The trial part 2
(Another dark chapter)
She was smart enough to stay within the woods, but close enough to the path so she wouldn't get lost on her way to nowhere. "Where is she going?" Elias's voice drifted over towards me in confusion. That is a very good question.
"In that moment... I don't think even she knew where she was going to go." Serge mentioned walking over to the group after he entered the auditorium. "She told us that she ended up in an orphanage." I wonder if he knew that we were in here, or if someone had told him. It's not that it really mattered. When the Minister himself shows up it's hard to keep that a secret.
I took note of the disappointed look that the Minister shot Walter. Probably from how bad everything ended up. I couldn't imagine what he was thinking, but I personally was thinking that I wanted to see the rest of the memories, as much as I didn't. What more could this poor child have gone through?
Little Kayle ran as fast and as far as her legs would take her and even farther still. It was well into the night and the wolves seemed to be making her a bit nervous as she moved into a small town out of breath and extremely tired. She made it pretty far for a six year old, but she shouldn't have had to. It broke my heart to see the hardships that she had to go through and so young, by the people who've sworn to protect her. I should have protected her. She should have never even been put in this situation. My eyes couldn't help but drift over towards Kayle asleep on the table out of guilt. Seeing what I have so far, I too would be cautious of people.
"Hey sweetie, why are you out here alone?" A new voice pulled my attention back to the memory being displayed. An older woman spoke to her kindly. She was aged by time, but not dampened by the way life had treated her. She noticed little Kayle panting hard as she passed on the street. Kayle seemed startled by the new voice and jumped slightly. The kindness in the older woman's voice brought tears into poor Kayle's eyes, but the woman seemed more troubled by her reaction than her obvious fear of grown-ups. "You look exhausted and hungry. I'll get you some food and a place to sleep." She held out her hand for Kayle to grab, but with what had happened, strangers were frightening to her and as I expected, Kayle flinched back from her. The woman's face instantly fell to a saddened expression. "Oh, my dear, alright, come with me okay?"
Not being accustomed to anything being her choice, Kayle stayed put and anxiously watched the woman like a scared cat would a dog. She even clocked the dark spots between buildings to insure that this wasn't a trap. The woman slowly began to move down the street but looked back seeing Kayle glancing around uncomfortably, though she was following her slowly keeping herself out of the woman's arm's length.
The woman led her to an inviting looking building on the edge of the town. Even with it being dark out, you could tell that it was brightly painted with the toys littering the yard and held quite a lot of children inside. The woman knocked on the door as Kayle waited at the bottom of the stairs, still glancing around as if she was worried that Delilah was going to show up at any time. "Yes?" Another woman opened the door. She also looked very nice and smiled at what seemed to be her friend.
"Hello Hope, I found this girl wandering around the edge of the town. Do you know her?" The woman motioned towards Kayle with gentle and kind eyes, which still housed immense worry within them.
Hope looked out with soft eyes, but was quick to notice Kayle's timid body language. "No, she's not from here. What happened?" I couldn't find the words to describe what happened to such a small child. Though she couldn't remember the Goldsteins' and how she was so easily casted aside by Walter, what she did remember was just as cruel.
The woman shook her head now, remembering that she had asked but Kayle never answered her. "I don't know, but she jumped when I tried to touch her. Could you let her stay the night and get her something to eat?"
Hope sighed softly seemingly annoyed, but took another look at Kayle and seemed to look at her slightly pityingly. It's not the type of emotion I would have wanted if I was in Kayle's place. However she didn't have a lot of choices. "You really need to stop taking in strays Faith, but she does look like she needs to get some food. What's her name?" So, Hope and Faith, now that's ironic. Faith shrugged, so Hope walked down the stairs and Kayle moved where her face was off to the side, but where she could clearly see what they were going to do from the corner of her eye. "You can head inside, but I'll need to talk to you."
The soft response made Kayle looked between both women before moving slowly around them, ready to run if she needed to and then headed inside the building. The women simply watched her move timidly. Laughter preceded Kayle as she walked up to the doorway. It was a two story building and the laughter seemed to be coming from the common room to her left. Finally showing a bit of interest she moved over to the door and peeked in around the corner. There were kids playing with a rambunctious puppy. They were running around in circles and the dog happily chased after them with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and ears flopping up and down. Only one boy was reading on the couch and looked up noticing that Kayle had been watching quietly, almost hiding herself behind the door. He was a red haired, blue eyed boy that seemed very familiar to me. However at his glance, Kayle looked down before turning away and walking out of sight.
"Wasn't that David?" Serge asked softly to Thomas who was standing next to him.
Ah, that's who he reminded me of, now I remember. Thomas nodded seemingly knowing more about Kayle than most people did, as David came in from the other room as Kayle's attention was on the pictures of the children that had passed through the orphanage. "Are you okay?" He tried to reach out to her but she jumped and backed off from him with her face once again down to the floor. "You're dirty."
She looked down at herself, but still pulled her suit case closer to her as if to block him from getting too close to her again. "Oh. I'm fine." Her voice even came out hesitantly soft and barely able to be heard without strained ears.
You could tell that the little boy noticed how she was acting and instead of walking off, he decided to introduce himself. "I'm David." He held out his hand towards her with a kind smile.
She looked at his hand as hers gripped the handle of her suitcase so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Oh David, can you lead her to the kitchen please?" Hope said walking back into the house, but seemed to be heading towards an office. She must be getting Kayle's paper work ready.
His red hair bounced as he nodded and he motioned for Kayle to follow after him. I guess he figured that if she was uncomfortable with being touched, so it was better if he didn't. "Do you have family? A name perhaps?"
She looked like she was considering her options at first before she spoke. "Kayle." She said a bit too quietly, getting David to look over at her and she looked away from him quickly.
