9 The traitorous departure

(This chapter may not be the most Christmasy chapter that was ever written. Your mood may suffer a bit.)

Today was the day Aurora would go on her very own adventure. She felt really excited and a little scarred to suddenly be alone somewhere she didn't know.

She had calmed herself down a little since she had heard the recording and felt like watching the video she didn't see yesterday right now, before she was swept by her day.

She booted up her computer and searched for the page were she had seen it yesterday. Since it was searched by so many people, the search engine threw it at her immediately and she clicked on the play button to watch it. She was curious to see what kind of guy was the super criminal who's head was wanted everywhere in the world.

It was the girl that talked first, presenting them both. She apologized for them both. The boy kept his mouth shut and Aurora wandered if he really wanted to apologize or if he was making her do it for him because he wasn't feeling sorry at all.

The girl then explained what had happened to them. Aurora couldn't even imagine what it would be like if everyone wanted her dead. People disliked her on the internet and it was driving her crazy, how worse would it be if the dislike was changed into killing intent? The girl told everyone that she was there on her own free will, it wasn't a kidnapping. Aurora felt a little relieved by hearing this, it sounded stupid, but she thought that at least, he wasn't a kidnapper.

What she said after made no sense at all. How could they not know? If someone around her was to plot something this big, surely Aurora would notice. There was no way she would be caught by such a crazy plan. The girl had to be lying. What's more, to be paid with a battle monster seemed weird and somehow disingenuous. Wasn't everyone supposed to receive a starter at some point? She thought the government had the obligation to hand out a basic one if the family could not provide one. It was a necessary thing for the coming of age trip anyway, only thieves and crooks would make deals on monsters. Honest people made exchanges in healing centers.

They then said they would fight the police to the death which scarred her. Only crazy people would fight the police or the army! If she ever was in the same situation, she would definitely hide somewhere and never come back out.

After that, it came to the boy turn who had to answer a bunch of questions. She almost laughed when she saw him struggle to take the computer in his hands while trying to keep the girl in his arms.

He read the first question and showed a picture of a victim to the recorder. She couldn't see auras through a screen so she had a hard time seeing if he was trying to pass the fault of his death to someone else or if he didn't care at all. The girl tried to fix his speech and he stopped. At least, he was honest on the fact that he didn't want to die.

He then got angry when someone asked his favorite color. Aurora felt like he was a brute who disliked everything that wasn't the girl beside him. On a side note, Aurora felt the same about the color grey, it was ugly.

The girl got annoyed at his attitude but he ignored it and rolled the next message which was just terrible. He bickered with the girl again on if he had to answer that or not and then proceeded to destroy the comment with pure logic dripping with condescension. She would definitely not argue against him on the internet, he felt like the kind of guy who made everyone angry but left them no door to come back at him anyway.

He then made a self deprecating joke and read the next question under the laughter's of the girl who seemed thrilled by his answer to the insult for some reason. He admitted he didn't feel guilty at all and Aurora felt good about having guessed right, he was just an evil brute after all.

As she was proudly grinning and taking a victory pose standing on her chair, she was abruptly brought back by the next question which was about herself! Why were they asking him about her?

He proceeded to deeply analyse the question and noticed a bunch of things in it that Aurora would never have thought of herself. Why were they thinking her dad was a criminal? Why was there a video of her? There weren't any cameras in the dining room! Why didn't she think of that before?

As the pair had started bickering at each other again, she was rapidly falling in a panicked state. There was someone in the house who wanted everyone to hate her. Who was it? Why? Was she in danger? Was she still spied on? Before she noticed it, he was comforting the girl about something and the video ended.

Once again, silence thundered through the room. She slowly took a look around her room. Was there a camera in her room too? Was there a way to find it that wouldn't involve turning everything upside down?

Unlike what she usually did, she fetched a change of clothes first before going to the bathroom, she would change in there. Surely there would be no camera there. While being at it, she took the keytar too. She was too scared, she wanted it with her in case she needed her budding-saurian. She also had a collapsible baton but in was in her bags in the plane already. It didn't matter much, she was truly too weak to use it right anyway.

