Chapter 10

Meanwhile, at Silver Field Academy...

Taegen called for a meeting with the heads of the schools. The meeting was very sudden, and Taegen had told them it was of utmost importance that they attend this meeting.

There were five heads in total, each of whom controlled a section of the school. They are all hundreds of years old, thanks to their genes and the blessings of the gods. and each of them represented the five realms. The Central Realm, home of humans and beast people, is represented by the serpent beastman, Ebenezer Fani; the Forest Realm, home of elves, fairies, pixies, and hobgoblins, is represented by the elven man, Sontar Taegen; the Oceanic Realm, consisting of the merpeople, sea beastmen, and sirens, is represented by the mermaid, Princess Delphine Adella Aquafina the first; the Dessert Realm, consisting of the sphinx, humans, and beastmen, is represented by the human, Richard Bowler; and finally the Heavenly Realm, which is where the angels reside alongside some gods, is represented by the angel, Malekith.

"Wow," Delphine said, taking her seat. Taegen, you haven't called for a face-to-face meeting in five hundred years," she said. Delphine had bright blue scales around her face and gills hidden behind her white, flowing, luscious hair.

"Looking beautiful as always, Delphine," Taegen said in a flirtatious voice.

Delphine huffs a bit. "Unfortunately, I can't say the same for you," she said.

Taegen felt annoyed, so he said proudly, "That's right; after all, a mere mermaid can't compare to the beauty of an elf."

Just as they were about to start arguing. Richard, an old man, who looks like he is in his eighties, cleared his throat. "Although it is always amusing to watch the both of you fight, I'm sure Taegen called us here for an important meeting," he said seriously.

"We don't have all day," Ebenezer said, with a sneer on his face. He had gray scales on his face, his neck, and around his arms.

Taegen became serious and said, "Okay, I'll stop joking."

"So why did you call for this meeting, Taegen?" Malekith asked.

"To address the problem at hand right now," Taegen said. "Ethan called me earlier today--"

"Oh, my gods!" Delphine exclaimed, interrupting Taegen, and annoying him. "Is he alright?" she asked.

"Yes, Delphine, he's alright," Taegen replied.

"Is he still in the hands of Hadrian?" Ebenezer asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or did he realize that he was unable to escape?"

"He escaped, alright," Taegen replies. "And broke Hadrian out of his curse," he said proudly.

Ebenezer didn't believe him, and he expressed his disbelief. "If he already escaped, then why hasn't he returned to the academy?" he asked.

"That's why I called for the meeting," Taegen said. "He's not returning."

"What?" Richard exclaimed.

"His life would be in more danger out there," Malekith said.

"And his life isn't in danger here?" Taegen asked. "I know you all aren't just going to pretend like this is the first time they attempted to kidnap Ethan."

"This is the first time they've managed to do so," Delphine said in a low voice.

That's right, although this is the first time Ethan has been kidnapped, this isn't the first time they've attempted to do so.

"He was never safe in this school in the first place," Malekith said.

"And the only reason he hasn't been taken yet is because he always managed to kill them or we stopped them before they tried," Taegen said.

"And the only reason he doesn't remember this is because of Delphine Siren's Control, which she used to wipe everyone's memories so they don't talk about it," Taegen said.

Everyone was silent. That's true.

"Ethan figured out there might be other puppets in the academy that may cause trouble for him, and that is the reason he is not returning," Taegen explained to them.

No one said anything for a while. "It might be best for Ethan not to return to the academy for now," Malekith said.

Almost everyone protested. But Malekith said, "It wouldn't be wise to bring Ethan back to the academy for now."

"At least let's know the puppets from the students, and increase our security before bringing him back," he said. "After all, although we are training future heroes, we still must protect everyone in this academy and not allow them to go to the dark side."

Everyone agreed on this, and Taegen sighed in relief. He had expected it to be a lot more difficult to convince them not to return Ethan. Although, for the time being, Ethan is not going to return to the academy, he'll have enough time to do whatever it is he's planning. At least he thinks he's planning something.

Taegen didn't realize it, though, but Ebenezer was looking at him suspiciously.

---------------------------

"Ethan," Flora said in a relieved voice, then went over to Ethan and hugged him, surprising Hadrian and Emily, whose mouths nearly dropped to the floor.

Ethan froze like an animal caught in the headlights.

His ears began to buzz, and his left arm began to sting.

And he found himself, standing in front of his unconscious injured child body, and the female butterfly beastman was holding him close, crying for him to wake up. He has a feeling this what happened before he woke up at Silver Field Academy.

