Orison | Celeste Academy Series BK #3

Chapter Forty-Four ۞ The Talk

Lord Aeron.

Whether to die trying, she would not let him get away from her this time. She wanted answers and the need for them was growing as the sands of time trickled.

She scanned the crowd, her sensitivity to auras and presences flooding her senses. Within moments, her eyes automatically landed on a familiar figure. That scheming man was trying to blend in, walking away casually as though everything was normal. Her feet shuffled forward instinctively and she pushed herself, leaping for her prey without wasting a precious second.

"Lord Aeron!" She exclaimed and tackled the Court Leader, making him yelp as they both fell over.

People automatically parted, gasps ringing as they watched the girl and the man.

"Alright! Goodness me, let me go now!"

She wrestled with him, pressing down on his arms as she twisted them on his back. He had his cheek against the dirt with a weary look on his face.

"No!" Valeriana firmly exclaimed. "I want answers and I want them now! What do you know about Garvyn Vernados Edgar?"

"Garvyn . . . ?"

She tightened and twisted his fingers, making him howl. "Answer me straight! You promised me you would answer and you ran away!"

"That's not--stop this at once now, Valeriana! I am not a fugitive you should straddle in this manner!" He yelled out, groaning and grunting from the uncomfortable position.

"Give me your word, Lord Aeron. Then, I will let you go." The dangerous edge to her voice earned a sigh from the man.

"Alright, I will tell you what I know. Don't twist my bones too much, they're not that strong as they were before." He agreed at last.

"Thank you."

She got off of him but kept a firm grip on his wrist. Aeron fixed his appearance but could not totally remove the dirt marring his cheeks and the ones caked in his hair. He gave a look to Valeriana, one which said that he was being forced into something he did not like.

"Bring me to tea, dear, will you?"

Valeriana gladly took him to the dinner hall and watched him sip on his cup of tea, looking wildly disheveled the girl felt somewhat guilty knowing it was her doing. It might be a show of disrespect at some point but it was not something she could've avoided.

The slow music was prevalent and they stuck out like sore thumb. With Valeriana clad in the special uniform made solely for her and Lord Aeron's unprecedented presence heavy.

"I'm sorry. This one's on me." She told him.

"You must be forgetting I provide your stipend." He corrected.

"Oh, yeah."

There was an awkward pause.

"Can you please give me the answers I need?"

"Firstly," he put the teacup and saucer back onto the table and eyed the girl, his hands raking through the ash-blond hair to take out a crumb of dirt. "You must be aware of the reason for my long absence. I, myself, had been in search for several pieces of the puzzle I could put together. I have gone back to Earth."

The revelation made Valeriana's eyes widen. "You went back to Earth? Where? Is it Boston?"

"Yes, precisely. I have investigated the backgrounds of your father. He was an investigative journalist specializing in crimes and controversial murders, it was not quite an easy job to stomach." He had his hands laced, resting on his lap. "Yes, I was aware your father's real identity was Garvyn, and I had an inkling right from the start."