Emil

Please tell me I’m hallucinating.

Emil rubbed his eyes and smacked the side of his head—refusing to accept what he was seeing. But no matter what he did, reality would not change. The lifeless body on the ground was undoubtedly Ellen.

I just spent the afternoon with her and Anna!

The side of his face was suddenly wet. Questions swarmed his head, trying to make sense of what just happened. Who attacked Ellen? Why was she here? Why was she burying the corpse?

In the midst of his disbelief, heavy shuffling echoed from the beyond the clearing. Footsteps thundered through the dense foliage. Close. They were coming this way.

Emil ceased the light from his pendant and scrambled towards the other end of the clearing. He sank into the dark undergrowth, his night gear perfectly blending in with the surroundings.

Three figures soon emerged. A blue light diffused into the clearing. Azurite. At least one of three was an Exalted. The light was dim enough where Emil couldn’t discern the faces of the interlopers. He could only see the vague vestiges of their silhouettes as they crowded around Ellen’s body.

“Oh hells, for fuck’s sake,” one of the figures cursed as they crouched beside Ellen, “I tell her to do one damn thing and then she goes and gets herself killed!” The voice sounded muffled from the foliage surrounding Emil, but he could tell it was unmistakably male.

“Sir, what should we—”

“Respectfully, shut the fuck up,” the original voice snapped. It seemed like he was the one in charge. “There are vestiges of mana on her neck. Judging by the shape of her wounds, she was probably attacked by one of the specimens that got loose.” The person let out a heavy sigh. “…Cremate her body near the lab. Keep the Sentinels out of this. I don’t want them anywhere close to the grove.”

Lab? Emil noted the word.

“Isn’t she a student at the Academy?”

“It’s fine. She’s an orphan with no living relatives. And it’s only been a few days since the new semester started. We’ll stick to the usual procedures. In a week, she’ll be gone from everyone’s minds.”

They’re planning to cover-up her death?! Emil clenched his fist. His throat grew hot as he wanted to scream. Another orphan, used and discarded like a piece of trash. He gritted his teeth, biting on the side of his lips. A ferric taste poured into his mouth. The searing pain was only thing that kept him silent amidst his fury.

He remained still, watching as they picked up Ellen’s body. The three men prodded the edges of the clearing before disappearing into the undergrowth.

***

ANNA

A new day.

Anna let out a distasteful yawn. She tossed her head back, leaning against the wooden seat, trying to ward off the strong desire to crawl back to bed. Someone had been rudely making noises at the break of dawn today within the girl’s dormitory.

Damn pricks.

She wiped the grim out of her eyes. The unladylike gesture might have gotten her a scolding back home, but not here. Not in the back row of the morning lecture hall where ‘misfits’ like her resided.

Earning the reputation of a delinquent was not how she planned to start her life at the Academy, but she couldn’t deny its advantages. With her image already in the dumps, not having to pretend that she was a well-behaved honors student was liberating.

In front of her, chatters filled the room as her classmates talked merrily about their group projects.

Ugh honestly, how do these freaks have so much energy in the morning?

Footsteps echoed behind her as she contemplated this mystery. Still with her head tossed back, Anna watched as Emil’s upside-down figure crossed her sight.

“Good morning,” she greeted him with a smug grin, relishing in the memory of the expensive dessert that he paid for yesterday.

“Morning,” he responded flatly, devoid of his usual frivolousness as he dragged himself into his seat. Anna frowned. His expression was ghastly.

“Um, you alright?” she asked.

“Tired,” Emil replied. His eyes were dull, glazing off into the distance, not fully present. Anna couldn’t tell if he was deep in thought or zoning out from the lack of sleep.

Did I go overboard by making him pay for the desserts yesterday?

Before she could get an answer, Professor Callum had entered the hall. He announced his presence in his usual, energetic voice that was incessantly loud for the early mornings. The professor was in the midst of writing something down on the blackboard when Anna noticed that Ellen wasn’t in her seat.

She scanned the rest of the classroom. Ellen never had much of a presence, so Anna searched with diligence. Nothing. She wasn’t here. That’s weird. The first week of the semester wasn’t even over yet—it was a bit early to be absent from class.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Ellen’s not here today. What’s up with that?” she whispered to Emil.

It was faint. But Anna didn’t miss it. A torrent of emotions flickered across his lifeless face for the briefest of seconds. Then instantly, it was gone, vanished as if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“Ellen?” Emil asked as if the question was bizarre. He scanned the room just like she did, before replying, “Weird. I have no idea.”

She caught the slightest of quiver in his voice.

***

Anna struggled to focus the entire day.

Why did he react that way?

Emil’s strange reaction burned inside her head. On the surface, he seemed like his usual self, but Anna could tell that some of his frivolous acts were half-hearted. Occasionally, he would fall silent, gazing off into the distance in deep thought. Something was bothering him.

Did something happen to Ellen?

The question gnawed at her subconscious, growing stronger as the day passed. Ellen was still nowhere to be found. Desperate to get this load off her mind, Anna rushed to the girl’s dormitories once classes concluded.

The dorms were separated into three sections. The main area of the building was where amenities such as baths, training facilities, and study lounges were located. The student rooms were on the two wings directly adjacent to the main area, each comprising of three floors.

Anna and Ellen were in the east wing. Ellen’s room was on the uppermost level by the far end of the corridor across from the stairway.

