As the golden light of the nexus of sunsets took over the fifth sector, Aodhán closed his eyes and stroked Lupin’s hair gently. She made no sound, seemingly content to lay her head on his chest and soak in the essence of serenity that surrounded her.
After Lupin had broken down on the front lawn of the academy, Aodhán had created a storm platform and brought her here to the serenity garden, where they’d had most of their dates. Now, even after several hours, Lupin still shuddered with grief, her sadness so overwhelming that Aodhán could almost taste it.
He wrapped his arms around her, determined to lend her all the comfort she might need. It broke his heart to see her this distraught, and he dearly wished she’d informed him earlier so he could have been there for her, but now that ship had sailed, and all he could do was hold her.
Lupin had explained that she had been very busy with the paperwork and meetings required to assume her new position as well as the arrangements for her father’s burial. However, Aodhán still felt bad to have been left out.
Now that her father was dead, Lupin had inherited his noble title, which meant she was technically a baroness, an unattached baroness. Even without her saying a word, Aodhán already knew what was coming. Of course, he could fight and beg, rage against the political system perhaps, but that wouldn’t achieve anything save for prolonging the inevitable.
They dwelled in the silence and serenity of the garden for another hour before Lupin lifted her head off his chest, sniffed, and stood to her feet. “I should go. It’s gotten late.”
“Whatever you need.” Aodhán responded and pushed himself to his feet, dusting off blue Salingers and dandelions from his trousers. “Let me know if you can’t attend the class tomorrow.”
“I’m fine.” Lupin sighed and shook her head. “I can’t afford to miss any classes.”
“You just lost your father, Lupin; no one would begrudge you a few more days of rest.”
“I know that.” She tried to smile, but her lips wobbled and her eyes watered. She turned her face away, trying to hide her tears, but he gently clutched her chin and turned her face back to his.
“What is it again?”
Lupin shook her head and stared at him for a moment before speaking. “I’m sorry, Aodhán, I... I had no choice. I spent days searching for a loophole, but I couldn't.”
“What are you talking about?” Aodhán asked, his heart thudding heavily in his chest as he hoped against hope that he was just overthinking things. Perhaps if he pretended not to know, then this problem would disappear like smoke in the wind. Lupin, however, was not one to push things away or shy away from hard emotions or discussions, and in that moment, Aodhán almost hated her for it.
She stepped away from him, the small motion seeming to take her hundreds of miles away rather than a single step. “I’m a baroness now, Aodhán. You know what that means for us; please don’t make me spell it out.”
Aodhán closed his eyes as pain stabbed into him like a knife. He had seen this coming from a mile away, but he hadn't been prepared to hear it. The words felt wrong coming from her lips, and although he'd made up his mind not to prolong the inevitable, he couldn't help but beg. “We can fight this. We can still be together. We could run away.”
“To where, Aodhán?” She asked quietly, still not looking at him. She had prepared for this. “I can't leave my new responsibilities,” she continued. “My mother, my siblings. I can't leave them and run; besides, where would we even run to?”
Aodhán wanted to blurt out that he didn't care, but he stopped himself just in time. She was right. Where could they run to? Even if they left the continent, Aodhán was certain they'd found within the hour with a few divination skills.
“Fuck!” He cursed and squeezed his chest as pain lanced through him again. His eyes burned, his throat clogged up, and all of a sudden, it became hard to breathe. He stumbled back and pushed back tears. Why does this hurt so much? Why does it feel like my heart is being ripped to shreds?
“I'm so sorry, Aodhán.” Lupin said a moment later, her words choked by silent sobs. “I tried to find a way out, but I couldn't. I wish the world could have been different, but it’s not. I’m a noble, and you’re a commoner. This is not a fight we can fight.”
Aodhán shut his eyes tightly and clenched his jaws to keep the tears that threatened him from falling. Don't cry, don't cry, Aodhán. You have to be strong.
His efforts to keep the tears at bay though were futile, and soon they poured down his face in torrents. He wiped at them hastily, trying to clean them off, yet more just kept coming. It was frustrating and annoying, and Aodhán just wanted to shout until the pain left his chest.
Lupin tried to comfort him, but Aodhán stepped back and waved her off. “You can go; I’m fine.”
