Celeste Academy One Shots

Not Doing Too Hot (pt.2)

Hey! Sorry I've been absent for so long! I'm just struggling a bit right now :) I hope you guys enjoy.

Btw this is taking place sometime after the duels and when Corvan and Val are back from Arlandia, so his parents think they're betrothed and all that stuff! 

Valeriana was shaken to the core. At first, she would've sworn that Emmillyse was staring down at her. There was no doubt the two were siblings before, but now she was wondering if they weren't meant to be twins. He even had the same look of wonderment and happiness that was always present in Emmi's eyes. They were nothing like the set of cold, emerald eyes the fifth ranked typically saw.

"Lady, do I know you," Tiny Corvan questioned with a tilt of his head as he wrinkled his brow. He couldn't have been more than five or six in human years. Valeriana burst into laughter; she couldn't wait to tell this story to others once they figured this all out.

•••

"What do we do," Rowe asked Headmaster Kylon as he helped to support Valeriana's weight. Her hand was still placed on the first ranker's body and nobody was sure what would happen to either of them if the connection was lost.

"We will wait for a healing team to arrive. That's all we can do for the moment," Kylon stated with worry etched into his face. By now, the entire stadium had been cleared to provide privacy for the rankers as they addressed the situation.

"Okay. Corvan was completely fine yesterday, right," Tamara questioned as she made eye contact with Charles. The other rankers nodded their heads or said a simple yes as they traced their memories from the previous day.

"Valeriana didn't go...into a similar state until she touched Lord Corvan...," Charles trailed off as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and scribbled in his notebook.

"Everyone move! Out of the way, please. Lord Rowe, please continue to support Valeriana until I have finished my assessment," Olivia commanded as she set her gear beside the rankers and attempted to set to work. As usual, she took their vitals and checked for any outside forces that could've been causing the first ranker to enter such a state. After thirty minutes, she was still bewildered by the nearly comatose state the two seemed trapped in.

Their faces were completely blank, bodies limp and their pupils were pinpricks. Valeriana's heart rate seemed a bit high and Corvan still had a temperature, but other than that, the two seemed stable.

"Headmaster, we need to move them to the infirmary, but they need to remain touching. Overall, they're stable, but I don't know what's wrong. We need to consult with more healers, and I believe you should alert the High Lord and Lady of Arlandia that their son has taken ill."

Without another word, the remaining rankers worked together to move their comrades to a more comfortable area of the academy while making sure they remained connected.

Headmaster Kylon made a path straight for the portals to pay a visit that he wasn't looking forward to.

•••

"I'm calling you Tiny Corvan," the honey golden blond exclaimed as she sat up quickly to pinch the younger Corvan's cheeks.

"Do not touch me, weird lady! Do you know who I am? And I'm not tiny!"

"You sound just like...yourself? I guess?"

Before the fifth ranker could reach out to pinch Tiny Corvan's cheeks again, the little boy took off running. Following behind, Valeriana raced after him. During their game of cat and mouse, she realized they were running through the gardens of the Ember Palace. Occasionally, laughter from Tiny Corvan would reach her ears as they ran a well memorized path through the grounds.

"Corvan! Slowly down or you're going to hurt yourself," a girl around thirteen in human years called over her shoulders as she practiced archery. Her green eyes were vibrant and intense, but the rest of her was washed out; neutral.

"Catch me if you can, Deli," he shouted over his shoulder as he picked up the pace. The girl tossed the bow to the ground and took after Tiny Corvan and Valeriana skidded to a halt in confusion. The other girl, Deli, couldn't see her and it was almost as if Corvan couldn't sense her either even though they had just had a conversation. The two children raced through the garden before disappearing into the Ember Palace to continue their game. The fifth ranker huffed in confusion as she crossed her arms across her chest.

When Corvan went down, Valeriana had caught him and lowered him to the ground. During this, she carefully controlled her aura to not interact with his, but when she was actively examining his channels, she somehow got sucked in...to what? His subconscious? A memory?

What did that have to do with his sudden illness and collapse? Despite his present demeanor, the child version of Corvan seemed happy and content. She would even say he was the spitting image of his mother. This didn't seem to be like the reckoning experienced by Zevlin which left Valeriana with no other option but to continue to investigate even if she felt bad for being in his head.

She turned a slow circle as she tried to remember the layout of the palace, but everything looked strange. Nothing was in the same place and the path looked much narrower than it had been she was there. Mentally kicking herself, she realized that should've followed the two kids into the palace. Straightening her spine, Valeriana decided to pick a random direction and stick with it.

She hadn't taken two steps in any direction when she felt a presence make itself known. Sweat beads broke out on her forehead as Valeriana realized she was basically unarmed in someone else's imagination. It's not like she could conjure up a sword or something! This was Corvan's head. He would probably set her on fire for fun.

"How did you get here?"

•••

"He suddenly collapsed? That's the only explanation that you have," Lord Rupert spat out at Kylon. Lady Saskia's chest heaved as she tried to control her breathing. The loss of one child was enough for her heart to bear and she knew it wouldn't withstand the loss of two.

"Yes. His comrades had said he wasn't feeling well this morning, but Lord Corvan refused to sit out of training. When he collapsed, Valeriana caught him and it's like it spread. She's in the same state as your son. We have the best healers in the world, including Genevieve, treating them both."

A heavy silence settled over the study as Lord Rupert stood to make his way to the large window. He said nothing else as he stared at the gardens below him just as his wife had been doing since the beginning of the conversation.

"May we see him, Kylon," Lady Saskia asked in nearly whisper.

"If you wish, Saskia. It may do him some good and set your mind at ease. He is doing well and has remained stable. I will have arrangements made for the both of you at the academy. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave," Kylon said gently as he stood to his full height. The cup of tea that had been poured for had long since gone cold and he sat it back on the tray.

"Headmaster? I only have one more question," Saskia said as she turned to face him for the first time in the entirety of their conversation. Instead of responding, he nodded his head to encourage her to continue.

"What is happening to our son and Valeriana is...terrifying to put it at the least and that doesn't even fully encompass how I feel as my son's mother and as a mother who has lost a child already. If my only son is going to die, tell me now."

"Lady Saskia, we mustn't-"

"Think that way? Better yet, if there's a significant chance Corvan and betrothed could both die, why has her family not been contacted as well? She is someone's child as much as my son is mine."