Well, she was at least moving with him so that must mean that somewhere within her, she was hoping for the bad to end. "It's okay if you don't want to be found, but you at the very least have to tell the housemother what happened if you'd rather stay here." A fair point from a child. David was a smart little kid.
She nodded as they entered the kitchen, but she really didn't want to get onto the topic of her past, so she changed the subject. "How many children live here?" She doges like a pro, no wonder why she can so easily do it as a grown up.
David shrugged as he moved to sit down on a chair by the table. You don't remember how many people live here with you? "Around ten probably. It's an orphanage. Sometimes there are a lot more, but they just adopted some out a couple days ago." Okay, fair enough.
Kayle looked lost for a second before finally speaking timidly and surprising David when she leaned forward towards him. "It's nice here...right?"
David nodded, not really looking like he understood what she meant by that. "Usually, unless one of the older kids wants to play with something and someone else is playing with it, then it's a scrap." Kyle's eyes moved to the corner of the table, looking like she was over thinking something again. David's head cocked to the side at her reaction. "That was a joke. You came from abusive parents then?"
She now looked up to meet his eyes. His joke did what he was hoping for. She came out of her shell a bit. "She wasn't my mom and I don't have a dad." Everyone looked at me, well everyone except for Walter, who simply glared towards little Kayle in the memory. "I was put with her, but I don't remember why." Honesty, she's already getting closer to David, that's good.
"And that?" David pointed at the expensive looking ring on her finger, which anyone close to the Goldstein family knew was their family crest on the ring's surface.
I looked over at Klaus as Kayle looked down at the ring. I wonder if he's hoping, somewhere deep down, that she would remember him, even in the tiniest way. "I've had it for as long as I can remember. It wasn't made for me because it has the KG on the inside of it, so I guess the person was cagey." Klaus's eyebrow twitched at her joke on his behalf. I let slip a tiny chuckle at his reaction to her always being ready with a jab his way.
David laughed at her joke, but her face remained neutral. She even though she could make jokes, she still wasn't comfortable enough to smile yet. "I'm glad that you still have a sense of humor." Hope said walking in with a stack of papers in her arms.
Thomas chuckled slightly and clapped a hand down on Klaus's back. "Hey, I wonder if she still has it." He said, meaning Klaus's ring. Though Klaus didn't show a reaction to his brother's comment on his face, his eyes seemed to consider the question.
Hope sat down in the seat across from Kayle and set the papers down before her. "So now, what's your name?" She asked grabbing a pen and looking up at Kayle expectantly. "I'm Hope Durbin."
Showing a guarded side towards adults, Kayle looked down at the table before her and spoke softly. "Kayle." David watched her carefully as if trying to see how differently she was with adults than she was with him.
Hope wrote it down, but when no mention of her last name came, she looked back up at Kayle. "And your last name?"
I eyed Kayle intently, mostly wondering if she would carry on the Holland name. "No." She said clearly. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by that. She would want to dump anything that could trace her to there by Delilah. It didn't sting any less however.
Hope noticed the curt tone she used, warning her to drop it. "Will you tell me why you ran away from your family?"
Kayle's eyes sharpened on Hope, getting Hope to watch it closely. She seemed to understand in that instance why Kayle was acting the way she was. "She wasn't my family."
The woman's eyes looked down by her wrists seeing a bruise from where Erin grabbed her so tightly. She nodded slightly as if to confirm her suspicions. "Okay sweetie, I actually think that you'd fit in quite well here and you've already made a friend right David?"
Without any hesitation David bounced excitedly in his seat. "Yeah! Of course, though I read a lot so I probably won't talk much." That seemed to work with Kayle's need of silence perfectly and the reading was an added bonus.
Kayle's interest was now peaked. "Really? What kind of books do you read?" Hope let a smirk show on her face as Kayle slowly opened up when it came to books. It was something that she could grow on to get Kayle to open up more.
David blushed from being put on the spot suddenly. "Well, I mostly stare at the pictures and imagine a story because most of the books here are for teenagers."
"Oh." Kayle said softly trying not to make him feel stupid by telling him the kind of books she reads.
However Hope seemed to be interested in her reaction and pushed farther into it. "You like to read then I take it? Like what?"
Kayle side glanced at David who encouraged her to talk. "I've read Mortain Frank's book on Magical Development, Penny Tallor's Proper Magical Casting, and Benedict Devou's History of Gedonelune, part one and two." She answered getting Hope to widen her eyes and David to smile at the fact that Kayle finally spoke with some cheer for the first time in meeting her.
Well, it seems that the Walter's training stuck with her even after she was forced out. Her thirst for knowledge did come from having books being shoved in her face since she could read. She must have just eventually grown to like reading them. "Those books are for adults though." Hope said confused and her face easily read it. "Did you have a lot of books lying around where you lived?"
I don't remember Delilah having a lot of books in her house. "No, not really..." Kayle whispered drawing back into her bubble as her eyes fell to the side of the table to her right. "The neighbor let me borrow them."
Hope gave a smile seeing potential in Kayle. "Hold on a minute. I'll be right back." She left quickly which made Kayle look to David for answers, who simply shrugged and laughed.
His face suddenly turned complicated before he spoke. "Why'd you even decide to pick up those kind of books?" David asked watching her expression closely.
Kayle took a moment to figure out how to answer properly. "I believe I was forced to once, but I don't really remember anything up till I was placed in the care of Delilah." That's because the average child begins to remember things at the age of five and you were kicked out of the Goldstein house before you could have remembered.
David leaned forward on the table, not hiding his interest. "Before, do you remember how you felt?" Hmm, he'd be an excellent counselor.
She looked off towards the wall as her eyebrows knitted together. She was trying to remember. "Well, I remember I felt lonely. Kind of like I had lost something important to me." I notice that Klaus's hands balled up once more that comment. My dear little girl you're putting this poor boy through an emotional loop. "But when I try to remember, it's really fuzzy."
