CHAPTER 136: THE MORNING AFTER

The morning came, and with it, a gentle, soft light that filtered through the window, painting the sterile, white room in a warm, golden glow. Eirin’s eyes fluttered open, a slow, gentle awakening that was a contrast to the chaotic, terrifying night before. Her body, though still heavy with exhaustion, felt rested, a peaceful stillness that had been missing for so long. She turned her head, expecting to see a dark, intense gaze meeting hers, but she was all alone in the room.

The space beside her was empty, a cold, vast emptiness that was an opposite to the warmth she had felt just hours before.

Eirin brushed the bed with her palm, her fingers a slow, tracing motion against the white sheet, and it was cold. It must have been long since Shade had left. Eirin’s face, a slow, beautiful red, heated up as the embarrassing memories of last night came flooding back to her in a single, painful wave. She slammed her face into the soft, white pillow, muffling a frustrated, helpless scream.

"Why did I do that? How could I do something like that? Why did I pull him close? Why did I ask him to hold me?"

Eirin kicked her feet in the air, a wild, frantic motion, and tossed around the bed as if she were going crazy with all the intimate memories of last night coming back to her. She curled into a small, fetal position, hugging the soft, white pillow to her chest, trying to make the fluttering feeling of her emotions go away.

"Why did he act like that? Why was he so... so... sweet?"

The door opened, a gentle, soft creak that was a jarring interruption to her feverish, emotional spiral, causing Eirin to sit back straight, her body a tight, coiled spring of tension. Her hair, a wild, chaotic mess of brown, was tangled and disheveled, and her face was a fiery red. She looked like a wild, untamed thing, a beautiful mess of confusion and embarrassment.

"Ei! You’re awake already?"

Coleen entered the room, her bright, purple hair a vivid splash of color in the white, sterile room, followed by Link, his soft, pink hair a gentle, quiet light. They greeted Eirin with warm, genuine smiles, a comforting sight that was a balm to her soul. Coleen, with a sudden, joyous motion, immediately hugged the teenage girl, her embrace a warm comforting anchor, not seeing how red Eirin looked, a fact that Eirin was thankful for.

"How are you feeling?"

Eirin turned to Link, her gaze meeting his, and she saw relief filling his sea-green eyes.

"I’m feeling fine after all that rest. How about you guys? I heard you went after me."

Link, with a gentle, reassuring motion, ruffled Eirin’s hair, a soft, intimate gesture of affection. "It was fine. Shade did all the work anyway," he said with that gentle smile plastered on his face. "Did you meet him yesterday? I heard he escaped yesterday."

Eirin flinched after hearing that, a small, involuntary twitch of her body. Her entire body heated up at the mention of Shade, a blush that spread from her neck to her cheeks. Coleen, her gaze sharp and observant, noticed the sudden change in Eirin.

"Did something happen, Ei? Why are you blushing?" Coleen asked, her voice a low, teasing whisper, her eyes a mischievous, curious light.

Eirin, her face a fiery, red mask of embarrassment, immediately shook her head, her body a frantic, panicked mess. "N-Nothing! Nothing happened. Why would you even ask that?"

Coleen, with a teasing, playful motion, pulled Eirin’s arm, her voice a low, serious murmur. "That guy made a mess yesterday night, breaking out of his prison cell just to go to out, only to come back on his prison cell as if nothing happened."

Link nodded, his smile fading into a soft, sorrowful line as he sighed. "Ms. Hockenbury was enraged after learning of what happened. She called an emergency meeting of the elders. Now they’re deciding what to do with Shade."

Eirin’s face turned pale, the color of fresh, white snow, as her eyes widened with a gut-wrenching dread. "W-What will happen to him? He did come back, though. Shouldn’t that make his penalty a little lighter? What will they do to him? Will they... will they send him away?"

