image [https://i.imgur.com/nDRDBoH.png]
After a chilly sprint through the woods, Carmen rushed back to campus and found her way to the messaging center. As she ascended the steps, she noticed that they had finished their “maintenance” and the door was accessible again. Carmen stepped inside and quickly signed herself in, choosing a booth at the very back of the room.
She took a seat and placed her hand on the nearby slate, pouring a small amount of her Core Energy into it as she stared at the mirror in front of her. Within a few seconds, the slate glowed a dull green color and the mirror began shifting the image. As it swirled, Zalthia’s face eventually came into view.
“Carmen, are you alright? I heard what happened at the school.” She said with a look of great concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine. But, what all do you know?” Carmen asked, curious to hear what everyone else had been told about the events that transpired at LaVeda.
“Hmm, all the reports we’ve gotten stated that Lady Ravala conjured up this elaborate plan to take over the university and that she used her abilities on students, making them rampage around like savages. I had no idea she was even capable enough to pull something like that off. To control that many people as an Amethyst Class Vesta is pretty unheard of.”
“NO! None of that is true!!” Carmen exclaimed, shaking her head rigorously.
She proceeded to tell Zalthia everything that actually happened, not missing a single detail. Zalthia’s eyes went wide as she listened, shocked by how ridiculous it all sounded.
“Are you serious?? I had no idea LaVeda was doing stuff like that behind the scenes.” Zalthia chimed in, still processing this information.
“Yeah, but worst of all… When I fought against The Headmaster, he… He…”
Carmen paused for a moment as grief began to creep back into her mind.
“He what?”
After a brief silence, Carmen sighed and looked Zalthia directly in her eyes with the most pained expression she had ever shown.
“He killed Rivell… Rivell’s gone, Zalthia.”
Carmen’s voice was soft as she lowered her head, still saddened by the loss of her close friend.
“WHAT!? Why did he do such a thing!?” Zalthia exclaimed, wanting to better understand the situation.
“Headmaster Quinn was about to attack Cassidy while she was unconscious and so, Rivell got in between them to protect her. I saw the Headmaster’s arm go straight through him. There was so much blood…”
“My goodness, that’s just absurd… I’m so sorry, Carmen.”
Zalthia wanted to comfort her little sister in yet another difficult time, but she honestly couldn’t muster up any words to say. Carmen nodded with a forced smile, appreciating the attempt.
“And what happened next? Did Headmaster Quinn flee or something?” Zalthia asked, not wanting to linger on the topic of Rivell’s death for long.
“No, I fought him one on one, but this time it was weird. Something about me changed… I remember opening my eyes and feeling this incredible rush of Core Energy radiating throughout my body. It was like my power had increased tenfold and my senses heightened to the absolute max. I saw my reflection in a nearby mirror and I didn’t look like myself at all.”
Carmen looked down at her shaky hands as she remembered the feeling.
“Didn’t look like yourself? What do you mean?”
“I looked like a Boundless. My hair turned white, I grew horns, had lines on my face, and my eyes were gray. I know I’m a half blood, but that kind of transformation just seems insane to me.”
Carmen leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, trying to wrap her brain around how her body changed so much.
“Hmm, I see. You might want to talk to Solana about that. I’m sure she can give you more clarity on what happened.” Zalthia replied.
“Yeah, probably. But anyways, it took me all of a few seconds to defeat him and just as I was going to finish him off, this strange man showed up. He wore an all white mask and said his name was Watcher Delandy. After he appeared, I passed out. That’s pretty much all I can remember.”
“Hmmm, Watcher Delandy? I’ve never heard of him. But, to think you would have to go through something like that at LaVeda is absurd. Are you sure you’re alright?”
Zalthia’s sisterly concern was on full display as she awaited Carmen’s reply.
