A week before the official opening day, things were a bit busier than before. Valeriana was starting to feel the urgency in her training and, fact was, she wasn't feeling any progress with herself. On the other hand, the Twelve seemed calm and didn't seem to be in any sort of distress.
Valeriana was dissatisfied, though. She could not help but feel this way. The band practice was coming together smoothly, to her relief. Their teamwork was astounding.
"Valeriana." Seraphina's face was fair and elated as she called out her name.
As she came around for her usual morning practice, the woman seemed to be in a far better mood. Her aura was light and calm.
"I have brought good news."
"What is it?" Valeriana asked, a smile coming to her lips automatically.
"Prince Bertram is in a far better condition now. His hair has faded back into its usual color. Even his eyes!" She exclaimed, her grin widening. "These are outstanding results! If we continue this way, he will eventually revert back to his original state."
"T-that's great news!" She replied, a rush of happiness coursing through her body.
She finally did one thing useful.
However, realization dawned on her.
"He . . . didn't need purifying?" Valeriana asked in wonder. "I was so sure that I had to . . ."
Seraphina wasn't as concerned, oblivious to the rest of the dilemma she was in. Now that she thought about it, the lady knight never said anything about the accursed mark she had under her gloves.
"I am not sure, but this is a very good progress. He asked if he could meet with you."
"When?"
"When you are free. He would like you to check him."
Valeriana started laughing. "I feel like some kind of doctor."
"Isn't that an appropriate term for someone who cures the infection?" Her guardian raised a brow at this, her eyes joking.
The girl went still.
She then remembered Cifaro. If she only knew earlier she could do the purification without unnecessarily sacrificing a piece of her life everytime, she would've been able to help the beast without him having to die.
However, this was when the questions came in.
How could she have taken the parasites out of those beasts when she didn't even have as much information as she had now? Could she have even helped him with the way she was now?
"Valeriana? Are you alright?"
She looked up, shaking herself out of the river of thoughts she had sunk in. "Yeah . . . just thought of something."
"Now, then, shall we proceed with the training?"
"About that, Lady Seraphina." She said. "I figured I've been bothering you a lot when you could've been taking the time off."
"Nonsense. I spend my time as I want to. I do enjoy teaching you." Her kind smile made her seem like a saint in Valeriana's point-of-view. "The rest are spent on nothing but searching for answers. It is tiring." She then sighed. "The king would like to meet you again, by the way. He was curious who had been able to help his son out of his dilemma."
Valeriana's lips twisted into a cheesy smile, her heart jumping with anxiety. "That's really . . ."
"Bertram refuses to tell your name, that stubborn child. He wishes for you to introduce yourself, if you even want to. His mouth has been sewn shut."
"Um . . ." Her hesitation was palpable in her eyes.
Should she even come out like this? When she didn't even know much about this ability?
Valeriana realized one thing.
This ability was a double-edged sword. A double-headed viper. While she cut off the darkness in others, her life is also cut as much.
This undeveloped method that cured the infection might not be applicable to everyone. It might not be able to work on full-fledged demons.
If she used it without knowing too well about it first, there was a risk she would do something wrong along the way. It might cost the life of others, or worst, her very own.
"You can think it through. His Majesty will not go against your wishes. Just tell me when you are ready and I shall pass on the word."
"I'll think about it."
"Alright then, with that out of the way, we should seriously start with the training now." Seraphina moved forward and angled her sword properly before taking a fighting stance.
"I have one more question."
"What is it?" Her form slackened.
"Lord Aeron hasn't been coming around as of late, which is very strange." She said. "You haven't seen him, have you?"
"Ah, that man." Seraphina sighed, a crease appearing between her brows. "I have almost forgotten, so I thank you for reminding me. I was so excited about bringing the news . . ."
Her guardian then reached into one of her pockets and brought out a small box about the size and length of her thumb. It had a velvet casing and was firm and sturdy when it landed on Valeriana's palm.
"He asked me to give this to you and that he excuses himself as he cannot afford to drop by for a while. His work, he says, is demanding."
