Chapter 1 - Part II

“Princess, wake up.”

Nothing but darkness behind my eyelids.

“Princess, wake up. You have to wake up now.”

Nothing but darkness...and an annoying, insistent  voice between my ears.

“Mercedes, wake up now!”

Something akin to a sharp headache stabbed my skull, and forced my eyelids open in a hurry, however it took a long while for my vision to clear up.

I had to blink and squeeze my eyes numerous times before I realized I was lying on my back and staring up at a white ceiling.

“Where am I?”

My voice sounded worse than raspy and I noticed my throat burned.

Then a sudden swell of nausea overwhelmed me.

“Oh gods—I’m going to be sick.”

Instinctively I rolled over onto my belly, vaguely aware I was lying on a bed, and retched the contents of my stomach into a pan someone was holding up for me.

Then I dry heaved as the nausea settled between my ears. To my dismay it wouldn’t leave even after my ribs ached from all the muscle compressions they were enduring, as I continued to heave into the pan.

I don’t know how long I lay with my torso over the side of the bed, but when I finally rolled onto my back, I could barely breath from the agony surrounding my ribs and midriff.

I sucked in air for a while, then carefully rolled my head over to my left.

Our class rep, Anri Shirohime, sat on a chair beside the bed. She studied me for a moment, then rose and walked out of view. I heard water running, and after a minute or so, she returned with the pan.

She sat down on the chair and resumed watching over me.

I swallowed what saliva I had left in my mouth, but it didn’t little to soothe my throat. A few moments later, class rep had a cup of water at my lips. I drank down the contents cautiously, then with a little more courage when I felt my body wasn’t going to reject it.

“Thank you,” I croaked. “What happened to me?”

She held onto the cup as she sat down. “You don’t remember?”

I refrained from shaking my head. “No. I have no idea how I got here.”

“You put on the neural headset as class commenced. First period is language studies. Do you recall that?”

“…sorry…doesn’t ring a bell….”

“A few minutes into class you complained about a headache, then vomited over your desk.”

“…oh, great…then what…?”

“You staggered to your feet, swayed in the aisle, then fell to the floor unconscious.”

I sat up slowly, but Shirohime worked the bed controls and elevated me to a semi-sitting position. She handed me the cup, and I drank the remaining water.

I asked her, “How did I get here?”

“Mr. Praetor the Third carried you here.”

I almost spewed the water in my mouth, and had to swallow in a hurry. “What? He what?”

“I carried you here.”

I froze and looked toward the foot of the bed where the curtains had been drawn, forming a perimeter around me.

Tobias stepped around the corner, arms folded, with an unhappy look on his face.

I grimaced loudly. “Ugh…I’m going to be sick.”

Shirohime held the pan ready.

Tobias scowled. “Hey, you asked for my help, and this is the thanks I get?”

My grimace contorted into disbelief. “I what?”

Shirohime nodded. “Mr. Praetor the Third speaks the truth.”

I gave her a twisted look of confusion. “He does?”

Tobias made a strangled sound, then stepped up to the bed. “You said, ‘Mat help me’, then fell flat on the floor.”

I grimaced again and shot class rep a questioning look.

She nodded. “You did. I heard it quite clearly.”

I regarded Tobias with his unhappy look plastered on his face. “Why didn’t you leave me there? Wasn’t it obvious I wasn’t in my right mind asking you for help? Didn’t your mother tell you not to listen to strange girls?”

His unhappy expression melted into disbelief. “You are unbelievable.”

I waved a hand at him. “Shoo, shoo. Go away.”

His hands clenched but then he bowed his head and stood still for a long while.

I cocked my head at him. “Why are you still here?”

He shook his head slowly. “I have no idea what I was thinking. For one freakish moment that I’ll regret forever, you reminded me of him.” He shook his head some more. “I have no idea why I saw Cas in you. I must be losing my mind.”

He turned and walked away, rounding the corner formed by the drawn curtain without a backward glance.

I listened to his footsteps fade away as he stepped into the corridor.

