Chancellor

--

He would give them anything, everything, confess all his sins if only the pain would stop. But it didn't.

Until it did. After an eternity, he felt the spell break.

He was lying on the floor, face resting in his own drool. He blinked. A thousand needles pricked him in the back of the eyes. Like his eye sockets had been taken out, hammered, squished under a boot, then roughly pushed back in. The nosebleed had dried and cracked, but the inside felt raw. His ears buzzed. His hands shook. The fingers felt alien. Everything hurt.

There was a conversation happening. It reminded him of when he first woke up on the bench. He shivered. But a new voice made stood out amidst the two from earlier. They were arguing with one another. The supernatural pressure was gone, the pain was gone. The world was bearable again.

A wide black cloak covered him on the floor. 'Why does it feel so safe? So comfortable. No! This must be an illusion. No, I must stay calm. They'll hurt me again. Is there anything I can do?'

He stayed down, pretending to still be out of it. He listened.

"- bully a new student."

"- extenuating circumstances, Chancellor. The crown is under pressure. We need answers."

They were arguing. 'About me?'

"This is my domain. Constable, I had my doubts about your loyalties. I regret accepting you as a Professor. What kind of educator tortures a student, a non-mage -"

"A non-mage doesn't possess a Dao. He is plant."

"Do you hear yourself? You are inventing conspiracies. He is a fresh student, on Academy grounds, and you hold not a warrant nor an administrative accord."

"Come now. We are at War. Sacrifices must be made."

"Stop creating strawman to justify pointless cruelty. You would sacrifice a child without recourse? I am horrified and disgusted."

"Chancellor-"

Babyface started speaking, but was immediately stomped down by the Chancellor's sudden burst as he asserted his own will upon the world. Tommy felt suffocated, somehow knowing well that he wasn't even the target, or he would not have survived.

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"An inquisitor was brought onto the premise. A student tortured without due cause or process. This stops here."

He turned to Tommy, the pressure dissipated, like it had been a lie. Pulling him up, the man said, "You are safe, child. You can open your eyes now. Can you stand?"

He nodded. 'No pretending I guess.'

"Disciplinary Committee will convene next week. I suggest you be on your best behavior, Professor Kim. You are dismissed."

The solid stone that broke his nose now parted like a veil before Tommy. Strong arms held him up, supporting him as the two walking out slowly,

"I am sorry lad. The academy was supposed to be safe. I have failed you, and your family."

Tommy didn't know what to say. He kept his eyes down, focusing on getting away, his feet too slow.

"Do you mind if I heal you a bit?"

'Do I dare refuse?' Tommy thought, keeping quiet.

Nothing happened. He did want to be healed, so he nodded his head once. Immediately, warmth engulfed him. Nothing like the chill from his practice, and yet so similar. Like something he was missing and didn't know until he found it again. He felt stronger, lighter, less broken.

The two left the tower through the same dark stone tunnel he had entered in the morning. So much could change in a day? He wanted to run. Run away. Or at the very least turn his mind off. With all the pain gone, he felt so very tired. Next thing he noticed, he found himself standing outside his house.

'Did I fall asleep?'

"Can you go from here, lad?"

"Yes, sir." His voice didn't crack. A small victory.

"Rest well."

And he did. Tommy climbed up the steps in, then trudged to his bedroom. Somewhere in the process, he fell asleep.