“Mhmm, I’ll be fine, don’t worry. But, is there anything you guys can do about this? Surely there must be a way to get this information out there.” Carmen wondered with a hopeful expression. To her surprise, Zalthia shook her head.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have the authority to do anything. Since LaVeda is located in Olun, it’s completely under the jurisdiction of the Olun Kingdom. Volaire provides a small amount of funding in sponsorships, but outside of that we have no say or control over anything that happens at that school. We have more control over DuneVeil Academy since they’re within our borders.” Zalthia replied with a sigh, feeling bad that she couldn’t have been of more help.
“Ah shoot, I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case.”
“Yeah, and if we were going to drop a bombshell like that against a school of that size, we would need a mountain of evidence and proof to back it up. I believe you one hundred percent, but I’m not sure how easy it would be to convince the general public. Especially if someone’s gone through the trouble of covering everything up and with such precision as well. I can do some digging on my end, but I can’t promise anything will come of it.” Zalthia added.
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Carmen nodded her head and understood where Zalthia was coming from, not pressing her any further on the issue.
“Alright, well that’s all I wanted to talk to you about. We still don’t know what the school is going to do about the rest of the semester, but I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.” Carmen said with a smile, saying her goodbyes to Zalthia and ending the transmission.
Once she saw her reflection in the mirror, her smile quickly transitioned to a pained and anxious frown.
'I guess it's time I let Sarah know the news...'
Carmen hesitated before placing her hand on the slate, feeling immense levels of anxiety welling up inside of her. She exerted her Core Energy and waited as she watched the mirror swirl. However, to her surprise, Sarah's face never appeared. She tried again and again, hoping that her transmission would go through, but the mirror continued to swirl endlessly.
'That's odd. Maybe she's busy with something? I'll have to try again later.'
She got out of her seat and headed for the exit, her mind going around in circles as she tried to figure out what to do next. Upon exiting the building, Carmen saw Caleb off in the distance, looking around. He noticed her and sprinted towards her direction.
“Hey, I’ve been looking all over for you!” He said as he caught his breath.
“Why were you looking for me?” Carmen asked with a confused expression.
Caleb quickly grabbed her hand and started to walk towards the back of campus.
“Come with me!”
They went through the woods, not making much conversation as they continued to hold hands. Eventually the two found themselves at a cliff side that overlooked the many trees below and the Melspire mountains in the distance. This was the same place Caleb had taken her at the beginning of the school year. When they got to the peak of the cliff, Carmen saw Mariah, Elise, Cassidy, and a student she didn’t recognize.
“What’re you guys doing here?” Carmen asked with a surprised tone.
“To talk about what happened that night. Tell them what you told me, Carmen.” Elise replied with a serious expression.
A brief silence came over the group as all eyes were now on her. Carmen nodded and began telling them everything from the very beginning. She mentioned the dead bodies, the pills, the fight with the Headmaster, Rivell’s untimely demise, and Watcher Delandy. Once she finished speaking, the group was dumbfounded by her story.
“Are you serious!? That's insane.” Caleb said with great shock.
“Yeah, I thought you were talking nonsense yesterday, but when I met with Elise she told me a lot of the same things. Sounds even more insane now that I have the full story.” Mariah added with a shake of the head.
“Mhmm, this school is so corrupt. Who knows how long they've been doing stuff like this and getting away with it. We've got to spread the word in any way we can!”
Carmen stomped her foot down as she clenched her fist tightly. The thought of more students dying due to greed and gross negligence irritated her to no end.
“I agree, but how? Who could we tell that would help get the truth out there? My ties with the Ocean Goddess are of no help. It's against Siestian custom to interfere with the affairs of other nations. Lady Lovell wouldn't bat a single eye about this, especially since I'm relatively unharmed.” Cassidy said, her soft voice shaking with concern.
“I don't think my family of Arista farmers will be of much help either…” Mariah added with a slight chuckle.
“I already asked my sister, but apparently we don't have the authority to do anything since LaVeda isn't a Volairen school…”
The group went quiet until Caleb decided to speak up.