Once she had her Music instrument strapped and her clothes in hand, she opened the door of her room and took a step outside to arrive face to crotch to the butler. She raised her eyes to look at his face. What was he doing there? He was never there usually.

"Aurora" He said "Were you perhaps about to go see your father?"

(No, I was going to take a shower.) She signed before showing him her clothes.

"Oh, of course. I will wait here for you to be finished."

(Why?) She was finding him strange, and his aura was of a dark color this day.

"Well, why not? Is it not my job to follow you around? Your father especially asked me to go with you to see him today and since you are about to go away, it is the last day I will have to serve you in a while. Might as well do the best I can."

So he was just displeased to have to follow her around today? Was this why his aura was strange. She didn't care anyway. Since he did not move aside, she had to go around him to exit her room and go down the corridor.

Once at her destination, she didn't waste much time in the bath, washed herself quickly and put on her clothes. Once again, she unlocked the door and took a step outside to almost bump into the butler. She raised her eyes to him once again and shot him a glare. What did he want? Why was he so annoying today?

"Are you perhaps ready to go see your father now?"

(No) She sharply gestured at him. (I'm going back to my room because mother will want to play with my hair like everyday else. You would know if you ever did your job properly.) His aura darkened some more for an instant before going back to its previous state.

"Of course, excuse me, please don't mind me and proceed."

He wasn't sorry at all! She screamed in her head whilst going around him once again. As she went back up the corridor, she could hear him following her. Once she got back to her room, she shut the door behind her and awaited anxiously the arrival of her mother. She wanted to be done with this quickly and be rid of both the butler and the possible camera hell.

She wondered if there was a record of her nude body somewhere. What kind of pervert would put a camera in a ten years old girl bedroom? Maybe there wasn't any here. She tried to convince herself of this before her mother entered the room.

Her mother finally showed up, quickly closing the door behind her. Her aura felt disturbed, she must have met the butler outside.

"It's unusual for him to be standing there. Is he there because of your departure today?"

Aurora nodded to confirm and her mother approached with big strides.

"I know you will have quite a day today so I won't be long with your hair but I have things to tell you so please listen to me today."

Aurora threw her a questioning look to ask what she wanted to say but her mother understood it differently.

"Oh please, don't try to lie to me now, I know you never listen to a word I say when I come here, it's like I'm talking to a wall. Today though, you have to listen to me, it's important. Maybe I shouldn't have waited until the very last day to tell you this but I'm not very good with that kind of things."

For once, her mother seemed very serious so Aurora decided to focus on her and listen to what she was about to say.

"It's about your aura thing."

Aurora was surprised to hear this, She knew her parents knew about it of course because she had managed to tell them somehow when she was smaller but they never mentioned it afterwards. her mother had told her it was a gift from the creator but never said a word about it again. She was pretty sure they didn't care.

"I didn't let the butler in because I didn't want him to hear this, only you should know because that gift is extremely rare. I'm sure you understand this but you shouldn't tell people that you can see their auras. They may try too... Get the gift for themselves if they know. Be careful."

Her mother had never been so serious before, Aurora nodded while looking at her straight in the eyes to signify her understanding. She would tell no one about either of her gifts.

"Did you know you could do much more with it than just see the aura around peoples?"

She shook her head, she didn't know because no one ever told her. Maybe she could have looked on the internet to know?

"Good, it seems I will be able to teach you at least a little something while I arrange your hair. Let's go with a practical tied up braid knot today so your hair doesn't get in your way while you travel."

As she started playing with the hair of her daughter, she explained all that she knew about the auras.

"You see, I know a little about it because the gift runs in my family. I don't know much of how to use it because neither me nor my mother had it to the great disappointment of my grandmother. She was the last one to have it before you."

Aurora didn't know that, and she loved stories, she listened carefully.

"My mother said that no one could ever lie to my grandmother because she could see straight trough them. She always knew where everyone was and who entered her home because she could feel them. She told me that my grandmother could tell who moved an object just by looking at it because of the lingering aura or something. Someone good with the gift like her is supposed to be able to almost read the minds of other people, they can track people with only their aura and even shape their own into a physical form."

Aurora felt really excited and surprised. Could such things really be done?

