Ms. Avry was brought into the Duchess's office while blindfolded. The guards had her hands tied up and released her when she had entered the threshold of the room. They all left with the Duchess's command. The blindfold was taken away, a very blurry scene had captured her for a while.
As soon as the rope against her wrists was released, she brought out a pocket knife from her sleeve and held it against the person's throat. "Please don't be scared, it's just me." Aefia spoke with a blank expression as Ms. Avry held her against the chair. "Aefia! You were right about that crazy woman until then, we need to get going." She tried to yank her away towards the door.
When there was hesitation, she glanced at her with a very complicated face. "What is wrong? Did you forget something?" She asked with a very mother-like voice. "You are injured, and you seem pretty tired." The duchess put a hand on her shoulder as she tried to calm her down.
The mentor immediately jolted back, while pointing the knife at her. "You have to let go of the both of us, and we will never trouble you again." She spoke as she threatened to stab it through. Ms. Avry glanced back at Aefia who had a very expressionless face, unlike always during this kind of situations.
"I am sorry, but mom is right." She finally said while lowering her hat over her face to cover it. "I am sorry, we had a few terms that changed the direction of things the situation were to flow. In return for her wish, I would be able to let you free to go." Aefia said while having a slightly angered tone lingering in her voice.
"And her wish...was to have you as her daughter?!" Ms. Avry looked back and forth before settling for giving the duchess a very complicated face. "And what do you plan on doing with her? You can't just see one person on the streets and the next thing, you just adopt her like that! What sort of royalty are you!"
Aefia suddenly felt like supporting her words, but she bit back her tongue while also thinking how she would have the remaining of her teammates punished if she broke the terms of the terms. She abruptly stood up, and placed her hat on the table before walking towards her mentor.
She placed a hand on her right shoulder. Then, Aefia pushed her backwards and she held the end of the blade out of the way. "If I remember correctly, this wasn't the terms of the contract we had!" She looked up at the duchess. "And you are the first one to break it!"
She spun the duchess around by twisting her wrist and using her knees to kick her back. Aefia slammed her onto the table and held her in position, "and one of the terms was, for every one rule broken, we get to choose a punishment for the other." She said as she took the knife and let her go.
Aefia tossed the knife back to Ms. Avry. "And another one for the contract rules states that I get to visit you and the others anytime I want. Since my education is right there, I will do a regular movement between the two cities. And before you leave, I can discuss the remaining of the terms for up to two hours." She looked at her mentor with worried eyes. "And I don't need those extra cash now."
"Before that..." Ms. Avry spoke while she let go of the duchess. "What did you do to your clothing! It was expensive and you had it prepared for the banquet!" She screamed as she inspected the wound area and the hat's broken ornament. "You are a very dissapointing child!"
Woman, a human race inseperable from clothing and fashion. But at the end, who am I to judge? Am I not a girl too?
The duchess looked at the way she was worried about the clothing. "Oh yeah, she gets to stay with you for one more day. To pack her things and come leave with us of course. And when she is back home, make sure to council her into thinking she has gotten the best offer. While in return, we will compensate it for a yearly increased household income of a thousand angcles per month."
"No thanks. You can keep your money, but in return you will keep her safe and unharmed." Ms. Avry declared with a sharp stare. Aefia trembled in place as her eyes slowly turned blurry. She instantly looked down as she watched the duchess smiled at Ms. Avry as she said, "it's alright. She will be left unharmed."
That isn't true! That isn't what the contract said! I lied about the punishment part, I can't punish her, but she can definitely punish me.
She held her hat over her head while lowering it over her face. "I guess I am alright to go back now." She said as she walked towards the door. "Don't forget to take your relative with you." The duchess called out as she slowly spun around to look at Aefia.
Ms. Avry walked towards her as she stood in place just before the threshold of the door. "She knows, Duchess...or should I say two faced hypocrite?" She spoke while throwing her knife towards her head, which the duchess caught just in time. "Call me what ever you want, that girl is my daughter."
Ms. Avry grabbed Aefia's shoulder, and she slapped it while turning around. "Remember that fact that you trapped me into being your daughter! I already knew you were a bad ruler when I first saw you, and I feel sorry for your children, husband and your cities that you supposedly govern. Like your people, like the duchess." She held her fist slightly above the Duchess's face as she grabbed the collar and making her kneel.
Anger flared along her veins as she struggled to keep herself from actually hitting the royalty in front of her. The duchess flashed a grin with sharp and bright yellow eyes, which didn't apply against Aefia's Wolf element. "Your element is the Lion. The mental damage it deals won't work against the Wolf, and I suppose I don't need to explain it, do I?"
She let go of the collar and walked out of the door while slamming it shut behind her. Guards asked to escort her, which were all rejected along the way. Since she was now an official member of the royal family, they had no choice but to obey her.
Aefia had siblings she hadn't met, nor did she have a conversation with. For short, they too didn't know it yet, and she also didn't want to meet them. The only sibling she considered herself properly bonded to, was her brother back on Earth.
"You are not regretful for the choice you made?" Ms. Avry asked her while they were in the carriage back to their office. Aefia stared out of the window with an empty mind going through what had happened since yesterday. It was as if fate was saying it was still not enough suffering for her even in this universe.
