Chapter 8: Alida

“Sally, is he alright?”

“You keep asking me that and my answer is still the same. Now, please concentrate on the next task I gave you; it is important that you understand the flow of your energy.”

“But I haven’t seen him in the past three days nor heard anything from him. I’m worried. Mother is a ruthless being after all. What if she traces me back to him? Or worse! What if she did something to him?”

“Pay attention!” Completely distracted, I had started to let my fire ability out of control and was boiling the water in the glass that was left on the desk.

“I’m sorry.” I quickly managed to suppress my excess energy that I had accidentally let out and was boiling water.

“Try to stay calm. And stop worrying so much. Even if you have made a great progress in controlling your element in the past few days there is still much to learn, and no time left for perfection. Nevertheless, it will be enough for you to not draw the attention of unwanted people and fend off on your own as well.”

“’Unwanted people’ like your mother and my father,” said the young man, Eli, as he enters the room through the hidden passage instead of the bathroom that connects both rooms; his and this one. He then went over to the desk, placed the documents he was carrying on top of it, and began rummaging through the drawers of the desk.

“Master, I am glad you are here so that Lady Alida can finally stop asking if you are all right,” Eli stopped what he was doing to look at Alida; “but I have to be honest now and say that you do not look ‘all right’ at all. You seem on edge and like you have seen a ghost.”

Eli continued searching the drawers in a more absentminded manner. “Armina visited me today in the early evening while I was training.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it isn’t. Which means she was granted permission by my father to roam the house freely. It also means we are out of time.”

“Wait,” I interrupted the conversation between them while approaching the desk from the other side, “why would mother see your father, or visit you? She cannot think that I would have gone to seek refuge with your family.”

He once again stopped his search and looked directly at me, making me feel like he was looking right through me. With careful thought and hesitancy in his voice he said, “My father and your mother know each other.” He sat on the desk chair and with a gesture of his hand he indicated me to take a seat. I sat down, dumbfounded; not believing in his words nor the danger that that implicates. “I do not know the details exactly, but I know they have known each other for a long time. Actually, somehow, I expected her to eventually appear. She isn’t the type of person to forget the past easily. After all, I did tell her once a long time ago that I would take you away. I also told my father that he couldn’t keep us apart. I was desperate and angry at that time. On second thought, it was not a good idea to declare any of that”

“I see. If she visited you, it means she suspects you opened my room and helped me escape. Which also implies that we have to leave. I have to go.”

Eli had a sad expression as he slid the papers he had brought and placed on the desk as soon as he arrived. “Here are your new papers as Lexa Paterson. That way you can blend in for a while.” He continued explaining, while I read the documents of my new identity. “The place where you will be staying is called Redmond Academy.” He placed an admission script of the academy on top of the other papers. “I already enrolled you there. The director, Mrs. Redmond, is expecting your arrival.”

“Won’t it be dangerous for me and the other students to be at an academy so openly? It isn’t that I don’t trust your judgment but, will it really be safe?”

“Don’t worry too much, it will be fine. I helped upgrade their security system. That place helps all kinds of creatures that need hiding by offering a new identity and protection. It’s very hard to find the academy because of its constant movement around all lands and its high ranked barrier making it almost impossible to track the live-in students. Unless, someone from the inside exposes their location.”

“Sounds too ideal.”

“Of course it is, that’s why it exists; why it was created for.” He stood up and collected a small box that was inside the bedside table drawer, without looking its contents he placed it in the inside pocket of his dark-colored coat. “We better get going, the director will arrive at the arranged place soon.”

We both where walking side by side in silence towards a part of the woods that I was not familiar with. There were less trees, making us more vulnerable to being seen, the air around us was also very silent. Birds nor small animals could not be heard, giving it an eerie feeling and an uneasiness pricked in the back of my neck.

Not tolerating the silence any longer, I started to get curious about this young man that was helping me, whose real name I didn’t know. Instead I only knew that he was the child I met in these woods when I first arrived here and that I called him ‘Eli’ back then.

“Is it safe to speak freely? Since we are practically exposed in this open area of the forest.” I spoke in a soft, low voice, like if someone else was there and didn’t want them to hear.

He laughed softly before answering, “So, that was why you weren’t speaking.”

“You weren’t talking either.” We fell silent for a moment while I followed one step behind, which reminded me of the night he rescued me.

“You have a point. So, you want to know more about what I can do exactly, especially how I was able to get in your room. Am I correct?”

“Excuse me?” I stopped abruptly and stared at him for the first time since we set out towards our meeting destination with Director Redmond

Half turned towards me, he gave a mischievous smile, “I gave myself away, didn’t I?”, not waiting for my answer, he continued speaking. “I was listening to your thoughts, since you were so quiet and looked thoughtful, I couldn’t help myself but wonder what you were so busy thinking about that you couldn’t speak to me.”