"Grandma showed it to me only once, she moved her hands a little and then, between me and her, a thin and translucent film of green light appeared. I moved my hand to it and I could feel it's warmth even if it shouldn't have been there. She said that even if it was that thin, it could stop the charge of a taureau."

Aurora opened her mouth in a O to express her surprise. If it was real, it was incredible!

"I'm sure you will be able to do the same one day. I wish I was able to teach you how." She said with an aura of sadness surrounding her. "But sadly I wasn't born with the gift. I felt angry that I couldn't do all those incredible things, I felt like all of it should have been mine but it wasn't. Out of anger, I refused to listen to my elders when they tried to teach me the way. Why did I need to learn it if I couldn't use it? It all felt so pointless and frustrating. I feel so stupid now, you do have the gift but no one is there to tell you how to use it anymore."

Her mother was crying now but still, she resolutely shaped her hair how she wanted it to be. Aurora felt sadness for her. She had never seen her mother like that before.

"When I understood you had it I despaired. I searched for someone who could teach you but as expected, the people who do have the gift don't want to be found. I came back empty handed. I had failed my whole family, I knew now that I had been childish and despicable but I couldn't go back. I felt ashamed and dreaded the moment I would tell you this. I wanted to make it up to you somehow but I didn't know anything as useful. All I knew was how to charm, how to please the eyes of everyone, how to arrange hair and apply makeup. I did try to teach you all this but you never were interested. My teachings had as little value to you as I thought those of my elders had to me. Every time I saw you I felt shame at how bad I was doing and I just stopped coming to see you. I'm so sorry Aurora, I failed you as a mother... In the end, all I could do was tell you that those power existed."

Aurora was crying too now. Was she hurting her mother this much all along just by not paying attention to her hair? She felt so sorry. She turned around and hugged her sobbing mother, preventing her from finishing her hair. She put all her strength in her small arms and her mother wrapped her in her own arms too, letting go of all her tears.

"Please be safe out there. I know I have no rights for asking anything of you but the world outside isn't as charming as in the books you love so much. Don't do anything dangerous and come back to me in one piece. Only one badge is plenty, don't try for too much."

She wanted to tell her mother she would, but she couldn't. She just maintained the hug for a while longer.

"I know I'm a bad mother sweetheart, but I still love you more than anything else. I could not give you what you needed but I hope my haircuts will help you when you will need all the charm of an aurora."

This was the most important thing she had said yet. Even if she often felt angry at her, she loved her mother very much too. If she could, she would tell her a million times over. I love you too.

"You know, we called you Aurora because even if there are plenty of stars, they are only small dots in the night sky. On our honeymoon up north, your father and I saw the most beautiful of all aurora borealis, covering everything with a blanket of dancing colors. It was pushing the night away leaving only brightness. We wanted you to be as big and colorful as that. Not everyone have the chance to witness an aurora borealis but those that do always say it was beautiful. To me, you are just as stunning and I want everyone who sees you to feel the same."

Was this the real reason behind all those hairstyles? To help her be the most charming she possibly could? She felt her mom was silly. Aurora didn't need everyone to think she was a beauty, only her mom and her father was enough for her. After a little longer, her mom dried her tears and freed herself from the hug.

"I still need to finish your hair and makeup. Quickly dry your tears while I tie this up with the hairpin."

Aurora wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hands and turned her head to face the mirror once again.

"To end up the discussion about aura, I have no idea how to use it but there is a way. You will have to find it yourself like when your father tells you to do something."

She nodded her head weakly to signify she understood.

"Done, shall I take a picture of it then? Before I help you do your makeup."

Aurora shook her head and bent forward to pick up the book with all those hair pictures. She recognized the one her mother had just made, it was the same one as a couple of days before. Like a big hair flower. She opened the book and quickly flipped the pages to the one she wanted and showed it to her mom.

"Oh my." Her mother said after taking a look at it. "You are right, it is the same. I must have been talking of something important, I can't remember doing it at all."