Shirohime regarded me with faint disagreement. “That was uncalled for. You were unduly harsh to him.”

Before I could reply, Jive cut in. “Princess. You must leave the infirmary.”

“Huh?” I looked about me, taking in my surroundings properly, and felt my stomach sink as the implications landed on it. “Oh, crap. I can’t be here….”

“Exactly,” Jive intoned. “So, get up. I will try and continue stabilizing your matrix from my end. I have damped your nausea, but you may feel uncoordinated for a few minutes.”

I started to swing my legs off the side of the bed. “Can I walk?”

“Ah…you will have to give that a try.”

I noticed the baffled look I was receiving from the class rep.

Her mouth was open as though she was trying to speak, but was being repeatedly cut off.

I swallowed and said, “I need to go.”

Her eyebrows pitched downward. “May I ask why?”

“Because I can’t be here.” I climbed off the bed, but my vision swam and my legs gave out from under me. I fell to the cold linoleum floor like a marionette with its strings cut. Class rep was at my side a few seconds later. I could tell she wanted to put me back on the bed, but I resisted her attempts.

“Princess, we don’t have much time. I managed to distract the nurse by faking a medical equipment failure. After the failure of the third scanning wand, she went to the storehouse to pick up a new one. She’ll be back any moment now.”

Shirohime helped me sit on the edge of the bed, as I softly asked, “Jive, what the Hell is wrong with me?”

“The neural enhancer caused a destabilization of your neural matrix. In other words, it messed with Mercedes’s head.”

“Am I going to get better?”

“Yes. You are going to need time, but remaining here is not an option.”

I shook my head slowly, regretting it when my vision swam again. “I have to get out of here.”

Class rep was eyeing me with a puzzled expression. “Why do you need to leave? Don’t you want the nurse to attend to you?”

“No. I don’t. I need to leave before she comes back.”

I tried walking again, and this time succeeded in standing upright. Carefully, I began walking to the foot of the bed, while class rep held onto my left arm and shoulder.

Shirohime said, “Your indoor shoes are there.”

“Thanks.”

I threatened to topple over, so class rep insisted I sit on the edge of the bed again while she slipped my feet into my indoor shoes.

“Thank you,” I said gratefully. “I’m sorry for the trouble I’m causing you.”

“I’m the class representative so this is part of my duties. However, I don’t believe it’s wise to leave the infirmary before the nurse can examine you.”

Jive said, “We cannot wait. We need to go now.”

“Go where?” I questioned him. “Out the window?”

Class rep leaned toward me. “What do you mean out the window? Who are you talking to?”

I swallowed quickly and replied, “My invisible friend.”

She blinked quickly. “I’m sorry. Would you repeat that again?”

I replied sincerely, “I have an invisible friend who doubles as a headache and royal pain in the ass.”

Jive complained, “This is my thanks for looking out for you.”

“Yeah, thanks for warning me about the neural headset. Great start to the day.”

I took a deep breath, then forced myself onto my feet. This time I managed to stand on my own, though class rep was only a heartbeat away.

Jive sounded contrite. “You have my sincere apologies. No one anticipated your adverse reaction to the learning aid.”

“We can talk about it later. For now, I need to get out of here.”

Class rep’s frown deepened. “Are you talking to your invisible friend?”

I nodded guardedly. “Yeah. He’s not being much help.”

Jive snorted loudly. “You would be lost without me.”

“I’m in this mess because of you.”

Class rep pointed at herself. “Because of me?”

I shook my head and waved a hand quickly. “No, no. Not you. My invisible friend.”

She reluctantly asked, “Does your…friend…have a name?”

“I call him Jive.”

“I see. Does that stand for anything?”

I walked carefully in a tight circle, testing out my balance. “Just the literal meaning. He’s a taunting bastard.”

Jive snorted again. “Princess, I will not be responsible for what happens next. I strongly recommend exiting out the window.”

I stood and looked up at the ceiling. “Huh?”

“You are on the first floor. The drop outside should not be too high, even for your current condition.”

