Legend | Celeste Academy Series BK #2

Chapter 2 ♕ The Arrival

Tamara clicked her tongue while she eyed Valeriana who was now curiously looking around since the moment they set foot on West Monte. Her eyes sparkled with inquisitiveness as the village locals went on with their daily routine. And although night had befallen this little village, the darkness had not blanketed the scenery it could offer. If not, it made the lights that shined through the windows of each building even more evident and iridescent.

It was strange to finally set foot outside the academy after being cooped up in one place for too long. Still, even if the thought was somewhat scary, it was palpable that Valeriana was currently enjoying herself while taking in the sight of the beautiful hanging lanterns that decorated the pathway of the village. By the sound of it, West Monte was even busier at night.

"I never expected it to be this lively." Keelan thought out loud.

"West Monte could be considered what you call . . . a very night-owlish place, from what I have heard. In fact, this is the reason for its great profit-earning characteristic." Charles muttered, studying his information-ridden, little, blue notebook.

The circle now felt relieved seeing Valeriana in a better state since they left Celeste Academy. It might've been harsh dragging her out after receiving such astounding news, but this was something which they couldn't afford to neglect. Getting Lord Lienhard to come with them was top priority.

Although Lady Seraphina wanted to come with them herself, she was busy with a lot of other matters that she decided to keep private. Even so, she did tell them that the bar that her father now frequented on was called 'Kelton's Den' and was easy to find by its appearance. They were sure to know it was what they were looking for when they set their eyes on it.

Still, it was good to see that Valeriana managed to keep the incident out of her mind and was back to her cheery self. The look on Corvan's face said that he didn't at all forget and kept on muttering unintelligible things under his breath, occasionally grunting for no reason or breathing through his nose loudly.

"Good evening, miss!" A vendor said, handing Valeriana a stick of what looked like barbecued meatballs. A rich, juicy sauce covered it and the food itself gave an irresistible aroma which made the girl's mouth water. "Would you like to try some?"

Valeriana eyed the food hungrily. "I . . . I want to . . . but . . . I don't have any money here with me right now." She whispered regrettably, sighing.

The vendor looked at her in pity, her brown eyes glinting faintly under her little stall's dim lighting. "Oh no! You can have this one for free." She smiled sweetly at her. "I wasn't planning on taking something in return."

"Thank you!" She smiled up at the woman.

Charles's raised a brow. "She has a natural charm."

"What a pig." Corvan commented.

Valeriana heard his remark and shot a glare his way. "For your information, I haven't eaten anything for lunch!" She growled at him.

The vendor laughed at the two.

He simply huffed before walking ahead like some snot-nosed brat which made the girl feel even more irritated. This compelled the Twelve to continue moving.

"Jerk! I'll show you who's a pig!"

They weren't shocked when Keelan suddenly ran forward and asked if he could have one for himself as well. The lady was kind enough to offer one to him, although the eleventh-ranker wasn't satisfied and ended up buying a whole bunch for himself. The woman ended up closing her stall for the night for having everything bought.

"Are you done with your pit stop?" Aneeka yawned. "Let's go. I want to get this over and done with." She said, though she never stopped walking and merely decided to stretch out while doing so.

The two nodded. Just as both started to leave, the vendor spoke.

"Before you go, dear." The woman said, a small and kind smile on her face. "Welcome to West Monte!"

The girl gave the woman a friendly wave before turning to jog after the others. Keelan nodded before he walked off, trying to catch up with their group as they already fell behind.

Valeriana bit off a piece and watched Keelan practically swallowing a whole meatball while still chewing.

If she was a pig, what would you call this guy? Probably the god of pigs-as insulting as that was, it was kind of true. Still, if she dared say it to him, she was sure it would cause him to tear up.

"Are you sure you can eat all of those?" She asked him. "I don't think I can."

"It's because you're not me." Keelan told her after swallowing, his Adam's apple bobbing after he gulped. "I spend a lot of energy everyday so I tend to digest everything I eat. Three square meals a day aren't enough for me. I really have a tendency to eat a lot."

Valeriana wrinkled her nose. "I noticed. But I can't exactly say you aren't human since you really aren't. But, even for a Valemnian, I don't think you're actually normal."

He burped, making the girl cringe in disgust. "Well," he laughed. "I have a big stomach." He patted his belly before proceeding to munch on another batch.

Her statement reminded her of something she forgot. She was trying not to think about it, but considering her current position, it was hard not to. She hoped they were only joking when they told her she wasn't human, but it seemed that this hope was nothing more than that-a hope.

She wasn't human? Was Lord Aeron crazy? Was everyone crazy?

She didn't have any Valemnian characteristics and she didn't possess one of the Power Controls. She grew up normally back home in the arms of loving parents and in the company of a naughty little brother. No matter how you look at it . . . it was impossible.

She felt so confused.

Why? Why didn't she crumble into ashes like she was supposed to?

Hearing that statement . . . that statement which undeniably kept on repeating itself inside her head, she started to question her very being. They said she wasn't human. But who was she? If her parents weren't human, then who was she? Who were they? Was Lily even her mother? Was Janus even her father? Could Jareth even be called her blood-related brother?

She was starting to think she was really adopted. She felt like that anyway.

Right from the start, she didn't look anything like her parents. They were both brunettes and had brown eyes. Jareth had green eyes because of their grandfather on their father's side. Janus's eyes himself had a ray of green in them despite being mostly dominated by brown. It wasn't something easily noticed but it was there.

She wished she was back home instead of having to deal with all this weirdness.

"Hurry up, you two!" Tamara's voice cut through the air. "We're going to leave you behind if you don't move your legs!"

"We're moving! We're moving!" Keelan said. "Race you there, Valeriana!"

"Wha-hey!" She began to build up her pace as Keelan zoomed past her and started running to the direction where the Twelve was. She eyed him as he looked over his shoulder and flashed her a grin before facing forward and increasing his speed.

"Hurry up!"

She simply smiled and began running.

Ah, whatever.

They didn't care at the moment so she wouldn't too.