The Dark Inheritance

Chapter 4

Serah carefully examined the food on her plate, taking a tentative bite. Since waking up at the hospital, her every action was akin to that of a newborn baby only now learning how to use its body and this frustrated her to no end.

"Is it not to your taste?" Aria asked from opposite her. Unlike Serah, she had been hungrily gobbling down her food, finishing it in seconds. "I can ask mom to prepare something else if you want."

"No." She quickly said. "This meal is perfect." 

Once she was reassured, Aria smiled and turned her attention back to the book in front of her, scratching her head in frustration. 

"You're having difficulty with this?" Serah asked, motioning towards her book.

"Yes." She sighed wearily. "I have to submit this today but I can't figure out this problem." Just then her eyes strayed to something behind her and they immediately lit up. 

"Asher!" She excitedly exclaimed. "Finally you're up! You came back late again yesterday and I was worried, you know?"

Serah also turned to look at his stoic face. He was dressed in what she recognized had to be a school uniform, similar to Aria's. She wished she could hold on to her anger from yesterday, but her traitorous emotions had a mind on their own, especially after taking in his handsome appearance. His eyes met hers, lingering for a few seconds, but then he swiftly turned away as if she had offended him. 

"I had stuff to do." He grouchily responded, still keeping his gaze away. "I'll be heading off first." With these words, he headed towards the front door. 

"This early? Wait!" Aria called, leaving her seat to rush after him. "You haven't had breakfast yet! And you skipped dinner yesterday as well."

"I'm good." He replied dismissively. 

"At least have some for the sake of mom who made the effort to prepare this for you.”

Her words made Asher pause and after a few seconds, he released an annoyed sigh, heading towards the kitchen. "I'll just take some with me, then."

Serah laid down her fork and rose from her chair. "If you don't want to stay because I'm here, then I'll leave."

"What makes you think it has anything to do with you? Don't think so highly of yourself." He said scornfully.

She froze, then turned to glare at him. "Fine." She gritted, dropping back onto her chair. She wondered why she even bothered trying. It was better to just ignore the guy, like he did towards her. 

"Asher." Aria said, her tone pacifying. "I know you don't trust Serah but at least try to be a bit polite."

"I'll treat whoever I want the way I want it." He coldly declared. "It's not your place to interfere."

She gulped nervously. "I was out of line... sorry."

He didn't bother responding and quickly finished packing his meal before heading towards the door. 

"Ah! By the way," Aria suddenly exclaimed. "I'm having some trouble with my homework. Can you help me out?"

Asher, who had already reached the front door glanced back at her, evading all eye-contact with Serah. "Just ask your friends at school to help you out. I'm in a hurry right now."

As soon as he disappeared behind the door, Aria cradled her face in her hands in despair. "I made him angry with me." She wailed. "He won't even help me out with my homework. What should I do?"

"It's kinda my fault, sorry." Serah said.

Aria’s head quickly shot towards her. "What are you saying? It's not your fault at all."

"It's the truth, though. I don't think he's angry with you. He left because doesn't want to remain in the same room as me." And this bothered Serah more than she wanted it to.

Aria sighed. "I'm really sorry about his behavior. I have no idea why he's overreacting so much."

"It's fine.” Serah smiled. “You really care for him, huh?"

A slight blush tinged her cheeks and she looked away self-consciously. "Yes, I've always looked out for him." Her expression then grew forlorn as she went on. "But he always shuts me out and refuses to let me help him."

Serah didn't know how to respond to that so she merely gave her a sympathetic look. Her book then entered her line of sight, and growing curious, she got up to get a closer view. As she glanced through its contents, it all felt familiar to her. Unable to help it, she grabbed a pen and started solving the maths problem. 

“Woah!” Aria exclaimed from right beside her. “You actually...” she stared at the book in astonishment. “You recovered some of your memory?”

Serah shook her head. “It just naturally came to me when I stared at the question.”

“Wow! You’re a real genius.” She said in wonder. Then she reached out to grab her hand. “You shouldn’t let all that intelligence go to waste. If you stay here and wait for your memory to return, you’ll be missing out on school!”

“School...” Serah repeated pensively. “But how can I go to school if I don’t even know my identity?”

Aria waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about this! I’m sure mom can pull some strings. When you find your identity, you can just make the necessary adjustments.”

