Invited

Chapter 16: On The Way!

A week had passed since Layla's birthday. It was time for the first day of the three month long period of Council Selection. A car had been sent to Apollo, to retrieve Xander and Kite for their call to Vesta. It arrived early in the morning, parked out front of the house.

"Xander! Kite! The car is here! Are you two ready to go?" Solice yelled up the stairs of her house.

Xander ran down the stairs, and screeched to a halt in front of her. "Ready as I'll ever be!"

Owen followed behind him with two bags in hand. He dropped them on the ground between him and Solice. She scanned the stairs for Kite, nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Kite? Is he awake yet?" Solice asked the two next to her.

"He's awake. In fact, he has been awake for the past two hours. Refuses to come out of his room, so Iza and Vance are trying to reason with him to come out." Owen went over to their kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. He also started pulling out more cups from the cabinets in front of him and poured a few for the people in the room. He handed one to Solice and Xander swooped in behind him to grab the closest one to the edge.

Xander took the one next to that cup, walking over to Adam who was rolling out of his room in the wheelchair.

"Adam, coffee." Xander waited until Adam put the brakes on the wheels, also handing him a coffee.

The four of them sipped their warm coffee together as they heard the conversation Iza and Vance were having with Kite. Kite's room was the closest to the stairs, so their conversation was clearly heard by the people downstairs.

Iza was standing in the door frame of his room, with Vance leaning on the wall cross-armed next to her. Kite's bags laid next to Vance on the floor, the zippers half-opened.

"Please come out of your room. Xander is already downstairs waiting for you to leave." Iza pleaded once more.

"Leave me alone. I already told you that I'm not going to Vesta." Kite turned the page of his book, sitting up on his bed to find a more comfortable spot.

"You signed the acceptance letter last week. You can't disregard something from Vesta like that. They can and will put you in prison." Iza came into his room and sat in the chair of his desk against the wall.

"Then find someone else to go." Kite continued to flip through his book, ignoring the others that looked at him while he did so.

Iza sighed, already getting up in defeat to walk down the stairs. Vance went down with her, leaving Kite's open bag where it was.

"I can't do it anymore. I've been reasoning with him for almost an hour. Adam, your turn. You do it best." Iza went over to the kitchen herself, grabbing her cup of coffee and sipped the drink for a long time. Vance joined her, adding to her exhausted sighing.

The six of them kept the silence for some time. A silver-haired individual continued to wait outside next to the car that was sent to Apollo, checking his watch every so often as he waited.

"Xander, help me with the lift, please." Adam held out his half-empty coffee for the closest person to grab. Solice, being the one to stand next to him, took it from his hands gently. Adam released the brakes in his wheelchair, turning to face the stairway as best he could.

He patiently waited for Xander to put down his cup and walk over to the lift attached to the wall besides the staircase. Xander pressed the 'start' button on top for the platform to lay parallel to the floor. While they waited for the lift to prepare itself, Adam reached around his waist for the seat belt built into the wheelchair. He clipped himself in just as the platform reached the floor. Xander looped around the wheelchair and pushed Adam onto the platform.

He then pressed 'set bar' next to the 'start' button for Adam to be securely in place on the platform. A large square-shaped metal rod encircled Adam on the platform, which then beeped when it was ready to be raised. Xander finally pressed the 'raise' button for Adam to go up the stairs.

Xander followed close behind as Adam slowly was taken up the short stairs to the second floor. They reached the top, with the machine beeping again to let them know it was done moving. They did the reverse of the steps taken for Adam to go up the stairs, so that he may move around the second floor on his own.

Kite, hearing the machine being used, braced for the worst. He shut his book and placed it on the table besides him. Shifting to watch the two other men turn off the machine right outside his open door, he saw Adam rolling himself into the room.

"Kite... is something wrong?" Adam gently asked, finding his way to Kite. Xander pushed the chair closer to the bed, facing Adam and Kite together.

Kite bit his lips, struggling to find a proper answer. He cursed Iza for her great idea to get Adam involved.

"You know how I feel about Vesta. I refuse to be stuck there for three months over some girl's Council Selection. She should have picked a noble instead of us." Kite buried his face in his hands, which hid his sorrowful expression from Xander. Adam, being able to hear the sounds of Kite's movements, hung his head low to face his thin legs hanging off the edge of the wheelchair.

"It may have been her family, but it's not her fault. She was as young as we were." Adam switched his tone from sad to happy, "Go have fun there and experience something new. You'll never have another chance like this. Tell me about it when you come back, alright?"

Kite ignored the older man for a minute. Adam paused to allow him time to think about what was said.

"Please leave. I want to be alone." Kite continued to keep his face buried in his hands, further crouching over into his lap.

Adam and Xander shrugged, both leaving defeated out of the room. They made their way back down to the rest of the household. Solice worriedly watched as the two returned to sipping their coffee, sighing in the same manner as Iza and Vance did.

After a few minutes of silence, the group heard shuffling and bags being dragged around the floor.

Kite had risen off his bed, finally removing his face from his hands. He drew in a long breath, exhaling it slowly. He grabbed the last of his clothes that were left on his desk by Owen the night before and placed them into the open bag. He zipped the bag shut, pulling it over his shoulders.

Walking over to the table besides his bed, he reached for a silver dog tag necklace next to the forgotten book. He flipped it over, the plate shining through. A word, dull from the years, was engraved onto the necklace. 'PERSEVERE' was marked into the shiny plate, it being matte compared to the rest of the piece.

Kite wrapped it around his neck, looking at it once more hanging off his chest.

Mom, Dad. I can't believe I'm going to Vesta. Thinking to himself, he shook his head at the thought of him caving into the idea that he was going to be around nobles for three months.

Grabbing the other bag on the floor, he closed off that one too. He shut the door behind him, walking down the stairs to his doom.

"KITE!" Everyone yelled as he became visible through the staircase opening.

He dropped his bags next to Xander's, joining the group at the table who had invited the silver-haired driver in.

"You're going to Vesta?" Xander hurriedly asked, impatient for the answer.

"I'm going to Vesta." Kite replied.