8 Chapter Eight: Revelations

It was twelve in the afternoon and the city of Selaph was burning under the sun's persistent gaze. The heat was aggravating but it's piercing burn did not bother Mother Danelle. She stared outside the glass walls of her chambers, hands folded back and eyes lost somewhere afar.

The door to her chamber opened and Nascha entered the room with a stack of papers in one hand and a cup of tea in another.

She gently placed the cup of tea onto the wooden desk and shifted the stack of papers to her other hand, roughly rummaging through it's contents.

"These files arrived earlier today, my lady. The Council wants you to review them and send them back before the deadline. We can do it after you take a quick tea break and after that, we also have to---" she abruptly paused when Mother Danelle didn't respond.

Nascha tilted her head a little, staring at Mother Danelle's back.

"My lady?" She softly called out.

Mother Danelle was still staring outside, not responding and continuing to intently gaze at the city outside.

"Do you think they would've reached Marvena by now?" She suddenly questioned out of nowhere.

"Yes, my lady. We received a message of their safe arrival at Marvena." Nascha blinked at the question but replied with a soft bow of the head.

Mother Danelle nodded.

"That's good."

Nascha wanted to request Mother Danelle to finish her tea and start with the files but she stopped herself. Something was eating away at her lady and Nascha was slightly troubled by that.

"Is something the matter, my lady?"

When Mother Danelle remained silent, Nascha had figured out what was consuming her thoughts.

"If you're worried about those three then I must kindly ask you to stop, my lady. They are wizards; strong ones at that. Three of the best warriors of our academy. As dangerous as this mission is, I have no doubt that they will succeed in it."

Nascha understood the weight of the situation. The First Gate has been broken but there have been no sign of any demons outside or anywhere near the Gate. The Gate might be sealed before Ayra and others even reach there. But if worst comes to the worst, then their three wizards will not be facing this alone. The members of the Seven Guardians and the Circle will be fighting alongside them. All of these powerful beings combined is a force to be reckoned with. Nascha knew this much.

Her thoughts ceased to a halt when Mother Danelle's voice filled the room.

"Wizards they may be, Nascha, but they are still children."

Nascha has heard this a handful of times already. She gently smiled.

"They are almost twenty one, Mother Danelle."

"Still."

She slightly shook her head.

"Forgive me if im being rude, my lady, but I truly do not understand why you are so worried about them--or, to be exact---why you are so worried about Ayra. The Stormbreaker is a formidable warrior."

Mother Danelle was quiet for a moment before she sighed. 

"And I agree, Nascha. Ayra is indeed strong. And very clever. But under all that hardness, she is just a little girl. A massive chunk of her true self was ripped apart eight years ago, Nascha. When I first saw her, instead of an injured little girl, I found an empty vessel. Ayra was already dead by the time I laid my eyes on her. So, sending her back to that very place when I'm fully aware about what she went through is making me feel like a monster."

She paused and breathed out,

"I fear for that child, Nascha."

Nascha stayed quiet, slowly taking all that in. She did not know the details of what happened to Ayra but she knew that whatever happened to her in the past has deeply affected her. The nightmares were a clear indication of that. Over the past couple of years, her nightmares had reduced considerably but Nascha was immediately taken aback to what happened last night. She had found Ayra in the middle of the hallway, sleepless and disturbed.

The nightmares were returning. And Nascha half wondered if she should inform Mother Danelle about it.

Her eyes fell on the name plate standing on the smooth surface of the desk. Stared at the golden, cursive engraving on the dark metal.

Danelle Sylvahnna.

Curiosity got the better of her and Nascha shot out the question before her conscience could stop herself from doing so.

"Forgive me for being so inquisitive, my lady, but why did you choose to adopt Ayra?"

She had always wanted to ask this. Has always been curious as to why Mother Danelle would choose to adopt a small girl when she was so young herself. But she never dared to cross that line that she drew in front of herself.

Until now.

Nascha had expected a reprimanding for her behaviour but when Mother Danelle began answering her question, she was caught off guard.

But she nevertheless listened.

"Eight years ago, I was young, stupid and reckless, Nascha." She smiled and turned around to face Nascha before continuing,

"But I was also a maiden in love."

A twinge of sadness pierced those bright, forest green eyes.

"He was my second in command. And a ruffian." She softly laughed under her breath. "An arrogant, hard-headed bastard, he was. But his heart was so warm. I loved him with my entire being."

Her eyes flickered and they were lost in thought.

"What happened?" Nascha quietly asked.

"We got engaged." She slightly clenched her fingers, her thumb ever so gently caressing the silver band on her finger.

"It was during that time this mission was assigned to me and my battalion. We decided to get married when everything was over."

Mother Danelle's voice lowered to a deep, thick silence again. Nascha didn't coax her to continue this time. But instead, she decided to wait till her lady was ready to gather her feelings and speak again.

