Draeyer Academy
Drae Skyland
Northeastern Space
The doors slammed open with a bang.
Alec, who was reading while walking down the red-carpeted stairs, dropped his book as he jerked in surprise. He almost slipped, but his hand grabbed onto the banister before it could happen. Once he steadied himself, he looked to the direction of the entrance to find Solana and Areisha. One of his brows rose when he saw their normally clean selves caked in mud and dirt from head to foot. He grimaced when he thought of Solana's reaction once she sees herself in the mirror. He had experienced seeing it once, and he contented himself with that.
I better brace my ears, he thought.
"What in Kosmos' name happened to you both?" Knox yelled. Alec stiffened again when he heard his voice from above him. Annoyance coursed through his body, and he yelled, stopping whatever words Solana had to say to her brother.
"Stop popping up like mushrooms, for Kosmos' sake!" he said. "Bloody Blazen, I still have a pitiful life to live, and I don't want to die because of a heart attack!"
"It's not our fault you're jumpy!" Areisha spat.
"I wasn't talking to you, Roselintine!"
Silence followed after that and she inevitably narrowed her eyes and sent dagger glares on his way. He ignored her, and bent to pick up his red book. He continued walking down the stairs, his anger and annoyance diminishing with each step. Although the present frown on his face gave no indication of it happening. He slammed the book down on the center table and sat on the green single couch which Areisha usually occupied.
He watched as Knox threaded down the stairs with quiet steps and wary looks to his direction. Moments later, he stood in the common area, with one of his fisted hands on his hips.
"Where have you two been? I expected that you'd follow the rules and be here in two hours after classes ended. Yet you've been gone for four hours!" he said. "I knew this could happen with Solana, but Areisha..." he trailed off when his voice started rising. He pinched the bridge of his nose and Alec could hear him counting to ten. Once he calmed down, he looked up at Solana with worry clear in his grey eyes.
He rushed forward and threw his arms around his twin, uncaring of the filth covering her. Solana wasted no time in returning the embrace, burying her face in her brother's neck.
Alec smiled at that thought, and found himself longing to feel his own sibling's arms around him. He sighed at his ridiculous thoughts. When refocused his attention, he found Areisha staring at him with knit brows. Knox's voice stopped him from raising a brow at the brunette in question.
"I could feel your distress, Lana," he said. "Kosmos you had me so worried, you know that!"
Solana only sighed as she pulled away from him. She looked down at her once white uniform and cringed when she saw Knox's blue clothes dirtied from their embrace.
"One of the unnerving mysteries of having a twin," she said. "It's really unfathomable how we can feel each other's emotions when we're apart during dire situations."
"Dire situations?" Knox yelled. His nostrils flared as he frowned at his sister. He shifted his gaze to Areisha, and spoke.
"What exactly did you go through?" he said. "And by what Solana said, on what level of 'dire' was it."
Areisha kept her silence. Alec saw the way Solana was widening her eyes at her when Knox wasn't looking. He sighed and rubbed the creases which formed between his brows.
"She," the brunette paused, "had to use her Flame."
With his brows meeting in the middle again, Alec watched as Knox's face morphed from anger to a frown of concern. He placed his hands on Solana's shoulders and looked her up and down, as if trying to find any injuries.
"Does it hurt anywhere? Did you bleed this time?"he said. He continued to fire questions at Solana, who in return started narrowing her gaze at her brother in annoyance.
"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just exhausted." Knox took a deep breath as he stepped away from her. He ran a hand through his short dark hair and sighed.
"We'll discuss this here after dinner," he said.
―――
Once they appeased their stomachs from the long and tiring day, Alec and his fellow Sentires took the liberty of occupying the many seats in the lounge. Knox insisted that the discussion was only for him and the two girls, but River, Ceiver, and he stayed. He laid down on the red loveseat, since he was the only occupant. Entiny climbed onto the seat as well, and curled on top of his chest. Midnight and Leyan frolicked and wrestled each other by the door, along with the other Draelings.