She hesitated for a moment before nodding, and without looking back, she left Aodhán standing alone in the serenity garden, with nothing but his turbulent emotions for company. Aodhán stood there for nearly an hour, wishing he was anywhere else other than this sector of perpetual day where he could at least have the cover and comfort of night.
He contemplated summoning Varéc and going for a ride amongst the real clouds, but he soon discarded that idea. As much as he craved the comfort of night, he really just wanted to curl up in one corner of his room and sulk. Perhaps that was immature of him, but he really didn’t have the strength for anything else at the moment.
A chilly breeze blew, and after another fifteen minutes of just standing and staring aimlessly at his surroundings, Aodhán finally created a storm platform and stepped on it. He floated slowly into the sky, too emotionally tired to do anything more than simply glide forward. When he reached the first-year residential area, he dismissed the storm platform and began trudging forward. Like a zombie, he moved towards house 14, ignoring the concerned gazes of some of the other first-year students who had yet to resign for the night.
He was only a few paces away from house 14 when his chip suddenly pinged with a notification. He ignored it and kept moving forward, but the chip didn't stop pinging. After he ignored the fourth message though, he suddenly felt the spiritual attention of the principal on him, and this time when his chip pinged the fifth time, the sounds were nearly as loud as that of an explosion.
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Aodhán was instantly hit with a migraine so severe that he staggered. He turned to glare at the sky, not in the mood to deal with the principal, but the spiritual attention still hanging around him assured him that he had very little choice in the matter. Left with no other option, Aodhán opened the messages, and after reading through them, he let out a muffled curse. “Just fucking great. Barely a full day into this blasted academy, and I already hate my life.”
He took a few more minutes to wallow in his misery before heading towards the principal’s office, which was located within the admin building. Unwilling to trudge back out of the residential area, he created another storm platform and zoomed off.
It might be a stretch to say he sped off, considering a trip that should've taken only fifteen minutes on foot ended up dragging out for nearly an hour. Principal Zatya’s spiritual focus stayed on him the entire way, and Aodhán had to admire her patience—if their roles were switched, he was sure he would’ve already obliterated himself.
When he finally arrived at principal Zatya’s office, he found her seated on her desk reviewing a stack of documents. She looked up and glared at him. “When I took you on as a project, Aodhán, I didn’t realize you would be such a delight to work with.”
Aodhán shut the door behind him and leaned against it. “What do you want?”
Principal Zatya glared at him for a moment longer before she sighed and moved to her seat. “I’m sorry about Lupin. It was never going to work out anyway.”
How she knew of his relationship with Lupin, Aodhán couldn’t even fathom, but then he wasn’t even surprised she knew. In fact, Aodhán didn’t think there were any major happenings within the confines of the academy that escaped her attention. However, he wondered just how much she knew and how much she deduced.
When he didn’t respond, principal Zatya asked. “How are you doing?”
“Not too well.” Aodhán responded. “Actually, I would love—
“That’s good.” Principal Zatya cut him off and stood up again. “That’s not why I called you here.”
Aodhán scowled. “Why am I here then?”
“Because I wanted to congratulate you on a mission well done.” Principal Zatya waved a hand, and a small box containing Makeba’s earrings appeared on the table. The earrings glinted beautifully in the light of dusk, and when she picked them up, they left a small shimmer of red dust in their wake. She raised the earrings up for him to see and asked. “What do you think?”
Aodhán blinked, not really knowing whether this was a sort of test or an actual honest question. In the end, he gave a one-handed shrug and replied. “It’s beautiful, I guess.”
Zatya snorted and discarded the earrings carelessly. “They are garish, cheap, and quite frankly not my color.”
Aodhán let out a deep breath and asked again. “Why am I here?”
Principal Zatya stared at him for a long moment before sighing. “I didn’t just ask you to steal these items for nothing. As much as it was a test, one which you passed by the way, although it would have been better if you hadn’t gotten involved with that Castalon girl who I imagine will most likely disclose your rendezvous to Imani.” She shook her head and continued while Aodhán watched warily. “I sense a lot of complications in your future, Aodhán, but I digress. The reason why I wanted you to steal these particular earrings is because they should have belonged to me, or perhaps, a version of me that would have married Allister Blackwell had I not joined the war instead. Makeba married him in my stead, and he gave her the same betrothal gift he had promised me. Men are such jerks sometimes.”