The halls were silent as Anna stomped down the corridor. Most of the students would still be out—either grabbing food or busy honing their Gifts and studying. Anna scanned each room as she passed, noting the nameplates engraved on each door. Finally, she arrived at the end of the corridor.

...What?!

The room that should have been Ellen’s didn’t have a nameplate, suggesting that the room was currently unoccupied. Anna twisted the door handle. It wouldn’t budge. Locked.

“Ellen?!” she shouted out of desperation.

Silence.

Anna felt like she was going mad.

There’s no way. I literally escorted her here after we had desserts yesterday. I couldn’t have made a mistake!

She spun around and sprinted down the corridor, double checking the names of every room just in case. Ellen’s name was nowhere to be found.

The dorm prefect should know something.

She ran downstairs to the main office. The dorm prefect was a bespectacled lady in late twenties. She was at the front desk, reading a book when Anna nearly pounced on her.

“Wow! Ms. Seibert, aren’t you energetic today?” the prefect exclaimed, her eyes wide with concern. Anna was heaving, trying to gather her breath as she pushed aside the dangling hairs blocking her eyes. She must have looked savage.

“Ellen! Where is she?” she spat out in between raspy gasps for air.

The prefect leaned back, keeping her head at a cautious distance as if she was trying to stay away from a feral animal. “Oh, were you not aware?” she asked, shooting her a perplexed look, “Ellen withdrew her enrolment from the Academy. She’s apparently going back to her hometown. Her stuff was moved out of the dorms early this morning.”

“…What?!” Anna shouted. The statement was so ridiculous that she half-expected the prefect to burst into laughter and tell her that it was all a prank. The dorm prefect, however, remained stone-faced.

“You’re serious?”

“Um, yes. Very.”

“No way. This has to be a joke! I was literally with her yesterday and she didn’t say a single thing about this!” Anna protested.

The prefect shrugged. “I don’t know what else to tell you, Ms. Seibert. This is what the Academy staff conveyed to me this morning. Raise the issue with the administrative office if you have a problem.”

***

“Shit!” Anna kicked the side of the road. She bent over—exhausted from running ragged all over campus. Salt lingered on the tip of her tongue. Her uniform clung uncomfortably to her back, drenched in sweat from the evening sun.

The staff at the admin’s office gave her the same answers. When she tried to pry more details about Ellen’s situation, she was immediately stone-walled and brushed off.

Something isn’t right.

There was always the possibility the dorm prefect and the Academy admins were telling the truth, but Anna wasn’t convinced. Ellen showed no inclination of leaving. The abruptness of her supposed departure reeked of a conspiracy.

That bastard is nowhere to be found either. Anna grimaced, recalling Emil’s strange behavior throughout the day. He must have known something. And he kept it from me! She clenched her fist, shaking, squeezing until the insides of her palms burned red.

The pain soothed her anger. She took a deep breath.

Think, Anna.

Indignation guided her thoughts as she revised everything she knew.

I was with Ellen right before curfew last night. Her stuff was moved out of the dorm in the morning according to the prefect.

She vaguely recalled being woken up at the break of dawn because of loud noises by the stairway. Based on what she learned, that was likely the staff members moving Ellen’s stuff out of her room.

Then, on the premise that Ellen didn’t just randomly decide to leave the Academy, something must have happened to her between evening and dawn.

Whatever happened must have been severe enough for the Academy to intervene and cover it up. Despite the Academy's prestigious reputation, Azure City itself was not exactly a virtuous place. Anna heard plenty of rumors of nefarious events happening in the shadows of the city during her time as a merchant's apprentice.

If her assumptions were correct, however, then Ellen was likely in danger. Anna winced at the implications. Doubt crept into her mind.

Or am I overthinking this? What if Ellen really did make the decision to leave the Academy?

Truth be told, she wasn’t confident. She only knew the girl for two days at most. The short time that they spent together was hardly enough for them to understand each other.

No. I don’t buy it.

She shook her head. Her instincts refused to allow her to accept such a convenient truth. But regardless of her suspicions, what could she possibly do in this situation?

Bong!

The twilight bell rang. The Academy curfew was now in effect.

***

She snuck out.

It was astonishingly easy to do. After the prefect made the rounds to make sure everyone was in their rooms, Anna waited for darkness to fall while observing the patrol route of the few Sentinels on premise. Then, once she was sure that she found a gap in the timing, she opened her windows and climbed out.

Thankfully my room is on the first floor.

She pushed close the windows of her room, erasing the signs of her leaving—somewhat expecting to be discovered and swarmed by the Sentinels on duty.

Instead, she was greeted by silence.

Am I seriously doing this?

The logical side of her mind screamed at her idiocy. She came to this Academy to earn the right to control her future. She came here to escape the fate of becoming a marriage asset to be used at the whims of her parents. This impulsive escapade may just jeopardize her entire plan. And for all she knows, this could just be a misunderstanding and an overreaction from a crazy girl’s deranged imagination.

Oh, shut the hell up!

Anna clicked her tongue and delivered a solid smack on her cheeks to silence the nagging thoughts. The last time she hesitated like this, she regretted everything that she didn’t do. She would not make the same mistake again.

Besides, everyone already sees me as a delinquent. This is just me embracing that image.

The campus at night was eerily silent. It felt strange, creeping around the areas where she used to walk without concern, devoid of the usual chatters and excitement that filled the air. Anna pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, taking extra care to hide her distinct scarlet hair. She then tied a black cloth over the lower half of her face.

She took one final deep breath to resolve herself, before venturing off into Azure City.