The weeks have passed by in a blur, fall has taken over the world. Rain was pouring down from the sky, making it difficult to hunt for familiars. By the elements, it was even hard to get from the cabin to the main building without getting soaking wet. Luckily, Raldor showed him how to create a barrier of water for himself and somebody else. To block most of the rain. Initor was sitting in the cafeteria, listing to the soft ticking of the rain against the window. The soft rumbling of the thunderstorm that passed them by not that long ago. The kitchen staff was busy with preparing the room for lunch, placing plates with various types of meat, cheese and sweet spreads. Placing bowls with fruit, and eggs. In many ways, it was the same stuff they used at breakfast. Except for the coffee, tea and hot cocoa tanks. They were swapped with the large bowls of soup. Initor had grabbed some for his friends, their lessons wouldn't take that long, and then they could start eating right away. It was strange how easy it was to fall into a routine, they eat breakfast as a group, went to their respective classes, eat lunch, spend some free time in the library until the next class. Then dinner, and a homework session before bed. Aless like himself has grown in this last couple of weeks. He could feel a smile grow, when he thought about her. She was smart, open to new ideas and overall a calming presence. Which was a star contrast with Ixis, who was loud. Rapid seemed to like her as well, and he didn't like strangers at all. Much like himself. The sound of voices, echoed throughout the building. Becoming louder and louder, as the large group of students entered the cafeteria. Aless, Ixis and Raldor directly came towards him. Placing their schoolbags on the ground, and sat down.
"Hmm, that smells amazing. Thank you for grabbing us a bowl in advance." Raldor said, before taking his first bite of the soup. Aless grabbed a piece of bread from the plate and started to dip it into the soup. He himself looked at her, as her face seemed so relaxed. An image of their first meeting popped up into his mind. It was just outside the courtroom, a couple of years ago. She was sitting on a wooden bench next to the double doors, where cheeks were covered in tears. Her brown curls were unkept, and her glasses were about to fall. All the adults were screaming and shouting. Lady Cerulea was the loudest of them all. Nobody, but him, paid attention to the girl that lost her parents. Whose childhood was ripped away, much like his own. His own mother was crying, admitting that they could have done more. But his father countered that by asking how, and telling her that they have done all that they could. It was not their fault, they were loving and supportive parents. They had given him a stuffed animal, to cuddle, to sooth his feeling of intense quilt. Because no matter how many times they say that it was not his fault, the elements, and he knew that it was. Initor walked towards Aless, and sat down beside her. Saying nothing, just seeking comfort in each other's company.
"My mommy, and daddy are dead." she whispered softly. "They are dead, and I would have being too. I wish that I was dead, too." The tears were already streaming down her cheeks. Initor didn't know what to say at that moment, there was nothing to say. Nothing that could comfort her. Instead, he grabbed the stuffed white bunny, and gave it to her. She grabbed it, and buried her face in it. Her cries were heartbreaking, and he started to tear up too. He hated his brother, he hated himself for breaking his brother's trust. He hated the fact that this little girl was crying, and never could go to her parents for comfort.
"What is this!" It was Lady Cerulea, who stormed towards them. "Is this piece of trace on off yours!" She screamed towards his parents. "Trying the last member of my family, how dare you." She then turned towards Aless, and her ice blue gaze landed upon the stuffed bunny. "Give me that," she snatched it out of Aless's hands. "Did he gave you that?" Her voice didn't soften when she addressed her grieving granddaughter. Aless nodded, and her grandmother's angry gaze slowly turned to him. "Your brother killed, my pride and joy. He killed my son."
"I know what he did," Initor piped up. Knowing that this could get him trouble. "She was crying, and I thought that it would make her feel slightly better." It was the truth, not that it mattered. Lady Cerulea looked at the bunny in her hands.
"Is that so," she said in a low voice. Then the bunny caught fire, Initor could hear him and Aless scream. But the flames consumed the whole bunny, until there was nothing left of it but ash. "Well, now I feel a lot better. Come Aless, I do not want you to get tainted by this piece of trash." Initor blinked a few times, he was back inside the cafeteria. The sound of people surrounding him, came back to him.
