Deadweight

Three days passed since Eirin's visit to the hospital with Pierre, and after those three days, no news about Shade ever came, and the classes were still on hold. Eirin wondered how she would continue seeking answers if she could not leave her room anymore? 

Every day, Eirin would look out the window and stare at the huge oak tree in the middle of the training grounds, remembering the memory she had that fateful night. Her roommate has yet to return, and she cannot meet Pierre anymore as he has been tasked to do something else. 

 "I wonder if Coleen's doing fine," Eirin muttered as she slid her finger on the glass window. "When will this plague end?" 

Just when Eirin said those words, she heard a knock on the door, making her glance in its direction. The teenage girl wondered who it could be as she sauntered towards the door and opened it. 

 "Good morning, Eirin Luxfield." 

It was Ms. Anna Welkins. 

 "Good morning," Eirin felt uneasy with the sudden visit from the Queen's secretary. "Could there be some problem?" Ever since she arrived at the academy, she received nothing but problems. 

Anna fixed her thick glasses while she stood so stiffly and said, "I have come here to inform you that the Queen wished to have an audience." 

Eirin pointed to herself. "With me?" 

 "Yes. Her majesty will be waiting." 

Silence followed that. Eirin stared at Anna, waiting for her to speak again, but Anna only stared back at the teenage girl. The two waited for one another's response. 

 "I guess that is all," Anna smiled before leaving. 

Eirin's forehead creased. Not only because of the awkward silence she shared with Anna but also because she wondered why the Queen would want to meet her. 

Despite the confusion, Eirin rushed to the bathroom to take a quick bath, and as soon as she finished, she wore her huge hoodie and baggy pants. Just thinking of how Queen Regina was waiting for her made Eirin not want to waste any time drying her hair, so Eirin went out, still dripping wet. 

She walked into the empty hallway, hearing nothing but the silence that made her feel dreary. The path towards the school director's office felt so far away that it made Eirin restless. Her eyes found the usually packed training ground to be completely empty. Everything changed in the blink of an eye, and Eirin could only hear her footsteps. 

The door looked huge and unbreakable as Eirin stood in front of it. Her breathing grew heavier, her hand trembling as she knocked on the door. As the door opened, her gaze landed on the people in front of the director's desk, causing her to think that she was not the only one. 

Leaning on the wall on the right side was Shade, while Link and Coleen were standing near him. Seeing her roommate after so long caused Eirin to act abruptly and call for her name, asking if she was feeling fine now as she looked healthier than before. Despite Eirin's excitement, Coleen hid behind Link before Eirin could even approach her. It was as if cold water was poured onto the teenage girl, dropping her excitement to the lowest level. 

She felt embarrassed after realizing how thrilled she was to meet her roommate again, thinking they were finally becoming closer to each other, just to learn that it was all a misunderstanding. Her misunderstanding.

 "Have you all arrived?" 

Regina entered the room wearing what almost looked like her evening gown. It differed from the usual dignified look she would always show the students. Her long, wavy ash, blonde hair was in a mess, and exhaustion brimmed her azure eyes. Regina's usual gleam was nowhere to be found, and the dark circle under her eyes remained prominent. Despite that, she walked towards her desk gracefully and elegantly. All their attention was on her. 

 "I apologize for my unsightly appearance." 

Even Regina's voice sounded hoarse and tired. 

 "Why apologize when you already showed it?" 

The other three were astounded after hearing Shade's bold remarks. 

Link immediately reprimanded his friend and apologized to the Queen. Eirin stared at him and wondered why he was always ready to apologize to his friend, who could not control his mouth. 

 "I shall pretend I did not hear that," Regina complied and sighed. "I have called the three of you—" 

 "There are four of us," Coleen said with a raised hand. 

 "The Queen had not summoned you, Ms. Coleen McGuffin," Anna interrupted as she brought the Queen's tea. However, Regina only raised her hand, gesturing for her secretary to stop. 