A heavy minute passed by and when Nascha thought that Mother Danelle wouldn't speak, a small voice desperately broke through the silence.

"He died in battle."

Nascha stilled.

"The demons had already infiltrated the village by the time we reached there. I decided to divide my unit. I stationed myself inside the village to protect the villagers and he was stationed at the perimeters to prevent the creatures from escaping. It was a complete blood bath. Those demons were mercilessly strong and I ended up losing my magic to a Phantasma, but I didn't give up. I couldn't give up. I fought with my bare hands but it was endless misery and pain. They kept coming and coming, like stubborn tides of a dark sea. It drawled out till the next morning and then everything stopped."

"The Gate remained open but the demons stopped coming all of a sudden. It was as if they were tired of playing with us humans. As if, it was all just a vicious game to them that they got bored of."

Nascha had known about this. How the entire thing that occurred years ago was shrouded in mystery. It had never happened before. How the First Gate had remained open right before it was sealed and how not one demon breathed out of it after spending the entire night ruining the village. It was as if the Dark Gods had commanded them to retreat. It was strange but no one dwelled deeper after it was sealed shut.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Mother Danelle spoke again.

"When everything was over, the selfish and desperate need to see him overcame my pain. I wanted to mourn my loss of power but I decided to cry on his shoulder instead. I was happy that I could see him again. That I could touch him and hug him and kiss him again. Those feelings pushed me forward to go to him."

A heavy pause.

"But all I found was a brutally mangled corpse." Her fingers clenched. "A handful of guards survived and had managed to retrieve what was left of him."

Mother Danelle whirled around and bent her face. Nascha was frozen. Her hands slightly shook and her mind went blank. She wanted to say something ---anything--- but she was unable to form any words of comfort.

"They said he died protecting a child. That he threw himself in front of a demon when it launched itself at the child."

"That day, those monsters didn't only take my magic away, Nascha. They took away my soul."

Mother Danelle turned around once again. Her head was lowered to her chest and Nascha couldn't see her expression. Her lady slowly released herself onto the chair behind the desk.

"That's when I met Ayra. It was a horrifying sight.

She had deep wounds and long gashes all over her body but her face--her face remained cold and impassive. As if the pain didn't bother her at all. A shell of a child, that's what she was and that's what she is."

"It was as if I was staring at myself. That's when I realised that this child understood me. Understood my pain, my loss and my emptiness. She looked lonely. Just like me."

Mother Danelle raised her head and managed a small smile.

"When everything was over, I found out that without my magic, I couldn't continue to be an Astral Guard anymore. I was requested to join the General Corps and fighting along mundane soldiers instead but I couldn't. I didn't have the spirit in me to fight any longer. I was so, so tired."

Her voice broke.

"I retired, arrived to Selaph with Ayra, took over my mother's position as the president of this academy and you know the rest, Nascha."

Nascha stared and stared and stared. She knew that her lady was one of the strongest of the Astral Corps Commanders, powerful enough to be one of the Guardians too. She also knew the reason for losing her powers but she never knew that she had also lost a loved one in the process of it.

A deep ache settled in her chest.

"Ayra is my saviour, Nascha. The anchor to my life. Celestial knows what I would have done to myself if not for her. But because of her, I had a reason to push forward. The pain is still there but it's bearable now."

Nascha lowered her eyes, a wave of shamelessness and sadness consuming her entirely.

"I apologize, my lady. I--I didn't--I didn't mean to make you recall your memories. That was so insensitive of me, to have asked such a personal question. I crossed my boundaries." She lowered her head even further.

"I'm sorry." She finished lamely.

Mother Danelle laughed a little and swatted her hand up in the air.

"Oh, Nascha. Don't worry about it. Its not a big deal at all. You don't have to apologize for something like that."

Nascha stepped forward. "B-But---"

Her lady lifted a finger up. "No buts. We have work to do. But before that, would you be kind enough to bring me another cup of tea? This one has gone cold, as you can see." She gestured towards the cold cup of tea on the table.

"Certainly, my lady!" Nascha awkwardly fumbled for the tea cup and with a slight glance at Mother Danelle's smiling face, she left the office.

The doors closed with a firm shut.

Surrounded by the deep silence, Mother Danelle softly sighed.

She slowly lifted her shaking hand and stared at the silver band of ring lovingly embracing her finger.

Her heart constricted at the sight, sending a flood of raw sorrow to her entire body. A drop of tear suddenly fell on the surface of the bright metal. At the initials carved into the shiny metal.

G.S.

She released a pained voice and before she knew it, she had buried her face deep into her hands and began to cry out her neverending sorrow.

Outside the doors, Nascha stood, listening to Mother Danelle's muffled cries.

The cup of tea in her hand seemed to grow colder. And colder.