He regains his senses, when everyone is looking at him with concern. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"You blanked out, after Flora hugged you," Hadrian said.

Emily looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Ethan nods and looks at Flora, who is looking down, refusing to meet Ethan's eyes. He snapped his fingers at her to get her attention, which worked. It was rude, but he needs to know something, and his brain doesn't seem to remember her name.

"You know me from six years ago?" he asked.

Fiona nods frantically. "Yes, do you remember me?" she asked with hope in her eyes.

Emily couldn't be quiet. "Wait, what's going on?" she asked, trying to stop herself from raising her voice.

Ethan ignores her and calls for the waiter. "We are ready to order now," he said when the waiter got there.

Emily wants to know what's going on, and she's sure Hadrian wants to as well, but that would have to wait until Ethan or Flora want to talk.

They all ordered, and the waiter went to take the kitchen to give the chef their orders.

"I'm sorry, I don't fully remember who you are," Ethan said to Flora, who didn't seem surprised by this.

"It's fine," she said, trying not to cry. "Hunter told me that you might not remember anything."

Hunter? That's the name of the man who saved his life.

"Cousin?" He heard Hadrian say.

"Hunter Ignia is your cousin?" Ethan asked, then he mentally slapped himself. Of course, Hadrian and Hunter have the same last name. "Nevermind," he said before Hadrian could reply.

"You still haven't told us how you know Ethan," Emily said, not liking how she's being left out.

"I knew Ethan since he was about seven years old when he arrived in the orphanage, when we both got adopted by a strange couple who sold us to an unknown organization," Flora explained.

Emily's eyes widened in surprise, while Ethan listened to Flora silently. "Sold off, that's cruel," Emily said.

"I can't say much about the past because of mental trauma," Fiona said laughing, "but the organization is just like Silver Field Academy."

"You know about Silver Field?" Emily said.

Fiona nodded. "Six years ago, Ethan nearly died in my arms from escaping the organization," she said.

Ethan nods, "I remembered that part when you hugged me," he said.

"Is that why you blanked out?" Emily asked.

Ethan nods in response. "Please continue," he said to Flora.

The waiter arrived with their orders: a black devil cake with chocolate icing and dark chocolate ganache with a cup of espresso for Ethan; a mixed berry shortcake and iced tea for Emily; a sugary lemonade for Flora; and a grilled chicken sandwich with a latte for Hadrian.

Once the waiter left, Flora continued. "We were rescued by Hunter Ignia, who found us on the road."

Ethan knew that name; Taegen told him when he called him earlier.

"Cousin?" Hadrian said in surprise.

"He's your cousin?" Ethan asked in surprise. Then he mentally slapped himself. Of course he is; they have the same last name. "Forget it," he said in embarrassment when Hadrian was about to reply.

"He saved our lives, and when I explained our situation to him, he suggested that Ethan stay at Silver Field Academy since that is the safest place Ethan can stay and learn to properly defend himself at least," Fiona explained to them.

"What of you? Why didn't you go to Silver Field with Ethan?" Emily asked.

"Because they never wanted you in the first place," Ethan said, replying for Flora. "Am I right?"

Flora nodded. "Ethan awakened his ability very early, and it was incredibly powerful, and with the fact that Ethan knows the location of the Staff of Nox because his parents are the descendants of the people that hid the staff, many years ago."

"How are you sure that I know where the staff is?" Ethan said.

"Because you told me so, fortunately,one of the heads of Silver Field used her Siren's Voice to shut my mouth." Flora explained. "Then Hunter offered me a job managing Hadrian's life like a nanny; fortunately, Hadrian is such a sweet boy."

'Delphine,' Ethan thought, she is the only head that is able to use the siren's voice.

"By the way, why are you outside the academy? Did they finally get rid of the organization?" Flora asked, taking a sip of her sugary sweet lemonade.

"No," Ethan replies. "It seems like the organization got to Hadrian and used the Curse of Restraint on him," he explains in a monotone voice.

Flora was mortified. "When did this happen?" she asked in surprise.

"It's useless to worry about it now," Ethan said. "They commanded him to kidnap me," he explained.

"But he seems fine now," she said, Flora was breathing heavily, and her body was shaking a bit.

"He is," Emily said, holding Flora's shaking hands. "Take deep breaths," she said, trying to calm her down.

"Ethan broke me out of the curse," Hadrian said, patting his manager on the back. She seems to be broken.

The organization has had him since he was a child. And he got out once, but he nearly lost his life, and he lost his memories of the organization. He escaped too easily this time around. If they want to keep him, they will do whatever it takes to keep him.

What is the Master planning right now?