David gave a warm smile towards her to show her that it was okay and for her to not push herself too much. "So now that you're on the border line of Hinomoto and Gedonelune, you can go to either Nightingale Atriark or the Royal Magical Academy..."
Kayle quickly shook her head to counter him. "No, I have my heart set on Gedonelune." She said quickly as she reached into the front pocket of her suit case at David's questioning expression. "Headmaster Randolph is my brother, see?"
She slipped a piece of paper over to him. It wasn't my handwriting on it, it was Klaus's. The time that Klaus moved over to her suit case before she left his home, he put this in there didn't he? By the look of the paper, she had read it many times.
Kayle,
Where ever you may land, I know it seems like a scary and lonely place, but you do have people who care about you. Randolph, your brother, is the headmaster at Gedonelune, when you get old enough you can meet him again. He's the one who gave you that silver bracelet you always wear. I will meet you again when were older.....
The note looked like it was torn in half and the part that Klaus put down for himself was gone. It figures that it would have happened to him. It seems almost too planned out, but by the look on Walter's face, he didn't have anything to do with it.
David nodded understandingly as Hope walked back in holding a wand in her hand. "Kayle do you know any spells?"
She looked back seeing the wand and giving an amused look with her eyes. "If you're trying to see if I'm a wizardess, you don't need to. I already know that I am." She opened her suit case then reached in.
David and Hope watched as she pulled out an expensive looking wand that was given to her by Walter when she was younger. "That looks like a Goldstein wand." Hope said in awe.
Kayle's eyes shown sorrow for remembering long forgotten. "Who?" The name seemed to bring her familiarity to her heart, but the memories weren't there to solidify the feeling.
"The Goldsteins'..." Hope said surprise by her reaction to the name. I believe that deep down she remembered the boys that meant do much to her deep in her heart. "Walter Goldstein is known for making magical tools. Wasn't that wasn't in Gedonelune's history book?"
Annoyance flickered over her tiny little face as she. I believe that she unknowingly gripped her wand so tight that her knuckles turned white. "I wasn't very interested in the magical tools part. I was reading up on Gedonelune for the Royal Magical Academy." She may know that I'm her brother by a letter but it was still nice that she wanted to get to know me as much as I wanted to know her. "Seeing as it was the closest to me, I had been planning on applying when I'm old enough. I even already wrote a letter to the headmaster Randolph himself inquiring about it but with me leaving I doubt I'll get his reply if he sends one." Not telling Hope that I'm her brother, must mean that she didn't want to be found. If I would have gotten word. I would have dropped everything to get her and bring her to Gedonelune where she would be safe.
I stepped forward a little confused, which got everyone to look at me. "I've never received a letter from her. Where did it go?" My eyes naturally moved to Walter after everything that I have seen. Had he also made sure that she could not contact me even after she left his care?
He crossed his arms over his chest annoyed at the assumption of my accusation that he had something to do with it. "What? You would have been in danger if she came here, as would she be." Or it was because he was caught.
"Don't pretend that you cared about her." I said with my voice going abnormally cold getting everyone to look at me in worry. I can take a lot and be able to keep my calm demeanor, but I've had about all I could take from Walter's interference. "Not when we all know that you don't."
The Minister looked at Walter, looking equally upset himself. Probably because he had said that she could have gone to my school when she was older. "Were you also responsible for her being put in the Nightingale Atriark Academy?"
"I put in a good word for her to be recognized as a potential, powerful wizardess worthy of their school. It was her choice to go there." He said trying to make himself sound like a hero, when in reality he was nothing more than a charlatan parading around thinking that he knows best for everyone around him.
Thomas's face suddenly turned surprised. "Oh my god..." He looked over his father as if he had just put something together in his head and it was enough to shock him almost speechless. "That time you came to Gedonelune and left with a letter, it was Kayle's wasn't it? You made sure that she went to Nightingale. You continue to meddle in her life even after how you treated her, just because she wanted compainionship?"
Walter looked offended that his sons were taking her side over his, that being their father somehow made it where they were required to take his side. "He likes her now doesn't he? He even hid the dark magic in her because of it."
That's your problem right there, you look at the situation and believe the first thing that you think of. Klaus may like Kayle, but that's not why he chose to help her. "That's not why I did it." Klaus snapped back seeming to be at the end of his rope. "I hid it because of the fact that she's fighting it and absolutely refuses to use it. Did you even know what Nightingale does to their students?"
I looked at Klaus as the Minister stepped in, his voice wrapped in confusion. "What do you mean?" Even the Ministry Elite looked around worriedly at that simple comment.
"Watch her memories, they'll speak for themselves."
Just like Walter had said, she waited for three weeks for an acceptance letter from Gedonelune Royal Magical Academy, but when David had only gotten an acceptance letter from Nightingale, she followed him. The school itself looked very off putting to both. They were barely fourteen year old, but they had figured that they have lived in worse and could get through this. Everything seemed okay until they had only been fully accepted into Nightingale, that's when everything to return for the worse. And thus began the next chapter of the past that was painful to watch.
The first morning David had been waiting for Kayle outside the girl's dorm. He looked nervous but seem to feel better with her there. They were as close as brother and sister now, which honestly made me have a little bit of jealousy rear its head up. Of course neither of them was to blame for what happened, I know, but still it was a surprising emotion for me.
"Hello David." She greeted calmly with a smile. She stood there in the Nightingale clothes with her hair down that was neatly brushed.
"Did you forget something?" He pointed at her hair amused. She must have been used to putting it up, which was why David pointed it out.
She gave him a little bit of an annoyed smile as she huffed. "It's not listening to me today."
