Chapter 126 - Calm of War II (1/2)

Chapter 126: Calm of War II

“P-Princess?” she exclaimed, even more surprised than I was.

I quickly sheathed my sword and released my friend. Emily Watsken had been the only girl my age besides Kathlyn that I had spent any considerable amount of time with. Her master, Gideon, came in and out of the castle when he wasn’t engrossed in new gadgets and inventions that he believed could help out in the war.

“I’m so sorry, Emily. You just came kind of out of nowhere and my body reacted on its own,” I apologized, helping her gather the tools and books she had been carrying before I flipped her so gracefully on the ground.

“No, I should be more careful, haha! I was carrying way too many things and my glasses slipped so I couldn’t really make out where I was going. Besides, that was kinda fun. You know, in an abrupt and slightly brain-rattling sort of way,” Emily assured, her voice a bit shaky. Noticing the dark-haired lance next to me, she stiffened before bowing. “Hello, General Varay.”

“Greetings, Miss Watsken,” Varay nodded as she remained upright with no intention to help.

Emily tied back her thick, curly hair that had exploded out of its ponytail state because of me. As I stacked the items on Emily’s arms, I couldn’t help but notice the worn out pieces of paper filled with scribbles that had fallen out of her tattered notebook.

“What are you and Professor Gideon working on nowadays, anyway? I haven’t seen you at the castle in a while,” I took on some of Emily’s load once the stack of books had started reaching her face.

“Ugh, don’t call him Professor. My nutjob of a master can hardly be considered sane, let alone an educator of the future generations,” Emily huffed, letting out a tired sigh.

“Well, he was still a professor at Xyrus for a point in time before all of this happened,” I pointed out as I walked alongside her.

“Yeah, so you know as well as I do how many students were taken to the infirmary because of all the explosions and fires he’s caused in that limited ‘point in time,’” Emily muttered as she used the stack of books she was holding to push her glasses back up.

“You’ve had it rough, haven’t you?” I chuckled, bumping her gently with my shoulder.

“I swear, I think I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to dig up my master from a pile of debris and useless junk after an explosion he’d caused. Anyways, I was getting these observation notes that a team of adventurers had written back to Master Gideon. Do you want to come along?”

“Can I?” I asked, turning my head to Varay for consent. Giving me a curt nod in response, I agreed to follow along.

“How have you been these days anyway, Princess?” Emily asked as we weaved our way through the main road.

“Drop it with the ‘Princess,’ Emily; you know I hate that,” I scolded. “And I’ve been terrible. You have no idea how suffocating it is inside the castle.”

“Oh sure. The halls are pretty narrow and the ceilings are much too low for a castle,” she agreed, clumsily sidestepping a passerby.

“Ha, ha. You think you’re so clever.” I rolled my eyes.

“Hey, I’m a delight!” she puffed proudly. “Besides, try being stuck with someone like Master for hours a day and see what that does to your sense of humor.”

“Oh, woe is you! You’re a real damsel in need of a better social outlet.” I stuck my tongue out at her. Emily did the same as we eventually broke out into a fit of giggles.

“I’m serious, though. You have no idea what it’s like being stuck in a castle with an asura and an overbearing grandfather that can make taking a breath of air seem like a dangerous activity.”

“Ew, sounds suffocating.” Emily’s face cringed.

“Tell me about it,” I sighed.

“But don’t be so rough with your grandfath—I mean, Commander Virion,” she amended, casting a quick glance back at Varay. “After how you were kidnapped and almost killed, I can only imagine how he and your parents must’ve felt…”

“I know. I try not to be, but when he has me caged up like a bird, I can’t help it. Training has been the only way for me to let out my stress, but with more and more sightings and attacks from the Alacryan forces coming out of the Beast Glades, no one has the time to train with me.”

Emily puffed out her cheeks, trying to think of a response. We eventually took a turn into a less crowded street, Varay sticking close behind us like a shadow in case anything were to happen.

“Oh yeah, any news about Arthur?” Emily asked.

“You mean besides the same old news that Master Aldir repeats like a neurotic mimic bird?” I shook my head.

“He is training. That is all you need to know,” Emily recited in a deep voice exactly the same way she had when I told her the last time.

“Yup!” I giggled.

There was another gap of silence in our conversation when Emily asked in a hushed whisper. “What about Elijah?”

A sharp pang ran through my chest at the mention of that name, not because I was sad, but because I could imagine how guilty Arthur must be feeling.

“No news. Honestly, I have no idea why Elijah was taken to Alacrya alive,” I confessed, clutching tightly onto the books.

It was my fault in a way that this happened to Elijah. I barely knew the guy aside from the fact that he was Arthur’s closest friend. From what others that witnessed the scene had described, it seemed like he’d tried to save me before he was taken.

It was obvious that Elijah had tried to save me for his best friend; for all we knew, he could’ve been tortured for information or taken hostage to lure Arthur or maybe just even killed. I knew some of these possibilities were a bit of a stretch, but it scared me to think that this happened to him because of me.

What’s worse was that, more than feeling sorry for Elijah, I felt like I was more scared that Arthur would hate me because of this—because of what happened to his best friend. I thought I was strong; ever since I had received the elderwood guardian will from Arthur, I felt invincible—even when I couldn’t fully control it. How foolishly naive I was. I should’ve listened to Arthur when he told me he’d come with me to school. I should’ve been more ready.

These were the thoughts that made my nights often sleepless, but they were also the thoughts that drove me to train harder. Train so I would be strong… train so that I wouldn’t be a liability to anyone.

“—ssia? Tessia?” Varay’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah?” I looked up to be suddenly face-to-face with the lance.

“You okay?” Emily asked from my side, her voice laced with concern.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, of course I am. Why do you ask?” I muttered as Varay wordlessly placed a hand on my forehead.

“Not sick,” she said simply before giving me some space.