“That is invasion of privacy and it sounds very, very stalker-like. Not to mention it sounds like total madness as well. Reading minds? Are you serious?”

“Ouch. Don’t let Sally’s influence rub off on you. In any case, I am serious. To prove it, you just thought it was ‘ridiculous’ what I just said.”

“How did you… How can you do that?

“Simple, I just need to look into a person's eyes only once to have access to their thoughts from that moment on, but it only works when I'm close to the person. Unless, of course, the person's mind has a protective spell to protect their thoughts and memories.”

“This is too awkward. I am not even sure if I should think my questions for you to answer them or if I should verbalize them.”

He laughed as he was walking towards me, placing himself right in front of me, “it isn’t like that. I only listen to your thoughts deliberately when I want to know what you are thinking. I guess curiosity gets the better of me in that perspective.” I didn’t answer, instead I gave him a skeptical look, “Al right, I will answer your questions when you ask them, and I will most definitely not try to listen to the question in your head beforehand.”

Still eyeing him doubtfully I crossed my arms, “since when can you listen to my thoughts? It seems to me like you have had access to my mind for a while.”

“Well, that is a bit hard to say for sure. I learned how to do it by accident when we were children and you were mad because I was late to our meeting place. But at that time, you were denying the fact that you were mad when I asked why your mood was terrible. So, I just started wondering, ‘if only I could read her thoughts, then I could know how to cheer her up’; and so, the next thing I knew, I was listening to your inner voice saying how I had forgotten to bring you a gift like I had promised.” As he was recalling the memory, there was awe in his eyes; affection that was still holding on despite distance and time.

I felt somehow lonely as I could not recall that memory along with him. The memories of those beautiful and precious moments that were stolen from me. For some reason, I felt ashamed of not remembering, “Since that long ago, huh. I’m sorry, I don’t remember anything, but what I do remember is your presence. I want to ask, have you visited me before at my house or have you been there occasionally when I was there?”

Eli shifted in his feet and roughed his hair, as if searching for the right words to say, “Yes, in a way I visited your house but, not in a formal visit. The same way I snuck in to get you out, I did so many times to try and ease your wounds at night, so they wouldn’t hurt as much.”

“And what ‘way’ is that exactly? I thought I was going crazy, you know?”

“Yes, I know. Half-conscious you would always say you were going crazy or that it was a side effect the drugs but, you weren’t… you are not crazy. My element allows me to do the same things water can, like reflect any object or person that it is upon it. It’s a bit risky but, let me show you instead.” Eli’s pupils changed shape into vertical lines, seeing his eyes change so unexpectedly startled me, almost as reflective as it is to breathe I gave a step backwards. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Don’t be afraid, I would never hurt you.” He stepped closer and touched my cheek. “Look.” He slipped away his hand and showed it to me, to my surprise, it wasn’t there.

I reached out to touch where his hand had been a second ago, unexpectedly my fingers felt only the air of an empty space. Like it had vanished or never existed. “How are you doing this?” Fascination and surprise were clear on my face as I spoke barely a whisper as if someone else would listen and interrupt us. Suddenly, I felt his touch on my hand, his fingers intertwining with mine.

Eli’s hand started to appear in the same distorted manner when you touch water, or a drop of water falls on a puddle; then it appeared as if his hand itself was under water before it went completely back to normal. His pupils turned round, and he looked at me with an impish and triumphant smile, “Just like water.” After a moment he let go of my hand and took out the small box that he had put away in the inside pocket of his jacket. “I want you to have this.” He handed what I thought it was a small box, “it’s a storage cube that I made. You just press it in the middle of one side and it will show a hologram of the things you have stored in that section you pressed and to get the object out you just reach towards it and grab it. Try it.”

Staring at the small cube in my hand, I pressed the center of the side facing upwards and as he said, a hologram appeared showing a beautiful necklace that had a blue gemstone that seemed like it had vivid flowing energy inside it. “How beautiful.”

Eli stood behind me and reached towards the necklace making the hologram come to life as he retreated his hand from it, holding the necklace in front of me to be admired. “Keep it with at all times, all right?” With his free hand, he tenderly gathered my hair to one side and carefully placed the necklace around my neck.

“Why?”

“It will keep us connected, even if we are apart. That way I will know where to find you.”

The metal chain felt cool on my skin, the gem heavy in my chest as it glowed swirling blue energy in perfect harmony. “Thank you. I’ll treasure it and ware it always.”

With a low, husky voice he whispered in my ear. “hearing those words makes me extremely happy.” Before pulling away he gently touched my chin to move my face in his direction and placed a kiss on my cheek in a seductive manner; my heart raced so fast it felt like it would burst out of my chest. “We better keep going.”

