Chapter 33: Murderer

"Kyle!" I exclaimed, rushing down the stairs, "How have you been?"

"Careful." He smiled tenderly, his tawny eyelashes brushing against his cheekbones as he lifted me off the stairs and back onto the ground.

Kyle had visited foreign countries for the past months to maintain a positive relationship, thus, I had not contacted him except for the few letters we exchanged.

"Have you been eating well?" I asked anxiously, inspecting him for any injuries as we walked towards front office.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Kyle walked beside me, his hands tucked into the school uniform's pockets, "How are you adjusting to school?"

"I'm fine." I waved off his question, "But I have a few concerns which I'll inform you about later."

I looked around the hall, despite the eerie silence, anyone could be lurking in the shadows, listening to our conversation. It wouldn't be surprising if one of my Father's rivals would plant people to follow me.

"Yeah…" Kyle looked around the hallway, his eyebrows knitted together in concern for me, "Maybe later."

We arrived at the front office and Kyle entered while I waited outside for him.

"Hey Ivory." Kyle poked his head out of the door, "I'm going to be in here for a while, you might want to go to sleep now."

I stifled a yawn, "Alright then, see you tomorrow."

"Sleep well." I heard him say as I walked back into the hall.

***

ERROR

The man was sprawled on his bed, his snored vibrating across the room. I leapt off from the window and into the room. I looked the room to see if there were anything useful, I could steal.

Nothing.

How boring. I took out a vial of poison and sprinkled it over the man's gaping mouth. With satisfaction, I watched his face pale, and he drew his last breath. I could just leave his body here, but I wasn't a monster. I would make it pretty for him! I felt bad for killing him, but some things had to be done. I flicked my hand and summoned many different varieties of wildflowers to decorate the room.

There.

He looked at bit like Sleeping Beauty, except for the fact that even a True Love's Kiss wouldn't wake him up.

Oh well. My job here was done.

***

IVORY:

"Ivory!" I felt some shake my shoulders frantically, "Wake up!"

"What?" I sat up grumpily, wiping my eyes.

"We've been ordered to go to the Assembly Room now!" Emilia fretted anxiously, "It's urgent!"

"Okay, I'll get ready." I muttered groggily, still half asleep.

***

"Students." The vice-principal walked onto the stage, using magic to enchant her voice louder, "I have bad news."

Murmurs filled the room and the audience whispered amongst themselves.

"SILENCE!" A teacher warned us.

The room fell in silence, the tension thick in the air, almost tangible.

"The headmaster as been murdered." The vice-principal frowned.

The audience paled instantly. The strongest person on school grounds was killed. What would happen if the murderer came after the students?

The vice-principal, "And all of the students are suspects. You will continue to attend classes, however, leaving school grounds will be temporarily forbidden."

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"I need to go out to buy things!"

"I WILL NOT STAY HERE!"

"WHY ARE ONLY THE STUDENTS SUSPECTS? WHAT ABOUT THE TEACHERS?!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!"

"Honestly, the vice-principal is looking at little suspicious here…"

"What if it's our homeroom teacher?! We'll all be murdered instantly!"

"THIS IS DISCRIMINATION!"

"Silence." The vice principal ordered, "The headmaster was murdered by poison. A new type of poison that's extremely deadly. We found the remains of the poison in the Potion Lab. However, only the Potion teacher and students have access to the room after hours."

"So… It's the Potion teacher?!"

"I ALWAYS THOUGHT HE WAS STRANGE!"

"The potion teacher must be after the headmaster's position…"

"However." The vice principal continued, and the room instantly fell silent, "The Potion teacher went home that night, as his wife was giving birth to their son. I suggest you all be cautious around your fellow peers and friends."

A thick silence coated the air as the audience took a moment to take in the fact that their friends could be the murderer.

"Your teacher will assign you a partner whom you must remain with at all times." The vice principal broke the silence, "You are all dismissed for breakfast."

Students made their way towards the cafeteria, their movements awkward and anxious, as though they expected the murderer to leap onto them at any moment.

"I WANT TO GO HOME!" A girl burst into tears, her friend comforting her, "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

I looked around and noticed many students had tears gathered in their eyes as they imagined the worst-case scenario.

"Ivory!" Emilia pushed through the crowd towards me, "It's awful! How did the principal die to a student?"

"…I thought the principal had a high resistance to poison…" I mumbled to myself.

"He does." Luke appeared at my side, "It must have been a powerful venom."

…Could the person who destroyed my room be the same person who murdered the principal? But that would mean the murderer was someone I knew…

My legs wobbled as I saw the floor come closer towards me, before Luke grabbed my arm.

Kyle walked towards us, "How are you guys handling the news?"

"Ivory's just experiencing a bit of shock." Luke explained.

"Kyle, let's go to the gardens." I looked up at him, "I need to tell you something."