Draeyer Academy (First Ver.)

Chapter 43-Tied

Draeyer Academy
Drae Skyland
Northeastern Space

Areisha froze over before she told herself to relax. She took a deep breath and met the headmaster's smiling grey eyes. They were going to get punished, which was something they deserved for the damage they caused.

"Using your Flames outside the classroom is forbidden unless with permission from your professors. And using it to inflict harm and damage warrants something more than detention," the old man said.

"He," Areisha pointed at Alec, "was the one who used his Flame first. I only used mine as an act of self-defense." She narrowed her eyes at Alec who only gave a blank face at her finger.

Donovan nodded softly. "I am aware, Areisha. And that is the reason why Alec is getting the penalty," he said. "As for you, you were the first to attack him. And may I remind you that during that time you were still under probation after you did the same to a few of your seniors."

"They we're perverts, Headmaster!"

"But it didn't mean that you had to put my Academy's laws in your hands by ramming them to a wall!" the headmaster said. "It ruined their faces!"

"Personally, their already ruined faces marred the wall."

Two audible sighs came from Gael and Donovan, while Kreis' chuckles fought their way out of his closed mouth. She glanced at Alec from the corner of her eyes and noticed him shifting a foot away from her. His face remained void of any emotion though.

The old man massaged his forehead and muttered something along the lines of "I'm getting too old for this." He sighed yet again, before motioning them both to sit on the white chairs in front of his desk. She did so with an angry huff, while Alec did the opposite with his silence.

"Raise one of your hands," Donovan said. "Alec, raise your left, while Areisha your right."

They obeyed. The moment they did, Kreis came up behind them with his sinister grin back on his face. With lightning fast hands, he grasped their wrists and she soon felt the presence of a soft fabric. When he removed his hands, she saw white bands wrapped around their wrists. One of her brows rose at it, before she heard the old man speak.

"Connect."

Faint thick lights shot from each of the fabrics around their wrists and locked together. As the lights vanished, a metal chain took its place, sagging to the floor between them. They bolted out of their seats together when they realized what happened and what would be happening. However the meter-long link of metals prevented them from moving away from each other. Contrary to the size, the chain weighed almost nothing, but still durable.

"Headmaster, what is the meaning of this!" Areisha said. She tried to pry the band off her wrist but it felt like her own skin under her touch. Her gaze trailed the length of it until she looked up at Alec who stared at the chain with wide eyes.

"Bloody Blazen," he cussed with a frown.

Bloody Blazen indeed, she thought as she met his gaze with a glare.

"You'll be chained together for ten hours every day for the next two months," he said. "Camaraderie is valued in this institution and as much as possible I want to avoid any feuds that could cause harm to the people here and the property."

"And what better way to do that than to tie two people together who will eventually kill each other!" Areisha yelled out with her voice dripping with sarcasm. "How will being chained develop this so called 'camaraderie'?"

Donovan's eyes sharpened and froze her on her spot. "There's a limit to how much disrespect I can take, Ms. Roselintine. So I suggest you shut your mouth and let me finish." She slowly nodded and lowered her head in apology. "After your classes, you will report to a staff and they will give you certain chores or tasks to accomplish...together. You need this so called camaraderie to accomplish your task with teamwork, or else I'll be forced to extend this punishment until you two get the meaning of that.

"Your schedules have been fixed and your professors are already informed. Alec, you will be joining Areisha in the two extra subjects she has taken, but you don't have to participate in the activities since it doesn't warrant you any credit. I, your professors, and your dorm leader, are the only ones cable of disconnecting and reconnecting the chain. So approach them if need be so there's nothing to worry about relieving yourselves and changing clothes for Combat and Weaponry classes."

Areisha's jaw had fallen open when he was half-way through with his instructions. She couldn't believe what was happening, was actually happening. Her attention turned to Alec and saw him staring at the headmaster with small frown on his face. All of a sudden a "tsk" sound escaped his mouth while he crossed his exposed arms over his chest. She looked away from his flexing muscles before her mind could wander to a territory she wasn't fond of.

"You're awfully quiet, Alec? Don't you have anything to say?" Donovan asked.

"I respect you Headmaster. And my brother taught me that if I don't have anything nice to say to people who are older than me, then I should just shut up," he said. "I see your point in punishing us this way, but I am sure that after this, you will not see the results you wish to see."

Kreis' laughter filled the room. They turned to him and watched as he leaned back on the wall with his shoulder's shaking. He reached over to Gael and draped an arm over his shoulders.

"Careful, kid," he said, "you might end up eating your words, the same way Gael did with his."

"What do you mean?"

The Ryder grinned, before nudging Gael to speak. "Come on don't tell me you still think about it as one of your most terrible memories." Gael sighed and shrugged his hands off, refusing to speak. Kreis rolled his eyes and spoke in his place. "Remember that I said Gael and I were punished during our days here?"

Alec nodded.

"Well, the ordeal the both of you are about to undergo, was the same thing as the one we went through," he said. "That then led to the current friendship we now have. Our situation then was much worse than the both of yours, so I have no doubt that the end result would be the same."

There was a silence which would've probably caused Areisha's ears to bleed. Her gaze flitted back to Alec and they locked eyes. Then, from the deepest parts of their diaphragm they yelled.

"Bloody Blazen!" they said. "There's no way...." Their eyes grew big when they realized they copied each other. Their eyes narrowed in to slits at once. Their intense staring contest dragged on, this time none willing to break away. However, the headmaster had other ideas.

"If the both of you want to avoid majority of the students from seeing you like that until tomorrow, I suggest you leave now before the next bell rings," he said. "Now shoo!"

Areisha felt a tug on the chain, and she stumbled as Alec dragged her along on his way to the door. She righted herself and kept up with his pace, only to pause when the headmaster spoke.

"Before I forget, tomorrow after class, you will report to Professor Gravis for you chore. But before you meet him, Professor Cynn wishes to speak to the both of you about something," he said.

"About what Headmaster?" Areisha asked. The old man shook his head and gave her a small grin.

"It's something regarding your Flames. You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out."

She turned to the door when Alec opened it. When they were about to leave, they stopped yet again to face the old man.

"Professor Gravis would be giving you your reward for topping the quarterly examinations in your year," he said. "Congratulations on being...tied." The headmaster and Kreis burst in to laughs at the former's words.

Areisha, Alec, and Gael were the only ones to shake their heads. Without any further interruptions, they stepped out into the grey hallways and shut the door behind them.

"It was a terrible pun," Alec said with annoyance lining his voice.

"That," she said as they walked, "is something that I can agree with you."

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Double updates! Thank you guys. I got so inspired I wrote like crazy, so I'm sure there are errors.