She felt guilty now for not listening to her mother more often. She sat back down and let her mother explain makeup stuff to her for a little while. When the master decided it was good enough, she let Aurora go on to her business. The girl still had the book in her hands. At first, she had planned to leave it here since it wasn't useful to her and she had a copy of some of those pictures on her peargear but she wasn't sure anymore. She wanted to keep it with her but at the same time was scarred of damaging it on her trip. For once, her mother seemed to understand her hesitation.

"I made so much effort for this, did you think it was the only one I made? I have two spare at least. Go ahead and bring it with you, that is the reason I made it after all."

Aurora felt relieved and hugged her mother again.

"I will miss you and our hair time dear. What will I do all morning now?"

She thought she would miss her too. Even so, it was time to go now. She lightly kissed her mother's cheek and went on her way, her keytar strapped around her, her pearball in her pocket and the book in her arms. She once again opened the door to her room to see the butler standing in front. He opened his mouth to ask again but she knew what the question was by now and the answer too. She shook her head, she wanted to go get breakfast first. She would get herself some eggs and bacon and say goodbye to the cooks before going to her father. Hergis the butler seemed displeased by this.

"Could you not just go already so I could go on with my own day?"

Aurora felt like it was a valid point, if he was to get out of her way once she saw her father, she should just get rid of him first before going back to the kitchen. If he came with her there, he would definitely spoil the mood. Let's do that then.

She started to walk towards her father's study. Once the butler noticed where she was going, his aura changed for the better. He was so despairingly frustrating, she disliked him so much.

As she progressed through the corridors, something came to her mind. What if Hergis was the one who took the video? Who else would dislike her so much but him? She always thought he was just lazy and pathetic but maybe he was even worse than she thought. She almost turned around to ask him if he really did it but decided otherwise. There was no point in asking him here, she could still do it in her father's office. It would be safer in case it really was him. With that in mind, she arrived at her destination and knocked on the door.

"Aurora? You are earlier than expected. Come in if it's you."

He must have thought she would go get her breakfast first. She opened the door as Hergis responded from behind her.

"It is us indeed sir Stardust."

"Good."

Once inside, she saw that her father had turned his chair to the window turning his back to her. She could still see his aura though. He felt sadness, she knew him well, he was hiding his crying face with the chair. This was probably why he asked for Hergis to be there, he did not want her to see him cry. She still knew because of the gift though. She decided to not tell him she knew to protect his pride. To make everything easier, she stored the book away first. She then asked Hergis to tell him good morning on her behalf and he did.

"Good morning she says."

"Yes, good morning to you too Aurora. Today is the day of your departure, have you decided where you wanted to go?"

(Yes I did)

"She did sir."

"Before we start, did you find a way to teach your battle monster?"

(Yes, I can use my keytar to issue commands.)

"She says that yes, she found out she could use her keytar to command it."

"Good, you found your way, as expected of you."

Aurora felt proud of herself and smiled.

"So tell me, were did you decide on?"

(I chose to go to the Federation of Vanta, I won't appear as out of place there with my budding-saurian.)

"She chose Gleanne."

Huh? What did he just say? Aurora got suddenly confused and her father was the same although not for the same reasons.

"Gleanne? I didn't expect that choice, I thought for sure you would choose something like the Federation of Vanta or maybe Hoasanto. It feels more like your style. You know it is dangerous there right now, they haven't caught the terrorist yet."

She knew, he was totally right, she would choose Vanta over Gleanne a million times over.

(Hergis, what are you doing?) She signed in panic. His aura had changed and gave her a sick feel, almost as sickening as the grin he was slowly revealing.

"She says that she knows, but she also think that there will be so much presence from the police there that it should actually be safer than otherwise."

(Stop it!)

"If you say so sugar, I won't interfere, this is also part of your test after all. I hope you are right."

She quickly reached for her p-gear in her pocket and texted her father, telling him Hergis was lying. The butler just looked on with an ever larger grin. She sent the message but the only thing she got in return was an <unable to connect> message. How was this possible? The butler signed her the answer.

(Not as reliable as you thought it was now is it?) He was mocking her.

(What did you do?) She asked in panic.

(We added your number to the list of banned contacts of both his phone and emails. You can't reach him.)

She was really scarred now. She tried to dash to her father but the butler just caught her and raised her in the air by the arms to prevent her from making any sounds.