Valeriana felt a frown on her face at this. "He was always busy but he never missed to visit every now and then!" She exclaimed. "He just probably doesn't want to because of me!"
"I think he meant it this time." The lady knight was serious and her eyes spoke of no lies. "Open it."
Valeriana did as instructed and opened the small box. She was greeted by an object she never thought she would see ever again.
"The necklace." Her eyes went wide.
It surely brought back memories.
"He suspects that you are a half-blood so he had the necklace fixed and enchanted with some sort of . . . protection. Half-bloods are dangerously unstable." Seraphina explained, her eyes narrowing. "So there is a chance that you are in danger of losing your sanity should you ever overexceed using your gift."
"I don't understand." She gazed at the pendant and traced the smooth lines. "Half-bloods?"
"It is a child born of a human and a Valemnian." Said Seraphina, her sword lowering as she focused on getting what she meant across. "Let us put it this way. Humans are not used to the power pressure Valemnia has, so they crumble to ashes. The ability to wield a power control runs in the blood of us Valemnians. Should it exist in human body, the reactions will be unimaginable."
Her imagination worked out the image, making her mouth form an 'O'.
"Half-bloods hang on a delicate balance. They cannot be too human or too Valemnian. Should they be too human, the power will consume them and they'll die. However, if they are too Valemnian, they go mad as they are unable to control the power. I only relay to you what I already know."
After knowing she had this sort of ability, Valeriana was faced with another dilemma. How and why was her life so full of complications? This time, she would not only die from purifying too much but also using her ability too much. How strict was her limit?
"That necklace will serve as a suppressant that keeps your power in check. The lord has it given to you because you drastically needed it."
"If I'm a half-blood . . . then why haven't I discovered I had this sort of ability before? And if it is how you say it is, then why am I still alive?"
The frustration was starting to get to her.
"Your bracelet." Seraphina replied. "You say your father gave this to you during your fifth birthday and you had it on until now. It might've been your suppressant that keeps both sides in perfect balance."
With the ornament brought up for discussion, the presence of her accessory grew more significant.
It truly kept on surprising her.
"I'm sorry . . ." She trailed off. "C-can we please set aside the training for now?"
Her forehead throbbed a dull pain that made black dots appear in her vision. This was a dangerous symptom of an upcoming headache that might actually be a sign of shock.
If she wasn't careful, she might faint.
"I understand. Are you feeling unwell?"
"It's just a little headache." She retorted. "I'm really sorry, Lady Seraphina."
"It's fine. We've been at this for a week now. I know how stressing it might have been for you. Take your much needed rest and call me if you want to resume. For the mean time, go back to the residences. Do also watch out, the montly package from your family will arrive."
"Thank you."
A bit ashamed for having to end things like this, she rushed back to her room to find some time alone with no outside disturbances. She needed to think.
Some might see it as a bit overdramatic, but the pressure of the answers she had been getting lately was pushing down on her a bit too much.
No wonder the constant 'You aren't ready' she had been hearing.
Half-bloods? How ridiculous!
This made her doubt the identity of her father all the more. He was the one suspicious around here.
Wouldn't it be too much for someone to know their lives were at stake with the littlest bit of mistake? Overusing the ability or helping out too much . . . could she even do anything at all with these limitations?
How would she be even able to enjoy helping out when the price she had to pay was with her life? As selfish as that sounded.
There's a reason why your father did not tell you.
Was this it? Was this the reason why Janus did not tell her, or Jareth, anything?
Climbing on top of her bed, she sprawled out on it wearily as a sigh escaped through her lips. She gazed at the ceiling and silently thought about the trials she had been going through lately.
What were those stupid Valemnian gods of theirs doing?
Did they enjoy making her feel like this? Why did fate toy with her so much?
Wait a moment.
Jareth.
Good lords!
Her stupid, sweets-freak brother was the same and she only realized it. As annoying as he was, it was a sure thing he was in the same kind of dilemma.
However, perhaps it would be better if he didn't know anything. Valemnia was too chaotic to involve him in it already.