Coleen, with a gentle, reassuring motion, rubbed Eirin’s back, her touch a warm, comforting anchor. "It’s okay, Ei. They wouldn’t be able to do something bad to Shade. Miss Jenkins is here too, so there’s someone that would defend him."

Eirin’s mind, a disorganized chaos of emotions, was a mess. "Even though he almost died before?" The memory of her encounter with Shade back then, he was covered with blood and he was still wary of her

Coleen and Link looked at each other, their faces an unreadable mask. "You might not know this but Shade has strong regenerative power," Link said. "He can heal from almost anything. It’s a part of his bloodline."

"That doesn’t make him immortal, though."

Eirin’s voice a low, hostile whisper, her eyes now filled with a fiery, protective light. The two noticed the sudden hostility in Eirin’s voice, and Eirin noticed how the two became quiet after what she said, their faces stunned.

"I’m sorry. It’s just... he went here yesterday, and I think it’s all my fault that he’s going to be punished right now."

Coleen, with a gentle, loving motion, pinched Eirin’s cheek and made her look at her. She was pouting, her winter gray eyes filled with sadness as she stared at Eirin.

"Don’t blame yourself, Ei. None of this is your fault. Shade did it because he wanted to, and it’s not like he did something wrong either. Ms. Hockenbury just hates his guts. It doesn’t matter what he does, she’ll always find something to point out. It’s a sad situation that has been repeating for years."

Link nodded, a soft, smile on his lips. "And it’s not like the elders would let such a thing happen. Queen Regina is also there to defend him when the time comes. Most probably they’ll send him on another mission with the Black Star."

"Black Star? I feel like I’ve heard that name before."

Coleen rested her chin on Eirin’s bed and said, "It’s a famous group despite being forced to work in the shadows of the academy. Naya’s a member too. You could say they’re an elite task force that handles the most dangerous, most difficult missions. The kind of mission that would make a sane person run away screaming."

"They’re doing the most difficult tasks or missions, often requested by noblemen," Link said as he pulled a chair near Eirin’s bed. "Trix would have been a member too only if he wasn’t a Duke’s son and heir. His parent’s wouldn’t let him be part of such dangerous thing."

Eirin’s forehead creased. "What’s the requirement to be a member then?"

Silence filled the room. Link was hesitant to answer, his eyes an unreadable light, and Coleen was conflicted as well, her beautiful winter gray eyes a sad, sorrowful light, but she decided she didn’t want to hide anything to her friend anymore.

"The members have already killed someone before, Ei. That’s the requirement."

Eirin’s forehead creased. "You mean, they already killed a person before? A human?"

The thought of the beautiful, gentle woman, Naya Oswin, killing someone before didn’t sit well with Eirin. It was a terrifying image that was completely at odds with the kind, loving, and elegant girl she had come to know.

"Yup. Since their missions are often darker than the shadows, they must have no fear of dying. Every mission they must be ready to lose their life. They are, in a sense, living weapons."

Those words left Eirin dumbfounded. How could that be? Why would the academy, an institution of learning, let their students go through such hideous things?

"You must be wondering why the academy would let such young students go through something like that," Link said.

Eirin turned to Link, a look of shock on her face, as if he had read her mind. Link, seeing the confusion in her eyes, can already imagine what went through Eirin’s head, and he can’t blame her for it.

"I know, it sounds dangerous, but it’s been that way since the very beginning. It was worst actually, before Madam Eleanor Luxfield took over."

Eirin balled her fists at the mention of her grandmother, her only family, a woman she was now realizing she knew nothing about. There’s seems to be a lot of things she doesn’t know about herself, and about her grandmother.

"As you know, everyone is welcome to be a student of Senerra Academy as long as they have mana or Flair," Link said. "Before Madam Eleanor took over, the Senerra Academy was exclusive only for the noble children of the Kingdom of Næra. Foreigners like me, and commoners, weren’t allowed to set foot in that place. The school was a breeding ground for arrogance and cruelty. It was a world of devastating privilege."