Walking out of the space enclosed by curtains, I swept my gaze over the rest of the infirmary, and saw the other beds were empty. The large wide window was about ten meters away to my right. The wide entrance to the infirmary was five meters to my left.

I chose to go left, and traced a drunken path to the open door. Leaning on the doorframe, I peeked out into the corridor.

Rounding the curved corridor with boxes in her arms was the school nurse.

Jive made a surprised noise. “It would appear she came back with every medical wand in storage.”

“Not good,” I murmured, realizing I would be spotted as soon as I left the infirmary.

I decided to go with option two – exiting out the window.

Turning as quickly as I could safely manage, I walked in a ragged line down the length of the infirmary toward the window. I was halfway there when Shirohime grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. She grunted audibly in her effort to halt me.

“Miss Reynier—where are you going?”

“Out the window.”

“What? Surely you’re not serious.”

“Totally.” I resumed walking and Shirohime was pulled along with me. “Class rep, can you please let me go. I’m indebted to you, but I can’t let the nurse scan me.”

“Why not?”

For a handful of heartbeats, I debated various answers by blurting out, “Would you believe I’m boy and not a girl?”

“I most certainly would not.”

“Okay, would you believe I was a boy in a past life?”

“How is that relevant to the present situation?”

“More than you can imagine,” I replied sourly.

At the window, I unlatched it and quickly opened it by sliding it aside.

Shirohime gasped weakly. “You truly intend to do this?”

I glanced back at her. “Yep—oh no!”

Appearing a little exhausted under the load of boxes she carried, the nurse rounded the open door and stepped into the infirmary. For a moment we both regarded each other in shock. Then she dropped the boxes without a thought, and started walking fast toward me.

“Young lady—what do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m running away.”

Turning back to the window, I climbed out easier than expected. I was relieved to feel my sense of balance returning as I stepped down onto the ledge, and then quickly moved away from the window.

The school nurse gasped in shock as she leaned her upper body out the window. “Young lady, get back here now. You’re quite clearly ill. You shouldn’t be up and about. You shouldn’t be standing on a ledge!”

“Sorry, Doc. But I’m afraid of needles.”

I jumped down to the grassy lawn surrounding the building wall some ten feet below the ledge. In typical Mercedes fashion I landed poorly and rolled along the grass a few times before coming to a stop spread-eagled on my back.

The nurse gasped again. “What are you doing? Are you insane?”

I muttered under my breath, “Blame my invisible friend. This is his fault.”

“I’m reporting this to your teacher. Damn it, I’m calling your family right now. No—I’m calling security. You are not running away.”

“Crap,” I muttered.

Regaining my feet, I brusquely dusted myself down and shook off the grass sticking to my dress. Then I gained my bearings by using local landmarks. I began walking quickly to Telos Island’s north shoreline. The longer I walked, the better I felt, and soon I was jogging quickly along the grass.

Indoor shoes weren’t the best choice for running, so I stopped and took them off. Then I slipped off my ankle high white socks, as there was no point getting them dirty.

A short while later I was running barefoot with my shoes and socks in hand.

Jive declared, “I fear this will have repercussions on your school record.”

“This was your idea, remember?”

“I do indeed, and I am deeply sorry for it. But there was no choice.”

“Well, too late for regrets now.”

I ran toward the edge of the island where the seawall rose several meters above the water, yet only a meter or so above the island interior. I took a running leap, one which cleared the top of the seawall, and landed lightly upon it. When I looked over the ocean’s side of the wall, I saw the countless tetrapods arranged against it and wondered if I could use them to hide myself from pursuit.

Jive whined. “This is a foolish venture. Maybe it is best you return and face the music. I will take responsibility for your actions.”

I resumed running north. “Oh, how do you plan on doing that?”

“I will appeal to your cousin, Doctor Kassius, and explain the situation. As your registered Guardian, it should be possible for her to prevent the nurse from running a medical scan on you.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I glanced over my shoulder at the Academy building some distance behind me, and glimpsed men in dark clothes moving about.

Damn, that woman really did call the security guards.

