Chapter 2: Caged

Fanning the young girl with my hand as my counselor flings the office door open, she shoots me a frantic look as Soleil keels over the trash can  while clutching her stomach.

"I told you to speak to her carefully, Circe!"

Remembering her words of caution to speak to Soleil cautiously, I shoot back "there's no way to deliver such information carefully Lotti! I told you this was a terrible idea!"

Seeing as Lotti is the counselor for my school, she takes on the task of briefing all of the new students. With the power to ease anxiety and relax the mind, she's perfect for delivering such information. Hence why I had urged her to do it instead of me, but she insisted that I be the one to tell her she's actually not human and that I went to school with her dead parents.

Rubbing the young girls back soothingly, she heaves a few more dry gags until there's nothing left to expel.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart, we didn't mean for this information to be delivered so abruptly." Shooting me a glare, she continues with "I'm Mrs. Windsor, the counselor for this school. Are you feeling a tad bit better now?"

Watching the confused crease between her eyebrows soften ever so slightly, Soleil gives a hesitant nod as she glances between the two of us.

"I'm Headmaster Cordelia, I apologize for not being more considerate. Mrs. Windsor typically handles the new transfer students, but... You're a special case I'm afraid."

Still seemingly confused and on the brink of retching again, I can see Lotti straining to keep the young girl calm.

Taking a few steps towards Soleil, I kneel down in front of her pale, recently leeched of color face. I'm not experienced in dealing with panicked kids like Lotti is, but despite that I put on the most comforting voice that I can muster; And hope that it sounds believable.

"This is your new home, my dear. And I want you to be as comfortable as possible here. But that starts with knowing the truth about your parents and this school. Kremont is an academy for gifted individuals such as yourself, every student who attends this school is special. I understand that this is a startling adjustment, but this is the safest place for you right now." Glancing to Lotti, she gives me a small nod to continue coaxing the young girl to her feet. "I'd like to tell you more. Is that alright, Soleil?"

With one more hesitant nod, I guide her back to the seat across from my desk. Pulling up a spare chair, Lotti takes her place beside the confused girl.

"I'm sorry for the trip down memory lane, Mrs. Windsor typically handles new transfer students. But because I grew up with you parents... She thought it might feel more familiar for me to do it." Catching the sideways glare from Lotti, I add "clearly that was not the best idea".

Waiting patiently for a response from the young girl, I feel as if there's nothing I can really say to help her. I grew up with Emery and Maela, and was heartbroken when they decided to reside in the mortal realm once Maela discovered that she was pregnant. Finding out that they were killed was... Rattling to say the least. And discovering the method by which they were murdered was more than unsettling.

During their educational years the couple was ranked top ten within the scoring system at Kremont, and only continued to grow within their magical abilities after graduating. Emery and Maela were difficult enough to beat on their own, let alone as a pair. Through our schooling they remained undefeated in the team match competitions that Kremont held every semester.

The thought of them being permanently incapacitated while fighting with the ferocity to defend their only daughter is... Startling. There will always be a stronger being, but seeking out Emery and Maela while they were living a life free of magic on earth is simply too peculiar to overlook.

Setting their home ablaze when they were both beings who wielded fire abilities was not coincidental. It was a warning.

And although I told Soleil earlier that I could answer all of her questions, I have quite the list that I need answers to myself.

You can't make such a commotion in the mortal realm without drawing the attention of Solia's Elder Council. They carry the responsibility of protecting all of Solia, and having two of their own murdered blatantly in a magic restricted area does not bode well. Whoever committed the vile act had no intention of covering it up, but what they didn't seem to account for was Soleil carrying the same magical traits of her parents.

According to the reports I was given from the mortal first responders, Soleil walked through the flames of the burning house without so much as a single scratch. I was notified immediately and quickly made arrangements for her to be teleported through our connection pads, but was quickly overridden by Lotti. It was brought to my attention that tossing someone who knows nothing about our world straight into it was probably not the best course of action.

So instead, we opted for a portal. Only problem being that all of the old portals were sealed off years ago to keep Solia safe; All except one. And because the other portals that stabilized it were closed, it's an incredibly rough ride.

Poor Benny was probably tossed around like a rag doll, but I don't deal with very many students like Soleil very often. Every child that possesses magical abilities knows of Solia's existence relatively quickly after being born. It's incredibly rare for a child to be brought here and have not a single clue about what's happening. And unfortunately, Soleil has just added a tick to that very small statistic.

Drawing me from my thoughts, her voice so small, so quite as she says "I want to go home". Exchanging a glance with Lotti, we both know that isn't an option. But neither of us can string the words together to tell her that.

"Darling... You know that there's nothing for you to go back to. I'm not trying to startle you, but you're not safe on earth. I promised your parents tIfhat I was going to protect you..." Pursing my lips as Maela's beaming smile flashes across my mind, I end with "and that's exactly what I'm going to do".

~

Clutching at the golden bracelet that my mother got me, she wouldn't want to rot over the loss of them. Dad wouldn't want me to lay down for the threat that took them from me. They would both want me to continue on with my life... I just have to find a way to do that without them now.

No matter how painful it may be.

"If I can't go back home... Then what happens now?" Watching the two women exchange a surprised glance, the one sitting in front of me brushes a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear before sliding a piece of paper towards me.

With a more confident smile than before, she says "now, we introduce you to everything that Solia has to offer."

.

.

.

Shakily pressing my hand to the door, it gives a high pitched chime before slowly opening.

It... Worked. It worked. This is really happening.

It was explained to me that my dorm would only open to my DNA and my DNA alone. Humans are not allowed in Solia, therefore my door wouldn't open if I was only human.

Yet a very large part of me was convinced that this door wouldn't open. Convinced that I could go home, convinced that I could live a normal life.

Convinced that this is all just a terrible dream that I'll wake up from at any moment. Convinced that my parents would be waiting for me for when I got home.

But my home was burned to the ground, with my entire life inside of it. With my parents inside of it. With my childhood cat, and all of my memories inside of it.

There's nothing left to do for me except move forwards, and judging by the barren undecorated room surrounding me, I have a lot of work to do before I can even begin healing.

~

Following her slow and exhausted walk, even from my office I can tell that she hardly got any sleep. If I was in her place, I can't say I would have gotten much either.

Despite her tired smile currently directed at one of my top students, it looks like she made an effort to get ready today. Her summery blonde hair is loosely curled, her lashes painted in brown mascara and her cheeks dusted in a beautiful tulip pink. She's trying, which according to Lotti is more than she was expecting from Soleil.

They had a very short counseling session, another service that Lotti oversees when screening new students. And from the very short note that was left on my desk this morning, Soleil's condition is far from ideal.

She's suppressing memories from the night of Emery and Maela's death, which according to Lotti is very common during such a traumatic event. The problematic part of all of this is that with Soleil being the only witness in such a monumental case, I can only hold off the elders for so long.

At the cost of protecting Solia, they will choose prying her mind apart over letting an invader into our world. If Lotti can't uproot the memories that Soleil has locked away, the elders will come for her. And when they do there's nothing that I can do to stop them.