"Then I guess it's time for us to say goodbye." Her father said with melancholy.

She never wished to have a voice as hard as this very moment. She couldn't reach her keytar because Hergis held both her wrists above her and her shoulders hurt. She couldn't reach her ball either and even if she tried to kick him, she was too small to reach him.

"Before you leave, I wanted to tell you something. I knew the rite of passage would make you strong of body, and friends would make you strong of heart but I wanted you to be strong minded too. You are my only heir and I wanted you to be able to think and act by yourself, I didn't want you to overly rely on us so I chose to not learn the sign language and asked your mother to do the same."

What kind of reason was this? She had a hard time understanding with all that was happening.

"I know it may be hard to understand but since no one here could understand you clearly, it forced you to become clever, rely on yourself above anyone else and find other paths than those used by most people. I think it worked and I am really proud of you. I can't wait to see my very own Aurora cover the sky with her colorful nature."

She really needed him to turn around now. It was her only hope. However much she struggled, she had no effect. She was too small and light to have any effect on him at all. She couldn't free herself. "Please turn around!" She cried in her head as tears rolled down her face, displacing the hard work of her mother.

"I wish you to know that all the things I've done where for your best interest and that I love you. I hope to see you again soon."

"She does too." Said the butler.

That was the only one true thing he said. She wished to see him as quick as right now.

"You can go now then, I will inform the pilot of your destination."

"Then excuse us."

The butler turned around and dragged her out of the study, closing the door slowly with his foot while maintaining his grasp on her. Once closed, he started walking away from it, still not letting her go. She continued to struggle in desperation.

"You think I will let you off now? So close to your dad's office? Stay put and I won't hit you."

She couldn't understand what was going on. What was the point of this all? Was he just being mean? She was sure now he was the guy who took the video but couldn't figure out what that was all about. Why tell her father she wanted to go to Gleanne, what was the point?

Once they were far enough, he put her down and made her face him by gripping her jaw. It hurt, he was gripping too strongly.

"You must be asking yourself what is going on huh? You belong to Dragonlaw now. At first I was supposed to have you all for myself and train you into our perfect slave before I turned you over but they changed the plan before you were even big enough for me to touch. A shame really, you would have been good if you turned out like your mother. Now it's all gonna be wasted on the others."

She didn't understand half of what he said. She did gather that she was to be some sort of slave for Dragonlaw. How could this even be possible? Slaves weren't a thing that really existed right? What did they have to do with any of this anyway? Were they not a gang of terrorist on the other side of the planet, all the way to... Gleanne.

"Straight to the plane you go. All the good stuff you brought with you will be really useful to us, or at least, it will make us good money."

(You were the one who made the video right?) She needed to confirm, she hated being in the dark and not know what was going on.

"So what, it's part of the plan. You have much more important stuff to care about right now. He said as he grabbed one of her wrist once more to drag her to the front door. Don't try anything stupid with your puny monster, any one of my own six can easily crush it."

She was still in her own home, if only she was able to get away from him, she could get someone to help. She tried to free herself from his hand but he wouldn't let go. She decided to bite his hand to force him to release her. It was super effective! He made a muffled scream as the taste of blood spread in her mouth.

"You bitch!"

Still he didn't release her. Instead, he used the back of his other hand to hit her on the cheek with a hard slap. The slap echoed in the corridor and her mind went blank. She was spun around by the shock and fell on the ground. Just one had been enough, she couldn't feel her mouth anymore, it was all buzzing in her head. Her vision had blurred for a second and now her face was on the ground, with her arm hanging in the air behind her as he was still holding it.

"Oooh, I so wish I was the one to break you, look at what you did to my hand! Get up!"

He yanked at her arm hard and she felt pain in her shoulder but she couldn't find her balance. She felt so dizzy, she couldn't get up. He raised her up in the air using only her arm and looked at her face but she stayed half limp, trying desperately to get her senses back.

He looked at her pitiful state and said.

"Oh well, let's go with a different approach then."

He wrapped his fingers around her neck, his palm in the back underneath her hair and his fingers reaching all the way to the front. He released her arm and made her stand up holding her only by the neck. He bent forward to get near her ear and talked slowly.

