon sandwich and an iced coffee each.  

“Here are my friends Navya Sen and Katsuro Kaya.” Monique happily introduced them.

“I see.” Arya leaned forward and stared at each one of them. Both seemed intimidated and felt discomfort.

“All I know is, it was called The Divine Ascendance.” 

“That sounds angelic for an unearthly cult.” Navya raised her eyebrows.

“Unearthly huh?” Arya looked at Navya with suspicion.

“I was wondering, are you here for the Cirque? Or --” Monique gasped as their order arrived. Everyone was amazed by the extravagant meal presentation. Navya was now hesitant to eat the meal, it will surely ruin the presentation. Arya sighed in relief and cut her sandwich in half. Katsuro noticed a crown tattoo on her wrist, he then turned to her necklace with the same symbol. It made him doubt that she was a member of the Ascendance and was trying to trick them into something. Monique sensed something’s bothering Katsuro. She siped into her iced coffee and cleared her throat. 

“You can attend the performance and stroll the carnival with us.” She said.

“You’ll surely enjoy it. The more the merrier.” Navya giggled in excitement.

“The more the merrier --?” Arya was confused with Navya’s statement.

“Hahaha! She really has many weird expressions.” Katsuro forcibly laughed. 

Arya turned to Katsuro and was a bit shock. She leaned forward and spoke. “All people have their one story that doesn’t want to be heard.” Katsuro paused and cleared his throat, he looked at her navy blue eyes staring at him. This lady is strange. Katsuro was speechless. 

“What do you mean by one story that doesn’t want to be heard?” Monique was baffled,

“Secrets. All of us have one.” Arya already finished with her meal, stirred her iced coffee, and took a sip. She stood up and brushed her long-sleeved blouse. “I will be seeing you again someday.” She smiled at Monique and left.

“That’s strange.” Navya gazed at Arya as she left the room.

“No. She’s strange.” Katsuro rested his face on his two hands. 

“She's up to something and I want to find out.” Monique glared at the window. A ray of sunlight touched her face and eventually, the skies cleared up.

“I think it has something to do with the Ascendance.” 

“Probably.”

After a few minutes, Vera and Hermann approached them, Vera sat to where Arya was sitting, she yawned and clap her hands. “All of us should be together during the performance.”

“This world is very strange and it keeps on getting stranger as we stay longer. Maybe sticking together is the best way to keep us from trouble.” Hermann was confident and winked at Navya. She then glanced at the window, weirded out by the wink. 

The other representatives started to crowd on their space. “He’s right, The WLA gave us a scholarship to a prestigious school but turned out to be an otherworldly experience. I think they’ve sent us here not only for the scholarship but to accomplish some other things.” Darren said.

“What things?” Vera looked at him, puzzled.

“Remember what Juliana said at the hotel? It’s up to you to prove yourselves. This is more than just a scholarship.” Darren looked at each of his co-representatives confidently.

The dining area was empty and a deafening silence filled the room. “This is mad! I can’t do this anymore!” Dara exclaimed. Her scream echoed throughout the room and in a blink of an eye, she vanished. Everyone was shocked and to their surprise, they could no longer speak.

“No!! Dara!!” Anna knelt as her tears fell down on her cheeks. Afina stepped backward and tears fell from her eyes as well.

 “Everyone let’s calm down and continue with our life here as normal as possible. Hermann is right, we need to stick together.” Monique said in a slightly strong voice, she stood up and hid her trembling hands. Her intentions on lifting her colleague’s spirits paid off as she saw them nodding confidently at her.

Navya was saddened seeing Anna cried in sorrow so she approached and caressed her. After some time, an announcement was heard. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve now entered our destination. Please settle down and go back to your respective cabins as we’ll be arriving at Filerethea station soon.