Eli stopped abruptly in front of a thin red line on the ground that is hard to perceive at first glance. “We’re here.” He turned to face me, wearing complex expression, “That red line on the ground separates this deep part of the forest that we live in from the main area that is most visible to those who pass by. It also separates our timelines.”

“What timelines?”

He stared at me for a moment before answering, “it’s complicated but, to put it simply, time in this area is much slower than that across that line. At least that is what I have observed from my visits to the city.”

“Then, won’t I be exposed in a place that time is different?”

Eli chuckled softly and patted my head with affection, “nothing escapes your mind, huh. The director will explain everything related to the school.” With his pupils now vertical, he looked towards the line, as if there was something more beyond the trees. “She’s here. You better get going, before one of our households’ notices that there are auras close by and come looking to see who it is.”

He looked at me briefly before passing by me with his pale blue eyes, his pupils were normal. Despite the fact that we don’t have much time I found myself hesitant to move towards the thin red line that will separate us, once again. Before my mind could process what, I wanted, my body moved on its own to catch up to him, “Eli, wait.” He stopped and turned towards me as I captured his hand in mine. He looked at me patiently, waiting for me to say something but words wouldn’t come out of my mouth no matter how much I would try. Instead, I looked directly in his eyes, hoping he would understand how I felt. How I didn’t want him to leave me after we just had found each other. There are many things I wanted to ask and had no time to ask them.

After a phew moments of just staring each other, he pressed his forehead against mine, “I will go to you once everything is sorted out. It will take a while, a year maybe but, I will definitely go to you. It’s a promise.” He squeezed my hand a little and with the other, he touched my cheek as he said my name in a deep, rasped voice before placing a kiss on my lips. No words were needed to reassure me that he would keep his promise, only his soft lips on mine.

That is what I wanted to believe after all.

Fear is the monster that hunts you at night while you sleep. Right now, that monster is the unknown; the unfamiliar people that smile at me warily, and the unpredictable that will come from my presence in this place that will become my hiding place from a real-life monster that I call mother.

I was in the council office, for what I had read on the door, as the tall woman with sepia-brown skin and mahogany-red frizzy hair with a tight wary smile escorted me inside once we arrived. She had introduced herself as Rena Redmond; by her surname, my guess is that she is the director of this place.

Once I was seated she dismissed the rest of the escorts that had been accompanying us the entire trip from the forest border that I had appeared in front of them. She placed two mugs of tea on the table and offered me one of them without saying a word, just…being there.

After what felt like hours, she spoke in a tenderly warm voice, breaking the heavy silence that filled the room; “I am sure everything has been overwhelming for you, but you are safe now and I will personally be there, with you, every step of the way.”

Hesitantly, I nodded to let her know that her kindness was much appreciated but I found myself perplexed as to what was my role in this place now that I was here, not to mention the entire situation has been quite chaotic. The words just wouldn’t form properly in my attempts to ask so I just sat there, fidgeting nervously on my seat, a warm mug of tea in hand.

“Something is clearly bothering you; which, of course, I understand completely, given the situation you have been in the past phew days. I won’t force you to say or do anything that you do not want to do. I also hope you understand that as a newly enrolled student, there are rules to be followed and roles to be completed. This is an academy after all.”

“I understand Director Redmond.” My voice was meek and barely audible, but she still looked at me with warmth in her eyes.

“You may call me Rena when it’s just the two of us. I am your guardian from today onwards, it may seem strange at first, but I hope we can get along.”

“I’m sorry. I just…it’s just…” I took a deep breath to steady myself before speaking again; “I don’t know how to interact with others very well and it feels…” I fell silent, not knowing myself how I felt about everything nor how I should feel now that I was hidden away from my mothers’ sight; knowing that one day she would find me but for now,…she couldn’t. Regardless, I did know how I felt after parting with Eli; loneliness. It hasn’t been long, and we hadn’t interacted much but, I felt safe, my body and spirit felt like it was mourning his absence. The memory of his touch still lingered like if he was still here, near me, touching me, kissing me.

Startling me from the memory, Rena grabbed my hand affectionately from across the table; “I know, sweetie. It was very hard for you, but you are safe now and no one can hurt you. You won’t be alone anymore, I am sure you will make many friends here and, of course, I will always be beside you when you are hurting physically or emotionally when you are happy or confused. You can always come to me for anything. You are safe.”

Safe. That word was used often around me these phew days but at this moment, in the way she assured it…it felt just right.

Letting go of my struggling emotions, my tears begin to stream down my cheeks as Rena seated beside me and hold me tight in her arms. I may not remember anything of my past, but I was sure that all that mattered was that I had finally let go of all the built-up sorrow and fear that was inside me, letting myself truly believe that everything would work out and I would truly be safe.

