Before this Chapter starts, I have two things to say. First this chapter, I had a bit of help from my sister (She just went through and put my notes of what was supposed to happen into words for a few parts.) So if it's a little bland, my bad.
Second thing, should I add an auxiliary chapter for some of the terms used in the book?
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School… It was a bag of mixed feelings. Some hated, some liked it; either way, you went until society deemed you an adult. For me, it was a bit different; I didn't hate or like school, it was just the only way forward. I know Nyra felt the same.
And now? We weren't sure. We were marching headfirst into the unknown. Well, not unknown exactly. It was home turf—our mother's domain, a place she could navigate blindfolded, and a place our father once walked to.
That thought lingered. Our birth father had ties to this school through what he and Mother built together: a family. Mr. Riven, our father in name only, was tied through bloodline and legacy. Different connections, yet eerily similar—so similar I wouldn't have noticed, if Nyra hadn't pointed it out.
But chasing that thought too far was dangerous. We didn't come here to untangle the past. What waited for us inside those gates wasn't mystery—it was the name. Damocles. A name stamped across our files, waiting to be spoken aloud.
And that was the weight pressing down on us now.
After being dropped off by Lazaria—who told us to 'shout' if we needed her (I think she meant call, but close enough)—we started toward the gate.
The walk to the gate was quiet, despite the presence of all the students around us; it seemed everyone was either tired or anxious. Which made Nyra and me outliers, we had already been up for hours, and that scene at the peak of the mountain wiped away any trace of anxiousness we could feel.
Even still, we spoke in low whispers.
"Aria, you think our first day of school will go as smoothly as Mom and Mr Riven think?"
"No. Not in the slightest. Mom was like a living legend, raising the prestige of the Halvenne family. And even though our relationship is estranged, we still carry the family name."
To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it; fans of my mother's exploits coming and bothering me every chance they got. Though I could just tell 'em off or set a clear boundary, and if they truly respected my mom, they'd leave us alone after.
"Yeah, even Mr. Riv– I mean, dad's last name could cause problems."
That was another thing that would take time getting used to; we agreed to call Mr. Riven, Dad, at least around those we didn't want to know the truth.
"Yeah, but as long as we don't tell anyone ourselves, and no one finds out, we'll be fine." Was what I said less than twenty minutes ago. I didn't think I would be eating my words so soon, so what happened?
**A few minutes prior**
"Alright, class, settle down." The teacher says as she opens the door. Walking across the room, she first set her stuff neatly on the desk in the corner before moving to stand behind the podium.
"Hello, my name is Zhou Huiqing. It's pronounced like this." Picking up a piece of chalk, she began writing on the chalkboard. The faint chalk-scratch blended with the hum of the classroom, almost soothing in its constancy
With a final tap, she stepped away from the board, setting the chalk down. "Zhou, like Joe. Hui, pornouched hway. And Qing, like cheeng. Don't worry if you stumble at first, just try your best. You can call me Ms. Zhou if that's easier." She said, waving her hand with a smile.
"Ok, now, I'm going to call out your names, please correct me if I say it wrong. Blake Songer…" And we're gonna skip that.
"Mina"
"Present."
"Aria and Nyra…" She pauses before mumbling under her breath. "Halvenne… Damocles?" Ms. Zhou quickly snaps her hand over her mouth, eyes widening as she realizes her mistake.
Whispers begin to feel the class excitement in hushed voices. An underlying tension in the air, a weight falling on the two girls' shoulders. Ms. Zhou clears her throat, brushing past her mistake.
"Ah, I shouldn't have said that out loud. Well, no matter, let's move on." Ms. Zhou continues attendance, calling out student names.
"Alright, you're all accounted for, so let's hop straight into today's lesson." She brushes past the weird air, hoping the class would go without a hitch. Turning towards the chalkboard.
***
The bell rings loudly, signaling the end of class. As the twins start getting ready for their next lessons, students quickly swarm them. Questions start to fly at them.
"Hey, Hey, Is it true, are you really his daughters?"
"What's it like being in a family of geniuses?"
"Is it true your father and mother once fought off a gang?"
Aria and Nyra glance at each other, then back at the students. Aria stutters, unable to answer.
"Alright, that's enough, give them space and time to answer." Mina pushes through the crowd of students, shooing them away.
She turns to meet the twins' gazes, smiling brightly. "Hello, I'm Mina, as you may have heard."
"Ah, hello, nice to meet you, I'm Aria, and she is—"
"Nyra"
"We got a bit of time before the next class begins, so you might as well answer some of their questions if you feel comfortable doing so."
"Just, uh, give me a second." Aria looks to her sister before fully turning to her, whispering. "Hey, should we answer any questions?"
"It should be fine for the most part, just don't mention our true relationship with… dad." The pause lingered, awkward but soft, on Nyra's tongue.
"Alright," Aria turns back towards Mina, nodding in agreement. "Okay, I can answer a few before the next teacher gets here."
"Alright then, you first," Mina looks over the students, pointing at a random student in the back.
The class parts like a book, allowing the student to be seen.
"Would your father give me his blessing to marry you?" The silence is deafening after the student's question.
"She's not answering that, next question." Mina scrunches her face.
Aria holds her hand up, "No, I can answer that."
"You sure?"
"Yep," She turns and looks at the student, her eyes growing cold. "To answer your question, no, he wouldn't; instead, he would skin you alive for even thinking about it."
