The Girl with an Owl

Chapter 30

"Look what we have here, an elf murderer," Orla said.
She was using her best taunting voice but Kieran still managed to hold an impassive expression on his face.
It was as if he was trying to ignore Orla's very existence which was a challenge having in mind her boisterous, bullying personality.

Without responding he tried to walk away one more time, but she blocked his path much faster than Ajana thought possible.
"Move," Kieran said.
His voice was calm, but it also held a hint of boredom in it, as if similar situations happened to him all the time.
Ajana couldn't help but think that things like that probably did happen to Kieran often having in mind the general bad opinion people had of the elves.

Having in mind his past, Ajana was sure that he could use his magic to move Orla from his path but from the confidence in Orla's behavior, it was obvious she was missing something.
Maybe the deal he made to be in the school forbade him from using magic outside of classes, maybe that was why Orla didn't seem to fear an elf who had more experience and magic in his little finger than she had in her whole body.
Orla was trying to start a fight, probably to get Kieran in trouble and no one seemed to care.
It was as if they were not concerned with what might or might not happen to Kieran like he wasn't even a living being.

Although Ajana wanted to avoid any type of confrontation, something inside her very core was telling her that she had to do something.
She could avoid confrontation when she was the one being attacked but seeing someone pick on another person who was in any way at a disadvantage wasn't something she could tolerate.
Seeing that no one was going to help Kieran, Ajana decided that she might as well step up.
Maybe they were not friends yet, but that didn't mean that she could allow anyone to be treated like that, just because they were different.

With determination in her step, Ajana stepped in between the two of them looking Orla straight in the eyes.
"Enough. Leave him alone." She said as calmly as she could.
"Haha, look at that, the freaks are sticking together. Isn't that adorable?" Orla said in a snickering voice.
"You need your little HUMAN girlfriend to protect you, don't you? What's with all that great elf power?" Orla said trying to provoke him.

However, his expression of utter boredom never changed, it didn't even waver in the slightest.
Having lived in the war-infested world, the taunting of a little spoiled girl who understood nothing about life or death didn't bother him.
His lack of reaction only seemed to further anger Orla and from her face contorted in rage, it became obvious that there was nothing she wouldn't do to provoke a reaction from Kieran.
Ajana didn't think anyone else noticed that murderous glint burning in Orla's eyes, but her because they all seemed shocked by what happened next.

Orla raised her hands as if in summoning and soon enough dark energy started floating towards Kieran.
It looked as if it was made of smoke, but Ajana had a feeling that it was something much stronger than that, something that could hurt Kieran.
She planted herself firmly in front of him determined to take the blow, she was sure she wouldn't get in as much trouble as Kieran if he struck back.
However, fast as a cheetah, Kieran moved in front of her ready to endure whatever Orla had concocted in her devious mind.

Before energy had the chance to smash into Kieran and do what it was intended for, a bright yellow shield materialized in front of Kieran and the dark energy simply bounced off it.
Like a boomerang, it went straight towards its creator hitting Orla in the chest and throwing her back a few meters.
As Orla screamed in rage, Ajana was too focused on staring at her raised hands to notice what Orla was saying or doing.

It was obvious that she was the one who created the shield, but she had no idea how she had done it or what it all meant.
When she was doing the magic tests, she could barely do any magic but in that one moment, when she saw danger hurtling towards Kieran she felt an overwhelming protectiveness towards him.
There was the need, deep down in her core to prevent any harm from falling upon him and it was obvious to her that she would have done the same for anyone who had found themselves in similar danger.

How she did it was a mystery even to herself because she didn't know any spells or even understood how magic was done.
It was as if for that one second an instinctual part of her being emerged to the surface and acted on reflex.
Just before she made the shield appear, she could feel a tingling sensation in her hands that in a matter of seconds turned into a humming vibration and before she knew what she was doing she cast the shield out to protect Kieran.

That funny thing was that the brightly shining shield was in the shape of the ones she had seen knight wearing in the stories she had read and the movies she had seen.
Further confirmation that it was her who did that was the Richard Lionheart crest that added the golden glow to the shimmering shield.
Probably her unconscious mind reverted to the only type of shield she was familiar with and since the one with that specific crest was her favorite one it somehow made sense it would have that one.

Everyone stood there in shock with their mouths wide open except for Orla and Kieran.
Orla was striding purposefully towards her yelling words that a decent girl would never even think of saying, and Kieran was standing next to her stunned.
Ajana though she could discern a hint of a smile in Kieran usually serious face, but she thought she might have imagined it.
Especially having in mind that he always wore a stoic expression that nothing ever could penetrate.

Before Orla got the chance to approach them and do something worse, a teacher whom Ajana didn't recognize rushed towards them which had Orla stop in her track and put her best 'I am innocent face'.

"You three, to the principal's office." The teacher said.
"I didn't do anything, I was viciously attacked by these... these stranglings," Orla said pouting.
"I don't want to hear about it, you all go there and then explain yourself to the principle, I have better things to do than argue with pups such as yourself." The teacher said.

It was obvious that her little games were not working on him, not because he was more caring or friendly, but because he thought all the children were troublemakers. Although he worked with children, he never could understand them.
They all hurried off to the principal's office, but instead of Kieran hurrying off alone, he decided to keep in step with Ajana and it seemed to her like he was trying to figure her out.
It felt like she was a piece of a puzzle that he desperately needed to solve.

Once they reached the principal's office Ajana was surprised to note that he was already waiting for them in front of his office.
"Come in," He said calmly.

The moment he closed the door behind them Ajana got the feeling that things wouldn't go their way.
"So what did you two do?" Bob asked Ajana and Kieran.
"Why do you automatically assume that it was something WE did?" Kieran asked.
"I know Orla didn't do anything wrong," Bob said.
"And how do you know that? You weren't there." Ajana said.

It was obvious to her that she was missing a crucial detail that would explain his strange behavior, and she needed to find out as soon as possible.

"Because she is my daughter. She can never do anything wrong." Bob replied.
From how confident he sounded, Ajana was sure that it was exactly what he thought, that he had no idea that his daughter was the biggest bully in that entire school.
It was obvious that the two of them were fighting a losing battle trying to convince the principal that what happened wasn't their fault, so they just gave up and waited for their punishment.