"Now, could you tell me where the two of you have been?" Knox said.
Solana and Areisha locked eyes. The former, seemed to be nudging Areisha with her leg. The brunette sent Solana a glare before taking something out from the back pocket of her grey shorts. Alec quirked a brow when he saw it was nothing but a piece of dirty old cloth. But the impression vanished when Knox unfolded and laid it out on the low table.
He sat up, not noticing Entiny sliding down to his lap. He stared at the maze-like structure drawn on the ancient fabric. His gaze shifted to Knox's tight-lipped expression, as he waited for him to speak.
"How the Blazen did you find a map to the underground passages?" he said. Alec saw Solana flinch at her brother's blank tone. Areisha on the other hand remained passive as she stared down at the blue carpet of the foyer. "And why didn't you turn this over the moment you found it? Do you know what could happen if this map falls into wrong hands?"
Silence followed once again, but Solana broke it quickly.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I was curious of what could be down there. And I can assure you, after almost suffering an adorable death I am never going back again."
"Adorable death?" River questioned. The blonde only nodded at him in return. The males present in the room shifted their gaze to Areisha, silently asking her to expound on the unusual statement. Instead of doing so, she raised her chin and kept her silence. They sighed while Knox folded the map.
"Areisha could you explain why didn't you oppose her?" Knox said with a frown. "Between you and Solana, you know better."
"She blackmailed me," Areisha said. The expression on her face and tone of voice made it seem that her answer was enough excuse for her actions.
Alec's eyes widened when Knox believed it by narrowing his eyes at his sister. One corner of his lips turned up while doing so.
"You are becoming more and more like grandfather these days," he said.
Alec silently rolled his eyes. Of course, he thought, I almost forgot they're of the same blood.
"Do you think he would be proud of me?" Solana asked with her hands clasped in front of her chest. Knox stared at her, shaking his head not more than a few seconds after.
"Knowing the headmaster, yes, he probably will," River said. Meanwhile, Ceiver nodded in agreement at the black-eyed boy's statement.
"Don't encourage her!" Knox yelled. He let out a sigh when the two chuckled, and ran his palms over his face. Alec shook his head with a small smile on his face.
Solana jerked off the couch, with her brows knitting as her eyes darted all over the lounge. Her hands trembled, as she closed her eyes and looked like she was listening for something. When she opened her eyes, she spoke with her lips quivering.
"Isha," she said, "I can hear the pruf sound again." At her words, Areisha's eyes widened and tugged Solana back to her spot earlier. It was her turn to look around the room, while Alec and the others raised their brows at the two females' actions. He watched as Areisha's eyes widened and her mouth fell open when her gaze settled on the table.
"Solana...why...is the crystal orb there?" she said. As she spoke, she raised one of her arms and pointed at something with wide eyes. Their eyes darted to the center table, and with round eyes as well, found a lucent glass sphere reflecting light coming from the chandelier.
"I'm sure I left...this back in my room," Solana said. She squirmed in her seat, until her hands flew to cover her ears with her face contorted in pain. "Come out fluff ball, and quit torturing my ears!"
A shriek filled the air, causing the rest of them to cover their ears as well. To Alec's confusion, the Draelings didn't seem bothered by the noise at all. The babies froze, looked to the crystal on the table, before resuming what they were doing. Groans filled the lounge as they rubbed the pain away from their ears. Due to her Sentiral ability, Solana lied on the couch panting, pain still evident on her face.
He made a move towards her, but a faint cerulean light caught his attention. Following the three other boy's actions, he leaned forward, facing the table. He raised one of his eyebrows when his eyes fell on a moving ball of white fur standing on top of the crystal sphere. They shrunk back to their seats when the crystal floated, hovering a few centimeters on the table. Not of them spoke as the creature turned, and the crystal followed its action.