David shook his head before he moved closer to her and pulled something from her wrist. With a flash of silver I realized it was the bracelet I had given her when she was a child. I'm glad she kept it, even if she could not remember the face that gave it to her and only a letter reminded her who did. It meant a lot to me that she kept it. David moved behind her examining Kayle's surprisingly thick head of hair. "Let's see how unmanageable it really is." He began to pull her hair back.
"Oh look this freshman already has a girlfriend." One of the older boy said striding over with a cocky grin and a bad attitude. I'm guessing he is the school bully then? "And he even has to put up...." He looked at Kayle's face and decided to insult them even farther. "...his hair."
I knew Kayle enough to know that she doesn't take kindly to people insulting those closest to her and that she would more than likely have something to say about it. "At least he doesn't have to find someone willing to put up with him. You still have to find someone who can stomach you." Kayle's over protective side flared as she moved to glare at the boy. David quickly casted a spell on the silver bracelet and it began to put up her hair as he moved beside Kayle.
The boys face turned into a scowl and his rage quickly grew. "Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?" He snapped his hand moving slightly closer to his wand ready to attack them.
Thinking that this boy you wanted a magical fight and knowing that he's much more advanced than they are, they began to worry. "Kayle, David, there you are. I was wondering where you had gotten to." A tall man said heading over to the group. He sensed the tension emanating from Kayle and the boy and decided to interrupt. "The headmaster would like to speak with you both. Please follow me."
David moved fast dragging Kayle with him obviously irritated with how Kayle was quick to fight back. "Don't Kayle." He said to her when she fought against him a little. Well, she had the typical Holland temperament and the little patience for fools. She exasperatedly moved to fall into step with David as he straightened up her cloak with a free hand. "You didn't have to do that. I can defend myself."
David looked back at her as she glared up at him, but to her all she was trying to do was defend him. "I know you can." This was a typical squabble for people who look at each other like siblings.
"Yeah, but he doesn't know and that means he's going to be a problem for me later." He's not going to only be your problem later dear boy.
She stopped following him and crossed her arms over her chest being defiant even to him. I bet Klaus was happy to see that even to David she was very opinionated and hard headed. I understood where both of them were coming from and being new to the school they were bound to be bullied by the older students because the older ones felt the need to feel better by putting those smaller than them down. I don't like it but it does happen. Even Klaus is a bully to some extent, or rather he was, until Kayle came into the picture and fought back. "While excuse me for wanting to lookout for someone I think of as a brother. If you've got a problem with it, then fine go play with Mr. Bully but we will not be friends." She turned and followed after the teacher again making her point as crystal clear as possible.
He looked at her back and sighed softly. "Kayle..." He called out to her, but she didn't even look back, so he ran to catch up with her. "It's not like I don't appreciate it...."
She was quick to shoot down his attempt at an apology. "Well you don't sound like you do." She snapped back bluntly and venomously. If she had come to my school and we had gotten along. I wonder if we would have had a relationship like that. Oh great, now I'm jealous of a kid. Wonderful.
He sighed softly as he slowed down to fall in line with her long sharp strides from her anger. "Things are different now. People won't leave us alone because we have magic. Everyone here has magic and we will be bullied."
She looked up at him as she arched an eyebrow. Now if I've learnt anything about her, you'll know that when her eyebrow arches that means that you've reached a danger zone. "You mean that you'll be bullied." I guess even as a young teenager she had that specific attitude about her. she took the Holland/Goldstein attitude and adapted it to her personality. "I was always bullied."
Surprise now hit his features at the sudden admittance. "What? When?" He asked sounding rather confused on why she hadn't mentioned it before. I guess it seems that she hid things even from the people closest to her. It's a bad habit, but after what happened, I guess it was an understandable one. What hope do I have if she didn't even tell someone everything who was always there for her, lived with her, protected her and understood her.
She shook her head quickly. It a reminder that she hasn't changed quite that much from when she left Delilah. "It doesn't matter anymore. Those people are gone." She kept walking to get away from the topic with an uncomfortable expression on her face as she side glanced around the courtyard.
Headmaster to office was desolate and bleak, very much like the rest the school. The only think that lit the room was the fire place that let an ominous reddish orange glow cast around the room. The books on the shelves were black leather bound and held absolutely no bright colors. Even the shelves and the Headmaster's desk were a dark mahogany color. The headmaster's hair was pitch black, much like Kayle's had been in the other dimension. His robes were black with the bright green decorations displaying a kind of shimmering glow effect because of the fireplace light. His eyes were a turquoise blue and his face seemed barely aged. "Ah, David and Kayle it's good that you've come. I'm Headmaster Embri. Welcome to the Nightingale Atriark Academy. Ah, I needed to give you these..." He held out the Nightingale school emblems to them, which was a much more colorful than anything else in the school. It had a phoenix surrounded by blue, green and gray. No sooner had they touched them, the buddy ball of light flew up from both of them and entwined together before exploding in raining down on David and Kayle. "This is the first, but I can't say that I'm surprised." My eyes drew up to the Headmaster who sounded like he was more than a little bit upset that it chose them to be paired together.
Obviously not taking notice of his tone at the time, Kayle spoke. "That was the buddy system right?" Kayle asked pinning her emblem down to her cloak.
Embri looked at Kayle surprised by how knowledgeable she was, but if Walter had told him anything, it was how smart she was... right? "Yes it was. I see you are very bright girl." However as I expected it did not sound like a compliment when he said it and even Kayle seem to notice as David glanced at her. "Isn't that what you'd like us to be? Smart? How else would we be able to fight dark magic like your school here claims to be able to do?"
The look on Embri's face after she said that seemed like she surprised him and not in a good way. He seemed to understand quickly that she was going to be hard to handle. "Kayle!" David hissed with gritted teeth. "Knock it off." However I was very much on Kayle's side, there was something off about this whole school and I'm not just saying that because of Klaus's comment before.