With a hiss, I climbed down off the seawall, and carefully stepped into the thick layer of permacrete tetrapods bordering the island. Making my way north, I began circling the island shoreline. If I continued this way, I would arrive near the bridge connecting Telos Island to the rest of Ar Telica across the bay. I would then have to decide whether or not to flee the island for the safety of Ar Telica, or continue to play hide-and-seek with the security personnel.

“Princess, please stop. I urge you turn yourself in. At this rate you will be handed detention.”

“I’ve come this far. I’m not stopping now—yikes!”

I came to a swift halt when I saw someone sitting casually on a tetrapod in front of me. For a long moment I was at a loss to rationalize what I was seeing. I blinked quickly and gave the individual another cursory look.

He was an Academy student, probably a senior. I couldn’t be sure because his blazer was off as he relaxed on a tetrapod with his feet braced against another.

He looked at me, and I looked back at him.

I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Just passing through.”

He nodded, and gave me a nonchalant shrug.

I considered the best way around him, but to my surprise he reached into a trouser pocket and offered me a small white rectangular packet.

“Want one?” he asked.

“One what?”

“A cigarette.”

I stared at the packet. “Uh…I don’t smoke.”

He shrugged and pulled out a cigarette stick from the pack. After lighting it up, he took a long drag from it.

Jive sounded disgruntled. “A young man should not be smoking at his age. Even with modern medicine it is still harmful to his health. He should be reprimanded. You were wise to reject his offer, Princess.”

I bit the inside of my mouth, feeling a surge of irritation toward Jive.

Mindful of my footing between the tetrapods, I made my way over to the male student. “Hey, I changed my mind.”

He studied me for a quiet moment, then offered me the pack again.

I took one of the cigarettes, and stuck it in my mouth. I leaned forward so that he could light it for me.

I had no idea what to do, so I watched him, and then imitated his actions.

The smoke or something like it filled my lungs. I belched it out and coughed loudly for a long while, afterwards taking several gulping breaths. When my coughing had eased, I dragged on the cigarette more cautiously the next time.

By my sixth attempt, I wasn’t coughing as badly and could pass myself off as a novice.

I heard Jive sputter in consternation. “Princess, you are going to be in so much trouble. Just wait until I tell your sister—I mean cousin!”

“Bite me,” I murmured out the side of my mouth.

A took a few more puffs, each one a little bit longer and slower than the last. It was strange, but I felt myself grow calmer, and then languid. In a state of growing laziness, I regarded the male student.

Dark blonde hair, tall and trim, with very decent features. He looked out at the ocean with cool blue-grey eyes, while leisurely nursing his cigarette.

I mimicked the way he flicked away the ash.

He noticed and laughed faintly under his breath.

I shrugged and turned away, sweeping my gaze over the ocean and far horizon, growing more indolent by the moment.

I was wondering if the cigarette was having this effect on me, when I heard him ask, “What’s your name?”

Facing him, I met his gaze through eyes growing lidded. “Cassidy…Cassidy Reynier.”

“Nice name. It suits you.”

Sleepily, I frowned at him. “Why?”

“It has a nice ring to it.”

I shrugged, glancing away for a heartbeat before asking, “So, do you have a name?”

“Yes, I do have a name.”

“So let’s hear it.”

“Crais Shepherd.” He offered me his right hand in greeting, and I shook it after a contemplating it for a long moment. “Nice to meet you, Cassidy.”

“Yeah, well I’m just going to say the jury’s out on that one.”

He snorted in amusement, and drew back his hand. “You’re funny.”

I eyed him for a short while before asking, “Why are you here?”

“Can’t smoke on Academy grounds, but it’s cool out here. Technically we’re not on the school grounds.”

“But classes are in session.”

He shrugged lightly. “I know.” A moment later, he gave me a sidelong look. “And you? What’s your excuse?”

“I had an adverse reaction to the neural headset, passed out, and was carried to the infirmary. I ran away from the school nurse, and now security is hunting me.”

His eyes narrowed a fraction. “Why’d you run away?”