And just like that, it was agreed that arrangements would be made for Serah to start attending Redlands High School, the same one which Aria and Asher attended. Because Serah didn’t know her full name, Jennifer proposed to temporarily adopt her so she could use her surname. From what she gleaned, the woman seemed to have a pretty high status in the country. As she was given a brief overview about the country and Redlands High School, Serah’s memory sparked in recognition. She knew that they were currently in a country named Tartarus, a place where everything is about social status. Even though it has its own government system, Tartarus is mainly controlled by a few powerful families. They have garnered so much fame around the world that their word is the law. Here only the rich and privileged are able to thrive, leaving the poor and commoners with little chance of ever being able to rise in status. Redlands High is an elite school for the children from the highest ranked families. All the best geniuses and tomorrow’s leaders are attending that school. When she heard this, Serah felt a bit nervous. She was but a commoner without even an identity. Would she even be accepted or get along with all those elites? Jennifer, however, was adamant that she had to go to Redlands High, especially after she tried testing her intelligence. 

Serah was feeling infinitely grateful for everything the Summers were doing for her, internally vowing she would find some way to repay them for their kindness. But at the same time, she wouldn’t keep relying only on them. For this reason, she headed out later during the day, her intent on finding a job. But as she walked through the unfamiliar streets lined with towering, opulent houses, she felt at a loss. All the buildings, while intricately designed in a combination of modern and vintage style, were also gigantic, making her feel dwarfed. A few paces later, she was startled by a blaring horn. The sight of the fancy car right beside her astonished her even more but then she caught sight of Jennifer behind the wheel, grinning at her. 

“Luckily I caught you on time!” She called out. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going out? Hop in!”

Serah hastened to the passenger side, marveling at the vehicle’s rich interior as she got in. “Sorry for not saying anything. I didn’t want to disturb you.” Before she left, Jennifer had retreated into her room for work.

“The work wasn’t anything pressing.” Jeniffer said dismissively as she put her vehicle in gear. “I was done within ten minutes. I was already planning to take you to town today. You are in urgent need of some good clothes.” She cast a look at Serah’s dress as she said this. Aria has a rather petite stature, so her clothes didn't fit Serah's hourglass body, but luckily she was able to squeeze herself in one of Jennifer's old dresses. However, it appeared unflattering on her. 

Serah didn’t know how to respond other than saying a heartfelt thank you.

As they drove towards the town, the buildings, mostly made of stone, steadily grew more gigantic. Tartarus is the richest and among the most technologically advanced countries. However, it preserved its historic feel while adding in a nice blend of modern.

“Does all this appear familiar to you?” Jennifer asked me as they drove through.

“No.” Serah muttered dejectedly. This meant she didn’t come from one of the rich families since most of them lived in the area. She probably belonged to one of the middle-class or poor families which lived in the other villages or towns several kilometres from here. No wonder no one had reported her disappearance yet. But then how could she have ended up here?

Jennifer patted her shoulder encouragingly. “Don’t get discouraged. As long as you take it easy, I’m sure it will come to you real quick.”

“I hope you’re right.” She said wistfully.

They both went to dozens of shops and despite Serah’s objections, Jennifer bought her a whole assortment of pricey clothes. She couldn’t understand why she was doing all this for her, a stranger. But when asked, Jennifer said that she liked Serah and already regarded her like a daughter. This made Serah feel warm in the chest and she hugged Jennifer, her eyes teary.

“Which building is that?” Serah asked, pointing towards one of the huge stone buildings. There was nothing significant about it but for some reason she felt drawn to it. 

Glancing at it, Jennifer replied. “That’s one of the public libraries. It’s not the biggest one, though and isn’t very popular.” She stared at Serah probingly. “You want to have a look at it?”

She nodded and they both approached the towering library which was even bigger up close. Right outside the door, her attention was drawn to a sign mentioning that they were recruiting. 

“You want to work here?” Jennifer cautiously asked. “If it’s about money, you don’t need to worry.”

She shook her head. “I just… would feel better if I’m able to at least work part time.”

Jennifer stared at her for some time, then nodded in understanding. “I’ll help you convince the personnel to overlook your lack of papers.”

The personnel were surprisingly kind and agreed to give her some time to prepare her papers. As she stared at the huge assortment of books on the giant, seemingly endless shelves, she felt excited at the prospect of working here. She must have loved reading in the past. But what was with the weird vibe she felt coming from this place? Or was it just her imagination?