joy: book one: the blooming.

record XVI: theory//saudade.

  "I can't believe you did this!" exclaimed Yasha. She paced back and forth in Evangelique's room, her hands nervously holding onto her side.

  The night was passing onward, flying into to the early morning. Eva could feel her eyes become heavier. However, sleep was no option for her at the moment. She had to deal with Yasha, first.

  "Look, I have nothing against the Lieutenants," declared Yasha. "But you're still new here. You haven't even finished your training for teaching!"

  Yasha sighed strenuously as her right hand brushed through her short, curly teal hair.

  "I mean, are you sure you can handle this?" asked Yasha. You came to Mumei to become a teacher. What about that?"

  Eva fiddled with her golden camellia. Her body began to feel deprived of a soft warmth that she knew as her bed.

  "Hey," called Yasha. "Are you listening?"
  "My mother was a teacher," replied Eva softly. "She loved teaching others about the flowers and plants around us. Ever since I was a child, I have followed after her footsteps, wanting to never forget her by being just like her. So, I applied for a teaching position here in Mumei with Aleithia Mission Organization, and I moved here, so I could teach children about the plants and flowers of this world, just like my mother."

  A soft yawn made its way out of her mouth.

  "I still can be a teacher, just like her...and I even though it originally wasn't a part of my plan, I need to be a Lieutenant now as well," said Eva sleepily. "I can't explain it now, but I promise I will tomorrow. I mean that."

  She looked at Yasha drowsily and smiled gently.

  "So please...until then, wait," asked Eva. "Keep this a secret..."

  Her head began to nod off. Yasha sat next to Eva, right on her bed. She held Eva up carefully, hoping she wouldn't fall.

  "Fine," mumbled Yasha.
  "Thank you," replied Eva quietly. "And...another thing."
  "Hmm?"
  "Don't...let Brother Augustine know."

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  The next day, Evangelique woke in the early afternoon. Yasha covered for her, telling the others hadn't been getting a good sleep due to the nervousness she felt when she thought about teaching.
  As payment for her good deed and as a fulfillment to her promise, Evangelique told Yasha about her decision to become a Lieutenant.
  To her surprise, Yasha took the information kindly and even encouraged her. By the end of the conversation, Yasha promised that she would not let another soul find out her secret.

  With a happy heart, Evangelique soon parted from Yasha's presence to meet up with Tsubaki, who had made plans to meet with her the night before. To her surprise, no one at the university was suspicious of her encounters with Tsubaki. Not even Augustine.

  Perhaps, thought Eva, this was the way Headmaster Rowan protected her secret.
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  Gandill Boardwalk was as beautiful as usual, with vivid green vines of ivy growing from out of the snow. They wrapped themselves around the bars of the boardwalk, letting evidence of life come through in the form of purple blossoms.

  Evangelique gazed into the blue scenery of the ocean. It was vast in size, bold in color, and brilliant in sight. She couldn't tell where it ended and didn't want to think it did.

  "So, now that you have become a Lieutenant, I can tell you more about what we have been facing in Mumei," said Tsubaki. He stood alert and civil.
  "I had been wondering about that," replied Eva. "I mean, the incident at the tavern was quite random, after all."
  "Quite the contrary, madame," stated Tsubaki. "Recently, we have found many incidents connect to what occurred at the tavern."
  "How so?"
  "Every criminal we have found claims they loathe the Lieutenants for some reason or another."
  "But...that's a rather common thing to find in the criminal's Lieutenants catch, right?"
  "Correct. However, these criminals are obsessed. Everything they say sounds the same as the other criminals before them."