Wardens of Elysia

Chapter 24 ▪ Torn and Mended

"How dare he! Scaring us fourteen year olds like that!" Karys made a fist, her words like gravel in her mouth.

"He's a discord isn't he?" Serin said softly.

"H-he reminds me of my n-nightmares as a child," Maizy shrugged, taming the hair that stood on her arms.

"I can't believe he's our history teacher! How can the council even agree on this?" Karys cut herself short, "Oh, I'm sorry Tierra, I didn't mean your father." She blinked. "Uhm, Tierra?"

"T-tierra?" Maizy nudged her friend.

"Oh, what? I'm sorry. My thoughts are scattered." Tierra stood up to fix her pleated skirt. "This is all too much."

Karys still went on, "We are not required to believe in these so called prophecies! What good does fear bring to us aspirants?"

Serin and Maizy just glanced at each other.

"Hi," it was Eros. "Sorry, for interrupting." The academics soon emptied the lecture hall.

Piling her notebooks, Karys heaved a sigh. One of the girls was flustered.

Eros motioned for Tierra. She followed.

--

The young boy looked back at his childhood friend; her gaze was elsewhere and shallow.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah. What did you want to say awhile back?"

Eros rubbed his chin with his thumb, "I just realized. About the Balfore book, weren't we looking for elderly people to ask about the author?"

"Yeah, we were."

"Who was he again? That Reevius guy?"

Tierra nodded, looking at the marble floor as they passed through the hallway with the other students.

"So, Master Gandris could be...you know, an informant. He looks old enough."

She grimaced, still bothered by everything. "You know, I can't think properly. This is too much. I just want to speak with father." And with that, Tierra just fled, leaving Eros to his thoughts.

--

She walked to a corner and reached a dimmed hallway. Maxo and Trever, the king's guards, were still there.

They spotted the princess and heaviness filled their chests. She looked at them with hopeful eyes. They shook their head.

The king's daughter sighed and traced her steps.

--

Tierra didn't feel like going back to their bunk room, so she found herself strolling towards her royal bed chambers.

When she turned to a junction, she spotted Tania just about to leave her room, Kiefer in hand and whistling to a tune.

"Tania!" Tierra snapped, heat rising from her cheeks.

The nine year old younger sister looked her way, "Oh, Tierra! Hi. Uhm," she said after seeing the reaction of her older sibling.

"What did you touch in my room now?"

"Nothing. I just took Kiefer."

Tierra stormed into her bed chambers. She found her satchel at a hook stand. Curiously, it looked bulkier than usual.

She neared the wooden stand and felt the bag's contents. What is this... A brown hardbound book boasted of glinting swords in its cover. The blade forms looked as if they were painted with a thin layer of silver. It was the Book of Swords.