"Listen carefully. You are going to walk where I tell you to and if you don't do it fast enough for my taste, I will squeeze you neck harder."

To help her picture his words, he gave it a squeeze. She felt his fingers dig into her throat, the air she was breathing barely went through anymore and her whole face felt hot. By reflex she sent her hands to try to undo his grip. She felt so scarred. Her fingers twinned with his, trying with all her might to make them part but he only squeezed harder. Was he going to kill her?

"The more you struggle, the harder I will grip."

It took a long time for her dizzied and breathless self to understand what he had just said. Once she did, it took her all her courage to convince herself to let go of his hand. She let her arms go limp on her side as her vision was slowly turning dark. At last, death's grip was released and she felt as if a million ants swiftly crawled up her head.

"Be glad you are too small for me to touch you or you would have it way harder right now."

Was he not touching her right now? Her head was spinning so much she didn't understand. What was he saying? She focused on taking on air instead.

"Now move!"

She willed her legs to go and made a trembling step forward, then a second. All her mind was focused on her feet, she just had to move one then the other, then again, and again. She was so scarred he would strangle her again. Her face was covered in tears from the fear and pain but she didn't notice, she just put one foot down after the next. The hand on her neck kept her straight, she couldn't fall, she only had to think about her feet. Left and right, then left again. There was nothing else in her head but dread and her own feet.

One time, Hergis must have felt like she wasn't moving fast enough and gave her neck a little squeeze. It made her panic so much that in her surprise, her legs went rigid by themselves and she tripped. She would've fallen flat on her face but the hand kept her from doing so, instead, he just choked her some more.

"Go on, we don't have all day!"

She resumed her task, left, right, left, right.

Eventually, she was sat in a car heading towards what she assumed to be the airport. She wasn't quite sure how she got there. Everything felt unreal and fuzzy. The left side of her face was hurting so much, she had never felt such a pain before. Her neck felt sore too. She tried to move her jaw a little but not only did it refuse to close itself, it felt super painful, for once, it was a good thing she didn't need it for anything.

So many thoughts were swirling in her head all at once, trying to get her attention. The video, her missed breakfast, her missed goodbye. Maybe it was all just a bad dream. How could real life be so painful? She would soon wake up and see that nothing had happened at all. It could only be this, why else would criminals target her? Why didn't they see anyone at all in the corridors all the way to the front door. This had to be the explanation. Why her if not that? She never wronged anyone before did she? What was happening?

When they got to the airport, Hergis just dragged her into the family's private plane and sat her on one of the seats.

"Uhrg, wipe your face, there's snot and drool everywhere."

It was true, she was drooling everywhere, she still couldn't feel her jaw. She had nothing to wipe her face with though. She looked around for a tissue or something in fear he would do something to her again. She still received a hit on the same cheek. This one had been less powerful than the first, she knew, but it still hurt as much as the first.

"Use your dress idiot!"

She felt it was disgusting but still complied. Just the feel of her white dress on her face was hurting her really badly. She started to cry again from the pain.

"Mhn, good enough. Drink this, he said while handing her a small cup. It will make you sleep through the trip so you don't do something stupid on the way there."

Aurora didn't want to drink it but she was too scared to not do it. She gripped the small cup with her shaking hands and asked herself for a split second if she would even be able to drink it. She could already feel some more drool escaping the corner of her mouth and she still couldn't move her jaw. She threw her head backwards and spilled the liquid in her mouth. The taste mixed with the taste of blood and felt overall disgusting. She felt the liquid go in her throat but failed to swallow it. She had never noticed before that she wasn't able to swallow with her mouth open. She chocked on it and spit it everywhere.

"What the fuck are you doing? Just swallow it!"

Hergis intervened and closed her mouth himself by pressing her head down from the top and her jaw upward. They both heard a big crunch and Aurora jumped from the impossible pain and went limp.

"Oh." Hergis said, surprised. "I must have broke it earlier. Well, I think it's fixed now anyway."

He was about to give her another drink to replace the one she had almost spat out completely but then noticed that she had passed out from the pain. She had slumped down in a ball on her seat and wasn't moving anymore.