Regina's too exhausted to argue as she says, "Coleen, dear, you just recovered. Do you surely wish to be included in here?" 

Coleen nodded without hesitation. "If Link's here, then I should be here too." 

 "What are you? His tail?" 

Coleen did not accept such a statement, thus creating an endless bicker between her and Shade Cromwell. Regina had no energy to listen to the two fights, so she commanded them to settle down. 

Regina garnered their attention before speaking once again. "I have called you students here because of an important mission," she said. 

 "Are you sure you're letting this newbie and failure be a part of this important mission? You must be sick in the head." 

 "Shade Cromwell! How dare you speak ill of the Queen?" Anna Welkins could not contain her anger after Shade's blatant disrespect towards the Queen. 

However, Regina did not bother. "Settle everyone. This is dire, and we must get through this today," she said, calming her inflamed secretary. "The school is suffering with a usual plague as much as everyone's aware. Like how your class went through, the students suffered with peculiar symptoms such as feeling lethargic and losing strength." 

A memory was jogged out in Eirin's head, forcibly and roughly. The symptoms reminded her of her late best friend's suffering. Ava also suffered through such things, but Eirin could not find the cure. 

 'Not yet.' 

 "You four must bring someone back to the academy. She could find the solution to this. It is a simple yet important mission." 

Link and Eirin immediately turned to Shade before he could speak, startling the young man as he was about to open his mouth. 

 "W-What?" 

Link heaved a sigh while Eirin just shook her head. It was inevitable for Shade not to throw hurtful words. Shade rolled his eyes and crossed his arms before talking. 

 "If this is a simple mission, why must I go with those two?" He pointed to Coleen and Eirin. "One can't control her flair, and the other is useless." 

Shade received lots of reaction from Coleen, but Eirin stayed quiet after hearing that. She knew he was talking about her when he said 'useless,' but could she truly deny that? Eirin needs to learn her ability, but she's still determining if she has one. 

Regina cleared her throat and said, "Coleen has been doing her training, and this will be Eirin's first-ever mission. You three must guide her and help her whenever she needs it. I created this team because I know that Shade and Link would be the perfect guides for Eirin. Make this a good experience for her." 

 'I can understand Link, but Shade Cromwell? I highly doubt that', Eirin thought. 

 "So, you want us to carry a deadweight?" Shade clicked his tongue. 

Everyone was left speechless after what Shade said. The silence in the room made Link laugh awkwardly, trying to appease the already sullen mood. 

 "D-Don't mind him. He didn't mean that," Link said. 

 "I certainly meant every word I said." 

Link glared at Shade, wanting him to shut up. 

 "I don't care. It doesn't stray far from the truth," Eirin said. 

The silence grew heavier because of her reaction. Unlike Coleen's aggressive reaction, Eirin's calmness stirred the mood even more. There was this tension between Eirin and Shade that none of them understood. Even the Queen did not want to meddle in their problem. 

 'Why are they doing this to me?' Regina thought as she kept her composure and said, "You must deliver this letter to a certain someone." 

Regina showed them two envelopes with the Senerra Academy stamp; one was in blue and the other in white. "This white letter contains the instructions for your mission. You may open it after you leave this room, but you must not share it with anyone else." 

 "This blue letter is what you must give to a certain person. You must bring them back after giving this." 

The four left the school director's office with Link holding both letters. 

 "Ms. Anna said we should prepare and depart as soon as possible," Link reminded. "We should bring some necessities and meet in front of the garden between the dormitories. Oh, and we must wear our school uniform, remember that." 

Despite Link saying that Coleen did not return to their dorm room with Eirin, as if she was trying her best not to be left alone with Eirin, which caused Eirin to feel left out. She wondered why Coleen became wary of her again. 

  'Is the Queen sure I must go to this mission?' Eirin sighed as she stared at her empty backpack. Why her? She does not understand, after all.