“I did so on the advice of an associate of mine.”

“Doesn’t sound like good advice.”

I lazily shrugged a shoulder. “He suggested it on medical grounds.”

“That really doesn’t make sense.”

I took a quick drag on the cigarette, then blew out the smoke through my nose. It was getting easier to do so. “It’s a long complicated story.”

“I see….”

We fell silent, and continued smoking together. Eventually our cigarettes shortened to stubs. I was about to flick mine into the water when Crais offered me something I didn’t recognize. It resembled a thick penlight made of brushed silver.

“Pocket ashtray,” he said. “No littering allowed.”

“Huh? Are you serious?”

“Absolutely. Stub it out, then put it inside.”

I sighed, crushed the cigarette out against a tetrapod, then dropped it into the pocket ashtray.

He did the same with his cigarette, pocketed the ashtray, then stood on the tetrapod. With his school blazer tossed over a shoulder, he jumped the tetrapods and onto the seawall whereupon he turned to look down at me.

“You coming?”

I blinked sharply, then took a deep breath before climbing onto a tetrapod and used it to jump onto the seawall. It was a little awkward because I carried my shoes in one hand, and I was feeling noticeably lethargic.

Standing on the seawall, I caught sight of Crais studying my toes before working his gaze up my legs.

“Your dress is a little short,” he observed.

I rolled my eyes. “And tight too.”

“Yeah, seems that way.”

I scowled at him weakly. “Stop staring at my chest.”

“I wasn’t staring. I was admiring. It’s a sin to ignore such a good looking chest.”

“Ah—” I stopped, realizing he was simply throwing my own words back at me from a time when I was male. I gave him a sour look. “You’re not admiring me. You’re disrespecting me.”

He blinked sharply, and after a moment, he gave me a tight nod. “I apologize.” He offered me the pack of cigarettes. “Here. My way of saying sorry.”

“I don’t want them. I don’t plan on making this a habit.”

Jive sounded pleased. “Well said, Princess. Well said.”

Stepping up to me, Crais smoothly grabbed my free hand and placed the packet on my palm. “Tell me you didn’t enjoy it, and then toss them away.”

I glimpsed movement off to the south, and saw a trio of security guards running toward us. “Ah, damn it. They found me.”

“They might have been looking for me.”

I shot him a questioning look. “Huh?” When he stepped away, I quickly thought about tossing the cigarette pack, but then decided to pocket it instead.

Jive pleaded, “Princess, do not run. Turn yourself in.”

“Shut up,” I whispered, then went about putting on my socks and indoor shoes, aware of Crais eyeing my every move.

He jumped down off the seawall and onto the paved path running beside it. Then he turned and offered me a hand down. “Well, shall we face the music together?”

I stared at him for a short while, then jumped down on my own since I really didn’t need his help.

“Whatever…,” I mumbled, and waited with my hands on my head for the security guards to arrive.

Crais offered me a stick of something I quickly recognized as gum. “Here, you might like it.”

“Really? Why?”

“It’s Cherry Princess. The Student Council President swears by it.”

I exhaled long and loudly, then took the gum, unwrapped it, and tossed it into my mouth. Seeing as he was watching me, I pocketed the used wrapper into my dress.

The guards arrived shortly afterwards, looking a little out of breath.

The lead guard, a rather large burly man with a faintly receding hairline, walked toward me but stopped sharply at sight of Crais standing beside me. He looked less than amused. “Mister Shepherd, fancy meeting you here.”

“Hey, Bertus. How’s the wife treating you?”

“Better than your mother,” the guard retorted.

Crais shrugged easily and then slipped on his blazer. “Well, I don’t see her that often—not since she found herself a boy toy and left us in the lurch.” He stopped suddenly in thought. “I heard her new guy is around my age. Really, a woman her age? She really has no shame.”

He released a short laugh, and shoved his hands into his blazer pockets. He may have laughed, but he didn’t sound happy to me. In fact, he sounded rather bitter when he said, “I guess my parents really are cut from the same cloth. They’re both lusting after people younger than them.”