Embri raised his eyebrow at them before turning and heading back to his desk. He could see that David could be led down a darker path, but Kayle had too strong of a belief system to be swayed. Unfortunately it made her a target and by the looks of it that is exactly how Embri saw it. Ironically it was similar to the way that Walter saw her too. "You two may leave." Even though he seemed disinterested in any farther conversation with them, his eyes moved to once again glare at Kayle out of the corner of his eyes again. This was going to end badly wasn't it?
"Thank you sir." David took a hold of Kayle's shoulder and pushed her out of the room before she could say something else. He waited to say anything before they were in the hall, but he seemed more upset with her, than noticing what Kayle had felt internally. "Do you have to be a jerk to everybody?"
She shook her head but showed a lack of attitude she had previously used with the bully. Perhaps this was because she trusted David. "Something about this school is off. I felt it ever since we enrolled here, but I saw nothing so I never said anything. Except now we have that guy at the dorm and the headmaster himself. Then there was the contract we had to sign after the scale of judgment and nothing's sending off warning bells to you?"
Embri's cryptic way of talking seemed to put the Ministry Elite on edge, you could tell that by how they shifted on their feet uncomfotably. David glanced back at the door behind them and moved her from the door so the headmaster couldn't eavesdrop. "No."
I may not have been there, but even I can tell that there something off. The headmaster's reaction was enough to cause suspicion and David didn't even noticed any of this? She scoffed annoyed with him not noticing that made her look like she was over thinking things. "You cannot be that......." She stop short as pain shown on her face, something was wrong.
"Kayle...?" David looked back once he noticed that she wasn't walking with him anymore. A dark mist played around Kayle's neck. It could have only come from one thing, dark magic. Her fingers desperately tried to claw at it, but it was mist and her fingers only scratched at her neck. "Oh my god!" He caught her when she was about to fall over from trying to breathe again. Do you think she's over thinking it now?
The door to Embri's office opened and he stepped out holding his wand, where more dark mist swirled at the tip. "Perhaps you'll think before you talk about this school in that kind of a way again." He bent down to look at Kayle angrily as she clawed at the mist around her neck. He waved his wand and the mist vanished from both around her neck and the tip of his wand, allowing Kayle to breathe again, but she began to choke as the air rushed into her lungs all at once. "Won't you, Kayle?" I looked around the room seeing that everyone had shocked faces from witnessing what just happened. Even Walter looked like he had no idea. The headmaster at Nightingale openly using dark magic on students and we've been allowing children to go there. Impatient from waiting on her to answer him Embri reached over and sharply pulled her face to look at him. "Right?"
He was trying to intimidate her into submission but by the looks of it Kayle wasn't easily intimidated. A trait that undoubtedly got her into more trouble later. She glared right back up into his eyes unflinchingly, though she never verbally said "no" anyone could tell that she said it with her body language. In a fit of her not answering he shoved her face away and stood up before heading back into his office. I think he was afraid of her. He was afraid he couldn't control her like he had so many other students before her. "What was that?" David voice asked shakily as he tightened his arms around her showing the protective side of him.
"That was dark magic." Her voice came out hoarsely after being strangled with magic. "I don't know how I know, I just do."
At the mention of dark magic David's body tensed. Kayle had informed him before even heading to Nightingale about dark magic, so he knew his fair share about it. "Come on we need to go." He climbed up to his feet and pulled her to hers before they took off running down the hall towards the stairs. I don't think I've ever felt a more intense dislike for someone before but Embri... Embri I really don't like.
With Kayle's continued defiant behavior towards the headmaster, he had decided that she should be watched closely and in correlation of the buddy system, David. Embri thought that someone who cannot be controlled would be a threat to someone who wants to control the people around him. Kayle being just as stubborn as I probably would've been, it drew the attention of the teachers away from the other students, mostly because they were instructed to use dark magic on the children. Much to my dislike most of the teachers enjoyed tormenting those smaller than them. It was a classic case of a bully with psychopathic tendencies. Though technically by the buddy system David should have received some of the punishment but being that he stayed out of most of it and by Embri's order, he was relinquished from any torture, thankfully, though I would have wanted this school to have been worthy of such bright children.
They tried very hard to break her will, but Walter's teachings seemed to a stuck rather stubbornly, in which she adapted into our own personality. Ironically it's funny, a child born with dark magic, fighting those who openly use it. I wonder if any of them sensed it in her? Which might be why they pushed her so hard. I wonder if all of this could have been avoided by one mistake being erased?
One day in particular she was going to meet David in the library and was stopped by the prefect and his friend. Both seem to have been waiting for her, like lions in wait for their prey.
"Well if it is a Kyle." The prefect teased insulting her farther with a boy name. I looked down to their hands seeing that they were holding their wands out ready for flight. "There's no way you can fight the both of us."
My eyes caught movement in the corner so I looked over seeing Klaus was clenching his fists tightly again. None of us want to watch this anymore. You could easily see that by people faces. I doubt anyone had expected this when the trial started. Kayle, as my eyes drifted back up to the image, tried to pull on her wand from her cloak but the boys had casted dark magic at the same time and developing her in a dark mist. She screamed out in pain loudly. It was enough for most of the people to look away out of guilt or sorrow. The bystanders around her made no attempt to stop it or even get any help. It's not like it would really matter anyway, but it would have still been nice to try. Both of the boys were extremely powerful casters compared to Kayle and eventually the pain grew so much as she felt her knees trying desperately to hold on to any breath she could.
"Kayle?!" Klaus is voice caught my years as he shove passed everyone to get to her body on the table. As I moved closer to inspect what was going on, he picked her up and pulled her to him in a protective manor. That's when I noticed a trail of blood coming out of her nose as her head fell backwards landing on his arm. "Pull her out or you're going to kill her!" His sheer panic was enough to tell me that he cared more about her than his reputation of being the bully emperor of Gedonelune, his magic, or even himself.
