"The Void Wears A Crown Of Forget-Me-Nots"

Chapter 2: He Girlboss A Bit Too Close To The Sun

For a moment the banging stopped as the lock opened with a click.

Then, before either of them could do anything, the door was thrown open and a woman walked in.

The woman looked at them, her black hair falling in waves as she glared at Xelqua, then narrowed her eyes at Sitrust.

She seemed to mark Zera as her target as she roughly grabbed the black-haired boy by the arm. "Did you really think you could get away with stealing food?" she growled as she began to drag him out.

The golden-haired child watched in horror as Zera looked at him helplessly.

Xelqua didn't know what he was going to do - but once again something overrode all common sense, and he found his words as strong as his sword,

"It was me," Xelqua said dully, even though he felt his insides turning in a need to protect his first and only friend.

Zezy was staring at him in astonishment as her eyes shifted towards him, watching him with a humorous repulsion.

The Watcher threw Zera's arm down and grabbed Xelqua instead, "So you're the thief then," she said, a cruel smile forming as they yanked him forward, pulling him off of his feet in the process.

Xelqua barely managed to keep upright as they dragged him out of the room. "You shall see what the punishment is for thieves, then." the woman growled as she slammed the door shut behind them.

They dragged him through the halls and to... 'The sparring room?' The woman kicked the door open as she dragged Xelqua roughly into a separate room, and into an entrance that he hadn't even seen before.

"ZAIANUORA!" she screamed as they kicked another door down.

Zaianu looked up with wide eyes at the screaming Watcher, their eyes moved over to Xelqua, then shifted back to her.

"What's the meaning of this, Qeptrxyia?" Zaianu asked, taking a step back as their eyes fell back onto Xelqua once again.

"This,-" she spat, throwing Xelqua to the floor. He barely managed to catch himself from falling face first. "- I just caught this little thief stealing food!"

Xelqua winced, his head spinning as he tried to focus on what was happening.

Zaianu watched Xelqua with wide eyes for a moment. Xelqua looked back up at them, his eyes unfocused as his vision blurred.

His favorite teacher swallowed ruffly, Zaianu's eyes flashing with... something akin to betrayal, before they tore their gaze away from Xelqua.

When Xelqua ran out of strength to look up, his breath caught, and he forced himself not to cry while his gaze fell to the ground.

"Oh..." Zaianu's soft voice echoed through the room like a gunshot.

"Is that all you can say? You-..."

Xelqua closed his eyes as his head began to spin.

"Xelqua, As... as you know," Zaianu's voice was shaking, they took a deep breath as they steadied themselves, "As you know, you cannot go unpunished for this."

Xelqua looked up at them, but Zaianu refused to meet his eyes.

"You will receive 10 lashes on your forearm," Zaianu said quietly.

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Xelqua's body swayed.

Absent-mindedly, he pulled up his left sleeve and held his arm out with his vital artery facing down, exactly as he had been told to before.