Alec's mouth fell ajar when his blue eyes met with big ones bearing the same color. The animal blinked up at him, while hopping on top of the crystal which could perfectly fit in his palm.
"Pruf...." The sound came from its tiny beak. Alec found the corners of his lips lifting into a smile at how adorable the little one looked.
"Don't let it trick you!" Solana said. "That thing is anything but adorable!" She was now seated upright, while clutching a throw pillow in front of her like a shield. When the creature turned, and the crystal floated it toward her, she stood and ran behind the couch along with Areisha. They both stared wide-eyed at the little being.
Before Alec could deem their reactions ridiculous, he froze in fear. With a screech, the creature grew. Its fur turned to spikes. Little teeth protruded from the edges of its beak. The big blue eyes grew small and turned red.
Solana and Areisha screamed and ducked behind the couch. Ceiver, River and Knox jumped and stood on the cushions while eyeing the once adorable ball of fluff. Only Alec remained seated, trying to calm his heart. It looks familiar, he thought.
With subtle movements, he reached for the knife strapped to his leg, and hidden by his trousers. He expected it to attack, but his brows rose at its actions. It reverted to its initial form, and turned to his direction. With the way it was staring unblinkingly at him, one could be fooled into thinking that it hadn't transformed into a little monster a few moments ago. The crystal drifted in the air, before dropping on the table in front of him. The creature hopped off and continued their stare off.
To his utter bafflement, it hopped and spun on where it stood while a string of the same repetitive sound escaped its beak. It seemed rather lively, unlike earlier. It waddled back to the crystal and gave it a nudge. The sphere rolled over the table before stopping at the edge.
"It't a Gue," Ceiver said. Alec's head snapped to him, and it dawned on him why he thought the creature looked familiar from the moment he saw it.
"I think it is," he said dropping his head back. As the words left his mouth, he never the broke eye contact he had with the Gue.
"What in Blazen is a Gue?" River said, as he stared at the creature with a wrinkled nose.
"They're guardian creatures," Alec said. "Alen told me that nobles in ancient times had them as company, and for the purpose of protecting."
"They were alto told to guard property or anything important," Ceiver said. "Tell them to protect tomething, and they will do jutt that for at long at they live."
"And seems it was protecting this orb," Alec said. His brows knit before snapping his attention to Solana and Areisha's direction. "Did you guys take this from whatever place you were at below ground?"
He saw Areisha's dark blue eyes peek out above the back of the couch. It narrowed into a glare at him, before directing it to Solana who copied her actions.
"It was Solana," she said.
"Traitor," the blonde girl muttered.
Alec sighed, and palmed his forehead. He stared down at the creature, no longer afraid of it for some reason. His attention snapped to his right, when Entiny stood on all fours, regarding the Gue with a tilt of her head. The tiny creature copied her actions, before it let out a "pruf." Alec's brows lightly met in the middle when his Draeling roared at it, the same way Draes communicate with each other.
The exchange was followed by more, until he found the grey Drae bumping at his elbow before using her head to lift his arm. When he looked back at the Gue, he saw it on the sphere again while it drifted to his open palm. He continued staring at the creature's blue eyes, even when the crystal hovered merely a few inches above his hand.
"It's for me?" he said. He looked down when he felt Entiny bouncing her head up and down. He transferred his attention to the Gue.
"Pruf, pruf," it said as it nodded. The small orb fell on his hand, and his fingers enclosed it on instinct. His eyes bulged out of their sockets when the same cerulean light from earlier shone from the sphere. He closed his eyes from the brightness, and when he opened them again, the Gue stood on an entirely different object. With another pruf from the creature, it transformed into small speck of white light. It hovered for moment before merging into the brown leather Alec held in his hand.
"What is that?" Solana said. He ran his gaze over his fellow Sentires' faces, before fixing his attention on his hand.
"It's a journal," he said.
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Thank you so much guys, for sticking to this story! I could cry in joy :')
I'm already half-way with the next chapter so expect it soon!