Arcadia's Knight Academy had never looked so dead. The students that would normally be bustling around were not present, the instructors that should have been filling the halls were absent, and the servants that worked on keeping everything neat and tidy were gone. It was like stepping into an abandoned cathedral.
Built on the edge of Axium, the academy in which nobles train to become the knight of a sorceress was a massive structure that had been walled off from the rest of the city. These large walls had five towers, forming a pentagon meant the represent the five elements.
A group of cloaked individuals walked into the courtyard through the front entrance. They stopped upon entering, slowly turning their heads to look this way and that, observing the completely silent and empty courtyard, which should have been bustling with students.
"Man... it's like a ghost town," Christo muttered from beneath his hood.
"Something definitely happened here," Caspian agreed.
"It looks like the entire place was cleared out," Erica murmured.
The nine figures stood in the entrance for some time, wondering if maybe their idea to come all this way had been a bad one, but it wasn't like they could stop now. Heaving a deep sigh, Caspian took a single step forward. Then he took another, and another, and another.
"Come on," he said. "We're not going to find out anything by just standing here."
Passing through the massive double doors, Caspian led the group through a hallway with large half-columns embedded into the walls and a ribbed ceiling. Their footsteps echoed across the empty hall. It sounded ominous somehow, but perhaps that was merely a figment of Caspian's imagination.
"By the way..." Christo began. "Why are we wearing cloaks with hoods? Why didn't we use one of Loki's illusions?"
"Because we're here to speak with the headmaster," Caspian explained. "It would be weird if a bunch of random people he doesn't know showed up, right?"
"I guess... but we could always just drop the illusions after reaching his office." Christo didn't seem convinced that their decision to wear big cloaks was the right one.
"Stop complaining."
"Are we sure Headmaster Stratello is still here?" asked Elincia as they turned a corner and climbed up a set of stairs. They moved slowly, cautiously, as if expecting someone to jump out at them. "I mean, it really does look like this place has been deserted. Perhaps the headmaster also left."
"I don't think he has." Caspian shook his head. "While something has definitely happened to this place, the headmaster has always been dedicated completely to the academy. Even if it's been deserted by everyone else, he'll still be here."
"Caspian is correct," Sylvia announced. "I chose Stratello for this position specifically because of his loyalty toward the cause. I doubt he would leave this school so easily."
Nobody had anything to say about that, and so the group continued until they reached the corridor where the Headmaster's Office was located.
They found a man standing by the office door, garbed in the black and white outfit of a butler. This man seemed both young and old. His physical appearance did not seem to match his mental age. Of course, the reason for this was because of the severe scowl this man was always wearing.
Caspian was actually relieved to see Soren standing there. If he was here, then Stratello must also be in the academy.
"Soren." Caspian removed his cloak as he walked over to the door. "Is Headmaster Stratello here?"
"Caspian?" Soren balked for a moment before his eyes became blood red with rage. "You have some nerve coming back here after everything you've done!"
"Huh?" Caspian tilted his head. He had no idea what this man was talking about.
"Do not play dumb with me!" Soren hissed. "This school has been abandoned, and it's all your fault! Yours and that sorceress with you!"
Caspian didn't know what this man was talking about, and he honestly wasn't sure he cared. Rage flared up inside of him as Soren blamed whatever happened to the academy on Elincia. He wouldn't be so bothered if this man talked about him, which happened so often it was no skin off his back, but talking about Elincia like that was the surest way to piss him off.
Yet just before he could lay into the man, the door he was standing before opened, and a voice spoke out from beyond it.
"That is enough, Soren."
"But Headmaster--"
"I said that is enough." Headmaster Stratello glared down at Soren, causing the man to cower. "What happened here was not the fault of Caspian, Lady Elincia, or anyone else. Also, you need to watch your tongue, or have you not recognized whose presence you're in?"
"Whose presence?"
It was only after Headmaster Stratello talked that Soren finally caught a glimpse of the people with Caspian, all of whom had pulled back their hoods. He gasped when his eyes landed on Sylvia. The man looked like someone had zapped him with lightning as he went ramrod straight.
"L-Lady Sylvia! I had no idea you were also here!" he squeaked.
"Perhaps you should pay a bit more attention to your surroundings then," Sylvia responded in a cool, emotionless voice.
Soren blushed down to the roots of his hair.
"I can take a guess why all of you are here," the headmaster said, saving Soren from further humiliation. "Come inside my office and we will talk more."