"Hey?" Ms. Avry snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Hmm...oh...what were you asking again?" Aefia replied while looking at her mentor. "Oh about my regrets? I have no choice at this point. If I had rejected the offer, she would have killed you and the rest, which would result in the foundation being found out."
"I see. So what are you planning on doing after you leave the office?" Ms. Avry asked as she noticed how stressed Aefia seemed. "Nevermind, I will leave the matter to you." She said as she too glanced out of the window, while passing many people on the streets.
After quiet the moment of silence had passed, Aefia finally spoke. "Ms. Avry, how many people have you seen walking on the streets?" She was still staring into blank space while her mouth seemed to be moving themselves.
"I haven't really seen much, but I just saw around twenty maybe? Why are you asking?" She asked as she looked at the streets again with more precise observations. "But they aren't just how many there are in front of the shops, there are still shopkeeper, customers and passerbys, maybe even children and elderly."
"And I wonder just how many of them would do what things if they were in my position." Aefia spoke as a reply while resting her chin on her hand. "What would they have done, if they were beaten up to just sign a contract that makes you the daughter of a royal family where your presence was never really required."
"I mean, it can't just be for no reasons. The duchess does have proper intentions with you it seems, and let's not see the bad things, and focus on the positive right? You haven't come to this place just to be facing problems like this, maybe when you have solved the problem and the reason behind the destructions, you maybe return home and enjoy the rest of your life in peace." Ms. Avry spoke trying to cheer her up.
"In just any universe, peace means trouble." Aefia replied while closing her eyes. "I have tried many times, trying to seek peace, was like getting into more trouble. There is exactly no time on any dimension or in any universe, that peace is actually something toleratable."
Ms. Avry looked at her with sorry eyes. "Maybe you are actually right. Seeking freedom is like seeking more battles."
"I wonder why, that without problems, life is useless, and with problems, life is tragic." Aefia finally faced Ms. Avry with a smile on her face. "But I guess pain is something worth enjoying, isn't that what we all learned in our life? Some teenagers like me...they take there lives for many unworthy reasons, and some who survive, seek revenge or completely change, before actually realizing that it wasn't necessary."
"What do you mean by that?" Ms. Avry spoke with a slight annoyance.
"I am meaning...if I die, you said I will be sent back to Earth to continue my life." Aefia said while glancing out the window again. Suddenly, Ms. Avry got up and held her shoulder against the seat. "I will never allow a child like you to die in my observation." She said as tears rolled down her eyes.
"And what would you be able to do about that?" Aefia smiled as she suffered from the pain behind her shoulder. "I just want to return to Earth, and continue my life there. I have heavy confidence that a lot of other students can stop the destruction in my place."
Ms. Avry let go of her before returning to her seat. "Nevermind that Aefia, you are smarter than you say you are dumb. And I have confidence that you won't do that thing that you have in mind."
Or maybe I will. Aefia thought internally. "I don't know, but you are right that I will not give up now. But I will suffer a little bit more with family matters back at the castle after I move there. I want to enjoy my last day at the office, maybe eat breakfast and have a walk around. And maybe think about packing my things."
"I don't know what you really want to do when you mean by that, but I am certain that I will miss you as my student...and maybe even stop wondering about the house and get a smaller one? It will be sad to have an empty room just like that." Ms. Avry spoke while wiping her eyes.
"Why? What if I visit you all during the breaks?" Aefia smiled as she looked at Ms. Avry with gentle eyes. "I won't just stay at that large castle and think about how I can just live my life's fullest there. Also, you can use my weekly salary to pay for the house and the utilities."
"Aefia...you are just a caring child, that's why I am a bit upset about seeing an empty room." Ms. Avry laughed. "How do you see me as a caring child? I am just a daughter of another mother who seems to care about the current mother keeping her safe." She replied. "I may be a harsh child with a very violent background."
"I have no doubt you are one kind of a harsh child who seemed to be associated in some sort of crime facility back in your previous life." Ms. Avry spoke while looking at Aefia, who zoned out in a mention of a word.
***
"Oh, they are back." Helio said as he noticed them enter. Only when Aefia was supposed to be happy, she seemed a bit odd. Her red uniform was slightly stained a deeper red in the shoulder area and her palms. Without hesitating, she walked towards the nurse's room, followed by Ms. Avry.
"The duchess is a very cruel person, I was once a medic there." The nurse spoke while applying ointment on her hand. "But I didn't think she would go this far to get a child harmed like this. The only hope is, she doesn't continue to do the same thing."
"So how did you get away from her palace?" Aefia asked as she felt the burning sensation on her wound. "Did you run away and leave everything behind while making it seem like you were robbed?"
"Oh yes, how did you guess it?" The nurse asked with a very concerned face. "Uh! Right! This children are magic users and they have gotten pretty smart with situations now." She said while grabbing the bandage to wrap it tightly.
Aefia immediately got down and walked towards her room, while coming out a short while after with normal appearance and a cloak over her head. She didn't stop by the canteen, nor did she go towards the meeting room, but directly towards the front lawn.
By stepping out in the snow, she let her hood fall and white ice crystals settled onto her dark hair. She walked into the wood which was connected to the open field, where trees were dense. She stood staring into the sky, as a beast lunged at her and slammed her down in the ground.
"Sorry, but I have no willingness or what so ever to fight today." She closed her eyes, but a moment later, she heard the beast collapse on the ground next to her. Aefia immediately sat up and glanced at the person who did the killing with shock.