Her words tense, and cold. A subtle but spirited smile on her face. "Next question"
Minutes pass as questions are asked by a few students. Only interrupted when the teacher enters the classroom.
"Alright, class, please take your seats." The chalk hits the board as she writes her name. "I'm Akira Minamori. I'll be teaching you history today. So let's get right into it."
She hits the button, turning on the smartboard. "You all know the basic stuff, so I'll skip over that and tell you the things that weren't covered. Starting with the ones we owe our current daily life to, the Damocles family."
The board lights up, the Damocles family emblem on the screen. A dangling sword. "The Damocles family first started in Greece during the early 1900s; records say it was most likely at the turn of the century."
The picture shifts, a black and white, grainy picture of a male shows on screen. "This here is Theofanis Aetos, or as he would soon be known, Theofanis Damocles, the first ancestor."
"After the birth of his first child, Theofanis would pass away in 1912 during the war. His family, a year later, would move to America seeking a better life."
Again, the picture changes, showing a couple. "Who can tell me who he is?"
Many hands shoot up. Ms. Akira chooses a girl in the front of the class. "That is Anderson Damocles, the man who charted the 8th continent in the 2100s."
"Correct, and her?"
Again, hands shot up, and Ms. Akira picks a male student this time. "Emi Minamori, his trusted aide and archologist, and later wife."
"Correct, and as many of you might have guessed, my ancestor." The smartboard changed once again.
"These two were special beyond what they did on the continent. They were mentally deranged and criminals. Emi Minamori, textbook victim turned abuser, loved to mentally abuse and torture those who showed an interest in her.
Then there's Anderson Damocles, who enjoyed inflicting physical pain on others and abusing women. Both are regarded as criminals by both families."
"These two weren't the legends that made the Damocles rise." The screen changed once more, showing a younger boy. "It was their child and killer Nickolas Damocles."
The slide changes one last time. "There's a lot more, of course, but today's the first day, so we'll stop here. I have a short quiz for you to help me get to know you."
Ms. Akira passes out quizzes to the people in each row, "Please take one and pass them back."
**twenty minutes later**
As the bell rang, the halls began to flood with students rushing to get to their next classes.
"So, it's science next, right?" Aria questioned
"Yep, and it's three to a table, so I'll be sitting with you two if that's fine."
"That's fine."
"Good, also, I reckon that by now everyone in our grade knows that you're both members of the Damocles family."
"Great," Aria turns to her sister, "I guess we'll head to the library after lunch to avoid the crowds until it's time for homeroom."
"You're skipping out on your elective period?" Mina asked with a raised brow.
"Probably for the best, Nyra's not much of a people person. In person, she won't speak to others unless she feels comfortable around them."
"Ah, I see. That makes total sense, and I guess you both chose different electives." She nods at Minas' question.
"In that case, I'll join you two."
"You sure about that?"
"Yeah, it's fine, art can wait. Plus, it'll probably be more interesting to get to know you two and not your family legacy."
"Alright, suit yourself." Aria shrugged before walking into room 301, Nyra closely behind.
Okay, what do you think now?
The long lab benches, lined with neatly stacked glass beakers and burners, stretched across the room. The sharp, almost clean tang of alcohol wipes and disinfectant hit their nose; it almost felt like they were mid-visit at their aunt's lab.
Shelves of specimen jars warped in the harsh light, their shadows stretching oddly against the walls.
Shelves of specimen jars warped in the harsh light, their shadows stretching oddly against the walls. A soft tap of a stylus sounded as the teacher wrote something on the smartboard.
As they settled into their seats, a gentle tap on her shoulder caught her attention. Turning to see Mina, Aria noticed that her finger was pointing. Following her gaze, Aria's eyes landed on a large skeleton model standing rigidly in the corner, its arm raised as if in mid-wave.
'Biinnng Bonngg Dinng Donggg'
"Alright, class, get comfortable. We're about to take a blast through existence." The teacher says as he starts playing a weird techno beat, the kind of upbeat track you'd expect from a half-baked science documentary
"I'm Mr. Wright, and I'll be your guide as you come to understand how our planet and the many around it were constructed and the very laws that bind all of existence.
So come with me on our trip through the universe." He yells, his voice full of excitement. He then turns the music off before adding.
"I'll also be teaching you other things to prepare you for your next three years here. Ok, so let me do a quick roll call and we can get straight into it."
As he was calling out names, he paused once getting to Aria's and Nyra's. Looking toward them, he spoke. "I've already heard what happened from my colleague. I would like to apologize in her place, though she will still apologize herself later."
"It's fine, everyone would've found out when our father or Aunt came to teach. They would've revealed it without hesitation." Aria said, though a flicker of relief passed through her eyes.
"I see… Still, an apology is in order. Anything a student shares that is to remain hidden from their peers should remain as such and shouldn't be shared by anyone except the student in question. This is a standard that must be upheld for the integrity of the school."
"We understand, Mr. Wright. And as long as we aren't unfairly judged based off our family name, it doesn't bother us, no matter how many people know."
"Okay, now that that's settled, let's finish up roll call and start today's lesson." Mr. Wright says as he calls out the next name.
Mina leans in, smiling, speaking just loud enough for both girls to hear. "Wow, how grown-up of you two to not hold a grudge."
"It's not about being grown-up, it's about understanding others' circumstances and not being a, ahem, assh*le," Nyra replied.
Mina gasped, "Did Nyra just talk to me. How lucky."
Aria lets out a weary sigh, her energy fading with each passing moment. She whispers under her breath. "This is going to be a long day."