Bertus took a deep breath, puffing out his barrel chest. “Watch your tongue, lad.”

Crais rolled his eyes wearily.

That seemed to anger Bertus. “I’d cut you some slack but this is the fifth time this month, Shepherd. Your father’s given instructions. He’s not going to tolerate you skipping any more of your classes. Not this year.”

“Bertus, I finished all those classes last year. To me their like a refresher course. I should have graduated by now.”

“Blame that on your attendance record!”

Jive whispered in my ears. “Princess, I searched the Academy registry I downloaded last week, and found out who this scoundrel is. You are ‘not’ going to believe this!”

I made a soft shushing sound, and whispered, “Not now….”

“But Princess, this guy is—”

“Not now,” I hissed out the corner of my mouth.

Bertus gave me a curious look that grew into displeasure. “Young lady, a word of advice.”

I cringed inwardly at being called ‘young lady’ for the umpteenth time today. No amount of repetition was going to make me accept it. With a disgruntled sigh, I folded my hands behind my back and slurred, “Yes, sir?”

“Stay away from this kid. He’s damaged goods.” Bertus looked disappointed. “He used to be such a promising young lad. Now look at him.”

Crais snorted, then laughed again, and regarded me sidelong. “Yeah, that’s good advice. If you hang around me, you could end up with a bad reputation.”

I turned my mouth into a frown. “I already have one. I started on it as soon as I walked in this morning.”

Crais looked surprised then frankly amused. “Really? Cool.”

The guard coughed loudly. “Alright, enough with the flirting. You birds of a feather come with me.” He gave Crais a meaningful look. “Your father wants a word with you.”

“Really? You mean he’s found time for me in between banging my cousin.”

Bertus looked incensed. “That is a rumor you started—one that is completely untrue!”

Crais shrugged a shoulder. “Well it spread like wildfire. I wonder why. Maybe because everyone believed it.”

The burly guard took long steps up to Crais, then yanked him closer by his blazer until their noses were millimeters apart. “You sully your father’s good name, and his good reputation. It’s bad enough what happened with your mother, but you had to go and make things worse for him.”

In the man’s grip, Crais turned away and made a show of nonchalantly looking out across the bay.

I had trouble keeping my expression neutral as my thoughts began to paint a torrid picture.

“Princess, listen to me—”

“Shut up,” I whispered tautly.

“No, you must listen to me! This uncouth youth—”

“Jive—”

“—is the Principal’s son!”

I choked and stepped away from Crais and the guard. “You—you’re—you’re his son?”

They both looked at me.

I swallowed and added, “You’re the Principal’s son? But his last name is Huxley.”

Crais smiled regretfully at me through lidded eyes. “Guilty as charged. The great Vernon Huxley Shepherd the Fourth is my old man. He hates his last name. Doesn’t think its suitably upper class.”

Then he swirled his arms and smoothly freed himself from the guard’s hold. In the blink of an eye, he was standing behind the guard with a lock on the man’s arms.

Over Bertus’s shoulder, Crais Shepherd grinned at me. “And this old fart is my uncle.”

Bertus freed himself, tossing Crais over his shoulder, but the latter landed on his feet and the two men separated smoothly like skilled combatants.

I didn’t know what surprised me the most, learning the men were related, or that Crais was the Principal’s son. But admittedly their display of martial arts prowess was impressive, and it sparked a fire in Mercedes’ neural matrix.

As they warily eyed each other like two fighters in a square ring, I stepped between them and stared intently at Crais.

“Hey,” I snapped at him, waving my hand before his eyes, and grabbing some of his attention.

“What’s up?”

“Look at me when I talk to you.”

He glanced down at me a few times, each time a little longer than the last. “Sure thing, Princess.”

I took a deep breath. “I’ll let you call me Princess on one condition.”

“And that would be?”

“Will you teach me how to do that?”

Crais Shepherd looked startled, then fixed me squarely in his sights. “Huh…?”

A grin spread across my lips as I stepped closer to him. “Teach me how to fight.”