Everyone entered Headmaster Stratello's office, which Caspian noticed was even more barren than usual, and that was saying something since this man's office had always been Spartan. The weapons that used to hang from the wall were gone. The desk situated before the window had vanished. Bookshelves were missing. It looked like this entire place had been cleared out.
"Stratello," Sylvia began, "I would like you to inform me of what happened here."
For once, the headmaster really did look his age. His shoulders sagged as though the world was weighing them down. He had a haggard face, with bags under his eyes and hollow cheekbones. Running a hand through his hair, the old headmaster carefully explained what had happened.
"It was a few weeks ago that it all started. A few of the students were withdrawn from the academy. This was a few days after you had been denounced as a traiter, Lady Sylvia, but I hadn't put much stock in what was happening. I figured it was just a small rebellion from a minor noble faction. It wasn't until later that I realized the one who had arranged all this was Duke Callisto De'Falco Genitore."
Hearing that name caused Erica to growl deep within her throat, which actually made everyone look at her. They all knew why she was acting that way. She had informed them about what happened in the Avrondale mines.
Headmaster Stratello continued. "It wasn't long after the duke declared that you were a traitor who'd been working with the elves that a final notice was delivered to the academy. It stated that the academy would be officially disbanded. All of the students were withdrawn, the instructors were laid off, and the servants were sent back to their homes."
"And yet you remained here," Caspian said.
The headmaster shrugged. "Even I will be leaving this place at some point. However, before I left, I needed to at least make sure there was nothing remaining that could incriminate the people working for me."
"Can you tell us about what else is happening?" asked Sylvia, and for the first time, Caspian thought she looked panicked. "What of the other sorceress in Arcadia? What of the Sorceress Council? What are they doing?"
Headmaster Stratello looked at the silver-haired woman with a long, hard stare like he was trying to figure out what he should tell her. Caspian could almost feel his reluctance. Elincia, who actually could feel a little of what the headmaster was feeling thanks to her empathy, reached out and grabbed his hand. She squeezed it tightly. Her worry was rushing into him through their bond.
"It is currently not a good time to be a sorceress," the headmaster finally said with a sigh. He rubbed his beard, which looked a little more rugged than normal, and then continued. "At the moment, sorceresses are considered traitors to Arcadia. Under Duke Callisto's orders, numerous 'Sorceress Hunts' have been undertaken and many sorceresses have been slain at the hands of his murakumos."
A silence fell over the group. Even Erica refused to talk. Sylvia looked like she had swallowed something incredibly foul. Her lips trembled.
"H-how many have fallen?" she asked.
Headmaster Stratello sighed. "At last count, ten sorceresses have been killed. Fifteen have been attacked so far, but five of them managed to escape. The rest have gone into hiding."
Sylvia did not say a single word after that, crossing her arms as though attempting to hug herself. No one said anything to her either. They couldn't even begin to understand what was going through her mind.
"What about the Sorceress Council?" asked Caspian.
"The Sorceress Council has been dissolved." Headmaster Stratello shook his head. "I'm not sure what is going on, but there was an official notice several days ago." He paused for a moment, contemplating something, then sighed. "I believe that after Lady Sylvia was declared a traitor, the sorceresses of other nations decided to wash their hands of the Sorceress Council. I... don't know what the situation is like outside of this country, but I do not believe we should expect aid from the other four nations of the Terrain Alliance."
Caspian grimaced as he realized they truly were on their own. The Sorceress Council had been held together by Sylvia. Without her acting as the glue that kept them together, the other sorceresses had no reason to stick around, and no one wanted to try and replace her. Unlike Sylvia, who truly was selfless, they had their own goals irrespective of the Sorceress Council.
"You nine can stay here for the night," Headmaster Stratello said into the thick, tense silence. "While almost everything has been removed, the rooms within this academy still have beds and hot water for you to use. I also still have a few servants who haven't left yet. I shall have them prepare a meal for you."
Everyone but Sylvia, who still appeared lost, thanked the headmaster for his generosity.
The group left the headmaster's office. Headmaster Stratello had Soren escort them to the rooms they would be staying in for the night. Since there were nine of them and rooms were meant for only two people, their groups were divided. Christo and Collafloore shared one room. Collafloore wanted to be with his sister, but she was sharing a room with Erica and Derek, which caused the young man to wail. Sylvia had her own room. Meanwhile, Cassidy, Elincia, and Caspian were sharing a room.