After all the crying, Rena escorted me to one of the many houses in a neighborhood that apparently was used as dorms for many students. She gave me a copy of the key to the dorm house I was assigned and helped me settle-in in the now quiet house while everyone was sleeping. Not that I have many things to sort out. Is what I thought. Proving me wrong, Rena asked if I was given a storage cube before crossing the red border line. Once in her hand, she quickly opened a phew storage slots, which, to my surprise, were filled with clothes, shoes, jewelry and many other things that I would be needing to “fit in” as a normal student.

“You are definitely very special and dear to him. He has never gone to the trouble to sort an entire wardrobe and living expenses for a single person before. He only involved the minimum necessary to help out those in needs when I asked him to. To think he actually pulled it off in rescuing and help you in your new future. What are you to him?” Rena never made eye contact and kept helping sort everything in the drawers and cabinets; her voice calmed and collected but I could also tell she was analyzing me, as if I am an interesting specimen that altered her reality.

I never answered her question and remained silent, listening to her as she continued with her attempts at small talk about Eli and the school; how he had helped built it and the role he played in the Academy as an intelligence collector. All the while being careful as to not mention his name as if her tongue would rot and fall out of her mouth.

“I had met him when he was about 10 or so and he was leisurely strolling about the school grounds, assessing and analyzing it like you would analyze an object at a store that you are about to buy. At that time, the unnatural blended with the humans but those that were being haunted were found easily. When I approached him to reprimand his behavior with security, without even letting me speak he started pointing out all the faults the school system had. I was surely taken aback since I saw him as just a child. Seizing the moment, he smiled brightly and said he could help with that. I knew it was out of self-interest, but I let him since we needed help desperately.”

Remembering made Rena smile, a nostalgic one, making my curiosity flared. “What did he say to convince you to help out?”

“That’s the thing, he didn’t say anything convincing, only some smug, irritating orders to gather all security personnel and to present a full detailed list of non-human students about their abilities, where are they from, who are after them and to sort them within ten days; after dictating, he vanished from right in front of me. I’ll admit that at first, I hated the idea of taking orders from a kid and did nothing, but a couple of days later another student went missing. I was desperate after that, so I made the profile list of the students and issued a security staff meeting on the day I hoped he would show up again.”

“Did he? Show up on time I mean?”

“Not on time but he did show up eventually, and with a full pandora box of a plan. It was very impressive, to think a child would come up with a security system so nearly perfect still astonishes me to this day.” Having finished storing everything that had the cube, she placed it on the vanity. “That part of the story will have to wait until morning. I’ll come to get you for breakfast and show you around.”

As she was leaving, I called her name in a timid tone of voice, stopping her in her tracks when she had reached the door; “did he ever gave the reason for his involvement?”

Rena gave a impish smile and answered brazenly; “No, he never did. Either way, I don’t need to know since I have met the reason.” I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as she left the room without waiting for my response to her last statement.

In the morning Rena came and guided me to a campus café. While having breakfast she explained in detail how the academy worked and its rules. The academy, to my surprise, was actually created to protect those that are not exactly humans and teach them how to interact with them. Many different species where always being found in different parts of the world to protect them from humans or, like in my case, from their own families that wanted to cause them harm. The main building itself moved from time to time to different countries and in different sequences in order to find different prospects and protect them. It was also so that the academy itself would be hard to track down. Even if the dorms weren’t part of the main structure, they were protected by a security team and enchanted with multiple complex barrier spells, making them invisible, along with the main building, to any passerby that didn’t have access to it. I had asked Rena if any threats have ever come to them since it sounded too perfect to be true. She hesitated at first but answered honestly; saying how there were many cases in which some students’ mishaps had caused an alert to their pursuers towards their location. Fortunately, none of those mishaps came to worse. They were prepared for emergency evacuations like those and rapidly change the school’s location. Then she explained the more “normal” part of the institute; how the departments, professors, and courses worked and are separated. There are also professors that select the common species that they specialize in and help them control their abilities to blend in and to change identities when need be so when the students graduate and decide to head into the human world, they can blend in and be independent. As for rules, well, they are pretty obvious; but the more important and stricter rule for Rena is that everyone needs permission to go out of the academy grounds and, of course, a good reason for it.

She also gave me a tour of the different departments and introduced me to the phew available professors, as so I would have a better idea of where I thought I could fit best. Though, in the first weeks, Rena informed me that I would be seeing one of the school’s therapists to cope with the transition and anxiety of everything that has happened to me. Of course, I didn’t know what that was, and, as she explained, I knew I didn’t like the idea of telling a complete stranger the story of my life, that even my ignorant self didn’t know. But, trying wouldn’t hurt…I guess. Is what I thought despite my reluctance growing slowly in the back of my mind.

Even if Rena was trying to prepare me for a different life as I had lived until now; no one could have prepared me enough for what was to come. Days will pass but time will stand still, and everything will change; as will I but at the same time not.