Nathan walks through the halls, in the direction of his class, only to be stopped by one of the student council members. She had a calm presence about her, as calm as a vast, quiet ocean with gentle breezes brushing against its surface.
"What's the problem, Mary?"
"The headmaster wants to see you."
Nathan holds both his hands up in the air.
"I'm innocent."
"What are you doing?"
"Whatever she might think I did, I didn't do it."
Mary sighs in a tiresome manner and palms her face in frustration.
"I'm serious, she does that sometimes."
"Let's just go."
And so, the two of them head off to the headmaster's office. They walk past classes where students are taught the practical and theoretical aspects of the magic in their world.
[Sounds really interesting. I wonder if Harry is still thinking over his theory from earlier.]
They arrive, and Mary knocks on the door, and is answered by a woman from inside. Her voice is calming, a motherly tone, but has an undertone of a veteran warrior.
"You may enter."
They both enter, and what greets them is the headmaster. Her hair is as grey as ash but has some shades of black, turquoise eyes with fierce pupils.
"Thank you for bringing him, Mary. You can report back to class."
"Goodbye, ma'am."
Mary exits, closing the door behind her, leaving the two of them inside.
Celestia Stormvale. Born to one of the strongest noble families, whose affinity only consists of wind magic. To others, she is a respectable figure, not only in the academy but in the kingdom and almost the whole. The reason for this is that she was one of the warriors who had survived and won the war against the elves 18 years ago,
"So… why'd you want me?"
"I see that your disrespect is strong even in the morning."
"Come on, it's not disrespect. I get friendly with people I like."
Celestia flustered from what he said.
"Take a seat, Mr. Valen."
"You don't have to be formal with me. It's just the two of us in here."
"Let's just cut to the chase, then we can drop the formalities."
Nathan sits down in the chair in front of her, eager to hear what she has to say.
[I wonder what she's so worried about. As long as I'm not in trouble, I'm fine.]
"Even though you have come back for a day, I'm sure that you're aware that the school is under investigation under the orders of His Majesty, King Augustus."
"Oh yeah, Noah told me that Captain Cedric came by with a few imperial guards with him."
'That's correct. Which is why I'd like to ask you a question."
[Damn]
"What is it?"
"When you, along with Ariel, Daniel, and Noah, were off doing the commission Prof. Nowell gave you, what were you doing the whole time?"
"I gave him my full report when we were talking in his office."
"Enough with the bullshit, and come out with it. I know damn well that's not the full story."
[What?! How did she… How did she know? Was somebody watching from afar?]
"How do you know I'm lying?"
"I've dealt with liars almost all my life. Catching one out is just about as easy as walking."
[Guess there's no point in hiding it.]
"Alright then, here it is."
Celestia crosses her arms and leans back from her chair, carefully observing for any signs of him lying.
"I was sleeping under a tree until Noah contacted me via a transmission. He said he was in trouble, and he sounded desperate, and so I rushed over to him as quickly as I could. But then, some mage attacked me."
"(raises her eyebrow in question) What did he look like? What type of magic was he controlling?"
"He had black hair, pitch-black eyes, wore a dark robe, and had a water affinity."
"Did he say anything to you?"
"He said that he knew me and that His boss, sorry lord, was studying or observing me. That I, anyone with any sort of power or authority would find it beneficial to know of me."
'What was the name of this 'lord'?"
"He didn't say, but he mentioned something about a new age approaching right before attacking me."
"A new age, huh…"
"Yeah, and he had a tattoo on his right hand."
She looks at Nathan with concern.
"What did this tattoo look like?"
"They looked like horns."
Celestia jumps out of her chair in utter shock. Her eyes widened and fists clenched. Her heart was rapidly beating, causing her to have many short breaths as if she was reminded of a dark portion of her past.
Nathan looks at his calm, collected headmaster turn into a scared girl who wishes for her torment to end.
She covered her mouth to resist vomiting. He notices this and tries to calm her down. After some time has passed, she finally composes herself and calms down.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, (deep breaths) I'm fine."
[What in the hell could've happened back then to turn her into this state?]
"While you two were fighting, were you able to beat him?"
"I did, but he was just toying with me. He didn't take the fight seriously, looking amused after each one of his attacks. I captured him in a shadow under a tree, but after helping Noah, I came back and saw that he was gone."
"How strong was he?"
"I think about as strong as Captain Regina."
"I see. Thank you for telling me this. Does anyone else know about this besides us?"
"Only Noah. But we were planning on telling our friends this morning."
"No, no one else should know about this except us and His majesty."
"Why not?"
"You're smart enough to know that after what happened, there's a possibility of someone who has leaked sensitive information, not only about this school but possibly about the King and the captains. Which is why having more people know about this would put us at a huge disadvantage in finding out who did it."
[I can't argue with that logic. I came up with it.]
"So, what now?"
"I'll go have a word with Captain Cedric and maybe with the others."
"You don't need anything from me?"
"Don't tell anybody about this, and tell Noah to do the same. From now on, you're a target. Be careful when you're alone and observe your surroundings and who you talk to."
Nathan's heart skipped a beat after hearing her warning.
"Is that all?"
"Yes, you're excused. I'll head out of the school as soon as I can calm my nerves."
Nathan walks out of her office and sighs from not being able to help her a bit more.
As soon as he leaves, alone in her office, Celestia looks at both of her hands and gets flashbacks of the war with the elves. A flashback of her brother being impaled to death by a man who wasn't an elf, but a human. He had the same tattoo as Nathan mentioned. After dealing with him, she rushed over to her brother, only for him to leave this world. She cried helpless tears for the loss of someone she had grown up with since childhood.
[After all these years, you finally show up again and now turn towards my student. (fists clenched in front of her) I swear I'll find out who you are and make sure you regret the day you were born.]