"Are you alright?" The current Aless asked. He quickly nodded, and took a bit from his lunch. The soup was cooled off, meaning that a lot of time had passed.
"I was just lost in a memory, that is all." he said. She clearly wanted to ask more about it, he however was not sure how he would reply to her question, and that is something he would never know.
"Uhmm, Initor," it was James, the metal elemental who loved to work with copper. "It is about Izyni." he went on. Izyni was their former roommate, and an entitled piece of shit. After she got kicked out of their cabin, she was placed in the cabin with James. And rumor has it, that she hasn't learned anything from it.
"What about her?" Ixis asked. James looked a bit uncomfortable, which Initor couldn't blame him for. It was already bad enough if you were on Izyni's good side, being on her bad side was a dumpster fire.
"She is being waiting for the perfect opportunity to get back to you, and this morning she couldn't stop bragging about that she has found it." James said, and his gaze went quickly around the cafeteria. "Ohh, boy. There she comes." He quickly rushed away, as Izyni walked towards their table. Initor didn't know what to make of her smile, or the gleam of misplaced joy in her eyes. But James was right, she had the right ammo, and she was going to use it. She placed both of her hands on their table, hard enough to make everything shake. They needed to grab their glasses, before they would tumble over.
"Look, what have we here. A nice selection of traitors, and backstabbers." She said, loud enough so that the whole cafeteria could hear. The sound of talking faded into nothingness. All the students knew what went down, before Izyni was kicked out, so that was not a big deal. "Oh, and hello newbie. I hope that my old room suites you." She didn't even look at Aless when she said it, her golden eyes were focused on him. "But Initor, how does it feel?" He looked confused, not sure what she was hinting at. "I mean, how can I even ask. You must be overjoyed to hear that your brother Edalf gets released early." It was as if the air was knocked out of his lungs, his brother? Released? "To be honest with you, I never believed a word of what they said about him. I really think it was all a ploy to get back at the rebellion." Initor's gaze snapped towards Aless, who's eyes were big and full of terror.
"Izyni, I have to say that the claims against my brother are quite real," he tried to sound calmly. Tried but failed. She simply snorted.
"Yeah, right. Everybody knows that you are against him, so do not play dumb. And just admit the truth, the council knew that he was about to overthrow them, and they made up the lie. Him killing two innocent people, yeah please." Izyni shot back at him. Initor's gaze quickly went through the cafeteria, a lot of people looked in disgust at Izyni. But there were a few who looked at him in the same way. He could shoot back that his brother had killed two innocent people. But that was not his story to share, he looked again towards Aless. And she looked at him, she was angry. But not at him, now she placed both her hands on the table and stood up.
"I can assure you, that he is guilty as charged." Aless snapped, towards Izyni, who looked shocked at first. But the most annoying feature of Izyni was that she was able to reciver quickly. This time was no execption.
"How do you know that so sure, oh wait your dear old granny is part of the council is it not. That is why you are so quick to jump to their defense." Izyni said. Little ambers started to form around Aless, and a soft breeze was picking up inside the cafeteria. The thunder that was drifting away, was apparantly on its way back. Izyni glanced at Aless with a smug smile. "Did I struck a nerve?" The wind became stronger, and the embers were just a breath away from becoming real flames. With that the ground started to shake violently. Aless was losing her temper, and with that the control over her elements. Ixis jumped up and lay a hand on Aless's shoulder, in the hope that she snaps out of it. Initor thanked the elements that it worked, and Aless rushed out of the cafeteria. "Oops, we have a runner." Alright that was it, and you know what it was as much his story as it was that of Aless. He motioned Raldor, who rose up from his seat. Ixis was already going after Aless.
"Izyni, do you really want to know why my brother is in prison?" Initor asked, his voice low, but loud enough for everybody to hear. He didn't wait for her reply. "It is because the bastard killed, the son of Lady Ceruala. And not only her son, but aslo his wife. And who's dear old granny, do you think that is?" He used her own werds against her on purpose. But agian he didn't give her time to answer. "Aless was inside the house when it happened. So the next time, you have the genius idea to taunt someone. Do your homework." He bumped against her shoulder when he passed her by. He didn't care what people might think of him, but Aless was a totally different story. She didn't deserve this, not in the slightest.