The room was not the one Caspian had shared with Christo so long ago, but all rooms at the academy looked the same.
As Caspian took off his shirt and boots, he glanced at Elincia, who sat on the edge of the other bed, stroking the sleeping Cassidy's hair.
"She's completely out of it," Elincia murmured with a soft giggle. "She must have been tired."
"Well, we have been doing a lot of traveling," Caspian admitted. "That has to be hard on someone like Cassidy."
"True. When I first began traveling during the time we were sent to Parume, I hadn't been used to it and exhausted easily."
Caspian nodded. Back when they had first begun traveling, Elincia had fallen asleep quite often. It was hard to go from someone who stayed primarily in a city to walking across the country like that. It didn't help that they hadn't even had a carriage because of Jesse and her band of displaced townsfolk.
"Hey, Ele," Caspian suddenly said. "Do you... want to take a shower with me?"
Elincia's ears wiggled as her spine straightened. She stared at Caspian as he looked away, trying not to let her see how embarrassed he felt asking her. Her own cheeks had lit up. However, there was also a large smile on her face as she stopped stroking the sleeping Cassidy's hair and stood up.
"I would love to," she said.
The bathing room at Arcadia's Knight Academy was communal. Everyone except the servants used the same bathing room.
When Caspian and Elincia arrived, the two of them quickly stripped down. Since Caspian was already shirtless, all he needed to do was remove his pants, underwear, and socks, but then he also helped Elincia remove her outfit. Once naked, the two spent time luxuriating under the hot spray of water. However, their relaxing time couldn't last.
Not when Caspian was given such a wondrous sight.
Seeing Elincia under the hot spray of water, her long hair and slender body dripping wet, caused an intense heat to well up inside of him. He and Elincia hadn't been able to have any time to themselves in so long. This was the first time, and he found himself craving her.
"Caspian?" Elincia turned to him, her cheeks flushed. "What's wrong--mph?!"
Elincia gasped in surprise when Caspian pressed her body against the wall and kissed her. Surprise soon gave way to arousal, however, and she was soon kissing Caspian just as passionately as he kissed her. Their tongues became entwined, and soon even their bodies became one.
It felt like it really had been a long time since they had made love, and Elincia's body seemed more sensitive, or maybe receptive to Caspian's touch, then usual. Lyrical cries rang from her mouth as Caspian kissed her everywhere. Her shoulders, her neck, her ears, her breasts, her stomach, and legs. No part of her body was left untouched. It felt to Elincia like Caspian was marking her with his lips and tongue.
The greatest part about having sex, to them at least, was what happened when they connected. While their bond had been fully established and allowed them to speak telepathically and feel each other's emotions, it was strongest when their bodies were also connected. When Caspian pushed himself inside of her, Elincia felt as if she was being filled with him, not just physically but also emotionally and mentally. It was the same for Caspian.
Both of them wished this moment could last forever. But they knew it couldn't. As the two reached a mutual climax, they were forced back from the emotional high spreading to them through the bond. Even so, they remained where they were, with Elincia's back against the shower wall as Caspian pressed himself against her and kissed her lips.
"Caspian..." Elincia murmured.
"Hmm?" Caspian said as he ran a hand through her hair.
"I--"
Whatever Elincia had been going to say was lost to them as the elf froze and her eyes widened in shock. Caspian looked at her in confusion, but then he realized she was looking at something over his shoulder. He turned just his head and froze like her when he saw someone standing in the shower entrance.
A naked Cassidy was standing in the entrance to the showers, a towel wrapped around her body. Her cheeks were flushed bright red as she stared at them. Neither side spoke for the longest time.
"Cassidy," Caspian started, only to be interrupted.
"I-I didn't see anything!" Cassidy screamed. "I didn't watch you two have sex in the shower! I promise!"
As Cassidy rushed out of the showers, Caspian felt a strange sense of shame wash over him.
"She saw everything, didn't she?" he said.
"P-probably," Elincia admitted.
"Great..."
***
This chapter is kinda info dumpy, but I tried to make it easier to absorb by having it take the form of a conversation with Headmaster Stratello. Also, Caspian and Ele are getting their freak on. I don't get very descriptive with my scenes because this is rated OT for Older Teens, but I tried to establish what it was like for them when they have sex.
Please let me know how I did!