"It's too much at once." I agreed, my worry was not lost on everybody, but to some of them the only reason why I agreed was because she was my daughter. "Her mind could cope with this when it was spread out throughout the years, but not when it's this close together."
"She could be faking it too." Walter was quick to shoot us down with his poisoned tongue. Has he truly not grasped the concept that his decision-making for Kayle's life has only lead to her being put through endless torture?
I was going to snap back at him for trying to say that she was a liar, but someone's voice cut crossed over mine. "Yeah, she could be faking the blood too." Vincent snapped sarcastically as he moved over to stand beside Klaus and me.
"Watching this is like dreaming for her. Do you know that you're dreaming at night, or is it like a different reality for you? Sure once she wake up you know it's a dream, but until that point, your body believes it real. It's the same principle as watching her memories and she's reliving them." Thomas mentioned as he did his best to try to explain the situation that they were putting her through and it seemed to be setting in.
Please, stop this, not only for her, but for Klaus, her friends and me. "Besides I think you've decided enough for her to know that your decision-making skills are only making it worse for her." Serge jumped in saying what everyone else was thinking as he looked pointedly towards Walter.
The sound of her screaming in the background ceased as the Minister fast forwarded the memories. "Let's see what she does a little closer to her infection of powerful dark magic."
You haven't seen enough to know that she's fought every day against the choices of others? How can you watch this and not feel anything?! I didn't go through any of this and my heart feels like it's been ripped out and stomped on.
Klaus locked eyes with me worriedly before he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Kayle. "Santo Aura." His magic surrounded her, healing her without incident. Nobody said anything, even when they felt his magic. I don't think they would want to either. Klaus can be very persuasive when it comes to those he's closest to. He moved her head to lay on his shoulder hoping that she would be more comfortable. His features that usually were easily hidden were now readable on his face. I would have been amused if I wasn't so worried about what was going to come next. I looked at the group who continued to watch with sorrow filled eyes, all except for Walter. He glared over at Kayle for being in Klaus's arms. "Kayle, can you hear me?" Klaus whispered softly to her catching my attention again. He pulled back to look at her face as hand buried into her hair when he tried to keep her head still and hold her to him same time. I felt a sudden small burst of magic and my eyes landed on the bracelet I had given her as slithered down from her hair, made its way down and wrapped itself around Klaus's wrist.
"I believe she's telling you that she can." Though I wondered if I had asked would she have answered the same way. However she was magically placed in sleep by trying to contain Azusa for as long as she did, so I wonder if she really was awake or if this was just her reaction to his voice?
He pulled her close to rest against him looking almost desperate which was unlike him. "You have to fall back asleep. You're hurting yourself all over again. There is no need for you to go through this twice."
I looked back up and the image seeing David and Kayle walking through the woods. My instincts told me that even though I didn't want to see more, this was something that I was going to have to see. "Klaus, you keep her body safe." I whispered resting my hand on him free shoulder.
He only nodded and moved to see the image better from where he sat. He still wanted to know too, but he also wanted to protect her. I walked back over with the rest of the group around me seeing David and Kayle getting ready to write out a spell from Hinomoto. I could tell by Kayle's face that something did not sit right with her. She felt that something was off and as they wrote it out that feeling only grew. "Are you sure this is the proper spell?" She glanced over the Hinomoto character once more as David looked at her. She tried to find fault in something to satisfy the feeling growing in her gut.
"Yeah, Azusa gave me a spell." He answered. Obviously Azusa was different back then, I hope.
Kayle's face turned to an expression of slight perplexity. "Has Azusa being acting weird lately?"
David eyes met hers with a cheeky grin across his lips. "Is there trouble in paradise?" He joked getting fixed with a look of annoyance. Still the ever watchful brother then, I guess if I had to pick someone to replace me, David was a good pick. "He just lost his brother. How would you feel if you lost me or Randolph for that matter?"
I wonder if she felt happy to know that she wasn't alone, or was she angry with me for not being in her life. Her actions towards me these last couple months flashed through my mind. Of course she was angry that I wasn't in her life. She thought that I didn't miss her, or that I abandoned her for this school. Then there was the matter of Klaus's ring. I haven't seen it since she was an orphanage. I wonder where it went. If she kept it that meant that it still held some sentiment for her and after turning down all of Klaus's advances it would be nice for him to have some reassurance that she cares about him. I mean it always seemed to go that one or both parties like each other but the other side can't see it. However everyone else around them can see it and I know that she likes him. Klaus may not be perfect. There are times he has a bad attitude. He even bullies the people who are the closest to him and can be a downright pain in the butt sometimes, but I think Kayle can rival him in almost every single one of his traits. Not to mention, I know that she can take care of herself.
Kayle in the memory nodded after a moment of contemplating the probability of Azusa giving them a harmful spell and putting their lives at risk after the death of his brother. "Yeah I would be devastated but he's darker, almost like he's got this bad aura around him now."
David chuckled as he climbed up to his feet. He's obviously going to give a playful answer. "No he's always had that. You're just finally seeing it." She bit her lip still unsure as her eyes glanced down at her hands. "Look, if he you're really that worried talk to him, or dumped him, either will work really."
Uh, did I miss something or maybe forget? Kayle dated Azusa? Was that in the whole chunk of her memory that we skipped? "Geez David." She chuckled and shook her head at what she perceived would be his nonsense. "Now will you please help me with this?"
She stood up and glanced over the symbol one last time still feeling something off about it again. "Can I see the page?" He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. She thoroughly looked over every inch, but didn't seem to find anything wrong. "No, it's identical, so I don't know why I feel like there is something wrong with it."
Though she may not know what is wrong with it, even with the feeling that there something off, I knew perfectly well what was. "I do." Everybody's eyes suddenly turn onto me for answers. "That symbol isn't for bringing life. It's for taking a life away."