*********
It was not difficult to find Aless, because he was able to take a well-educated guess. The pavilion by the lake, the place where her parents met. She was sitting on a bench, her clothes were sticking to her body from all the rain. Her head was laying on her knees and she was trying to keep herself from crying. Initor didn't say anything, he just sat down next to her, and lay his hand upon her back.
"Do not keep this all in, just let it out." he whispered. She sat up straight, and looked at him. Tears started to well up in her eyes. "If you need a shoulder to cry on, us mine." She lay her head upon his shoulder, and started crying her heart out. He could feel the tears, and he did his best not to cry as well. Although he wanted to do that, his brother didn't only destroy her family. He also destroyed his own family, their parents, who were already scraping by before his brother killed two innocent people. But after that, things got even worse, because now they were the parents who raised a murderer. His father got fired from multiple jobs, and his mother was not even able to get a job at all. Almost all the Food drives in the area where they live turned them away as soon as they turn up. They were only able to go through one was because he went alone, and nobody but Lady Cerulea thinks that a child could be dangerous.
"Initor, she needs to get out of those wet cloths. Before she's catching a cold." Ixis said, softly. Initor nodded, but he didn't want to interrupt her. But Ixis is right, she needed to get out of these clothing. Aless apparently heard her and started to pull herself together. "Aless, let's get back to the cabin." Aless raised her head, and nodded softly. She was holding onto him, as if he was her last lifeline. He even saw himself as such, and he didn't care that she did. Raldor rushed towards the main building, when they entered the cabin. Initor didn't know what he was doing, but there were more important things at hand.
"Ixis, why don't you help her shower. I will warm up the towel." he whispered. Ixis didn't say much, she didn't even nod. She just did what he asked her to do. He took one of his own large towels and started heating it up with his hands. Raldor stepped into the cabin, in his hands he was holding two large cans.
"Hot cocoa, and I also talked with the Headmaster. Ixis and I need to come in this evening to get the homework. But we have the rest of today off. He hated the fact that, he wasn't the one to inform the two of you." Raldor said, placing the can on the coffee table. Aless and Ixis stepped out of Aless's room, Aless was wearing her pajama's. Her hair was hanging wet on her back, Initor walked over towards her, holding up the towel.
"May I?" he asked. She didn't say anything, just nodded and let him dry her hair. Ixis sat down on the floor next to Raldor. He was surprised that she allowed him to do something so intimate, but she was currently not herself. It didn't take long, and he slowly pushed her towards the couch.
"Thank you," she whispered softly. But he shook his head.
"You and I both know that there is nothing to thank me for," he said, and he let himself drop besides her. She lay her head on his shoulder and sighed.
"Alright, it is time for the both of you to spill the tea." Ixis said. Initor closed his eyes, hoping that they could avoid this topic for a very long time. But his brother had different plans.
"It happened six years ago, the day that I bounded with Silver." Aless started, her voice sounded so breakable. He wanted to say that she didn't have to, but she continued. "My parents were so proud of me, and they made the day all about me. As if it was my birthday, I was able to pick what we had for dinner, they spent the whole day by my side. It was so perfect, and it filled me with so much joy. That evening, we were sitting on the couch in the living room. My father started to show me little tricks with air, and encourage me to try it as well. Then there was the knock that would change my life forever. My father went to see who it was, and my mother stayed behind with me. Until my father told loudly who it was, my mother told me to go to my room. I could hear the urgency in her voice, so I left the room. But I didn't go to my bedroom, I stayed just around the corner. Able to hear and see what was going on, but where the others were unable to see me as well." She took a deep breath. Initor knew this story already, he had heard it inside the courtroom. But it was still hard to hear it again. "My father told Edalf that his plans were not much better than those of the council, and that sent Edalf over the edge. I do not know what the plans were, because I was not able to hear them. But my parents were openly against the council, so I believe him. Edalf grabbed some kind of device out of his pocket, there was a loud explosion, and the next thing I saw was that my father falling towards the ground. Blood streaming out of his chest. Edalf mumbled to himself, but there was one thing I was able to make out of what he was saying. 'Leave no witnesses'. That is when he killed my mother. I didn't scream, because I knew that this would draw attention to me. But still Edalf entered the house, looking for me. I am pretty sure that he would have killed me too, if the police didn't show up when they did." Ixis mouth fall open.
