Primal Saga Volume 1: The Queen of Silence

Chapter 2: Lost World Academy

The monorail glided along the track. I glanced out the window to see the train was heading towards the city's perimeter wall. The train passed through a space in the wall and the scenery outside changed in a flash from sparse suburbs to dense jungle. The trees enveloped the monorail on all sides causing it to get noticeably darker on board. I peered outside the window eagerly trying to get a glimpse of some alien-looking animals, but the foliage was too dense. Eventually, I gave up and began to people watch.

All of the other passengers on the train were students. The muffled sound of conversations mixed with the whir of the monorail. Most of the students in my car seemed to know each other; some of them turned and chatting with the people seated behind them. I began to feel overwhelmed. It was strange being surrounded by an unfamiliar group of people. Not only that but I have never seen this much positive conversation in one place. Back home people were rough around the edges and mostly kept to themselves. The only person who seemed to share that sentiment was the person sitting alone on the bench on the opposite side of the train from me.

She was a beautiful girl of Asian descent with a serene aura about her. Her skin was surprisingly pale, almost like a porcelain doll. However that wasn't the strangest feature she had. Her hair draped down most of her back like a dark curtain, was a mix of dark purple hues. At first glance, it would seem black, but on closer inspection, it was obvious that it was a dark shade of purple. Her bangs formed a triangular fringe which lightly touched the bridge of her nose. In the reflection of the window, I could see her staring off with disinterested eyes. 

Her eyes. 

Her eyes where deep plum color. At first, I thought she was wearing contacts like me but something about them convinced me that wasn't the case. Those eyes turned and glared at me. My heart skipped. Ah crap. I have only been here for a few hours and I already made an enemy. My mind raced as I tried to think of a way to salvage the situation, but then someone stepped in between me and the girl effectively saving me.

"Hey! Ummmm... is this your robot?"

"Uhhhh... yeah. Why?"

Standing in front of me were two girls. One of them had her brown hair tied back in two buns on either side of her head with decorative ribbons hanging from them. While the other girl had short crimson hair which stopped just above her shoulders. Both were wearing the academy uniform, but unlike mine they had the letter "C" embroidered on the front of their shirt pockets.

The first girl began to play with her bun ribbons. "We just think he's so cute. Does he have a name? Did you just transfer to this school? Where are you from?"

The barrage of questions forced me into a mental corner. Ace sitting next to me began to cower in his seat from all the extra attention. "Yeah his name is Ace. I'm sorry he gets easily frightened. If you could just give him a bit more space he will let you talk to him," I said - ignoring the last two questions.

"Yeah Viki. Give the them a little breathing room," Said the red headed girl. Her demeanor was poised and reassuring. "I'm so sorry. It's just that it is rare to see someone with a personal robot. Most of the time rich people have them as household servants. We were just curious. That's all."

"Nah it's fine," I said waving my hand dismissively. "See Ace. They're ok." He still didn't want to come out from behind the pamphlet and quiet honestly - I don't blame him. "If you try introducing yourselves, it will calm him down a bit. He very rarely meets new people."

The girls looked at each other and then back at Ace. "Hi Ace. My name is Reina and this is Viki," said the red head in a cool voice.

Ace was hiding behind another pamphlet he got from the seat pouch. He slowly lowered the pamphlet with shaking hands and confronted his two new fan girls. He beeped a small greeting to the girls causing both the girls, even the poised one, to shriek in excitement scaring Ace back behind the pamphlet.