“My father will be in Olunas City in a few days for business. He has very close relations with King Crane, so I'll try to get him to bring this up in their discussions. Hopefully that will trigger a deeper investigation.”
“Good, I'd bet anything that the King of Melspire wouldn't allow such injustice to take place near their border.” Sebastian replied with a hopeful pump of the fist.
A slight sigh of relief radiated throughout the group, bringing about a calmness that they hadn't felt all week.
“So, now what?” Mariah asked.
“We head back and we wait. Nothing else to do “ Elise replied, crossing her arms as she leaned against a nearby tree.
The group nodded and agreed, but before they could take their leave, Cassidy’s soft voice caressed the airwaves.
“Actually, I have an idea. We should give Rivell and the other fallen students a proper send off.”
Cassidy reached into her bag and took out multiple blue colored balloons with small lanterns dangling from the bottom.
“We Siestians have a custom where we send up a vessel in honor of those that have fallen. It symbolizes our thoughts and love being carried up to them.” Cassidy said with a somber smile. Everyone quickly agreed to partake, each taking a balloon for themselves.
The group had a moment of silence as they paid their respects. When they all finished, Mariah walked over to everyone and lit their lanterns. She simply pointed her finger towards the wick inside, casually igniting it with a small flame.
Once all of the lanterns were lit, the group let go at the same time. They slowly drifted into the sky as the wind carried them higher and higher. Not a single word was said while they looked on from below, admiring the flickering lights dancing in the sky. Cassidy and Carmen began to cry, remembering all of the good times they had with Rivell. The moment was quite emotional yet necessary to give them even the smallest bit of closure.
After an hour passed by, the mood began to shift as light conversations were started amongst the group. Elise walked over to Carmen and gave her a hug of comfort. Carmen thanked her for the kind embrace and looked over to the boy standing next to Elise, feeling curious about him. The boy held out his hand and smiled before speaking.
“Terribly sorry to hear about your friend. He sounded like a cool guy, I wish I could’ve met him.” He said with a soft, gentle tone.
Carmen smiled and accepted his hand, shaking it with a light grip.
“Thanks for that, umm, sorry what was your name again?” She asked, not wanting to be rude.
“Ah right! I’m Sebastian, pleased to meet you!”
He quickly bowed his head after realizing his lack of manners.
“Sorry, he was with me when Caleb told me about this meeting. He said he wanted to pay his respects. I hope that’s alright.” Elise added.
“Oh it’s no problem at all! Nice to meet you Sebastian.”
Carmen smiled again, accepting his greeting. Elise and Sebastian started to walk away, but Carmen noticed something she didn’t expect. The cold wind blew and a small leaf floated in the air, eventually landing in Elise’s hair without her realizing it. Sebastian reached over and removed the leaf, clearly touching her head and showing it to her in the process. Elise didn’t hesitate nor did she freak out, she simply gave him a warm smile.
“What?” Carmen muttered, shocked that Elise was completely fine despite being touched by another male.
“You don’t like him or something?” Caleb asked, noticing that she was still looking at the two with great intention.
“Oh no, I just had a few things on my mind.”
“You don’t need to worry about Sebastian. He’s the 5th ranked first year and he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He can be a little goofy at times, but Elise is in good hands with him.”
Caleb chuckled as he spoke highly of his Phoenix Class comrade. Carmen nodded and before she could reply, Mariah was yelling from further down the hill.
“Hey Carmen! We’re going to get some lunch, you want to come?” Mariah loudly said with a big grin.
“Sure, let’s go!” Carmen replied, needing the distraction from such a somber moment.
Before leaving, she turned around and looked up at the sky.
“Take Care, Rivell. Olivia. I'll find the ones responsible for this. I swear...” She softly said as she clinched her fist tightly.
Carmen turned her attention back towards Mariah and rushed down the hill to join the group.