The room suddenly broke out in to worried mumbles and sideways glances. This wasn't exactly a hard thing to grasp and unfortunately the only reason why I know about it is because Erin tried a similar spell but that was to take away magical power and concentrate it into her. This spell that David and Kayle were using would kill the caster in the middle of the circle only. However how would Azusa know who would be the one inside the circle? Killing David would be pointless and if he and Kayle were in a relationship, getting her killed would be futile as well if he wanted to continue being her boyfriend, right? Unless of course Azusa was helping Erin and the spell originally came from her, in which case that means that she followed Kayle and allowed her daughter to be tortured for all those years. It was probably when Kayle put her name down on the letter to Nightingale or perhaps Gedonelune, that Erin was able to track Kayle at all.
"Why would Azusa give David a spell to take life?" Serge asked worriedly, bringing my mind back out of my thoughts.
I shook my head trying to keep a positive outlook, that this teenage boy wasn't trying to get someone else killed just to show someone else how it felt. "It could have been an accident. With the death of his brother he didn't notice the paper he handed to David. However it also could have been on purpose. His was of trying to make Kayle understand how it feels to have a brother die."
"But Kayle already knew that. I mean technically you didn't die but you also weren't in her life anymore. So it was basically like she lost a brother, so why try taking away someone she thought of as a brother at all? What would be the point of that?" Elias asked looking up at me quizzically. Though he did have a good point, he was just overlooking one fact.
"I'm not saying that he did. I'm just saying that if he did, she was happy with David being her brother. Coincidentally that also means that she was not the same mindset as Azusa was at that time. He could've been trying to keep Kayle by trying to turn her into a dark magic user, like he had become." However even to me it seemed like he didn't have any feelings towards Kayle during their confrontation in the courtyard. He acted more desperate as he tried to kidnap her. Maybe he needed her for something. Something that he couldn't otherwise get himself.
Before anyone else could speak David moved to know the circle and let slip a worried sigh. So he too was unsure if he should go ahead with a spell. Kayle looked down at the circle, I guess in hopes that shall figure out what's wrong with it before David could begin to chant. I think it was in the words that she heard David say was when she finally realized what was happening. Her eyes widened at her hand reach for her wand in her cloak. All that time of being attacked by the older students made her faster. She casted a protective barrier spell and placed around David. Everyone watched with eager eyes but I know full well what was going to happen. It felt like my heart was being squeezed so tightly that I was about to burst. My tear ducts burned as I tried my best to hold back tears that threatened to reveal themselves and in the next moment we watched Kayle die. With her putting a barrier around David to provide protection for him, the spell rebounded onto her and with a bright light from the spell, darkness began to take the memory soon after.
The only sound left was David's sorrow filled voice screaming out for Kayle to wake up, to not be gone and not to leave him there alone.
All eyes now moved to Kayle's by being held in Klaus' arms. Even Walter began to have some semblance, some grasp of the heavy past she had to carry. "But if she died, how is she here now?" A knight named Anna asked. I can only think of one reason.
"Let the progress and find out." The Minister said even unsure himself if he wanted to watch the rest of it. She gave her life for the boy she looked at like a brother. I've never been so proud of her and yet felt so saddened by it as well.
The image remained black for a few more minutes until a light began to illuminate and show Kayle on the ground slowly opening her eyes. I took note of the unicorn's body beside hers, the fact that her hair was now pitch black and her skin was the chalky white it was in the other dimension. She looked confused by the tree tops above her, but before she could even begin to comprehend what was happening, David, now newly taken over by dark magic, pinned her down and held his hands to her throat.
At the sight of him strangling her, I wanted to help, to do something, but I had to quickly remind myself that this was a memory and that there was nothing I could do. The confusion and worry in Kayle's eyes didn't even sway the David she once knew to reappear. So with nothing else she could do, she fought against him. At first she tried to push him off her, but he seemed to have placed himself over her in such a way that she couldn't. Her self-preservation was kicking in and she began to wildly move her arms around her to find something to help get him off her. Suddenly came back to life and now she's having to fight for her life again. Her fingers brushed against the tip of the horn barely in reach. I know that this was a memory, but I found myself wanting to encourage her to free herself. David may have been her friend, but right now he was an enemy. Her eyes began to droop, so she slammed her hand down on the horn, grabbed it and hit David with it. When it wasn't enough to knock him off her, she hit him again. Her eyes were closed and she didn't see where the horn had hit. I knew that once she found out, she wouldn't ever forgive herself and that explains why she acted the way she did towards him in the other dark magic prison. She inhaled sharply as David let go of her throat. She began to choke on the air harshly when it rushed back into her lungs as David fell off her and landed beside her. David's hair had changed back to its natural red, which only meant one thing.
Kayle's coughing slowly began to die down after a moment. "What in the world were you thinking?!" She asked looking over and noticing that the unicorn horn was sticking out of his neck. Her eyes widened so much that they could have popped out of their sockets. "Oh my God! David no!"
His blue eyes remained where her face had been as she climbed up to her knees to try to help him, but we all knew that it was too late. There was such pain all over her face and it made me wonder if this was the last day she tried to have family and forced the people coming into her life to be nothing more than temporary acquaintances.
"Now let's see how truly evil she is." Walter said sneering happily with his arms crossed over his chest. His jab was unnecessary and in point of fact highly uncalled for.
"Shut up Walter." Someone said quietly in annoyance at his unwillingness to have any tact in a moment that's not only painful for Kayle herself, but for those of us watching with beating hearts.
Kayle felt for a pulse as tears streamed from her eyes. She was filled with so much sorrow that I wanted to hug her to me and tell her that it was an accident. "David I'm so sorry." She picked up his body and hugged him to her as she cried.
