CHAPTER 1.2

Something gold was glinting above Celeste. Could it be the sun again? She never really paid much attention to it earlier. At the precise moment, she's starting to regret it, a pair of bespectacled eyes shun her face with a shadow. Celeste intuitively screamed and closed her eyes. "A-a monster! Help me! Monster near m-"

"For Cripe's sake! What a rude kid! Who are you calling a monster? I am a human! Do not compare me to the likes of beast folk!" The human bellowed. She glared as her nostrils flared.

Celeste slowly detached her palms from the eyes and made sure that the woman was indeed a human. She is wearing a tight white scrub and an apron neatly hung in front of her and a cap clipped sideways in her seemingly crusty hair. "I'm the matron of this orphanage, in charge of domestic and medical dispositions. Please be nice to me or else I might not help thinking to clean your wounds by injecting alcohol in them," she said in a strict and stern voice. This prompts Celeste to nod without delay.

"I-I'm sorry for mistaking you as a member of the beast folk. Preceding this, I'm not in the right frame of mind. By the way, what happened to my companion? I remember losing consciousness when I was…"

"Oh, you mean the blond boy? He reminded me that you will have an orientation for the second semester later and to wake you up before it commences. I do prefer students to witness an important event in their academy life but first, you have to drink this medicine." said the matron as she handed over a squat glass containing an odd and sticky black liquid. Moreover, it appeared as though it moved for a split second.

Celeste doubted whether she should drink it or not. "Er, what is this?" She cleared her throat.

"One of the best around Leizhte. It's a mixture of cobra heart and pig fat. Fainting can be considered lethal, dear. Therefore, we have to increase your blood pressure. Drinking cobra hearts is presumed to improve blood circulation. So you don't have anything to worry about syncope again." she proudly muttered.

This explanation made Celeste withdraw more, but the matron's stare compelled her to merely gulp it over. Celeste convinced herself she'd eaten worse things than this. Aside from the horrible vomit taste of the medicine, Celeste knew she hadn't returned to her old world, because no facility as decent as this would accept her. Lying in a bed with white linen sheets, standing next to her was a table piled high with several antidotes and clinical apparatus. Her shoulder is carrying no weight, the place is full of warmth and her bed is soft. It almost feels like a dream. Dream. It can't possibly be a dream. If so, why did she not wake up from the terrible taste of the antidote?

She was dismissed by the matron expeditiously to the oak door meters away from the hospital wing. They traverse the voyage of gargoyles, statues of bizarre creatures, portraits of people in garments of grandeur, and medieval silver empty armors of knights. The door was open. A gap hanging between its doorway induced Celeste to see what was happening inside. "Go ahead, and good luck with a new semester."

The matron lightly pushed Celeste to the room, and she ended up in the interior of nothing but white, blank walls. A group of children wears the same apparel as the boy she met. Cold air seeps through her thin cloth. It seemed like the gloom weaved Celeste to despair and made her feel unforsaken. The uptight commotion inert to her mind broke when a cry embraced the room.

"Mommy..! Daddy...!"

"Lavender, it's okay. I'm here. Don't cry. I can see this is hard for you, hug Mama here."

A small ray of sunlight penetrated the air from all sides. Another unknown woman to her — is trying to comfort a howling child in her arms. The inhospitable aura and disdainful feeling beforehand were replaced with something warm. It wasn't the type that fills Celeste's heart and mends the scratches in her soul but it was pleasant and relatable. She's in a different dimension from where she was earlier.

"You can do it, Lavender." The sweet voice came from a tall woman, clothed in a black dress and white apron.

"He-hey, listen." Someone tugged Celeste's sleeve. This time, a boy shorter than her. Black hair and emerald eyes. His orbs are shaking the same way his voice does. "M-my mother told me, I-I need to run s-so I did. Th-then w-when I-i came back t-to her, mo-mother isn't there anymore. A-all th-that wa-was left was he-her clothes and o-our s-smoldered ho-house. Do y-you know why?"

Celeste can't help but swallow. "The place somehow feels wicked." She whispered to herself. She just can't find the proper word to describe the scenario. But before she can, the maid comforting the child gazed at her as if it is an existence so new. Celeste averted her eyes and prayed internally for her to be spared.

"Celeste," she calls while smiling.

Along with the wide smile plastered on her face, her silver eyes seem to pierce Celeste's soul. "Are you done with the reformatting?" Her voice is so gentle it can put Celeste to sleep.

"Reformation?" Celeste asked, unsure of what I heard.

She sweetly smiled again to the point that sharp lines were made to the crinkle of her eyes. "Reformatted, the alteration of your mind. The act of giving a new format to your brain."

"What does it mean, you're going to reformat our brain?" She asked again, merely glancing at the boy pulling the hem of my shirt. The maid beckoned Lavender away; she nodded and abided.

"Seat here, sweetie." the maid said as she sat at the white cotton chair beside us and tapped her lap.

Celeste ignored her. The boy said they are orphans. In essence, she does not have any relatives. There is no point in asking where she is or where her family is. That will only make it suspicious. All the children seem to trust her fully. Thus, this maid in front of Celeste is the housemaster. It was Celeste's initial assumption. Not until the boy beside her converses, "Where's my mother? I haven't seen her since I came here."

"Excuse me? Aren't we orphans? Why are you looking for your mothe—"

"Mother?" The maid asked.

"Yes. My mother but not you. The last time I saw her was when our region was invaded by Leizhte and we were caught-" He halted. It seemed like invisible shackles had caged him from the spot. As though his veins were poisoned and infused briskly at every edge of his body. Celeste watched him think desperately, passionately, and definitely as if it was bugging him. The way he voiced his words, the way they arrived from his mouth felt weird like it was coming from a stranger like he wasn't familiar with them.

His body began to tremble. "What was I saying? The last time I saw her was when our region was finally invaded and we were caught- The last time I saw her was when our region was finally invaded and we were caught- The last time I saw her was when our region was finally invaded and we were caught-" He repeated it many times and scanned every flow of letters in his mind could determine the right words. A natural intuition told him to strive for more of what to say, to search for more — but can't.

Then he shifted my gaze to the black-haired maid. Her smile became broader yet more frightening. She reached out her hand to caress his cheeks. "Who's your mother, dear?" Her voice is as sweet as honey.

Suddenly, Celeste felt a knife in her abdomen and her guts slowly twisted. The boy's mouth opened but also shook his head rebelliously as if telling Celeste this isn't who I am. "Who's my mother?" he asked himself and beamed at the maid. "My mother's Mama Elicia. You are my one and only mother."

"Indeed Caleb. I'm your mother. From now on, you'll forget everything including your past, and strive hard to fight for those who saved you from slavery. From now on, you won't think of anything besides the advantage of Leizhte. From now on, all you need to do is get stronger to survive." she held the back of his head and kissed his forehead. "Have a great semester in the Villa of Elicia Homes."

In this cursed world with boundless skirmish, there was a nation once called 'Verharsilas'. Owning a space between two great nation lands, it fails to retain its vigor. Surrounded by all sides of the embryonic enemy, they were treated as slaves and unoccupied estates. Unknown abhorrence paved the way for them to succumb. They are powerless and hopeless rivals against the world.