Aodhán frowned when he saw a hint of vulnerability flash across principal Zatya’s features. It was an emotion he’d never associated with her before, but in that moment, the principal became even more real to him. Less Mythic psychopath and more human.
She picked up the earrings and placed them back in the chest before smiling at him. “Now that we’ve gotten all that emotional business out of the way, let’s dive into the main reason I called you here.” She gestured for Aodhán to take a seat, and when he did, she began. “In the history of the academy tournaments, the participants have always been nobles, mostly because of the prestige and the added buffs that our bloodlines provide. This year will be different. For the first time in years, the participant slots will be open to anyone regardless of social status; do you know why?”
Aodhán shook his head. “I assume you’re about to enlighten me.”
“Indeed.” Principal Zatya nodded and handed him the document she had been reading before he came in. “What do you see?”
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Leaderboards.
Tower of Ascension (1st year)
•Cyrus Valerion, Level 24—1st [01:17]
•Lilith Bloodmoon, Level 24—2nd [01:42]
•Aodhán Brystion, Level 24—3rd [01:47]
•Alesh Vilaris, Level 23—4th [03:27]
•Grendar Bladewynn, Level 23—5th [03:09]
•Daruk Brystion, Level 23—6th [02: 56]
•Yurin Lahey, Level 23—7th [02: 43]
•Azul Fetherson, Level 23—8th [01:02]
•Isis Anvindr, Level 23—9th [00:42]
• ---------------------------------------- It was a hard copy of the updated Tower leaderboards, taken just a week before they’d gone on the mid-semester break, and when Aodhán went through the list, he made a single deduction. “Half of the rankers are commoners.” “Exactly.” Principal Zatya grinned. “However, except Arede, all the other commoners have bloodlines, which makes them no different from nobles except for their social status; hence, the decision to open up the slots to everyone.” Aodhán frowned at the list in his hands and sighed. “The nobles won’t like this.” "No, they will not.” Principal Zatya grinned. “In fact, I fully expect the braver ones among them to try and bully you into withdrawing from the tournament.” Aodhán snorted. “None of them can bully me.” “Good, because the other commoners will be looking up to you. If you pull out of the tournament, they'll have no choice but to do the same. I don't want that.” Principal Zatya shook her head. “We’ve been set in our ways for too long, and now it’s time to evolve.” Aodhán nodded in agreement, but then he frowned. “Why are you telling me though?” Principal Zatya paused, and then her expression turned serious. “Because you have to be among the participants. Ascendant candidate Lightus is very interested in you, and he will be present on that day. You’ve grown stronger during the break, but your classmates have done the same. A selection process will be carried out over the next few weeks to select the participants, and I’ll be very disappointed if you do not make it.” Aodhán scanned the list and nodded. “I’ll do my best.” He exited principal Zatya’s office a minute later and returned to house 14. When he stepped into the living room, he found Imani seated on one of the couches and surrounded by half a dozen textbooks. She looked up immediately, and from her expression, Aodhán could tell that she’d been waiting for him to arrive. “We need to talk,” she glared at him. However, her voice quivered with nerves. Aodhán massaged his temples and turned to look at her. He was in no mood for conversation, but he doubted he could put it aside for much longer, so he sighed. “Go on, I’m listening.” As much as he tried to control his tone, he was frustrated and tired, so the words came out harsh. Aodhán didn’t apologize for it though and instead waited for her to speak. Imani took in several deep breaths, seemingly gathering her courage, and when she did, she said. “I want to know what happened at my father’s party the other night. One minute we were dancing and having a good time, and the next, you disappear and start avoiding me.” “I’m sorry, I wasn’t in the best place mentally.” It was a trashy excuse, of course, but it was the best Aodhán could come up with at the moment. His response didn’t pacify Imani though, because she walked closer and frowned. “I thought we had something good going. We were dancing; I thought you had feelings for—" "Well, you thought wrong.” Aodhán cut her off, too weary to continue the conversation. “We have nothing going on, Imani. We have no connection or chemistry, and I’m sorry if I led you to believe otherwise; I truly am. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need some alone time to wallow in my misery.”