He wouldn't want to be bothered like this. He loved his video games after all.
Jareth. Mom. Earth. Boston.
She sighed again and relaxed the muscles around her face.
Her fingers traveled down her neck to reach into her shirt, pulling out the key to the tomb of the First King. It had been with her for a while now.
Perhaps Courtney was the one who took care of it before?
The others had their own keys to watch over and they sure did make a good job of making their hiding places inconspicuous to others.
It was the highest of all protocols. 'Do not let any other person, not even the Twelve, touch this key.'
She traced the smooth and sharp curves that made up its shape, the deliberate patterns on its surface.
Light hit it, blinding her slightly but drawing her attention to the smallest engraved letters on the shaft.
'Signos.' It said.
She sat up in wonder. This had been with her for so long yet she only noticed this now. She refused to take it out too often as she could not risk having the others see it.
This could mean something, right? If this came from the ancient language of Valemnia, it must have a translation.
Powered by the urge to find out what it meant, Valeriana stood up and ran out of her bedroom.
She practically flew down the stairs at this. The girl gazed down at the flick of her ankles as she trecked the steps down and saw the tip of someone's shoes ahead.
Stopping, she looked up and met a pair of emerald eyes.
"Why in such a hurry?" He asked, brushing back a strand of his hair and breathing out loudly. His skin glistened with wetness and his clothes were soaked.
He smelled of sweat and something different. It was his own, unique scent that he carried around--musky with a hint of crushed mint.
She hadn't paid much attention to it before, but she did notice it.
"I was headed to the library to borrow a book for . . . um, translation."
Why did she have to say too much? Just borrowing a book would've been fine.
"Of what language?" He weaved past her.
"The Ancient Language."
Corvan turned to her with a smirk, as though she was some sort of idiot. "Those books need a level C clearance card given only to fourth years. Without it, you will be unsuccessful in that attempt."
Oh, right.
Stupid her.
She wasn't going to say that aloud though.
"I have something better." He added.
"Oh?"
"Do you not have training with Lady Seraphina? It would be rude to keep her waiting."
"I kinda asked if we could stop for today." She answered, examining the littlest dirt on her shoes. "There were some things I had to look over."
"More important than training for your fight with me?"
Ooh. Touchè for the first time, dude. Touchè.
NOT.
"Excuse me?" She cocked her hips, pulled out her sass, and got ready to argue with him. "Do you think that fight is on top of my priority list right now? In case you don't know, you idiot devil, I have other things I have to be busy with and that's not only my fight with you! Besides! You can shove it down your throat for all I care, I'm not interested in your position!"
Surprisingly, his ephemeral temper was nowhere to be seen that moment.
"You talk too much, stupid wench." He bit at her. "I only asked one question."
"You should be happy I explained that much, jerk." She stuck out her tongue at him. "You're only listening."
"Well, most of what you said had been unnecessary information. I was not interested in hearing them."
"I say what I want to say. You can't stop me."
They glared at each other.
Corvan clenched his jaw, holding back himself to prevent their further exchange of insults.
"If you are ever interested in seeing that book, you will stop at once, meine cerielle."
"Mine what?"
A victorious smile pulled on his lips.
"Antuigo vu seil del ouigo en, meine cerielle." The words spilled from his mouth like a fountain of gibberish. "Valeriana vu tilo."
Oh really now?
"Atashi atashi, moshi moshi! Ihola! Assalam alaikum! ¡cómo te atreves!" She spat out the entire dictionary of foreign words she knew. "Bon appetit! I ain't gonna put up with yuh crap!"
Corvan gave her a raised brow.
"Whaddaya say, ya loser?!" She screamed at him. "Namaste! I got friends from different countries and they all taught me something! Mabuhay! You think you're the only one who knows another language? Huh? Bonjour! Bring it on!"
"Your insolence is astounding." Corvan turned away. "If you no longer have any words you can think of, perhaps you can think about following me."
"Haha!" Valeriana cackled. "Can't handle it? Adios! Adieu! Paalam!"