I looked over at Klaus seeing that he was holding her where he could see her face, but tears were falling from her eyes. She couldn't get away from the knowledge that she took her brother's life, even with it being accidental. It all makes so much sense now. Klaus gently wiped the tears up, but by the looks of it, his heart seemed to weigh heavily as he did so. Her crying meant that she was still somewhat awake and feeling all of this. That beautiful heart was burnt by almost all who crossed her path and yet she still fought to be good, to be better than those who scared her. It was admirable.
The Minister had to fast forward the memory again because she cried for almost two hours straight. Eventually she laid his body back down on the ground as gently as possible. She then sat there with her hand on his, just staring out into the forest. Her features looked so sad that you could tell that her heart was broken. It's exactly how I felt when she died in the memory a moment ago. Though I wasn't happy that she had to kill David, or that David took to dark magic to bring her back. I was happy that she was still here. That I don't have to live with the regret that I didn't get to tell her the things that I should have said. There were no noises coming from the forest, save for the wind blowing through the trees. Her eyes were blood shot from being only newly revived and from crying so hard. I know that she's a strong young woman and seeing her broken like this, I felt sad and guilty. Every now and again a new tear would slide down her face as her mind would travel back to the circumstances that lead to David's death. It was something that neither of them should have ever had to go through. "What happened to you David?" She asked finally in a soft whisper. Her eyes fell to the unicorn laying a couple feet from them. "And why would you kill a unicorn?" David's bag grabbed her attention now so she reached over and grabbed it quickly. She looked at it for a moment, her mind wandering into the past to better days before she opened it and reached inside. She seemed to know exactly what she was looking for because she only dug through it for a moment before she pulled out a small brown leather bound book that had been tattered by age. She opened it to the last couple pages and prepared herself for whatever she was about to find out.
The guilt is more than I could bear. How can I live the rest of my life knowing that I killed my best friend, my sister?
Kayle looked over at David's body in horror. She hadn't put together what happened, nor did she fully grasp it yet. To her, she simply fell asleep and had just woken up. Her eyes then drifted to the date on the last page. "A month?!" She practically shouted, but nothing was startled by her outburst. It was breaching the morning so all the critters could still been asleep. "How could a month just go by?" It didn't just go by my sweet little girl.
"Kayle...?" A new voice said from behind her, sounding both surprised and angry. Her eyes widened as her hand paused before she looked back seeing Embri walking through the woods towards her and the spring. So it seems this situation was only going to get worse. Black lines flickered on her skin as the anger and sadness built up within her again. "So you're the powerful magic I felt here. Not the ritual."
I think all of us wore the same facial expression, worry and confusion. Did he know what David was going to do? He said "ritual" like he gave David the idea, or the extra push to try. "What are you talking about?!" She snapped angrily at his lack of attention to David, who was dead beside her.
A murderous look crossed Embri's face as he took a step forward. He didn't seem to be trying to console her. He wanted her power and by his body language he was going to try to take it from her. Oh, I really don't like that guy. Kayle, upon understanding what the headmaster's demeanor was telling her, she was going to move or fight, but before he could get too close to her, or she could move away from him, a barrier moved up around her in protection. "Child move away from him."
The new voice drew our attention to a unicorn as he moved up beside her protectively. This development seemed to surprise everyone. Why would a unicorn come to her defense? Not that I'm trying to complain, but it was still extremely rare. Kayle quickly grabbed David's bag. She began to move away from Embri when a loud boom made her freeze in place and look up seeing Embri's Nue stood before her, trying it's best to break the barrier. "Get out of here!" She snapped towards the unicorn before pulling her wand out of her cloak pocket, pointing it and sending out rather powerful light magic. Originally it would have just annoyed the Nue, but with how much more energy she was now carrying around, it made the creature scream in pain. She, thankfully didn't stop till it was completely obliterated by the light magic. "Dark magic is evil."
The unicorn looked at Kayle slightly surprised as Embri chuckled more than a little bit upset and amused. "Why don't you take a look at yourself Kayle." He mentioned before finally walking away. He realized that he was out matched. "I'll be back." Of course you would try again. Power is the only thing you crave.
The unicorn finally moved once the threat had gone and Kayle looked down at her hands. "Oh my God, no, no, please no!" She tried to wipe off the dark lines of the dark magic in a panic, which only made them darker. Her body, having already been accustomed to a small quantity of dark magic, seemed to allow her to have a bit more control over it now.
"Calm down child." The unicorn said slightly harsh as he watched her begin to freak out, but she didn't listen to him. She was too worried, too scared with the comprehension that she had dark magic. "Calm Down!" The unicorn yelled so loudly that she fell backwards on the ground in surprise. She eyes stared up at him wide eyed. "You can control it. I can feel that you have the power to overcome this. Please come with me."
Come with him? I guess that it would be safer than her staying and Embri getting his hands on her, but where was he going to take her? Kayle's eyes fell on the bodies in front of her. "What about them?"
He looked over at the unicorn and David, his eyes fixed with sorrow and anger. "I will ask the fairies to bring his body back." His eyes noticed the look building on Kayle's face. Her eyes were pleading for him not to leave David there alone. "If the boy means that much to you, I will ask for his body to come with my friend."
That's uncharacteristically nice of a unicorn to offer, especially when he had killed one of his own. "Thank you." However Kayle's voice sounded so far away as her mind wandered farther.
"I am Salazum." He said before he turned to leave. That's Salazum? Well that explains why they have the relationship that they do.
"I'm Kayle." She took once last glance towards David before following after Salazum slowly. Walking away from David seemed to take its toll on her, leaving someone she loved behind. Maybe that's why she refuses to let Klaus or myself to be close anymore. Is my darling daughter trying to make sure that none of us end up like David? Is she putting her happiness aside so that we didn't get caught up in this, to which we did anyway? And why was Salazum so protecting towards her? Her friend killed another unicorn. I thought he would have killed her too, not help her. What was the purpose of bringing her with him?