CHPT 47: The burn of failure

Ursula walked weakly, her weight being supported by Claudes thinner but seemingly sturdier frame as they trudged through the tall grass inside the Deviant— completely alone. She wanted to talk but every time she tried to make any noise, blood forced its way up her dry throat and out of her mouth until it leaked down her chin and onto her armor.

She instead had to listen to his demented chants— the emotion behind the simple sentence seemed to infect her very being, she felt a small piece of the hatred he felt for the fraudulent students. But most of all she was angry and deeply saddened that he had to become this....this embodiment of negativity to keep them both alive...he had to wear his hatred like armor, so his fear didn't take its place.

She then found herself leaning against the thick and cool surface of the tree. She laid against it for so long she felt the lines of its bark being etched into her back.

Weakly she watched Claude face off against the three monsters. His fear was visible in the light shake of his knees and hands but another component of his demeanor made him unrecognizable— it made him monstrous in his own right as he sized up the three monsters.

She continuously jumped from moment to moment in this recurring terrifying event. Now watching Claude fight against the scariest of the three monstrous men. His silky black braid whipped and swirled through the air like an onyx serpent as he seemed to be studying..grooming Claude in a sick and perverted way.

She now watched as Claude siphoned an unnatural amount of power and commanded all the plants and trees within the Deviant— making them a perfect personification of his hatred for the braided man. Something happened in their fight that she had trouble remembering, she must've blacked out because a man now laid dead in the grass with a look of terror in his dark brown eyes. Whoever he was set something off in Claude— he no longer cared about anyone's wellbeing, including his own.

She watched him command what seemed to be the entire forest in a blind rage. Blood leaked from his ears which she could see from where she sat behind him. He knees shook under the pressure of him burning such an insane amount of mana.

"He's killing himself!!" She thought in a panic. Immediately she tried to get up— the stabbing pain in her gut was so strong it felt like a fire was rapidly igniting her insides.

"Come on Ursula, get the hell up!" She said through clenched teeth. She found her way to her feet— flinching and looking around from the deafening sound of trees and branches violently clashing and brushing against each other. He raised his hand towards the Nature that bloated out the night sky. The veins in his arm bulged and pulsed with effort.

She faintly heard him yell before casting his fist to the earth and sending the union of all things Nature crashing towards the braided man like lightning.

She blacked out again. She now stood and watched as the braided man held Claudes hand in his. He opened his mouth and it changed— sharp white canines filled his mouth and a grin broke out onto his face. He whispered something to Claude as the beast that was Jack watched from behind, smiling psychotically.

"CRSHHH!"

"NOO-"

The sound of the bite rose above every other sound inside the Deviant making it all insignificant in comparison. She took a step towards Claude in a blind attempt to save him.

"GUH!"

A searing white hot pain erupted from her core and made her dizzy. The floor met her as she came crashing down limply. She forced her head up, as she faded into the black nothing of unconsciousness. She reached for Claude— watching him get picked up by the braided man.

The last thing she saw was within her own thoughts. The eyes of her father looked at her with disappointment...disdain— they seemed to say only one thing.

"Useless."

***

Monday October 9th, 2224.

Ursula's eyes snapped open.

"Dammit." She said while rolling over in her stiff and uncomfortable bed. She kicked off her blanket and wiped the sweat from her forehead. These nightmares have been plaguing her dreams for the past three weeks.

When she first entered the infirmary she was out for a few days. But as soon as she woke up she went to see Claude, for a moment she thought he would be dead— hell she thought she died.

The first time she saw him she was stunned. He looked so different...older and somehow stronger. He seemed to have nightmares even worse than her own, causing him to thrash and snarl wildly from time to time.

After she was asked to leave and stay in bed at home, a single thought kept occurring in her mind.

"Did the braided man make Claude one of them?"

She wiped the thought from her mind as she got up, she looked around her room. The simple faded white walls chipped at the corners and faded to a dirty yellow and the slide door that led outside was broken beyond repair. This room became her home along with the house, she had no problems with it.

She slept in a guest room within the small maids house that stood dwarfed in the shadow of the Legrand estate. She didn't always sleep there but after getting into one too many fights with her simple minded brothers, her father decided she no longer had a place in the estate. Then again, if that didn't get her kicked out he would've found another reason to. She could see the disgust in his eyes every time they fell on her, simply for not acting or being built like a "woman".

She got up and left her room, with every step she received a painful reminder that she was punched in the stomach by a wolf monster. She walked down the skinny hallway and stepped into the small white walled bathroom. She faced the mirror, meeting her own almond honey brown eyes. She looked down to her midsection and lifted her shirt.

"Jeez." She said as she looked at the fading bruise that stood out at the center of her abs. She touched it and could still feel the tenderness but it was getting less painful by the day.

"Whoever's in there, could you hurry up please? I have to be in the estate cleaning by 7 a.m" a maid said in an English accent as she knocked on the chipped door.

"Oh shoot!" Ursula said upon realizing that she would be late and miss her carriage if she didn't hurry.

She opened the door and came face to face with a middle aged woman who must've just woken up. Despite the bags under strong blue eyes— she was beautiful. Silky blonde locks of hair fell sloppily out of her mob cap and twirled down to her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry ma'am." Ursula said with a quick bow.

The maid smiled warmly, she wasn't used to being addressed as ma'am and found it comforting. "Please Ursula, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Alcina?" She said and placed a hand on her heavily muscled shoulder.

"Of course, forgive me ma'a— Alcina." Ursula said. She stepped out of the bathroom and beckoned kindly for Alcina to step in.

"I'm off to the University now, have a good day ma'am." Ursula said as she briskly walked back to her room.

"What??!"

"I uhh...I mean Alcina." Ursula quickly said.

"Please tell my daughter I said hey when you get there." Alcina said to Ursula who threw her a thumbs up.

She watched the girl walk back to her room with a smile. Ursula reminded her of her own daughter—Lucy, despite the obvious physical differences they both had a burning passion to get stronger for reasons other than simply being the best and Alcina loved to see that in two capable young women such as them. Although she was a bit worried, ever since Ursula returned from some tangent run gone awry she'd been waking up in cold sweats and training like a maniac even though she walked around the maids house with a limp. Alcina only hoped that whatever was eating away at Ursula's mind didn't get the best of her.

***

Ursula had to rush as she put on her armor and packed her bag hoping she didn't forget any books.

She now stood in front of the Legrand estate waiting for the carriage to arrive and take her to the University. It was still dark as the sun took its sweet time to find its rightful place in the sky. She turned and faced the estate— it could've been considered beautiful...even if it was on the flashy side. Torches lit the walkway that led to its entrance where it looked like tons of white house's with black shingled rooftops sat merged together taking up an unnecessary amount of space. The lights within the estate cast a faint golden glow to break out of the windows making the estate look even flashier.

Every time she looked at it she made a promise to herself. "I swear, when I get older I'm living in a quiet and homey cabin or something."

After she finished the thought, she heard wheels rolling over thick gravel and turned to see the carriage waiting for her. It's great big orange Phoenix insignia filled her with anxiety and determination to get stronger. She tightened the grip on her battle axes before sliding it in between her back and backpack and stepping into the spacious carriage. One thought rose to the surface of her mind while she reached to close the carriage door.

"If wonder if Claudes out of the Infirmary."