"By the elements, and then for Izyni to say such things. I do not, and I will never understand that heartless girl. First she went out of her way to torment Initor, and now this. It almost seems to me that she knew that this was between the two of you." Ixis said, Raldor nodded in agreement.
"I do not know about that, but how many leaders of the elements are there. Only six, and it is not a secret that Aless grandmother is one of them. So Izyni might have gambled on the idea that Aless was not involved, but now I am going to give that witch too much credit." Initor said. "But now it is time to tell my side of the story, and why the wounds that my brother left me, might be not as deep as the wounds he left Aless. But they are still deep." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "My parents were only sixteen when they had my brother, and despite my grandparent's offer to take Edalf in while my parents to the academy. They never went, and were not able to unlock any of the elements. This resulted in them being treated as nothing but trash, and my brother saw this happening his whole life. According to my mother, the resentment that he had run deeper than they wanted to admit. But there was still money coming in and there was enough to eat, a roof above their heads. So they didn't complain, not even when they had me. My brother joined the rebellion from a pretty young age, and he didn't listen to my parents protests. They never liked it and always warned him that those people were a bad influence. Then there was the day that I bounded with Rapid. My parents were so proud of me, there was nothing in the world that could describe the joy and excitement that was on their faces. That however changed when Edalf came home, and exploded when he saw my familiar. He said some nasty stuff against me. 'You are betraying our parents, you have become the thing that put them down.' I started to cry, not my proudest moment. While my parents were defending me against my own brother, he left the house. The next morning, we were woken up by the police with the heartbreaking news that Edalf was arrested. And was going to trail for murder," he stopped and gazed towards Aless. Who was listing to his every word. "Your childhood ended when my brother knocked on your parent's front door. My childhood ended after the cop shared this piece of information. I knew my parents were not rich, but we had enough to survive. But after what happened, my dad was fired from his job and struggled to keep a job ever since. My mother, who cleaned my grandparents houses, to earn some money also looked for an extra job. But no one would hire the mother of a murderer. My brother didn't only destroy your life, he destroyed mine as well. And when I saw you, crying on the bench, just outside the courtroom. I was able to understand your pain, because it was my pain as well. That is why I gave you my bunny, the one thing that gave me comfort through all of the chaos that became my life."
"And then my grandmother, burned it." she said softly. He nodded.
"And then your grandmother burned it, but it those not matter now. You have now your own bunny, that somehow looks a lot like that stuffed animal." he said with a smile. Still, he knew that he didn't do a great job. All that hurt, the shame that he had buried for six years. It was now dug up again, which was also to say about Aless. And now they both needed to heal all over again, but with the knowledge that the one who coursed all of this hurt was going to be released. "I am so sorry, if I hadn't bounded with Rapid. Then there would be a chance that your parents would be still alive." Aless pushed herself up, and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Don't you dare," she said. "Don't you dare, blaming yourself. You have done nothing wrong, do you hear me. Nothing." He nodded, it was nice to hear her say this, but he didn't believe her. Not yet, at least. Raldor cleared his throat. Initor almost jumped up, he had forgotten that they were even in the same room. But they have kept their mouths shot when he shared his side of the story.
"You know, there was something I noticed. It is unrelated to the death of Aless parents. But you both bounded with your first familiars on the same day." Raldor said. Initor needed to confess that he had noticed the same thing, but he was not going to say that outloud now. "But Ixis and I need to go and pick up all our home work." Ixis looked a bit confused. "Orders from the headmaster." She nodded after hearing that.
"We will not be gone for long, are the two of you alright?" she asked, clearly worried. Both Aless and he nodded, but not with much convintion. Ixis didn't comment on it, she just stood up and followed Raldor. Aless stood up when the door closed behind the two. Initor didn't know why, but he followed her into her own room. He watched as she let herself drop upon her bed, and fall to sleep. He didn't blame her, this day has being emotonly draining. He sat down next to the bed and let his head rest upon his knees. Finally, finally he was able to let the tears go. Tears he has being holding back for the last six years.
