The court of templars

It took two days of constant medical attention, but Beatrice finally woke up. Marino, the clinic doctor was Akai's friend and she had told him to alert her first when Beatrice awakened. She wanted to hear what Beatrice had to say about what had happened before any other person did, to avoid surprises. 

He called her that morning that she had awakened and Akai rushed to see her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked softly. 

Beatrice sighed, "I feel like I got hit on the head a million times." 

Akai chuckled, "I'm glad you're feeling that way, here, I got you tacos." She picked up the bag of tacos that she had bought before coming over from the floor, and handed it to Beatrice whose eyes widened in excitement. 

"Oh, thank goodness! The thought of eating hospital food was depressing." She said gratefully, took out the tacos from the bag and didn't hesitate to start munching on them. 

"Marino says you have a concussion, that you might not remember much but...do you remember anything at all?" Akai asked. 

Beatrice nodded, "Mm-hmm, it all happened so fast, but I remember bits. You ran back for the commander, I was in the car waiting for you...and I got attacked." 

"Attacked by the demon?" Akai urged. 

She shook her head, "Yes. The person was possessed for sure, I really didn't see their faces because they had me on the ground but...I think I saw the commander." 

"Are you sure of what you're saying?" Akai asked doubtfully. 

Beatrice suddenly grunted and held her head as though in pain. 

"Are you okay?" Akai asked worriedly. 

Beatrice raised her head quickly as though she had remembered something very important, "It was the commander, Akai, I am absolutely sure it was him." 

*

When she was done speaking with Beatrice, Marino sent a message to the temple that she had awakened and immediately, they were summoned before the court of templars where matters concerning the order were judged. 

It was an open court, so all templars were present. 

The court was bathed in the light of the morning sun, its windows framing the sky like a painting. The stone walls were polished to a high sheen, reflecting the light in a thousand different hues. In the center of the room stood a statue of the Luce della Vita, its features carved with breathtaking skill. The air was thick with the scent of incense, and the murmur of voices was a constant backdrop to the court. 

"Silence in court!" A court guard shouted. Immediately, the place became as silent as a graveyard. 

"Before us are Akai Louis and Beatrice Paolo, they will testify to what transpired in their pursuit of the divine one as ordered by the grand master." High Commander Ventman, the moderator, said loudly for everyone present to hear - his voice echoed in the large hall. 

Akai had never been asked to speak in court before. It was quite different from being a watcher on the stands. There were so many eyes all focused on her, making her nauseous. 

"We caught her!" Akai spoke out loud. She was meant to speak first as she was senior to Beatrice. 

"And lost her," Ventman pointed out. 

"We were caught between going back for the commander and coming back to the temple." She pushed. 

"Why didn't you come back to the temple?" He asked. 

"I..." She began but was cut off.

"I was asking templar Paolo." He said. 

Akai could see how nervous Beatrice was. She gave her a side glance before speaking, "We chose to go back and help the commander." 

There were gasps from the audience. 

"We or Templar Louis did?" Ventman pointed out and he was right, Beatrice couldn't have gone back without her order. She refused to look in his eyes. 

"Help him with what exactly? Was he in trouble?" He asked her. 

Akai could feel her hands shake, "A powerful demon attacked us and he told us to come back to the temple." 

"Which you should have. That was the wisest thing to do if this demon was as powerful as you say, but due to your negligence and refusal to obey orders, you lost the divine one." He said disappointedly. 

"But...he could have died!" Akai shouted desperately.

"He will not be the first templar to die in the course of protecting the earth and neither will he be the last. That was not a valid reason to risk the divine one's life. You cannot be a templar if you do not learn to put sentiments aside." He scolded.

Akai scoffed internally, all they cared about was the divine one. Did no one else matter? 

"What happened to the divine one then? How did you lose her?" He asked Beatrice. 

"I got attacked when I waited in the car and I saw the commander...I think he was possessed. We fought, he hit me on the head and I blacked out." Beatrice narrated. 

Indistinct whispers moved from one end of the hall to the other. 

"Are you saying the commander took the divine one, templar Paolo?" Ventman asked. 

She nodded. 

"Do you have any proof?" He urged. 

"Just his sword." Akai said with gritted teeth. The fact that she was giving them the satisfaction of labelling Vincent as a suspect made her angry, but she couldn't lie because the oracle would definitely find out. Akai glanced at the woman who was staring at her intently - if she made one minor slip up, Lia would know. 

The murmuring continued, while Ventman collected the sword from her and raised it for everyone to see. 

The grandmaster whispered indistinctly to some of the high ranking Elders. Elder Salvatore, his right hand man, stood when they all came to a sort of agreement. 

"We have decided that Vincent Luciano is a suspect until proven otherwise which means, we must find him and the girl as quickly as possible." He said. 

There were murmurs of agreement from the audience. 

Akai hadn't expected anything less. Of course, they would be quick to term Vincent a suspect; it was no surprise, he has always been looked down on and judged silently by most members of the order. 

"This court is dismissed, only templar Louis will stay behind." The grandmaster ordered. 

Akai waited while everyone left the court, until it remained just her and the grandmaster. 

"Of course, you would all be quick to call Vincent a suspect." She spat angrily. 

"What are you talking about, Akai? The circumstances..." He started but she cut him off. 

"The circumstances has always been that Vincent is a prodigal son to some of you in the order, and what happened just validated your absurd thoughts." 

He sighed. "That is besides the point, Akai. You don't obey instructions! If you had just done what Vincent commanded you to, we would have the divine one in our hands right now, not lost in the winds!" The grand master exclaimed disappointedly. 

"I couldn't abandon him...something you wouldn't understand." She bit back. 

"Akai..." He trailed off tiredly. 

"You don't even get to preach to me about this, dad." 

He approached her, his long robe flowing behind him, "I am not preaching to you about anything. I am just saying sometimes you need to make better decisions..." 

"Was it the better decision you made when you abandoned me and mom?" She asked bitterly. 

"I didn't abandon you. Your mother, she just..." He argued. 

"Your excuses really suck, dad." She said and proceeded to walk away, but his voice stopped her. 

"Now that the divine one has been found, you need to take up your responsibility as a Louis, this is the time more than ever that you are needed. I told you you're going to have to one day." He said calmly. 

She scoffed and turned to look at him in disappointment, "And once again, that's all you care about. Do you know why I joined, dad?" 

He kept silent. 

"It's not because you asked me to. I joined because I wanted to prove to you that I and mum were more important than all this, and that hasn't changed." She continued and walked away. 

This time, he didn't stop her. 

Akai walked towards the door angrily and rammed into someone on her out. 

"Oh, sorry..." She apologized, but they just walked past her. She thought she had seen a dark aura coming off them, but when she looked more closely, there was nothing. 

Must have been her mind, she concluded and kept on walking.